Bloody Knuckles

Season

2

Episode

3

First Aired

June 12, 2023

Writer

Heather Robb

Director

Bill Purple

Episode Guide
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Ride or Die	Springing a Leak

Bloody Knuckles^[1] is the third episode of the second season of Cruel Summer. It is also the thirteenth episode overall and aired on June 12, 2023 on Freeform.

Synopsis[]

In Summer 1999, Megan and Isabella bond during an overnight at the Chambers' cabin. Luke tries to stand up to Brent, but ends up causing more problems for his dad. Suspicions are raised after fingerprints are found on the gun that shot Luke.^[1]

Plot[]

The events that are about to unfold take place on or around:
July 19th, 1999
December 19th, 1999
July 19th, 2000

1999, Summer: Isabella packs a suitcase in the airstream, as Megan reminds her that they're only going one night. She wants to be prepared for any scenario. Megan isn't sure what Luke told her, but this isn't going to be a romantic getaway. It's 24 hours of immature boys running around with jockstraps on their heads competing to see who can fart the loudest. Luke would understand if she wanted to bail, but Isabella is sure she wants to go. It's usually guys only, though Isabella points out how Megan is the exception. She can handle a fart war or two and considers herself warned.

1999, Winter: Megan runs into the airstream to confront Isabella for telling her mom that it was her on the sex tape and not Isabella. She's angry as there was no conversation or hesitation to blurt out the most humiliating secret that didn't even happen to Isabella. Debbie was looking at Isabella like a monster, and she couldn't handle Debbie thinking that Isabella would betray Megan like that. Megan feels betrayed now because it wasn't her secret to tell. She was the one who said no one would know outside the three of them. Isabella knows and is sorry, but Debbie has become like a second mom to her. Megan snaps that Debbie's not her mom, she's Megan's and this whole thing was Isabella's idea. Isabella would do it again because that's what ride or die means to her. But the way she's been leaning on Luke instead of Isabella these last few days has her wondering. If the tables were turned, Megan would even consider doing the same thing for Isabella. Megan remains silent.

2000, Summer: Sheriff Myer pulls up to the Landry house and Megan sees him from her window. Isabella watches from the airstream as he knocks on the door, with Debbie answering. She asks if everything is alright and he's afraid not. She lets him inside. The ballistics came back from the gun that shot Luke. It's registered to Steve Chambers, and he's at the Landry's house because there were three pairs of prints on the gun - Luke's, Isabella's, and Megan's.

1999, Summer: Luke and his guy friends play horseshoes at the Chambers cabin when one teases that Luke's girlfriend is there. Isabella and Megan pull up in the latter's car, and Luke greets Isabella with a hug. His friends mock them from the game, and Luke assures Isabella that his friends will get used to having a girl around, then sends a “no offense” to Megan, who is getting the bags out of the car. Isabella assures him that Megan already warned her, and he's surprised Isabella still came. She doesn't scare that easily. Megan asks where Jeff is, and Luke finds him approaching them with a camera through a hockey mask while breathing creepily. Isabella playfully shrieks and curls into Luke, asking him to protect her from the killer. They tease Jeff and then walk off, so he helps Megan carry some of the bags. He brought a ton of scary movies - even Halloween, which excites her, and he knows it's one of her favorites. She notices Isabella and Luke hanging off one another as they walk into the cabin.

1999, Winter: Megan and Isabella are in the car outside the Shoreline. Megan admits she would do the same for Isabella, ride or die. Taking the heat for the tape is a huge deal and she appreciates it more than Isabella knows. Isabella thanks her, and Megan gets why she told Debbie. She sort of hoped that Debbie never had to find out it was her on the tape so it could be like it never happened, something Isabella understands. Megan apologizes - she hates having Isabella mad at her and asks for forgiveness. Isabella already has, and Megan couldn't imagine going through this without her. Isabella assures her she won't have to.

1999, Summer: Brent walks into the cabin with Parker. He's carrying firewood while joking if anyone wants his wood. Parker jabs that 1989 called and wants their joke back. His presence annoys Luke, but Brent insists that their dad asked him to bring firewood because he didn't want Luke stealing any of Ned's. Luke would catch a bullet in the ass if Ned saw him, adding that the guy gets trigger-happy over anything. Luke tells him he can leave now, and Brent has no intention of staying too long. But he and Parker are going to stay for a beer.

