gilded

by geminibbyy

The Upper East Side serves as a playground to trust fund babies behaving badly. And haven't you heard? Privilege and scandal always go hand in hand. "A 'Queen B' who can't even keep her court in order is certainly no queen of mine." (gossip girl universe x oc) [CURRENTLY IN SEASON 1]

10. chapter nine

GUYS, this chapter was 20,000+ words without either of the author's notes. *20,000+ words*.

I have been very excited for this chapter because it's the Thanksgiving chapter (side note: brownie points to whoever can count the number of times the word 'Thanksgiving' appears this chapter. Hint: It's a lot.) and from the beginning of planning this story, I always intended to introduce the full Rockefeller family during the first 'holiday' chapter. This is the ninth chapter of this story (technically tenth since FF doesn't recognize prologues) and so I figured that was enough time for the people reading to be invested enough to care about this character and be okay with learning more about her family.

I'll forwarn now and say that this is the first chapter I don't really cover much of the canon characters in. They are included in a few scenes but a huge percentage of this story consists of only the Rockefeller family. Please don't let that scare you off!

For me, I really enjoyed getting to see the family dynamics on the show in the first(and second, kinda) season and that was always something I felt they could have done more with and so I really wanted to focus on that some. I think so much of who we all are as people stems from our upbringing and our families and the people we are around and what better way to give you all a deeper look into Odette then through her family?

This chapter introduces so many new characters and the material was fun and very challenging for me and I hope that everything I wanted this chapter to be does deliver and you all walk away from this update understanding certain characters much better.

Thank you to everyone that has followed this story this far, I appreciate it more than you can possibly know. I love this character so much and I'm excited to continue to tell her story. I feel very fortunate that I have each of you that are reading this along for the ride and I hope you all are continuing to stay safe during all this craziness.

And thank you to my wonderful friend (you should all know this was coming) greyspaces, I truly don't believe I would still be here writing if it wasn't for your kind words and motivation pushing me along. I feel so incredibly lucky to not only have a friend on here that I can overanalyze *everything* with but to also have a friend outside of this FF world that has really been such a positive light for me on dark days. Love ya, S. And this chapter is totally dedicated to you. (I'm sorry if it sucks and you hate it since I just dedicated it to you lol)

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WARNING:

VULGAR LANGUAGE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, TEENAGE ALCOHOL USE, DRUG USE

WARNINGS WILL BE AT THE START OF ALL CHAPTERS.

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All rights to 'Gossip Girl'; plots and characters belong to the author Cecily Von Ziegesar as well as TV Producers Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage. I only claim ownership of my original characters. And while they are part of the Rockefeller family, and mentions to the families infamy and status will be made, any and all mentions of them are purely fictional and none of the characters that comprise the family are based on the true family.

---

"On the Upper East Side a last name means everything."

---

For as long as Cortney could remember, the world revolved around her sister.

Everything she was or anything she did, Odette had probably done it first.

Even her name had been all but taken from her because stupid Odette wasn't able to say 'Cortney' as a toddler and instead coined her 'Coco', then and forevermore altering this very key element of her entire identity.

In retrospect, it was really no wonder she had so much trouble establishing her own identity. This is a plight for all teenagers really, but she felt the struggle on an extra level.

Odette and Cortney had been born almost exactly ten and a half months apart and therefore her entire life had been a series of achievements and experiences that her sister had already made or been through.

It had never bothered Cort much until they were both at Constance. Sharing the same group of friends and interacting with the same peers had really put all of her insecurities on full display. Despite trying desperately to be her own person almost everyone grouped her automatically in with Odette from day one.

There wasn't a person on the Upper East Side that wouldn't be able to tell the two girls were related. Cortney's hair was more brunette than blonde, but she had the same exact shade of blue eyes, and the same nose and the same naturally pouted lips. But, Odette had been born first and had all those characteristics first and therefore they belonged to her and further perpetuated the idea that Cortney was merely an extension of her sister.

It was always, 'You look just like your sister' and never, 'your sister looks just like you'.

The curse of looking so similar was that Cortney was always comparing herself to Odette. This wasn't as big of an issue when the two girls had the same body type; thin, athletic, flat in every way imaginable, really. But, over the previous year, Odette had started to fill out and had gone up three full cup sizes practically overnight. Coco was not nearly as fortunate and was still stuck with the body of, in her own mind, a twelve-year-old boy. So now she was not only seen as a doppelganger to Odette but she was also the less hot version.

Considering she was so desperate to establish an identity so separate from her sister it would seem odd that she would be so drawn to Kati and Iz, who shared the same closet and some might even say a brain as well, but Kati and Iz recognized Cortney as her own person, completely separate from her sister. Which she greatly appreciated.

When she first started coming around the group, Blair and the other girls had taken to calling her 'mini-dette', which she loathed, obviously. Kati, however, had made it a point to always call her by her actual name, which in turn made Iz and the other girls follow, and from there the stupid nickname disappeared and a tight bond was formed.

It was difficult to explain why, but Coco really admired Kati.

And Iz, sometimes.

She really wanted them to like her but she didn't know exactly who the real her was. So, she would lie and present herself as who she thought they wanted her to be. They liked to party so she liked to party. They liked to flirt and mess around with guys so she liked to do that too.

Except... she didn't.

Or, well, hadn't.

But, they thought she did because she told them so and they had no reason not to believe her because she wasn't a liar.

Except... she was.

She did not hook up with Chuck Bass.

She had tried but she had also been rejected. But, of course, that wasn't a story Kati and Iz could relate too. They both had their own experiences with Chuck that they had said, on more than one occasion, had bonded them 'for life'. Coco wanted in on something like that so she lied.

She thought it would bring them closer to her, and it had, but it was a shitty foundation on which to build their friendship, and anytime it was brought up she felt guilty. At the time it felt like a 'two birds, one stone' situation. She could strengthen her friendship with Kati and Iz and gain an upper hand on Odette, for once. All of it would be disingenuine, but it would still do the trick. However, as more time had passed she felt worse about the lie of it all.

Not to mention how mortified she felt every time she had to see Chuck after he had completely shut her down.

Not that she really wanted to sleep with him anyway. His only appeal to her was that, based on his track record, he seemed like a sure thing.

Chuck Bass was plain and simply put, a fuckboy.

Scratch that. He was the fuckboy.

The number of girls he had slept with just from Constance alone was disturbing enough without trying to factor in all the many other conquests there were across Manhattan and so forth.

For whatever reason, despite his infamous fuckboy reputation, some girls still really seemed drawn to him. Iz was one example, Odette was another. Kati, for all intents and purposes, claims she never had feelings for him, but she did still sleep with him.

Chuck had a sexual prowess about him that attracted all types of girls. And guys.

But, Coco was not one of those people. Not really.

She knew how to turn it on though and so she did.

She had tried so hard to get Chuck to take a liking to her that she had almost somewhat started to convince herself that she liked him in return. Of course, once she felt his body under hers and she started to kiss him, she felt nothing and was instantly reminded of how she had felt in the beginning of all this. She most definitely did not understand the appeal.

However, regardless of the fact that she had realized she didn't want him, she still didn't like being rejected. It was embarrassing, now, to think about how far she had put herself out there only for him to completely shoot her down.

He was Chuck Bass, he was notorious for having no standards and would fuck just about anyone. Yet, he wanted nothing to do with her?

What the fuck was up with that anyway?

"Chuck! Hey, Chuck, come over here."

Coco was caught up in a deep conversation with Kati, discussing their plans for the rest of the night. Iz had been talking to St. Judes senior Bobby Hewit and he had invited her, Kati, and Coco to an after-party at his parent's townhouse once Blair's party started to lose steam. Coco was always excited at the prospect of more time with the girls so she was excited for this. But once she heard Penelope calling Chuck over to where their group was congregating her attention was quickly pulled away from Kati as she watched Chuck walking towards them.

She hadn't seen him, this up-close, since the other night in his suite. After he had shoved her off of him Coco had gotten redressed in a hurry and was out the door before he could say much of anything. The entire thing was completely embarrassing and now that she had lied about it to Kati and Iz she hoped they wouldn't say anything in front of him that would make things worse.

Once Chuck reached their group Penelope draped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in a little closer, "Chuck, you're so bad!"

Chuck didn't particularly like this group of girls but since the Gossip Girl blast about Nate and Odette had come out he had been looking for any distraction he could to avoid drunk, or high, rage texting them both, "Well, we already knew that. But what are we referring to?"

"We are referring to you popping Coco's cherry!" Bursting into a fit of giggles Penelope pulls away from Chuck, hitting his chest gently.

Coco can almost feel her heart stop as the words leave Penelope's mouth. The word 'cherry' was replaying in her head over and over again, and Penelope's laughter felt like it was vibrating off her brain.

'We won't tell.'

Her eyes dart between Kati and Iz, completely blindsided and confused by this betrayal. They had assured her they wouldn't tell anyone.

Chuck scoffs at Penelope's statement, figuring she was poking fun at Coco for her behavior from the other night, but as he tries to make eye contact with the youngest Rockefeller sister he can clearly see she's avoiding meeting his gaze. "Oh yeah... How was it for you, Cort?"

The color was draining from Cortney's already fair-skinned face as she felt all eyes on her. They were all waiting for an answer that she didn't have. They didn't hook up but the lie had already gone this far and she couldn't deny it now. Kati and Iz would never forgive her for lying to them about something as sacred as losing her virginity. Girlfriends didn't lie about that. Taking a deep breath to steady her growing nerves Coco finally looks up and makes full eye contact with Chuck, "It was okay."

"Ooh, burn." Hazel half giggles into her glass as she finishes off the remainder of her drink.

"Well, I'm glad it was okay for you. I don't remember it at all." Chuck rubs his chin for a moment as if he was seriously trying to recall this imaginary encounter, "Are you the one that cried immediately after?"

Feeling Coco's hand begin to involuntarily shake against her own leg, Kati reaches over and holds it comfortingly, "Don't be a dick, Chuck."

"I'm not."

He was. But he also didn't care at this moment. Blair had really gotten into his head about the whole Nate and Odette thing and now to find out Coco was going around lying about their encounter, saying it was sexual, it all suddenly made so much sense why Odette had been avoiding him like the plague. She thought he had hooked up with her sister... and she was so mad at him that she wanted to hurt him back by getting with his best friend. He didn't know this for certain but it seemed like a high possibility. In a world where it was always 'an eye for an eye', this scenario didn't seem far fetched. And even if it did, according to that saying they all went blind anyway so it's not like he could really tell.

At the end of it all, this all stemmed from a lie told by Coco.

