When they get back to the party, Ken is greeted with sly looks and and a few whistles. He acts embarrassed but Angela can tell instantly this had been his goal. When he gets a fist bump from one of the guys, Angela sees that they’ve made some big assumptions about their time downstairs. She’s feeling a bit flushed but if she was being perfectly honest, it had been a pretty PG makeout session. Definitely not worth winks and first bumps.

She watches Ken carefully and he avoids eye contact with her.


“Please don’t tell me you forgot to nab your mom’s stuff.” Fern asks. She glances at Angela and her friendliness seems to have faded. She seems...tired. Irritated. Ken shakes his head and pulls the the little package out of his pocket. He hands the entire pack to Fern.


Fern opens the package and takes one of the pills almost instantly and then holds one out for Ken. He glances at Angela, and then back to Fern, reaching out and taking it. He swallows it quickly. Fern holds one out for Angela and she shakes her head.

“Nah, not really my thing.” She says as casually as she can manage. Fern laughs.

“Cute. You practice that line in health class?” Fern smirks. All judgement now.

“They’re handed out like candy by doctors. Just relaxes you a bit.” Ken adds.

“I didn’t think I needed to relax.” Angela says back. This is, of course, another test. And she can’t tell how to pass. If she says no, they may not want her around, worried she’ll nark. If she says yes NOW, it’ll look like she caves to peer pressure.

She’s not sure which is worse.


Angela manages to swiftly change the subject and while Fern engages, Angela can tell she hasn’t hit the mark. A glance to Ken who has become a bit distracted and she realizes if she doesn’t partake in their little extra curricular activity, she wouldn’t be invited back. Damn it.

She thinks quickly and then lets Fern know she’s changed her mind.

“Maybe I will try one of those pills. Can never be too relaxed, right?” She instantly sees a change in Fern and knows that this was the right move all along. She takes one and pops it in her mouth. As Fern jokes, Angela sticks the pill to the roof of mouth.


“Can you point me to a washroom?” She asks Ken, coyly grabbing his hand. He’s already getting spacey and when he gestures to the washroom, he’s quite vague. She thanks him and isn’t sure she hides her eye roll this time.

She heads quickly across the room and reaches to open the door to the washroom.


She’s barely inside as she uses her finger to pull what’s left of the pill out of her mouth. Most of it’s still there, but some has dissolved.

“Can I help you?”

Angela hadn’t realized she had walked into a bedroom. Not a washroom. She does a double take and sure enough there’s a little girl sitting on the ground in front of her. Glaring at her.

“Oh, sorry. I thought…” She glances behind her. There isn’t another room. She was sure this was the direction Ken had meant.

“You’re new.” The little girl says, getting up and giving her a once over that made Angela glance down to make sure she hadn’t spilled anything.

“I see you’re not into the drugs.” She nods towards Angela’s hand, now holding mostly white mush. She quickly hides her hand behind her back. Had the kid been home the whole time? Was there an adult home?


“If you’re gonna lie about it, those,” She gestures to the mush in Angela’s hand. “Are the easiest. Spacey and tired will do the trick.”

Angela is still struggling to find words. She finally manages “Are your parents home?”

The little girl just laughs.

“Mom is. Somewhere? I think.” She says. “Dad left earlier this week.”

“Left?”

“You don’t know who my dad is?” She asks. “You ARE new.”

Angela doesn’t ask more. She’s still a bit frazzled at having found a child one door away from a bunch of drunk teens.

“You can use my washroom.” She points across the room and Angela nods and thanks her.


She washes her hands profusely to get the residue of the pills off her hands and gulps down some water in hopes of diluting whatever she’d ingested. The view from this room is similar to that in the office downstairs and she glances out across the water again. It was becoming clear that while most of the night had worked itself out just fine, it was time to start making a plan to get out of here.


Angela heads back to the party after the little girl assures her that she is fine. A grownup is home. She’s exasperated by Angela’s concern but convinces her and sends her out.

The vibe in the room has shifted. Fern is now making herself cozy with someone on the couch and the guys are playing poker in the corner.

“You ok?” Evelyn comes up and asks her. Angela nods and thinks about the advice from the kid.

“Yeah, just a bit...spacey.” She smiles and Evelyn grins back.

“You get used to it.” She says, reaching over and touching Angela’s arm. Flirting? Angela can’t quite tell.


“Your girl is hot.” Leo says to Ken, glancing behind them. “You said she has a sister?”

Ken smirks. “TWIN sister.” He says as if he’s hit the jackpot.

“Damn. You bringing HER to the next party?”

“Not for you.” Ken says. Leo snorts, shakes his head and moves his chips.


“Hey,” Angela carefully interrupts the poker game.

“I think I gotta get going.” She says. Ken doesn’t look surprised. Or upset.

“Ok.” He says, he turns to sit back down. Now onto his third personality of the night - complete indifference to her. This one being her least favourite.


“It’s just…” She pauses. “I don’t know how to get back?”


He shrugs as if this isn’t his problem.

