She doesn’t want to lie to him, but he will only worry if she tells him now, when he’s so far away. She also doesn’t want his thoughts turning to Sienna. ‘There’s no way I’ve got the job,’ she says, instead. It’s not the full story but neither is it a lie.

‘Oh no. It didn’t go well? They must realise you’re overqualified. Maybe you should wait and hold out for a deputy head position after all.’ He’s being supportive, just as he always is, and this is too much to bear. It would be easier if he would turn on her.

‘Maybe I should,’ she agrees.

In the background she hears Lillian’s voice, hurling commands at Eric. Something about unpacking straight away. Not being there herself is one small mercy, at least.

‘Anything from Sienna?’ Rob asks.

She tells him no, yet this is not the truth. Sienna has sent her a silent message today, a warning.

‘I’d better go and help Mum,’ Rob says.

The second the call ends, she misses his voice breaking the silence of the empty house.

Sienna hasn’t returned her call by the time Abby goes to bed. She tries again now, and this time leaves a message. Anger has bubbled inside her all evening, and it’s only grown stronger as each hour passes with nothing but silence from Sienna. She knows it’s not healthy to feel this way, not good for her or anyone else, yet she’s struggling to keep it under control.

‘We need to talk,’ she hisses into the phone. ‘I don’t know what you think you’re doing but this has gone far enough.’

Still there is no reply by the time she falls asleep.

Sometime in the night her eyes snap open. She knows she’s heard something, but she can’t work out the sound. Turning on the bedside light, she climbs out of bed and checks the bedroom. There’s nothing out of place, nothing has fallen and the windows are firmly closed.

In the hallway, she flicks the light switch and checks the other rooms. Again, there is nothing out of place. She relaxes a fraction now while she makes her way downstairs. There’s nobody here, she tells herself, a mantra she repeats until she’s peered into every room. This isn’t the first time she’s missed their old flat; being on the first floor of the building, she’d rarely worried about intruders. Now, though, she shudders to think what she’d do if she found someone in here; she hasn’t even grabbed anything to defend herself with.

All the lights are on now, the house lit up like an amusement arcade. She will leave them on tonight. Just for reassurance.