We flew home on Sunday; Dad still teasing me and calling me a chip off the old block, Bea all puffy-eyed, and Lindsey’s lips pursed crossly like a cat’s bum. Mum didn’t hold back and gave me a comprehensive recap of effective alcohol and diabetes management, followed by a lecture on sleeping around, which boiled down to a bunch of Loose Women soundbites.

‘I did not bring you up to disrespect women, Jonathan. I don’t care that men can do that sort of thing without any feelings involved. A woman isn’t the same. There’s always an emotional cost when she has sex with a man that is not to be abused – and you’re not to take advantage of looking the way you do. That’s before we think of Cherry, who is a lovely girl and doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.’ She glared at me.

I said nothing as I swallowed that completely unfair assessment of me, and gross generalisation about men AND women. She couldn’t have been more wrong if she’d tried, and I felt angry that she’d tarred me with such a shitty brush. Mum, of all people. She knew I wasn’t like that. It really hurt. I wanted her to see how wide of the mark she was, but I didn’t know where to start and the more she went off on one about women’s rights, I began to wonder if perhaps what I’d done with Alex had made me into the kind of man she was talking about after all, and it WAS my fault. I could have said no. Yes, Alex and I had done a lot of stuff I now wasn’t comfortable with, but I wasn’t sure if I could honestly say it had happened every single time because I didn’t feel like I had a way out. Part of me had wanted it too, hadn’t I?

But mostly, I couldn’t stop thinking about what her friend had said.

You got rid of him then?

‘Jonathan, are you listening to me?’

I looked up at Mum and nodded. ‘It won’t happen again.’

---

I went back to school the next day, which felt weird as well. I’d missed the start of term and everyone else had already done the settling back in bit.

‘That’s probably why it’s a good idea not to throw over the first few days because you’re on holiday,’ my psychology teacher said bitchily, when I complained about only having three days to do an essay when everyone else had already had a week. ‘Turning up to lessons does benefit students funnily enough, Jonathan. Even you.’

Luckily Cherry took pity on me when – by Thursday – I still hadn’t done it. My mind was all over the place, so she offered to help me pull something together using her class notes. We went over to hers – I wrote it quickly – then we drove back over to mine so I could email it from home. It would look too suspicious if the email was sent from my iPhone. I wasn’t going to be caught out by poor attention to a detail like that.

Right away as we pulled up on the drive, I saw Alex’s car. Fear enveloped me like a plastic bag and shrank to fit my skin; the air simultaneously sucking out of my body.

What The Fuck?

I saw her lying – in every sense of the word – on the hotel bed, smiling at me.

Go out on a high. Ibiza 2017. Last time ever!

How could I have been so stupid as to believe her?

I climbed out unsteadily, staring at the black BMW, as Cherry chattered away alongside me – I didn’t hear a word of what she said. All I could concentrate on was Alex’s empty car. She was inside the house. She had to be. Had she come to see Dad after all? She’d said she wouldn’t. I thought all that was done with.

LAST TIME! We said that. We agreed.

I opened the front door, my hands shaking, as I tried to hold onto my key. I could hear voices in the kitchen. Cherry was in front of me drivelling on about a selfie she’d taken and wanted to show me because it was so bad it was hilarious, apparently. She was laughing and holding up her phone in my face. I just wanted to tell her to shut up and get out of the way. I needed to hear what was being said. Whatever lies Alex was in there telling, I needed to know exactly what was going on. This had changed and become something much darker. It was harassment, it was clear to me now. She was stalking me.

Cherry stopped to try and find the picture, and, in my frustration, I practically shoved her into the room. She slightly stumbled in surprise and I had to yank her back by her bag, slung around her body, to stop her falling over. We burst in through the door and there they were, stood in an odd line: Mum at the back with her arms crossed and looking really angry, Dad next, frowning, and Alex at the front, dressed in her work gear – looking right at me.

I stared back and watched as Alex let go of her bag, which thudded to the floor with an ominous crack. She did it to break the silence. It was a deliberate diversion. Everyone came to life as she bent to pick it up. Dad reached out and put a hand on her arm. Why was he touching her? Was that why Mum was looking so angry?

Perhaps he just liked the sound of my voice.

I remembered her taunt when she’d come to meet Dad privately, at his request. Had that gone ahead at a later date after all? Was she having a relationship with him too? I felt sick.

She lifted up the bag.

‘Oh for fuck’s sake!’ Mum lost it. ‘Look what she’s done!’

I couldn’t though. I was transfixed by Alex.

‘I’m so sorry!’ she said not breaking my gaze. Her eyes were wide, and she looked manic. ‘It was an accident. I’ll go. I’m sorry.’

She shoved past Cherry as she ran out of the room, violently enough to make Cherry exclaim ‘hey!’ in surprise as Alex bashed into her.

Mum and Cherry looked at each other in amazement; Mum shouted: ‘And what the fuck was that?’ before rushing after Alex.

I was torn between following them and needing to find out what had happened.

‘What’s going on?’ I turned to Dad immediately, but he didn’t admit to anything.

‘Just a minute, all right?’ He put his hands up. ‘Your mother’s having a bit of a set-to. I’ll be right back.’ And then he belted off down the hall.

Cherry was rubbing her arm and looking confused. ‘Who was that bitch?’

I hesitated. ‘She’s the doctor who looked after my AstroTurf burn.’ Even at that point I was still protecting Alex. I have no idea what I was thinking.

Her eyes widened. ‘You know her?’

Luckily, Mum and Dad returned to the room and I was able to avoid having to say anything else.

‘Those chips in the paintwork are going to need to be buffed out.’ Dad looked furious now too. ‘Well what do you want me to do, Chris? Phone the bloody surgery and complain about her? I can’t exactly do that after what YOU did, can I?’

