I put my copy of The Satsuma Complex in my messenger bag, thinking that a book might provide some comfort as events unfolded.

He drove me to this place without saying another word. I wasn’t particularly scared or anxious. I’d seen him in these dark moods many times before; they only usually lasted a couple of days or occasionally a couple of weeks. I had made my choice and was going to stick with it. I supposed this was Tommy’s way of processing the break-up. I owed him the right to see that through. The journey lasted around twenty minutes and throughout it Tommy made me lie across the back seats with a jacket over my face.

If I had to guess, I would say I’m somewhere near Blackheath, or Lewisham, or maybe Sydenham. I didn’t get the sense that we had crossed to north of the river. When we arrived, he put a bobble hat on my head and pulled it right down to below my mouth. Through the holes in the weave of the hat I could tell that we walked around to the back of the house and went through two doors before descending some concrete steps down into the basement.

‘Take the hat off,’ instructed Tommy. I could hardly see him in the darkness. ‘This is your new home. I hope you like it. Hope you find the time to think about what you’ve done and what the consequences might be for you.’

‘Listen, Tommy, I’m sorry, really sorry, but—’

‘Oh shut the fuck up, princess, and let me tell you, whatever happens to you will be nothing to what happens to that wanker you’ve shacked up with. That, my darling, is a promise.’ With that, he turned away and slammed the metal-faced door behind him.