He didn't care that she was younger than them all, and he didn't care that she was Odette's little sister and therefore he should show her some compassion. At this moment he hated her and worse, he didn't respect her at all. If she wanted to parade herself around like she was one of his whores than he would treat her like one, "Ah, I remember now. The sex with you was so mediocre that I had to spit on your back so you would think I had finished and we could stop. Then, once you left, I had to invite someone else over to finish me off."

He was being an asshole, and vulgar, but he didn't care anymore.

Cortney's eyes drop to the floor as she processes the sting of Chuck's words. Hearing as some of the girls tried to muffle their snickers of bemusement she knows she needs to get out of this situation before she's humiliated further, "I need to pee."

As Coco stands up she abruptly pulls her hand out of Kati's hold and hurries off in the direction of the nearest bathroom.

Watching her petite figure retreat down the hallway Kati stands up to follow Cort but before she does she turns to stare down Chuck, "Every time I start to think you aren't the asshole I think you are, you prove me wrong." Pushing past him and the girls, Kati moves through the party and down the hallway to the bathroom. She stands in front of the door for a moment, debating what she should even say, before she knocks softly and identifies herself, "Coco, open up. It's Kati."

A few beats of silence pass before Cort cracks the door just enough for Kati to get in.

Once she squeezes her way through, Kati's eyes settle on the sight of Cortney, mascara running down her cheeks as she sits on the toilet seat, sobbing.

"Hey... Cort, don't cry. He's an asshole, I've been saying that." Kati wraps her arms around Coco, pulling her up into a tight hug before rubbing gentle circles on her back in an effort to calm her down, "I'm sorry. I know you thought he would be different with you. It's not you, it's him."

While all of her sentiments were sweet, none of them applied because they were all centered around Coco's lie. She wasn't crying because Chuck screwed her and hurt her feelings, she was crying because he didn't screw her when she tried and then proceeded to embarrass her in front of all her friends too. He made her sound like the worst lay of his life and Penelope and the other girls would probably never let her live it down. It had also dawned on her that if Kati and Iz told Penelope and Hazel about her hook up with Chuck it was likely they told more people and now there was no telling how many thought she was Chuck's most recent conquest, and if she didn't want that to be her moniker she would have to tell them the truth, which was really worse than the lie.

"You promised you wouldn't tell." Sniffling as she pulls away, Cortney looks at Kati with pure devastation in her eyes.

"Iz has such a big effing mouth, I'm sorry." Kati's face drops into a deeper frown, "Hey," cupping Coco's face in her hands she starts to rub the running mascara away with her fingers, "Please don't cry. It was your first time, everyone sucks their first time. If Penelope or Hazel starts to give you a hard time I'll remind them of their own epic fails, okay? You have nothing to be embarrassed about Cort. Chuck so didn't deserve that from you. You're so pretty and funny, and smart. He's gross, and gross, and grosser."

Watching her through her tears, Coco can see Kati start to go cross-eyed every now and then as she speaks. This was her tell-tale sign that her drunk alter ego, 'Kate' was coming out to play. Kate, like most drunk alter-egos, was very different from Kati. Kate didn't take herself too seriously, she was typically much more carefree, and always much more loving towards her friends.

"You're drunk." Coco laughs, sniffling once more as she tries to stop tearing up. "I am too, drunk and crying in the bathroom." She wasn't that drunk though. But hopefully, if Kati thought she was that would keep her from having to further explain why she was so upset right now.

"Don't cry over Chuck Bass, he's not worth it. Trust me." Kati rolls her eyes at her own memories of crying in this very same bathroom over the same stupid Bass, "At least no one filmed you." She offers, poking some fun at her own expense as she moves around the small bathroom in search of something that she could use to help Cort clean her face.

Cortney watches, a small smile replacing the pout she previously had, as Kati digs through a bathroom cabinet with an extremely determined look in her eye. It was almost as if she was willing whatever it was she was looking for to manifest itself before her.

"You didn't have to come after me."

"Of course I did."

She was a good friend.

Coco wasn't a good friend and she didn't deserve her.

She wondered what Kati would think of her if she knew she lied about all this?

She'd hate her probably and the thought of that terrified Cortney. Kati had only been in her life for a relatively short amount of time but she couldn't imagine life without her anymore.

She was her best friend and she loved and cared about her so much.

"Of course my brother doesn't have makeup wipes but we can run warm water and-"

Turning away from the bathroom cabinet, Kati's sentence is cut off as Cortney's lips press against her own.

She's frozen still for a moment, completely caught off guard by this sudden gesture. But before her brain can fully process what's happening her lips start performing on their own accord. Instead of focusing on why this was happening, all she could think about was how soft Cortney's lips were as they worked alongside her own, feverishly.

Coco wasn't sure what had made her decide to kiss Kati, but she was glad she did. In this moment, feeling their bodies melt against one another as they each pulled the other close, nothing had ever felt so right.

She felt a tingle from deep within her body once Kati's fingers became tangled in her hair and as she pulled back to breathlessly announce, "I'm so drunk right now..." Kati didn't let go of her intimate hold on Coco.

"Me too..." Cort nods gently in agreement before they both lean into one another again, this time with open mouths. Despite her agreement, Coco knows she's not that drunk.

Not drunk like Kati at least.

But at this point what was another lie on top of the others?

She didn't want to be deceitful but as she feels Kati's tongue begin to fight her own for dominance she loses all sense of right and wrong or even of time, place, and motive.

All she can think about as she gives complete control over to Kati is how she never wants this kiss to end.

---

"Looks like another group just left."

Looking over her shoulder Odette watched as a group of clearly drunk teenagers exited the building across the street from them. "How many is that now?"

"Two..no, three groups of at least ten each time." Nate tilts his head from one side to the other as he thinks, "Now is probably as good a time as any."

"I don't know. Maybe we should wait just a little longer?" Odette chewed lightly on her thumbnail.

She was incredibly nervous. She had already been a bit apprehensive about showing up, uninvited and unannounced to Blair's party but she felt even more unsure since Gossip Girl blasted her and Nate's picture out to everyone.

It wasn't what it looked like.

That's how it usually goes.

But, in this case, it was true.

Typically, a hug between friends would seem like nothing but, considering all the recent drama and accusations thrown both Odette and Nate's way, this particular embrace looked extra suspicious. At least in Blair's eyes it did and at the end of the day, her opinion was all that really mattered.

"Let's just go." 'Get this over with.'

This was far from Nate's first time being in hot water with Blair so he was used to this tired game. He'd screw up, she'd throw a fit, he'd apologize, she'd begrudgingly forgive him and they'd quickly move on to the next issue.

Due to his general lack of faithfulness, it was to be assumed that Nate didn't care for Blair or her feeling. But, in reality, he didn't actually like to hurt or upset Blair. He didn't like to hurt or upset anyone, really. But, considering the two of them had been faced with this similar situation several times before he had also become somewhat desensitized to the entire process.

Nothing he did was ever bad enough to make her leave him, or in some cases let him leave her apparently, so what was the point in worrying? At the end of the day, a fight was a fight and their fights were so common that it almost seemed to be the main way they communicated; fighting was their love language.

It would suck, but then it would be over.

"I just can't believe this whole thing has gone this far. I mean, you and me? That would never happen!" As she talks Odette begins to get noticeably more worked up and agitated as she begins to frantically talk with her hands.

"Ouch..." Nate laughs to himself, "I mean, never seems..." 'So definite?'

Nate doesn't finish this thought, as unaware as he seemed at times even he knew they had bigger issues at hand. "Look, the longer we take to go talk to her the more time she has to sit and stew, and trust me, no one wants to try and handle a stewed Blair Waldorf." Nate turns to walk across the street but quickly notes that Odette isn't following him, "Odette," he lets out a long sigh, getting slightly annoyed now, "We didn't do anything wrong. The longer we stay away the more guilty we make ourselves look. So, I need you to take a deep breath, hold your head up, and let's go handle this once and for all."

Odette is easily taken aback by Nate's choice to suddenly take charge of the situation at hand. He usually came across so passive and seemed to always be in the position of sitting shotgun to his life and letting everyone else make the decisions, so seeing him take the wheel now was surprising and also made her kind of proud. "Well, when you're right, you're very right." Odette throws her hands up in slight surrender as she follows him across the street.

The two of them walked through the lobby and rode up the elevator in complete silence. Both bracing themselves for whatever scene they'd be walking into.

Blair was going to no doubt be livid, but hopefully, they could convince her to hear them out.

Or, she would refuse to and maybe she'd throw a drink in their face.

At this thought, Odette subconsciously smoothes down her bodycon dress. As she imagined expensive champagne rolling down and soaking into the silk of her dress she started to seriously regret wearing her new Dolce tonight. Once the subtle chime of the elevator fills the confined space around them she's pulled from her thoughts. As the doors begin to slide open she forces a small, but confident, smile across her face. Her stomach was doing flips but to anyone watching she looked like the epitome of cool and collected.

Everywhere she looked she was met with judging stares and hushed whispers. Everything she had expected to be walking into was playing out before her eyes, but instead of paying them any mind she quickly begins to scan the crowd for Blair.

Despite them watching several people leave before they decided to come up, the apartment was still packed and the party clearly wasn't dying down anytime soon.

"There's Serena."

Nate taps Odette on the shoulder to get her attention before gesturing across the room.

Go figure that in a dark room filled with so many people Serena was the first person Nate laid eyes on.

This could work in their favor though, Serena would not only know where Blair was but she also could warn them as to what Blair's current temperament was.

As the pair moved in closer however it was clear that Serena's mind was elsewhere. The blonde was leaning against the archway of the hall, brows furrowed as she chewed feverishly on her lower lip.

"Serena?" Nothing. "Uh, Serena." Odette tries to get her attention again, this time waving her hands slightly in front of her face. As silly as it might have looked it did the trick because Serena was instantly completely focused on Odette and Nate, "Oh my god! Sorry, I..." She didn't finish the thought as she moved in to hug them both, "We weren't expecting you."

"Where's Blair?" Nate looks away from Serena back to the packed crowd in the main room.

"Well," she runs her fingers through her long blonde hair, "After the blast she sort of locked herself in Kati's brother's room."

Watching as Serena's eyes subconsciously drift down the hall Nate's gaze follows hers before looking at Odette, "Sort of?"

This entire interaction felt...weird. Odette couldn't quite put her finger on it but something was very off with Serena, "Are you okay, S?"

"I..." Serena looks between the both of them before taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry guys, my mind is all over the place. I met Dan's sister and I don't think she liked me very much and then they all bailed on the party pretty quickly so I'm just worried about it. Dan cares about his family so much and what if he dumps me over her not being a fan?"

