I bought a bag of prawns from Tesco’s and shoved them in a box of her favourite clothes.

That’s gross – but funny, Taz replied. You are so bad.

A giggle bubbled up Morgan’s throat as she typed. They’ll stink by the time she unpacks the box. Nice housewarming present.

A speech bubble popped up on the screen as Taz swiftly typed a reply. Aren’t you worried she’ll find out? She’ll know it was you.

As usual, he was looking out for her.

So what? Morgan replied. Dad won’t let her say a word against me. Karma’s a bitch.

Flexing her fingers, she waited for a response. None came.

The sounds of the city filtered through the hotel room window as she willed some text to appear on the screen. Stashing the prawns was one of many pranks she’d played on Naomi since they had met. She didn’t know if it was her stepmother’s journalistic training that kept her calm or if the woman was a born doormat, but nothing seemed to faze her. She had absorbed everything Morgan said and taken it on the chin. But it was early days, and Morgan enjoyed testing her boundaries. Something would make Miss Prim and Proper snap.

Her mobile phone beeped with a text from her dad. On my way, be back soon.

The crease in Morgan’s forehead eased. She had her dad in the palm of her hand.

As the room grew dark around her, she stretched over to switch on the bedside lamp. She’d persuaded her father to book the executive suite of the swish London hotel. He would have booked the presidential, if she asked for it. He would have given her the world. Right now, he was the only constant left in her life. When you moved schools as much as she did, your friends fell away. She had only stayed with her mother because she needed looking after. But now, despite Harmony’s brain scans appearing clear, her depression was so deep that she wouldn’t speak to any of them. Perhaps she didn’t want to rejoin the world. Morgan could sympathise with that. The stress of their last meeting formed a tight band over her chest. After being transferred to the private clinic in Glasgow, Morgan thought her mother would improve. But Harmony had lain in the clinic bed, her eyes glazed over as Morgan gave her a hug. Now, every minute that passed, Morgan felt guilty for not being by her side. Why was she beating herself up? It was not as if Harmony was Mother of the Year. But she loved her for the woman she was on her good days. She knew she was in the best place. Her father had paid for the best of private care. As a line of text marched across the screen, Morgan returned her attention to Taz.