‘The snobby cow.’ I’d not seen Mum so angry in a long time. She was shaking. ‘I’ll chat to anyone, but the second that woman strutted in like she owned the place, I knew we’d made a mistake. And did you see her shove Cherry like that? Cherry, sweetheart, do you know that woman who was just here? She’s a local doctor.’

Cherry glanced at me and then shook her head. ‘No, I don’t.’

‘Someone tipped us off that she was very good at Botox, and we thought we’d try and get her to come and work at the new spa.’ Mum snorted in disgust. ‘But I wouldn’t let her so much as clean my shoes now. She just pushed past you for no reason whatsoever then? How dare she?’

‘Do you know her, Jonny?’ Dad asked suddenly, and my heart thudded.

‘Me?’ I said and looked up.

‘She was looking at you,’ Dad said. ‘Not like most women, like she’d met you before, I mean.’

Cherry crossed her arms and stared hard at me.

I cleared my throat. ‘She’s the doctor who patched me up after that Astro-burn. Who did you say tipped you off about her?’

‘A friend of mine is a friend of hers, apparently.’ Mum almost spat out the last word.

Dad wasn’t listening and carried on watching me suspiciously. I felt myself starting to blush guiltily under his gaze.

‘Could I have some water please, Gary?’ Cherry stepped between us. ‘I feel a bit faint all of a sudden.’

‘’Course you can, sweetheart.’ Dad turned abruptly and walked over to the cupboard, getting a glass and shoving it under the filter dispenser in the fridge door. ‘Ice?’

Cherry nodded gratefully. ‘Thank you. Sorry for asking.’

‘Don’t be daft.’ He handed it over to her with a smile, and she took a delicate kitten sip.

‘Thank you so much.’

‘You’re very welcome. Jonny, get Cherry a brandy if she needs it, too. Christy, can I talk to you a second, please?’ Dad beckoned Mum and walked grimly out of the door.

Cherry waited until they were out of earshot, then shoved her glass down on the side. ‘OK, I got you out of that one with your dad, but you better tell me the truth. What’s really going on?’

I closed my eyes for a moment. For the first time, I wondered if I should just do what she said and come clean. She’d go ballistic, but I was scared. Alex had somehow manipulated her way into my house. She had been stood here with my parents in my house. I’d seen that old movie Fatal Attraction. Alex’s actions had become more than just reckless, they were chilling. I saw her again in my mind, shouldering Cherry violently as she left. Was that what this was about? Hurting my girlfriend? Or my family? She didn’t want to share me with anyone? She wanted in on every part of my life?

‘I’m not sure, but it’s possible my dad might be having an affair with that woman,’ I said, not entirely untruthfully. Nothing would shock me about Dr Alex Inglis any more.

Cherry gasped. ‘What?’

‘She’s been here before. I was at home on my own and she called round saying she’d come to see Dad.’

‘Urgh.’ Cherry looked disgusted. ‘And you ended up having to cover for him? That’s so gross! Does your mum know?’ Her mouth fell open. ‘Do you think she came round tonight to confront your dad or something and now it’s all come out?’

‘I don’t know, but I think maybe you better go.’

She nodded understandingly. ‘Yeah, of course I will. I’m so sorry, babe. This is really shit. Call me if you need me, or if you want to come and stay at mine if it all kicks off?’

‘Thanks.’

She kissed me and hurried away. I didn’t feel bad for lying. Until I’d had a chance to work out exactly what Alex thought she was playing at, I’d say whatever I needed to if it meant protecting everyone from her increasingly malicious games.

---

I went off to find Mum and Dad who were in the cinema room, sat in front of the huge blank screen, talking calmly. Mum wasn’t crying, and they both looked up when I walked in.

‘Dad, can I ask you something, but promise not to get angry?’ I said. ‘That woman who was just here came round to the house when I was at home before the holidays. She said you’d told her to meet you here to talk about this Botox job.’

Dad frowned in confusion. ‘No, I didn’t.’

I took a deep breath. ‘You’re not having an affair with her, are you?’

I expected him to go nuts, and it was actually Mum who exclaimed: ‘Jonathan!’

But Dad just looked at me, like he was considering something. ‘No, son, I’m not. I never make mistakes when it comes to your mother.’ He reached out and took Mum’s hand, and I felt almost sick with relief to realise that he was telling the truth. I wondered why I’d let Alex make me doubt it.

I nodded and turned to walk out.

‘Jonny?’

I looked back.

‘Are you all right?’ Dad said. ‘There’s nothing you want to tell us?’

I hesitated. ‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know.’ Dad looked at me coolly. ‘Just something doesn’t feel right to me. I can’t put my finger on it. I might be way off the mark, it’s been a long day.’

‘You could tell us though, if something was bothering you.’ Mum looked at me, concerned.

‘Did she say anything else to you, that doctor, the day you say she came here to ask about a job?’ Dad said.

I tried to push the image of us on the stairs from my mind. It made me feel dirty, and not in a good way. I didn’t want to discuss that with my parents, of all people, even though events had taken a turn that was downright scaring me. ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m going to go and email my essay now if that’s all right?’

‘Oh that’s good, love!’ Mum brightened. ‘Well done for getting that finished.’ She smiled encouragingly, and I felt like an A-grade shit. She did not deserve this. Any of it.

Upstairs, I lay on my bed and wondered what the hell I should do. Alex had lost the plot and she needed to understand that this had become completely unacceptable. Coming into my house when I wasn’t here, for fuck’s sake?

I also knew, however, that that was exactly what she wanted: me to come running to her. She would be waiting for my reaction, craving it. I felt panicked and trapped, it was beyond claustrophobic, but she had also crossed a line by involving by my family and Cherry. I wasn’t going to let her contaminate them and invade those parts of my life too.

Enough was enough.