Tom stands up and raises his hands. ‘I’m sorry but whatever you think you saw, you didn’t. You can’t have. Your mum has been putting ideas in your head, trying to make you believe in demons and witches – scratching at the door and sneaking around in the night. She’s messing with your mind, can’t you see that?’

I think about the vision I had and the girl I saw in the mirror last night. I don’t know how it’s connected to all of this, but it has to be. ‘It’s not just that. Something is happening to me. I don’t feel like myself, I …’ My voice cracks and I stop speaking, afraid of what I might say next.

‘Then get the boat back with me.’

We stare at one another and I want to tell him there’s no use leaving the island – the shadows found me on the mainland before and they will again. But I don’t because I know what he’d say. My mum isn’t the only one who needs help.

Tom puts his hands on his hips. ‘David is leaving in less than two hours. Are you still coming to speak to him, or –’

‘I said I’d come.’

I grab my bag and avoid his gaze as he gathers up his stuff. I wish I hadn’t told him anything now. Of course he wasn’t going to believe me.

When we get downstairs, my mum is standing at the kitchen stove. She wears a cheerful floral apron and her hair is pulled back in a neat ponytail. She smiles and waves a wooden spoon in our direction.

‘I’m doing scrambled eggs on toast. Hope that’s OK.’

‘Thanks.’

I pull out a chair and a rush of sadness fills me. This is what I should have had: a mum, a childhood, a home.

We sit down and Tom eyes her suspiciously, as if he’s expecting her to scramble his eggs in a cauldron. After a few minutes, she places two plates of food on the table. Her fingers brush mine as I take my plate and she looks at me and smiles. I wish now that I hadn’t gone to bed so early last night. There are so many things I want to know about her and my family, but with all the talk of witches, I didn’t get to ask.

We eat in silence, Tom leaving his eggs untouched and munching on the toast. We’re almost finished when she turns from doing the washing-up.

‘You slept OK?’

Before I can answer, Tom replies. ‘Actually, we heard a noise in the night.’

Her smile fades, replaced with a frown. ‘Oh.’

I glare warningly at Tom but he keeps speaking. ‘Ivy saw someone on the landing.’

‘What?’ She steps towards me and searches my face. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’