For a long time after Zadie disappeared, Chloe kept looking for her. She went to the History of Art department, but they told her they couldn’t release details about another student. She left messages on Zadie’s voicemail until the mailbox was too full and she couldn’t leave any more. Sent text after text after text. She wrote letters to Zadie’s parents’ house, addressed to Zadie, addressed to her parents. She disguised her handwriting on the envelope. She even found an email for Zadie’s father at work and sent him a missive pleading with him to tell her that his daughter was okay. She harboured hopes of going to their house, of turning up on the doorstep and somehow being able to tell Zadie how sorry she was. Rav told her not to, and she knew that he was right. Zadie clearly didn’t want to be found. She still dreamed of her most nights. Long, banal dreams of walking around Archer Crescent, washing up glasses in the kitchen, helping Zadie to pick an outfit.

After three weeks of concerted effort she received a very short email from Zadie’s parents telling her that Zadie wasn’t coming back to university and that she would get in touch with Chloe if and when she was ready. Its tone frightened her. Reminded her that Zadie’s family were powerful, that they were real adults. She had burned with shame after reading it, horrified by the idea that they might know what she had done, or rather what she hadn’t done. She told herself over and over again as she lay awake at night, her heart pounding with guilt, that she hadn’t done anything wrong. But she didn’t believe it.

The weeks wore on and, finally, the Easter holidays came. Then the summer term. And before long, Chloe was spending two days packing up her bedroom – the bedroom that she and Zadie had in some sense shared. She got a lift back to Surrey with Lissy, who lived nearby, and when she arrived back at her parents’ house it seemed smaller, just like the cliché always said.

Lissy helped her to unload her things, made polite conversation with her mother, who seemed charmed and relieved in equal amounts, then threw her arms around Chloe.

‘I’ll call you next week and we can find a date to go house shopping. We can do a proper Ikea trip! I’m so excited!’