Home was quiet without Dad. No yelling. No arguments. Max heard Mum talking on the phone to Trudi. ‘How can Liz stand it? … Can you imagine Shane and Mooney in the same house? … You’re right. Poor Liz doesn’t have a choice … Imagine all the beer those men are going through. All that drinking and bloke talk … What? He asked to stay at your place? What a nerve … No, I don’t want him back. Let him stew.’

But Max could see Mum was wearing herself out without Dad. Max had more jobs to do, like chopping the wood and carrying it in, and putting out the rubbish.

Sunday night, when he got up to pee he noticed Suzie’s room was empty. He went searching for her with his torch and found her in bed with Mum. There wouldn’t be room for Dad when he came back, so maybe he would have to sleep out in the shed with Rosie—Mum had said that to Trudi a few times.

Max wouldn’t mind sleeping with Rosie. He would take his sleeping-bag and pillow and, if it wasn’t raining, they could lie out under the stars. Rosie was better than a hot water bottle, and it was nice outside at night. When there were no clouds, the whole sky was dusted with stars and you could look up at the universe which went on forever, and all the sadness would slowly dissolve and you could be nothing and nobody, and problems melted away. Thinking about this helped Max manage at school. And it helped him to forget Jaden, who was still his biggest issue. The pups were gone, so Max didn’t need to worry about Jaden hurting them, but he was still scared. Jaden was strong and kept threatening to bash him.

At recess and lunch, he tried to avoid Jaden by keeping his head down, but the bigger boy always found him. Thursday, Max spent lunchtime sitting on the loo hoping Jaden would get sick of hanging round and go away. Eventually he did. Then, when the bell went at home time, Max tried to get out of class fast and run for his bag.

But Jaden was waiting for him. He poked Max in the ribs. ‘Did you get more cigarettes?’

‘No. Dad caught me. That’s why he killed the pups.’ Max wanted Jaden to feel guilty, but his eyes showed that he didn’t care.

‘You still have to get cigarettes.’

‘I can’t.’

‘Come behind the loos then.’

Max had to follow, and Callum came too.

‘If you can’t get smokes you have to steal something else,’ Jaden said. ‘Smokes are too easy anyway.’

Max’s skin went cold.

‘Like what?’ Callum was all excited, the stupid idiot. He was supposed to be Max’s friend.

‘Something from the shops,’ Jaden said. ‘A bag of chips.’

‘No way,’ Max said. ‘Too noisy. It’ll be a dead giveaway.’