A/N: I think this was one of my favourite chapters to write... ever. I suppose that makes me mean. Thanks for continuing to read folks.

Ooh, you wait a long time for me,

Ooh, you wait a long time.

Nikki ran down the path onto the pavement when she saw Diane's car returning. 'He didn't come in round the back.'

'I drove around, I couldn't see him,' Diane answered, ushering her back into the house and closing the door. 'Look, you never know, he might not've…'

Snorting, Nikki asked, 'Are you joking? He saw us, Di.'

'Yeah. Yeah, I know.'

'What am I gonna do?'

Diane moved back towards the door. 'Well, first we find him. Where would he go- to his mum's?'

'Maybe. I don't…' Nikki trailed off and leaned her head back against the wall. 'I don't know.'

'Nikki, come on, concentrate. You know the way?'

Nodding, she followed the constable down to the car, then having to return to lock the front door. Aside from giving directions she didn't look or speak to Diane for the duration of the journey; she couldn't. Diane at that moment represented another ugly phase in Liam's life and looking towards her would require some sort of recognition of the last couple of months. She didn't want to admit that she was responsible for this; even if she so obviously was.

Arriving at Liz's, Diane took the lead up the path, Nikki on her heels. Part of her was dreading the reception she'd get from her old friend, they hadn't seen each other in a few years now; and her concern was enhanced by the fact that if Liam had beaten them here and told her everything Liz was going to be worse than she'd ever been.

Diane knocked and twenty seconds later the door was answered by a tall thin brunette. The smile on her face faded as she looked over the two people on her doorstep, her eyes finally settling on Nikki herself. 'What do you want?'

'We're just looking for Liam,' Diane said quickly. 'Is he here?'

'Who the hell are you?'

'I'm a friend. Look, is he here or not?'

Liz shrugged and stepped out over the threshold. 'You're not saying much, Nikki.'

Looking up, she focused her gaze on her former friend. 'Hi, Liz.'

'Hi?' the brunette repeated. 'Three years and I get a hi? How's Doug?'

'Oi,' Diane put in. 'We just wanna…'

'Stay out of it, Miss whoever-you-are,' Liz interrupted, moving further forward. 'So how come you're looking for my son?'

Nikki shook her head. 'He's just missed an appointment, that's all.'

'Really? Not like Liam.'

'No, which is why we're trying to find him,' she replied coolly.

'Really?' Liz repeated, stepping forward again. Diane was now on the sidelines and, as Nikki glanced towards her, she found herself knocked backwards by a heavy blow.

She vaguely saw Diane launch herself at the struggling figure of Liz then, as her vision returned she saw her lover force Liz back into the house. 'Stay there,' Diane instructed angrily, looking back. 'Are you alright?'

'I think we should go,' Nikki answered, pressing her hand over her cheek and finding she was bleeding. Feeling nauseous, she returned to the car and waited for Diane to join her.

Once they were inside, Diane reached across to examine her cheek. 'It's not that bad.'

Recoiling from the touch, Nikki pulled a tissue out of her pocket and tended to it while staring out of the window. 'It's fine.'

After a moment, Diane sighed and questioned, 'Do you think he was in there?'

'No. That was just an old score she had to settle.'

'Where now? You want me to drive around a bit and see if we spot him?'

Being in that car at the moment was not a pleasant prospect. 'I should be at home, in case he comes back.'

Diane nodded and started the engine. They didn't talk and when they parked outside the house, Nikki was about to get out without a word when Diane said, 'I'll drive round myself, see if I can see him.'

Nikki slumped back into her seat. 'He was just getting back on track. After all this time: after Liz, after Clarke…'

'Don't go blaming yourself, what good is it gonna do?'

'What do I tell Doug?' she asked after a pause. 'What if he doesn't come back?'

'He's a teenager, he'll come back when he's hungry,' Diane answered unconvincingly.

'And supposing he does… What then?'

'Then you… I don't know.'

'I'll have to tell him,' she said quietly, watching the road intently. 'I'll have to look at him and tell him that I've been…'

Diane took her hand. 'Nikki…'

'I need to get inside,' she said, wrenching her hand free. 'He might be in there.'

'Let me know when he turns up,' Diane called as she closed the door.

