Written by: Dallas Walsh

Kymberlynne Thornton pushes the revolving door, which serves as the entrance to the Barracuda Blue, and moves inside quickly making a beeline towards Café Tropical. She had been at the hospital as her youngest daughter, Rachelle Thornton, overdosed while taking some drugs. She is still struggling to come to terms that Rachelle turned to drugs in the first place. This, of course, happened just weeks after her oldest daughter, Lyzz, was in a horrible car accident while stoned. The accident left Lyzz in a coma and when she, finally, awoke, she went to rehab. It is troubling to her to think that her children are turning to drugs to numb the pain that they are experiencing in their lives. Kymberlynne knows that she is a large part of why they are numbing their pain as she left them after their father, Samuel, died years earlier.

As Kymberlynne sits at the bar and orders a dry martini, she can't help but think about how Lyzz and Liam, her son, told her to stay away from Rachelle while she recovers. Rachelle had just experienced a memory flash, which left her rattled. Lyzz and Liam believed that if the memory was about Kymberlynne, it could explain why Rachelle was left upset by it. Kymberlynne hates to admit it, but she knows that her children are right; all the pain that she caused her children is catching up to her.

This is exactly why Kymberlynne is determined to ensure that none of her children end up taking over as CEO of Meccanica. She knows that she was thrilled when Carson McGuire gave her the idea for either Lyzz or Liam to take over the company as it would mean that her sister, Orvilla Anderson, would be removed. Kymberlynne wants nothing more than to have Orvilla removed after all the horrible things she did to ensure the children couldn't take over the company, but Orvilla was able to counter her attack by threatening to reveal her torrid affair with Carson. The last thing that Kymberlynne wants is for her affair to be revealed to her children because she realizes that it will push them even further apart from her. Kymberlynne just has no idea how to keep Orvilla from revealing her past to her children or how she can convince the children not to become CEO of Meccanica, since it was her idea in the first place.

"I am between a rock and hard place," she whispers to herself as she takes a long sip of the martini. "If I allow the children to become CEO, Orvilla will ruin my relationships with them by revealing my affair with Carson."

She pauses and takes another sip of her drink. "And if try to convince the children to not take over as CEO, they will wonder why I've had this change of heart, but I would also be letting my bitch of a sister win."

She sighs heavily as she has no idea what she will do next. "I have to keep Orvilla quiet," she tells herself. "My children, they would never forgive me if they knew about my affair with Carson. There….there must be another way I can get rid of Orvilla. I just have to figure out what that is."

/\/\/\

Carson opens the door to his office at the Barracuda Blue and moves into the hallway. He is on cloud nine because a few nights earlier he and Kymberlynne made love for the first time since she returned to Maui. This happened after he gave her the idea that either Lyzz or Liam could take over as CEO of Meccanica, which would mean that Orvilla would be removed. He has longed for this reconnection with Kymberlynne to happen for so long, he almost can't believe that they finally made love again.

He skips into the Café Tropical, where he sees Kymberlynne sipping her martini. He feels his heart skip a beat at the sight of her. He finds himself moving up to her.

"How are you doing, beautiful?" Carson smiles as he arrives at her.

Kymberlynne uneasily looks back at him and takes a deep breath. She realizes that she has to keep him a bay since Orvilla has threatened to expose their affair. She realizes, however, that this might not be that easy to do because they just had sex.

"Carson," she whispers back to him. "I simply do not know how many fucking times I have to tell you to not address me that way in public! No one, and I mean, no one, can ever find out about us."

Carson gulps heavily back to her. "I'm…I'm sorry," he admits to her. "I just thought that since we … you know … that things could be … would be … different."

"What happened between us," Kymberlynne glares back at him. "Was a moment of weakness on my part. I got so wrapped up in the excitement of thinking of taking down my sister that I got caught up in a moment. It can never happen again, Carson."

