Once she was out in the street, she attempted to sprint across the city. The thump of her feet against the pavement made her brain bounce painfully. The park gates were locked and the windows of all the cafés wore metal shutters. Figures moved stealthily in dimly lit office buildings, and she recognized the movements of the cleaners.

When she reached her house, the street was silent apart from her panting. Liv gritted her teeth as she unlocked the front door. She pulled off her shoes and crept upstairs. Each stair groaned as if telling tales on her.

She left her clothes on the floor before slipping into bed. For a few seconds she thought she’d gotten away without waking Jake. But then he sat up.

“Where’ve you been?” he hissed. “What time is it?”

Liv’s mind jumped around, trying to think of an excuse. She was pretty certain she’d never lied to him properly before, unless knocking fifteen pounds off the true cost of a dress counted. “I was at Essie’s place and...um, I felt ill, really dizzy,” she whispered. “I lay down and must have dropped off.”

“You told me you were fine.” He was quiet for a moment. “Did Essie find you asleep? Why didn’t she wake you up and call for a taxi?”

“She was...working away.” Liv half expected a lightning bolt to strike her between the eyes. She had a desperate urge to tell him everything and let the events of the last fortnight come gushing out. She dug her fingernails into her palms to stop herself.

“I was worried.” Jake reached out and stabbed the button on the alarm clock, letting out a groan when 5:18 a.m. projected in red digits on the ceiling. “Johnny wanted your help with an essay.”

“Sorry,” she said and meant it. The mattress felt like it was sucking her down, and her head contained an orchestra of tom-tom players. She wondered if Essie felt this way after drinking her gin.

“Well, I might as well get up,” Jake said, slapping his hand on the duvet.

“What, now?”

“I promised I’d call Katrina. I was going to see her last night,” he said rigidly. “But you weren’t here.”

Liv frowned in the darkness. They’d been leaving the boys on their own in the house since Mack was fifteen. “You could have gone—”

“I was too busy worrying about you,” he said. “Go back to sleep, I’ll try to be quiet.”

Jake’s side of the duvet landed on her and he got out of the bed. She heard the bedroom door open and his footsteps on the stairs.