The ward was quiet, the lights down low. The only noise was the beep from the monitors and the occasional shuffle or groan from a patient. Rory had got special permission from the ward sister to sit with Charlie’s mum long after visiting hours had finished. They had notified the police about Charlie’s disappearance, but Rory was clinging to the idea that he would turn up at the hospital eventually. She’d left at note at home to ask him to call her if he went back there, but she knew he was more likely to come here.

She and Charlie’s mum had gone through a list of all the places Charlie might be. The park. Harry’s house. The flat he shared with his mum. All the places that Rory had already checked. Rory and John had already checked.

After her performance over the kitchen, Rory was surprised that John had been so quick to help her. Mind you, that could just be because he liked Charlie so much. It had nothing to do with Rory, really. But he hadn’t even been narky with her – he’d been in the same level mood as always. It was possible that he hadn’t even noticed how awkward and annoyed she’d been when she’d asked him to leave the other week. Or was it that he hadn’t really cared?

Now wasn’t the time to think about John Prince, though. Charlie’s mum was motionless on her pillow, but her eyes darted around. They settled on Rory. ‘I feel so helpless.’

Rory took her hand. ‘Me too. I’ll go back home and get my car, start driving the local streets. Maybe he’s just walking around.’

Charlie’s mum shuddered. ‘I can’t bear the thought of him out this late. I told him that the last time.’

Rory couldn’t bear it either. In the past, Charlie had run from foster carers to be with his mum. This time he was running from Rory. What had she done?

She stood and took her coat from the back of her chair. Then Charlie turned the corner into the ward.

When he saw Rory, he stopped short and scowled. ‘What are you doing here?’

Rory almost cried with relief, but she didn’t want to scare him off. ‘I’ve been searching for you. We were worried sick.’

Charlie leaned over the side of his mum’s bed to kiss her and she put her arms around him and held him close. ‘We were really worried about you this time, love.’

‘I’ve told you that you don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. I always have.’ Charlie extricated himself from his mum’s arms and stood stiffly beside the bed with his back to Rory.

Rory wanted to explain before he took off again. ‘Charlie. I think I know why you left, but you got the wrong end of the stick.’

Charlie glanced at her and then turned his eyes towards the floor. ‘Nice try, Miss. But I’m not as stupid as you think. I heard what you said about…’ He trailed off. Not able to bring himself to say the words in front of his mum.

‘Charlie, listen to me.’ His mum took his arm and pulled him towards her, then placed a hand on either side of his face, making him face her. ‘Rory wasn’t talking about me last night. I am not going to die. This bloody disease might render me incapable of always being the mum I want to be, but it is bloody well not going to take me away from you. I promised you. Didn’t I? When we left. It was you and me, together. That hasn’t changed.’

‘I was talking about my mum’s friend, Charlie.’ Rory’s throat was tight but she managed to speak. ‘An old lady with Alzheimer’s disease, not your mum. Why did you run off like that without saying anything?’

Charlie looked unsure whether to believe them or not. His lip quivered but he stuck his chin out to calm it. ‘I heard you talking and your mum saying she wouldn’t want to look after someone new.’

‘We weren’t talking about you,’ Rory sighed, exhausted with relief and emotion. ‘And we would never say we can’t look after you; you have a room at our house whenever you need it.’ She looked at Charlie’s mum. ‘You are both welcome there.’

Charlie’s mum smiled at her weakly. ‘Thank you. But I’m coming home soon.’ She looked at Charlie. ‘No more running, eh Charlie? We’ve done our running for one lifetime. Time to start trusting people again.’

After making him promise that he would come home with her, Rory made herself scarce so that Charlie could have a private chat with his mum. Still not sure she had his trust, she waited outside the ward doors; unless he climbed out of the window, he would have to go past her to leave. While she waited, she tried again to call Belle but couldn’t get reception on her mobile on the ward. She smacked the screen and shook it hard. As if that was going to make a difference. Stupid bloody phone.

Ten minutes later, Charlie came out and they headed to the hospital exit to call a cab. As they got nearer to the front door, Rory could hear the ambulance sirens; their wail still cut through her like a rusty knife.

Charlie coughed. ‘Look, Miss, I mean, Rory: I’m sorry and everything. About tonight.’

Rory took heart from the fact he was using her name again. She put a hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry that our conversation made you feel like that. It was just bad luck. But your mum is right, you have to trust me, Charlie. You have to be able to tell me things. I’m on your side.’

