Cassie struggles to fight her feelings for Macca following his return. Lucas is devastated when he sees Matilda kissing Dean, and Drew and Belle’s runaway plan has an unexpected outcome.
Extended Summary
Belle can’t believe that Drew has just suggested they skip town together – is he serious?! Drew assures her that he is as Belle questions where they’ll go and how’ll they survive? What about his bail checks? Drew doesn’t care about any of that – they’ve survived without parents before – they can do it. Is Belle up for it? He’s convinced her – she’s in! Belle races inside to pack her bags! Drew is doing the same as he packs the last of his things Ryan asks where he’s going? Drew says he’s going away for a bit, but Ryan and VJ both say they want him to stay. He’s a bit saddened by it but makes them promise to not tell Leah as he heads out. Finally Belle and Drew meet – excited about their adventure! Meanwhile, Leah is in the kitchen when Amanda arrives to collect Ryan and the girls discuss how delightfully both Drew and Belle have been behaving since their talking to. Leah asks Ryan where Drew is – he tries to cover, but fails dismally and as Ryan is about to reveal all we see Belle and Drew walking down the road trying to hitch a ride to the city. A car finally pulls over with Leah and Amanda! Back home, Amanda rips into the pair as they defend their decision – they just want to see each other and no one respects that! Leah calms everyone down and suggests a rational conversation. They decide it’s a two way street and there needs to be more give and take. Amanda suggests Drew work at her place, yard and pool work – allowing him to see Belle under supervision and to earn some money. Drew agrees and all seemed pleased with the outcome.
Cassie is still getting her head around Macca’s return – why did he come back? He tells her he’s been in counseling since he left and realized that he needed to start his life again somewhere and decided on the Bay. Cassie is quick to remind him she’s back with Ric, Macca knows this and isn’t here to pressure her, but he does want to be friends to show her he’s changed. Cass is uneasy with this, as Macca asks to rent one of the caravans. She gets him a key, clearly unsettled by his return. Meanwhile, Ric is telling Lucas there’s hope for him and Mattie. He tries to coax Lucas to visit Mattie at the retreat to talk to her – but he’s reluctant, saying she has Dean. Ric is quick to remind him that she said nothing was going on with Dean. Will Lucas visit her? Macca gets chatting with Alf and Amanda – they wonder how long he’s back for – he wants to stay as long as he can and is looking for work and has just hired a van from Cass. As he says this, Ric walks in, shocked to see him back and even more that he’s been in touch with Cass and she hasn’t mentioned it to him! Still thrown, Ric heads home and gives Cassie a chance to come clean, asking if anything has happened today. She denies there’s anything, then Ric asks about Macca. Why didn’t she tell him? Cassie says she’s still dealing with it and didn’t know how Ric would react. Does she still like him? Cassie assures him that’s not the case and apologises for not telling him. He pulls her into a hug – but we can see Cassie is unsure of her words. Sally is propped nearby, having heard that Macca is back and looks concerned. Cassie heads to the beach, where Sally catches her and asks how she feels about Macca’s return? She says she loves Ric, but got the feeling she had when she first met Macca again. She quickly covers saying she is happy with Ric, leaving a highly concerned Sally.
At the retreat, Dean is comforting Mattie about her nerves before her private counselling session that afternoon, he’s sure she’ll be fine. They stare at each other a moment as Mattie thanks him – they’re definitely getting closer… In the session, Mattie is initially reluctant to open up, but finally starts to talk, admitting she’s always felt worthless and ends up connecting it to her father always being hard on the family. She discusses the rejection she’s had from boys, and the burns scar being the ugliness she had on the inside coming out. Mattie has always wanted to be someone else. Mel praises her on opening up – this is her first step to healing. Mattie later meets up with Dean and he tells her how much he’s come to like her over the past few weeks – she admits she feels the same. Their eyes lock as their feelings take over and as they lean in for a kiss we see Lucas walking up to visit Mattie and he sees her with Dean – kissing! Lucas’s face falls – he’s crushed!