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‘That the guy there walking along with his take-out coffee could drop dead of a heart attack.’

‘OK.’ Johnny exhaled slowly.

Mia turned to face him. ‘No, seriously, none of us knows what’s going to happen. Everyone says, “Enjoy the now because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” or “Who knows what will happen?” but you never, ever, in your wildest dreams imagine that your pregnant younger sister will drop dead in front of you. You could never contemplate that her dead, rotting body would be incubating a child. You could not imagine sitting in meetings with teams of specialists discussing how her brain is now pouring toxins into the bloodstream that will probably kill her own child.’

Johnny reached over and took her hand in his. ‘If I had brandy or whiskey or anything strong, I’d give it to you right now. But in lieu of that, breathe in and out slowly. You’ve had a terrible shock. Maybe you should ask the doctor for some Xanax or a mild sedative.’

‘I’m not taking Xanax.’

‘Mia,’ Johnny said, letting go of her hand to switch gears, ‘you’ve had a traumatic shock. You should consider taking something to help you.’

‘I’m not chomping down Xanax. I’ll probably become addicted to them and then die of an overdose.’

‘That’s why you need them, because you’ll stop catastrophizing.’

Mia smiled sadly. ‘Johnny, I’m not catastrophizing. I’m living in the middle of a real-life catastrophe.’

Johnny remained silent. What could he say? Mia was right. All of the years she’d spent worrying about bad things happening, well, now she was living right in the middle of one.

32

Riley answered the door to them. ‘Be quiet, I’ve just got Izzy to sleep.’

Mia reached out to hug her. Riley patted her on the back awkwardly, then pulled away.

‘Rob and Adam are only just back from the hospital. Granddad and Olivia are here.’

They walked into the kitchen where Charlie and Olivia were sitting at the kitchen table. Rob was busying himself, making tea and coffee for everyone. It felt so strange not to see Sarah by the kettle, bustling about in her kitchen. Mia felt a surge of pain. She sat down to catch her breath.

‘I miss her brownies,’ Riley said quietly, sitting beside Mia.

‘Me too.’ Mia smiled through tears.

‘It’s so weird here without her. It feels … I dunno, cold and lonely.’ Riley sniffed.

She was right, it did. Even full of people, the kitchen felt bereft of Sarah.

Adam wandered in and went to help Rob organize the tea pot, coffee pot and mugs.

Mia turned to Riley. ‘I’m not sure you should be here for this, love. It might get a bit intense,’ she whispered.

‘I loved Sarah as much as anyone and I want to know what’s going on.’ Riley’s jaw was set.

‘Let her stay,’ Johnny said. ‘If it gets out of hand, I’ll take her home.’

‘Forget the tea.’ Charlie sounded weary. ‘I couldn’t drink anything anyway. It’s been a really long and horrible day, solet’s get to the point. What would you like to talk about, Adam?’

Her poor father looked old and utterly worn out, Mia thought. She tried to imagine what it was like to be a parent and see your child in that state. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain of seeing Riley decomposing in a hospital bed. As a parent, you felt you had to protect your children, no matter what age they were. But this nightmare situation was beyond all the normal bounds, and there was nothing Charlie could do.

‘I would like a glass of sparkling water, if that’s all right,’ Olivia piped up. ‘My throat is very dry. I think it’s the heat in the hospital – it’s very dehydrating. Charlie could do with one too.’

‘Could she be any more annoying?’ Mia hissed under her breath.

Johnny put his hand on her leg. ‘Take it easy.’

‘If you had a slice of lemon handy, that would be super. It’s very soothing on the throat.’

Mia couldn’t take any more. ‘Adam and Rob are not going to start looking for bloody lemons,’ she snapped. ‘Dad doesn’t need a glass of sodding water with a slice of lemon, he needs a bottle of whiskey to deal with the shock of seeing his younger daughter in some horror show.’