They had reached the reception area and the outside door, but Charlie slowed to a standstill and began to scuff his foot back and forth across the doormat, staring at the ground. When he spoke, his voice was full. ‘I know that you are. I am grateful. Honest.’

Rory’s eyes filled. It was this place. It always made her emotionally unstable. She didn’t trust her voice, so she nodded. What she wanted to do was take Charlie in her arms and squeeze him tightly.

It was a while after visiting time now, so the reception area was empty. The shutters were down on the hospital shop and the chairs stood to attention, awaiting their next round of human misery and hope in the morning. Rory’s teacher sense made her realise that Charlie had more to say. He was still staring at his feet as he dragged the toe of his shoe backwards and forwards. He’d need new ones soon. This was new to her, the way boys went through clothes. Belle had been such an easy child to care for. Although she was certainly making up for lost time now.

All Rory wanted to do was get home, speak to Belle on the phone and collapse into bed. But she couldn’t pass up this opportunity to listen. ‘Do you want to sit down for a minute, Charlie?’

He nodded. They sat in the nearest chairs, those square, wooden, PVC-covered chairs only ever found in hospital waiting rooms. Was it some kind of sensory memory that made Rory’s stomach lurch? Surely they didn’t still have the same chairs here that they’d had fifteen years ago?

As soon as Charlie’s bottom hit the chair, his mouth opened. ‘It’s just been me and Mum these last two years. Since we… moved here. It’s just us, no nan or grandad or aunts or anything.’

Rory needed to tread carefully. ‘It’s quite a long way for them to come, I suppose. It’s Yorkshire you’re from, isn’t it?’

Charlie shook his head. He still hadn’t looked at her. ‘No. I mean, yes, we’re from Yorkshire but that’s not why we haven’t seen them. We… couldn’t risk it.’

He kept his head down but moved his face sideways so that he was looking at her. His eyes were red, and his face was pale.

‘My dad. He wasn’t a good man. He wasn’t a good man at all. He hurt her. My mum. He hurt her for a long time. And then when I got a bit bigger, he started to threaten to hurt me. That’s when we left. When he was at work one day we just packed up and came here.’ He gave her a watery smile. ‘When we got to the station, mum gave me a map and told me to close my eyes and stick my finger down. She said if it was completely random, he’d have less chance of finding us.’

Rory put her arm across Charlie’s shoulders. ‘You’ve both been so brave.’

Charlie swallowed. Then swallowed again. ‘But no one knows. No one knows about him. Mum never reported it. I told her to, but she was too scared. So, what happens…’ He turned his face back to stare at his shoes. ‘What happens if something happens to Mum? Will they call him to come and get me?’

Rory squeezed him tightly. ‘Your mum isn’t going anywhere Charlie, you heard her in there. But if your mum can’t look after you, we’ll fight to make sure that you can live with me instead.’

He turned himself into her as she enveloped him tightly and held him as he sobbed, her own tears dripping into his hair.

After Charlie had rubbed his face with the back of his arm – ‘I don’t look like I’ve been crying do I?’ – they ventured out to find the taxi rank. The outside of the hospital was quiet. Charlie pointed across the road and Rory followed his finger to see John Prince, dozing in the cab of his van. They crossed the empty road and she knocked on his window. ‘What are you still doing here?’

John yawned and stretched. ‘Couldn’t just leave you here, could I?’ He winked at Charlie. ‘You materialised eventually then, son?’

Charlie blushed and nodded.

Rory put an arm around his shoulders and then smiled at John. ‘I think we’ve got it all ironed out. Now I just need to go home and have a hot bath. I’m annoyed that Scott and Belle haven’t called me back, though. They must have got my messages by now.’

As she spoke, her phone finally managed to find a signal and it pinged. A voicemail from her ex-husband, Scott. Finally.

Rory had to press the phone closely to her ear because there was some kind of hippy music playing in the background. ‘Sorry, just got your seven messages. We’ve been practising our hypnobirthing exercises so I had the ringer switched off. Did you get confused? Because you said that you were looking for Belle, but she’s not due to stay at ours until the weekend? Call me back and let me know everything is fine.’

Rory looked at the message log. Scott had left that message four hours ago. An icy shiver crept down her spine for the second time that evening. Where the hell was Belle?