I am sitting with Isaac watching television, glad to be home after the world’s worst day at school (Moronic Louise told Ben that I’d been saying nasty things about him. I don’t know if he believed her but it’s made me feel kind of awkward around him), when Dad tells us that he wants us to go upstairs. I start to get up, but he stops me.

‘Not yet, Liv,’ he says. ‘Mum and I want to talk to you about something important. Just wait here until I call you – it’ll be a few minutes.’ He leaves the room and I hear him go upstairs. Isaac changes the TV channel and I sit wondering what they might be about to tell us. The clue must be in Dad’s voice. If he sounded sad, then I reckon I was right all along and they’re getting a divorce. If he sounded happy, then maybe they’re planning to give us a treat? I look out of the window, replaying Dad’s voice in my head. The garden is looking even more of a state at the moment. Mum is the only person who actually enjoys gardening and since she’s been ill everything looks as if it’s been growing at double speed. I’m thinking really hard but it’s impossible to work out how Dad sounded – it’s like he’s got a whole new emotion that I haven’t a name for.

Isaac has flicked TV channels again and suddenly my favourite advert for Disneyland is on the screen. And it gets me thinking. Maybe that’s what they want to talk to us about? After all, I’ve dropped enough hints about it that they’d have to be stupid not to notice. I’ve even looked up loads of Walt Disney quotes on the Internet and started leaving them on Post-it notes on the fridge door. I thought that if I could convince them it might be educational, then they might start to think it was a good idea. My absolute favourite quote is Walt Disney saying that if you can dream it, then you can do it. Well, I have been dreaming about going to Disneyland forever, so maybe, finally, I will get to live my dream!

Isaac suddenly changes channels again, but my advert isn’t finished so I’m struggling to grab the remote off him, when I hear Dad calling us. His voice sounds a bit funny and I start to feel excited. Something big is happening, that’s for sure!

He and Mum are in their bedroom. Mum hasn’t got out of bed for a few days. I’ve been rushing in there to say goodbye before school and going in to say goodnight at bedtime, but I’ve been really busy with homework and seeing Alice, and she’s usually asleep when I do go in. Anyway, I’m guessing she’s got that horrible flu that everyone is going on about and I really don’t want to catch it. I’m ninety-nine per cent sure that Moronic Louise fancies Ben and would totally make the most of me being away from school to tell him awful things about me and to make her move.

It seems a bit weird to be all going in there together and I suddenly feel a bit shy. I stand in the doorway, unsure whether I should go in or not.

‘Come and sit here with me,’ calls Mum, patting the side of her bed. She is sitting up and wearing a new pair of pyjamas – in fact, she looks better than she’s looked all week. I run over and cuddle up to her. I won’t admit it but I’ve really missed her since she got ill. I’ve been reading her diary a bit more but it’s not the same as talking to her properly. Isaac sits next to Dad at the bottom of the bed and I wonder again what they’re going to tell us.

Actually, I’m pretty certain that I guessed it right downstairs. I reckon that it’d be the perfect time to whisk us all away on holiday. Mum’s been really tired and poorly for ages now, so she’s got to get better soon. It’d probably really help her to have a break. And possibly – I can hardly bear to think about it – almost definitely, it’s the place that I’ve always wanted to go! That’d explain why they wanted to make a big deal out of telling us, and why Dad said ‘Wait and see what happens’ when I was going on about it again a few weeks ago. Oh my goodness, Alice is going to be so jealous.

Dad asks Isaac to take his earphones out for a moment and I can hardly sit still I’m so excited.

‘We wanted you both in here together so that we can tell you something,’ starts Dad. His voice sounds even weirder than it did downstairs. ‘It’s a really big thing that we need to talk about and –’

‘I knew it!’ I squeal, unable to keep quiet any longer. ‘You are the best parents ever!’

‘Liv,’ says Dad. ‘Just listen for a minute.’

But I have dreamt of this moment for so long that nothing can stop me. I leap to my feet. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you! When are we going? Oh – I cannot wait to tell Alice! It’ll be the best holiday in the world!’

‘Going where?’ asks Isaac, looking confused.

‘Oh, Isaac, you’ll love it. Seriously. I’ll show you everything on the website so you know what to expect – they’ve got the biggest rides, loads of shows – oh, it’s gonna be epic!’

‘LIV!’ shouts Dad suddenly, in an awful kind of voice. I look at him. His face is red and he looks like he’s about to blow up or something. ‘Will you be quiet for one minute and listen!’

Mum takes hold of my arm. ‘Liv – I don’t know what you think we’re going to say, but we’re not talking about holidays.’

I flop down on the bed, feeling utterly deflated. Just for a moment there, I thought that my terminally uncool parents were actually going to do something funky. I mean, I’ve wanted to go to Disneyland since I was about three, and it’s not as if I haven’t gone on about it enough. Everyone knows it’s my life’s ambition. Life is so unfair.

I’m barely even listening now to what Mum is saying; I’m too busy fighting back the tears of frustration. I can hear that she’s speaking but for some reason, my head can’t make sense of the words coming out of her mouth.

‘Liv? Did you hear any of what I just said?’ Mum asks gently. Dad is standing now, and pacing up and down the room, muttering under his breath that it is too hard and he isn’t ready for this.

I think about the words that I just heard Mum utter and a cold chill suddenly washes over me. I look at her quickly, confused – what did she just say?

She’s quiet now, waiting for my reaction. I don’t know what to say. I can’t even think properly. All that’s going through my mind is that nobody has made our packed lunches for tomorrow and Dad always puts the wrong spread in Isaac’s sandwiches, so I’d better do it. That Isaac is going to have to learn an awful lot of new rules. That I really, really wish the worst thing that could have happened to my family was my parents getting a divorce, because that would have been a million times better than this. And that I have no idea where the tears streaming down my face are coming from because inside I feel cold and empty.

Mum has pulled me into her arms and is rubbing the small of my back – and that just makes me cry even more because who is going to do that for Isaac when she’s gone? I don’t even like having my back rubbed, but I don’t move because I think it might be making her feel better and I don’t want to be anywhere but here.

We sit like that for ages and eventually I need to blow my nose, and I don’t want to wreck Mum’s new pyjamas so I pull myself up. Isaac is sitting at the end of the bed, with Dad next to him. He’s put his earphones back in and is engrossed in his music, and I wonder if he even understands that our whole world has just caved in.

Mum looks over at Dad and tries to smile but fails. ‘A cup of tea would be really good right now,’ she says, with a sob in her voice.

I get up and Dad comes over to Mum. He sits down and pulls her to him, stroking her hair and murmuring words that I can’t hear. I feel like we shouldn’t be here, so I take Isaac’s hand and say that we’ll go and put the kettle on. As we reach the door, Isaac suddenly stops and turns round.

‘So where are we actually going then? Cos I need lots of time to get ready, remember, and you need to get me an information book so I know what to expect and what the rules are.’

I pull him out of the room, thinking that I have no idea how much time we have to get ready and that I’m not actually sure there even is an information book to help us with this. But I really wish there was because I could definitely do with some rules right now.