She looked at the bag packed in front of her and then of the picture of her daughter and her, from their last holiday, on the side of her bed. Running away had seemed like a good idea only a few hours before but now she wasn't so sure. Sitting beside her suitcase, on her bed, she put her head in her hands and tried to search for a moment of clarity in the blur of emotion she felt. Her body felt numb, a major difference from her head, which felt about four times too small for her brain. It was without thinking that she found herself getting up and now staring at herself in her bathroom mirror. The face looking back at her wasn't one she recognised, she was pale, making the tear stains even more evident. Her eyes were dull and sunken, much like the bags around them. Her usual red lips, were also pale and beginning to crack. Any other day she'd have been devastated by the reflection she saw but today she couldn't care less, an obvious sign of her impending breakdown.

"What are you doing up sweetie?" Max asked as he returned to Zoe's from work to see Grace sat on the sofa despite it being nearly four o'clock in the morning.

"I couldn't sleep." Grace replied, stifling the yawn that she could feel coming on.

"You should have woken Zoe."

"No, I just wanted to think."

"And how's that going for you?"

"Does my mum not love me?" Grace asked suddenly as Max took his shoes off and was in front of the young girl in seconds.

"How about I make us both a hot chocolate and we'll have a chat?" Max asked, receiving a nod of approval from Grace before he moved to the kitchen, moving with ease in Zoe's house.

"Zoe and your mum will kill me if you burn yourself so be careful." Max warned as the pair sat back on the sofa.

"Do you live here?" Grace asked out of the blue.

"No, I live with my little sister and our friend."

"But you sleep here?"

"Only for just now."

"If you Zoe's boyfriend then you should not leave her." Grace commented, neither aware that Zoe had heard Max come in and was now standing just the other side of the door.

"I don't want to, you'll understand love and relationships when you get older."

"My mum doesn't have a boyfriend, does that mean she can't love?" Grace asked, leaving Zoe concerned about what Max was going to say to the little girl that might influence her opinions on her mother.

"No, there's different kinds of love sweetie. She loves you a lot, but something when you love someone so much you don't know how to show it."

"But I know how to show her that I love her and I'm only 7."

"I know but everything gets harder when you're a grown up. Do you think it's maybe time we got you to bed now?"

"I'm not tired." Grace said, stifling another yawn.

"Well if you lie in bed then you have a choice of sleep or not to sleep."

"Will you sit with me?"

"Of course, we have to be quiet though because Zoe is like a monster if she doesn't get enough sleep and you don't want to see that." Max told her, pretending to be a monster as he did so, sending Grace into howls of laughter.

"You're great with her." Zoe spoke softly as Max got into the bed and wrapped his arms around what he thought was a sleeping Zoe.

"She's asleep again, so we'll probably get a lie in tomorrow." Max whispered in her ear, knowing that Zoe had managed to sweet talk her way out of working the next day.

"Brilliant! Wouldn't want me acting like a monster, would we?" Zoe giggled softly before she fell asleep again, leaving Max in shock.