Odette wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. Not that she would ever want to downplay a friend's personal problems but she had thought Serena's weird behavior was because of her current issue with Blair and realizing it wasn't put her much more at ease. "Sorry to hear that S, but I'm sure you're just being hard on yourself." Reaching out she rubs the statuesque blonde's shoulder before attempting to move around her and down the hall, "I'm going to try to get Blair to let us in so we can talk."

Nate nods, moving to follow Odette but is quickly stopped in his tracks.

Serena stretches her arm out so that she is leaning against the opposite wall, her upper body now blocking their path. At this sudden move, Odette takes a small step backward, in turn making Nate move back as well. From there, the three of them are left standing in uncomfortable silence. Finally, Nate clears his throat, "Uh, can we not talk to Blair?"

"I don't think right now is a good time. Like I said, she's really upset."

Odette stares at Serena through narrowed eyes, "Right, that's why we want to talk to her. You know, clear all this nonsense up?"

"I get it. I just think it's probably best to wait for another time. Let her calm down, sober up a bit, you know?" Serena was clearly unwavering on this, "You're not going to get anywhere with her if you try this tonight, trust me."

Odette looked Serena up and down, briefly considering charging through her. But, the reality of the situation was that Serena was almost six feet tall, and in her highest heels Odette was still several inches shorter than that. Plain and simply put, there was no way Odette was getting through her.

"Alright." She knew when to accept defeat and concede, and this was clearly one of those moments. Besides, Serena knew Blair best and if she didn't want them to see her tonight that was obviously for a good reason. "Can you at least tell her that we stopped by and want to talk?"

The sadness behind Odette's wide blue eyes tugged at Serena's heartstrings, "Of course I will. We'll figure this is all out." Just not tonight...

Nate shook his head in dismay. This wasn't how he had expected this interaction to turn out and he was feeling slightly annoyed that things had to carry on unresolved. Briefly looking over the party once again he looks for his group of friends, "Did Chuck come?" If he was still going to have to deal with an angry Blair at a later date he should at least be able to enjoy the rest of the night getting drunk with his boys.

Serena shrugs, "Yeah, but I think he left after the gossip bomb."

"So he's pissed too?"

"Who cares what he thinks." Odette couldn't fight the scowl that worked it's way across her usually gentle features, "He has no room to judge anyone. Especially when our thing isn't even real."

"I don't know, I don't really think Chuck would believe that. He knows me too well." Nate might not have seemed like the most loyal person due to his track record with Blair but his friendship with Chuck was a completely separate thing. They were more than just best friends, they were brothers. "Let's not worry about Chuck or Blair tonight, all that can be fixed. Let's enjoy the party, let me get you both a drink."

Hearing his offer, Serena noticeably relaxes and moves she away from where she's standing to follow Nate to the bar, "The bartender makes breakfast shots Natey, your favorite."

"Perfect, we'll start with that!" Now sporting a wide grin Nate turns back to his companion for the night, "Dette?"

As much fun as getting drunk with her friends sounded she knew she wouldn't be able to fully enjoy herself knowing she had made Blair so upset. It was her birthday and she wasn't even out here enjoying it because she was so hurt. Regardless if her feelings were based on a valid truth or not, Odette still couldn't help feeling like an extremely shitty friend. "You go ahead. I'm pretty full from dinner and kind of tired. I'm gonna head home."

"You sure?" Nate's smile dropped. He hadn't been expecting her to bail on him, after the night they had they both deserved a little fun.

"Yeah, you have fun though. I'll call you tomorrow and we can work out a new plan of action." Odette offers a small final smile before turning her back on him and moving back across the party to the elevator.

---

It was well past three in the morning and Odette still hadn't fallen asleep.

She had tried everything from meditation to popping melatonin and yet nothing seemed to be doing the trick. So instead she scrolled through her various social media accounts looking at all the pictures and videos her friends had posted from Blair's party.

It seemed everyone had a good night.

Even Nate had posted a picture of himself, all smiles as he posed on the balcony with some of his friends. Odette quickly double-tapped the image before continuing her scroll.

In this distance, the sound of heels coming up the stairs pulls her attention away from her feed. Looking down at the time displayed on her phone she scoffs in disbelief at how late Coco was getting home. Some had a better time than others apparently...

The sound of Coco's heels grew louder and louder the further down the hall she moved but once she reached Odette's door the hallway fell completely silent again.

Dottie, who had just been sleeping peacefully at the foot of the bed, perched her head up, watching the bedroom door intently. Suddenly, as a faint knock is heard, Dottie springs from the bed and prances to the door, wagging her tail eagerly.

Not waiting for a response to be granted entry, Coco twists the doorknob and walks into the familiar room of her older sister. She's immediately greeted by Dottie, who licks at her exposed legs. Kneeling down slightly, Coco pets the top of the pups spotted head.

"Um, excuse you? We were sleeping!" Odette rubs at her eyes, acting as if she had just woken up. "Ugh, Cortney, you reek of alcohol and weed."

Despite Odette's obvious displeasure at seeing her Coco continues across the room, Dottie right at her side. Once she reaches her sister's circular bed she kicks off her heels and pulls the pink duvet back before climbing in next to her.

"Jesus, how drunk are you?!" Odette promptly sits up, crossing her arms firmly across her chest. "Get out of my bed before I hit you." It wasn't a threat, it was an absolute promise. Minor physical altercations here and there were fairly normal, and more so expected, between the two sisters.

Coco sniffles as she turns on her side to look up at Odette, "I know you hate me but I really need my big sister right now." Her lips tremble as she fights back tears to get the words out, but once she does they fall freely.

Watching as tears roll down her sister's face Odette's features immediately soften, "What's wrong?" She immediately reaches out and begins to smooth Cortney's dark hair out of her face, "Cort, what happened?"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now, but I also don't want to be alone. Can I please sleep in here tonight?"

Watching Cortney laying in her bed, on the verge of sobbing, Odette is instantly transported back to various times throughout their childhood when they found themselves in almost this exact situation.

Since they were little Odette had been acting as a protector to Coco. She had felt that was her role as the older sister.

She had also always been the one to comfort Coco from anything that caused her distress. This ranged from a scratched knee, to hurt feelings, to even dispelling any fears she had when she got her period for the first time. She felt it was her responsibility since their parents, always caught up in their own turmoils, clearly weren't going to be a source of comfort for either daughter in any situation.

Through all the highs and lows of their lives, the only thing they could ever truly count on was each other. This loyalty and comfort amongst each other had started to fade over the last year and it had been a long time since Odette had seen Cortney look like the little sister she once knew. But suddenly, just like that, she was reminded.

At this moment, none of the drama with Chuck mattered. If Cort had slept with him, or hadn't, it was irrelevant. At the end of it all, she was her sister... her little sister and she was hurting. Odette didn't know why and so she didn't know how to help her fully but they were sisters and she had been looking after and comforting Coco her whole life, so that is one thing she knew how to do better than almost anything else.

Wrapping her arms around Cortney's petite frame she pulls her in for a tight hug before kissing the side of her head, "It's going to be okay." She didn't know what happened so she didn't know if that was necessarily true but she knew one thing for certain, "I'm here for you and no matter what, I love you always, Cort."

---

Thanksgiving

---

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

As Odette strolls into the Waldorf's large kitchen she notices Blair and Serena deep in their own conversation but once they notice her arrival they both turn to greet her with bright smiles, "Happy Thanksgiving!" They both cheer in almost perfect unison.

"I'm heading over to my grandfathers but I wanted to bring you guys a little something." Odette holds out a porcelain dish to Blair, "It's my signature cherry pie."

"I'm more of a pumpkin pie girl myself but thank you." Taking the dish from Odette she sits it on the counter along with the many other deserts for the day, "You make it from scratch?"

"Like I would bring a frozen pie from Citarella market to the house of Waldorf? That's blasphemous!" Odette pulls Blair in for a quick hug, "Has your dad landed yet, I'm dying to meet him!"

As close at the two girls had become over the past couple of years there were moments like this that reminded them both of what a short amount of time they had actually known each other. Odette and Blair had only become close after Serena went away to boarding school, around the same time that Harold Waldorf had up and left his family for another man. Blair had still always spoken incredibly highly of her father but Odette had not had the chance to meet him up until this point.

"Last we talked he said his flight wouldn't be getting in till later this afternoon." Blair pouted briefly. Of course, she wished her father was here already but at the end of the day she didn't care what time he arrived, she was just excited to be reunited with him again, "You sure you have to go to your grandfathers? Serena and Nate and their families will all be here and you know you and Coco are welcome to join, Anika too!" Thanksgiving was Blair's favorite holiday, and it was the one day out of the year that she was her most thoughtful and sweet-self. Typically, she wouldn't want Odette's drunk Russian mother anywhere near one of her Eleanor's dinner parties, but this holiday brought out the best in her. After all, this holiday was all about family.

The thought of Anika and Anne Archibald passing cranberry sauce to each other at a dinner table made Odette want to cringe. A Waldorf holiday dinner was no place for her mother. But, the offer was just another reminder that she was leaving her mother completely alone on a holiday that should be spent with family. "That's sweet of you to offer Blair but I definitely have to go to Pops. It's pretty much the only holiday he can get all my siblings together."

"I always forget you have more siblings," Serena comments offhandedly as she skims through a Bobby Flay cookbook.

"I think you like to forget." Blair looks at Serena and laughs, "We do remember that S totally boinged your brother, right?"

"Ugh!" Odette covers her ears as she simulates gagging, "Blair, that's so gross. And who says 'boinged'?"

Serena buries her head in her hands in shame, "Can we not?" Peering up at Odette, Serena attempts to justify it, "In my defense, it was before you and I were friends... if that counts for anything?"

"Yeah, and to be fair Serena has slept with a lot of guys so statistically speaking at least one of your brothers was bound to be on that list."

Serena reached across the kitchen island to grad a yeast roll. After tearing off a small piece she tossed it at Blair and giggled as it bounced off her chestnut curls.

"Can we stop talking about my brothers?" Odette shakes her head in disgust but can't help laughing at the pure absurdity of it all, "On that note, I should get going."

Picking up a poppyseed roll, Blair tears off a much bigger piece and throws it back at Serena in retaliation, "I'll walk with you!" Turning on the heel of her Mary Janes, Blair follows Odette through the foyer to the elevator. "Thank you for bringing the pie."

"Of course," after pressing the down button she turns to face Blair, "I'm really glad we worked things out, B."

'Odette had shown up, still unannounced, the afternoon following Blair's party. Despite originally planning to come with Nate she had talked with him and they decided it was best for them to each approach Blair alone. Their issues were completely separate from Nate and Blair's and they didn't need to be grouped together.

She understood her lack of trust in Nate but she didn't understand how Blair could assume the worst in her so easily.

