A horrible accident leaves a life hanging in the balance. Drew is shocked when he learns that his friend has killed someone. Jules’ behaviour pushes Ric over the edge.
Extended Summary
From the beach, Lily and Jules spot Matilda struggling desperately to keep her head above water. They rush to the water’s edge to help her, but at the last moment Jules inexplicably freezes. It’s left to Lily to help Mattie. But while Lily manages to reach her, the seas are so strong that both girls are soon in trouble.
Ric soon arrives and sends Jules of to get more help and then Rick swims out to them, but can only help one girl at a time. Once Matilda is safely ashore, Ric returns for Lily, who is suddenly floating face down in the battering water. Eventually Rick brings Lily to the shore and is met by Alf and the ambulance soon arrives and takes them all to the hospital. There is no sign of Jules.
While Lily manages to pull through in hospital, she’s given some shattering news – her chest wall has been damaged from the amount of water she swallowed and could still suffer with breathing problems. Matilda breaks down, wracked by guilt – she blames herself for Lily fate. Ric, however, fiercely blames the gutless Jules. Rick’s temper rises again just at the mention of Jules and both Matilda and Brad are concerned.
Jules reluctantly opens up to Drew about why he acted so cowardly. Mattie’s accident dredged up the painful memory of his girlfriend’s death in a boating accident. In that horrible moment, Jules was forced to choose between saving himself or the girl he loved. To this day, he still hasn’t forgiven himself for letting her die. Angry and full of self-loathing, Jules tells Drew he wants to leave Summer Bay. Drew tries to convince him to stay, and suggests talking to Lily might help. But it seems Drew’s efforts have failed when he discovers Jules has vanished.