In the morning, the curtains in my room were open and the light from the sun streamed in. Mum was lying beside me, tapping away on her phone with one hand as she stroked my hair with the other. I rubbed my eyes which were sore, probably from crying, or from the fact I fell asleep with mascara on still, when usually I religiously removed my make up at night.

"Hey my girl." Mum whispered putting her phone down and wrapping her arms around me. "Are you ready to tell me what happened?" she asked quietly. I took a deep breath, before telling her everything I could remember. I told her about the dinner we ate before we went to the club, about the music and the lights and the dancing we did, then I told her about the girl and her friend and what she said and that I was so shocked that I didn't even ask her any questions. I told her about how I didn't feel right after that and when I'd finished my drink Ben gave me, I went to the bathroom and that was when I texted her. I told her about finding Ben upstairs with his friend Alex and being stuck still like a statue as I watched the girl on the floor screaming downstairs. And then I told her what Ben said, and how Ben and Alex laughed about it as the security guards turned the lights on and asked everyone to make their way out. I told her how I ran away as he shouted after me and when I got outside my chest felt tight and I couldn't breathe properly, until I was safely in the car with Peter. Part way through, Michelle had come in with a cup of tea for us both and sat down on my bed to listen to the rest of what happened.

"The police will be investigating this you know Ora?" Michelle said when I was finished.

"Yeah, I know. We had our ID's scanned when we went in. I'm sure the police will be in touch with everyone who was there." I told them.

"What are you gonna say Orlie?" Mum asked.

"I've got to tell them the truth Mum. Some girl is lying in a hospital somewhere with acid burns on her face." I said.

"Or worse." Michelle added.

"What do you mean?' I asked her.

"I've heard about people dying from acid attacks Ora, the acid, if it gets in their throat, it can have the same effect on the inside of their body as it does on the outside." Michelle told me.

It was later that morning as I lay on the sofa, my head resting on Mum's lap as she stroked my hair when there was a knock on the door of the back room. Michelle pushed the door open and walked in, with a man and woman behind her.

"Miss Connor, we're Detective Inspector Morden and Detective Inspector James, please can we have a chat?" I sat up on the sofa and pushed the blanket off me. I stood up from the sofa and so did Mum.

"Of course, yes, have a seat." I said gesturing towards the two dining chairs next to them.

"Can I get you a tea or coffee?" Mum asked as they sat down, both of them shook their heads. Mum kissed the top of my head as I sat down too. "I'll be just outside." She said quietly in my ear. I nodded as I watched her and Michelle leave the back room, shutting the door behind them. I felt alone, in that moment and I wished that Mum had stayed and held my hand, because I felt like I needed her with me.

"Miss Connor, we understand that you were at Fusion nightclub last night?" one of the officers began.

"Orla is fine really. Yes, I was." I told them.

"Can you tell us about what happened there last night?" the other one said. And I did, without hesitation I told them everything that I could remember about last night, exactly as I remembered it and exactly as I'd told Mum and Chelle this morning. As I spoke the officers both jotted notes in their little notebooks, while also trying to engage in what I was saying as well.

"Ben, do you know Ben's surname?" the officer asked.

"Ben Lewis and his friend Alex, his surname is Bertram, I think." I told them. Both of them frantically scribbled what I'd said in their notebooks, before exchanging a look with other.

"Orla, is it ok if we go and continue this conversation down at the station?" one of the officer asked. I hesitated. "You're not under arrest, purely attending as a witness. Just means we can get everything recorded so we don't have to keep asking you the same questions."

"Yeah, yeah of course." I agreed. "Is it alright if I get dressed first?" They both nodded and I left the room and went upstairs to put some proper clothes on.

"So?" Mum asked as I climbed into the passenger seat of her car outside the police station. I pulled the door shut as Mum placed her hand on my knee.

"She's dead Mum. The girl that Ben threw that acid over, she's dead. What Chelle said would happen, that's what happened to her. He killed her Mum." I said. Mum put her arm around my shoulder as we sat in silence in the car.

