‘It’s just … You don’t think it could be a tumour, do you?’ The idea had come to her in the middle of the night, when she’d been unable to sleep.
To their credit, they both keep their attention firmly on her, rather than exchanging rolled-eye looks with each other as she thought they might.
‘A tumour?’ Mia asks carefully.
‘A brain tumour. Because you get hallucinations when you have a brain tumour, don’t you?’
‘What are you basing this on?’ Darcy asks sceptically. ‘Grey’s Anatomy?’
‘No. I’m basing it on the very real fact that tumours can cause auditory or visual hallucinations.’
‘Right. Sorry. I don’t think it’s very likely, though. Wouldn’t you have other symptoms?’
‘I get headaches.’
‘Everyone gets headaches, Bissa,’ Mia says gently.
Lissa nods, though she’s not wholly convinced. She knows logically that it probablyisn’ta brain tumour. She tries to take a deep breath – the last thing she needs is another panic attack – but that’s easier said than done in a sauna.
‘I wish I knew whatIwas in my past lives,’ Darcy says with a yawn. Mia snorts her general disbelief at the whole idea. ‘Although what if it was something terrible. What if I was lost at sea or trapped in a lighthouse or—’
‘I think that’s a film,’ Mia says musingly.
‘Hmm.’ Darcy taps her nails against her thigh. ‘Quite possibly.’
‘Saskia says she can read my tarot,’ Lissa says.
‘Right.’ Mia pushes her red hair away from her face. ‘And Saskia is …?’
‘The psychic,’ Darcy pipes up.
‘Of course,’ Mia says – and you have to hand it to her, she has the long-suffering tone down. ‘Lissa, why don’t you go to anactualtherapist? I’m sure these dreams you’re having—’
‘They’re not dreams,’ Lissa interrupts. ‘Well, I mean, sometimes they are, but they’re notonlydreams.’
‘Fine. I’m sure thesevisionsyou’re having are a response to stress, or trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, or dealing with past issues, that kind of thing. Honestly, Freud would have a field day.’
‘I don’t need a therapist,’ Lissa insists. ‘I just need to figure out what they’re trying to tell me.’
‘They?’ Mia laughs, the sound slightly high-pitched. ‘Lissa, it’syourmind. The only one trying to tell you something is you.’
Lissa turns to Darcy. ‘So – tarot? Yay or nay?’ Mia mutters something incoherent under her breath.
‘Well, I tried one of those fortune-teller hotlines once,’ Darcy muses. ‘You know, where they give you more detail on your horoscope. He told me I would get a pay rise, which Liam did not agree with. He did get a few things right, though, to be fair.’
‘Like what?’ Mia asks sceptically.
‘Like the fact that a secret would come to light.’
‘A secret?’ Lissa repeats.
‘Yep. And that very month, my mum told me she’d been learning to belly-dance for years, and keeping it secret from the whole family.’
Lissa laughs, and Mia grins, then shakes her head. ‘I’m going to change the subject now, before the two of you start telling me you can see shapes in the steam like a crystal ball or something.’
‘You’re a Capricorn, aren’t you?’ Darcy asks. ‘Classic sceptic.’
‘How’s the job hunt, Lissa?’ Mia asks loudly, ignoring Darcy.