Nikki didn't look back as she entered the house. Closing the door, she quickly ascertained that no one was in. Both Daisy and Rebecca had drama club and Andy was, naturally, nowhere to be found. If her gut instinct was correct, Liam hadn't been back. She knew him; he'd want to get as far away from home as possible. He hated facing up to things; she'd learned that from watching his experiences with Liz.

Going up the stairs, she washed the cut on her cheek. It wasn't deep, just superficial; it wasn't even all that painful. Splashing her face with freezing cold water, Nikki lifted her eyes to the mirror and stared at the pale, anxious face looking back at her.

She didn't even know who she was anymore. Six months ago she'd been perfect, happy with her life. Work was going fine, she had a great family to come home to; even if there were problems occurring fairly frequently in both places, she was still happy. Everything had been fine until Diane Noble had kissed her. One little moment; that was all it took to derail all her views on the direction her life was taking. Suddenly she'd been catapulted into a relationship she'd never wanted, and now couldn't extricate herself from. It wasn't just that she was cheating on her husband and her own two beautiful girls, she'd let Liam down something terrible. Hadn't he been through enough without her adding to it?

And what if she did have to tell Doug? How could she do it, what was she supposed to say? Ten years ago he'd broken the news to Liz that he was having an affair and then he'd been fortunate enough to be able to run straight to her. She had nowhere to run. She'd never run to Diane. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't do it.

Trying to reinstate some sense of normality in the house she started the dinner so that when the girls arrived back she was able to sit down and eat and listen to them talking about how great drama club had been. It didn't require much interaction on her part, which was fortunate because she didn't believe that if she was pushed she'd be able to keep up an impassive front.

Doug arrived home about nine. Nikki warmed up his food while he went upstairs, as he almost always did when he got home, to see how the kids were. He came back down, kissed her briefly, and sat down to his meal. 'Where's Liam?'

'Hmm? Oh, I haven't seen him,' she lied, feeling her stomach muscles clench. 'Well, I saw him leaving as I got home but not since then.'

Her husband checked his watch. 'It's a bit late for him. Have you tried his mobile?'

'It was switched off,' she answered. 'I'll give it another go.'

She went to do that while he ate. Though she didn't expect it to be on now when it had been switched off for the last couple of hours, she went through the motions of dialling. It went straight to voicemail, of course, and she couldn't help but sigh in frustration. Anything could've happened to him out there; he was barely healed from his last brush with violence.

'Still off,' she answered, returning to the kitchen and closing the door.

Doug put his cutlery down on his unfinished plate. 'This isn't like him.'

'I know,' she replied quietly.

He recognised something in her tone. 'Nikki, what is it?'

'I need to…' Walking over to the sink, she poured herself a glass of water to moisten her dry mouth. 'Doug, I need to tell you something.'

His chair scraped back and he stood. 'What?'

She didn't turn around. 'I don't know how to…' Trailing off, she took another sip of water then placed the glass down on the counter. 'I've been… I've been seeing someone else.'

There was a pause, so lengthy that she wondered whether she'd spoken at all. Then Doug said, softly, 'I know.'

She couldn't help but snap her eyes back towards him. 'What?'

'I know,' he repeated with a heavy shrug. His face was lowered, he was staring at a spot on the table. 'Did you really think I hadn't noticed the way you've been lately?'

'I thought you hadn't,' she answered truthfully, watching his shoulders rising and falling.

'Well, even if I…' He began then halted and looked up at her. 'So who is it?'

'It doesn't matter,' she said, turning back to the counter. 'It didn't mean anything.'

'I want a name,' he said, slowly and deliberately. 'I want to know.'

'I can't…'

'It's okay,' he interrupted with a tremor in his voice. 'I already know.'

Spinning back towards him, she felt her stomach unseat itself and found herself having to swallow quickly. 'What?'

Doug smiled painfully. 'She told me.'

Unable to comprehend that, Nikki leaned heavily against the counter. Diane had told him? When? Why? Why hadn't he said anything? Why hadn't she? 'What?'

He didn't speak for a more than a minute. Instead, he went to the bin and emptied the remnants of his dinner into it. 'A couple of weeks ago she appears on the doorstep. She said she was sorry,' he went on, emphasising the word bitterly, 'but she was having an affair with my wife. I just laughed in her face.'

