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The doctor’s soothing voice kept coming. “I tried to call you. I had your number from when you came in with the man… I mean, George. But your phone just rang out and… anyway, I wanted to see that you’re okay. I finished my shift and decided to drive by. Your light was on. God, that sounds a bit creepy now, shit. I really shouldn’t be here, but…”

Alice listened, almost mesmerised by the way Ash’s subtle Northern accent bumped up the ends of her sentences.

“Alright then. Well, you’re in there, so I guess you’re okay. If you’re not, then you know where to find me, or you could call the hospital.” The sound of the soft voice faded into footsteps descending the stairs.

“Wait.” Alice unbolted the door and pulled it open a crack, enough to peer through, but not enough to reveal her attire, or lack thereof. “Thanks for coming by. That was kind of you. I, er… I lost my phone, but I’m okay?—”

“You don’t look okay.” Ash’s face matched the mental image Alice’s mind had conjured moments before, her striking features etched with concern.

“No, I don’t suppose I do. But I’m fine, really. I just needed a good cry and now I’m all cried out.” Alice attempted a smile, but it felt like her face had forgotten how.

“Hmm. I know it’s late, or early, or whatever, but do you want to finish that chat we started earlier?”

“I, er…” Alice glanced down at her bunched-up duvet. She looked like a human burrito, hardly fit for entertaining. But here was a doctor on her doorstep, offering to listen, with no apparent agenda other than kindness.

“Look, sorry again to disturb you.” Ash turned to leave. “I’ll go, but if you want to talk then?—”

“No, wait. I, er… I’d like to talk, if you don’t mind. I need a moment to put something on under this duvet, though.”

Ash puffed out a laugh of realisation, her cheeks colouring ever-so-slightly.

“And you’ll have to excuse the state of the place. It’s a bit untidy. I need to?—”

“Shh! I didn’t come to inspect your flat.”

Alice grinned. “Okay, but even so — give me two minutes.” She closed the gap until the lock clicked and scurried back down the hallway, the puffy duvet tangling around her bare legs, almost tackling her to the floor.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Alice muttered. She shrugged off her duvet cocoon and gooseflesh prickled her skin in protest. In haste, she hopped into a pair of dusky pink lounge pants and pulled on the matching sweatshirt. The plush material hugged her curves in all the right places; more flattering than the duvet had been, at least.

Alice darted around the flat, gathering the many items of discarded clothing into her arms, before stuffing the bundle in the overflowing laundry basket in the bedroom.Tomorrow’s problem.

In the lounge, Alice drew the thick velvet curtain, shutting out the streetlights, and flicked on another low-light to add to the dim glow of the lamp. She plumped the cushions and lit the candle on the coffee table to suck any staleness from the air. Stepping back, she cast an eye over the room and, in a quick move, blew out the flickering flame.Too much. Don’t be too much.A small plume of smoke curled in the air and Alice wafted it away with her hand.

She released a long calming breath and padded back towards the front door, stopping for a quick check in the hallway mirror —

“Christ!” Alice frantically dabbed at her blackened eyes, makeup smudged around them yet again. She sighed at the useless effort, and put her fingers to better use, scrunching her loose curls; they always bounced back better than she did.

“Oh, bollocks to it, she’s seen me worse than this,” she muttered to herself.

Alice flung the door open wide this time. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” She smiled and stepped aside to welcome Ash into her home. “You weren’t wrong before about the state of me.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, but I could see you’d been upset.”

“That’s two nights in a row now that you’ve seen me in a mess.”

Ash bent to remove her trainers.

“You needn’t worry about that,” Alice said, although secretly glad.

“No, it’s polite, and besides, my mum would be horrified if I didn’t.”

A smile spread on Alice’s face, at least until Ash held something out to her at arm’s length.

“It was on the floor, I, er…” Pinched between her thumb and forefinger was a black thong. Alice’s black thong.Oh, for fuck’s sake.

Alice snatched her underwear and stuffed it into her pocket, her stomach sinking in mortification. “Oh God, see, I told you the place was a state.”

Ash chuckled, a warm laugh which Alice couldn’t help but echo with her own.