Retreat

The drive back to the cabin was almost as tense as the drive into town. Though now the fault was entirely on Heather, whose devotion and willingness to protect her own family had caused the dark and stormy atmosphere inside the car. Worse still, Hannah’s ultimatum had deflated everyone’s spirits. At least on the drive into town they had hope but now there was none. Even if Ashley won the argument and Zack agreed to do something to save Lisa, Ashley had no idea what their next plan of action should be. They could turn Heather in themselves, along with Hannah’s confession, and effectively negate any power Hannah had. But that was just trading one friend for another, although admittedly one less than innocent friend for one completely innocent friend.

Truth be told, Ashley still wasn’t sure she was even doing the right thing. The audacity of Hannah’s threat had gotten adrenaline pumping through the petite blonde’s veins, but now, as she sat in the car, waiting, with nothing else to do, she felt her heart beat slow. The fact that she wasn’t going to lose her sister tonight had energised her, but no matter what she did, if she continued down this path to free Lisa, she would lose her sister, perhaps emotionally as well as physically. Heather was right, to free Lisa, though it was the right thing, meant losing so much more.

She closed her eyes and took measured breaths, steeling her resolve. Any decision worth making would require sacrifice. Yet as she opened her eyes again, her resolve wavered and she wondered if it was really a sacrifice she could make.

Comparatively, Brandon contemplated Heather’s relationship with her father. She’d spoken to him about roleplaying father-daughter **** fantasies with Kurt, but he was surprised she’d went through with it. He thought he was the only one who had been foolish enough to go down that route. He wouldn’t call her sick or twisted or deviant, because he understood how two people even connected by blood could find each other in times of need and how that familial love could mutate into something less acceptable. Once they’d allowed themselves to indulge, given themselves over to their latent feelings, he and his sister had been insatiable. If that same seed had taken root in Heather, it was all too understandable how she might become obsessed sexually with her own father.

Madison was very much like Heather, gung-ho about the whole situation, others be damned. Except Heather did have the company to think about and her father’s business reputation, while he and Madison only had their own lives and their parents to consider, none of which had the same ramifications if it was revealed one of the richest, most powerful men in Azure Rocks was getting blowjobs from his own daughter. But Brandon wondered how Heather felt about never being able to get married, to have children, to constantly wear a mask in public. He couldn’t bear to take those things away from Madison, no matter how much he loved her, no because he loved her.

He did feel bad for Heather and her father becoming collateral damage. But putting the right person behind bars was important. And this way, Zack might finally get his due. Everything in life fell into place for him; he got Brandon’s girlfriend, Lisa and now Ravers Enterprises had fallen into his lap. Maybe if it was kept quiet Robert might pay him off, or even give him a place in the company. So, let everything come out, Brandon decided. Let Zack see his parent’s marriage destroyed the way he’d destroyed Brandon’s relationship with Ashley. Let him become the son of Robert Ravers, only to see the company burn. Let him have Lisa back but lose everything else in return.

Heather’s thoughts were not quite so dark and angry. Instead she thought about her father, of his legacy and everything he’d built, in ruins all because some silly little blonde went too far with a prank. She thought of Zack, whether he was her half brother or not, to be thrust into the middle of this and in doing so possibly lose two fathers, one to his mother’s lies and deceit and the other to Heather’s incestuous obsession. And she thought of Hannah, and seethed with anger at the blonde for putting them in this situation.

She knew it sounded cold, but she really was thinking about this pragmatically. There was no point devastating two families to save one. Even if it was the right thing to do. No, even if it was the good thing to do. Because doing good wasn’t always the right thing to do. Sometimes you had to be selfish or callous and a bitch if it meant achieving the correct outcome. It was simply that Heather’s preferred outcome had changed. If it was between her family and anyone else, Heather would protect her family one hundred percent of the time.

And so, the trio sat in silence contemplation for the entire journey back to the cabin, each considering their own angle. Finally, the tyres crunched against the gravel and they knew they had arrived. Simultaneously they opened their doors and stepped out into the evening air, with Heather being the first to notice that the yard was emptier than usual.

“Zack’s car is gone,” she noted. “He never said he was going anywhere earlier, did he?”

“Not that I remember,” Ashley replied, furrowing her brow. “Maybe someone inside knows where he went.”

Heather agreed and ascended the steps to the cabin, opening the door and walking through into the darkened room. She flipped on the lights as Ashley and Brandon followed behind, Brandon closing the outside door while Heather called out for anyone to respond. As she walked around and peered through down the hallways and into the kitchen, glancing through the glass doors to the decking, she cycled through the occupants of the cabin, from Chloe to Victoria, even Madison, and finding no one else inside.

“They’ve gone,” Heather surmised, returning to Ashley and Brandon.

“You don’t think something happened to them? By Hannah?” Her eyes widened. “Or Shawn?!”

“Calm down,” Brandon said tersely. “They probably just went into to town for food or something. If Shawn came for Victoria, why would they take Zack’s car?”

“Well, we don’t know,” Ashley huffed, Hannah’s reveal having gotten her imagining any number of possibilities. “Anything could have happened.”

“There’s one way to know,” Heather suggested, pulling her phone from her pocket. “I’ll try to get in touch with Zack or Kurt.”

As Heather strolled down the corridor for some privacy while she made the call, Ashley fidgeted with her clothing and looked nervously between the hallway and Brandon. He watched her as he took a seat on the couch, knowing that look well. She had something we wanted to tell him, and it probably wasn’t good.

“Alright, spit it out,” he said, exhausted. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, not really, it’s just…should we really leave this up to chance?” Ashley asked, keeping watch for Heather’s return. “Something this big…even if Zack says no, someone still has to do something, right?”

Brandon shrugged and smiled. He didn’t mind if Ashley was willing to go behind Zack’s back, though he wasn’t about to commit to a plan unless it might actually work. There was no point destroying Heather’s family if they didn’t at least get Lisa out. “Do you actually have an idea in mind?” he asked.

“No, not as such, but I think I know someone who might be able to help, who knows Hannah better than any of us,” Ashley explained, sliding her own phone out too. “I just have to make a quick phone call…”