"Love you, sweetie," she called out to me.

"Love you too, Mom."

Once I was back in my bedroom, I quickly stripped out of my clothes and threw them in a pile on the floor before crawling back into my bed and turning on my side facing away from the door so that I didn't disturb anyone.

I lay there in bed, staring blankly ahead into space whilst the rest of the world slowly faded into obscurity, waiting for sleep to come. Within seconds, I eventually succumbed to the beckoning darkness which welcomed me as it always did, the gentle embrace enveloping me within its warmth.

I woke up the...