Almost automatically, Nikki's mind flicked back to the day she'd discovered Jo Masters knew about her relationship with Diane. Her lover had said she'd 'show her' and then driven off. She'd thought nothing of it at the time; her mind had been too caught up with Jo telling her Diane loved her to give a second thought to Diane's threat. It hadn't even seemed like a threat, even if she'd thought of it as one she wouldn't have guessed that…

Diane had been strange with her the next day, come to think of it- she'd pushed her away. And Doug… That was around the time he began acting differently. She'd put it down to concern about Liam; apparently it was more than that. He'd reacted every time Diane's name was mentioned… Why hadn't she picked up on that?

'Do you love her?' Doug asked suddenly.

'No. No!' she answered quickly. 'I don't love her.'

'So you just slept with her because you were, what, bored?'

She closed her eyes to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall due to the look on his face. 'It wasn't like that.'

'You just couldn't help yourself then?' he questioned. 'Couldn't resist.'

Moving towards him, she reached out to touch his shoulder. 'I'm sorry.'

He backed out of her reach, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. 'I thought she was lying. Then I started listening, Nikki. She was always in the background with everything you did. And your Friday nights? I'm not an idiot!'

'What did she tell you?' she asked quietly.

'She told me she loves you. She told me you feel the same.'

'Well, I don't.'

'And she said you'd say that!' he said, laughing resentfully. 'I'd say she knows you pretty well.'

His broken face was too much for her to stomach. She turned and rested her palms on the counter, then stood up straight as she recalled the way Diane had accosted her in that very spot. 'I don't know what was wrong with me,' she said finally, willing herself to accept the argument. 'I didn't mean for it to happen.'

'You didn't stop it though, did you?'

'Why didn't you say anything?' she questioned, wiping away the tear that had just fallen onto her cheek.

She heard him sit down at the table. 'I was hoping it was a lie. I knew it wasn't. I know you, Nikki, remember? I saw you lying to Liz everyday.'

The mention of Liz brought her hand up to her cheek and to the next part of her betrayal- Liam. 'I'm sorry,' she repeated. 'I couldn't stop it.'

'You didn't want to stop it,' he argued. 'Just admit it!'

'I don't love her, Doug,' she said, through her teeth.

'Then why tell me?' he countered. 'I mean, I would never have brought it up. I was too busy burying my head in the sand. But you've told me: why?'

Her voice trembling, she muttered, 'Liam… He…'

There was a smash that made her turn around again. Doug had sent a glass flying from the table onto the wooden floor and was on his feet again. 'Liam? Where is he?'

'I don't know! He just… He went off this afternoon, I don't know where he went!'

Doug let out his breath angrily. 'And what did he see?'

She didn't want to answer him, she couldn't even look at him. 'He just…'

'Nikki, what did he see?' Doug demanded.

'He saw us kissing. In the car. Is that what you wanna hear?'

He pulled out his mobile. 'Have you even tried to call him?'

'Of course I have! He's switched his phone off!'

Obviously he didn't believe her. She watched as he dialled then slammed the phone back down on the table. Then he picked it up again. 'I'll call Liz.'

'I've already been to see her,' Nikki answered. 'He wasn't there.'

'Well, he might be now!'

Feeling it was best to let him do as he pleased, she went to the cupboard to get the dustpan. Kneeling carefully, she had swept most of the glass up when she heard the front door open and close. Doug was past her and out within a second, Nikki followed but stopped short as she saw Liam in the hallway with Diane next to him.

There was a long silence. Liam wasn't looking at anyone; Doug was watching Diane with barely concealed loathing and Diane, Nikki knew, was watching her. She didn't want to even glance in the direction of the PC, she didn't want to acknowledge her.

'Liam, go upstairs,' Doug instructed eventually, controlled anger in his voice.

He didn't need telling twice; he ran up them two at a time causing the house to reverberate. As it settled, Nikki raised her eyes to look at Diane; watching her so-called lover biting down on her lip. The act, that mere hours ago would've made her melt, suddenly made her want to attack the constable furiously. This woman, the woman she'd trusted, was nothing but a lying piece of… All that time and she'd known Doug knew. She'd just gone on as if nothing had happened!

'Where did you find him?' Doug asked after a long silence. The venom was evident in his voice.

Diane looked to him briefly. 'He was on a roof about a mile away.'

Doug laughed bitterly and shook his head. 'Great.'

