Heath, Casey and Kyle sat at the kitchen table scoffing bowls of cereal.

Brax entered from the corridor and pulled a t-shirt over his head. "Oi, any of you lot see Ad this morning?"

Casey looked up. "Yeah, she went surfing."

"Did she seem alright?"

"Yeah. She seemed fine."

Heath lifted his bowl, tipping the leftover milk into his mouth. He wiped his face. "Why are you worrying so much? Last night put an end on things, eh?"

"It's not just gonna be like that, Heath. But she text me saying she'll do the counselling." He looked to Kyle. "She needs tomorrow arvo of work for it though. Can you sort it?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's my trial tomorrow but I'll make it work."

The boys shared awkward glances.

Brax took a breath. "Yeah. Righto."

Heath scoffed.

Brax's eyes darted towards him. "What's your problem?"

Heath shrugged. "Nothing, just Marky's been back in town for five minutes and she's done a U-turn. What did I tell you, eh?"

Heath got up from the table, he brushed past Brax and sauntered out the door.

Ada sat watching the waves spill onto the beach. She scrunched her toes into the sand and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You're up early." A voice said behind her.

She turned and looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun to see Jaxson. She nodded. "Yeah, I couldn't get much sleep."

Jaxson sat down beside her.

She turned to him. "I took off pretty abruptly last night. I'm sorry."

"Did you go and see him?" Jaxson asked plainly.

Ada hesitated. "Yeah."

He broke eye contact and stared out to the ocean. "What's going on?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." She swallowed. "But last night I spoke to my family about what happened, properly, for the first time."

Jaxson looked back towards her. His eyes softened.

She rocked gently back and forth. "After Casey's trial, I was so scared about how what I said would affect my brothers, I didn't think about how it would affect me. Now, I feel like I can finally start processing it. Like I'm ready to start dealing with it, moving on."

"That's great, Ad." Jaxson said softly.

She smiled at him.

He scratched his face. "What about Marco?"

Ada deflated. "Listen, okay, there's a lot about Marco you don't understand. But I told you before how he used to take off when we would argue back in Mangrove River?"

Jaxson nodded.

Ada continued, "A few days, here or there, he'd be gone but he always came back and we would move on. I don't know why he left this time and I don't know why he's back."

"Are you gonna try and find out?"

She looked to him. "Are you gonna try and stop me?"

"Do you want me to?"

Ada's gaze lingered on him.

His face was genuine and sincere.

Ada caught her breath. She stood to her feet and wiped the sand off her legs. "I'm sorry, I can't do this right now."

Jaxson turned and watched as she strode away.

Marco stepped out of his caravan and froze.

Brax stood in front of him with a straight face. "You got a minute?"

Brax gestured towards the two picnic chairs nearby and then sank down in one.

Marco waited but then shuffled over and joined him. "I thought we had nothing else to say to each other?" He grumbled.

Brax shrugged. "What did you say to Ad?"

Marco looked puzzled. "Nothing. Why? She alright?"

"Yeah. She's going to do the counselling."

"That good, isn't it?"

Brax fiddled with his fingers. "Yep."

Marco watched. "Has it been that bad?" He asked tentatively.

Brax swallowed. "Yeah."

Marco hung his head. "I just told her that she was strong enough to face it. That you all were. That's all." Marco took a breath. "Listen, Brax, what I said to you the day of the trial… it was out of line."

"It's alright-"

"-Nah, it's not. I just…" Marco rubbed his hands over his head. "My whole world fell apart, Brax. Everything I'd ever done to protect her-"

Brax turned towards him. "I know." He tentatively put a hand on Marco's shoulder. "Mate, I know."

Ada walked into Angelo's. Kyle wielded a broom aimlessly in the corner.

Ada scanned the room, there was mess everywhere. "What did you do? Have some of the spiked punch, or something? I thought you guys said you'd cleaned up last night?"

Kyle didn't look up.

"Hello?" She called. "Wayward brother?"

His head snapped around. "Sorry, what?"

"What's with you?"

He stood to his feet and grabbed a bag of rubbish. He moved across the restaurant and lobbed in into the backroom. "Nothing."

"Something's got you spaced out, what's going on?"

Kyle hung his head.

"Is it about what I said yesterday? I thought you wanted me to open up. If you can't handle it-"

"-No, no, of course not."

"Then, what is it?" Ada probed.

"It's my trial tomorrow." He said quietly.

"What?"

"For the kidnapping." Kyle sighed. "I got recognised by the court as a Braxton and my lawyer reckons I could be looking at five years."

