58 Nick
‘Nick, come in,’ she says. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Yeah, fine,’ I say. ‘I went for a walk. Trying to clear my mind, you know. I was passing so thought I’d pop by and say hi.’
‘Oh, right. Well, I was just off to bed in a bit. Long day tomorrow. Do you want a drink or something?’
‘Just a glass of water would be great,’ I say, my throat parched from the run.
‘Nothing stronger? You’ve had a couple already. I can smell it. I thought you’d cut down.’
I smile and let out a small chuckle.
‘Rumbled. Go on, then,’ I say.
We walk through into her living room. It’s paining me to have to go through this charade, knowing that Ellie is probably sitting up in the attic wondering what’s happened. Every fibre of my being wants to just take Emma clean out, right here and now, and rush upstairs
