‘Don’t matter. I’m not bothered … I just, I just wanted you to know … what my name was. My real name. It’s important. You see, if you bury me will you write my real name? On a stone, or something? I don’t know how it works, I never went to church. I don’t know how it is, with, like, God and all that. How you get into heaven. But they should know my real name at least, I think. William McIntyre.’

‘Don’t think about all that, Macca.’

‘It’s not fair, is it really? I’m only just fifteen. It’s not really long enough for a life. There was lots of things I wanted to do.’

‘Oh, Macca, will you stop it now? You’ll have me blubbing. And I never cry.’

‘You know when we was getting out of the car …?’ said Macca. ‘When that sicko … Was it recently or was it last year? When was it?’

‘Just a few days ago.’

‘Yeah? OK. It must of been a dream then?’

‘What?’

‘Us doing all them other things together. You and me. We went travelling all over. Fighting sickos. Must of dreamt that bit. Never mind. It was still cool. But you, when we were getting out of the car, there was something you were going to tell me. What was it, Brooke? I’ve been thinking about it.’

‘I don’t know, Billy. I can’t remember.’

‘For real?’

‘Yeah, for real. Go to sleep and stop worrying about stuff.’

‘But was it a good thing or a bad thing?’

‘A good thing obviously. Why would I say a bad thing to you?’

‘I’ve never been up to much. I’ve always been a bit small for my age. I never had a proper girlfriend. Girls never went for me, so I used to bad-mouth them. If I get well will you be my proper girlfriend?’

‘Of course I will,’ said Brooke without blinking.

He closed his eyes.

Brooke threw the flannel back into the bowl and it hit with a splosh, spilling water on to the floor.

Despite what Norman had said about him having no chance, she wasn’t going to let Macca die. She was going to keep him alive. She’d make him well. She’d do everything she could.

So that when he was fit enough, and knew what was going on, she’d tell him exactly what she thought of him.

Yeah.

She realized she was crying.

‘Now look what you’ve done,’ she said.

Chapter 42

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