The next morning, Maeve and I watch as Jayden and Blake and fifteen intimidating men and women dressed in all black walk across the gardens, searching the grounds for any sign of the attacker. They've brought dogs with them, huge Bloodhounds and German Shepherds that seemed cute and playful when they arrived here but now look like they promise to murder. Jayden was clearly very happy as soon as he lay eyes on them and got way too close to them.

They end up finding nothing except a trail of blood in the woods that leads to nowhere. Enoch runs the prints on the knife only to find that they lead back to me. I feel a swell of disappointment, as I guess I'll never know who it was that tried to murder me, but also of relief as it means that it isn't certain whether or not I had killed her. I think I'd rather stay in the unknown.

With Jayden sad about giving the dogs back and everyone stressed and on high alert, a few of us decide to get out for the day. It ends up being me, Jayden, Chelsea, Maeve and Colby going down to the beach for yet another day in the sun.

Back where I used to live, we lived pretty much on the sand. I loved being there, as all it took was a step out of the door to be given an escape. I'd spend hours walking along the coastline, even in torrential rain or the rapid wind that nipped at my skin and almost blew me away. I'd walk and talk with my Dad, play with my brothers in the ocean, and watch as Connie finally got to cartwheel and dance with the other kids when our mother wasn't around to tell her not to. I wish they were all here now.

Holding Posie takes that longing away from me just for a moment. I cradle her in my arms while I listen to the summer music playing through our speaker and watch the others play an intense game of catch, one in which Colby gets hit in the face multiple times and they all start pushing one another into the ocean. Posie's awake and happily gurgling to herself, the Colic finally starting to fade away. I sit her on my lap so she can watch the guys play.

"You have a crazy family, huh," I smile, poking her in the belly. She giggles as if she understood what I said, and I reckon she probably did. "You're going to be one spoilt kid."

"Fuck yeah, she is," Maeve chuckles, plopping herself down to lay beside us. Her pale skin is speckled with sunburn and she leans over to blow raspberries on Posie's chubby cheek. "All these rich aunties and uncles who love her to pieces. Anyone that hurts her better watch out."

"Especially with Chelsea as her mother," I say, my point being proven as soon as Chelsea practically throws Jayden into the sea. "No one will stand a chance."

Maeve nods in agreement, before she coughs awkwardly.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Um... I'm sure it's nothing, but I couldn't help but notice that there's someone watching you."

My heart drops as I frantically scan the beach. "Not again."

"She was over by the beach huts," Maeve says, pointing to them. "Over there."

"She?" I ask. Could it be the same woman from yesterday?

But no. It's not. Because when I watch the beach huts of all different colours and styles, I see my mother stood there, staring at me. My heart starts thudding against my chest so hard that Posie must be able to feel it, and the nausea is suffocating. Suddenly, I'm more scared of her than I was of the woman from yesterday.

"Who is it?" Maeve clearly notices my sudden anxiety.

I should lie and say it's nothing, but instead find myself saying, "it's my Mum."

Maeve's eyes widen, looking over to where my mother is, before they narrow into slits. "She even looks like a bitch."

"I don't know what to do," I say helplessly, just about managing to stop Posie from eating the fistful of sand she just grabbed.

"We could go somewhere else?" Maeve suggests. "Unless you want us to go over there and make sure she's shitting her teeth for the next week?"

I shake my head. "I think I should talk to her."

"Do you really think she's worth that?" Maeve asks me, and I look at her, asking myself the same question. "Like, she's a bitch, right? She made your life a living hell and literally kicked you out of the house, but now you've escaped and you're happier. If I were you I would be gone by now."

I sigh, looking over to where she's still watching me. "I don't think it would be for her, though. I want to do it for me."

Maeve's eyes are full of understanding and she nods her head. I give Posie to her who is still struggling to eat the sand, before dusting the sand off my shorts and walking in the direction of where Mum is. The whole time I'm walking, I'm running through a mental checklist of what I should say and ask her. But it all flies out the window as soon as I realise that there's no point. This won't go according to plan whatever the plan may be.

