"Clydie, I need to speak with you in private for a moment, please," Frank said before turning around and walking stiffly toward the backdoor, exiting and closing it behind him with rather a bit of force.

Clydie didn't move for a second and she felt Julian's hands give her shoulders a comforting squeeze. "Do you want me to come with you, Clydie? You don't have to face anything alone while I'm here."

"No, thanks.  I'll be fine," she said, getting to her feet, which forced Julian to let go of her. "He's my dad. He's not going to do anything to me."

Other than slaughter her in cold blood. And she had absolutely no doubt that Frank Weston was going to slaughter her. She only hoped it was going to be swift and relatively painless.

Ella suddenly burst back into the room, looking angry and flushed. "Where's your father?" she demanded, casting her gaze about.

Bracing herself for impending death, she pointed toward the backdoor. "He's waiting for me outside."

Ella rolled her eyes and huffed out a breath. "For the love of..." She stalked over to the door and pushed it open, leaning out. "Frank, come back inside! There's no point in trying to be private now!"

A part of Clydie was a bit relieved at not having to go outside to talk to her parents. Maybe they wouldn't kill her quite so hard if there were people watching...people who could testify at their trial.

As soon as Frank re-entered the room and he and Ella were standing side by side, taking what she would consider their battle stance, she felt Julian step up beside her, standing so close that his arm was touching hers. And she found that gesture kind of reassuring. Again, maybe they wouldn't kill her too hard...

"First off, I want to thank you, Julian. You handled the sheriff like you knew what you were doing," Ella began, more softly than Clydie had expected.

"I should know what I'm doing," Julian said. "My pop is the sheriff back home, my brother is a cop, and my sister is a District Attorney."

"Ah. Well, that explains it," Ella said. 

Clydie found herself both impressed and confused.  It seemed to make sense that Julian's family were in law enforcement, but it would also have made sense had he told her they farmed cattle out in the desert.  What made no sense at all was that Julian...was an IT guy?

 "And now, I'd like my daughter to explain to me exactly what went on last night and just why the sheriff thinks she knows anything at all about some poor girl who went missing a year ago," Ella went on.

Oh damn.  

She felt some of the blood draining from her face. She had no idea what to say to her mother, how to explain everything that happened the night before. Thinking her daughter was crazy was one thing, but finding out that daughter might actually be seeing dead people...that she was actually seeing Sam...and that Sam wasn't tucked away safely in heaven, like she was supposed to be... Well, that was something else altogether.

"Mrs. Weston, I can explain about the party last night," Matt spoke up, still on his ladder, his scraping tool still frozen in the air. "Clydie wasn't drinking. I mean, not really."

"And what does not really mean? Either she was, or she wasn't," Ella pointed out, not quite as softly as before.

Matt sucked in a noisy breath, looking like he was facing down a firing squad, and briefly explained about their dip in the ocean and the subsequent brush with near hypothermia that she'd had, which had resulted in her taking a single shot of alcohol.

Hearing that explanation seemed to appease Ella somewhat, prompting her to put her hand on her heart and let out a heavy breath. Frank, however, just stood there like an angry statue, saying nothing, his jaw clenched hard.

"Well, that bit's laid to rest then. Though, my daughter should know that alcohol doesn't actually serve any purpose whatsoever in treating hypothermia," Ella stated, her tone mildly scolding...and Clydie allowed herself to relax just one tick because maybe she wasn't going to be completely slaughtered?  "Now, what about this missing girl? Clydie? I need you to tell me the absolute truth about that. No bullshit."

She felt herself swallowing hard as dread gripped her...while at the same time finding herself swept with a moderate wave of anger. She'd never tried to bullshit her parents before, so why did Ella need to clarify that point? So, she decided right then and there that if Ella wanted the absolute truth, then she'd have it.

No bullshit.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Watching the expressions on the faces of her parents as what she'd told them sank in, Clydie felt a crushing wave of remorse strike her, pushing the air right out of her lungs...and she instantly regretted what she'd done.

For two years, she hadn't told her parents any more than was necessary for fear of hurting them. And now...they were both processing just what her words meant for Sam and she could plainly see what that knowledge was doing to them. Ella was pale, her eyes stricken and damp with tears and Frank was pinched and drawn, his eyes dark and uneasy.

She wanted to take her words back, she wanted her parents to keep on thinking that Sam was safe and sound and at peace...but, there was no way for her to un-say it, no way for her parents to un-hear it. And there was also no way to take back the fact that she'd said it all in front of Julian Donovan and Mr. Tanner...

Damn. It was out now. All of her crazy and all of her weird was out for the entire world to see...

Finding it suddenly difficult to breathe, Clydie's body took charge and spun around, moving her across the kitchen and toward the backdoor. She was out of the house and across the back garden almost before she even realized it, heading straight toward the rickety wooden steps and the beach beyond.

Oh god. What had she done? What...had she done?

