Six

by Karen Tayleur

  Only Nico seemed at peace on that strange day as he sat next to Poppy, a protective arm about her shoulders. Between the day of the accident and the day of the funeral, a salesman had been arrested for a series of crimes against young women, including the murder of the two who had been found on our very doorstep in The Woods. There were no more prank texts. Nico no longer had to worry about being a murder suspect. Just about passing high school.

  Whoever picked the music did a great job. A couple of people got up and spoke, but I couldn’t concentrate on what they were saying as I flitted in and out of my own thoughts. I noticed some of the random school uniform kids having a quiet blubber and I wanted to pinch them and ask what they were even doing here. This wasn’t an episode from some cheap drama. This wasn’t for their entertainment.

  A baby started to cry halfway through the service and I glanced around to see Aunt Lili taking Betsy outside. I was torn — should I stay or go with her — but then a song came on and my eyes were drawn to a slideshow of baby photos and laughing faces.

  After the service there was tea and cake. I tried to talk to Poppy a few times then, but she was so upset that I knew it was too soon.

  THAT SUMMER, OUR last summer of school holidays, was the best summer of my life. And though time could not stand still and took us to a place that we would never have imagined, it’s a time I will think of fondly.

  Some nights I go to Poppy’s house and wait for her to come and open the side door. I go inside and listen as she speaks to her beloved pet, Hootie, or cries softly into her pillow.

  It seems Poppy has had the last laugh on me. Her and her talk of auras and the spirit world and seeing into the future. She’d been ill on the night of the accident. Up in my room, she’d had a headache and I’d dismissed it as too much alcohol. Maybe she really did have a premonition. Maybe her body had been warning her, but she’d failed to see the warning signs. As I had too, always the non-believer.

  I miss talking to Poppy and sometimes I try, but she is still not ready to hear me. At the moment I am a shadow on her peripheral vision, just out of reach.

  Acknowledgements:

  An author is only one part of a team responsible for creating that tangible thing called a ‘book’. I really want to take the time to thank everyone.

  At bdb

  To AK, who was there are at the beginning, who showed me a street directory and pointed me in the right direction.

  To MAB, whose editorial suggestions made sense of things and added a final polish.

  To designer Regine Abos for such a glossy duco.

  To Sophie Splatt who added an extra layer of polish to the cover.

  To Coco Watanabe’s last-minute research that kept me on track.

  To Gitsi, for driving sales.

  To Jessica Tran who keeps the wheels turning and Kevin who makes sure I have enough petrol money.

  To Barb Burton for the fine tuning and the team at Murdoch for taking Six for a test drive out into the world.

  But, most of all, to my navigator, Misch, who cleaned out the rubbish, added some oil and polished the windscreen — couldn’t have done it without you.

  At home

  Thanks to my readers — Bernie, Dee, Joy, Caity and Bryce (a first) — for their comments and enthusiasm.

  Thanks to my author community — Ananda, Bernadette, Carole, Corinne and Sue — who help make sense of this crazy thing called ‘writing’.

  Thanks to my children, as always, a constant source of inspiration.

  And, of course, to Chris, my rock.

  First published in 2010

  by

  an imprint of Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd

  Locked Bag 22, Newtown

  NSW 2042 Australia

  www.walkerbooks.com.au

  This ebook edition published in 2014

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  Text © 2010 Karen Tayleur

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

  Tayleur, Karen, 1961– author.

  Six / Karen Tayleur.

  For young adults.

  Subjects: Traffic accidents – Fiction.

  A823.4

  ISBN: 978-1-742590-50-9 (ePub)

  ISBN: 978-1-925126-05-1 (e-PDF)

  ISBN: 978-1-742590-48-6 (.PRC)

  Cover image © Getty Images/Pete Ryan

  For my sister

  who has been there, done that

  —K.T.

  OTHER BOOKS BY KAREN TAYLEUR

  Hostage

  Chasing Boys

  Love Notes From Vinegar House