Caitlyn's phone whistled and she picked it up from the desk, leaning it against her raised thigh as she sat in the chair.
A text message from Nate apologising and promising to be there soon brightened the room and she switched her phone off, continuing to stare at the picture of her and her siblings when they were younger.
Things were finally lighting up for her. She had loyal friends, a fantastic doting boyfriend and a wonderful family. What more could she ask for?
She felt empty, though. Catherine's killer was going to be put away for life, Nate was coming back to her but there was this emptiness...
The door opened and Mitchie entered, taking her hair out of its short ponytail.
"Jason texted me. Shane doesn't want to contact me at the moment but they're coming back." She said, stretching as she got ready for bed. "I hope that we can all sort things out but it's best to leave that for the morning. Brown wants to talk to them first."
Caitlyn gave a simple, quiet nod and sighed, placing her photograph down on the desk and stood up.
"Are you sure about coming to support me in Hawaii?"
Mitchie gave her friend a sympathetic smile. "Of course, Cait. Plus, it's a couple of days away from this cold."
Caitlyn giggled. "I knew that you'd jump at the chance of a hot break."
Mitchie gave a cheeky smile. "Of course, I would! France was freezing!"
The door opened and Mara came in, giving them a small smile.
"Hey, the guys are nearly back, did you know?"
Mitchie nodded. "We were going to give them a break this night. We don't want any conflict."
Mara gave an approving smile. "We just got to build that trust up and offer any support."
"It's not like someone died," Caitlyn gave a small confused scoff.
"No..., but Shane's situation is delicate. He's quite fragile. Drugs... are a very dangerous thing, you know?" Mara argued gently. "If he notices that we are supportive, maybe he won't have a suicidal wish every time."
"Mara's right. And we have to support Jason and Nate too. They're his brothers and they're obviously close and would be devastated if anything happened to either one of them." Mitchie added.
Caitlyn finally agreed. "It's just annoying, you know? Nate was supposed to be here, I needed him."
"And you'll argue about that tomorrow. For now, let's just get to bed." Mara yawned.
...
Ella sat up in her bed and raised an eyebrow at Tess who sat, writing in her diary.
"What are you doing?"
Tess turned to smile at her. "I've just remembered that we have some bookings in September. Our new line is introducing the Spring Collection."
Ella squealed, coming to join her. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"They just literally told me thirty minutes ago when I was Skyping my mother," Tess replied.
The brunette grinned and hugged her. "This could help us meet the bigger models, you know?"
"Yeah! Oh my gosh, that's actually really exciting." Tess smiled. "Do you think they'll like us?" She nervously asked, twirling a bit of her hair.
Ella sat down on the chair beside her and studied her blonde friend. "Tess... Is there something wrong? You can tell me, you know?"
Tess's eyes widened. Ella was as observant as she seemed. She and Jason were really not airheads after all. Tess thought about Mitchie who had experienced what she was experiencing right now. It seemed like a good idea to keep it between the pair of them, right?
Tess took a deep breath and sighed. "I... I'm fine, Ells. Nothing to worry about." She smiled.
Ella shook her head. "You seemed so worried, though. Is something wrong with your mother or something?"
"No! Nothing of the sort, Ella! It's just that we're still so new to this industry and I see how other models look at us like we're fresh meat."
Ella chuckled loudly. "Tess! I always knew that you still worried about how people saw you. Forget those models, they're not as beautiful as us. Plus, if all else fails, we have music to fall back onto. What do they have once they get a new zit? Nothing."
Tess smiled, reassured. "You're right. I'm being silly over nothing."
"I'm just glad that you spoke to me about this. We're practically sisters, right?" Ella gave her a hopeful smile.
The blonde returned it with her own. "Right."
"Great, now let's go drag Peggy away from Barron so we can actually sleep tonight."
...
Ruby slipped under the duvet and sighed in relief.
Her dad was fine and back at camp, where he should be. Hers and her brother's relationship was finally being repaired after so much resentment back home in England. And she had actually started to see Dee as another mother. One she could confide in without having them tell the other parent.
The news about her cousins troubled her, though. They were due back any time now and she had not known what exactly had conspired between them.
She knew that Shane had some issues. It was a major thing in the Celebrity gossips back in the day so she was up to date with that but she had not known much about said issues.
Ruby knew that Shane had been admitted into a rehabilitation centre so it must have been very bad.
The door opened and Ethan stalked in, stretching and yawning. He rubbed his eyes and switched on his bedside table, taking his shirt off.
"Gosh, can you be any louder?" Ruby snapped, turning away from the light. "And turn that thing off."
Ethan rolled his eyes and packed away his clothes, slipping his pyjamas on. "What's bitten your backside?"
Ruby shook her head. "We finally have cousins that we can get to know but... maybe we shouldn't." Ruby sighed, turning back to face her brother.
"What do you mean?" Ethan asked, sitting on his bed so he could face her better.
"Shane has issues..."
"And so?"
"Haven't you heard the rumours? They say that he was going to top himself." Ruby replied.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Look..., we all have our demons. Let's not judge anyone based on their past or whatever they are going through right now, yeah?"
Ruby sighed, nodding. "You're right. He seems really nice, anyway."
"We may have all gotten off the wrong foot but it's time to start again..." Ethan said gently, kissing her forehead. "Night, sis."
"Night, bro," Ruby replied with a smile on her face.
...
Mara jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.
"Jason!"
Jason pressed a finger to his lips and gestured to a sleeping Caitlyn and Mitchie.
He nudged his head towards the door and Mara nodded, following him and closing the door behind her.
"Why did you guys leave?"
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I have to be happy as well... Not only Shane."
"So...?"
Jason slipped his wedding band off and slipped it into his pocket. "I'll try and get a lawyer who can speed the divorce up. I want you, Mara and if today's taught me anything... it's that I never want to be separated from you again."
Mara's heart melted as she pulled him in a for a deep kiss. "Where's Kelly?"
"With Shane. Nate's gone to see Brayden. He's leaving Caitlyn for tomorrow."
"She really needs him..."
Jason sighed. "Does she?"
"Yeah, she's going to Hawaii in two days for the final court case for her sister's murder..." Mara explained. "They've got the guy."
Jason gave a small smile. "That's good. I'm glad for her. I'm sure Nate would come and see her as soon as possible, then."
"He should be careful... So should you because Nat's on a warpath."
"Figured," Jason chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "I love you."
"I love you, too..." Mara mumbled from his chest as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Never leave me again."
"Never."
...
Sander nudged Lola's shoulder as they sat by the lake.
"Have you called Louis back, yet? Told him about getting LJ to America?"
Lola shook her head. "I'm planning to tell him when I go back so I could get LJ. It's better to tell him face to face."
Sander agreed, kissing her cheek gently. "I'll treat you guys better than he did."
"I know you will." Lola smiled brightly. "But at the end of the day, he's LJ's dad."
"And Wendy's Kelly's mother but Jason loves Mara. And Mara really loves Kelly," Sander argued.
Lola chuckled. "But they're like a true rom-com. We're not."
Sander raised an eyebrow. "Why can't we be, huh?"
"We're too involved," Lola replied sadly.
Sander stood up and offered his hand out to her.
She took it and stood up, hugging him. "What I mean is... We've been best friends for much longer than we have loved each other. What if this ruins all of that?"
"It won't."
"How do you know?"
Sander gave her a small smile. "Another example, Nate and Caitlyn."
Lola rolled her eyes playfully and hit his shoulder. "Then let's hope that we don't fail like Shane and Mitchie, then."
"Of course, Chica."