“Ivan doesn’t drive the boat this late, you’ll have to get a lift another way.” He says it so casually and she’s trying to stay calm. Another way? WHAT other way was there. She’d spent the night acting like she fit in she felt it slip away as she admitted to him that she didn’t KNOW how to get home.

“I just figured you’d crash here. Like everyone else”


“Maybe she’s had enough of you.” Leo Calls over, clearly listening in. Angela feels flustered and glances over. Again, Ken shrugs, acting as if none of this is a big deal and making it clear it wasn’t HIS problem.

Ken turns back to the table and sits down, leaving Angela standing there. Well this wasn’t going well.


She wanders across the room and spotz Kinzie sitting alone. She IS starting to feel a bit off. She wonders if more of the pill had dissolved than she’d thought. Kinzie is watching her as she walks to the window. He’d seemed like the nicer twin in the library the other day. Maybe he’d help her out.

“You ok?” He asks.

“Yeah...just, trying to figure out how to get home.” She says, forcing her voice to sound casual but she’s beginning to panic. Her phone has been plugged in for awhile, she can send Lilith a text but that didn’t get her out of this. Not by a mile.


“You can just crash upstairs. There are a few rooms.” Kinzie suggests.

“No, I really should get home.” She tells him.

“Back to the island?” He half laughs. “Not unless you can charter your own flight. Our staff doesn’t take us out at night. Parents orders. He rolls his eyes at the inconvenience.

“F*ck.” Angela replies. This time he lets out a big laugh.

“You could always swim.” He says, still laughing. It’s a lazy laugh, like he’s not even really listening.


For the first time that night, Angela realizes she’s messed up. She looks around and everyone is indeed acting just as Ken’s little sister had described. Spacey and sleepy and they have certainly lost all interest in her.

She crosses the room to where they’d plugged in her phone to find that it’s sitting beside the charger. Unplugged. She hadn’t plugged it in.

She starts to feel suffocated. She takes slow breaths and counts to ten. A therapy trick, learned while her parents went through their divorce. Getting up, she takes one last look around before trying to remember how to get outside.


She manages to get herself out and walks down to the beach front of the lot. She can see the other side. Swim across? Was she THAT crazy? Sleep on the beach? Find a room in the house? What were her actual options here? She could wait awhile longer. Go back in and phone Lilith. She glances down. She’s holding her phone. It’s still not even charging. Besides, what use would it be to call Lilith anyway? It’s not like her sister could drive a boat. Or even find a boat.

Her head feels cloudy and she’s grateful she didn’t swallow the entire pill. This fogginess was enough to make her uncomfortable. She plunked herself down in the sand and wiggled her toes in it while watching the waves. In the distance she can hear what sounds like a helicopter and she wonders if there’s some sort of medical emergency. She recalls someone telling her that while there wasn’t a hospital on the island, people could easily be flown out if necessary. She closes her eyes and tunes out the loud, obnoxious sound.


“Must’ve been some party.” A voice from behind. Angela glances up to see Lilith standing there, a look on her face that Angela doesn’t recognize.


“You ok? What the hell are you doing out here?” Lilith asks. Angela opens her mouth to answer but it all seems quite foggy.

“Seriously, Ang. What happened? Are you ok?”


Angela manages a soft nod and then falls into her sisters arms. That’s when she notices Violet standing behind them.

“You ratted on me?” Angela demands. “Are you serious?”

Lilith pulls back, concerned. “Ang...we just found you spaced out on a beach. On an island. Alone. This isn’t ratting on you. It’s making sure you’re not dead.” Lilith looks closely at her sister. Her eyes are glassy. She doesn’t smell like alcohol. Lilith glances back at the big house. Few lights are on.


Violet interrupts before the girls can argue.

“I’m glad you’re ok. Let’s deal with all of this when we get home, ok?” Her voice calm and soothing. Angela agrees, wanting nothing more than to just get home. Violet looks to Lilith who nods.

“I think she needs water or something.” Lilith says quietly. A hint that something’s not quite right. Violet nods.


Angela says nothing as she’s boosted into the helicopter by Violet. Another sign that something is off. It’s not every day you just hop into a helicopter at the end of the night. Lilith climbs in after them, grateful they’d found her sister without much trouble.


“This is quite the place.” Rina had said, meeting Lux down by the water. “Surprised that it’s empty on a Friday night.”

Lux shrugs. “You said you wanted privacy.” He moves closer. She’s dressed casual. For a pub and he takes in the sight of it. Having only ever seen her in business or formal attire, he grins. It’s a look he could get used to.


“You didn’t have to do that.” She says, knowing it wouldn’t have been cheap to buy the pub out on a Friday night. He shrugs it off as if it was nothing. She knows it isn’t nothing.


“I wanted to make sure you’d be comfortable.” He tells her. He leans in close and his lips tickle her ear.

“Besides, just look at this place.” He says, mesmerized by the beach. Her gaze follows his and she takes a deep breath. Releasing the week’s stresses, worries about her kids, and the loneliness of a husband gone to work. The air is fresh, the sound of the waves is hypnotizing. She runs her hands down Lux’s arms and slips them around his waist. If she’d been hesitant before, she wasn’t now. Pulling him close, losing herself to the moment on the beach.