1999, Winter: Sheriff Myer talks to Luke who is filing at the station. He's had better weeks, but Myer knows he's a good kid and it'll all work out. He's made his share of mistakes and apologies. He advises Luke to just trust his heart and he'll be fine.

2000, Summer: Megan is coding at Shoreliner when she notices a news report about Luke. The reporter talks about how narcotics were found in Luke's system at the time of his death, leading authorities to suspect foul play. A search in the Chambers cabin found a stray bullet in the wall, leading investigators to believe he died at the cabin. The woman next to Megan muses that she chose the wrong time to vacation in Chatham, and not just because the coffee is terrible. She asks if she and Luke grew up together, surprising Megan. The woman clarifies that she means Luke, the dead boy, then realizes they were dating. This confuses Megan until she sees the woman flash across the television, revealing herself as Jenna Rouse, a reporter. The world wants to hear Megan's side of the story, and she wants to help Megan share it. Megan stands up and agrees the coffee is terrible. She picks up Jenna's cup and pours it on her breakfast, then walks away.

Isabella sits with her lawyer, Rebecca, and doesn't want to start playing games with her. Rebecca thinks Isabella looks well given the circumstances, but didn't think she'd be seeing her again so soon. They decide to start with her fingerprints on the gun, which is explained by all three of them using the gun last summer when Luke was with them. Rebecca understands there's a sex tape, though Isabella admits it wasn't her on it. It was Megan but she took the blame so Megan wouldn't lose her scholarship. It felt right at the time, but pointless now. Only a few people know that it was Megan on tape, but she asks if it still hurts Megan more than Isabella. She's the wronged party, the one with an ax to grind with Luke. Rebecca tells her it harms both of them, but in a town like this, people will always look harder at the outsider. Isabella hasn't seen too many friendly faces lately. Rebecca is sure the police will pursue another angle, one with the two of them working together, but Isabella hasn't spoken to Megan in months. It won't matter, and she tells Isabella to keep contact with Megan and Debbie to a minimum. Isabella wants to claim diplomatic immunity and get on a plane, but it would look very bad. Especially after what happened in St. Bart's last winter.

1999, Summer: Freddy shoots a shotgun at targets while Brent, Parker, and the guys sit on a picnic table nearby. Brent makes a lame joke about sharpshooters and then wrestles with Freddy. Luke hands a gun to Isabella, who's never held one before, waving it around recklessly. He quickly stops her to give her the first lesson - never wave a loaded gun around, just keep it pointed at the gun until she's ready to shoot. She has diplomatic immunity so she could kill everyone and get away with it. He doesn't want to test that theory and helps her aim and fire. She misses all the targets, leading Luke to think she just needs more lessons. She can't wait and walks off. Luke goes up for his turn, but Megan takes it from him, teasing him if he's going to teach her how to do it too. She shoots the first can perfectly, asking if he and Isabella are together now. She knows labels are stupid but wanted to know what was going on since Megan is his best friend and Isabella's landlord. Isabella walks over with drinks, and Megan shoots a beer bottle. Isabella is impressed, reminding herself to stay on Megan's good side.

1999, Winter: Luke stands at the end of the dock looking out at the river. After a long moment, he skips a stone and then walks back toward land.

Deputy Hardwicke is on the phone watching a football game when he hears the door to the station close. He heads to the front desk where a shoebox has been left with a note saying “Attn Sheriff Myer”.

2000, Summer: Steve visits Debbie with a casserole, amusing her, because she's pretty sure she's supposed to be the one giving him food. He could open a store with all the casseroles he has. He comes in and sets it on the table. He's holding up, but it's been a bit of a blur. The nights are worse and he doesn't think he'll sleep again until he finds out who killed Luke. Jack told him about the fingerprints on the gun. Debbie, incredulous, asks if he thinks the girls did it, but he knows they were up at the cabin with Luke last summer. They were probably playing around with the gun. There is one strange thing though. Jack said the cabin was cleaned lately, but he hasn't been there in months and neither has Brent. He wonders who did clean it. Megan eavesdrops from her bedroom.

