Jason had been relieved when Karla said she was going into work. She’d already taken most of the week off and, given how late it was this morning, and how pale she’d looked, he’d wondered whether she would. She needed to be able to function without him. He needed her to be able to function without him. Selfish it might be, but he had to know she would find the strength to fight back.

‘Got your bags, kids?’ he asked, glancing at them in the rear-view mirror as he pulled up outside the school.

‘Yeah,’ Holly said, sounding less than enthusiastic as she retrieved her rucksack from the footwell.

‘Josh?’ He turned to his son, whose attention was glued to his iPad. ‘You need to move it or you’ll be late.’

‘Yeah, coming.’ Jabbing at his game a few more times, Josh sighed and then reached half-heartedly for his seat belt.

Neither of them was in the best of moods. Guessing he couldn’t blame them, Jason climbed out to hurry them on. ‘Tablet, Josh,’ he reminded him, as Josh slid from the car, still clutching it.

‘Aw, Dad.’ Josh’s shoulders slumped as he handed it reluctantly over. ‘Will you bring it when you come and collect us?’

‘I’ll bring it.’ Jason smiled tolerantly. He would quite like to have some conversation with him while they drove, but he supposed that Josh probably wouldn’t be very receptive anyway. ‘See you later.’

Giving him a quick hug and ruffling his hair, he straightened his collar and then bent to kiss Holly. His heart skipped a beat, though, as she stepped away.

‘Holly?’ He eyed her questioningly.

Looking uncomfortable, Holly glanced down and then nervously back at him. ‘Are you and Mum not friends any more?’ she asked, her expression a mixture of wariness and mistrust.

Caught off guard, Jason had no idea how to answer. Realising that he and Karla wouldn’t easily be friends again was almost breaking him. Where would that leave their kids?

‘Your mum’s a bit upset with me,’ he said, knowing that much was pretty obvious but offering the only explanation he could. ‘It’s my fault, not hers. Give her a little time, Holly,’ he said, appealing to the adult in her, ludicrously. ‘It’s not you she’s angry with, I promise you.’

‘Did you do something really bad?’ Josh asked, his expression as uncertain as Holly’s.

Jason took a breath and nodded. ‘Really bad,’ he admitted.

Josh studied him, his forehead creasing into a worried frown. ‘Can you fix it?’ he asked him.

If only. Jason felt his heart plummet. There was no way to fix it. ‘I’m trying,’ he said. It was all he had.

‘You should buy her some flowers,’ Josh decided, after a thoughtful second, which had Jason emitting a strangled laugh. He wanted to cry.