"But.." Carson tries to object as he is confused about this suddenly change of heart. He can't believe that this is happening to them…again. "This…"

"Enough," she cuts him off in a harsh whisper. "I have children to think about, Carson. This…this is over! And the sooner you get that through your head, the better."

/\/\/\

Back at the Thornton mansion, Lyzz walks into the living room and sees Liam about to pour himself a drink at the bar. She uneasily sighs to herself as she knows that she and her brother have been clashing as of late as they have been trying to determine which one of them should take over as the CEO of Meccanica. For so long, neither one, actually, had any desire to run their father's company, but, since the truth about what Orvilla did to them, and Rachelle, they agreed to run Meccanica to remove Orvilla as CEO after Kymberlynne gave them the suggestion.

"Been that kind of morning?" Lyzz breaks the silence between her and Liam. Liam turns to face Lyzz before he continues to pour himself a drink.

"I guess so," he chuckles to her. "Do you want one?"

"Nah, I'm good," Lyzz shrugs back to him. "I'm trying to cut back on my alcohol, to be honest. I don't want to trade one drug for another."

"That's very brave of you," Liam turns back to her before he takes a sip of his drink. "I am guessing that we are thinking about the same thing…who will run Meccanica?"

"I haven't been able to think about anything else," Lyzz admits to him. "And the truth is, Liam, I think it should be me. I think I should step up and be the new CEO?"

"Why do you think you should get that right?" Liam asks her quickly in an annoyed toned.

"Well, I am the oldest," Lyzz reminds him. "It should be my birthright to take over Meccanica."

"It's not just your birthright, Lyzz," Liam reminds her. "Rachelle and I, we are just as much of Samuel's children as you are. And, you never gave a damn about the company until this happened. Not to mention…"

"Not to mention what?" Lyzz asks as she put her hand on her hip.

"I'm the only son Dad had, that should mean something, don't you think?"

"Oh my God," Lyzz groans back at her brother. "Now you're bringing your gender into this? That's so lame, Liam. It shouldn't matter who is a son or a daughter for fuck sakes."

"Okay, you're right," Liam admits back to her. "It still doesn't change the fact that we are no closer to determining who is going to replace Orvilla as the head of the company. And the more we talk about it, the more we end up bickering about it."

Outside the living room entrance, Kymberlynne closes her eyes and leans up against the wall. She fights tears in her eyes with everything she has even though she knows that she is the one who gave her children the idea to run Meccanica, but now if they do, her entire world is going to implode.

/\/\/\

A short time later, Liam is making himself another drink at the bar in the living room of the Thornton mansion. His mind is racing over his latest squabble with Lyzz over which one of them should run Meccanica. He hates that he and his sister are at odds over this because the longer it takes them to decide which who will run the company, the longer Orvilla remains in charge and can create more havoc.

Kymberlynne, then, enters the living room and clears her throat to make her presence known to Liam. Liam turns and faces his mother. The sight of her makes him, immediately, take a sip of his drink.

"What is that you want, Kymberlynne?" Liam asks after he swallows the liquid in his mouth.

"I live here too, remember?" she replies to him quickly.

"How can any of us forget?" Liam rolls his eyes back to her. "You always show up at the worst possible times."

"Listen to me, you and Lyzz, you've asked me to stay away from Rachelle while her memories come back. Against my better judgement, I have stayed away. The very last thing I want to do is upset Rachelle while she is in recovery."

"Do you want me to thank you?" Liam asks her in a huff.

"No, but I would like you to tell me how she is doing. I…I still want to get updates on my daughter," Kymberlynne tells him quickly.

"She is doing well," Liam tells her. "I haven't heard from the doctor today, but yesterday, she said Rachelle was stable but no other memories have returned."

"I have to believe that her memories will come back in time," Kymberlynne says back to him. "Let's talk about something else, shall we?"

"What else could we possibly have to talk about?"

"Meccanica," Kymberlynne glares at him. "I…I suggested to you and Lyzz to take over the CEO position from Orvilla. But…I…well…I fear I over spoke."

