Lewis had organised a night out for the foursome in Slayton’s old asylum. It hadn’t stood out as unusual – lots of teenagers checked out Slayton’s abandoned buildings at that time of year. But it was just an excuse for him to get her alone.

It was only today that Sarah revisited that night – shortly before Halloween. She had been excited and nervous to be somewhere so off limits with her friends. But when David and Maggie ran off into one part of the building to explore, Lewis had found her. She still remembered the expression on his face as he made his confession – that he had always wanted, loved her. Not Maggie. Sarah’s cheeks had burned with betrayal, knowing how her best friend felt about Lewis. She hadn’t known what to say when she was saved by the headlights of a car driving up the road. Her parents. They had guessed where she was and were coming to pick her up.

‘Don’t go,’ Lewis had pleaded, touching her cheek. ‘Please.’

At fourteen years of age, Sarah couldn’t handle such grown-up emotions and didn’t have the words to let him down. As her parents’ car beeped outside, she was relieved to have an excuse to run away. Her parents had been worried sick, which was the reason she was with her baby brother on Halloween night, instead of out with her friends. Had Lewis taken her silence as compliance? She should have found a way to tell him how she felt … that she loved him as a friend but no more. And now Lewis was looking at her with pain which had festered into hatred strong enough to kill.

‘I took an overdose, did you know that? Came to Blackhall and swallowed a bottle of sleeping tablets just so I could be with you.’

‘I’m sorry …’ Sarah stuttered. ‘I—’

‘Then I joined the army to forget you …’ Lewis interrupted, holding the gun firm. ‘But every time I came home, I visited Blackhall, retracing your father’s steps … wishing I could turn back time.’ His breath trembled as he delivered each painful word. ‘All these years, I carried the guilt. It ate me up inside. Then you walk back in like nothing happened, married to David, without giving me a second thought.’

‘I had no idea …’ Sarah said, looking at the man he had become. His face was slick with sweat. He had withdrawn into a world of hatred and regret.

‘Shut the fuck up!’ Lewis’s words echoed around the room as his finger curled over the trigger. ‘All of this … it’s because of you. It’s time you know how it feels.’