Chapter 2

Rose Phillips heard the door slam downstairs. She didn't know why she had feigned sleep tonight. Maybe because she felt her nephew needed to get out of the house for a while. Maybe because for a moment Kane had looked too much like his father. All she knew was for the first time in her life she had been afraid of him. It had only lasted a fleeting second, that look in his eyes, but it had been enough to bring back so many unpleasant memories. She realised she was shivering.

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Hesitantly, Kirsty pushed open the door.

"Dani...?" she whispered uncertainly.

"I'm okay!" Dani spoke irritably. "Kirsty, I told you, I told everyone! I need to be by myself."

"But I can't stand seeing you like this." Kirsty knew her voice was trembling. She sat on the edge of the bed, wishing she could do or say something to make Dani's pain go away. She was hurting herself, not just for Dani but for Kane too. Kane had so much emotional baggage from his dysfunctional family, yet take the time and patience to dig deeper and you found someone totally different. And yet what he'd done... how could she look at Dani now, see her in pieces, call herself her sister, yet love the person who had made her like this?

"Shove over. I'm staying with you," Kirsty said determinedly, lying on top of the bed and laying her head down on the pillow next to her. Dani gave a weak smile. Even when she was a kid, Kirsty had always known exactly what she wanted and got it. And it did feel better, knowing she was there.

"It'll be okay," Kirsty whispered, and Dani felt that one day it might, just might, be.

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"Rhys, it's no use shouting and swearing. We're stuck here till morning so we'll just have to make the best of it."

Rhys Sutherland slammed down the car bonnet. He'd tried everything he knew to start the engine and nothing would work. They were stranded in the middle of nowhere, on one of the many lonely, silent paths that streaked the vast expanse of Australia. "The worst thing is, Shell, we can't even get in touch with the kids."

His wife bit her lip. Too late now to admit their daughters were right and that mobiles were essential items. Too late for so many things. "Kane won't go anywhere near," she said. "He can't know we're away and anyway it's been two weeks. He's kept his promise so far."

"Yeh, well, who knows what goes on inside that mongrel's head?" Rhys was tearing himself apart. If he had his way, he'd never have left Dani's side since Kane. But it had been Dani herself who didn't want that. Even when the flashbacks came she shunned everyone. Once he he had gone to hug her and she had flinched. His daughter's life was destroyed and he couldn't even hold her.

Shelley rested her hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to the present. "That rain's getting heavier, Rhys. We need to get some rest. No-one's going to come along this Godforsaken road till daylight at least."

Rhys nodded, angry and helpless. There was a rumble of thunder from somewhere many miles away. They could only get the blanket out of the back and settle down for a long, uncomfortable night.

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Jade Sutherland and Bethany Mitchell leaned out of the window. The rain was sweeping in but neither of them cared. The day had buzzed. They'd been to the fair, gorged themselves on french fries and big macs, tried each other's clothes and make-up, discussed boys non-stop, especially their current boyfriends. The last thing they wanted to do was sleep.

"Wow, cool!" Beth said, as a particularly loud crash of thunder heralded a wild flash of lightning. She looked at Jade. Her friend had been strangely quiet these last few minutes. "Hey, you okay?"

Jade shrugged. "Remember me telling you Kirsty and me used to have like...a bond?"

"Has something happened?"

"I don't know. It's not as strong as it used to be. I just feel something's not right. Probably my imagination."

"Give her a ring in the morning. It'll be fine."

"Yeh." Jade turned back to the window. "You know, my sister Dani hates thunder and lightning. I hope she's okay."

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It was a childish thing to be arguing over, Kirsty knew, but she and Dani stood by the bedroom door arguing just the same. The storm had unnerved them. One minute they were giggling together, reminiscing about stupid stuff from when they were kids, the next the thunderstorm broke and everything changed. Fear was back in Dani's eyes. She had always been scared of thunder and being in the shipwreck had made her worse. Kirsty was frustrated. She'd been so close to getting Dani to open up to her and now the moment was gone.

"No, Dan, I'LL go down for you for a cold drink..."

"Kirsty, I Will Be Okay." Dani added a capital letter to every word, like Kirsty was an idiot.

"I'm trying to help here!"

"Well, you're not!" Dani's voice was as loud as her sister's. She jumped at another crash of thunder and swallowed. Her tone was quieter now. "I know...I know I feel safer when it's like this if I'm hiding under the duvet but I'm going to make myself overcome all my fears if it kills me. That scumbag Kane and everything."

Kirsty looked away. Like Dani, she thought of Kane constantly but for very different reasons. She loved him. She wished she could have fallen for someone different, someone who had never hurt Dani, maybe Seb or the guy on holiday last year whom she'd had a brief fling with, but she couldn't help herself.

"Oh, Kirst, I'm sorry! I know you're making this huge sacrifice for me and..."

"So is Kane! It's not easy for him either!" Kirsty regretted snapping immediately. In the lightning, Dani looked so small and vulnerable, hurt and bewildered, shocked by Kirsty's outburst. She felt ten times more guilty when Dani said what she said.

"I realise that. I am grateful to you guys. I know Kane is sorry and I hate myself for not being strong enough to make all this pain go away ..."

"Dani, it's not your fault!" Tears sprang to Kirsty's eyes as she gave her sister a fierce hug.

"Hey, I need air!" Dani said shakily, trying to make a joke of it. "I guess this means it's okay for me to go down on my own then?"

"What do you think?" Reluctantly, Kirsty let go. Dani was right. Facing up to your fears was the only way to be rid of them. Apart from when she'd been with Kane, Kirsty had never run away from anything in her life. But it was so hard her knowing her sister was scared and having to let her go it alone. Mum, Dad, Jade, herself, they'd lived and breathed Dani's life falling apart and they all just wanted to protect her.

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Dani's hands shook uncontrollably. The thunder seemed to shudder through her whole body and she wanted to turn and run back to Kirsty like she'd run to Mum when she was little. But she kept herself focused. She had survived a rape. Survived a shipwreck. She could surely get through something as harmless as thunder.

Her mouth was dry. She had to head for the kitchen where...why, why, why must her mind keep playing over that day? Why was she torturing herself? Her heart was beating so fast she thought she would die. She could do this. She had to. She pushed open the kitchen door and was puzzled to feel a strange breeze on her face. Lightning lit up the kitchen for a few seconds. Enough to take in the scene of devastation - and the figure climbing out of the window. Dani's terror was too great for her to scream. She froze.