Douglas pulled himself up, roughly elbowing her out of the way to get to Nick. Anna dropped to a crouch, instinctively shrinking down into the gap between the loo and the bath, covering her head with her arms. In the confined space, hampered by tiles that were wet and slick, her lover and her childhood friend wrestled. She couldn’t bear to look, so she didn’t see when one of them hit the floor, but she felt a hand land against her foot. She opened her eyes a crack. The fingers were broad, not long and fine; Nick’s. Douglas was kneeling on Nick’s chest, his hands in his hair, pulling his head up, then whacking it down on the tiles. Grace hooked her arms around Douglas’s neck, but he rammed his elbow into her chest, sending her flying against the radiator. She slid down and started to crawl towards the door.

‘For fuck’s sake, Anna,’ Douglas yelled. ‘Don’t let her get away.’

Anna didn’t move, she couldn’t. She just wanted it all to stop. There was blood everywhere, great gobs of it, droplets and smears, some bright red, some diluted; the walls, the floor, the side of the bath, the basin pedestal; nothing had escaped. She closed her eyes, ducked her head and covered her ears with her hands, but she still heard what Douglas said. What he called her.

‘Move, you stupid cunt!’

She flinched. Pressed against the door, Grace looked ready to collapse, her face drained of colour, her hair bedraggled, dripping wet, blood all over her. Why hadn’t she left when she had the chance? The entreaty in her eyes was impossible to misinterpret.

Change sides.

Anna stood up and edged unsteadily past the two men. Nick made a grab for her ankle, but she kicked his hand away. His eyes rolled up as he lost consciousness. Douglas dropped him and tried to get up, but Grace draped herself over his back and clung on.

Reaching across the bath Anna picked up a bottle of shampoo and squirted some of its contents into her palms, then edged to the side and got down on her knees. She leaned in front of Grace, clamped her hands across Douglas’s eyes and rubbed cruelly, getting her soapy fingers right into the corners. He bellowed, and Grace twisted the knife out of his hand. The two women grasped his arms and hauled him out of the bathroom. Grace slammed the door, threw herself against it and shut the bolt.

‘Jesus!’

‘What do we do now?’ Anna said, panting. ‘We’re trapped.’

‘Oh fuck, I don’t know,’ Grace gasped, dropping to her knees beside Nick.