It's not even been three months since I moved out of the flat I shared with Lou . . . But somehow I'd forgotten what a nightmare she can be.

I'm not someone who could be considered a neat freak in any sense. Honestly. I like things to be clean, don't get me wrong, but clutter can almost be like a comfort blanket for me. I seem to just end up surrounded by it, without even trying. But I'm in control of it, and that's the important thing.

Other people's mess though, I really can't handle. And Lou's clothes are scattered all over my bedroom floor right now. They're not even washed; they're the ones she brought back from her weekend away with her now-ex. Her overnight bag is wide open, and every time I pass it, I can spot at least three sex toys in there, which brings on one of those full-body-cringes again. I'm flashing back to the horrible memories of having to listen to Lou and Tam having sex repeatedly and loudly.

(For the record, they didn't simply moan and groan while they were shagging. I wasn't that lucky. They liked to dirty-talk too. Or, in their case, dirty-shout. While using the toys. Why on earth didn't I move out sooner? Oh yeah, cos I wanted to move in with Declan. I'm such an idiot.)

The irony, by the way, hasn't escaped me that I was essentially pushed out of my old flat by their anti-social and inappropriate behaviour, and now Lou has rocked up at my new flat expecting me to put her up. But she's my sister, and she insists she's just giving Tam a few days to clear the fuck out before she goes back.

"You could move back in," she even told me at one point. "We had so much fun together."

Yep. Until she moved Tam in and ruined everything.

I have to admit, I'm pretty glad she's shot of the guy though. I never fully signed up to his fan club. Always thought he had the potential to be a wrong 'un. But, like I've said before, I try not to assume the worst of people. For my sister's sake, I didn't want to be right.

However, while they were on what was meant to be their romantic weekend break in the Lake District, Lou had spotted a message pop up on Tam's phone which had hinted more than a little that he wasn't being entirely faithful to her. When she confronted him, he tried to deny it initially, but she forced him into showing her the rest of his messages, and it confirmed her suspicions.

"He was cheating on me before he even moved in with us," she had ranted to me and Ric on Monday evening. (She'd insisted that Ric also listen and share her wine; I think he was too scared to refuse.)

Ric hadn't actually said very much to be honest, apart from a darkly muttered "There's a special section of hell reserved for cheaters!" at one point in the middle of Lou's angry diatribe - she'd eventually needed to pause in order to take a reluctant breath. He'd been frowning and shaking his head for most of her speech though. Although he'd - understandably - winced at her furious threat to take a pair of secateurs to Tam's private parts if she ever saw him again.

"I think you're well shot of the bloke, to be honest," he added eventually, when she'd finally ran out of steam and violent tendencies. "I've never even met the guy, and I can safely say he sounds like a prick."

Ric had the measure of Tam . . . Just like he'd had with Declan. It was like he'd said to me on the night of my Failed Seduction Attempt: it was far easier to see a twisted situation for what it actually was when you weren't stuck in the middle of it with blinkers on. The perspective wasn't nearly as skewed.

He really was annoyingly astute.

Lou started to bounce back quickly after she had finished getting her rant on. She'd always been more resilient than me.

The problem was that it appeared she was apparently thinking about bouncing back on . . . Ric. Suddenly the tears had vanished, and her flirt mode had ramped up to Super Minx, with the object of my own crush firmly in her target. And he seemed to be lapping it right up.

This was horrendous.

Was he flirting back or just being friendly? I wasn't sure. As far as I was aware, I'd not actually witnessed him flirting with anyone else. I was watching for that damn Eye Contact coming out to play, but I was positioned at the wrong angle to tell.

It was so unfair.

Ever since I first realised the extent of my crush on Ric, I'd been forced to pretend that I didn't fancy him, so as to not make things awkward between us. I hadn't felt free to flirt with him. If anything, I'd been actively trying to do the opposite. And here was my little sister just doing whatever the hell she wanted, riding side-saddle over my feelings! Granted, she didn't actually know I had feelings, but that wasn't the point.

Jealousy continuously gnawed away at my core.

It's now Thursday evening, Lou has been staying with me for three days, and I've returned from work to find them both laughing away in the living room. Lou has even commandeered my side of the sofa.