"Where's Ben now?" she asked, "Have they arrested him?"

"No, they don't know where he is. They're out searching. The club CCTV confirms it was definitely him." I told her.

"Come on, let's get you home." She said, before letting go of my shoulder and starting the car.

"Night night girlies, Night night Raffy, I'll see you in the morning." I said turning the light out and shutting the door of the kids' bedroom upstairs. I plugged in the night light outside their room before going downstairs. Mum was at a meeting at the bistro, Michelle was in the bar and Peter was over doing a shift at Streetcars. I made myself a cup of tea and turned on the TV. I could watch some Kardashian crap without Peter complaining.

There was a knock on the door of the back room halfway through the second episode I watched. The door opened and Ben was stood in front of me. I got up from the sofa as he shut the door of the back room.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I came to find you, see you, tell you I'm sorry for what I did." He said.

"It's not me you should be apologising to though, is it? It's the girl lying dead on a mortuary slab." I told him.

"But she told you lies Orla, she told you lies about me and I had to make her pay for that." He said as he sat down on the armchair.

"What lies did she tell me?" I asked.

"That I was still seeing her when I started seeing you, I know she told you that, but it was only a little while and we weren't exclusive, and I love you and I'm sorry." He said.

"She didn't tell me any of that. She told me that you were violent when she said something that you didn't like and that she was scared, but whatever she said Ben she didn't deserve to die for any of that." I shouted. As Ben was about to speak the door of the back room opened and Tally appeared in the doorway rubbing her eyes. She looked at Ben and then to me as she scuttled over to me before I lifted her into my arms. "I want you to go Ben please. The police are looking for you. Hand yourself in now and they might be a bit more lenient." I said.

"No, no, I won't go. I need you to listen to me. I need you to believe me." He shouted slamming his hand on the table as he stood up. Tally jumped in my arms as he did, and I felt her clutch on me get tighter as he shouted.

"No Ben, No, I want you to go, go." I shouted back as I held Tally tight to my chest and her head to my shoulder. Michelle must have heard my shout from the bar because she came running through. As she did, Ben went out the door and then out of the back door into the yard. Michelle pulled me into her and held me tight as she pulled her phone out of her back pocket and began to ring the police. Tally was heavy in my arms, but I didn't care, I held her close to me as Michelle did the same for me.

I took Tally back upstairs to bed once she'd fallen asleep in my arms and when I came back down, Mum had come home from her meeting and the two police officers that I'd spoken to this morning had come, after Michelle had called them. All of them were in the back room when I got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Sorry to disturb you so late Miss Connor, but we wanted to inform you that after your call one of our patrol officers caught Mr Lewis getting onto the tram and he's being taken down to the station as we speak. We have also arrested Mr Bertram this afternoon and both of them will be questioned tomorrow morning. After this, we may need to speak to you again, but both Mr Lewis nor Mr Bertram will be granted bail and won't be able to contact you." The police officer told me as Mum put her arms around me. I nodded as she spoke and then the three of us said goodbye and thanked the police officers and let them out of the back door of the pub.

I couldn't sleep that night, worrying about Ben and how he got in and whether he'd be back or not. I lay in bed for a while before eventually getting my laptop from my bag and opening it up. I sat in bed, replying to emails and looking for a new supplier for eggs, as that as exciting as my job got some days. It wasn't until Mum opened the door of my bedroom that I realised how long I'd been sat there.

"Come on you, turn that off." She said, shutting the door behind her and walking over to my bed. She took my laptop and shut it, putting it on the bedside table before climbing into bed beside me.

"I can't sleep, I was just trying to be productive." I whispered to her. She lay down beside me and pulled me into her, just like she did when I was little.

"You'll never stop being my baby, you know? You'll never stop being that little thing that was red in the face and lay in my arms so gently and so lovingly. I never knew when I held you in my arms that I could love anyone more than I loved your Daddy, and then I held you, saw you and I've never loved anyone more than you, my girl." She spoke as she gently stroked my hair and held her arms around me, slowly sending me to sleep.