The door clattered open and Max and Caitlin entered, laughing about something between themselves.
"Hey Kirsty!"
Kirsty forced a smile at her cousin.
"Hi Max... I'm going out for a while"
"Where to?"
Why did he have to be so inquisitive?
"Just out"
"With the man that's hanging around outside"
"Does it matter?"
She rifled through the bookshelves. Mum had put her phone in here somewhere. She pulled it out from behind a photo, triumphant. She slotted the phone into her bag and walked briskly out. Within seconds she was in view of Kane. Their eyes met and she grinned, pushing all thoughts of Dani to the back of her mind. He grinned back. She looked beautiful. As usual. Which was more than could be said for him. He took a glance down at his crumpled shirt, still stained with blood. He had washed roughly at the drop in centre but was in dire need of a shower and a change of clothes.
She ran up to him and threw her arms around him, momentarily lifting her feet off the ground. It was going to be alright, she was sure of it. She was reluctant to let him go. Her head was on his shoulder, only this time she was happy, relieved that everything was out in the open.
"All done?"
"Yeah, lets go and get something to eat"
Secretly she was dreading walking into the diner. She knew everyone would stare. She wasn't ashamed although she knew that she should be. Betraying her family. The best way to get news of the relationship around the bay is to walk into the diner. Colleen would break the news to everyone else. Maybe it would make things easier.
DROP IN CENTRE
Shelley and Dani enter the drop in centre, Shelley with her arm draped protectively around her daughter. Flynn and Rhys, who are sat in the office, rise as they enter. Rhys looks at Dani's slumped body posture. What can he say to her? What can he do to make it better? Shelley and Rhys' eyes meet. They share one common goal - to protect Dani. To comfort her. Rhys swallows. Dani looks from one to the other for reassurance.
"Lets go home Dan..."
"Is Kirsty there?"
She didn't want to look at her sister right now. She was having enough trouble coming to terms with it already. Shelley had helped, but she couldn't understand. Not fully.
"I don't know love"
Shelley hoped she wouldn't be. She knew it was cruel. Pushing Kirsty away. But all she needed right now was a bit of peace to mull things over. So she and Rhys' could decide what to do next. A confrontation between Kirsty and Dani, or Kirsty and Rhys for that matter, would be a nightmare.
..................
DINER
Kane and Kirsty enter, hands interlocked. The noise in the diner dies down. Or at least Kirsty was sure it did. She wasn't used to this. He was. For the past year he had been greeted by silence and hateful looks wherever he went. It was like at the group counselling session after the shipwreck. The entire room had fallen into an icy silence as soon as he entered. It tore him up inside. But he was used to hiding his feelings. The only person who had spoken to him there was Kirsty. Everyone else liked to pretend he didn't exist. To make things worse he looked like he had been in a punch up. Not the best impression. He should have gone home and had a shower. Put something a bit smarter on. Too late now.
"I'll bring the menus over"
"Thanks Mr Stewart"
The acknowledgement passed between them was blunt. Alf Stewart wasn't too bad. They had been trapped in the same hospital room for days and by the end of it he hadn't felt like he was judged on his every movement. He remembered the look that Alf had given them when Kirsty came in to visit him that day. Sheer amazement. Who'd have thought that things would turn out like this?
The pair took their seat in the corner, sitting on opposite sides of the table, leaning inwards towards each other. Kirsty had only been in this seat this morning, phoning Kane. In secret. Kirsty glances around her, conscious of the looks that she was receiving. Neither knew what to say to the other. What if someone was listening? Kane's phone broke the silence. He sighs, unwilling to answer it.
"Hello?"
A long pause passes as he listens down the phone.
"Hello?"
His repeat of the greeting catches the attention of Kirsty. Kane hangs up and looks across at her.
"Must have been a wrong number"
He knew that it wasn't. He had had several calls like that recently. Whoever it was, they were from a life that he wanted to forget forever. Easier said than done.
"I'm meant to be visiting Scott this weekend"
The phone call had brought that to the surface. Thoughts of his brother. Could it have something to do with him?
Alf approaches and hands them menus.
"Ta."
Alf lingers for a moment, contemplating whether to say anything. No. It wasn't his place to. He returned to behind the counter. Kane continued
"I don't know whether I should go. Things have changed since I last saw him. I'm just starting to put the past behind me."
