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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

I clutched my pillow to me as I concentrated on slowing my pulse. I didn’t search my dream for meaning. I’d stopped doing that a long while ago. I couldn’t remember a time when I wasn’t plagued by these terrifyingly surreal nightmares – so vivid and impossible to shake. I was that sort of child. A child who saw monsters in the shadows and spirits in graveyards and heard voices calling from the centre of a windstorm.

When I was young I’d wake screaming and call for my father. He’d be with me in moments, holding my head to his chest, the flat of his hand cradling my cheek, whispering over and over that I didn’t need to cry, that he was with me, that I was safe. I placed my pillow back on the bed and lay down, pulling the duvet tightly around me. I missed him stroking my fear away so much it hurt.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Present Day

My eyes snap open. I can feel her watching me. As my mind adjusts to wakefulness I tell myself it’s not possible. That she isn’t there. She can’t be. But nevertheless I turn my light on to check. Beside me he grumbles in his sleep, turns, pulls the sheets over his head.

The bedroom is empty.

My skin crawls with sweat and my throat is tight and dry. Yet another nightmare. I try to recall it, but only the shapeless shadow of it persists, floating around the edge of my mind, evading me.

I get out of bed and put on my dressing gown, turn the light off, then quietly leave the room. For a moment I think I can hear her breathing. I turn around expecting to see her but there’s nothing. My footfalls are silent on the stairs. Just the odd creak of timber. I go into the kitchen. The tap drips on the sink and echoes like a tolling funeral bell. I make myself a cup of warm milk, add a spoonful of sugar, stir it and watch the liquid swirl. I wait until the surface of the milk stills. When I’ve finished the drink, I turn on the tap to wash the mug. I up end it on the stainless steel drainer, cloudy with age, marked with smears.

I unlock the back door and walk out. The clouds are thick and black and obscure the moon. The sea and sky have merged into one dark mass.

‘Where are you?’ My whispered voice cracks the silence.

I wait and listen. Strain my eyes. See the outlines of the overgrown bushes that encroach the grass. Something scampers through the hedge beside me. An owl screeches further up the lane.

‘I know you’re there!’ I shout this time.

But still there’s nothing.