"Have you heard from your sister?" Mum asked as Sam passed through the kitchen. She looked up from the dishes, dried her hands and checked her phone. "I can't seem to get hold of her."
"No." Sam shook his head. "She's probably with her uni mates and her phone died. You know what she's like."
Mum nodded, but there was a look in her eye—the troubled glint of a mother who sensed her child might be in danger.
He would have talked to her. Calmed her down. But he had an important date and there just wasn't time. Kayley had messaged, asking to meet him for a milkshake, and while he'd known she would contact him for another 'date,' he was still nervous to go.
As he left the house, Sam checked his pockets, making sure he had everything he might need. This was more than just a habit, he had to make sure he had everything he might need.
Little bubbles of anxiety forming in the pit of
