Episode 7173

Extended Summary

Willow approaches Mackenzie, who is overlooking the beach. Mackenzie wonders why she bothers with Dean, saying she tried to help him and he chewed her up and spat her out. She knows she’s messed everything up but says that’s not who she is, before declaring she’s done with him. At the beach house, Leah is trying to convince Irene to come into work, saying it’s getting harder to explain her absence, but Irene says she’s entitled to time off. She gestures to the Coastal News, which describes the person who attacked Tommy as a monster. Leah says that they don’t know the whole story and people will be supportive when they do. She tries to get Irene to come for a walk but Irene disappears upstairs, saying she needs to lie down.

Roo finds Ryder sat in the caravan park and wonders if he’s panicking about holidays nearly being over, before asking if he’s done his English assignment. Ryder is working on it now – a digital magazine – but reminds her it was a group assignment…and his partner is Raffy. At the Diner, Marilyn and Raffy are having a similar conversation. Raffy seems happy for her and Ryder to concentrate on their separate areas – her doing the writing and Ryder doing the graphics – but Marilyn encourages her to talk to Ryder. She then gets a call from him.

Willow is in the gym when Dean comes in and asks if she’s seen Colby, saying he’s not answering his calls and Robbo sent him away from the flat. He wants to find out if he really has broken up with Mackenzie. Willow points out she isn’t actually one of the people involved. Dean goes up to see Mackenzie and asks if it’s true. Mackenzie says Colby dumped her because of the way Dean found out and she hasn’t spoken to him since. When she suggests they have that in common, Dean walks away. After a moment’s pause, Mackenzie follows.

Mackenzie asks Dean if that’s all she gets, him firing questions at her and then leaving. Dean says they’ve got nothing in common and he’s going for a surf. In front of a bewildered Willow, Mackenzie grabs a board and a bathing costume from the closed board shop. Having got changed, she joins Dean on the beach, saying if he can do it so can she, and heads out to try and surf. Willow joins Dean but says she’s just there to set up for a class and Mackenzie came up with this by herself.

Leah turns up at the garage in a bad mood and tells Justin that Irene won’t leave the house. Justin points out she didn’t just hit Tommy, she beat him half to death. Leah says that’s because of what she’s lived with, then stops herself. Justin asks her to tell him what he’s missing and Leah says he can’t tell anyone. Meanwhile, a reluctant Raffy joins Ryder at the caravan park. He shows her his layout; she thinks it needs more images and he explains he was waiting to see what she’d written. Raffy wants to do it by e-mail but Ryder convinces her they can work together, saying he needs to ride her coat tails to the HSC.

Mackenzie is still “surfing”, although it mainly involves falling off the board a lot. Dean tells Willow he can’t watch but at the same time he can’t look away. Willow tells him he’s starting to sound like a brother. Dean ends up swimming out and guiding Mackenzie back to shore. They compare stubborn streaks and Dean ends up carrying her board for her. Later, the pair of them are together in Salt. Mackenzie tells Dean that wanting to get to know him was the main reason she came to Summer Bay. Dean wonders if she knew Colby was his friend. Mackenzie reflects that he, Colby and Willow are so suspicious about letting people in and says she didn’t know Colby was his friend when she first met him. She asks if maybe something good can come out of it if they can be brother and sister.

Leah has finished telling Justin, who understands Irene’s reaction to Tommy and why she can’t know that he knows. Both of them worry what the secret is doing to her. Leah thinks she needs to see a counsellor and also put her side of the story. Later, Roo and Maggie are walking on the beach, discussing the pier sale. Maggie explains about Ben seeing it as a failure and Roo suggests it’s a success because it gives them the money for Ben’s defence. They wave to Leah, who is on the phone outside the Diner: She is making an anonymous call to the paper, saying they need to dig deeper and Tommy isn’t the victim.

Dean asks Mackenzie to get another round in. Willow briefly appears to collect an order and is pleased they’re getting on. Dean asks if the job’s still available and Mackenzie wonders if he’d be happy taking orders from her. Dean says he’ll give it a go, but quickly shows how hard it will be by refusing to wear the restaurant uniform. At the beach house, Irene is having a teary phone conversation with Fin. Willow arrives with pizzas, saying Colby is bringing Bella back. Irene changes the subject when she asks about the phone call.

Roo stops by where Raffy and Ryder are working before heading off. The pair have worked out a format together and Ryder notes it’s just like old times. However, when Raffy tries to kiss him, he pulls away, saying he didn’t mean that. Raffy quickly decides to leave. She heads to the Diner and tells Roo she needs a new partner. Marilyn joins them and they both point out Raffy and Ryder are nearly done and everyone else is paired up. Roo eventually admits they can’t force them to work together but says if they don’t it’ll affect their mark. Raffy seems fine with that.

Leah joins Irene and Willow and shows them a new story on the Coastal News website; they’ve reported on Tommy’s charges, including the fact one of the girls he groomed was under sixteen. Irene doesn’t seem interested in either that or the food, making an excuse to go upstairs. Leah and Willow reflect that she’s getting worse. Irene sits on the bed and starts crying, holding the quilt over her mouth to stifle the sound.