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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

Gareth walked towards us. I willed him to stop, but he didn’t. He kept coming. Came right up to her. Whispered something in her ear. She nodded. Then he reached for her hand and squeezed it. I’d have told him to leave her alone, but I noticed her squeeze him back, so instead I walked away from them, pushed through the door and waited outside for Max’s car.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Tamsyn

August 1986

I leant against the window of the car and closed my eyes. I thrust my shoulder hard against the glass, putting pressure on the tattoo. I had a recollection of Edie’s hand on my skin, steadying herself as she pressed the needle into me, the drops of black ink mingling with my blood and fusing with my body.

The indicator ticked and I opened my eyes. Watched Max’s hand on the gear stick, strong and deliberate. I lifted my gaze to the rear-view mirror and found him looking at me. He smiled.

The car turned off the main road and headed on to the lane, unmade with potholes that jolted the car. Before we arrived at the house, he leant over and touched my knee. Patted it. His hand was firm and reassuring and made me miss my dad.

We pulled in to The Cliff House and he stilled the engine. Max shifted in his seat to face me and I mirrored him.

‘Are you all right?’

I nodded.

Then he reached out and touched my hair, stroked it over my shoulder. ‘He’ll be fine,’ he said. ‘I’m sure of it.’ And it took me a moment to realise who he meant.

‘I hope so,’ I said.

He dropped his hand from my hair. I got out of the car and followed Max to the front door. It closed behind me with a thud. The silence in the house was immediate and enveloping. There was a smell of old food and damp clothes. The atmosphere was heavy, similar to the air before a summer storm, thick with a growing sense of unease. The house didn’t feel the same. There was a hostility to it. No. There couldn’t be. It was just a house. Bricks and mortar. White paint and expansive glass.

Max put his keys on the hall table and walked through to the kitchen. I hovered by the door and listened to him filling the kettle, opening cupboards, the sounds of cups being deposited, jars being opened.

‘Tea?’ he called back to me.

I walked over to the kitchen doorway. My arms tightly crossed around me. He glanced up at me and I nodded, even though I didn’t want any tea, even though I knew it would cool in the mug until a grey disc formed on its surface. I noticed the kitchen and gasped. No wonder the place smelt.

Max made an apologetic face.