Written by: Dallas Walsh

That is what happened to Lyzz Thornton after her car accident a few weeks earlier. She was taken to the medical center, but her injuries were far too severe, so she went to the main island, until she was stable enough to return to Maui. Once Lyzz was stable, she returned to Maui, and she is in a long-term room at the medical center. In the waiting room her family, which includes her mother, Kymberlynne, her brother, Liam, and her sister, Rachelle, are sitting as they wait for the doctor to come and give them an update on Lyzz's health. Kymberlynne is looking out the window while Liam and Rachelle are huddled next to one another, as the children are still skeptical about the real reason that their mother is back in Maui.

They both realize that Kymberlynne left the island after their father, Samuel, died and was away for over six years. It was just a few short weeks ago that Kymberlynne returned to Maui when Rachelle turned 18. Lyzz, and Liam, were horrified that their mother chose to return for their youngest sister's birthday, despite missing their milestone birthday's. Shortly after, Lyzz's car accident happened, and they have been forced to be around their mother, who has not left Lyzz's side.

Suddenly, Lyzz's doctor, Trevor Davidson, moves into the waiting room and clears his throat, which gets the attention of the Thornton clan.

"Dr. Davidson," Kymberlynne turns from her gaze out the window and sees the doctor. "How is Lyzz? What is the update on my daughter?"

Dr. Davidson waits until Liam and Rachelle are next to their mother before he sighs to the family. "I know that you requested an update on her health, but I am afraid there is not much news to share."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Rachelle asks the doctor. "There must be some update on my sister?!"

"Lyzz is still in a coma," the doctor replies to the family. "The truth is, we don't know if or when she will ever wake up. The trauma from the car accident left her with a horrible head injury, and the worst part is that there was a large amount of fentanyl in her system. The combination makes me think that she might never wake up again; she has lost a lot of oxygen to the brain, and …"

"This can't be happening," Kymberlynne covers her mouth as tears flood her eyes. "My daughter can't spend the rest of her life this coma! What else can I do, doctor? There has to be something!?"

"I wish I could tell you more, but that is my medical opinion," the doctor tells her. "I don't think that your daughter will ever open her eyes again."

/\/\/\

A short time later, Liam slowly walks up to one of the guest houses that are on the Barracuda Blue property. After hearing that Lyzz might never wake up, Liam decided to leave the medical center as he felt like there wasn't anything further for him to do there. Besides, his own life is up in flames as a tabloid, the Hawaiian Hacker, published photos of him and Justin "Leaf" Matthews having sex. Liam realizes that his tennis career could be in jeopardy now since the tour he is on has strict rules about players being involved with their coaches; and he knows that Leaf has been in a relationship with Justin "Arrow" Williams; they go by the "Justin's", but also the reason they go by their nicknames since they have the same first name.

A warm breeze blows the leaves of the palm trees that are out front of the guest house that the Justin's reside in. As Arrow is the hotel manager, and Leaf is a tennis coach at the resort, they were given one of the guest houses to reside in. He knocks on the door and sighs as he waits for it to open, hoping that Leaf is the one that opens the door.

"Liam," Leaf says with a cocked grin on his face seeing his lover stand in front of him. "I…I wasn't expecting you today."

"I know," Liam says as he moves into the house. "I was at the medical center, and there is no change with Lyzz."

"Man, I'm so sorry," Leaf pats his back. "Can I do anything? Or can I get you anything?"

"Thanks but I am okay," Liam admits to him. "If anything, I'm hoping you've had time to figure out how the Hawaiian Hacker was able to get pictures of us, uh, fucking. What the hell happened?"

Leaf uneasily sighs back to him as he runs his hands through his hair. He knows that this was all Liam's Aunt's, Orvilla Anderson's, plan to ensure none of the Thornton children could take over the parent company to the Barracuda Blue, Meccanica; she convinced Arrow to tell Leaf to seduce Liam, which he did. What Leaf didn't realize, however, is that Arrow planted a camera in their bedroom to record their act together. The entire situation has left the Justin's relationship hanging on by a thread.

"I…I wish I knew," Leaf finally replies to him. "The only thing that I can think of is that a reporter was hanging around the resort and saw us on the tennis courts; remember, we started making out there, and then brought it back here."

"I remember how it all went down," Liam shakes his head back to him. "But this is a mess, Leaf. We could both be in serious trouble for this. We have to figure out what happened! Our entire futures could depend on it!"

