Whitney left Mick and Linda speechless after she told them she called Lee and told him about what had been going on. Mick couldn’t believe she had done that after everything Lee had done to her.
Mick: you told Lee? You asked him to come?
Whitney: yes. I thought he had a right to know.
Mick: why? Why would you do that? Lee’s the reason… if he hadn’t…
Lee: so, you’re still mad at me dad?
Mick: well what did you expect?! You come waltzing in here and all would be fine?!
Linda: Mick! Let’s not do this now. Lee is home. Where he belongs.
Lee: um..mum, I’m not staying. I’m just here for a couple of days and then I go back to Dover.
Linda: oh. I see. Come on upstairs and see your little brother. He has missed you.
As Linda and Lee went upstairs, Mick was left standing with Whitney. He was mad at first when he heard Whitney saying she told Lee, but he understood why she had done it. But the more he thought about it, the more he worried that Lee would tell Whitney what he had done. Sending Lee away had been the right thing to do, but Mick wasn’t sure Whitney would see it that way. And what if Lee found out about him and Whitney. It was a good thing Lee wouldn’t be staying long. Whitney was already back at cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and Mick needed to talk to her before Lee did.
Mick: Whit. Why did you really call Lee?
Whitney: I told you. I thought he had the right to know and..
Mick: no, that’s not it. You haven’t spoken to Lee since he left and now you feel like he has a right to know what’s been going on?
Whitney: I just couldn’t… I was… I knew Lee couldn’t do anything but I… I needed to talk to him and.. I don’t know!
Mick: Whit babe, it’s okay. Have you talked to him? About… you know… us?
Whitney: no! Why would I want to do that? I would never! I only called him for you and Linda.
Mick: okay, thank you. I’m sure Linda appreciates it.
Whitney understood that Mick wasn’t happy to see Lee, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Lee about her feelings for his dad. Mick gave a quick smile and turned away. He felt a bit uneasy because of Lee being here. He was sure Linda hadn’t told him about the kisses he shared with Whitney. Just as Mick was leaving, Whitney called him back.
Whitney: Mick? Could you hand me another bandaid please? This one is no good.
Mick grabbed the first aid kit again and took Whitney’s hand in his. She wanted to do it herself but Mick insisted that he would do it. It only took a few seconds to change it and again Mick held her hand longer than needed. Lee being here had him thinking about the kisses he’d shared with Whitney and especially his feelings for her. He wasn’t going to act on those feelings and he knew he should let go but it was hard. He looked up from staring at their hands and saw that Whitney was just as affected as he was. She reached for his face with her other hand, looking at his cuts and bruises. She gently caressed his face. They never said a word but it wasn’t needed.
And that’s how Lee found them. Whitney quickly snatched her hands back and took a step away from Mick. Whitney tried to act like everything was normal but she couldn’t look either man in the eye. So she did the safest thing she could think off and she left.
Lee: what’s going on? Whit?
Whitney: it’s nothing. I need to go. I need to see if Tiff has gone to school.
Mick: Whit, wait!
Lee: dad, let her go. What’s the matter with you?
Mick: why are you here Lee? Need me to bail you out again?!
Lee: hey! That’s not fair! I get that you’re still mad at me but I came here because I was worried about you and mum!
Mick: yeah well, we’re fine so you can go home now.
Lee: no. You can hate me all you want but I’m not leaving till I know mum’s doing better.
Mick: I don’t hate you. You’re my son.
Lee: you sure have a strange way of showing that. But you’re just going to have to put up with me a while longer. And besides, I want to talk to Whitney. Really talk this time.
Mick started to say something when Linda came waltzing in. Linda was talking but Mick didn’t listen. What he really wanted to do, was go find Whitney and see if she was okay. But that would probably be the wrong thing to do. So he made sure everything was cleaned up so they could open the pub. Whitney was working that night so maybe he could ask her later.
When Whitney came in early, Mick made a move to go to her but Lee got there first. They went upstairs and Mick could do nothing but watch them go.
Lee: I wanted to say I’m sorry about how I handled things. It wasn’t fair to you. You deserved so much more. More than I could give you.
Whitney: thank you. I have to admit that I was in a bad place after I got that letter from your lawyer. It took some time, but I’ve moved on.
Lee: yes I heard.
Whitney: what?! What do you mean? What have you heard?
Lee: You’re dating Halfway, right? What did you think I meant?
Whitney: oh yeah. Um.. I need to go, my shift is starting. Maybe talk to you later?
Lee: Whit? I know something’s wrong. You can’t even look at me. Is it because of me? Of what I’ve done?
Whitney: there’s nothing. Really.
But Lee didn’t believe Whitney and gently kept pushing till Whitney had enough.
Whitney: alright! After you left I got involved with… this man and he made me feel great. But it wasn’t to last and I was so lost for a while. I think this whole thing with Aidan brought it all up again. That’s all! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going downstairs.
Lee let her go this time, but he wasn’t really convinced with her story. Maybe he could ask his dad since he was here around that time. Or better, he could ask his mum and dad together, that way he would at least have one person on his side. Later that night, when they sat done for something to eat, Lee thought about how he was going to ask about something so personal. Tina and Shirley were at the table aswell and it didn’t look like they would be leaving any time soon. Lee couldn’t wait any longer because his parents were set to go back to work, so Lee just asked.
Lee: can any of you tell me what happened with Whitney after I left? She told me she got involved with some guy, but I know she’s not telling me everything.
Mick: that’s probably Woody. You know Woody don’t you? He works in your nan’s pub.
Lee: no, it wasn’t him. She talked about someone she got involved with right after I left.
Everyone fell silent. Mick and Linda looked at each other, knowing full well who Whitney was talking about.
Linda: probably some guy she met at the bar. You know what that’s like. No need to worry about that anymore. Come on Mick, we need to go downstairs!
And before Lee knew it, they all left. Leaving him wondering what the hell they were all trying to hide from him. Something strange was going on and he before he left for Dover, he would find out what.
