IT'S HERE
Eighten years ago, a night on the shores of the Outer Banks changed Claudia Mercer's life forever. Now, haunted by questions she can't let go, Claudia returns to the North Carolina coast to find her missing brother - and confront the ghosts of her past.
The Currituck Sound looked hazy through the old picture window, thanks to gauze curtains and an overcast sky. A face floated in and out of the folds, one I saw in my dreams and the gallery of photos on my phone—my brother, Daniel. I came to the Outer Banks often, always hoping he'd appear. I'd told myself this time would be the last. Somehow that had only made it worse. Since I arrived this morning, I'd scanned every face I saw. Listened for his laughter as I entered the lobby. Hoped to hear his voice above the roar of the ocean as I made my way over the dunes to the crowded beach. See his shining eyes as I walked at the ocean's edge. Find an end to painful memories. None of that happened. I returned to the hotel room, defeated. The silence in the room offered no solace.
I needed to get out.