16
Still exhausted from my trip to the pharmacy, I check the time on my phone: 2:42 p.m.
Shit!
Another text comes through from Katie. ‘Can’t wait x!’ Followed by another from Lisa: ‘Don’t worry about the straighteners. I’ve stolen my brother’s. A comment like that should put a smile on my face, but it’s almost three o’clock and Jason will be here any minute.
“How’s he doing?” I ask Mum.
She pulls out the thermometer from under his armpit and checks it. “Still high.” She squeezes the wet flannel into the bowl on the bedside cabinet. “Will you put fresh water in that, please?”
I pick up the bowl, but don’t move.
Mum glares impatiently at me. “Now, Freya. Your brother needs it.”
I stutter for a moment, battling to form the correct words.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
“It’s the lake this
