Mills was looking down at her phone anyway. “Fine, I guess. Although Olivia was being a right bitch all day. Then she blew me off after school to go and hang out with some guy she’s just met.”

“Oh, that’s not good. Cup of tea?” Helen filled the kettle, fussed about wiping down the already clean countertop, trying to stop the ridiculous tears she could feel hovering on her eyelashes.

“Yeah, thanks. I’ve got loads of work to do, a test tomorrow.”

“Ok, well, best you get to it then.”

Would Matt tell Mills he had found her snooping? Probably. He liked to get a rise out of Mills as much as Helen.

Will it ever stop feeling like it’s them against us?

“Matt is upstairs with Diana and he’s in one of his moods,” Helen said.

Mills rolled her eyes. “I’ll stay out of his way. And she’s a right cow. What does he see in her?”

“Is she?” Helen asked innocently. “Why do you say that?”

“I dunno, she’s just…” She shrugged. “Weird, I guess. She tried to be friends with me last year, but she’s the year ahead of me and I just thought it was a bit creepy, you know? She was asking questions all the time, like I was being interviewed, but she never wanted to tell me anything about herself.” She shrugged again and then looked up from her phone. She tilted her head. “Are you ok, Mum?”

Helen smoothed out the frown lines on her face and smiled at her, “Yes, fine, all good. Just trying to stay out of their way too.”

Her eyes were boring into her. “You’re scratching at your arm.”

Helen looked down and saw that she was, her nails scraping across her forearm, leaving angry red lines. “Oh, I—” The kettle clicked off loudly and Helen busied herself with the tea, but her brain was swirling in ever tightening circles.

Mills disappeared upstairs with her bag over one shoulder and her mug of tea in her hand. Helen watched her go, then locked herself in the downstairs cloakroom, knelt in front of the toilet and made herself sick, her fingers probing, tickling the back of her throat, punishing herself for her overindulgence, then relishing in the calming relief when her stomach was empty again.

She took a minute to steady herself, breathing deeply, wiping her eyes, splashing more water on her flaming cheeks. She was still not sure what to make of what Mills had said about Diana, but purging herself had given her a moment of clarity.