/\/\/\

Rachelle opens the door to the library that is located on the second level of the Barracuda Blue and rushes inside. Like Liam, after she found out that Lyzz was still in her coma, and likely may never wake up, Rachelle rushed back to the Barracuda Blue to meet with Nate Meadows, her fellow student. The night of her 18th birthday party, their teacher, Malcolm Summers, revealed that they had both plagiarized their art history papers, which resulted in him expelling them. Rachelle is horrified by these events because it means that she won't be able to graduate, or be the valedictorian. Beyond that, it means that she won't be able to take over Meccanica, her family company, which she always wanted to do.

"There you are," Rachelle rushes up to the small table where Nate is sitting, looking at his Instagram feed.

"Here I am," Nate puts his phone down and looks back at Rachelle. "It feels like it's been days since I've seen you."

"That's because it has been," Rachelle uneasily chuckles to him. "I feel like I haven't left the medical center in days."

"Any change with Lyzz?"

"No," she sighs back to him with a sadness. "The doctor, actually, doesn't believe that she will ever wake up again."

"My God, I am so sorry," Nate reaches over and grabs her hand to squeeze it, which causes them to lock eyes for a moment. "I can't imagine what you, and your family, are going through right now."

"Thanks," Rachelle manages a smile. "On top of my sister, my mother is back in Maui, and she creates a cloud of chaos everywhere she goes."

"Between your mom coming back and your sister's medical crisis, I am assuming you haven't figured out how to prove that we didn't cheat on our papers yet?"

"Bingo," Rachelle tells him. "I was hoping you had come up with something?"

"Nothing," he shrugs his shoulders back to her. "We both know we are innocent; hell, we worked on our papers together, so we know that the papers were not the same. What could have happened?"

"I wish I knew," Rachelle admits to him. "But Nate, we have to prove our innocence. I will not let this ruin my entire future; I can't let this destroy everything I've worked so hard on!"

/\/\/\

Kymberlynne sits at the bar in Café Tropical with a martini in front of her. Her mind is racing over the fact that the doctor told her that Lyzz might remain in her coma forever; she hates that she was away from the Barracuda Blue, and her children, for years, and just when she gets back, she might lose Lyzz anyways.

"There must be something that I can do to help Lyzz recover from this accident," she whispers to herself as she takes a sip of her drink.

"It is a bit early to be drinking, isn't it?" Carson McGuire, the front desk manager of the Barracuda Blue, asks as he moves up to his former lover. He knows that Kymberlynne doesn't often drink during the day, but he also knows that she is going through a lot right now with her family.

"Oh Carson," Kymberlynne sighs as he sits next to her. "I know it is early, but the truth is, I need the drink to calm my nerves."

"You have always been able to talk to me, Kym, so tell me what is going on now," Carson looks back at her. "What is troubling you?"

"I don't know that this is the time or place for this conversation," Kymberlynne looks back at him. "No one can know about our history, Carson."

"Your husband started the Barracuda Blue and Meccanica," Carson reminds her with a chuckle. "And I am the manager of the front desk here; no one will think twice about us speaking at the bar. So, tell me, what is troubling you?"

Kymberlynne looks around the Café and realizes that they are alone, so she looks back at Carson. "Very well," she purses her lips together. "You heard about the car accident that Lyzz was involved in?" she asks him as he nods back to her. "Well, the doctor doesn't believe that she will ever…" she starts as she covers her mouth as tears flood her eyes. "Come out of her coma. They believe my baby girl will remain comatose forever."

"Oh my…" Carson whispers back to her. "No wonder you're a wreck, Kymberlynne. Do you…do you want to come to my office? I want to hold you desperately to show you that you're not alone."

"I can't!" she scolds him in a whisper. "I just told you that no one can ever know about us, Carson! Just…pray for me, and Lyzz, please, pray that my little girl will open her beautiful eyes again."

/\/\/\

Justin "Arrow" Williams steps off the elevator on the third floor of the Barracuda Blue and makes a beeline towards the main office at the resort, which is where Orvilla does her day to day as the CEO of Meccanica. He is desperate to tell her that his relationship with Leaf is hanging on by a thread, and that he just saw Kymberlynne and Carson speaking at the bar in the Café. What they don't know, is that he heard their conversation, so he knows that Lyzz will likely never wake up from her coma.

"I hope you're not busy," Arrow announces as he opens the door to Orvilla's office and sees his best friend sitting behind her desk. Behind her desk, there is an expansive view of the Pacific Ocean, which still causes him to lose his breath every time he sees it. "We need to talk."

"I am always incredibly busy," Orvilla sets her pencil down on her desk and looks back at Arrow. "I am running a multi-million dollar company, in case you've forgotten."

"How could I forget?" Arrow asks her as he moves to the bar and pours himself a scotch. "You never cease to let me forget."

