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That night Claire hardly sleep at all. Her head was still reeling from the events of that day –more importantly, the men who tried to kill her and her friends. She wasn't sure what they were doing on the marsh, or why they tried to kill five teenagers, but it scared her. Then to accompany her fears, she had another nightmare.
It was always the same one, and had been happening on and off ever since the accident; the boat colliding with theirs, Claire and her dad going over, him struggling to get out of the net and then her head colliding with the anchor, before she usually woke up sweating. They only really occurred when she got too stressed or overwhelmed, and she hadn't told anyone about them except for JJ. He'd promised not to tell when she asked him, which was another thing about him she was grateful for.
When she crawled out of bed at 5am, Claire grabbed a glass of water and sat on one of the wicker chairs out the back until the sun came up. It was peaceful to watch, and for a while she'd forgotten that there was a bigger threat looming in the atmosphere around her.
At 7:30 that morning, Jackie wandered onto the porch and sat in the chair beside Claire with a mug of coffee in her hands.
"How long have you been up?" She asked.
"About two and a half hours." Claire replied. Jackie furrowed her eyebrows. "I couldn't sleep."
"Everything alright?"
Claire nodded, giving her a tight smile. "Fine."
"There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." Jackie said after a few moments of silence.
Claire eyed her mother skeptically, "Okay..."
"I'm selling the house."
"What?"
"I'm selling and we're moving back home in just over a week." She stated matter-of-factly.
"What are you talking about? We can't just move back to Australia! This isour home!" Claire exclaimed, standing up from her chair abruptly.
Jackie closed her eyes and sighed. "Claire, Kildare was never truly our home. We only moved here for your father but he's gone now and I don't have a reason to stay anymore. I know you have your friends here but you also have friends and family back home."
"No, I don't have friends back home! I never did. My friends are here, my family is here, Mum!"
"I've already contacted the real estate and they're coming to look at the house in a few days time."