Once she reached the Waldorfs floor in their building she walked through the expansive penthouse trying her hardest to remain confident. If she showed even a small bit of uncertainty Blair was going to eat her alive. As she rounds the corner into the living room she sees Blair unwrapping her many gifts from the night before and holding them up for Dorota to then jot down in a notebook. "Kimberly Newman, Coach sunglasses... wow, way to be a big spender Kimmy!" The sarcasm in Blair's tone was obvious. "Next is..."

"I think mine is next?"

This was as good a time to speak up as any.

Dorota watches with wide eyes as Odette moves towards them. Blair, on the other hand, remains completely unmoved; she stares her down as she moves to sit next to Dorota.

"I'll take over from here, Dorota." Odette offers a small smile before taking the notebook and pen from her. Dorota remains a tight grip on the pen, but only for a moment before she relinquishes the job off to the teenager. But not without warning, "Careful Ms. Odette, Ms. Blair like big bull today." She scans her up and down, "And you've got the red bottoms on."

Heeding her warning Odette uncrosses her legs and firmly plants her Louboutin heels on the ground, effectively hiding the red sole of the shoe before giving Dorota a small wink. Catching this, Dorota attempts to wink back - but doesn't quite get it and then slowly backs out of the room to find a place to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Odette begins, "Blair, let me start by saying your feelings are valid. I might not agree with you jumping to conclusions, but I understand why you did. You've been put through a lot with Nate and I know that makes it hard for you to trust him. And, Serena really burned you so I can sympathize with your lack of trust in people you consider your friends. But you have to believe me, I would never do that to you." As hard as it was to remain eye contact with someone throwing daggers at you, Odette was determined to look her in the eyes as she spoke. Blair needed to see the sincerity behind her words. "I meant what I said the night you confronted me, I liked Chuck. That's all really messed up right now but my point then and my point now is that I've never been interested in Nate, in that way. He's my friend, that's it. And while my situation with Chuck is nothing in comparison to your relationship with Nate I can relate to your feeling of awful betrayal." She briefly closes her eyes in an attempt to regain her composure as she feels tears start to swell, "It's a really awful feeling and I would never want to make someone feel that way. Especially my best friend. I care about our friendship so much Blair, and I need you to forgive me."

"What was the deal with the picture? You looked a bit too friendly to me." Blair is, surprisingly, the first to break eye contact as she looks down at the section of carpet beneath her feet.

"You of all people should understand that those pictures aren't always what they look like."

"Okay, then explain it to me."

Odette hesitates for a moment, trying to find the best way to explain it. But at this point, honesty was the only thing that might save her, "I've been really upset about something that happened with Chuck," and my sister, "And I confided in Nate and when I got emotional he was just trying to comfort me."

"And do you think it's appropriate to find comfort in someone else's boyfriend?"

She shrinks back at the harshness of Blair's tone. When she put it like that, it sounded so 'dirty'. "He's been a friend of mine for years so I didn't think much of it." Blair rolls her eyes and opens her mouth, probably in an attempt to dismiss her but before she can speak Odette continues, "But, that's my bad for not considering the implications. Nate's my friend, but he's your boyfriend and you're my best friend so if you didn't like that, which clearly you didn't, I promise I won't do it again."

Impressed by her answer Blair studies Odette for a moment before sighing, "Alright."

"Alright?"

"Yeah." She had already talked and made up with Nate and had been planning to forgive Odette too. But, she thoroughly relished in hearing her work for it a bit, "Consider all forgiven." Blair shrugs before smirking to the blonde.

"Thank you!" Odette all but jumped out of her seat to hug Blair but after a moment she pulled back, "Wait, so can I ask why you assumed I hooked up with Nate in the first place?"

"Right, so here's what happened-"'

Reaching out to give Odette's arm a small squeeze Blair nods in agreement, "Me too." As the elevator doors open the two girls hug, both lingering for a moment, "Have a great time with your family."

"You too, enjoy the time with your dad!" Odette pulls back, giving Blair one last squeeze before entering the elevator.

The two girls wave to one another before the doors close but once they do and the elevator begins to descend Odette can't help but feel like something is still slightly off with them. Maybe that was just part of the process. After all, things could be forgiven but not always forgotten.

Once the doors close Blair's smile completely disappears. Feeling the presence of someone standing behind her Blair looks over her shoulder and stares blankly at Serena.

"Okay B, we need to finish our talk now."

---

The drive from the Upper East Side to the family home in Pocantico Hills was only half an hour on a good day. But Thanksgiving was not a good day, at least not in regards to traveling. Traffic was proving to be more of a bitch than usual, unfortunately, and Coco and Odette had been stuck in the back of their families Towncar for what legitimately felt like forever.

Coco was rambling on about a new series she had recently become invested in but Odette was only half listening. Things between the sisters were sort of strange. They were kind of just moving along as if nothing had happened. Neither acknowledging the major elephant in the room and now there were two because Cort still hadn't confided in Odette what had upset her so much the other night. It had been eleven days since Blair's party and Coco still was refusing to sleep in her own bed, alone. She also wasn't acting much like herself. Or at least not the her she had been acting like recently.

She wasn't at Kati and Iz's every day, or really ever.

She wasn't going out with the girls every night like before.

They were on holiday and she had stayed home with Odette the entirety of the break so far.

At night, once Cort fell asleep, Odette usually stayed up a little longer and wracked her brain for reasons as to why Cortney was acting this way. She didn't want to pry her sister for information but at the same time, she was concerned. On more than one occasion she had overheard her crying in the shower. It made her feel rather useless to know her sister was clearly hurting badly and she had no idea why.

"Did mom tell you what her plans were for today?"

Coco thinks this over for a moment before answering, "I think she said Elyse invited her over for dinner."

Elyse was one of Anika's only friends but the girls had a theory that the woman was only friends with their mother because it earned her a 'friend' spot on the show. Apparently mean girls with ulterior motives existed even post-menopause.

"I think I saw the filming crew van getting there as we were leaving."

"Thank god we missed them." Coco rolled her eyes before leaning forward to rest her head on the side of the drivers headrest, "Peter, are we almost there yet?"

Not listening for the drivers confirmation Odette thinks about what a sad holiday her mother was going to have. Just her and Elyse and the bravo film crew. It sounded hopelessly depressing.

"I asked Pops if mom could come."

At this admission, Cortney abandons waiting for an answer from the driver and sits back in her seat to give her sister her full attention, "Why?"

"I don't know. I feel bad that she's always alone on this day and the other exes get to come, I don't think it's fair she's left out."

Cort had to somewhat agree with her. Both of their dad's ex-wives had been coming to the Rockefeller Thanksgivings since the girls were at least ten and it had always seemed a bit intentional that Anika was the only one exed from the list after her and J.D split.

"What'd Pops say?"

"He said that he understood but that Mary and Lorraine both weren't invited this year and it would be unfair if he didn't include them but included mom."

"Right.. but he always includes them and never mom, so would it really be unfair?"

Odette's mouth twisted slightly, "My thoughts exactly."

As they continue their exploration into upstate New York both girls remain silent. Cortney had resided to listening to music through her headphones and Odette found herself once again aimlessly scrolling through her social media platforms.

As the gentle tone of Stevie Nicks's voice rang through her ears Cortney tried desperately to focus on the lyrics she knew so well but like any other time she was left to her thoughts, her mind instantly went back to the other night.

'After fifteen or so minutes of making out in the bathroom, Kati and Cortney had returned to the party. Thankfully, Kati wasn't acting weird in the slightest. She continued to hug on Coco any opportunity she got and as weird as it felt to know they had kissed, Cort also found it kind of thrilling. She had never experienced a kiss like that. Not just because of the fact that Kati was a girl, but in general Cort had never felt the things she did kissing anyone else before.

Before long Iz came up to the pair and told them to get their things so they could leave with the guys to the after-party.

Bobby Hewit was captain of the St. Judes basketball team and ridiculously attractive. He was also a senior which made him all the more appealing to the underclassmen. Iz had been trying to score a date with him for months now, and while hanging out at his house with their friends wasn't exactly a date she seemed thrilled nonetheless.

Iz had brought Kati and Coco along to keep Bobby's friends, and fellow seniors, Lucas Haus and Benjamin Kyler, company so she could hopefully get some alone time with Bobby and sure enough, pretty much as soon as they arrived he took Iz off to his room.

"Are we okay to be here?" Coco looked around the townhouse nervously.

"Yeah, Bobby's parents are in California visiting his brother till next Tuesday." Lucas offers as he plops down on the sofa next to Kati, draping his arm over her shoulder in the process.

"Okay." His attempt to reassure her did nothing. She still felt extremely weird being here. Usually, she wouldn't, but she didn't know either of these guys very well and really just wanted to leave and go back to Kati's for their sleepover like they originally had planned.

"Relax Co." Kati can sense her friend's uneasiness from across the room but she wasn't planning on leaving, at least not without Iz.

"Yeah Co, relax." The corner of Benji's eyes crinkled as he patted the spot next to him on one of the loveseats.

Cort stands still for a moment but as Kati's eyes flicker to the empty spot she moves quickly to sit next to Benji.

"Does anyone want to smoke?"

Ignoring Cort's offer Lucas licks his lips before going in for a kiss with Kati. She freezes completely as his lips meet her own but she doesn't push him away.

"Um..." Cort looks between the two of them and then to Benji.

Lucas pulls away abruptly, "You can't kiss back? What are you some prude?"

"No, I'm not."

"I told you what they say about her bro, I guess it is true."

Cort's head snaps to Benji, her eyes flashing with anger, "Who says what about her?"

"I don't know, I just heard somewhere that the reason you do everything but actually fuck is that you're not into dudes. But you do the other stuff so people think you are."

Kati's mouth fell agape at this admission. Their friend group was easily considered as the most popular girls at Constance, even over the senior girls. They usually knew all the gossip there was to know about anyone in the school, but she had never heard this rumor about herself. "What, are you implying that I'm 'gay'?"

Benji shrugs, laughing to himself at hearing a girl say 'gay'.

"I'm not a lesbian." Kati winces, her mouth puckering slightly as if it made her physically ill to even have to say it.

"Oh yeah? Then prove it." Lucas licks his lips again, his fingers fumbling to unbutton and remove his pants. In one fluid motion, he had his pants and boxer shorts down around his ankles, exposing his fully erect penis. He grabs it and yanks it in Kati's direction, "Prove it or you're totally a lesbo."

"Stop it!" Cort stands up quickly, "Kati, you don't have to do this. You have nothing to prove."

Kati doesn't look at her as she speaks. She can't. After what had happened between them earlier she felt she had more to prove now than ever, not just to Lucas but to Coco as well. Without saying another word Kati gets down on her knees in front of Lucas and begins to take him into her mouth.