'Nikki,' Diane said suddenly, 'are you okay?'

She didn't answer; even if she'd wanted to, she couldn't have said anything with Doug standing there. He just murmured, 'I think you should leave, don't you?'

'No, I don't,' Diane answered. 'Nikki, please, talk to me!'

She shook her head, not daring to look up.

'This is between me and my wife!'

Diane moved forward, gripping her arms tightly. 'I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I thought he would! It's no excuse, I know, but… Nikki, come on! I love you!'

Finding herself crying, she pulled away and retreated back into the kitchen. She vaguely heard Doug forcing Diane out of the door then heard his footsteps on the stairs as he obviously went to talk to Liam. Not being able to stop herself, she went into the living room and pulled aside the curtain. Though it was dark she could still see the outline of Diane's car; even the image of that made her feel sick. Letting the curtain fall back, she went to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Doug's whisky. Pouring herself a glass, she swallowed it in one long burning gulp. Then she poured herself another one and went to sit down on the sofa.

What Diane had said didn't matter in the slightest. You didn't do that to people. You didn't play with their lives, the lives of their families. How the hell had she kept up the pretence of Doug not knowing? Was she just a skilled liar?

Nikki detested herself. Hadn't she known all along that this would happen? It was an inevitability, this was why she'd wanted to end it after the Gavin Hendry case. But Diane had stopped her. It had been the look in her eye that had stopped her walking out there and then. There'd been honesty there and… and something else that Jo Masters had articulated nearly a week later. Love. But how could you love someone and lie to them like that?

She laughed aloud derisively. Didn't she love the kids, and Doug? And hadn't she lied to them? Was that different from what Diane had done? Yes, part of her argued, because she'd at least been honest with Diane. Who had she turned to every time things got rough in the last few months? Someone she thought she could rely on. Diane had been there! But apparently she'd lied through her teeth the whole way.

Doug came back downstairs twenty minutes later. Not looking at her, he poured his own glass of whisky then said, 'He wouldn't talk to me. You want a go?'

His tone was dangerously low and she knew if she answered him then she'd just dig herself in further, so she left the room, climbed the stairs and knocked on Liam's door. When he didn't answer, she walked in anyway and shut the door behind her. Seeing him staring into space on the bed, she sighed. 'Hiya.'

He glanced up then frowned at the sight of her. 'What do you want?'

'I need to know if you're alright, Liam.'

'Why, because you and her are pretending you give a damn?'

'I do,' she replied, ignoring the reference to Diane. 'I was worried when you ran off like that.'

'Diane says…' He paused and steadied his voice. 'Diane says you can't help it. She says I shouldn't blame you.'

'She shouldn't be telling you anything,' Nikki said.

'Because I'm a kid? I deserve to know what's going on!'

'I know you do,' she answered softly. 'I'm sorry you saw what you did. And,' she went on, pre-empting him, 'not just because I was caught out. It shouldn't have happened, and you shouldn't have seen it.'

'You told Dad,' he said. It was a statement, not a question.

'Yeah. I did.'

'Are you and him splitting up?' Liam asked, his eyes wavering around the room.

'I don't know,' she said truthfully.

He was silent for a moment. 'Do you love her? Diane.'

'Liam, it's complicated. I love you lot, you kids and your dad. You mean the world to me.'

'You didn't answer the question.'

'I don't love her,' she asserted.

For more than a minute he was quiet again. Then he looked at her briefly. 'Can you go now please?'

Nodding, she went to the door and then turned back. 'Liam, what were you doing on a roof?'

'I didn't know where else to go,' he answered, averting his gaze.

With a sigh, she went into the hall and closed the door softly. Hearing a noise to her right, she found Rebecca in her pajamas watching her. 'Hiya, sweetheart.'

'I heard shouting before,' her daughter said, wiping some sleep out of her eyes. 'Were you and Dad fighting?'

'It's okay now, you hear me?' Leading the girl back into the room she shared with her sister, Nikki tucked her in, kissed her cheek and whispered, 'Me and your dad love you to bits. Don't you forget that.'

Returning to the living room, she sat down heavily in the armchair. Doug glanced over. 'Well?'

'He didn't say much.'

'No, doubt he would.' There was a pause during which Doug swallowed the last of the whisky in his glass. 'Did you ever do it in our bed?'

