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‘It’s the same for him. He understands I need a clean break.’

It didn’t sound like a clean break to Frankie. It was messy and weird and horrible.

‘But you and Rocco have been best friends for years. You can’t just cut him off. He’ll be gutted. He’ll want to celebrate your success.’

There was a slight flicker of emotion on Jay’s face but it was shut down a second later. ‘He understands.’

‘But, I don’t.’

‘You will.’

‘Don’t patronise me. That’s not you.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘Can I message you? You might feel differently after a while.’

‘I won’t. Delete my number. In fact, I’ll be getting a new phone too.’

Frankie didn’t know what to say to that.

‘Good luck with uni. Have a great life, Frankie. Do something brilliant,’ Jay said and turned, walking toward the door. He stumbled slightly, banging his shoulder off the door frame.

Frankie was distraught; he clearly couldn’t wait to leave.

She watched him walk down their front path.

‘Good luck, Jay.’ She called this out, with sincerity. Her heart was broken but she wished him well. ‘I really hope it works out for you.’

Jay got to the bottom of Frankie’s drive then began to run until he got to his car, where he practically yanked the door off in his haste to get in. With a squeal of tyres, he drove off. Frankie had a hand raised in farewell but he passed her house, not even looking in her direction, just staring straight ahead, already having moved on to the next stage of his life.

Frankie quietly walked back into the house and up to her bedroom. She felt numb.

Later, she heard Rocco come in and stomp his way up to his room.

That night, Frankie’s parents were out at Aunt Cara and Uncle Stefano’s house, Valentina was at a Hogmanay party and Rocco was in his room listening to music. After a couple of hours of restlessly flicking from channel to channel, Frankie turned the television off and left the house to go for a walk.

She went to the bandstand and sat huddled inside her padded coat, her woolly hat pulled down over her ears as she stared over at the Drumkeldy Arms.

The numbness gave way to emotion and she cried. And cried and cried.

She barely noticed the firework display that started as the clock-tower bells chimed midnight along with people whooping and calling out Happy New Year to one another. Bagpipes playing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ filtered over the village green.

Catherine wheels and rockets exploded into the clear sky above her, bursting into bright colours and raining down light as Frankie sobbed her heart out.

Frankie understood Jay’s life would change dramatically, but to walk away from everything and everyone he’d ever known in such a cold and final way… all for the chance of signing a record deal? Jay had always seemed so unconcerned about fame... If that was what success made a person turn into, Frankie didn’t want that.

Did Jay think she’d be too clingy because they’d had sex? Or had he just used her and didn’t care about her that much, or the way she felt about him.

Whatever the reason, Frankie felt utterly rejected.

After exhausting herself with crying, she went home.

Even in the midst of her own self-pity, Frankie felt awful for her brother.

Upstairs, she knocked on Rocco’s door.

The music’s volume turned down a little. ‘Yeah?’

‘Jay came and told me he’s leaving and doesn’t want to keep in contact with anyone.’

‘Yeah.’