Horrified, Cort tightly shuts her eyes but as slurping and sucking sounds fill the air around them she knows she needs to walk away. She couldn't sit here and listen to Iz go down on him after they had only just been kissing mere hours before. It made her feel gross.

She searches the entire bottom half of the townhome for a safe place to wait for her friends and finally decides on the small library to the left of the staircase.

Once inside she sits on the couch and pushes her hair back as she attempts to calm her racing heart.

She was incredibly shaken up by what she had just witnessed and it was all too obvious to her that Kati felt the need to do that because she regretted kissing her. Which of course, made her feel really bad because she had actually enjoyed the kiss. Which perhaps made her 'gay' and Kati had obviously felt very bothered by that word and what it said about her. Did that mean she'd be equally disgusted with Cort if she knew she was gay?

Her thoughts are interrupted as Benji walks into the room, snickering to himself, "Your girl is wild. I've never seen anything like that."

"Uh-huh." her tone is incredibly passive but she didn't care. Didn't he realize she was having an identity crisis and he was being rude interrupting it?

"I'm sorry I shouldn't be laughing, that clearly freaked you out." Benji moves to sit next to her but leaves space between them which Cortney appreciates. "How old are you anyway?"

"Fifteen."

"Jesus Christ." He snickers once again, "You're just a baby!"

Cort stares at him blankly, "How old are you?"

"Eighteen. So, I can buy you cigarettes if you want." He wasn't exactly offering, it was more of a statement to attest to his ''mature' age. "Your Odette's little sister right?"

"Mhm."

"Yeah you look like her." He studies her for a moment, his eyes drifting down to her chest, "Kinda."

Rolling her eyes Cort crosses her arms in an attempt to cover herself up and turns her focus to one of the paintings on the adjacent wall. Maybe if she stopped responding he would leave her alone.

"Look, the way I see it, our friends are probably going to be awhile so we might as well make the best of a bad situation right?" She says nothing, "Wanna make out a little?"

"Oh my god, if it makes you stop talking to me then whatever!"

She most definitely did not want to make out with him, but she wasn't left with any other options considering he was clearly not going to leave her alone. Besides, he was annoying when he opened his mouth, but when he was quiet he was conventionally attractive at least. There were certainly worse people she could feel obligated to make out with.

With a satisfied grin, Benji wraps an arm around Coco's slim waist and picks her up before bringing her down on his lap. All with one arm.

"Those muscles..." Cortney would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little impressed by his toned physique.

Wrapping her arms around his neck she leans in and begins to kiss him. He wasn't the best kisser, but he wasn't the worst either. She didn't exactly enjoy it, but it would suffice to help kill time.

After only a few moments, one of Benji's hands begins groping her chest as the other begins to feel up her dress.

"Whoa," She pulls away from his touch, holding a hand up to his chest, "We're just kissing. I'm a virgin so that's as far as it goes with me."

"Virgin." Benji's eyes lit up, obviously humored, "Look, Iz told us you fucked Chuck, that was the whole reason you were invited?" He begins to kiss her neck and forces his hand back up her dress.

"Hey, I'm serious!" She starts to try to push him off her, but to avail. As she feels his fingers begin to graze the thin material of her underwear she reacts on impulse and slaps the side of his face she has access to.

He pulls back, stunned by this impact, but the surprised look on his face quickly disappears and is replaced with anger, "Don't act like you're too good for me, any girl that has hooked up with Chuck Bass doesn't exactly have standards."

Without another word, Benji wraps an arm around Coco's slim waist and picks her up before flipping her over onto her stomach. He hikes her dress all the way up to her chest before yanking her underwear down, tearing them in the process. All with one arm.

The other arm was used to apply pressure to her shoulders and neck as he held her face against the side of the couch. Cortney did attempt to fight him but 'those muscles...' He overpowered her easily and began to forcefully penetrate her from behind.

He didn't try to start soft or go slow, he went in rough and dry and his hip bones bounced against her bare body rapidly as he tried to establish his rhythm.

It wasn't anything like she had learned. There was no 'virginal barrier' for him to break through, he had slipped into her easily. Too easily. Her body did nothing to help her fight him off and she hated that.

He had noticed this too, and in-between guttural grunts of pleasure he managed to say, "Yeah, virgin my ass."'

Benji, the big-strong macho-man that he is, lasted all of eight minutes. But it was enough time to do damage, obviously. That night was never far from her mind and anytime she got into her own head her subconscious took her back there. Replaying every awful moment.

She had told no one. Partly because she was ashamed but also because she didn't want their sympathy. Her life felt pathetic enough without adding the implications of being a rape victim.

Rape.

For just being a four-letter word it sure did feel huge and massively weighted.

What would people think of her? Would they be as disgusted by her as she was herself? Probably, which is why she remained silent about it. She had resigned to not telling a soul about what happened that night. None of it. Not her moment with Benji and certainly not her moment with Kati in the bathroom.

Glancing over to her sister she watches as she scrolls through her Instagram feed.

Part of her really wanted to tell Odette though; tell her all of it. But it was hard to find the right moment. When was the right time to drop bombs like that on your family?

'Hey, Dee, I was assaulted the other night. Also, I think I'm gay.'

Feeling Cort's eyes on her Odette looks up from her phone and is met by an almost puppy-dog like stare from her sister, "Are you okay?"

She most definitely wasn't.

Tell her.

Tell her now.

Closing her eyes briefly, Coco takes in a deep breath in an attempt to prepare herself to get this out.

You'll feel so much better.

Or, you won't.

Just tell her.

"We've arrived."

Both sisters look away from each other and to the front of the car, meeting the reflection of the drivers' face in the rearview mirror.

Coco is the first to move, looking out the window as the past through the entrance to the grandest of all the Rockefeller estates.

"Welcome back to Kykuit."

---

Kykuit was the original house in which the early generations of Rockefeller's had lived and raised their families. It was a sprawling three-thousand plus acre property that sat at the highest point of Pocantico Hills, overlooking the Hudson River. But the waterfront view isn't the only thing that drew them to this property. It was also located at just the right spot to be able to see the New York City Skyline in the distance. This was everything to them.

The forty-bedroom mansion had retained it's old-world charm through all the years and had hosted all sorts of diplomats including four-sitting U.S Presidents and Nelson Mandela. Kykuit was a source of great pride for the Rockefeller family because it embodied everything they wanted the world to think of them. Boasting a full golf-course, two tennis courts, a grand stable, and polo field, as well as various flower and sculpture gardens, Kykuit told the world, 'we are obnoxiously wealthy and better than you.'

But they had earned the right to be so flamboyant about their wealth. It was that extreme and almost everyone was fascinated by the trappings of said wealth.

The Rockefeller's were synonymous with New York and had basically built the entire skyline, and what they didn't build they probably helped fund in one way or another. So, why shouldn't they be able to see that glorious skyline from the family home? They essentially owned it and owned Manhattan and they knew it too.

Despite the lavish amount of space, no one lived in Kykuit full time. David and Vivianne had raised their children here until J.D started secondary school at which point they relocated permanently to the Upper East Side. They always talked about returning when David finally retired but deep down they knew that would never happen. David wasn't going to relinquish his holding over the powerhouses that were the many Rockefeller businesses until he was dead. And even then, no one would be surprised if he figured out a way to remain his control even in death.

So, for now, the family estate had remained as the hosting grounds for family holidays.

Despite all living in various districts of Manhattan, every member of the immediate Rockefeller family drove upstate to stay the weekend in Kykuit during Thanksgiving break.

As Peter holds the door open for both girls they take mental note of all the familiar cars already parked accordingly, "Damn, I think we're the very last ones to get here."

"I don't see Chris's truck." Odette comments, searching for the beat-up old chevy.

"Thank god for that, hopefully, he sold it for something less shitty." Coco shook her head in dismay. She didn't understand her brother's need to stray so far from their family that he felt the need to slum it so terribly, but then again all her siblings were questionable in their own right.

Before they can reach the top of the front steps both french doors swing open, the various stewards already expecting them and ready to take their coats and luggage.

Handing her vintage Louis Vuitton luggage bag off to one of the servicemen Odette makes her way towards the grand living room, Coco right on her heels. As they get closer she can hear the sound of familiar voices, talking over each other and laughing as someone plays a melodious tune on the grand piano. "Remember to not let them get to you, try to bite your tongue and we can always bitch about them later," Odette mutters under her breath, waiting for a nod from Coco before fully entering the room.

"There they are!"

"...I mean, finally?"

"You've grown at least three inches since the last time I saw you."

Trying her best to 'take it all in' Odette smiles kindly as she looks from one family member to the next, "Sorry, traffic was a killer."

"We're all coming from the same place, sis."

Flipping her long, mahogany brown hair, from one shoulder the next, Rebecca casts a condescending smirk at her younger sister, "But I suppose all of our time is far less important than your own."

Here we go...

Rebecca was the oldest of J.D's daughters and therefore had felt superior to the others since birth. She claimed to be wise in the ways of the world because of her life experiences and fully expected her younger siblings to look up to and admire her. But in reality, her only 'life experiences' consisted of her dating much older, always married, men and going on yoga retreats in Bali where she would smoke weed and claim to know all of the truths of the world.

She was full of shit, always and her and Odette never saw eye to eye on anything.

"That's not true, Becca." Refraining from rolling her eyes, Odette walks towards her Aunt Adrienne and gives her a peck on the cheek in greeting.

Studying Odette as she moves across the room greeting their various family members, Rebecca continues, "Yes, well that's the message you send by being so late, dear. It's very inconsiderate, honestly. My mother has low-blood sugar and waiting for you two has quite literally made her ill."

"Auntie Char," Odette leans in to greet her aunt Charlotte, "Hey, Dean." She opts to only give her uncle a side hug. Despite knowing him her entire life she didn't feel any sort of closeness to her Uncle, mainly because he was never very nice to her Aunt. At the last point Rebecca makes Odette quickly directs her attention back to her, "Your mother?"

Without saying a word Rebecca gestures across the room to where her mother, Lorraine sat with ex-wife number two, Mary.

What the hell?

She was confused and very annoyed that her grandfather had outright lied to her but she was also nothing if not cordial, "Hello Ms. Timmonds, Ms. Hammond. Happy Thanksgiving, I'm sorry for keeping everyone waiting."

"Oh, you're fine dear!" Lorraine flashes her best beauty queen smile, "Becks, be nice to your sister."

To say their family dynamic was weird was an understatement.

Still hearing the faint tune of the piano Odette looks over and watches as her brother's fingers fly across the keys. He moves so quickly that one would think to expect a horrid string of random notes being played, but instead, soothing sounds come pouring out. He was masterful when it came to playing the piano, but that was about all he could do and not fuck up.