Closing her eyes, she questioned, 'Why ask?'

'Because I want to know everything. Don't you think you owe me that much? So is that a yes?'

There was no point in lying, not now. 'Once.'

His face was impassive as he reached for the bottle on the table and refilled his glass. 'When?'

'I can't remember the date,' she said quietly.

'Well, was it before or after I had drinks with you and the team?'

'Why does that matter?'

'I want to know!'

'After,' she answered eventually. 'A week after.'

'Was that the first time?'

'Yes.'

Doug nodded. He was clinical, just as if he was dealing with a case. 'And every Friday night when I was out, you were with her?'

'Yes.'

'Why?' he asked calmly.

'What?'

'I said why! Why did you go round there every week?'

She sighed. 'You don't need me to spell it out.'

'No, but I want you to.'

'I enjoyed going there,' she said finally. 'Is that what you wanna hear?'

He ignored her question. 'Who started it? You or her?'

'She did.'

'Tell me,' he instructed.

She wanted to refuse, but he was looking at her so steadily that she couldn't. They were in the eye of the storm, she wanted to stay there for as long as possible. 'She kissed me at work,' she said after a moment. 'We were in the briefing room, just before the holiday. She came in and… and she kissed me.'

Doug just watched her. 'Go on.'

'I don't know what you want me to say! I didn't want any of it happen, I just… I got carried away.'

'But you kept going back for more! Why? I mean, if you just got carried away, that should've been it. Once to get it out of your system.'

'I couldn't stop it,' she said quietly. 'I wanted to. I tried to.'

'This is sounding familiar,' he said slowly. 'I gave this speech to Liz. Except I had the guts to admit that I loved you when I told her.'

'I don't love her!'

'Do you really believe that?' he queried angrily.

'Yes! I love you, I love our life together.'

'Yet you jeopardise it for, what, a fling? A bit of excitement? It doesn't sound very logical, does it, Nikki?'

Staying quiet, she watched his face. Ten years ago she'd fallen in love with his eyes, the way they knew exactly what was going on. She'd admired him, respected him, loved him completely. He hadn't changed over the years; he was still the same old loving husband and father, the man who juggled everything and still managed to come out on top of the pile. But if he hadn't changed then she had. It wasn't that she didn't love him anymore; because she did, she always would. So what was it? Just her searching for excitement like he said?

'What are you thinking?' he asked.

With a strained smile, she answered, 'About us. You and me.'

'I think,' he said after a pause, 'one of us should move out for a few days. Give us both a bit of breathing space.'

'You should stay here,' she said instantly. 'For the boys.'

His face was grim. 'Do I even need to ask where you're going?'

'I'm not going there,' she insisted. 'I promise.'

'I don't know what we're going to do, Nikki,' he went on. 'But if you go anywhere near her again, it won't be an issue. You understand?'

She nodded. 'I'll sort something out tomorrow. And I'll sleep on the sofa tonight.'

'No,' he objected. 'I will. I don't want to go up there just now.'

There were a few seconds of silence and then her mobile beeped on the table. Picking it up, she read the text message and instantly deleted it, all under his watchful gaze. Then she excused herself, purposefully leaving the phone in his view, and went into the kitchen. After clearing up the rest of the broken glass she went up to bed.

Laying in the dark looking at the ceiling she recalled the words in the text message that had burned into her mind.

I love you. I should've said it before. I'm sorry.

The next morning things were as normal as ever. In fact, if it hadn't been for the fact that Doug was hiding blankets behind the sofa as she made the breakfast, she would've been sure it had all been a horrible nightmare. It was Doug's turn to take the kids to school so she didn't have a chance to speak to him. She wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. Part of her didn't have a clue what else to say to him, and the rest of her just wanted to beg his forgiveness. It was better, probably, that they didn't speak.

Resolving to call her sister about possible accommodation during the afternoon, so as not to disturb her erratic sleeping pattern, Nikki went into work with one aim for the day: not to converse with PC Noble if she could help it at all.

Things appeared to go her way until midday, when she passed the constable in the corridor. Diane stopped her with a touch on the arm and asked, 'Are you okay?'

The files she was carrying fell to the floor as she flinched away from Diane's touch. Kneeling, she tried to collect them as quickly as possible whilst not looking upwards.

