‘Who’s for shots?’ Jack asked.

‘Christ, Jack, we’re not twenty-one,’ Angie replied.

‘Oh, come on, Ange, it’s New Year’s Eve! One little shot won’t hurt.’

‘Not for me,’ Angie said.

Jack looked at Alan. ‘Al, mate?’

‘Not a chance.’

Finally, he looked at Sophie. ‘Come on, Brennan, don’t let me down.’

Why not? she thought. The children are asleep. After a momentous year, why shouldn’t I go out with a bang? She looked at Jack conspiratorially and grinned. ‘Go on then!’

Jack beamed and dashed off to get the tequila. Sophie watched him as he diligently prepared lemons and salt before ferrying everything over to the table and passing a shot glass to her.

‘One, two, three, cheers!’ he said as they both lifted a glass to their lips. Sophie swallowed it in one go and winced, almost gagging. ‘Jeez,’ she said, wiping her eyes. ‘There’s a reason why I don’t do this anymore.’

‘I’ll get us another one,’ Jack announced, heading back to the kitchen.

Before she could protest, Sophie got the sensation of being watched again and saw Indie staring at her from the corner of the room. She looked around at the others, but they were chatting away and didn’t seem to have noticed. When she glanced back at Indie, she was looking down at her phone. Had she imagined it? The tequila sloshed around her stomach and she felt queasy, but then Jack hijacked the stereo and put ‘Gangnam Style’ on for the third time that evening and everyone got up to dance. She joined in and tried to forget about Indie.

By midnight, she was half-cut and declaring to anyone who would listen that she hadn’t had this much fun in ages. As the amount of alcohol she consumed increased, her anxiety about being around Angie decreased. They made their way unsteadily to the den so that they could watch the countdown and fireworks on television. Benji and Indie, who had disappeared to text their friends, rejoined them.

Sophie smiled, enjoying her drunken buzz. Change lay ahead but everything was going to be okay. More than okay. She couldn’t wait. She started counting down.

‘Ten, nine, eight, seven… Happy New Year!’

She turned to Angie and hugged her first before moving on to Alan.

‘Happy New Year, Al!’ she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

‘You too, Soph,’ he replied.

She looked for Jack who grabbed her and picked her up, spinning her around. ‘Happy New Year, Brennan,’ he said.

She laughed with delight and pulled away from him to wish Benji and Indie a Happy New Year. But just as she was about to move towards them, Indie stepped forward.

‘I’d like to propose a toast,’ she said, looking around the room at each adult, one by one. When her eyes fixed on Sophie, her hairs stood on end as she realised what no one else had yet. Indie was about to do something bad. Very bad.

‘Lovely!’ Angie exclaimed, beaming.