Standing next to him is Iris and once she makes eye contact with Odette she moves in towards her, "Hey, sister, sisters." Throwing her arms around both Odette and Coco, she pulls them in for a tight hug. This was the usual with her. She would pretend she felt comfortable hugging them and they would pretend they couldn't feel her ribs and spine almost breaking through her paper-thin skin.

Iris had always been considered the 'fat sister'. Until she wasn't. Much like Blair, bulimia had become her best friend in the last few years. She really was never that big but compared to her much thinner sisters she had always felt like a cow. But now, she was the thinnest of all of them. In their eyes, she looked sickly, but in her own mind she had never looked better.

Besides, sharing her weight-loss journey online had garnered her a massive following and loads of brand deals. Sure, she wasn't being honest about how she had achieved what she did but really, what influencers ever are?

After engaging in small talk with Iris about school and her newest podcast for a few minutes Odette finds an out and goes to greet her brother.

Of all her half-siblings Odette was closest in age to Theo.

He was twenty-one and had been a senior when all her friends were freshmen; hence his past hookup with Serena. He had also been best friends with Carter Baizen growing up which is how Odette had initially met his younger brother Isaac.

As she approached the grand piano, Theo's eyes looked glued shut. He took the piano very seriously and would get completely lost in the moment as he put all his energy and focus into the music he was playing.

Unfortunately, the only thing Theo put as much of his energy into other then the piano was hard drugs.

"Sounds great, Theo."

Suddenly, both his hands slam against the black and white keys causing everyone to wince at the awful noise it produced. "Way to go Odette, you ruined it!"

He was an asshole when he was high.

He had been to rehab more times than Lohan, Spears, Barrymore, and Robert Downey Jr. combined. Times two. His antics never managed to land him in jail, his family name and money always serving as his saving grace. Once cleared, Theo and his mother, Mary, would then cry to David about how he 'needs help' and David would foot the bill for some boujee and bogus rehab stint. Again. Only for Theo to stay sober for a minute before falling back into the cycle all over again.

Last she had heard, he was clean.

Theo looks up from where he's sitting on the piano bench and glares at his younger sister, "How does it feel to constantly squash someone's greatness you little bitch?"

He was an asshole sober too.

"Theo, no, no. Deep breaths hon. Remember what your healer said. Put out bad energy and what will you receive?"

Odette looks between Theo and his mother as they both start doing breathing exercises to help calm him down.

After a moment of doing this, he rolls his shoulders back before looking back at Odette with a smile, "I'm sorry about that Dee-Dee. I'm working on my temper." Standing up from the bench seat he kisses Odette on the forehead before walking towards his mother. She instantly wrapped him in a bear hug, praising him for how wonderfully he had handled himself.

This entire family was so weird.

"Nonnie, Happy Thanksgiving!"

Hearing Cort greet their grandmother Odette turns to the main entrance of the room and sees her walking in with her arms wrapped around a busty, bronze-haired, woman. They were followed shortly behind by David and Jordan.

Odette's smile completely vanishes once she sees Jordan. Her mother couldn't come to their family holiday but Jordan and his jersey trash wife could?

Pulling back from hugging Coco, Vivianne's eyes land on Odette, "Lovey-dovey, come here!"

Odette was trying her best to remain pleasant and cordial but with each new person she greeted it was getting more difficult.

"Dove, this is Aly, Jordan's wife." Vivianne gestures between the two, "I think you met her at our Christmas party last year."

"Right, Alyssa. I didn't recognize you without the brown hair."

Alyssa was pretty, if you were into the whole fake-boobs, fake-tan, stereotypical jersey girl, look. Since Odette had last seen her, which was almost a year ago, she had gone from Jordan's girlfriend to his wife and she had also gone from brunette to boxed bronze, apparently.

"Yeah, well I figured I'd see if blondes really do have more fun." Nudging Odette, Aly starts to laugh.

Her dialect was Snookie but her laugh was all Janice from 'Friends'. She was trash and despite Odette not knowing her, she couldn't stand her.

"Did you like the flowers Jo and I got you?"

At this question, Vivianne is noticeably taken back, "Odette, didn't you send a thank you card?"

"I did."

Alyssa's green eyes flicker between the two Rockefeller women, "I don't want to cause an issue here, but Odette, I never received a thank you card." She winced as she spoke as if to convey that she felt so awkward having to bring it up that it physically hurt her. But if it bothered her so much she would have kept her big mouth shut.

Vivianne was huge on social graces and was obviously mortified at the thought of her granddaughter not sending a thank you card to the couple after she had promised she would.

Odette stares, her eyes full of contempt, as she scrambles for an explanation. She wasn't going through an entire holiday weekend with her grandmother upset with her because of this white-trash woman.

Jordan, only half-listening to David, overhears the conversation amongst the women and quickly interjects, "That's my bad Al, Odette sent the thank you card to my office and I forgot to bring it home. I think it got buried under piles of paperwork and ended up in the trash, no offense." He looks to Odette at the last part but knows no offense will be taken because there was never a card to begin with. He knew her all too well.

"Yeah, I didn't know your address so I just sent it to the Edelman office." Odette nods in agreement and apparently this suffices both Vivianne and Alyssa because both women shrug it off and carry forward into the living room.

David greets his granddaughter with a small side hug before walking off to the bar for a refill. Usually, he'd be way more excited to see Odette but he knew once she arrived that she'd catch him in his lie and be upset and he wasn't nearly drunk enough to deal with her dramatic.

Watching Aly converse with some of the other family members, Jordan finally speaks to Odette, "I guess you owe me one now?"

"Last I checked part of your job is to get us out of tricky situations. You saving my ass is just part of the job description, Jo." She had never heard anyone call him that until Alyssa so of course she had to throw it in his face. Rolling her eyes Odette moves away from Jordan and towards where her father is seated.

"Happy Thanksgiving daddy." She sighs as she relaxes into the seat next to him, her head against his broad shoulder.

"Happy Thanksgiving sweetheart." Setting his phone down J.D rubs at his eyes, tired already even though the festivities were barely starting.

"Mom told me to tell you Happy Thanksgiving from her." As she speaks, she watches him carefully out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, yeah?" In past years he probably would have groaned or made some snide remark but for whatever reason, this year, this seemed endearing, "Well when you call her later, you can tell her I wish her a Happy Thanksgiving as well."

It was an incredibly small thing, but it was nice to hear. It had been a long time since Odette had heard J.D say anything remotely kind to Anika. Sure, he wasn't saying it directly to her but this is one interaction Odette didn't mind playing messenger for.

She couldn't be surprised though, her father was notorious for this hot and cold behavior. That's why he had been recycling the same three women over the past three decades. Sure, there were many other flings sprinkled in during and in between, but his three main loves had always remained the same.

Lorraine Timmons was J.D's high school sweetheart. They had been together for years when he got her pregnant during their freshman year of college. They were both from well respected, high-society, families who refused to deal with the scandal of them not only having a baby while they were still so young, but also being unmarried and living in sin. So of course, they got married. Their wedding was the talk of the Upper East Side and was rumored to have shared the same price tag as Princess Diana's royal wedding. Odette was pretty positive her grandparents had spun that story themselves, but it said something about the Rockefellers wealth that no one really questioned or doubted it. J.D and Lorraine were the brunette Barbie and Ken of the Upper East Side and their lives were perfect. Until they weren't.

Christopher was about five when J.D started to grow bored with his wife and his life as a father. It was around this time that he met New York's newest District Attorney, Mary Hammond. Mary wasn't the most attractive woman in the world. She wasn't ugly per se, but she wasn't anywhere near being the knock out Lorraine was. J.D didn't care though, their connection wasn't superficial. He liked that Mary was independent. She worked and held a high profile position, she was also eight years older than him, and in her early thirties while he was fresh out of university and still wet behind the ears. She knew what she wanted and what she wanted was him. She didn't care about the ring on his finger or the baby he had waiting for him back home. Which said a lot about her character, but J.D didn't care about that either. She was an experienced woman and she brought excitement and pleasure back into his life.

She also brought him another child, a daughter.

Mary had expected that once J.D found out she was pregnant he would leave Lorraine and marry her instead but that was never in J.D's plans. He lusted after Mary, but Lorraine was who his heart belonged to. At least, that was his logic for it all. Besides, just as Lorraine had no idea he was sleeping with Mary, Mary had no clue that he was still taking Lorraine to bed. This all came to light when Lorraine wound up pregnant as well and gave birth to her daughter, Rebecca, only a few weeks before Mary delivered Iris.

Struggling to raise her child as a single mother for months, with J.D giving her the run-around on when he was 'leaving', Mary took matters into her own hands and showed up at the Rockefellers front steps and confessed everything to Lorraine. After several arguments and a DNA test everything Mary said was confirmed true and Lorraine filed for divorce. Left without his first choice, J.D decided to settle with his second option and married Mary. Five years later they had Theo and J.D made peace with the fact that this would be his life now.

Once Theo turned two Mary was eager to get back to work and so they embarked on the search for the perfect nanny for their young children. A beautiful, young, blonde showed up for the interview and though she was qualified Mary had her reservations. She knew how she got her husband and knew how she could lose him too. J.D swore to her that nothing would happen with the nanny and convinced her that they would be fools to let her go off to some other family, and so she hired her. She had no idea that would be the kiss of death for her marriage.

Despite his reassurance on the matter J.D fell head over heels for the young, foreign, nanny, shortly after 'falling' into her. So he divorced Mary and financially supported Anika's modeling career for some time before marrying her the year she turned twenty-one. She gave him his final two children, Odette and Cortney. Much to everyones surprise, his marriage to Anika lasted longer than any of the others. But even that could only last so long.

J.D had too much of a wondering eye to stay committed and in one place for long. But, despite finding issues with every woman, and justifying cheating on them and leaving them because of these issues, he still had returned to each one of them at one point in time. For some of them, multiple times. But those stories were kept much more secret.

To Odette, her expansive family filled with multiple half-siblings was odd but normal because it was all she knew. To David, the patriarch of the Rockefeller family, it was an utter disgrace.

But really, all his children were disappointments in his eye for one reason or another.

J.D was a serial adulterer with multiple children from different women.

Charlotte, his middle child, was unable to have children. This wasn't her fault of course but it still made her a disappointment because she wasn't all that smart, she didn't work, and she didn't have children. Essentially, she did nothing to further the Rockefeller legacy.

And Adrienne, the youngest of his children, was a homosexual and had a partner who David could not stand. Like Charlotte's infertility, being gay wasn't Adrienne's fault, but the Rockefellers were devout Catholics and therefore did not agree with the lifestyle. They loved her but they never fully accepted it.

