Erica woke with a jolt. Her heart was racing. She sat up and opened her eyes. Nothing. Complete darkness was all around her. She held her breath and stayed completely still, listening. Something was different. Panic began to rise. Her breathing became ragged, gasping.
Where am I?
Oh, yes. Of course. Melrose. It was her first morning waking up in the small town nestled against beautiful and magnificent Mt Remarkable.
She pictured the perfectly put together compact space of the flat with its heavy curtains with a small floral design. She loved how different the décor was from the way her sleek, minimalist home back in Adelaide was designed. Best of all, she loved that she was on a second floor. Even the flat being above Crossley Funerals didn’t faze her. She might have moved there out of desperation, but she was excited about starting her new job in a completely different industry.
Just days ago she might have laughed at her ridiculous overreaction, but now it was reasonable after a few weeks’ ordeal culminating in the upheaval on the weekend. She and her young adult daughters, Mackenzie and Issy, had dubbed it The Kayla incident. Reasonable, yes, but bloody annoying. Erica hated that the woman was still having an effect, despite being nearly three hundred kilometres away. She really didn’t want to think about Kayla at all, but, damn it, there she was now lodged in her brain. Erica still struggled with the fact the girl had been living in her roof space. Well, not living, exactly, but there: coming and going, roaming the house at night while Erica was sleeping and during the day while she’d been out.
You’re okay; she’s locked up and far away…
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