As soon as I approach her, she folds her arms and narrows her eyes in that stance I'm all too familiar with. Christ, I thought I'd never have to see that again.

"You've dyed your hair," is the first thing she says.

I nod my head, having seen it coming. "Hello to you, too."

"What, so you're some kind of street rebel now?" she sneers. "You dye your hair, you're hanging out at the beach with some random people. Who was that baby you had? Is she yours?"

Fucking hell. "No, she's not. And from what I remember, it was you who kicked me out. You don't get a say in what I do anymore."

"Hell yes I do, I'm your mother," she says.

"You're delusional," I mutter, shaking my head. "What are you even doing here?"

"I'm taking my daughter for a day out. You know, my daughter who would never do such spiteful things behind my back to ruin my life, who wouldn't go off and dye her hair and act like a brat."

My eyes travel over to a bench nearby, where Connie is sitting. She's not watching us and has her head down, her long hair hiding her face from everyone. She looks sick and tired and for the first time in my life, I want to save her from this.

"You're sucking the life out of her," I deadpan.

Delilah, as I've now decided to officially call her from now on, rears her head back as if I just delivered a physically blow to her face. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," I say, stepping closer. "Look at her. Can you not see that you've done nothing but make her childhood a living hell, just like you did with mine?"

"Maybe if you weren't such a devil child then you wouldn't have seen me as a horrible mother."

I try my best to keep my voice low, but there's nothing I want more than to scream at her to wake up and shake some fucking sense into her. "Maybe if you weren't such a horrible mother then I wouldn't have acted up. The only way I could ever have some fun and actually live my life was by breaking the strict rules that you always had in place. You never let us do anything and even now that I'm gone you're continuing to ruin Connie's life and control her every action."

Tears gather in Delilah's eyes, but I know this is all part of her act. "You have no idea how difficult it is to be a mother. You have no right to tell me what I'm doing wrong when you have never known what it's like for me."

"Well, then maybe you should've stopped having kids as soon as Tristan and Sean were born," I snap.

She wipes away her fake tears. "Neither of you were planned, Aurora. You and Connie were accidents. I was perfectly happy with my twins but then you both had to come along and ruin everything."

"You say that like it's our fault that you got pregnant! Why didn't you just give us up if we ruined your life so much? Throw us to the social services and get us sent into care? We probably would've been better off if you had!" My heart is hammering in my ears at this point.

"Yeah, well maybe I'm starting to realise that now!" she yells, attracting the attention of everyone within earshot. "You two are nothing but spoilt brats and you'd both probably be better off dead!"

Her words barely even sting. It's nothing new.

My heart is going to explode. "Do you remember what you did? When I was barely six years old?" Delilah freezes, and I know I've struck a chord with her. "Yeah," I say. "Maybe we would be better off dead."

She's completely still, and I need to leave before I do some real damage. I'm about to step away and make a run for it, before her ice cold hand snakes around my wrist in a death grip and she pulls me closer to her.

"You shouldn't be with those people," she snarls, nodding over to where my friends are. I sneak a look over to see them all watching, Jayden looking as though he's ready to pounce in case things go to shit. "I can tell that they're trouble just by looking at them."

'Trouble' is a bit of an understatement, but I twist my arm out of her grip and step back defensively. "You have no idea who they are. They took me in when you kicked me out of the house. What did you expect me to do? Live on the streets and risk getting kidnapped and killed?"

"One has pink hair and one has a baby. What else has that lot got you roped into?"

I laugh, shaking my head, knowing I shouldn't have approached her. I should've just let Maeve knock her teeth down her throat when she offered. "A lot more than pink hair and babies, I'll tell you that much."

I start walking off, hearing Delilah yell my name to my back. But as I storm away, feeling eyes on me from every area of the beach, I feel my face grow into a smirk and I turn to hold up my middle finger in her direction. My younger self feels damn proud of me for that.