From the outside, the Rockefellers looked like the picture-perfect family but it was really all an illusion. Much like the world they resided in, the Rockefeller family was gilded. They glittered like gold but if someone tried to chip away at the surface they'd realize it was really only ever cheap gold paint and they'd see all the ugliness, corruption, and chaos that resided within that they tried so desperately to keep hidden.

But, no one ever really tried to come for, or challenge, them because there were too many others that had tried and been crushed and ruined in the process.

Every move someone made against them, somehow the family was always several steps ahead and that's why after all this time, after all these generations of gilded fuck-ups, the Rockefeller family remained a New York dynasty that other prominent families envied.

"Pardon me," David taps a metal stirring stick against his cocktail glass in an attempt to gain the rooms attention, "I think it's about time for us to head into the dining room. Who's hungry?"

"I am."

At the sound of this particular voice everyone's eyes drift to the front of the room.

"Ah, the prodigal son returns."

Christopher.

---

In every family, especially one so large and successful, there was always one person that was considered to be the outcast. A wayward soul that had lost their way and deviated from the family's set of rules and expectations.

Considering that Theo was an addict, currently sober, it would be expected that he would have been viewed at this proverbial black sheep. However, David had managed for years now to keep this knowledge from being publically known, and what the public didn't know couldn't hurt their image. Therefore, as long as Theo played the part and kept his habits private, he remained a respected memory of the family. He even held a high profile job at Chase Manhattan directly under J.D. All for appearance's sake, of course, it's not like they would actually trust a drug addict with anything of real worth.

It was part of the process and part of the image. It was expected that everyone, once they graduated from University, would start working at one of the family businesses. Everyone needed to do their part to keep the Rockefeller wealth churning like a well-oiled machine.

Christopher was the oldest of all the grandchildren, he was exceptionally smart, charismatic, and everyone had extremely high hopes for him in regards to one day possibly taking over the reins of ROCK COR. However, he also had a child with a woman David adamantly disapproved of, and from there, things had taken a terrible turn. David had made it clear he would cut Chris off if he stayed with the woman and had fully expected the threat of losing the financial security he was so accustomed to would make it an easy decision.

And it was, but it wasn't the choice anyone expected him to make. Certainly, no one else in the family could understand it because there was nothing that could make them walk away from the lifestyle.

But Chris did and he had never looked back.

He stopped talking to J.D and David for a few years but he had started to come around during some holidays over the last couple of years, mainly through the meddling of Vivianne. However, regardless of how eager most of the family was to see him, there was always a thick air of tension between Chris and David. Everyone would pretend they didn't notice though and no one was better at pretending than David.

Once everyone found their place at the table David interrupted the small talk to make a point.

"Christopher, why didn't you bring Malia?"

At the mention of Chris's five-year-old everyone at the table goes silent.

Chris stays quiet for a moment, carefully considering his words, "She's with Imani, and her family today."

"You weren't invited to Imani's family's Thanksgiving?" The creases in David's forehead became much more pronounced as his eyebrows furrowed together.

"I was, but I haven't seen everyone in a while so I decided to come here this year. For the record though, because I know you're keeping one, her family doesn't exclude me from anything. You're the only one that does that."

"How about I start the prayer?" Vivianne claps her hands together in an attempt to pull the attention away from the situation at hand.

David, never one to back down, chuckles to himself as he takes a sip of his drink before responding, "I'm sorry to have so greatly offended you, but I don't think a table that has dined Presidents should be shared with exotic dancers."

Several members at the family audibly groan in protest of this comment, knowing exactly where this would lead.

"Goddamnit!" The veins in Chris's neck were far more pronounced, pulsating faster the more his anger grew, "She was a cocktail waitress! And she hasn't even worked there in- You know what? Doesn't matter. Your issue with her has never been her occupation."

"Darling," Vivianne calls to her husband, sitting on the opposite end of the massive dining-table, "Everyone is starving, let's do the prayer." Without waiting for confirmation from David she continues. Clearing her throat, she brings her hands together and glances around the table to make sure everyone does the same.

They all do, except Chris and David who were both stuck in a death stare.

"Bless us, O Lord-"

"So, what exactly is my issue with her, Christopher?" Planting both elbows on the table in front of him David leans forward as if to challenge him.

Odette was seated directly across from her older brother and, much like every other family member at the table, as the conversation between Pops and Chris grew more hostile, she grew more fidgety. Shifting and stirring in her seat she could feel her heartrate pick up with each passing moment. She knew what was coming, they all did.

"David..." Vivianne's tone was losing its cheer as she casts him a warning glare.

Chris can feel the eyes of every person at the table staring directly at him. All of them were probably hoping that he would just let it go and act like everything is fine. But, it wasn't and unlike the rest of the family sheep, he had stopped being scared of his grandfather a long time ago. He had nothing to lose anymore, "She's black. That's your issue, that's always been your issue."

"Okay, guys." Charlotte laughs, nervously, "Both of you calm down."

Dean, who was actually quite enjoying the spectacle, leaned over to his wife, "Stop talking."

And of course, she did.

"You're now accusing me of being racist?" David slams his hand down on the polished walnut surface, causing some at the table to lurch forward in their seats out of surprise. "I have provided for every person at this table-"

"Yes, and you expect us all to kiss your ring."

"Shut your mouth!" David jams his index finger in Christopher's direction before starting again, "I have provided for every person at this table and you have the gull to sit there judging me and accuse me of being some sort of ignoramus? I have people of color sitting on my board of directors, I have colored business partners and friends. I gave money to Obama's campaign! So, who is racist?"

Shaking his head in dismay Chris has to laugh at what a ridiculous response this was, "That's great that you support them professionally and politically, but that doesn't change the fact you don't want people of color in your family and you have never forgiven me for tarnishing the bloodline by having a kid with a, your words, 'low-income black girl'." He makes sure to emphasize this point with air-quotes, "I mean, that's why you were willing to pay me off to get her to have an abortion, right? That's why you chose to stop supporting me financially when she didn't? Which, honestly, I should thank you for. At the time getting cut off felt like the worst thing that could happen to me, but now I can see that your money and your possessions are just elaborate strings tethering us like your little mindless puppets, and that's exactly why you do what you do. And you resent for cutting those strings and discovering that I can make it on my own and be way happier than I ever was in this family. And I scare you because I'm an example to these others," Chris gestures to all his siblings, his eyes settling on Coco and Odette last, "that there is way more to life than what you're willing to offer us. Because everything you do offer comes with a catch. To accept your jobs and your money is to essentially sign our lives away to the Devil, and you hate me for knowing that."

David pushes himself out of his chair, shaking as he yells across the table, "No, I hate you because you're an ungrateful little shit!"

Odette had never seen her grandfather this upset. Members of her family argued, all the time, but never like this. As upset as every person at this table had made David before, none of them had made him react in the way he was right now. His anger seemed to stem from defensiveness which showed them all that there was at least some truth to what Chris was saying.

"Damn you both!" This time Vivianne is the one to slam her hands against the table, causing the china to rumble from the impact and everyone's head to instantly snap in her direction, "This is a day to be thankful for what we have, and we have a lot. We are not doing this right now! Christopher, this is a conversation we can have at a later time. David, sit down before you give yourself another heart attack. Everyone else, put your goddamn hands together, we are going to pray!"

Instantly every person does as their told.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive..."

As Odette follows the prayer she looks between Pops and Chris and sees that neither of them is praying, instead they were still staring one another down. This was far from the end of this issue.

"...through Christ, our Lord. Amen."

"Amen."

---

The remainder of the dinner had gone as well as it could, but holiday cheer was pretty much killed once the family patriarch was accused of being a racist.

After dinner, everyone had returned to the living room for coffee and desert and had broken off into separate groups to converse.

Odette had been sitting with her aunts through most of desert; answering their many questions about school, friends, and...

"Enough about the boring stuff, give us the good details." Charlotte bites on the tip of her acrylic nail, "Do you have a special fella in your life?"

"Or, person." Adrienne corrects, giving her sister subtle side-eye before looking to Odette, eagerly waiting for an answer.

Of course, her mind instantly went to Chuck. But, really thoughts of him were never very far from her mind anyways. She tried her best not to think of him, to distract herself from it all, but that was harder to do when she was directly asked about her love life. All she could do was be honest, "I don't."

Charlotte does her best to not show her disappointment but her best isn't nearly good enough. She didn't do much work-wise, and her money had bought her way through her schooling. She had gotten married young and was in a loveless, sex-less, marriage. As pathetic as it was, she enjoyed being able to live vicariously through the younger girls in her family. Even if, only for a brief moment. But, Odette had zero steamy gossip to give, "What about Coco?"

Looking over at her younger sister as she laughs at something Alex says Odette can't help but feel conflicted. On one hand, she loved her sister and was worried about what was going on with her, but on the other, she was still deeply hurt by her and angry, "I don't know."

At this bland response, Charlotte doesn't bother trying to hide her disappointment. With a long sigh, she stands up and walks over to another group to talk without saying another word.

Adrienne rolls her eyes, humored by her sisters' dramatics, "Don't take that personally. She's just bored."

"Oh, I know. I get it. If I had to go home to Dean every night, I would be too." This was probably an inappropriate comment to make to anyone else in this family but she knew Adrienne wouldn't judge her. In fact...

Leaning into her niece she whispers, "You couldn't pay me enough money." After a small laugh, Adrienne pulls back again, refocusing her gaze across the room on Alex and Coco. "I've been wanting to talk to you about something Deets." She waits for Odette to look at her before continuing, "I know little sisters can be annoying, take it from a little sister." She gestures to herself with a small grin, "But, Cort is very sensitive and naive... and there's just something I see in her that reminds me of myself at her age. It was a hard time for me, for obvious reasons, and I'm not saying the same is true for Cort but I do know that feeling more understood by my family would have made everything much more simple for me. I think today was a perfect example of how volatile this family can be and you need to look out for her."

'But who looks out for me?'

Odette listens to every word coming out of her aunts' mouth, taking it all in and processing it as best she can, "I hear you and trust me, I'm trying. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to call and check in with my mother."

She makes her way around her various family members and walks down the hall to the powder room, figuring it would be the only place far enough away from everyone to give her some much-needed privacy. But once she pushes the door open she's instantly taken aback by the sight before her.

Theo was hunched over the sink, with the water running, injecting a needle in his arm.

He had made a makeshift tourniquet out of two condoms and had all his other equipment spread out on the small counter. Once he saw Odette he quickly yanked the syringe out, as if that would change the fact that she had clearly already seen it. "

Fuck you don't knock?"

"You don't lock the door before doing that?" Odette spoke in a monotone, stunned by what she was seeing.

