Jess stifled a scream. Her wide eyes roamed her room, but there was nothing amiss. She could see Laura's duvet shifting as she breathed long and slow, still asleep. Their door was still shut, and the curtains were drawn.

And yet Jess' heart was racing.

She sat up, drawing a shaky hand through her hair and wiping at her clammy skin. The clock said it was 5am. That meant she'd only been asleep for a few hours.

She couldn't remember her nightmare, just the lingering feeling of absolute terror remained, and the sense that it was something important.

Shaking away the gnawing feeling that she needed to remember her dream proved impossible, so she tiptoed to the door. Maybe a fresh, cold glass of milk might calm her racing mind enough for the details to come back. Or at least that was what she was banking on, though she held little hope that it would work.

The nightmares had started a month ago, and she had yet to remember a single one. No amount of calming tea, hot milk, or sleeping tablets seemed to stop them. She'd almost been desperate enough to call her sister, but had decided against it.

She closed the door softly behind her and straightened. Someone had left the hallway lights on and the lack of shadows calmed her. She'd never felt scared in the house, but her nightmares left her feeling out of sorts and anxious.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she passed the only open door on their floor. Through a small gap, she saw one of the other sorority residents sitting on her bed, her head turned away from the door, her long blond hair trailing down her back.

Jess didn't linger long. Charity wasn't one for meaningless chitchat, and she seemed to be in a thoughtful mood. The last thing Jess wanted was to be caught in another one of Charity's deep conversations for hours. That had happened once too often already.

Not that she disliked Charity, but their views conflicted too much to make it an easy relationship.

Jess filled her glass and crept back up the other staircase. Originally built for the staff that the old house would have had, it was narrower and steeper, but it granted her the advantage of not having to pass Charity's room again.

She slipped into her room, closed the door, and then on impulse went to the window and peaked out. The RV was exactly where it had been, and so was the Deputy's car. There were no signs of life, but Jess didn't doubt that her sister was asleep inside, and not alone.

She tweaked the curtain back into place and went back to bed, hoping that she could catch another few hours of sleep without nightmares.

***

Jess watched as the Deputy descended from the RV and closed the door behind him.

'Morning,' she called.

'Ah, good morning.' He scratched the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. It looked like he wanted to say more, but the RV door swung open, and Ash stood there leaning against the frame, the absolute picture of ease despite the awkward atmosphere.

'You left this.' Ash tossed the belt towards the Deputy, who fumbled to catch it.

'Right. Well, thanks,' he muttered before making a dash towards his car.

'He's got good energy, that one. Lots of potential.'

'You're unbelievable,' Jess groaned. 'You've been in town less than a day.'

'I'm just a friendly person.'

'Some may say too friendly.'

'The good Deputy just wanted a reading.'

'And then stayed the night,' Jess pointed out.

'We're two consenting adults.' Ash turned and went back inside. Jess followed her, unwilling to let it go.

'He doesn't seem the type that would be interested in your services,' hedged Jess.

Ash collected the tarot cards where she'd left them the night before and placed them in the racking attached to the wall. She withdrew a bunch of slightly smouldered twigs and lit the end, waving it over the collection of crystals that remained on the table.

'I'm surprised at you, Jesse. You shouldn't judge,' she admonished.

'I'm not judging,' bristled Jess.

'The Deputy is going through a rough time, and he wanted answers.'

'And so you lied to him.'

Ash's shoulders tensed. Putting the bunch of twigs in an ashtray on the side, she turned to glare at her sister.

'I. Never. Lie.'

'Then what do you call all this?' Jess demanded, waving at the collection of tools Ash had acquired. 'Crystals. Tarot cards. Your magic incense. It's all just a con. You're just like Nana, but at least she hustled cards. At least she knew she was a crook.'

'Don't talk about things you know nothing about,' warned Ash.

'Wake up Ash. None of this is real. It's just a persona that brings in the crazies so you can exploit them.'

'This is my life. These things are precious to me. Things that I've collected that resonate with my energy. They let me help-'

'Don't be selling your bullshit here,' exploded Jess. 'You were raised by a con artist, and now you are one.'

'And what about you?' Ash glared at her.

'What about me?'

'You say I'm lying to people, but what about you? I'm guessing your friends in there don't know about me? I'm guessing they don't know about Nana or our parents?'

She scoffed when Jess remained silent.

