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He doesn’t push me for an answer. Instead, he busies himself making two mugs of coffee, sliding one to me across the breakfast bar when he’s done. He takes a sip from his as he waits for me to talk.

“I didn’t want to burden them.”

“Delilah, you know they love you,” he scolds. “So, how has life been? If you haven’t been around, does that mean your mother has finally sorted her shit out?”

“Ha, no. Come on, of course not.”

“So, it’s been bad?” Felix coaxes.

“I took care of it,” I reply.

“How did you take care of it?”

“It’s all a long story. I’m more interested in hearing about your adventures. Come on, tell me. Tell me about every holiday fling you had.”

“Delilah.” He sounds like he’s giving me a warning. He gestures at my face, and I know what’s coming next. “I can tell by that expression that something bad was happening. Tell me everything.”

I take a sip of my coffee to settle my nerves and put my mug down. Then I tell him everything, starting at the very beginning. I tell him about the first night Duncan arrived back on the scene, how my mother disappeared for a week with him and left me with no electricity or food in the house. I talk with a steady voice about how when they returned, Duncan and my mother had a blazing row, and I hid in my room and didn’t dare go out. I explain about the first night when I knew I couldn’t go home, the long rides on the bus, swapping routes in an effort to keep warm and in a small area where I felt safe. I tell him about the first night at the club, the first man I let take me home, how I realised I had a lifeline.

I tell him how things got better when I met Joseph. How I could open up to him and talk a little about what was going on in my life. I fill him in on the bits I neglected to tell him over the phone or in texts or emails. I leave nothing out, and he never interrupts, though his expressions make it clear to me how he feels. I’ve known him for so long and he has such an expressive face, so I know when he’s annoyed with me at certain points in the story, when he feels shocked, and when he feels pity.

“So, that’s everything that happened when you were away,” I conclude. I pick my mug up, but the liquid has long gone cold.

Felix takes the mug away from me and puts the kettle back on to boil, making fresh drink. He hands me the refilled mug and then sighs.

“I wish you had been honest with me, and I wish you had just come here. Mum and Dad would have happily opened their doors for you, for the whole time I’ve been away. I knew I should have forced it to happen. I should have arranged for you to take my room. I feel sick knowing what you’ve been going through, and that you didn’t tell me about it.”

“I’m safe, Felix. Nothing bad happened to me.”

“But it could have!”

“But it didn’t.”

“Any one of those guys could have taken advantage of you and overpowered you. You could have been assaulted or—”

“I know what could have happened, but I took calculated risks!”

“You were goddamn lucky nothing bad happened,” he snaps.

“Bad things happened to me at home,” I remind him.

“Which, if you had come here like we agreed you would do if things got rough, wouldn’t have happened!”

“I was fine,” I argue.

“Delilah.”

“Look. You’re home now, and I’m so grateful. We can get that place sorted out, and we can start living our lives. I won’t ever have to worry about what’s going on at my mother’s house. I’ve been counting down to this day, and I’m really excited about our future plans. It’ll just be us,” I soothe.

For a second, I’m sure he’s going to yell at me and tell me all the things I’ve worried he’s going to say. Instead, he puts down his coffee mug and comes around the breakfast bar. He slips his arms around me and gives me a bone-crushing hug.

“I swear to God, you ever do anything like that again, I’ll have you committed for your own safety.” His voice is a deep rumble in my ear given he doesn’t seem able to release me from his hug.

“I won’t need to,” I reiterate.

“You’re damn fucking right you won’t need to, because I’m never going to let you be in a situation like that again. Ever,” he vows. He pulls away from me. “You and me, Delilah.”

“You and me,” I repeat.