“Get out,” I say, and, when he doesn’t, I grab his arms and pull hard, then harder, until I fall back and he lands on me.

“What were you doing in there?” I ask. “I said, what were you doing?”

He’s heavy, and he doesn’t get off and, when I push him, he falls to the side and lies still.

“Will?”

His eyes are open, but he can’t see me. He’s looking at the sky, and his lips are blue. I know what I need to do, but I’ve forgotten.

I push on his chest and blow into his mouth. I push on his chest and blow into his mouth. I push on his chest and—

It’s not working. On TV it works, but I can’t do it. I shout for help, but no one comes.

Will has a cut on his head, so I wipe the blood away with my finger. I can still help him if I stop the bleeding. I need to call an ambulance, but I don’t want to leave him. He’s too cold and too wet, and I’ve already left him too long. I try to pick him up, but he’s so heavy.

“I’ll be right back,” I whisper. “I’m just going to get my phone.”

I crawl through the fence and run toward the house, and that’s when I see Mum in the living room by the patio doors. She’s saying something I can’t hear. She looks angry because she saw me come out of the hole, and we’re not allowed in there.

“I’m sorry,” I say, and I think Mum can hear me through the glass because her face changes.

“Where is he?” she says, but I can’t reply because I don’t like the answer. So I cry, and she runs outside and past me to the hole. And then the world goes black.

IIII III

“What happened?” Mum asks, but I can’t tell her because I only know some of the answer.

She holds my arms too tight and shakes me and says, “Tell me what happened!”

Will isn’t behind the fence anymore. He’s in his room, but not like he used to be.

I know what that means, and Mum does, too, because she cried a lot before she spoke to me.

“Have you called an ambulance?” I ask, and she shakes her head.

“It’s too late for that,” she whispers.

That makes me cry, and she grips me tighter and says, “Don’t you dare. This is your…”