Why doesn't she just steal my whole life while she's at it? I think, slightly uncharitably. I know I'm being a bitch, and obviously I know from recent experience that breaking up with someone is never easy. But Lou seems to already be over that sod . . . and determined to move onto my sod.

"Hey Abs, how was work?" Lou asks, taking a sip out of her bottle of beer. Ric's beer, I'll wager. Resentfully, I drop into the armchair; it's nowhere near as comfortable as my beloved couch.

"It was shit." I mutter. "Hurricane Carrie struck again." Yup.

God, it's probably so boring to listen to, but I need to have a quick rant about this, sorry everyone! Let me present to you yet another example of the many ways in which Miss Caroline Shelley can get under my skin . . . Even without taking into account the fact she's now sleeping with my ex!

I'd been working on a document of company-specific acronyms (on the side of my other tasks, of course) for the last few days. Acronyms can be a tad confusing at times, especially as they vary from business to business, so I figured a glossary of terms would be useful for everyone.

Plus the brownie points from my boss wouldn't have hurt either!

Anyhoo, I had still been fine-tuning it, making sure I hadn't missed anything, when an email had went out to the team. From Carrie.

Hi all

Hope everyone is so good! :-)

I've put together what will hopefully be a useful wee guide to all the different abbreviations we use in the company - thought it would help us all! Please find it attached.

Thanks so much!

Carrie

I'd felt myself start to fume as I'd clicked shakily on the attachment. Maybe it was just a coincidence? Did we share more in common than just our taste in men? Perhaps she had stolen some of my brain cells too? Or had our minds had synced up, the same way monthly periods are said to do?

The document admittedly was different from mine. It wasn't quite as good, for a start. And it was missing some of the more important acronyms, ones I'd stupidly forgot to add to my first draft.

So colour me unsurprised when later I spotted a printout of one of my earlier attempts, with my own writing scrawled across it in red ink, poking barely-concealed out of her notebook. She'd obviously stolen that first draft off my desk earlier, then decided to beat me to the punch.

Effective. Because even though my revised list was far better, if I sent it to everyone now, I would just look like I was trying to one-up her. As in, "pulling a Carrie"!

Argh, she just made me furious!

"I don't want to talk about it," I tell Lou and Ric now, in response to their inquisitive faces. "I just want to forget that girl even exists."

I feel something cold touch my leg, and when I look down, I realise Ric has extended an icy bottle of beer towards me. "I had this here waiting for you," he grins, and my heart briefly flip-flops at the cheeky sparkle in his eyes.

Feeling myself blush, I look away. "Thanks," I mumble. When I glance back up, I catch Lou's gaze, and she's looking at me suspiciously.

Busted.

She manages to wait until later, when he's popped to the loo and we're alone, to tackle me about it though. "Okay, what the hell is going on between you two?" She demands.

"Nothing!" I insist. "Don't you remember what happened when I tried to use him to get over Declan?"

"I do remember that," she nods. "But, regardless of what he told you that night, he's into you; I can see it. And you clearly like him too!"

"I don't!" I protest.

"So he's fair game then, if I want to hit that?" She challenges, one eyebrow raised archly. Then laughs, not missing me flinching at her words. "Thought not."

"Speaking of which, you've certainly been very friendly with him, Louisa," I snipe, unable to keep the bitterness creeping into my tone now that the gloves have finally came off. "You're both always chatting away like you've known each other for years!"

Lou snorts. "And do you know what we're usually talking about? You. He always manages to bring the conversation around to Abigail somehow. It's really quite annoying." She tosses her hair haughtily. "Sometimes I'd like it to be about me, for once!"

And there's that flip-flopping heart feeling again. "Well, I hope you've not told him anything embarrassing," I mutter sulkily, trying my best to cover up my delight.

"Ha! That's for me to know," she giggles. "Anyway, I don't want to interrupt your little 'date', but do you mind if I come to this pub quiz tonight? Ric said I could, but I don't want to step on your toes."

Feeling a bit better now I know that Lou isn't planning to make the moves on Ric, I laugh and nod. But I still feel the need to protest, as if on auto-pilot: "It's not a date".

If only . . .