Some weeks later, Dom was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of something hitting the window of his upstairs dormitory. He was exhausted from a regional athletics' meet, where he'd won three races and broken a record.

It could be Em. She was the only person he could think of crazy enough to brave the Sydney winter to visit him in the dead of night. Instantly he felt annoyed. Surely, he'd earned the right to rest?

Dom ducked under his doona and fell back into a slumber, willing the noise to go away. No sooner had the bliss of sleep overtaken him, when he was awoken again by someone shaking his shoulder. He sat up in the dark and growled: 'What is it?'

A voice whispered, 'mate, it's me...Tommo.'

'What the fuck? Shove off, it's the middle of the night!'

'I know,' Tommo responded. 'Keep it down Sac, it's your sister, she's downstairs. She needs you.'

Dom was wide awake in a heartbeat and panicking. 'What's wrong? Why's she here?'

'I don't know what's wrong, she wouldn't tell me,' Tommo said. 'She only wants to speak with you. I took her to the living room.' Tommo climbed the ladder of his bunk. 'You must be quiet, mate. You know she's not allowed to be here.'

Dom slipped his feet into his Uggs and wrapped his robe around him. It was freezing cold. Rummaging on the floor, he located his swipe card in the pocket of his school shorts and hurried downstairs.

He found Lulu alone in the dark in the kitchen, nursing a cup of hot chocolate. When Dom reached her, he realized that she was crying.

'Shh... Lu, relax. Stop crying. Please.' Dom took the cup from her hands and laid it on the table. 'Tell me what's going on.' Dom was barely able to keep the panic out of his voice. 'Are mum and dad, okay? Why are you here? How did you get here?'

Lulu put her hands over her face. 'I hate them,' she said through muffled cries. 'I fucking hate them both.'

A wave of relief washed over Dom. For a moment there he thought something must have happened to his parents and the thought petrified him.

He leaned over and hugged Lulu. 'Tell me, what's wrong sis? How can I help?'

Lulu sobbed gently into his shoulder for a moment and then took a deep breath. She lifted her head and looked directly at Dom. Though it was dark inside the room, he could see, she was a mess. Her hair had been in a braid crown that had come loose and was slipping to one side and her eyes were puffy from crying. Heavy streaks of mascara ran down her cheeks. Dom had never known Lulu to wear make-up before; she was barely fourteen.

'I had a fight with mum,' Lulu said.

'Okay...what about?' Dom asked gently.

Lulu shook her head. 'You wouldn't believe it,' she responded. 'I was on the phone with her this evening, and she told me that the guy who bought Bolt had come to pick him up and he'd made an offer on Hasseina too'.

'Shit,' Dom said. He knew instantly where this was headed and it all made sense now, why Lulu had come to him. He remembered that he'd seen a missed call on his phone from home earlier in the evening but was too tired to call back.

'I can't believe it,' she continued. 'They just gave her to him. They didn't even ask me or give me time to say good-bye to her.'

Dom sighed. He understood his sister's pain. Saying goodbye to Bolt had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. His parents should have been more sensitive.

'Lulu, they didn't give her away,' he tried to explain. 'They sold her. She's worth a lot of money. I know it's hard to understand but they're doing what they think is best for us in the long run. They're trying to keep the farm. We all must make sacrifices. I know it sucks but that's the way it is right now. We need to be strong.'

Lulu got up from the kitchen table and started pacing. 'That's easy for you to say. You're here,' she said with a swooping gesture. 'Nothing happened to your precious life.'

'Is that what this is about?' Dom asked. 'Are you still hating school?

'No, this is about my mare, bro. She's mine. She was my tenth birthday present, for goodness' sake. You don't give someone a gift and then snatch it away. They had no right.' Lulu said emphatically. She dropped her head and then in a quieter voice said: 'But yes, I hate that place too and I'm not going back. That'll teach them.'

Dom sat down and pulled a chair up for Lulu. He took hold of her hand. 'Lu, you've got to listen to me,' he said, his voice soft and persuasive. 'I know you're in pain but running away from school is not the answer. Trust me.' He put a hand on her cheek and stroked a tear away with his thumb. 'No one's madder than me about everything that's happened,' Dom said, 'but the last thing mum and dad need right now is to worry about us. I know it's hard, but we need to be extra strong right now.'

Lulu leaned her head against his chest. 'That's what mum said,' she said, 'but at least you got to say goodbye to Bolt. I'm never going to see Hassi again. I still can't believe they did that.'

'As hard as it is Lu, Mum's right,' Dom said, stroking her hair. 'If we make them worry about us too, it's only going to make things worse. Dad is already under a lot of stress. I agree they shouldn't have gone about it the way they did but I think we must accept they are doing their best.'

Lulu nodded. 'I guess you're right, but I thought that with the end of the drought, we'd get back to normal,' she said. 'I don't think they're telling us the full truth of things. What do you think?'

'You're probably right Lu, but they can't tell us everything. They're our parents. We must trust that they know what's best.' Dom pulled his gown around Lulu's shoulders. It was so cold, and she was shivering. 'I've been so hard on Dad,' he continued 'but I can see now that what happened wasn't his fault. It's the same for a lot of farmers. They're all struggling and if we want our life to continue, we've got to muck in and help. And that means knuckling down at school too.'

Lulu pulled away from Dom's chest to look at him. 'You're right. I know you are, but I don't know what to do. Seriously, I try so hard, but the girls hate me and there's nothing to do there. I swear to God, I'm so bored I could cry.' Dom chuckled. He realised then that his sister just needed to talk to someone. She was missing her old school friends. He let her babble on and the more he listened, the more he was comforted that Lulu had been exaggerating her plight at school. It sounded to Dom like she was making some friends and was going to be okay. She was sad, that was fair enough. She was missing her old life at Watford and angry about her horse but deep down, she was more resilient than she knew. She would get through this. Now Dom just had to convince her to go back home tonight and give her new school another chance.

When Lulu eventually ran out of things to moan about, Dom took a stab at an idea. 'If I promise to call Mum in the morning and get her to organise for you to see Hassi to say good-bye, will you go home tonight and start afresh tomorrow?'

Lulu looked unconvinced.

'I'll call Bish and see if he can pick you up from here and drive you back?' Dom persuaded.

At first Lulu was reluctant but she agreed that if Bish came to get her, she would go back with him.

Dom was relieved. He gave her a hug.

'You did the right thing coming here,' he said. 'You can always come to me. Whenever you need anything. Promise me? I'm here for you, ok?'

Lulu nodded and wiped her eyes.

'You are my most important person. I want you to remember that.' Dom said.' 'We're in this together.'

'What about Em?' Lulu asked. 'I thought she was your most important person?'

Dom smiled at his sister and unwrapped her from his robe, replacing it with a small blanket around her shoulders. 'Not by a long shot...' he said, 'family first, always.'

Dom left Lulu in the living room and crept back into the dormitory to get his phone. He was struck with the realisation that his attitude towards his parents had been immature and that there were consequences. Lulu was acting out because he'd given her a lead on it. He should have supported his parents more and he should have paid more attention to what was happening with his sister. He rummaged in the dark to find his phone on the bedside table. Sitting on the bed, he turned it on and searched his recent calls.

Dom was grateful that Bish had been taking care of Lulu, he was a good friend, but it was time for him to grow up and step up. His family needed him. When Dom spotted Bish's name three callers down the list. He dialled. It wasn't long before Bish answered.

'Hey mate, I need a favour,' Dom said directly.

Bish laughed. 'So, what's new?'

Dom explained as quickly as he could.

'Hang tight, I'll be there,' Bish responded without hesitation.