Shauna enters and approaches Alf. He nods towards the corner table.
"What do you make of that?"
Shauna looks and raises an eyebrow. What had happened since she and Kirsty last spoke? Kirsty had been adamant that they wouldn't be caught. They were certainly living dangerously. Kirsty didn't see her coming. She was too wrapped in conversation.
"Could I have a word Kirst... In private?"
Kirsty looked up at her. Shauna might be a bit more willing to listen. After all, she had made an attempt to understand last time. Shauna was the only one Kirsty felt confident about talking to about her relationship. Maybe it was because Shauna had also seen both sides of Kane. He had tried to help her escape when he and his brother kidnapped her. Or maybe it was just because Kirsty saw Shauna as a role model. Shauna hadn't listened to other people and had pursued a relationship with Jude even though it meant hurting other people. There were similarities in the relationships, even if they were only tiny ones.
Kane felt suddenly awkward.
"I'll go and order"
Kane slid out from his seat and Shauna replaced him.
"What are you playing at Kirsty?"
"It's all out in the open."
"And your parents don't mind?"
"What do you think? But we're not going to let them split us up."
Kirsty was more determined than ever. Her fear and guilt had been converted into determination. It made her feel better. Just being able to get her mind away from Dani. Her face when she had broken the news.
"Don't you think it's inevitable?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're fifteen Kirsty. Your parents still have some control over your life. You're not even old enough to move out."
Kirsty knew this. She had thought about it time and time again. But her parents couldn't imprison her. They couldn't force her to stay in the house. Never to go out. It wasn't physically possible. And then there was always the phone.
"What if Mum and Dad don't want me back anyway. You didn't see the looks that they gave me when I told them that Dani knew. They hated me"
"They don't hate you... they're just concerned about you... about the whole family"
"Yeah."
Kirsty wasn't convinced. She loved her family, of course she did. And she didn't want to hurt them. She didn't want them to hate her. But what was done was done.
Kanes phone rings again. Kirsty picks it up off the table and holds it up for him. He takes it and heads outside, indicating that he will be back in a minute.
DINER (exterior)
The sun is setting and darkness is falling on Summer bay. Kane answers his phone bluntly.
"Hello... who are you? What do you want?"
The line went dead.
"Hey Kirsty!"
Kirsty forced a smile at her cousin.
"Hi Max... I'm going out for a while"
"Where to?"
Why did he have to be so inquisitive?
"Just out"
"With the man that's hanging around outside"
"Does it matter?"
She rifled through the bookshelves. Mum had put her phone in here somewhere. She pulled it out from behind a photo, triumphant. She slotted the phone into her bag and walked briskly out. Within seconds she was in view of Kane. Their eyes met and she grinned, pushing all thoughts of Dani to the back of her mind. He grinned back. She looked beautiful. As usual. Which was more than could be said for him. He took a glance down at his crumpled shirt, still stained with blood. He had washed roughly at the drop in centre but was in dire need of a shower and a change of clothes.
She ran up to him and threw her arms around him, momentarily lifting her feet off the ground. It was going to be alright, she was sure of it. She was reluctant to let him go. Her head was on his shoulder, only this time she was happy, relieved that everything was out in the open.
"All done?"
"Yeah, lets go and get something to eat"
Secretly she was dreading walking into the diner. She knew everyone would stare. She wasn't ashamed although she knew that she should be. Betraying her family. The best way to get news of the relationship around the bay is to walk into the diner. Colleen would break the news to everyone else. Maybe it would make things easier.
DROP IN CENTRE
Shelley and Dani enter the drop in centre, Shelley with her arm draped protectively around her daughter. Flynn and Rhys, who are sat in the office, rise as they enter. Rhys looks at Dani's slumped body posture. What can he say to her? What can he do to make it better? Shelley and Rhys' eyes meet. They share one common goal - to protect Dani. To comfort her. Rhys swallows. Dani looks from one to the other for reassurance.
"Lets go home Dan..."
"Is Kirsty there?"
She didn't want to look at her sister right now. She was having enough trouble coming to terms with it already. Shelley had helped, but she couldn't understand. Not fully.
"I don't know love"
Shelley hoped she wouldn't be. She knew it was cruel. Pushing Kirsty away. But all she needed right now was a bit of peace to mull things over. So she and Rhys' could decide what to do next. A confrontation between Kirsty and Dani, or Kirsty and Rhys for that matter, would be a nightmare.
