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“And ever since,” Izzy went on. “Joachim won’t go near the airing cupboard.”

Alli puffed out a breath. “Right,” was all she said. Mostly because she hadn’t been listening in the slightest to what Izzy had been saying. But also because at least speaking a word gave her something to do.

“So, you want to, I don’t know, explore the grounds or something?” Izzy said.

Finally, Alli turned around to look at her. She looked better than she had the day before. Her face was less pale, the bags under her eyes less pronounced. She looked like she’d slept for the first time in years, which given that every single story she told was about her kids could well be true.

“No,” she said shortly.

“Oh,” said Izzy. Her blue eyes looked unsure. “Well, um, maybe we could see if there’s a TV or something?”

Alli breathed out through her nose. “No.” This was her keeping her temper. Proving that she didn’t need to be here.

“Well, why don’t you tell us all why you’re here, then?” Izzy pressed.

Alli sucked at her teeth and then figured what the hell. It wasn’t like Lex the interfering therapist was around to eavesdrop on everything. “No and no,” she said. “What part of no exactly is it that you don’t understand?”

Izzy’s mouth flapped open and closed. “Um, okay, I was just trying to be friendly.”

“Well don’t,” barked Alli. “We’re not friends and we’re not here to be friends.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” piped up Julia. She was perched on the edge of a couch. “I think we can be friends. It would probably be easier if we trusted each other.”

Alli rolled her eyes. “Trust. Right. Well, why don’t you trust us with the reason that you’re here?” she asked. “You look like my grandmother, and barring bodies under the bed, I don’t see a reason why you should be here at all. What did you do? Tell your milkman that you wanted blue top not red? Ask the bingo caller to raise her voice?”

Julia blushed. “I’m not sure now’s an appropriate time to discuss that.”

“Why not? If we’re all going to be friends, then at the very least we should share our darkest secrets,” Alli pushed. “Isn’t that what friends do?”

“Come on now,” said Charles, who was sitting at the other end of the couch. “Let’s all calm down.”

“Calm down? Look at you, you little peace-maker. It’s easy to see why you’re here. You couldn’t stand up against whoever it was that dumped you here,” Alli said. She felt a familiar acidity in her stomach, rising up to her throat. It hurt, but in a pleasurable kind of way, the kind of pain that reminded her thatshe was still herself.

“That’s not what happened,” Charles said quietly.

“Don’t pick on him,” rumbled huge Marcus from an armchair.

“Or what?” Alli asked. “You’ll pull my arms off and hit me with the soggy ends?”

Marcus scowled at her but didn’t move.

“See? That’s the problem with programs like this,” Alli said. “They assume that anger is a problem when it doesn’t have to be. There’s nothing wrong with standing up for yourself, with getting what’s yours, making your voice heard. But all these programs do is teach you how to lie down and be polite.”

“Not a problem that you’re having then,” Marcus said.

Alli eyed him and then half-smiled. “There, at last, someone who can speak a truth. No, it’s not a problem that I have. I know how to get what I want, which is more than I can say for the rest of you.”

“I don’t think you should be talking like that,” Julia said from the couch.

“And why not?” asked Alli.

“Um, because it does sound a bit like you’re giving us anti-therapy,” Izzy said doubtfully. “We’re all here to work on our issues, I’m not so sure you should be talking like that in front of us, pushing us in the other direction, if you know what I mean.” She laughed. “You sound like Joachim trying to get Janelle to steal a biscuit after I’ve already told her no.”

Alli rolled her eyes. “Honestly, not everything’s about your children.”

“Enough.” The word was short, sharp and loud and it took everyone a moment to realize that it was sad Charles that had spoken.

“The dragon awakes,” Alli said, half to herself.