35

As Mia made the drive over, she still couldn’t believe that Ryan had offered to sort out her new truck. When he’d offered the day before, she’d almost expected it to turn into a joke. For him to turn around and go ‘hah! Not really!’ Then she started to worry that he would do that once she got all the way to his house. She pushed the thought away. No. They were friends now, right?

Ryan’s house was on the edge of town. The whole property was encased in fir trees, making it a private spot that couldn’t be overlooked. Mia realised that this was probably the reason no one had witnessed any of the abuse perpetrated by his dad at home.

A long pebbled drive took her down to an outbuilding where Ryan said he would be, and as promised, he was standing there waiting for her. He looked different today. There was no football jacket. Just a pair of old jeans with marks down the front, and a dark t shirt. For the first time since she’d