'Oi,' said Gina Gold as she approached. 'Don't just stand there, PC Noble; give your Sergeant a hand.'

'I thought I'd get in the way, Ma'am,' Diane answered, though she crouched down and half-heartedly passed over a couple of papers. 'There you go.'

Nikki took them without looking at her. 'Thanks.' Standing, she then retreated into her office and closed the door.

Her withdrawal was short-lived. A few moments later Inspector Gold knocked and entered the office. 'Nikki, is everything alright?'

'What's Diane said?' she asked immediately.

'Nothing.' Gina looked confused. 'Why, should she have?'

Nikki flushed. 'No. Nothing's wrong, Ma'am, honestly.'

'Well, you could've fooled me,' Gina answered, evidently unconvinced. 'Look, you know where I am, alright?'

She nodded and let out a sigh of relief when the door closed and she was once again alone. She couldn't stomach seeing Diane again. It was too painful; she hated to admit it, but it hurt. That betrayal, the one that wasn't supposed to matter because she felt little for Diane, stung like crazy.

The day was excruciatingly long. Luckily, she had a mountain of paperwork to complete, otherwise she would've been climbing the walls. Whatever happened, she knew she couldn't afford to see Diane again so she waited a long time before she exited the office to get changed and head home.

Thankfully, she was alone in the locker room. Changing quickly she was just about to send Annie a message to say she was on her way when the door opened. Turning, she saw Jo Masters standing in the doorway. 'Hi.'

'I thought you'd still be here,' Jo answered, coming inside and closing the door before she went on, 'I saw Diane earlier.'

'Yeah?' she replied as nonchalantly as possible.

'She told me what happened.'

'Right.' Closing her locker door, Nikki turned to leave and then she saw Jo's sympathetic eyes and her resolve crumbled and she leaned heavily against the row of lockers. 'I'm sorry,' she said, wiping her eyes with her thumb.

'Don't apologise,' Jo said, sitting down on the bench. 'Wanna talk about it?'

'How's Diane?' she found herself asking, though she wasn't sure why.

Jo let out her breath. 'Well, I had to talk a witness out of making a complaint about her earlier. She's been a liability all day to be honest. What about you, how are you doing?'

'I don't know,' she admitted, moving to sit down next to the detective. 'I'm moving out for a few days.'

'Was that your idea?'

'No,' she said with a shrug. 'But… It's for the best. Jo, did you… I know she's been talking to you about it… Did she tell you she'd told Doug?'

Jo shook her head. 'Not until today. Look, I know it isn't my place, but she's struggling, Nikki. You won't even talk to her.'

'I can't! Not if I want to save my marriage.'

'And you do?'

'I've got a great home,' she said after a moment. 'I've got a husband, four great kids. I need to.'

'That isn't the same thing. Can you live in that neat little family after everything that's happened with Diane? Honestly?'

She sighed deeply. 'I can't trust her.'

'But if you could,' Jo persisted, 'would you be with her?'

She shook her head. 'I couldn't.'

'But you'd want to?'

'Yes. Yes, alright! I'd want to.' Nikki bit down hard on her lip so she thought she tasted blood. 'But I've got to make my marriage work, Jo. And I can't forgive Diane for what she did.'

The detective nodded. 'I understand.'

Her mobile rang as she left the station. The display flashed up as Diane, and she considered rejecting it, but with a sudden sense of determination, she answered it. 'Can you stop calling me please?'

'I just wanna know if you're okay,' Diane answered after a moment. 'Are you?'

'What do you think?'

'Okay, look, I know I messed up, and I'm sorry…'

'I'm not interested,' Nikki said shortly. 'It's over.'

There was a pause. 'You don't mean that.'

'I want you to leave me alone,' she added. 'Unless it's work, I don't want to talk to you, and even then…'

'Nikki, please listen to me…'

'No,' she interrupted. 'I've listened to you enough. I mean it.'

Ending the call, Nikki wiped her eyes then walked off towards the main road to hail a cab. Home and then Annie's.

As she'd suspected, the house was empty when she got back. Doug had left her a note, saying he'd explained she had to work strange hours for a few days so she wouldn't be around. The note was curt, but she appreciated the fact that she didn't have to face the girls. Collecting a few things from the bedroom and packing them into an overnight bag, she then flicked the house into darkness.