Simone

Lewa tries her best to calm Simone. Dominic is not at home, she tells her, he has not been there, she promises. She has been watching.

“What do you mean you’ve been watching? How have you been watching? How long? Where were you?”

Lewa has dragged Simone into the public library a few streets away and they are huddled in a corner by the door. Both of them glance every now and then through the window onto the street, but for now it is quiet. Simone allows the woman to take her face in her strong, firm hands and to stroke hair away from her forehead.

“I’ve been here a few days, a week maybe. After your email, I had to come. But I didn’t want to knock when that man was there.”

“Terry. I’ve left him.”

“Good.”

“Lewa, I left a note. And Dominic… I don’t know where Dominic is. If he goes home… What have I done?”

“What have you done?” Lewa asks, standing back now and broadening her chest. “What you’ve done, my girl, is you’ve taken your turn. You’re finally taking your turn. About time.”

Six years unravel in a minute. With the same ease that Simone remembers, Lewa infuses her with strength and determination, that rare combination that Noah had in such abundance. Despite her fear, Simone feels anchored in a way she hasn’t in many, many years, and she is able to gather the presence of mind to call Polly, who is already on the way to the refuge with Jasmine. Simone and Lewa creep out of the library to meet them there, and on the way they attempt to bridge the dark chasm between them, tentatively winding their way back to those awful weeks after Noah died, and that fateful day when they stood either side of a closed door.

“I’m so sorry,” Simone says, over and over. “I was so selfish. And such a mess. I should have been there for Noah – I loved him, I did love him, you have to know that. And I should never have lied to you. I should have let you help. I should have let you take Dominic. I’ve been an awful, awful mother.”

But Lewa puts her finger to Simone’s lips. “It’s okay,” she tells her – once, twice. The third time she shakes her head. “Simone, we cannot change what’s been. But now, now you are being the mother you need to be. Now we find Dominic.”

As soon as they reach Polly, plans begin. She has gathered more information from the school and Simone is shocked to hear that Dominic has hit his best friend Jakub with a rock. Apparently, Dominic had discovered that Jakub had told a teacher about his cut hand, about many bruises before that, about suspicions he had. It was one hit, the teacher on duty had told Polly, one explosive hit, from behind, to the back of Jakub’s head, and Jakub had been knocked out by it. But the boy is not badly hurt and thankfully is not seeking to press charges. He has even offered to help search for Dominic. Polly calls the police to enlist their assistance too. “The important thing is that you don’t go back,” she tells Simone, looking her in the eye. “You must not confront Terry. We’ll find Dominic, don’t worry about that, we won’t let him get as far as the flat.”