Chloe took Zadie a cup of Earl Grey, gently tapping on the bedroom door before entering. She was propped up on a sea of pillows, her hair clean and damp, tied in a neat knot at the back of her head. She wore one of Max’s long-sleeved T-shirts.

‘Hey,’ Chloe whispered, not sure why she was keeping her voice so low. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘I’m okay. You didn’t need to bring me tea.’

‘I’ll drink it myself, then.’

‘Don’t you dare.’

Chloe sat at the far end of the bed, leaning her weight on the baseboard and studying Zadie. Max had done an impressive job. Dirty sheets stripped, Zadie showered and changed, awake and fully responsive. It seemed as if he had probably done this before.

‘Are you okay?’ Chloe ventured after a little while. ‘What happened?’

‘It was stupid. I forgot that some of the pills they like me to take don’t mix so well with drinking. I was bored, I had a few drinks, got all woozy, went to bed, got sick.’

‘You gave me a scare.’

‘I know. I’m sorry. I’m wretched like that.’

‘It’s okay.’

‘Will you stay tonight? Max has to go to a rugby social. He can’t miss it or he’ll lose out on some captain thing. I don’t want to be on my own.’

‘Of course.’

‘And maybe for a few days?’

Chloe did some quick mental arithmetic, sketching out her essay deadlines on an imaginary calendar. ‘Of course I will,’ she said. ‘But we have to do some work as well has having fun, okay?’

That evening, Chloe found some pasta in the cupboard and a block of cheese in the fridge. She set about making them macaroni cheese. Apart from the ridiculous house and everything that had happened earlier that day, with the telly on in the background and the steam on the windows, it almost felt to Chloe as if she were living with normal housemates.

‘I think you’re the first person ever to use our oven,’ said Max as he picked a generous pinch of cheese from her chopping board. ‘I’m heading out now. Are you sure you’re okay to stay with her?’

‘I wish I could say that surprised me. We’ll be fine – go, have fun.’

‘Thanks for earlier, by the way.’

‘It’s okay.’ She paused, unsure how to ask more questions without seeming as if she was asking more questions. ‘It seemed like you’d done that before.’

Max rolled his eyes. ‘Many, many times.’

‘She does that a lot?’

‘Yep.’

Chloe stirred the sauce, grateful for something to do with her hands. ‘I hope you didn’t mind that I called Rav. I couldn’t think of any other way to get hold of you.’

‘Not at all. He drove me here in about fifteen seconds. Probably got a ticket coming his way, poor bastard.’

‘You like him?’