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Back The Cliff House Save as PDF
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. Booklist
  3. Title Page
  4. Praise
  5. Dedication
  6. Prologue
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  62. Epilogue
  63. Acknowledgements
  64. About the Publisher

‘But then it changed and it wasn’t fun anymore. There was one Christmas Day when her hangover was so bad she spent the whole day in bed with the curtains shut. She only got out of bed to throw up. My father said she had a tummy bug.’ Edie glances at him and gives him a tight rueful smile. ‘I used to mark the levels of liquid inside the bottles in the drinks cabinet so I could measure how much she was drinking. Not that I knew what to do with the information. So I just left AA leaflets on the kitchen table.’

Edie sips the tea then bends over to rest the mug on the floor beside her. She stretches her legs out and tips her head back.

‘Then last year she turned up to a school event totally wasted. She was lurching around the place and had an argument with another mother. Accused her of flirting with Max. She slapped this other woman in front of everybody.’ She shakes her head, laughs a little. ‘Actually slapped another mother in front of the whole school! Can you believe that?’

Edie takes a deep breath and her smile falls away.

‘After that, school was a nightmare. The few friends I had stopped talking to me. The teachers whispered behind my back, some even sniggered as I walked past. I fucking hated it, so I did everything I could to get chucked out. Started missing lessons, was rude to the staff, spiteful to other girls, didn’t do any homework or write any notes in class, and eventually they had no choice but to chuck me out. There’s only so much bad behaviour a school can take, even if your father is a New York Times best-fucking-seller.’ She stops speaking and screws up her face. ‘God, I’m sorry. I’m talking too much.’

‘No problem.’

Edie stands and walks over to her mother’s bed. She looks down at her for a moment or two then picks up the medicine bottle and replaces the pills that have fallen across the bedside table before screwing on the cap. She turns to look down at him. Her eyes are filmed with fresh tears and it’s all he can do to stop himself jumping up to put his arms around her.

‘Thank you for helping. Please don’t tell anybody about this. Especially not Tamsyn or your mother. I don’t want them to think badly of her.’

He is moved by Edie’s desire to protect her mother. He identifies with it. He feels the same.

He nods and stands. ‘Will you be okay?’

She smiles as she pushes her shoulders back and lifts her chin. Then she affixes a wry, defiant mask to her face and nods.

‘Yes,’ she says. ‘I’ll be absolutely fine.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Tamsyn

July 1986

My stomach churned all the way home.