We spend almost an hour at the art gallery, milling around the exhibition while Cameron tells me about the photographer who took each picture. They mostly seem to be friends or acquaintances of his, people who he met at art school – like Jade, who majored in painting before dropping out. Jade and Kitty walk alongside us, lost in their own private conversation. I can’t hear what they’re talking about, but every now and again I hear Kitty giggle at something Jade’s said.Sometimes the photographer is standing near his or her work, explaining the meaning or the composition to passersby. We have brief conversations with them, before moving on to the next one. Cameron knows everyone, and judging from the way most of the females we encounter flutter their eyelashes at him, or stick out their chests and get all giggly the second we approach, I’m guessing he’s

Although the storm is still raging above us, we’re somewhat sheltered beneath the forest canopy.We walk in silence, Felix holding my hand firmly as we make our way through the dark. Kitty’s a few steps behind us, struggling over roots and leaf litter in her stilettos, which she refuses to take off. Her reasoning? She says she has plenty of Louboutins, but only one pair of feet.I can barely see two feet in front of me, but somehow Felix seems to know exactly where he’s going. From time to time I look up at the dark leafy veil of leaves overhead. I can see heavy black clouds through the gaps, lit purple by streaks of brilliant lightning forking through the air.Even as Kitty and I shriek when a loud peal of thunder roars above us like a giant’s war cry, there’s not so much as a flinch from Felix. Without missing a beat, he continues leading us forward through the woodland gloom, impervious

You already know where to find me, Ash. You already know.I wake up gasping for air.Mia’s fleeting voice rings in my ears, her final words an echoing whisper that fades into silence.I can’t hear the wind or the rain anymore. The storm must have passed.Wan starlight shines through the window – it’s still dark outside, probably a few hours until sunrise.I don’t have much time.I slip out of bed, shivering as it dawns on me that I fell asleep wearing my rain-soaked silk dress. I’m in too much of a hurry to get changed into something warmer, so I pull the cream-colored chunky knit blanket off the end of the bed, and wrap it around myself before slipping on a pair of flats.As quietly as I can, I open my bedroom door, and creep stealthily down the passageway, sure that at any moment one of the old wooden

I fall asleep with gran’s poetry book in my hand.As I drift off, the events of the past few days swirl through my mind like pictures made of smoke, wispy memories plucking at the edges of my consciousness.The hungry look in Cameron’s eyes as he cornered me in the back alley.Felix holding me in his arms in the pouring rain.The storm.Alastaire pulling me from the recording studio then almost kissing me in the study.Finding the book of poems once owned by my gran.The pain in my chest like something sharp and cold plunging into my heart.The same pain I’m feeling now, the searing ache pulling me up, up, out of my dreams, into the light….I bolt upright in bed, clutching my chest with both hands. My heart is racing, and I bl

Knock. Knock. Knock.An insistent tapping against my door wakes me up from a dreamless sleep. The last thing I remember before passing out was staring at the book on my bed, page 63 ripped out by some mystery intruder while I was in Alastaire’s room.How long did I sleep for? Is it morning yet, or is it still the middle of the night?The room is pitch black, so it must still be dark outside. I reach for the lamp on my bedside table, knocking over a mason jar filled with fairy bells and lily-of-the-valley in the process. I swear under my breath, wishing that just for once I could actually get a decent night’s sleep. I tap my hand around blindly on the bedside table, but the lamp switch has probably fallen down behind the bed.Damn.