1999, Summer: Jeff approaches Megan with his camera to ask what dark secrets lurk behind her, teasing that the book she's reading is an inspiration for her next twisted kill. She hates the camera, telling him to stop, but he muses that it loves her. She steals the camera and turns it on him, teasing him back. It's nice to see him without the camera, not hiding behind it. He likes how it lets him be part of things but also separate because people forget he's on the other side of it. It lets him see a lot more than she might think. She asks what he's learned, and he smirks that it's not to let a girl touch his camera, no matter how cute she is. He takes it back from her and Isabella watches then goes back to smiling with her new friends.

2000, Summer: In the gazebo at the Landry house, Isabella tells Debbie to get a lawyer. Debbie is sure Sheriff Myer will sort it all out, but Isabella reminds her that he's not her friend anymore, but a cop. Megan accuses her of knowing a lot about the law, but Isabella ignores her. She tells Debbie to just get a lawyer - a really, really good one.

1999, Summer: Megan is making a sandwich when Brent comes into the cabin, assuming it's for him. She smacks his hand away and calls him penis breath, which he approves of. She waves the knife around as she mentions learning from the best. He asks if Luke is going to close the deal with the import. She tells him not to call her that, then mentions that the “bros gone wild” act is getting old. She misses the semi-decent guy she used to know. He's just saying that if she wants Isabella gone, he's got her back. She appreciates it but has it handled. She hands him half the sandwich, telling him to get lost so they can have their lame overnight to themselves. He heads out of the cabin, shouting for Parker to get ready to leave.

1999, Winter: Megan serves a customer his food and then sees Isabella sitting at a booth with Lily. Luke comes in and she pulls him aside, asking why he's there. He wants to see her and asks if she's okay. She feels like an animal in a zoo, and he kisses her. He tells her to let them talk as he took care of the tapes. Everything is going to be okay.

At the sheriff station, Sheriff Myer has the shoebox open on his desk. Four tapes are inside, each from a different holiday. He asks Brent if these are all the tapes, and Steve tells him to think long and hard about his answer. He seems to have had trouble with that answer in the past. Brent admits that's all of them. Myer reminds him it's a criminal matter as some of the kids are underage. Steve promises that his punishment will be swift, but it's also a criminal matter. Steve insists it's more of a judgment call. Similar to when Myer's roof was leaking and the county didn't have a new one in the budget, so Steve put a new one on and kept him dry. Or when Bonnie was six months behind on rent they worked out a payment plan. That, if they're being honest, was an amnesty. Or when Steve scraped Myers off the floor of Steve's bar after he lost a big bet and made sure he got home safe. Myer appreciates all of that but is trying to do his job. Steve gets that, but when he tells Myer something is being taken care of because his word means something. He instructs Myer to get rid of the tapes, Steve will take care of Brent, and the story ends there. Myer repositions himself while Brent smirks from the couch.

Steve and Brent get in their car outside the station. Brent finds it amusing that Myer looked like he was going to shit his pants. Suddenly angry, Steve grabs Brent by the back of the neck and forces his head down. He repeats how Brent told him it was one tape, which is bad enough, but there are six. He demands to know what's wrong with him, roughly releasing Brent's neck. He thought he didn't have to worry about Brent because he was on a good path. His mother would be horrified. He was this close to letting the sheriff throw the book at him, warning him to not let Steve regret it. He asks twice if he understands and Brent does.

1999, Summer: Everyone sits around the fireplace and Isabella starts a game of two truths a lie so she can get dirt in case she ever needs to blackmail any of them. Luke decides to start: his mom was going to name him Xerxes but his dad said no, he's had a pen pal in San Diego since the third grade, and he's been to three of the seven wonders of the world. Megan tells him LegoLand doesn't count, and Megan asks if Xerxes is true, which it is. Jeff goes next; raw chicken legs freak him out, he dislocated his shoulder once and if he tries really hard he can do it again, and he was in a commercial as a kid. Isabella asks if the chicken legs are true, and Luke is sure the commercial is bogus because he would have mentioned it already. Megan can't believe he can dislocate his shoulder. Isabella decides to go next; she saw NSYNC at a tiny club in Brussels right before they got famous, she broke her leg in three places while skiing in the Swiss alps, and she has severe somnambulism - she sleepwalks like crazy. She does weird stuff, as a couple nights ago, Debbie found her in the backyard practically naked. She looks to Megan to back up her story, and Megan pauses and then supports it. Isabella winks at Megan from her chair.