Liam arches his eyebrow back to her, wondering where this change of heart is coming from. He knows how hard Kymberlynne has been working to try to remove Orvilla from the CEO seat, so this is coming from left field.

"You don't want me to run Meccanica?" Liam asks her in surprise.

"I…I think there must be another way to get Orvilla out of Meccanica and the Barracuda Blue," Kymberlynne purses her lips together.

"Where is this coming from?" Liam asks her next. "You seemed giddy with excitement at the idea of me or Lyzz taking over the company from Orvilla. Why the sudden change of heart, Kymberlynne?"

"The truth is," Kymberlynne uneasily looks back at him. "I can see the strain that this is putting on you and your sister and the last thing that this family needs is a rift between us. We have to stay together right now; together, we will be able to find a way to get rid of Orvilla without internal fighting. So please, promise me Liam, promise me that you'll give up this idea of running Meccanica and the Barracuda Blue?"

/\/\/\

The following morning, Kymberlynne is sitting at a table at the Café Tropical with a light breakfast in front of her. She takes a sip of her coffee while she lets her mind wonder to whether or not she got through to Liam about the CEO position at Meccanica. While she was able to come up with a solid cover story with her son, but she knows that the truth is that she is worried that if her children remove Orvilla from the company, she will expose her affair with Carson to her children, which would create a further rift between them.

She sets her coffee cup down on the table and turns her head as she sees Lyzz moving into the restaurant. Kymberlynne waves her hand to get Lyzz's attention. Lyzz sees her mother and sighs to herself as the last thing she wanted was for her breakfast to be interrupted by her mother.

"Good morning darling," Kymberlynne purses her lips together as Lyzz arrives at her table. "Please sit and join me for breakfast? The fruit bowl is positively heavenly today."

"I do not want to dine with you," Lyzz tells her. "So, whatever this is, make it fast, I have a busy day ahead of me."

"Please sit, at least?" Kymberlynne gestures to the open chair across from her, which Lyzz reluctantly obliges. "I…I've been thinking about something and I need you to hear me out."

"What is it?"

"This idea that either you or Liam will run Meccanica," Kymberlynne uneasily looks back at her daughter. "I think I over spoke. I don't think either of you should run the company."

"You're telling me that after everything Orvilla has put this family through, you want her to stay in charge of our family company? You really have lost your mind, Kymberlynne."

"I did not say that I want Orvilla to stay in charge," Kymberlynne immediately responds. "The truth is, as a family, we can come up with a way to remove Orvilla. But I fear that deciding between you and Liam will cause friction between you two and that is not want I want. I do not want my children to be at odds over a company!"

"Liam and I will be just fine," Lyzz informs her. "You can stop with caring mother routine, I'm not buying it. And for you to suddenly change your mind about this idea just shows how truly unhinged you are."

/\/\/\

Fourty minutes later, Lyzz finishes her breakfast at Café Tropical and sets her napkin down on the empty plate. She is still reeling over the fact that Kymberlynne suggested that neither she nor Liam take over Meccanica; this was her idea to begin with, and they both realized that it was the perfect way to have Orvilla removed as the CEO. For their mother to change her mind is truly mind blogging to her.

Lyzz stands up to leave when she sees Liam coming into the restaurant. She can't help but remember how heated their conversation was the previous day over which one of them should take over the CEO position from Orvilla. She realizes that she and Liam need to be on an united front right now, so she finds herself approaching her brother.

"Morning," Lyzz says to Liam, who looks back at her. "We have to talk."

"Yes, we do," Liam nods back to her as they move to the bar and sit next to one another. "You want me to go first?"

"Sure."

"There is no easy way to say this," Liam gulps back to her. "But I had a very interesting conversation with Kymberlynne yesterday."

Lyzz arches her eyebrow back to him. "Oh?"

"Yea," Liam nods to his sister. "She told me that neither one of us should run Meccanica. She wants Orvilla to remain in power."

