Matthew chewed his nails as he waited for someone to answer. It was the first time in ages he’d had the place to himself and this phone call was long overdue. Why weren’t they picking up? By the end of the fourth ring, he had bitten into his thumbnail and almost drawn blood.

‘Hello, Sanity Line. I’m Laura. Would you like to tell me your name?’ The voice was young and chirpy, irritating him even more.

‘Matthew,’ he snapped. ‘Call me Matthew.’

‘Matthew it is,’ Laura said, apparently unaffected by his outburst. ‘How are you feeling today?’

‘I’m not suicidal, before you ask. Because you have to ask, don’t you? You have to work that into every call. So here I am, getting it out of the way.’ His words were delivered like a spray of bullets, without pause for breath. He reminded himself to calm down. This was about him. He was the one in control.

‘We’re here to listen,’ Laura said. ‘What’s troubling you?’

‘Relationships,’ he said drily. ‘The cause of so much pain.’ Saying the words aloud reignited his anger. On days like these, his body trembled with the force of his vexation. He sloped into the kitchen, hoping a cup of coffee would help him calm down.

‘Has your other half got a name?’ Laura said inquisitively.

‘I can think of a few.’ He slammed his cup against the counter, waiting for the kettle to boil. Cocking his head to one side, another thought pecked his brain. Was she judging him? Wondering how many shades of messed up he was? ‘Do you think it’s odd, me ringing you, a stranger, about my personal relationships?’

‘Not at all,’ Laura said, the hint of an Essex accent on her lips. ‘Some people find it hard to talk face-to-face.’

Matthew liked the sound of Laura. As she spoke about the benefit of talking to strangers, he felt his anger subside. She seemed nice. Pleasant. Someone who would never ordinarily spend time with him.

‘I prefer the telephone too, more anonymity.’ He fell silent as he carried his mug to the kitchen table and took a seat. A friendly ear created a pressure valve on the worst of days. If he closed his eyes, he could pretend that Laura was sitting across from him and he was having coffee with a friend. In these snatched moments he almost felt normal. He imagined Laura gently smiling as she asked him what was on his mind. He told her it was not what, but who. ‘I met this woman online. Melissa. She was pretty, bubbly, sex on legs.’ Matthew sighed, feeling the weight of the responsibility bear down. ‘The thing is, she was married. Yet she met me for sex, even had the cheek to take off her wedding ring in front of me in the hotel room.’

‘And that bothers you,’ Laura said. It was more of a statement than a question.

‘You could say that. But I found a way of making her see the error of her ways,’ Matthew replied, his tone even. ‘I know that some people would view my behaviour as… inappropriate. But I didn’t drag her there. She made the decision to come, not me.’

Laura’s voice lowered, almost conspiratorial in its tone. ‘When you say inappropriate…’

Matthew imagined Laura raising her eyebrows as she deciphered the meaning of his words. He drew an intake of breath. ‘Oh, nothing for you to worry about. Nothing bad.’ He leaned on his elbow, basking in the warmth of Laura’s attention. ‘I like you. Are you new? Usually the call takers don’t say a lot.’

‘Technically we offer a listening service. We can’t tell you what to do. Usually you’ll find you hold the answers within,’ Laura replied.

‘It’s a back and forth struggle in my mind,’ Matthew said. ‘Take Melissa, for instance. She was dying to jump into bed with me, a virtual stranger. Then later she went all funny on me, like I was the one in the wrong. I knew I should walk away, leave her to make her own mistakes…’ He kneaded his shoulder. ‘But she deserved to be punished. All of them do.’

‘Have you told her how you feel?’ Laura said, concern etching her words. ‘When you say punished—’

‘Our feelings extend way beyond words,’ Matthew interrupted, enjoying the poetry of his phrase. ‘We’ve bonded.’ Entombed by his memories he recalled their last meeting. A scene that he could not relay aloud.

‘Hello? Are you there?’ Laura said, after too much silence had passed between them.

Matthew blinked, returning his focus to the call. ‘Sorry. I was miles away. Every time I think about Melissa I feel like I’m in a dream.’

‘Why do you think that is?’

‘Maybe I’m crazy,’ Matthew said calmly. ‘But I’m determined to keep going with this. People like her… they need to be stopped.’

‘I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. You’ve spoken about punishing Melissa, can you elaborate?’ Laura said, concern bringing an edge to her words.

‘It’s nothing more than she deserved.’ Matthew shrugged, even though she could not see him. ‘You know, when we met, she was much prettier than I imagined. Someone like me could never bed a stunner like that. I was tempted. A part of me wanted to forget my plans and have one night together. But then I saw her slipping off her wedding ring and I went cold inside. I told her to leave it on. You can’t walk away from commitment like that. She was wrong to try.’

‘What did you do?’ Laura said, trying to draw out the answers.

‘I told you, I taught her a lesson,’ Matthew replied. ‘Let her husband know what a slut he’s married to.’ Matthew tried to imagine the call taker’s expression. Was she horrified? Shocked? Or maybe she was bored, having heard it all before.

Laura paused for breath, her exhalation ruffling the phone line. Matthew smiled. She had obviously thought that he had told Melissa’s husband and left it at that. He swallowed back the chuckle that was rising in his throat.

‘I’m not here to judge,’ Laura said. But her words were constrained, and he heard her throat click as she swallowed.

Matthew felt a small surge of power. It was good to be the one in control.

‘I like you,’ he repeated, his smile carrying on his words. ‘That’s why I feel like I can tell you anything. I hope I get you the next time I call. I feel much better now.’

‘Are you going to be OK?’ was all Laura seemed able to think of to say.

‘Yes,’ Matthew whispered, his heart beating harder at the thought of the next delicious step of his plan.