"Mum!"

My voice echoes through the house and it seems empty. The door had been closed but I remembered I had a key so we were able to get in.

"Mum!" I call out again but this time a little more desperately. I can only imagine it. Mum in here, lying on the ground, silent as the world around her keeps on running, never stopping.

"Mum!" I yell. My throat feels sore. "Mu—"

"Amelia," Joshua catches my arm and his voice is venomous and his eyes are urgent. "Shut up. Don't get hysterical."

I bite down the tears before they can leak out of my eyes. "But something might have..." I swallow hard and then the sob comes, hard and fast, giving me no time to stop it

"No," says Josh firmly. "We'll check."

He takes a nervous step towards me as though I'm infected and he doesn't want to get too close. But then he seems to fight the feeling and reels me into a hug. It feels awkward, like he doesn't know how comfort someone. But it's enough. The scent of lavender on him is enough.

"There," he says when I've calmed down a little bit. "All done?"

I give a silent nod and wipe the remainder of my tears with the back of my hand. He gives me a sympathetic look and then leads the way to the stairs.

"I'll have a snoop around." He turns back to where I'm standing. "I think it's best if you stay here."

Again, I nod and he flashes me a quick smile before disappearing up the stairs. They creak under his feet, almost protesting. I feel the urge to go and follow him but then there's always the voice warning me of the things I might find.

I sit at the table, sniffing and wondering just how disastrous my life turned out to be. I guess it wasn't all too bad, though because I've made a new friend.

I yearn to hear Joshua's voice again, so I can know something about what he's doing up there. But the minutes stretch on and on and the silence stretches on too because the house is almost certainly empty.

But then I hear a noise and it sounds like a voice but I can't be sure. I wait a few more seconds before it comes again but this time louder.

It seems to be calling me.

"Amelia!"

I start to run for the stairs, adrenaline pulsing inside of me like another heartbeat. I dash up them two at a time towards Joshua's voice that's calling me.

"Yes?" I say, breathless. "Where are you?"

"In the attic," he calls and when I listen further, his voice does seem to be coming from one more story up.

I reach the stairs to the attic and climb those. When I turn, the door is open and I can see Joshua bending over something. His head his bent down, inspecting.

"Amelia," he says.

"What?" I now enter the room, too terrified to say anything else. "What is it?"

I watch as he shifts slightly so I can see the thing he's bent over.

It's Mum.