"What?! You're kidding me, aren't you?"

Kyle ignored her and moved around the bar.

Ada glanced up as Casey strode in to the restaurant. "Casey? Did you know about the trial tomorrow?"

Casey hesitated. "Yeah," He looked to Kyle. "Listen, they reckon it's best if we go separately."

Kyle nodded.

Ada stared at Casey. "You're not still helping the prosecution with Kyle's case, are you?!"

Casey met her glare but didn't respond.

Ada flushed red with anger. "Well, tell them you're out!"

"I don't know if I can, Ad. I'm the victim."

Ada raised her voice. "Exactly, if the victim doesn't even turn up the prosecution has nothing, you idiot!"

"Oi!" Brax boomed from the doorway. He sauntered in, Marco on his tail. "What's going on?"

The three of them shifted uncomfortably. Ada tried her best to avoid Marco's gaze.

Casey broke the silence. "Ada reckons I shouldn't co-operate as the victim in Kyle's case."

"Tell him I'm right, Brax!" Ada cried.

"Just leave it." Kyle snapped.

Ada shot a glance towards him. "Kyle-"

"-I said, leave it." Kyle grumbled.

Ada huffed.

Brax stepped forward. "Enough." He took a breath and looked to Casey. "I reckon it's a good idea. If he goes away, I don't know how we'll manage this place. But… it's your decision, Case. You were the one in the desert."

Kyle hung his head.

Casey's eyes flicked to Kyle. He exhaled. "Fine. I'll call them."

Ada sighed in relief. She turned to Kyle. "I'll be there for you tomorrow anyway."

Brax shook his head. "Nah, you've got school."

"Brax."

"That's it. End off." Brax snapped. "You've already missed too much from your suspension, it's not up for discussion."

Marco raised an eyebrow. He looked to Casey. "Suspension?" He mouthed.

Casey shuffled towards him. "She decked a kid." He whispered.

Marco exhaled and shook his head. "Of course she did."

A small smile escaped from Casey's lips.

Ada snapped her head towards Marco. "Don't start! What the hell are you even doing here?!"

Brax looked to Marco. "She's got a point. Get to work, eh? Then you can manage the place tomorrow."

Ada frowned. "What?"

Kyle stepped around the bar. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean?" Brax barked.

Kyle shook his head. "You gave him his job back, just like that?"

Brax stepped to him. "Yeah. Get over it, eh?"

Ada scowled. "Are you joking me?"

Brax stared at her but didn't say a word.

She scoffed, her face like thunder. She barged past Brax and stormed out the restaurant.

"Brax." Kyle pleaded.

"Just do your job, will ya!" Brax yelled. He turned on his heel and strode out after Ada.

Brax raced beside the fence that ran alongside the beach. "Ad, will you just wait up?"

Ada whipped around. "What the hell are you doing?"

Brax put his hands on his hips. "Look, if you don't wanna work with him you don't have to. I'll swap your shifts around, you won't have to see him."

She charged towards him. "I haven't even had a chance to talk to him about him leaving and you just give him his job back?!"

"He's a boy."

"He left the boys!" Ada screamed. She lifted her hands to her head. "He left, Brax. He left me." Her eyes watered. "You don't get to make that call." She spun around.

"It's my fault." Brax said quietly.

Ada froze.

Brax swallowed. "He left because of me."

Ada turned around and stared at him. "What?"

Brax struggled to find the words. He scratched his forehead furiously. "When you were kid, after Dad went back inside, Marco came to town and you started following him around-"

"-Yeah, I know that!" She yelled.

"Then you also know that I brought him in! I gave him a place to stay, introduced him to the boys, set him up on his first job… all of it! It was all me. And, I did it for one thing."

Ada's glared at him. "What are you saying?"

"I told him that it was his job to protect you. I told him that if you ever got hurt… that I'd kill him."

"So what, Brax?! That's a pretty normal threat coming from someone like you, am I supposed to be surprised?"

Brax shook his head. "You don't get it. That's all Marco lived for from then on. But he couldn't change what happened with Dad and that killed him. That's why he left."

Confusion spread across Ada's face. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it's my fault!" Brax barked. "He'd do anything for you, Ad, and I'm the one that told him that was who he should be! I realised last night, I was outta line. He was just a kid, with no home and no family. I told him that everything I gave him was only his if you were alright!"

Ada stared at him. Her breathing slowed.

Brax kicked the ground. "That's why he left, Ad. Because the whole time, you weren't alright... and there was nothing he could've done about it."

Ada's swallowed her tears. "I have to go." She muttered and turned away.