As much as she had wanted to go out tonight, having dealt with an extremely clingy Ellie before leaving had Beth in an alleyway out the back of the venue, texting her mother for updates as she was wracked with guilt. Ellie hadn’t been quite like that for a long time and after prying her arms from around her neck for what felt like the fiftieth time, the little girl only falling asleep with her mother and grandmother sitting by her bed, Beth had felt like just slipping into her pyjamas and staying close, just in case her daughter woke up in the night, in the same mood. 

Tapping her foot against the floor as she waited for a reply from her mum, Beth nibbled on her bottom lip, champagne flute hanging from her other hand. Shivering as the cold wind caught her bare skin, Beth glanced down at her phone as it buzzed, a picture of Ellie sound asleep and some reassurance from Grace attached. As the door opened, Beth shivered again, placing her glass on the ground and tapping out a reply without looking up. “Unless you want to freeze to death, I’d stay inside to be honest.”