She'd allowed the hurt she felt toward her parents to override her good sense, that's what she'd done. She'd opened her mouth and told her parents that their dead daughter was trapped in the deeps of hell and trying to claw her way, that's what she'd done. She had just ensured that Frank and Ella would never know another minute's peace nor rest, that they would be haunted just the way she was being haunted... Even after everything they'd done to help her over the past two years, she'd gone and broken their hearts.  That's what she'd done...

"Clydie! Wait!" a voiced called after her just as her feet hit the hard packed sand.

It was Julian shouting to her and he managed to catch up to her before she'd made it more than a few feet down the shore.

"Clydie, stop! You don't have to run off!" he said, taking hold of her shoulders and forcing her to a halt.

But, she jerked away from him and kept on walking, keeping her gaze straight ahead. And to her annoyance, Julian fell into step beside her, clearly not getting the hint. She just wanted a minute to herself! Why couldn't she have that?

"Clydie, wait up!" another voice shouted out and she felt defeat rolling over her.

For the past two years, she'd basically been a hermit and a shut in. And now, she couldn't get people to leave her alone. What the hell?

Matt swiftly caught up with her and Julian, placing himself on the opposite side of her, making her feel hemmed in and suffocated even though she was out in the wide open space. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

She shrugged. She had absolutely no idea.

"Well, you're at least holding up better than your parents," he stated, bringing Clydie's gaze whipping around to him.

"What do you mean? What are they doing?" she asked, her stomach squeezing tightly.

Matt offered a sympathetic shrug. "Your mom is crying all over my dad and your dad is trying to throw up in the kitchen sink."

That was to be expected, she supposed. But, having Mr. Tanner dragged into the situation really sucked. It felt as though she was pulling at least half the town of Cedar Cove into her problems.

"Why don't we go to my house and talk about this," Julian suggested somberly.

"There's nothing to talk about," Clydie croaked out, wishing she could just start running and keeping running until everything...just everything...was far behind her.

"Oh, but there's plenty to talk about," Julian firmly stated. "We can talk about the fact that Sheriff Benton has you flat pegged for some kind of involvement in a missing person's case.  We can talk about the fact that I'm willing to bet, dollars to doughnuts, the family won't let this rest, which means the sheriff'll be back.  And he'll be looking for real answers."

She again felt her stomach plummeting downward. "But, I really don't know anything. I-I...you heard what I told my parents. I've seen that girl...with Sam. But, that's it?"

It struck her as surreal that she was discussing something so intensely personal with a man she'd known for mere hours... But, then again, she'd told Matt Tanner her entire life story after knowing him the same amount of time. So, apparently, after not speaking about her issues for two years, she now couldn't seem to stop talking about them. With just anyone and everyone who happened to cross her path, no less.

"Well, can we come up with something to tell the sheriff that'll get him off your back?" wondered Matt.

"What can I possibly tell him?" she asked, feeling rather helpless. "I can't tell him the truth. And there's no lie that would explain how I knew about the burn on that girl's arm."

And what that boiled down to was that she was in some deep shit, with not a single shovel to be had...

"Clydie, you're shaking," Julian pointed out and the next moment, she felt a weight drop onto her shoulders.

Letting out a sigh as she realized it was the fisherman's sweater that was haunting her, she gave in and slid her arms into the sleeves, wrapping it around herself and inhaling the wonderfully masculine scent that clung to the fabric. 

 If a thing had to be, she might as well give into it.

"I'm taking you to my place," Julian stated, wrapping his arm around her waist. "You can get out of this wind and I'll make us some coffee and we can try and get...all this...sorted out."

All she could do was nod her consent. If he'd said he wanted to take her to the nearest cliff and shove her off it, she wouldn't have argued. So, a cup of coffee wasn't all that bad an option.

"No offense to your mama, but I need a cup of drinkable coffee, just to drive the stuff she made out of my head."

"Sorry I couldn't warn you about that," she apologized, meaning it.

She wouldn't wish her mother's cooking on her worst enemy. And at the moment, she didn't quite consider Julian Donovan her worst enemy, so the guilt of what he'd suffered was nagging at her.

Julian glanced down at her, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Eh, I probably wouldn't have believed it was really that bad, anyway."

"Yeah. I didn't believe it. And then...it was too late," Matt said, shivering outwardly.

"Can your mama cook any better than she can make a pot of coffee?" wondered Julian as they moved down the beach at a steady clip.

"No," Matt resolutely answered for her.

"Well, maybe I should order some takeout while we talk. Some food might settle everyone's nerves," Julian stated.

Clydie couldn't argue that. And she had skipped breakfast that morning. "You won't get into trouble with your dad, will you, Matt? Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"I don't think my dad will say anything. He knows I came after you. Besides, he's dealing with your hysterical mother, so he's kind of busy right now."

Yet another wave of guilt washed over her. "I'm sorry you and your dad got dragged into this. I never should have told you about any of it."

Matt reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be sorry. You needed somebody to talk to. And I did kind of harass you into it."

That was true. But, all the same, now that Matt, Julian, and Mr. Tanner were tangled up in the mess that was her life, she feared they were going to have a hard time getting themselves untangled.