Watery Graves by Kelli Bradicich Page A

forward. She tried to mask her confusion with a grin. “I’m in the middle.”
    Sebastian laughed as if nothing had happened earlier, making space for her and reaching for his book. “You’re always in the middle.”
    Libby yawned and rolled onto her back. She held her book up against the sun. “Whatever makes you feel good, Em.”
    “Being with you two, that’s what,” Emmy said, nestling in between them and jabbing each of them in the ribs. On her back, she shared a cushion with Libby, propping her book against her bent legs.
    Emmy read one line and then read it again, making it to the end of the paragraph before realising she had no idea what she had been reading. She kept one eye on Sebastian and noticed that he wasn’t turning any pages either.
    Emmy shut the book. “This is ridiculous.”
    “What you being in the middle all the time?” Libby laughed. “I mean, it’s not like Sebastian isn’t able to control himself around me.”
    “Huh?” Sebastian said, lifting himself onto his elbows. He looked at them both, then flopped back. “I can’t read either.”
    “Do you care to share? What’s going on?” Libby asked.
    “I’m sure he’s already told you,” Emmy said.
    Libby and Sebastian exchanged glances.
    Libby raised her eyebrows.
    “About Maya being sick?”
    Emmy wondered if that’s all they’d talked about. Did he talk to Libby about her? How much she drove him crazy? Had they met earlier than four?
    She looked at Sebastian, he shook his head slightly.
    “What? I knew somebody was,” Libby said.
    Sebastian propped himself on his side. “Really?”
    “How?” Emmy asked, believing she knew the answer.
    “Rumour has it that Maya, Ingrid and Kristian were seen going to the doctor ’s. But some said they were at the hospital. You don’t know what to believe.”
    “Both rumours were probably true. I think they ended up going to both places,” Sebastian said.
    “How stupid am I not to realise that seeing them all down in Mercy Falls wouldn’t start the rumour mill?” Emmy moaned. “Mum hasn’t been down there for years.”
    “You’re so busy thinking about other town gossip to realise your own family has taken over top billing,” Sebastian teased.
    He sounded as if he was back to normal, but she didn’t feel normal around him. Not without talking. And not with Libby there.
    “How sick is she?” Libby asked.
    Emmy shrugged. “How sick do you think she is, Sebastian?”
    “I don’t know. Why ask me?”
    “Well, I’ve got no idea either,” Emmy admitted. “Mum seems to bounce from hopeful to hopeless every second. But she seems to be spending more time at hopeless. What do they think in town Lib? How sick do they think she is?”
    “No one would know who was sick. All of them go for the appointments. And there’s doctor patient confidentiality.”
    Emmy’s jaw dropped. “Listen to you, Sebastian. And I’m the one hooked on a dictionary. You sound like an encyclopaedia.”
    Libby sat up. “Everyone’s talking about Maya, Sebastian. They can tell by looking at her that she’s not well.”
    “It’s not that bad, is it?” Emmy argued.
    She felt them both look at her.
    “Em, the fact that everyone could work out that Mum was the sick one just by appearances means she’s not looking good,” Sebastian said.
    “What sort of sick?” Libby asked.
    “They don’t really know,” Emmy said.
    “They think it’s cancer,” Sebastian said. “But I know there’s a lot that can be done these days. Miracles happen all the time. This one woman she died, and went to heaven and came back completely healed. The doctors can’t explain it.”
    “Have you been sneaking into Kristian’s office again?” Emmy asked.
    Sebastian shook his head . “He took me in there. We couldn’t sleep. We went in there and googled.” 
    Emmy raised both eyebrows . “Googled? See? No different to my dictionary.”
    “Well it is a little different,” Libby said.
    Emmy stared Sebastian down.