Imperfections Noticed
Disclaimer: I don't own The OC or anything related to it besides a crap book and a set of season one DVDs.
Author's Note: This all started after watching "The Shower" and thinking about Summer's dad. This fic mentions Rachel Bilson's weight loss that seemed to occur after late season one. I took some liberties with that, and in no way what so ever do I think Rachel Bilson actually has a weight problem or an eating disorder, because if I did, I wouldn't be writing about it. And I also know that in "The LA" Summer mentions her mother having an affair, but she very well could've had an affair, divorced her father and died all by the time Summer was hitting puberty. And, another note (I know, so many!), I don't know if Rachel Bilson is a size four or what size she is or anything. I really have no concept of that. That's all I have to say about this one! Whew!
Summer's father is a plastic surgeon. He carves the perfect California bodies and molds the Dream Newpsie. Summer's father wants Summer to be his perfect angel. He wants her to fit the mold. She does, mostly, but she needs some tweaking.
And he has no problem telling her that.
He lightly pinches the small amount of fat on her hip. "This needs to disappear," he says sharply.
Summer smiles and nods, and he doesn't notice her glassy eyes or that she scurries away automatically and slams the door to her room.
He takes a sip of his wine and then taps Lola, the chef, on the shoulder. "One scoop for Summer," he says quietly. Summer pretends not to her him, and she gratefully accepts her small serving of potatoes. He doesn't notice that she rushes to the bathroom after dinner. He just doesn't notice.
What he notices is the thinner physique she has now. He notices the lessened curves, the longer skirts that cover her thighs that he finds too thick, the more protruding collarbone.
He doesn't notice that all summer his daughter cried over a boy. He doesn't notice that while she wasn't with him she ate less. He doesn't notice that his comments hurt even more then abandonment of a boy or her mother's death.
Her mother didn't mean to leave.
Seth came back.
She notices that.
Summer's father doesn't notice his daughter smiling more. He doesn't notice her long and giggly talks on the phone. He doesn't notice the return of the gangly boy she was with.
He notices that she's been sneaking into the kitchen after dinner. He notices that the body she had before is slowly returning. He notices that she isn't fitting his standard of beauty anymore. He doesn't notice that same gangly boy rubbing her shoulder and telling her how perfect she is.
Because she is perfect. Seth knows it. But she still doesn't.
Summer's father eyes the dress she's wearing. "What size?" he asks, nonchalantly.
Summer swallows, her back straightens. "A four," she answers.
"Work on that," he snaps.
Summer walks away quickly. She notices her gaining weight. She notices, her father notices, and she still doesn't give a fuck if Seth thinks she's perfect because she isn't.
So she kneels over the toilet and sticks two fingers down her throat. She gags and cries, but ultimately, her goal has been achieved.
She sits for a while, tears streaming, and she wonders if her father would ever notice this.
