Then She Was Gone

When Poppy was a toddler, Noelle decided to sell her house because she was low on money. She’s not sure when Ellie died exactly, but when the body started to noticeably smell, Noelle put Ellie’s remains in a blanket box in the attic. Since she’s now planning to sell the house, she needs to deal with the remains. She made it look as if Ellie was a runaway by breaking into the Mack’s house and stealing a few items as if Ellie broke in. She then drove Ellie’s remains to a road far out in Dover, ran over some of the bones with her car, and partially buried the bones in a ditch. The rest of her bones, Noelle took to a nearby dump. Meanwhile, Noelle struggled to be a mother to Poppy. Poppy constantly threw fits, wouldn’t eat anything but sugar, and seemingly hated Noelle. With Floyd however, Poppy was a different child entirely. She bonded with Floyd, but not Noelle, and Noelle became angry. She resented the attention Floyd paid to Poppy rather than her. Noelle decided to take Poppy with her and return to Ireland, and in the back of her mind, harbored hopes that Floyd would follow and the three of them would live happily ever after.