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Havermouth, Five Years Before

Aislen could hear her parents arguing in the kitchen through the too-thin walls of the house.

“It’s been three days, Patrick!” Tiffany was furious. “She barely talks, barely eats, and, although she leaves the house every morning in her school uniform, she’s not going to school – they’ve been calling to ask where she is.”

“I don’t know what you want me to do, Tiff,” Patrick snapped back. “We’ve both tried talking to her. She won’t even look us in the eyes. She flinches every time I go near her.”

“You did give her a black eye,” Tiffany reminded him. “And that’s why you won’t do anything about it now. You’re afraid that she’ll report you. When did we lose control of this situation?”

“If my mother was still with us…” Patrick said in a softer tone of voice.

“I blame your mother for this. Aislen changed once she started going to stay with her over the school holidays. I thought it was just… hormones. But what if… What if she was abused?”

“She wasn’t abused,” Pa