Italics are flashbacks. Some events did not happen on home and away. Some are base on what happened on Home and Away but have been changed to fit the story better.

Chapter 2

Ric's p.o.v

I sat at the table thinking about how fun everything used to be, the six of us together. I can remember every detail about the funeral, the end to all the good times, we'd been able to get through everything that had hit us but that was too bad. Me, Sally, Mattie, Lucas, Granddad, Martha and Jack sat together on the front row. We all cried wishing she was still alive.

"Ric, Lucas, Drew, what's going on?" Mattie asked us as she was brought into the classroom by Dan. Granddad was sat at the front looking at us all. I put my arms around Mattie holding her tight as she stood next to me.

"Cassie was in accident this morning with Macca." Granddad said slowly. We were all silent waiting for him to carry on.

"They were on there way back from the city as you know but didn't arrive this morning. When you guys went to school Sally started to get a bit worried and asked Jack to check it out. Jack did and he came to our house with Martha. When they were nearly here there was an accident with another car. The driver was drunk. They ran there car into the side of Macca's and Cassie's and it killed them instantly. There was nothing they could have done about it they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

I remember how close we were how we spent all our time together. Mattie kept me going after Cassie's death. It was hard for all of us but we got through it somehow with each others help.

I hugged Mattie and we both cried. Lucas put his head in his hands.

"This cant be happening!" Mattie shouted knocking a chair over as she walked past it to where granddad and Dan were standing. She fell to the ground as she cried. Lucas went over and sat down hugging her. I watched them thinking about Cassie.

"She was our best friend how are we supposed to go on without her." Lucas said

The door opened as sally, Beth and Tony ran in. I stood hugging sally as we cried both thinking about how we had lost Flynn and now Cassie as well. Lucas hugged his dad while Beth watched her daughter run out of the room.

I hugged sally and left to meet Martha.

"Hey Ric" she said as I sat next to her on the beach. I smiled at her and tried to show her I was fine but she could see through my act.

"Ric why don't you give them another chance?" she asked watching me carefully.

"You know how much I loved Mattie and Lucas was my best friend. I relied on them and trusted them and they ruined that. If Mattie really loved me and Lucas cared for me they would not have got together that night" I answered

"But they do love you. They made a mistake. They were drunk Mattie was upset you weren't there it just happened they didn't want it to. Don't you think they have been through enough? Did you know Mattie has cried herself to sleep every night since your brake up and that Lucas sits in his room listening while Beth tries to calm her down?" I looked away from her so she couldn't see the tears in my eyes. It hurt so much thinking about how Matilda was feeling but if I gave her another chance what if she just broke my heart again.

"Matilda!" I shouted as I ran outside after her. She stopped running and turned to face me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her up of the ground.

"Ric she can't be dead what are we going to do without her?" she cried. I thought about everything she had done for us.

"It will be ok Mattie" I said as we both fell to the ground. She shook her head and we cried until Beth and Sally came out to us. We stood up but Mattie fell back to the ground again. Beth wiped away the tears she had shed as she watched her daughter. I carried her to the car and put her into it as she cried silently.

"Ric you know Matilda can't deal with stress anymore. When she found out about Cassie she couldn't walk she was crying so much. You know that ever since my wedding and how she ended up ill she hasn't been able to deal with bad things. Think about what you're doing to her Ric please. You've got to talk to her and Lucas, they deserve it." I could hear how desperate Martha was and I knew she was right. I knew Matilda and Lucas didn't want to hurt me but they did.