Lyzz chuckles back to him. "You think this is funny?" Liam asks her, surprised by her reaction.

"No, not in the least," she says with a grin on her face. "When I got here, Kymberlynne was here and she told me the same thing. I…I don't understand why she has had this sudden change of heart when this was her idea to begin with."

"She told me that she doesn't want the CEO position to come between us," Liam explains to her. "But, if I am honest, this all feels very calculated on her part."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Lyzz tells him. "The question is, what is Kymberlynne trying to do now? What is her real angle?"

/\/\/\

Lyzz opens the front door to the Thornton mansion and storms inside with Liam hot on her trail. The siblings make a beeline towards the living room, where they see Kymberlynne looking out into the garden. After they realized that Kymberlynne was telling them the same thing, not to become the next CEO of Meccanica, they raced to the mansion to confront their mother.

"We need to speak to you, Kymberlynne, and it can't wait," Lyzz announces which causes Kymberlynne to turn around and see her children. She can tell by the looks on their faces that they are not amused, so she gulps heavily as she braces herself for what they have to tell her. "What game are you playing now?"

"I'm afraid I do not understand what you're referring too," Kymberlynne tells her daughter. "Why do you think I am playing a game?"

"Because," Liam responds back to her. "You told us, very excitedly, that we should run Meccanica to ensure Orvilla would be removed. We all wanted that after we discovered all the horrible things that she did to us to stop us from being the CEO."

"Exactly," Lyzz chimes in. "And then, you approach both of us, secretly mind you, and tell us that you made a mistake and we shouldn't run the company. So, I am going to ask you, again, Kymberlynne. What game are you playing?"

"I…I…" Kymberlynne fumbles her words as she struggles to try to think of a cover up. "You don't understand! I am not playing a game! The truth is, I heard you two yesterday, in this very room, fighting over who should become CEO; that's when I realized that it would be better for us to come up with a different way to get rid of Orvilla. I don't want this to come between you two! With Rachelle in the hospital, we have to stick together."

"This is all a load of shit and you know it," Lyzz spits back at her. "You're up to something, and I am going to find out what it is. But you know what this has made Liam and I realize? This is exactly why you never should have come back here, Kymberlynne. All you do is create a wave of chaos everywhere you go. So, please, do us a favor and go back to wherever the hell you came from! We don't need you; we never have."

The words hit Kymberlynne like a ton of bricks. She feels her lower lip start to quiver as Lyzz and Liam storm out of the living room. One she is alone, Kymberlynne covers her mouth as she gasps out and tears flow from her eyes. Even if her children never find out about her relationship with Carson, she realizes that she may never a true relationship with them anyways.

/\/\/\

A few hours later, Kymberlynne is sitting at the bar in the Café Tropical with a dry martini in front of her. After her confrontation with Lyzz and Liam, she felt like she needed a change of scenery from the mansion, but she also wanted a drink, so she ended up at the Barracuda Blue because she knows that she can get the family discount at the bar. Now, she's on her third martini, and she feels like a fourth one is about to be ordered.

She wishes that she could come up with an idea on how to remove Orvilla from her life once and for all. She is so tired of her sister playing God with her life; but she continues to feel like she is between a rock and a hard place. If she removes Orvilla from Meccanica, she will tell her children about her affair with Carson, which will create a bigger rift between her and her children. But, based on her conversation with Lyzz and Liam, by telling them to not take over the company, she is also creating a lot of drama between them.

"I can't win," she whispers to herself. "No matter what I do, my children will find a way to hate me. Maybe…maybe Lyzz is right…maybe I should leave the Barracuda Blue and Maui again. This time for good."

"That won't solve anything," a voice says from behind her. Kymberlynne spins her stool around and sees Carson standing behind her. "How can you can make things right, which you will, if you leave again, Kymberlynne? You will be playing into your children's demands, which are unrealistic."