"Well, someone is in a foul mood today," Orvilla stands up from her chair and crosses her arms over her chest. "Does this mean that Justin still hasn't forgiven you? He realizes that you have secured your future by helping me, correct? By helping me stay in control of Meccanica, both of you will continue to enjoy the lavish lifestyle that you've become accustomed too; and, Justin, I will keep my promise to you; once Meccanica is truly mine, I will make you a top executive. I have never gone back on my word to you, and I do not intend to now."

"I appreciate all of that, Orvilla, I really do," Arrow sighs back to her as he takes a sip of his drink. "I just hope I can convince Leaf of the same thing."

"What else is troubling you? You came in here like you had some news?"

"I just heard Kymberlynne talking to Carson at the bar in the Café," Arrow reveals to her as Orvilla arches her eyebrow back to him. "She told him that the medical staff do not believe that Lyzz will ever come out of her coma."

"Oh!" Orvilla clasps her hands together in delight. "Well, wouldn't that just be perfect. One little brat out of the way, for good!"

"Orvilla!"

"My plan, Justin, it is working out even better than I could have imagined," she chuckles to him. "Pour me one of those drinks, I'm suddenly in the mood to celebrate!"

/\/\/\

The following day, Carson stands in front of the hotel staff, which includes Alex and Paola Sanchez-Lorenzo, Chloe Peller, Kelvin Jetter, and Marco Belli. He called a staff meeting to tell them the latest with Lyzz, after Kymberlynne agreed that they should know what is going on with the family. Lyzz was also the resort accountant, so they are used to seeing her around the grounds.

"Thank you all for coming in early today to accommodate this meeting," Carson announces to the room, as the chatter between them comes to a halt so they can hear what the latest news is. "I have some news to share with you and it is critical that you hear it from me, and that you do not share with news with anyone outside of this room."

Chloe looks at her boyfriend, Alex, and arches her eyebrow. In her mind, there is always some drama going on with the Thornton's, so she can only assume what is going on now.

Once Alex loses eye contact with his girlfriend, he looks to his left, where his mother is sitting. She gives him a smile and puts her hand on his leg, knowing that they are still waiting for the right time to announce that he is Samuel's son; no one knows that Samuel Thornton and his mother were having a torrid affair, which resulted in her getting pregnant. While Paola wants him to be patient, he can sometimes feel like his patience is wearing thin.

"What's up Carson?" Marco, the resort lifeguard, asks the front desk manager.

"There's no easy way to say this," Carson replies to him. "But as you know, Lyzz Thornton was in a car accident. And, well, she's fallen into a coma."

"My goodness," Paola covers her mouth in shock. "That poor girl."

"There's more," Carson continues to share with the staff. "Lyzz's doctors, they don't believe that she will ever come out of the coma. That's why this is such a difficult situation for the family right now; we must have tread carefully and treat everyone with respect and privacy in this trying time."

/\/\/\

A short time later, Alex and Paola are huddled together in one of the housekeeping closets. Each floor of the Barracuda Blue has one of these closets; it is where Paola, and the other housekeepers, keep their carts, which holds their supplies. Only the housekeepers have keys to these rooms, to ensure that none of the products are stolen, or misused, by the guests staying at the resort.

"Mama," Alex looks at Paola with intent, as he knows that the fact that Lyzz is in a coma could help their plan. "How are you feeling about Carson's news about Lyzz being in a coma?"

Paola sighs back to him with an uneasy grin on her face. "Lyzz is a sweet child," she replies to him quickly. "Regardless of what has happened between us and the family, I never wanted her to be in this situation."

"But here we are," Alex tells her quickly. "And Mama, this could help us; this could be our time to pounce."

"What makes you think that?" she asks as she puts her hand on her hip.

"The family, they will be wrapped up with Lyzz, either at the medical center, or the hospital on the big island," Alex informs his mother. "That means, they will be preoccupied, Mama. We could swoop in, announce that I am Samuel's son, and I could take over Meccanica, just like we always planned."

"Mi hijo," Paola puts her hand on her son's face. "I know you're eager for this, but you have to listen to me, and trust me, when I tell you that this is not our time, not yet. We have to be patient or we could lose everything we have worked so hard for. Our time will come, believe me. But right now, it is not our time."

/\/\/\

Kelvin watches as Marco starts to make his way out to the poolside, where he can begin his shift as the lifeguard. The toned chest of the swimmer continues to catch Kelvin's eye, which makes him lust after the man he has desired for so many months. For a long time, he has been shy and nervous about talking to Marco, but after the staff meeting, he knows that this is his chance to reach out to Marco.