'You're such a hypocrite. You're talking about my persona. My lies. When you're all about the persona. At least I am who I am, Jesse. Can you say that?'

'You don't know what it's like,' Jess defended, finally finding her voice. 'Sure, not everyone in that house has a conventional family, but at least they're functioning. We never stayed in the same town for more than 6 months when we were growing up. Nana would leave us for weeks by ourselves.'

'She didn't have a choice.'

Jess chuckled darkly. 'Of course she had a choice. She could have chosen not to leave two kids alone in an RV park.'

'We needed the money.'

'Then she could have gone and got a proper job. But the hustle was just too much of who she was.'

'You know she never had to look after us. She could have shipped us off to some orphanage,' Ash reminded her quietly.

'Sometimes I wonder if that would have been such a bad thing,' muttered Jess.

'She did the best she could. I did the best I could. I'm sorry that I couldn't be the perfect parents for you, or the stable home you wanted. I'm sorry that we didn't have the white picket fence, and the little dog, and that we couldn't ride our bikes up and down the street, like every other kid. I'm sorry your life has been such a fucking disappointment.' Ash's chest rose and fell rapidly as the two sisters glared at each other.

Silence hung heavy between them until Jess noticed the time on her phone.

She grimaced. 'I got to go. I'm going to be late for class.'

'I'll drive you.'

Jess looked up, but Ash wouldn't meet her eyes.

'I can walk.'

'Just get in the seat, Jesse. I have to be moving on from here, anyway.'

'You're leaving?' Jess wasn't sure whether to feel disappointed or hopeful. Having her sister there made things complicated, but a small part had missed her, even though she'd thoroughly messed up any dreams of a friendly reunion.

She just couldn't understand the life her sister had chosen. It irritated her like a hangnail.

Ash finally met her eyes. They were tired and resigned.

'I was telling the truth when I said I'm sticking around till your birthday. I just can't stay in this immediate spot until then.'

'Where will you go?'

'I have a client close to here. She'll let me park in her drive in exchange for some free help.'

'That's good of her,' Jess said lamely, surprised that her sister had given her a straight answer for a change.

'She owes me.'

They lapsed into silence as Ash manoeuvred the large vehicle towards the university. A few times Jess felt the need to say something, but in the end Ash turned the radio on to fill the silence. Neither of them sung along, and rather than easing the tension, the music made things worse.

Ash let the RV idle at the curb as she watched the students stream into the university building.

'Ash, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lay it all on you like that.'

'Don't worry about it, kid.' But her smile was small and strained.

'No. I was wrong to say those things. I'm just irritable lately, not sleeping well.'

'You're not sleeping well?' Ash demanded, making Jess look at her in confusion.

'Just a couple of nightmares. I think it's exam stress or something.'

'Or something,' Ash repeated under her breath.

She turned off the engine and took off into the back of the RV, leaving Jess to wait by the door.

'I want you to wear this,' she said when she returned. She passed a black pouch over to her sister. 'Might help with those nightmares.'

Jess pocketed the pouch without opening it. There was no way she was going in for her sister's alternative approach, but nor was she willing to have another argument.

'Sure. I'll put it on when I get to class.'

Ash watched her for a few seconds before seemingly accepting her words.

'Look, Ash, I just wanted to say-.' She cut off as her sister winced and gripped her head.

'Fuck,' Ash groaned.

'Are you okay?'

'Peachy. It's just a little headache. Nothing to worry about.' But she was biting on her lip hard enough to draw blood.

'Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should see a doctor.'

'I'm fine,' snapped Ash before she sighed and refocused her gaze on Jess. 'Honestly, it happens now and again. Don't worry about me. Just get to class before you're late,' she said in a gentler tone.

'Maybe we could go to dinner tomorrow?' Jess offered.

Ash blinked at her. 'I'd like that.'

'Okay, well, as long as you're okay...'

'I'm really fine, Jesse. Nothing I can't handle.'

'I'd better be going then.'

Jess headed towards the history department, hearing her sister's RV pulling away behind her. She wasn't sure what it was, but her sister's headaches worried her. They looked too intense to be normal. She wondered whether she could use their meal together to get her to go to a doctor, before remembering that she'd promised Daryl that she'd watch his swim meet.

'I'll just call her later to rearrange,' she said to herself. If her sister really was planning to stick around till her birthday, then there would be plenty of time for a strained family dinner.