2000, Summer: Megan's new lawyer, Tom, talks to her and Debbie at the kitchen table. The sex tape gives Isabella's team an angle they can sell, and Megan jokes about being a jilted lover. With the fingerprints and her being the last one to see Luke starts to tell a story. He answers the phone for jury selection and walks off. Debbie thinks he seems good, and Megan adds that he seems expensive too. She assumes the money came from Steve, then realizes she isn't telling her something. Debbie hasn't asked Megan's father for anything in 12 years, and Megan is taken aback by the answer. She shouts that Debbie said they didn't need him and wouldn't ask him for anything. Debbie knows, but won't let her pride get in the way of getting Megan the best possible defense. It is too important to her. Megan swears to pay him back every cent. The lawyer returns, needing to take them down to the station.

1999, Summer: Jeff talks about the Blair Witch Project that he's going to see, and Freddy calls him a freak. Megan calls him out for having eaten a bowl of dog food on a dare. It starts to rain so everyone hurries inside except for Megan, who looks up at the sky as the drops fall. Isabella joins her and thanks her for the assistance on the sleepwalking story. The rain doesn't bother her, as she and Lisa once spent the night in the ocean during a storm. She and Megan both love the sound of rain underwater. Isabella comments on Jeff's hard crush on Megan, but she doesn't believe the guys see her like that. Isabella calls her smart, fun, and hot, which is the crush trifecta. She was once one of the guys, but those days are over. The girls stand in the rain together in silence.

2000, Summer: Tom, Debbie, and Megan arrive at the Sheriff's station. Megan sees Isabella in an office room with her lawyer and they lock eyes for a long time until a deputy shuts the door.

1999, Summer: Isabella and Megan run up to the window and watch the boys goofing off inside with underwear on their heads. Megan invites her to leave and sleep in actual beds. They drive as both girls are happy to escape the boys' antics. Isabella asks Megan how she got Brent to leave. Megan just knows how to handle him. He acts tough but is just a stunted child. She used to think he was really cool but that was a million years ago before his mom died. Isabella feels bad for him, but Megan adds that he still “totally sucks”.

1999, Winter: Luke comes home to his father sitting at the table, calling him over. When Steve was in the army they called guys like Brent Delta Sierra's. Luke guesses it means dipshits, which is close enough. They'll probably have his back when push comes to shove, but anything less than a crisis, they tend to let people down. But Luke is straight-up, honest, and wears his heart on his sleeve. Along with his size eleven Converse, Luke realizes his shoebox gave away that it was he who dropped off those tapes at the station. Luke starts to explain but Steve cuts him off. Brent is Delta Sierra, dipshit, and what he did was reprehensible, but he would never intentionally humiliate the family as Luke did. Luke wanted to see him get punished. Steve reminds him their business is private and he doesn't litigate it in public ever. He gets up and walks away with his briefcase.

Megan serves Isabella and Lily at the Shoreliner Café when Jeff enters with Freddy. They make a snide comment about meeting up with Isabella later, with Jeff asking if Isabella's only into dudes with girlfriends. Megan yanks Jeff aside to scold him for talking about it in front of her sister. Freddy wants to get back at Luke by making a movie of their own, and Jeff offers to hold the camera. When Freddy is gone, Megan asks if this makes him feel better, and it does. She chose the wrong guy because he never would have done that to her. The tape cut out before they got a look at the heroine, but he knows that laugh anywhere. It used to be his favorite thing about her. She acts like she doesn't know what he's talking about so he walks away.

