I wanted to ask Mel more about our sisters and what her thoughts were on the whole situation, but the sound of a car door closing signalled the siblings of our topic were home. I felt a wave of anxiety wash over me as I remembered last night with Amanda and began to worry about how this confrontation would go.

"I'll go see if they need a hand with anything," I said to Mel.

She didn't reply, but simply gave me a smile and went back to whatever she was doing on her phone. I got to my feet and headed for the sliding backdoor to the house. With a...