In some ways, it reminds Effy too sharply of Katie Fitch, all of those pointless meathead boyfriends that she'd cycled through, usually fit physically, but certainly a bit empty upstairs. It'd been intensely irritating, the first few months that the two girls had known each other, but in many ways, Effy still regretted the way that she made it worse for a time for Katie, before things eventually climbed back up. Made it worse by still chasing after Freddie, in spite of how Katie had fallen for him, in spite of how they were an item.

Maybe Effy fell in love with Freddie long before Katie ever had, but it didn't make what they did any fairer. If anything, it made things worse.

And now that Effy thinks about it, the two girls show more similarities than she'd like to admit. Dubious mistakes from the past, possibly taken out of a mixture of needing that attention and demanding any type of affection, and driven by a desire to escape a bit of that familial circle in the process.

More importantly, they've both grown so much.

"Didn't fucking deserve you," Effy decides. "That prick ever shows up, I'll show him how it feels to be shoved 'round a bit."