It was dark when we finally arrived back outside the house – too dark to see my watch. Dad swept into the driveway and cut the engine, the headlights switching off at the same time, plunging the gravel of the drive into darkness. Mickey sat slumped on the seat next to me, his head resting against the window as he slept. Gently, I prodded him awake.
'Wha—what's going on?' he grunted blearily, blinking in the darkness inside the car.
'We're home,' I murmured, pointing outside.
'Oh, yeah.' Mickey yawned as he unclipped his seatbelt, and slid forward on the seat as he opened the door and jumped out. I followed, clambering out after him and shutting the door behind me.
The night air was cold, and still with that kind of silence that always accompanied the moon. We stood for a few moments, waiting for Dad to find his keys and watching our breath as it blossomed out of our mouths in little clouds, which then disappeared into the air in a way that painfully reminded me of the way the Doctor had disappeared hours before. I decided not to breathe until I was safely inside where it was warm.
There was the jangling of small pieces of metal clinking together, signalling to everyone that the keys had at last been found in one of Dad's deep trouser pockets.
'Took you long enough,' Mum complained, shivering slightly. Dad shrugged.
'Sometimes I swear these pockets are bigger on the inside,' he said, in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit. I looked at the ground as my eyes threatened to spill over. I refrained from kicking myself. This had to stop; I had to stop linking everything to him or I'd never stop crying…
'Are you staying again tonight, Mickey?' Dad asked, fitting the key into the lock of the door.
'Yeah, if you don't mind, Pete,' Mickey replied, smiling apologetically. 'Sorry for causing you any trouble…'
'No, Mickey sweetheart, it's not any trouble,' Mum said, hugging him. 'You're welcome here any time you want.'
'Thanks Jackie,' said Mickey, smiling gratefully. He glanced in my direction and I briefly hitched what I hoped was a smile onto my face.
Dad pushed the door open and went inside, closely followed by Mickey. Mum was halfway over the threshold when she glanced at my face. I hurriedly tried to dab away the evidence on my coat sleeve again. Mum sighed.
'Oh, Rose,' she said again, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. 'Come on, get inside, it's cold out here. I think a fog must have followed us home from the coast…' She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and directed me inside, shutting the door behind me.
I took off my coat, hanging it up on one of the hooks in the hallway, feeling Mum's eyes on me. I walked past her to the stairs, which I began climbing two at a time.
'Rose? What are you doing?' asked Mum from the foot of the stairs, her hand on the post of the wooden banister.
'I'm going to bed,' I called back, my voice flat.
'But – but wouldn't you like a cup of tea or something? Rose?'
I practically ran up the last few stairs, and yanked open my bedroom door. I slipped inside and shut it quickly behind me. It was a relief to be alone, without all the stares from Mum, Dad and Mickey, even if it was only because they were worried about me.
I closed my eyes and leaned against the door, breathing heavily. Then, feeling my knees give way beneath me, I slid to the ground and landed in a heap at the foot of the door, hugging my knees against my chest as I felt the hot, salty tears come pouring down again.