Cassie is determined to persuade Matilda to come home. Tony is devastated when Bruce pulls Geoff out of the team – and out of school. Could Tony have done more to help this kid?
Extended Summary
Cassie gets an unexpected call from Matilda but Ric, still hurting after their argument earlier in the week, refuses to talk to his girlfriend. Cassie tries to make an excuse but Matilda’s clearly hurt. Concerned for Matilda, Cassie gets the bus down the coast to try and persuade her to come home. At first Matilda’s resistant, but she’s shocked when Cassie explains that Ric was caught out at sea in the storm and there was no way they could even tell Mattie what was going on. Cassie leaves Matilda with food for thought – and when Reuben pushes her to leave Summer Bay behind forever, she suddenly realises what it is she’s been running from – it’s not Ric, or her friends. It’s her house – the place that holds so many hard memories of grieving for her mother and saying goodbye to her brothers and sister. Feeling lighter, Matilda goes home to confront Ric. It’s not an easy task.
Belle’s still brooding over Jazz’s comments yesterday about Drew having other girlfriends. She tries to convince herself that she must have misread Jazz’s meaning – but to her surprise Jazz makes it clear that she fully expects Drew to be involved with other girls. Jazz is genuinely surprised that Belle doesn’t understand her – to Jazz, it’s only natural that a young guy will want to play the field and experiment. When Drew hears the line Jazz has been feeding Belle, he’s furious and confronts his mother, warning her against interfering in his relationship. He lays it on the line: if Jazz gets between him and Belle, then he’ll move out. He storms out, leaving Jazz with the unhappy realisation that she’s just made a serious tactical error in her quest to win her son’s trust…
Tony’s day is going no better. He’s dropped his car off for a service at the garage and come into work at the gym, where Bruce Campbell confronts him, demanding to know where his grandson is. Tony has no idea what he’s talking about – and he’s shocked when Bruce reveals that Geoff didn’t come home last night. The truth is only revealed when Drew – working his first day at the garage – discovers Geoff locked in the boot of Tony’s car, dangerously dehydrated and very sick. Bruce is horrified when Geoff admits that his team-mates got him drunk and locked him in the boot as a prank. He immediately attacks Tony for not looking after his son – and a guilty Tony has no defence.
Tony is asking himself hard questions about his failure to look after Geoff. The moment is interrupted by the arrival of Bruce with Geoff in tow. Bruce fronts up to Tony, announcing that he’s pulling Geoff out of the team – and pulling him out of school. Tony’s devastated and pleads with Bruce to change his mind. He encourages Geoff to stand up for himself – but Geoff is cowed by his grand-dad’s anger and makes it clear he’ll abide by the old man’s wishes. As Bruce ushers Geoff out, he glances back at Tony, desperation in his eyes. This is clearly not what he wants, but there’s nothing Tony can do about it. And he’s left with the bitter realisation that he’s helped to shut down any hope Geoff had of making a new life…