"Carson," Kymberlynne sighs back to him. "Please, you have to leave me alone. I…I can't be seen with you. I thought I got through to you yesterday when we spoke."

"You can push me away all you want," Carson moves closer to her, just as Orvilla enters and sees them together. She, immediately, arches her eyebrow and gets a smirk on her face, knowing that her threats to Kymberlynne will still hold true. "But the fact is, I care about you, and I am going to be here when you need me. I am not giving up on you, I never will."

"Please," Kymberlynne says back to him as a tear falls down her cheek. "Just pretend I never existed, Carson. The sooner you can do that, the better off we will all be."

/\/\/\

Carson exits the Café Tropical and sighs heavily as he runs his hand over his face. He hasn't seen Kymberlynne is such a rough place in a very long. In fact, the last time she was so distraught was after Samuel's death. He just hopes that she doesn't do anything foolish because, despite their objections, he knows that her children need her to be around.

"Carson, please, pull yourself together," Orvilla announces as she moves up to him. "Do I need to remind you that you're the front desk manager of this resort? I simply cannot have guests seeing you in such a state."

"I'm…I'm sorry Ms. Anderson," Carson looks back at her. "I just saw a friend who is in rough shape right now. I will not let my personal life effect my work."

"You had better not," Orvilla replies to him. "And if you're talking about Kymberlynne, my dear sister, as your friend who is in bad shape…"

"It is."

"The Kymberlynne you saw in the Café, drowning her sorrows, that is the real Kymberlynne. She is nothing more than a gutter rat; you'd best stay away from her, because she will only hurt everyone that she crosses paths with."

/\/\/\

In the waiting room of the medical center, Lyzz and Liam face one another as they came to the center to get an update on Rachelle. While they wait for the doctor, however, they are engaged in a conversation about what they should do with Kymberlynne and the CEO position at Meccanica.

"You're not going to believe this," Liam looks back at his sister. "But there is something that I agree with Kymberlynne about."

"Oh God," Lyzz groans back to him. "What has she brainwashed you into believing?"

Liam chuckles back to her. "I don't want this CEO position to come between us, Lyzz. No matter what happens, we have to work together to bring Orvilla down. That's all that matters."

Lyzz nods back to him. "Okay, I agree with that too. God, what is happening to us? Agreeing with Kymberlynne?"

"Wait," Liam looks back at with intent. "Working together….that…that could be our solution, Lyzz."

"What are you talking about?"

"We could be co-CEO's of Meccanica!" Liam tells her. "There's nothing written in stone anywhere that there can't be two heads of the company. Besides, if there are two of us, it's half the work, and we would be able to rely on each other to make decisions since we are both new to this."

Lyzz finds herself nodding as a grin comes over her face. "You're right," Lyzz says as they lock eyes with one another. "We just found the perfect solution. We will run Meccanica together and throw Orvilla out on her sorry ass."

/\/\/\

The elevator door opens to the third floor of the Barracuda Blue and a tipsy Kymberlynne stumbles into the hallway. She composes herself before she walks towards the main office. She opens the door to the office and sees Orvilla sitting behind the large desk. Orvilla looks over in disgust at her sister.

"You smell as bad as you look," Orvilla tells her as she stands up from her chair and moves to the bar, where she pours a glass of water. "Drink this, you're drunk, you're going to need it."

Kymberlynne hits Orvilla's hand, which causes the glass to fall to the ground, where it shatters into a million pieces. The water starts to pool together. Orvilla glares back at her sister.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" Orvilla asks her. "You come into my office, unannounced, and start smashing glasses? You are pathetic!"

"No! You're pathetic, Orvilla," Kymberlynne shouts back at her. "You think you've won, don't you? You think you've gotten away with this!"

"I simply don't understand any of your drunken ramblings," Orvilla waves her hand in the air. "Get out of my office, Kymmy, before I have you thrown out."

"Mark my words," Kymberlynne declares back to her. "I will make you pay for what you've done, even if it is the very last thing that I do."