"Hey Marco," Kelvin rushes up to him, as the lifeguard turns and looks at the bellhop. "Do you have a minute?"

"Just that," Marco nods back to him. "I'm about to start my shift. What's up, Kelvin?"

Kelvin shrugs back to him uneasily. "I…I, uh, just wanted to hear your take on the news that Carson shared with us today. How are you feeling about Lyzz and the accident?"

"I haven't had much interaction with Lyzz," Marco admits to him. "That being said, I feel awful for her and the family. They don't deserve this."

"Yea, I know. I wish there was something we could do to help."

"Likewise, especially because I know Liam will be devastated by this," Marco reveals to Kelvin. While Kelvin has longed for Marco, he has longed for Liam, even though he thinks he is out of Liam's league.

Kelvin gulps heavily as he realizes that Marco still carries a torch for Liam. "Yea, you're right. Liam will be crushed by this; I guess we can just be there for him, and the family, and if they need anything, be there for them."

"That's exactly what we can do," Marco smiles back to him. "Thanks for checking in Kelvin, I have to get to the pool."

"Yea, of course," Kelvin waves back to him, still wishing that he and Marco were more than just co-workers.

/\/\/\

Arrow opens the door to the guesthouse that he shares with Leaf and closes it once he's inside. He moves to the bar and looks to make himself a cocktail as he has had a long day at the Barracuda Blue. On top of that, he knows that his home life isn't very solid right now because Leaf is still furious with him and his role in the sex scandal with Liam, but he knows that he has to make him realize why he did what he did.

"You're home," Leaf's voice makes Arrow look over his shoulder as his estranged lover.

"I am," Arrow replies to him. "I am about to make a cocktail, do you want one?"

A loud thud makes Arrow turn back around to see what just hit floor. His eyes open wider in surprise when he sees a duffle bag on the ground. He looks up at Leaf, who is staring back at him. "What's this?"

"My bag, what does it look like?" Leaf asks him quickly. "And, no to the cocktail."

"Your bag? What's going on Leaf?"

"I saw Liam earlier," Leaf admits to him. "While his sister is in a coma, he is dealing with Kymberlynne returning, and he is also dealing with the Hawaiian Hacker and the pictures of us fucking. I…I hate lying to him about what I know about the pictures and how they were leaked."

"You didn't…"

"Tell him that it was you? Of course not," Leaf hisses back at Arrow. "But that doesn't mean that I like it, or support it Arrow. This is all so fucked up! How can you not see that?"

"It's not that I don't see it," Arrow tells him. "The truth is, I know that it is, but I am doing what I have to do to ensure our life doesn't change."

"Do you not think that our life has changed?" Leaf asks him. "You know what? Don't answer that Arrow; you've made it perfectly clear you who are aligned with, and it is not me, or us, or our relationship."

"Leaf, please, just try to understand."

"It's over Justin," Leaf whispers back to him as he picks up his bag. "We are over. I…I can't be with you, not now, not ever again."

"Justin, please don't leave…" Arrow pleads with him as he rushes up to him, but Leaf pushes him back and opens the door to the guesthouse, allowing a warm breeze into the living room.

"Goodbye Justin," Leaf looks back at Arrow. "A part of me will always love you, never forget that, okay?"

/\/\/\

At the front desk, Chloe types into her computer while she thinks about the fact that Lyzz is in a coma. She gets a sly grin on her face knowing that her rival has, finally, got what is coming to her. She and Lyzz have a long, sorted, history, which she has kept to herself, but she can't help but be happy about what has happened. She looks up from her computer and sees Alex rushing towards the Café, as he must have a shift as the bartender.

She moves around the counter and rushes towards her boyfriend. "Alex, hey, before you start your shift, I wanted to check in; how are you, and Paola, doing with Carson's revelation?"

Alex looks back at Chloe, knowing that his mother just told him that they have to be patient with their plan. "I mean, it is horrible, of course; I just want to do the best job around here that I can, it seems like that's how we can support the family right now."

Chloe leans in and kisses him on the lips quickly. "Let's get together later?"

"I'd like that," he replies to her before he looks over his shoulder. "Looks like you have a guest to check-in. Chat later beautiful."

Chloe sighs as she looks at the man moving towards the front desk. She forces a smile on her face, knowing that she has to do her job because it is her only form of income right now. She moves back to the front desk and looks at the man, as Kelvin brings many bags on the cart behind him.

"Welcome to the Barracuda Blue," she smiles to the male guest. "Checking in?"

"Yea, I am."

"Can I have your name please?"

"Rockwell," he flashes his smile to Chloe. "Cole Rockwell."