2000, Summer: Sheriff Myer asks Megan when she first learned Luke was missing. She learned the same day as everyone else, the day after the party. Isabella also talks to Myer, who asks if she had any contact with him up to that point. She claims she didn't, as they weren't that close then. He asks Isabella why her fingerprints were on the gun; Luke had taught her how to shoot because she'd never held a gun before. Megan used the gun last summer when a bunch of them went out to the cabin. He asks why everyone else's prints weren't on the gun, and Rebecca advises Isabella not to answer. He asks Megan if she was mad at Luke after the Christmas party, though Tom answers with no comment. Myer asks if Isabella wanted revenge for betraying her, or if Megan wanted revenge for him breaking her heart. The lawyers both respond with no comment.

1999. Winter: Brent confronts Luke in the kitchen about giving over the tapes by ratting him out to his sheriff daddy. Luke likes that it wasn't him, but Brent jacks him against the fridge as he doesn't believe his brother. Luke is glad someone did but insists it wasn't him. Brent claims their dad didn't give a shit. He bitch slapped Myer and flexed on him pretty hard, so Brent is in the clear. But if it wasn't Luke, it must have been his little “side skank” and will have to give her what's coming to her. He slaps Luke lightly on the cheek and then leaves.

1999, Summer: Megan and Isabella drive up to the house to find Debbie making out with a man on the front lawn. Megan is angry at the sight and storms into the airstream. Isabella follows, confused, as Megan can't believe Debbie would do this to them. The guy is her dad. His name's Keith and he's a musician who plays guitar in an old rock band. She never really called him dad because they weren't married, and he was only around a lot when she was a kid. He dressed up as the Easter bunny one year. She apologizes as this must be boring for Isabella, but Isabella assures her that it's not. Megan remembers him having long hair and sleeping in late, making up funny songs about mundane things. He sounds cool. When her mom got pregnant with Lily they were fighting a lot and by the time she was born, he was never around. Most of the time, Megan forgets that he even exists. Isabella is sorry for her as that sucks. Megan used to catch her mom listening to his music but it's been years. She doesn't understand why Debbie would want to bring him back into their lives, as all he's done is hurt them. Isabella is supportive of her talking to Debbie or staying mad for several days.

1999, Winter: Isabella and Megan lean against the car as a jeep pulls up. Jeff gets out to ask why they called him there. Isabella reminds him that whatever he thinks he saw on the tape, he can't prove it, but he acts like he can. Megan interjects that she can prove how he paid for all that fancy equipment. Unless he wants them spilling his dirty little secret, he's going to keep his mouth shut. Jeff steps to Megan, as she promised that she'd never tell. She doesn't want to as she had a great time with him last summer. She doesn't want to ruin that now by getting messy. He surmises this is blackmail, but it's more like mutual destruction. He can choose his own adventure, or not. The girls get back in the car.

1999, Summer: Megan and Isabella sit on the floor of the airstream eating foreign candies. Megan asks if Isabella is close with her dad, and they aren't. He's older, serious, and they don't really talk that much. He and her mom were obsessed with their jobs. They were like copilots who only cared about landing the plane while Isabella was just some passenger in the back. She was more of an inconvenience than anything, and they just threw money at her to hide their guilt. Megan is sure they love her, and Isabella isn't convinced. She adds that Debbie might have her problems, but at least she listens when Megan talks to her. She doesn't think her parents have heard a word she's said in five years. Megan is glad that Isabella is here, and so is Isabella. She then admits that the candy is awful and they laugh. Isabella wanted her to try something from Europe, which was a very nice thought, but it was still very bad.

2000, Summer: Megan talks about the last time she saw Luke for the tenth time. They left the party just after midnight, parked near the beach, and she dropped him off at home later. An eyewitness confirms seeing them leaving the party, but as far as her dropping him at home, Myer shows security footage from the Chambers home from midnight to seven AM. He fast forwards through the VHS, though Megan never appears, nor does Luke. Myers questions Isabella about not being in the cabin since last summer, which she claims is the truth. He leaves the room and then returns with a backpack. He asks her to explain why they found her bag stashed in a crawl space at the cabin, the scene of Luke's murder. He opens the bag and removes a wad of fifty-dollar bills. He asks what all the money is for.