Maybe it was having her own space, or growing up, or simply a case of absence making the heart grow fonder but somewhere along the way her feelings towards her mother had thawed. Whatever crap Indie had thrown at her Angie had never reciprocated with anything but love and empathy. When Indie had demanded that she sign the modelling contract her mother had agreed without protest, even though Indie knew that she would have much preferred her to go to college first. She had called and texted Indie regularly, never giving her a hard time when she didn’t respond for days on end. And when Indie, who got too big for her boots and started turning down modelling jobs she deemed beneath her, had run out of money and found herself back on her mother’s doorstep, she had welcomed her with open arms.

It was then that they had started to repair their damaged relationship. These days they got on pretty well and although Indie spent much of her time on the road, she looked forward to checking in with her mum whenever she was back in London.

She thought about Freddy, her slightly nerdy and amazingly good-natured kid brother, and this girl who had been tiny when it had all kicked off. It was some weird fate that they had found each other again after all this time. Or was it karma? She wasn’t sure but she knew one thing – the past had finally caught up with her and it was time to face her demons.

‘Do you know what, Freddo? I’m not missing this showdown for love nor money. Change of plan, I’m coming home for Christmas.’

After she hung up, she looked down and saw that the crew had disappeared. They’d probably gone off to a bar already. She stood out on the balcony for a while, watching the sea instead. Her mother had made a big mistake all that time ago but so had she.

And it was time to make amends.

25

Katie looked out of her dorm room window and saw her parents hurrying across the quad towards her building. She reached for her bags and cast a glance around her room, feeling forlorn. It was only for a few weeks, she reminded herself, then she would be back again.

In the three months since she had moved to Oxford, her life had changed beyond recognition. She loved her parents and was looking forward to spending Christmas with them, but she was also being wrenched away from the place – and people – that she had quickly grown to love. And going home also meant telling her parents about Freddy, which she was dreading. She had to resist the urge to barricade herself inside and refuse to leave.

With one last glance around her room, she let herself out, locked the door and made her way down the stairs to meet her parents. Her phone beeped and she took it out of her pocket and read the message. It was from Freddy.