‘A bit,’ Mina says. She pushes her coffee cup into the mug holder. ‘Enough, anyway.’

Mina starts driving, and Freya sips her coffee thoughtfully. That’s all well and good, she thinks. But she knows that counsellors are duty-bound to report anything illegal. Talk about what she did to Amy Miller, and that’s it. Career over. She might even end up in prison.

But she can’t go on like this. Working all the time. She’s definitely not getting enough sleep. She remembers Robin when they first met – one look at him and his house and she knew he wasn’t functioning well. Overcome by grief and, as she now knows, the knowledge that he had been carrying an enormous load of guilt. What had changed for him since, that he’d managed to pull himself together? Had it been the simple act of confessing to her? The fact that she knew and understood?

She rubs her eyes. Her skin feels dry, paper-thin. She feels pathetic for being like this, not able to cope. And being around Mina makes it harder. She’s felt Mina’s eyes on her, scrutinising her reactions; she’s not the same carefree, chatty woman that Mina left a year ago.

To her dismay, she feels her throat constrict and her eyes grow hot. She swallows, trying to hold in the feelings, but they’re bubbling over, and there’s nothing she can do. She starts crying. Quietly at first, but then a huge sob bursts out of her.

Mina glances across from the driver’s seat, her face dropping in dismay.

‘Shit! Freya, what’s wrong?’

Mina indicates, pulling the car quickly to the side of the road. She turns in her seat, placing a reassuring hand on Freya’s arm as she cries, then digs in her handbag and pulls out a pack of tissues. Freya takes one, laughter mixing with the sobs.

‘You’re always prepared, aren’t you, Mina?’ she burbles.

‘Two kids under two,’ Mina says softly. ‘Got a full disaster recovery kit in this bag.’ She waits for Freya’s tears to subside.

Freya feels the anguish fade and wipes her eyes with the tissue. ‘I’m sorry,’ she says.

‘Don’t be silly.’ Mina’s dark eyes are kind and sympathetic. ‘What’s going on?’

Freya sniffs and shakes her head. But it’s hopeless to pretend with Mina.

‘Is it Josh? Did he do something the other night?’

‘No! No, Josh’s fine.’

‘Is it… is it Butler?’ Mina asks quietly.

Freya shakes her head again. She knows it is about Robin, of course, but not in the way that Mina’s implying.

‘No. It’s… I’m fine, Mina. I’m sorry.’

‘Look at you! You’re not fine. What’s going on? You can talk to me, you know that.’