Gab suddenly had an idea. She ran to the front door, not even bothering to put gumboots on, pulled it open and raced round to the side of the house where Gina’s bedroom window faced out. As the granny flat was on a slope, the window was too high for Gab to climb in through it without a ladder. But she scooped up a handful of gravel and let a spray of it fly at the window.

“What the?” The sound of the gravel hitting the window distracted Gina. Gab let fly another handful and then pressed herself against the wall. She could run up to Tony’s … but she had to get those pills first. She watched Gina’s window with her heart racing and saw Gina approaching it to look out and find the source of the noise.

“Gab! Gabby! Are you out there?” called Gina. “Is that you?” Suddenly she sounded frightened. And this was Gab’s chance. Quick as lightning, she raced back around and into the house, through the front door, back up the passageway to Gina’s bedroom door. She picked up the butterknife from the floorboards where she had left it, pushed the door open as far as it would go while it was locked and slipped the knife through the crack, flicking the hook out of the eyelet in a flash.

She was in!

“Mum!”

“Gab! Was that you outside? Was it?” Gina shrieked.

“Mum … give me those pills.” Gab put out her hand and Gina frowned, holding the box of pills tight against her. She was too caught up in her own torrential emotion to notice Gab’s hand shaking violently.

“No,” Gina said. “They’re mine.”

“I know they’re yours Mum. I’m not taking them permanently. Just for now. You don’t need them at the moment, do you?”

“How do you know what I need?” Gina snapped.

“Well, I don’t Mum, but if you tell me what you need, I can help you!”

Gina shook her head stubbornly, like an obstinate child.

“Mum, seriously,” pleaded Gab. “For Jack’s sake! Holding onto them isn’t going to solve anything. Just … please!” said Gab. Then she started to cry.

Suddenly Gina’s bottom lip started to tremble. It wasn’t so much that she was moved by the feelings she had evoked in her daughter, as that she couldn’t bear to see someone else as centre of attention; it was her feelings that were real and important … hers!

“Gaaaab!” she moaned, “I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal of this! Why do you always give me such a hard time?” Then Gina slumped onto the bed, still grasping her pills but with less resolve. Gab was beside herself, beginning to dissociate, beginning to retreat to that position right up in the top of her skull where it was dreamland, and she didn’t live in her body anymore. Mechanically, she saw her chance and grabbed the tub of pills from her mother’s arms. Her young, wiry arms, whose strength was built in digging on the farm, carrying her brother, and through years of climbing trees, were more than a match for her mother’s—as were her speedy reflexes. The relief crashed over her.

“Right, Mum,” she said. “I’m … I’m looking after these from now on, and I’ll give you your medicine each morning.” She would buy a locker for the pills.

Gina sat up again and crossed her arms moodily. “No fair!” she said to Gab huffily. “Why do you have to take things so seriously? I was just joking around!”

Gab’s jaw dropped.

That was it. It was more than Gab could take. Those pills were going in the bin. She didn’t care. She’d had a gut full. She stormed outside, Gina tottering after her, whining and pleading and trying to catch her daughter’s arm and grab back her pills. But Gab was lithe and quick; much too fast for Gina, and in no time, she’d reached the big skip that sat in the paddock beside the driveway and had thrown the entire box in. There was no way Gina could get them back, amongst the debris of weeks-old trash. They were gone.

Then Gab ran back to the house, and left Gina wailing outdoors in the moonlight. She shut the door to Jack’s room, shoved a chair under the handle so that Gina couldn’t get in, and lay on the floor an empty shell.