The Fishers sat round the family table that evening, for the first time in eighteen months. Karen had cooked spaghetti bolognese to keep things simple, but she had been so worried about making the meal perfect that the spaghetti was slightly overcooked and sticky and the bolognese ever so slightly too salty.

Karen was fussing around, checking everyone had enough to eat and whether the water jug was full.

'Mum, sit down!' said Jess, annoyed at how awkward she was making the meal.

'Sorry,' said Karen, quickly and sat down. She tried to eat some of the spaghetti but couldn't manage more than a few mouthfuls. She pushed her plate away from her, and Jess, Charlie and Harry gladly copied her.

Only Bex continued to try and plough her way through it, partly to make her mum happy and partly because she was so hungry.

'Bexy, it's OK, you don't have to eat it,' said Karen. 'It is pretty disgusting!'

'Nah, it's alright,' said Bex, grimacing as she tried to swallow another mouthful.

'Look, darling, why don't we order a takeaway?'

Bex smiled.

'Chinese,' said Harry.

'Indian,' said Jess.

Then the both looked at Bex. 'Come on Bex, final vote.'

It was family tradition that Bex always sided with Jess and chose Indian, but she hesitated.

'Indian, sorry Harry.'

'It's OK,' he said quickly, anxious not to cause any trouble.

'Are you sure? We could get fish and chips if you prefer?'

'No!' said Harry loudly. 'You always choose Indian, can't we just be normal again?'

Karen placed her hand on Harry's. 'It's OK darling, it's goning to take us all a bit of getting used to that Bex is back. So shall I order the Indian?'

'Yeah please, Mum,' said Bex.

Karen returned, and the family sat in silence for a bit longer.

'Shall we, er, watch some TV?' suggested Jess.

'Yeah, good idea,' said Charlie, and the whole family trooped into the living room.

Normally, Jess and Harry would do homework in their rooms or go to a friend's house, but they both felt they had to stay where they could see Bex, or they'd think it was all a dream.

So the whole family sat uncomfortably, watching Come Dine With Me.

Finally, the takeaway arrived and they could relax a bit, as they ate, still sitting in the living room.

When they had finished, Karen cleared up the dishes, and Bex followed her into the kitchen to help her clear up.

'Mum?' asked Bex. 'Can I have my old room back?'

'Yeah, of course,' said Karen, smiling. 'It's, um, it's still just as you left it.'

'Can I go and have a look now?'

'Yes, of course, darling. This is your home, remember, you don't need to ask.' She smiled nervously.

'OK, sorry.'

Bex left the room, glad to be away from the awkward stares of her family.

Karen sat down on one of the kitchen chairs and put her head in her hands. Her body shook violently with silent sobs. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but Bex's return had stirred up all her old emotions and fears and worries and she felt as though he whole life had turned upside-down.

Upstairs, Bex stood in the middle of her bedroom and turned round slowly, examining everything carefully, and remembering.

'Bex, you're grounded! I told you to be back by 11, and now it's 5am! Have you been smoking?'

'No, Mum! I haven't! Why do you always suspect me of doing that kind of stuff?'

'Because you absolutely stink of cannabis! Now keeps your voice down or you'll wake your brother and sister!'

'I'm fed up of you, Mum, you don't trust me! One day I'm gonna leave here and never come back!'

'Bex, I think I might be pregnant.'

'Yeah right, Jess, you're only just fifteen.'

'Bex, I think I might. I was drunk and I can't remember what happened, and now I'm really scared. What should I do?'

'I don't know, Jess, I haven't got time. I'm off out. Just buy a pregnancy test.'

'Bex, please, I need you.'

'Tough. Grow up, Jess.'

'I love you, Bex. You're special.'

'I love you too, Jamie.'

'Come on, let's get away from here. We can go to Manchester, just me and you. We can get a flat, and a baby, and start a family. Then there'll be no parents telling us what to do. We can do what we want. I love you, baby.'

'But I couldn't just leave my family. How would we earn money anyway?'

'I could get a job, it'd be easy. And if we have a baby we can get a flat off the council. It'll be easy.'

'No, Jamie, we can't. I can't just leave my mum.'

'Why not? Do you not love me? Think of everything I do for you, Bex.'

'I do love you Jamie… I love you more than anything.'

'Then come with me.'

The memories of what had happened in this room pierced Bex's heart like thousands of daggers. How could she have been so selfish, so naive, so stupid? She'd put Jamie before her family, putting all her trust in someone who shoplifted, dealt drugs and made young girls work as prostitutes. How could she have done that?

As the tears gradually dried up, she began to see a watery version of her sixteen year old life. She'd thought she was so grown up – all her boy band posters had gone and had been replaced with photos of her and her friends, usually on drunken nights out. As she looked at the photos, she realised they weren't really her friends at all. Not one of them had come to look for her when she had been missing – it would have been easily for them to track her and Jamie down. Not a single one had contacted the police to say they might be able to help. They were probably just scared of what the police might find out about them if they gave their details. They put themselves before their friends, as always.

She saw scraps of paper with coursework on, neglected and hardly done. One of them had vodka stains on it, which said it all about the effort she'd put into her studies. Red scrawls of E and F covered them, and not a single one had ever been handed in. Bex hadn't thought she'd even need GCSE's – Jamie had said he could get her a job without any. She hadn't even stayed around to sit the exams.

Bex lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. There were glow in the dark stars on it, still stuck on with Blu-Tack from when she was about eight or nine. She slid her hand under her school shirt and rubbed it in a gentle circle around her flat tummy. How could a baby possible be growing in there? She felt her hip bone protruding out and wondered if she was too thin for the baby to survive.

She realised with a start that this was the first time she had thought about the baby's welfare, rather than just her own. Was this really how selfish she had become? Whether or not she kept it, this tiny creature was entirely dependent on her. The thought terrified her, and she wished she could talk to the baby's father about what to do.

Bex picked up her phone and scrolled down her contacts to the father's number. Her bony finger hovered over the call button, but she didn't dare answer it.