‘The year after that I met Poppy’s dad,’ I continued. ‘Like I said before, he wasn’t up to much. He had no job because he’d barely been to school, so no one would give him one. He made a bit of cash dealing drugs and he nicked what he couldn’t pay for. He was smart, though, and he had charisma. People wanted to be round him, you know, so when he started paying attention to me I was kind of flattered. I was beyond making good choices for myself at that point. He was nice to me and that was all I cared about. No matter what he did, I just stuck around. Looking back, I can see that I only hung around with him because I’d lost sight of what was important. I was in bits, really, after everything that had happened, and I couldn’t see a way of clawing my way out. I knew Craig was bad for me, but I couldn’t cut myself free because without him I’d have had nothing, and I couldn’t bear that. Even though I knew I was running with the wrong crowd, I thought it was better than the alternative. But then I fell pregnant when I was twenty and Craig got sent down, so that was that. I was on my own again and I just had to make it work for Poppy’s sake if nothing else. So I started to build myself back up from rock bottom, one brick at a time.’

‘That’s so awful,’ said Clio, her mouth open and her eyes wide. She rested a hand gently on my arm but it didn’t bother me like it usually did if people came too close. In fact, it felt good to have someone touch me. ‘Was there no one you could turn to?’

‘There was this one woman. Mrs Newman. She was so kind to me. I met her in the church in town. I don’t even know what I was doing there – it’s not like I’m religious or anything – but it was quiet and safe and the door was open. I just wandered in, not really knowing what I’d find, and sat down to think.

‘Mrs Newman came and just sat next to me. She didn’t speak. I don’t think I even noticed her to start with. And then she just said, “Can I help?” That was all.’

I could feel a lump forming in my throat now and my voice was thicker than it had been before. A tap was dripping in the kitchen. Its regular pulse, as the bullets of water hit the stainless steel, mimicked the rapid beat of my heart. It seemed to urge me on. I swallowed hard, knowing that I needed to get the words out before I started to cry.