..................
DINER
Kane and Kirsty enter, hands interlocked. The noise in the diner dies down. Or at least Kirsty was sure it did. She wasn't used to this. He was. For the past year he had been greeted by silence and hateful looks wherever he went. It was like at the group counselling session after the shipwreck. The entire room had fallen into an icy silence as soon as he entered. It tore him up inside. But he was used to hiding his feelings. The only person who had spoken to him there was Kirsty. Everyone else liked to pretend he didn't exist. To make things worse he looked like he had been in a punch up. Not the best impression. He should have gone home and had a shower. Put something a bit smarter on. Too late now.
"I'll bring the menus over"
"Thanks Mr Stewart"
The acknowledgement passed between them was blunt. Alf Stewart wasn't too bad. They had been trapped in the same hospital room for days and by the end of it he hadn't felt like he was judged on his every movement. He remembered the look that Alf had given them when Kirsty came in to visit him that day. Sheer amazement. Who'd have thought that things would turn out like this?
The pair took their seat in the corner, sitting on opposite sides of the table, leaning inwards towards each other. Kirsty had only been in this seat this morning, phoning Kane. In secret. Kirsty glances around her, conscious of the looks that she was receiving. Neither knew what to say to the other. What if someone was listening? Kane's phone broke the silence. He sighs, unwilling to answer it.
"Hello?"
A long pause passes as he listens down the phone.
"Hello?"
His repeat of the greeting catches the attention of Kirsty. Kane hangs up and looks across at her.
"Must have been a wrong number"
He knew that it wasn't. He had had several calls like that recently. Whoever it was, they were from a life that he wanted to forget forever. Easier said than done.
"I'm meant to be visiting Scott this weekend"
The phone call had brought that to the surface. Thoughts of his brother. Could it have something to do with him?
Alf approaches and hands them menus.
"Ta."
Alf lingers for a moment, contemplating whether to say anything. No. It wasn't his place to. He returned to behind the counter. Kane continued
"I don't know whether I should go. Things have changed since I last saw him. I'm just starting to put the past behind me."
Shauna enters and approaches Alf. He nods towards the corner table.
"What do you make of that?"
Shauna looks and raises an eyebrow. What had happened since she and Kirsty last spoke? Kirsty had been adamant that they wouldn't be caught. They were certainly living dangerously. Kirsty didn't see her coming. She was too wrapped in conversation.
"Could I have a word Kirst... In private?"
Kirsty looked up at her. Shauna might be a bit more willing to listen. After all, she had made an attempt to understand last time. Shauna was the only one Kirsty felt confident about talking to about her relationship. Maybe it was because Shauna had also seen both sides of Kane. He had tried to help her escape when he and his brother kidnapped her. Or maybe it was just because Kirsty saw Shauna as a role model. Shauna hadn't listened to other people and had pursued a relationship with Jude even though it meant hurting other people. There were similarities in the relationships, even if they were only tiny ones.
Kane felt suddenly awkward.
"I'll go and order"
Kane slid out from his seat and Shauna replaced him.
"What are you playing at Kirsty?"
"It's all out in the open."
"And your parents don't mind?"
"What do you think? But we're not going to let them split us up."
Kirsty was more determined than ever. Her fear and guilt had been converted into determination. It made her feel better. Just being able to get her mind away from Dani. Her face when she had broken the news.
"Don't you think it's inevitable?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're fifteen Kirsty. Your parents still have some control over your life. You're not even old enough to move out."
Kirsty knew this. She had thought about it time and time again. But her parents couldn't imprison her. They couldn't force her to stay in the house. Never to go out. It wasn't physically possible. And then there was always the phone.
"What if Mum and Dad don't want me back anyway. You didn't see the looks that they gave me when I told them that Dani knew. They hated me"
"They don't hate you... they're just concerned about you... about the whole family"
"Yeah."
Kirsty wasn't convinced. She loved her family, of course she did. And she didn't want to hurt them. She didn't want them to hate her. But what was done was done.
Kanes phone rings again. Kirsty picks it up off the table and holds it up for him. He takes it and heads outside, indicating that he will be back in a minute.
DINER (exterior)
The sun is setting and darkness is falling on Summer bay. Kane answers his phone bluntly.
"Hello... who are you? What do you want?"
The line went dead.
