Even when you’d lost everything you thought there was to lose, somebody came along and gave you something for free.

Everything is going to be fine.”

I hate it when people say that, people who have absolutely no idea of what’s coming next. They turn you into an idiot for even asking.

I thought about having a proper room,
breathing life into it, and nobody minding.

I smiled back and I thought
how incredible that was, that they would find the time to smile. There was goodness in the world still, even if you couldn’t always see it.

I told myself that some families we get without asking, while others we choose.
And I chose those two. I think that’s what you’d call a silver lining.

I didn't have time to lose it. I didn't have time to lie down in the corner shop and scream and beat the floor until my hands bled. I didn't have time to miss Jack. Stroma kept on chattering away and getting excited over novelty spaghetti shapes and finding the joy in every little thing, and it occurred to me even then that she was probably looking after me, too.