Mrs Johnson knew better than to question a Haggarty on their life choices. It was plain to see that Suzie had been going to fetch her grandmother, but why she hadn’t either been in a shelter or with her gran in the first place was anyone’s guess. Even if she asked the question, it was highly unlikely she would find out the truth. ‘I’m sorry, luv, but it’s dangerous for us to be out here, and I daresay your gran wouldn’t want to see you riskin’ your life for summat you can’t do nowt about.’

Feeling dead to her core, Suzie allowed herself to be propelled into the shelter. The warden, a different one from the man who had tried to bring her into the shelter before, shook his head in disbelief. ‘You’re damned lucky to be alive! You can’t afford to dilly-dally when there’s a raid on …’ He fell into silence under Mrs Johnson’s warning gaze. Realising that something was terribly wrong, he changed his tune. ‘Go to the back of the shelter and see if you can’t get your head down for a bit, it’s quieter down that end.’

Suzie did as she was told, a multitude of thoughts running through her mind. Perhaps her father had had second thoughts and gone back for her grandmother after all, but even if he had, he’d never have had time to get her down the steps before the bomb fell. This in turn led her to another thought. If he had gone back, then Suzie hadn’t just lost her grandmother, but her father as well. She sat down on one of the benches and curled up into a tight ball. Tears trickled down the side of her nose and she wondered how she would cope on her own. For the first time since Roz’s departure, she thought of the other girl. If Roz hadn’t been so deceitful, she would still be living with them, and Callum would’ve made Roz guard the jewellery and not his mother. Roz didn’t have any parents or siblings, so had nothing to lose. Her tears drying, her thoughts turned to revenge. She hoped with all her might that Roz would never find her parents, and that Felix would leave her, because as far as Suzie was concerned Roz didn’t deserve to live happily ever after.