It was one thing to know your brother was an addict but it was another thing entirely to see him actively shooting up. Blood had begun to pool around the entry sight due to him suddenly yanking the needle out. "I'm..I'm sorry." She quickly turns to leave the room but is stopped as Theo grabs her by one shoulder and throws her up against the door.

His face was so close to hers that as he spoke she could feel the warmth of his breath hit her cheeks, "You better keep your mouth shut. You didn't see shit, got it?"

Odette's lips tremble as Theo continues to press his weight against her for good measure, "I didn't see anything."

Satisfied with her answer, or perhaps by the fear behind her eyes, Theo lets her go and moves to discard the evidence.

Before leaving the room Odette looks him over, "You need to clean that area with soap and water, put some antibiotics and bandage it."

"Obviously. I've been doing this a long time."

Once Odette walks out of the room she leans against the door frame, taking the moment to settle her nerves. Why couldn't her family be even just a little less fucked up? They had all the money in the world that helped fix so many of their problems, yet there were others that their wealth helped feed. Like Theo's addiction.

Pulling out her phone, Odette's fingernails tap against the screen as she writes up a message,

To: Nate

From: Odette

I'll raise you one dad snorting coke in the study for one brother shooting up in the powder room ha

She debated sending it.

Nate had been really upset when he confided in her about his dad and she didn't want him to think that she didn't take it seriously.

"Hey,"

Deciding to not overthink it too much she hits send and looks down the hall to see who's calling her.

"Awe, are you leaving already?"

"Aren't you surprised I even made it this long?" Chris meets her halfway down the hall, bringing her in for a big hug.

Odette makes sure to squeeze him a little tighter than usual. There was no telling when she would see him again, especially since the drama of today probably set him and David back even further on the road to mending their relationship.

"I didn't even get to talk to you very much."

"I know, I've got to get better at checking in more. My issue is with him and Dad, not you." Chris rubs at the back of his neck, almost nervously, as he speaks. "I wanted to tell you though, Imani and I are having another baby."

Odette's eyes lit up, "Oh my goodness, Chris!" She throws her arms around him once more, "Congratulations!"

"Thank you. She's still early into the pregnancy and I've only told my mom and Becks and well, now you. But, I'd kind of like it to stay that way?" Their first pregnancy had brought so much unwanted drama and had shown him such a cruel and ugly side to the man he was once admired. He had no desire to relive it again. Especially when he already knew how it would go.

"Goes without saying," Odette reassures him with an overly animated nod. She was beyond excited though, "Send my love and good wishes to Imani and please bring Malia by sometime?"

"Will do." Despite him saying it, and at that moment truly meaning it, they both knew he wouldn't. "Happy Thanksgiving, Dee-Dee."

"You too, Chris."

Her smile slowly crumbles as she watches her brother walk away from her and out the main entrance.

She had loved this Holiday as a kid. She loved being around all her family and getting to see her siblings, but the older she got the more disappointed she became with them all. How many let-downs could one handle?

"Did Christopher just leave?"

She doesn't need to look over her shoulder to know who was there, "Yeah."

"He couldn't even say goodbye to your grandmother?" David scoffs, anger still very clear in his eyes, "Why don't you come play something for us on the piano? Show us what all those years of lessons got us?" He drapes an arm around his granddaughter to walk alongside her, but she doesn't budge.

"Actually, I've been wanting to talk to you."

David looks surprised but says nothing as he waits for her to continue.

"Why did you lie about Mary and Lorraine coming today?"

"What? I must have misunderstood. I didn't think they were coming."

His tone is extremely dismissive and usually, Odette would let it go but this had been bothering her all day, "No, Pops. You knew they were coming, you just didn't want my mother here. Tell me the truth."

"First your brother, now you! What is this? Harass the old man day?" David throws his arms up in exasperation, "No, no I did not want your mother here. She's a drunk, kiddo. She would have embarrassed you in front of everyone."

Odette could feel her eyes begin to water, "No more than what all of you did today." She begins to walk away but before she does she turns back to face him, "My mother may be a drunk but no one is perfect. I know you want us to be, but we're not. And you aren't either Pops." As one of the stewards passes them by Odette calls for his attention, "Please gather mine and my little sister's bags, we're going home."

"You're leaving already? You're supposed to stay the whole weekend." David follows Odette as she carries on through the hall, "You don't have to leave."

"I know, I want too." She nods curtly to the older man before peering into the living room, "Cort, come on we're leaving!"

Cortney looks caught off guard by this announcement but gets up nonetheless.

"Hey, wait up." J.D walks towards Odette with a perplexed expression, "I thought you were staying the weekend?"

"Plans change. I want to go home and see our mother." Standing on her tip-toes, Odette peers over fathers shoulder, "Happy Thanksgiving everyone!"

They all respond the same, offering her their farewells.

As both girls are brought their luggage Odette focuses back on her father and grandfather, "I guess we'll see you when you get back to the city?"

"Your driver left hours ago how do you expect to get back?"

It was intimidation posed as a question and Odette was having none of it, "Right, but you have drivers here that are ready to go and can take us, right Pops?"

David says nothing, his previous smugness completely wiped away as he gestures to one of the stewards.

"Pops?" Odette reaches out, taking his hand, "You know I love you very much. I just want to go home."

It takes him a moment to respond and his tone is that of defeat, "I love you too, kid. Let me know when you've made it back to the city."

All she can do is nod.

There was nothing left to say at this point.

Giving her dad one last side hug she leaves out the door and never looks back, even when she can feel her grandfather's eyes on her every move.

As she climbs into the back of her grandparents Cadillac her phone buzzes, alerting her of a new notification.

To: Odette

From: Nate

I'd say you win but with families as screwed up as ours no one wins. At least we can be losers together tho lol. Happy Thanksgiving

There was nothing outright special about his response but for whatever reason it did bring her a sense of comfort that she was in serious need of.

But, before she got too settled she had another problem she needed to handle, "Alright Cort, it's time for you and me to have the talk we've both been avoiding."

"Do we have to?"

"Yes."

---

The drive into Manhattan wasn't nearly as brutal as the drive out of it that morning, but the drive had been long enough to give the two sisters time to talk about the Chuck situation.

Cortney confessed to her big set up and apologized for perpetuating the rumor about her sleeping with Chuck. She seemed incredibly sincere and remorseful, which made it difficult for Odette to stay mad at her. It was a really awful thing to do but Cort had assured her that she paid the price. Odette wasn't entirely sure what that meant but something about her eyes, the way they were pleading with her, made her accept what she was saying was true.

On one hand, it felt like a huge weight off her shoulder but on the other, she couldn't help but mentally curse the fact she had blown things with Chuck so terribly.

"You're the one that assumed something happened, I never said it did. To you."

Odette follows behind Cortney as they walk through their foyer, "Um, I assumed that because you planted underwear there for me to find!"

Cort stops in her tracks, a light bulb going off in her head, "Intention is not the point. You found an article of clothing and assumed the worst. Kind of like how you said Blair did when she found Nate's hoodie under your bed?"

"Wow..." Odette is stunned by this correlation, mainly by the fact Coco was able to connect those dots and draw the comparison before she could herself. "I'm an asshole."

"We both are." Cort loops her arm with Odette's, "But look at the stock we come from. The cards have been stacked against us from day one. However, I will say that I feel bad that Chuck was left as collateral damage in all this."

Odette's face falls as she realized Cort has made another excellent point. This entire fight with Blair she had felt so victimized. She had felt like she was being punished for something she hadn't done and the entire time she was giving Chuck the cold shoulder and essentially doing the same to him.

Before she can respond their mother comes out of the kitchen, clad in a skimpy silk nightgown. She was holding two bottles of wine in one hand and whip cream in another. She was humming to herself but once she caught sight of her daughters she let out a loud scream.

"что ты здесь делаешь!?" Anika attempts to cover herself up but her efforts were useless.

"What are we doing here?" Cort repeats her mother's question, "We live here, remember?"

"I know that but I wasn't expecting you back till Sunday. I'm sorry, I brought home a friend..."

All three of them look up at the Juliet balcony as if expecting Anika's friend to appear out of thin air.

"Didn't we tell you to stop bringing home strays?"

A shudder runs down Cort's spine as the prospect of having to hear her mother have sex the rest of the night dawns on her. It wouldn't be a first but that was one of those things that never got less horrifying.

"Where did you meet a friend?"

"At Bart's." Anika plays coy, tucking a single strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Bart's? As in Bart Bass?" Odette tilts her head in confusion, "What were you doing there?"

"Elyse was invited and she brought me along. We had a great time! I just got home."

"And lucky for you, the great time continues."

All three women look up at the Juliet balcony to see a man, possibly in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, sporting only a towel around his waist.

With a small nod and a smirk that was all too familiar to Odette he introduces himself, "I'm Jack Bass."

'Bass. Of course.'

Both girls were completely stunned but offered waves to him nonetheless.

"Jack, I'll be right up." Anika calls up to him before showing him all the goodies she was bringing back with her.

"Well, don't take too long. Count Alexei doesn't like to be left waiting. сперма, сперма!"

Just as quickly as he appeared, Jack was gone again.

"So...so gross." Cort shuts her eyes hoping to erase the image of her mother and that man, but the mental picture only got worse behind closed eyelids.

"He does realize he just said..sperm... twice?" Odette shakes her head, feeling a mix of astonishment and disgust.

"Well, I think he meant to say come but wrong context. That's the only use he's heard for it so far, we're still early in our Russian lesson."

Odette's eyes go wide, "Okay, I'm super done with this conversation. Happy Thanksgiving, Mother."

"Wait, Dee?" Anika hurries after her eldest daughter before she can take off up the stairs, "Chuck asked about you at dinner. He seemed disappointed you weren't with me."

"He did?" At this mention of Chuck Odette can feel her heart twinge. She had been angry with him for far too long and over something that wasn't even real. She missed him, she had been missing him.

"You know, I didn't get the chance to eat the pie you left for me but maybe Chuck would enjoy it?"

"I don't know, I don't think it's that simple."

"Your life isn't a show on the CW, it doesn't have to be so dramatic." Cort rolls her eyes, lovingly nudging her sister as she passes her on the stairs, "Take him the freakin' pie and make up!"

"Are you going to be fine here by yourself?"

Cort had practically been joined at the hip with her for the past week and a half and she didn't want to leave her during a vulnerable time.

"Odette, seriously, go. I'll be fine. Dottie and I are going to finish that series I was telling you about. But first, I'm burning my copy of Anna Karenina because I'll never be able to look at Count Alexei the same."

"Yeah, you can throw mine in with yours."

Anika waves both of her daughters off, completely disregarding their valid disgust, and heads back to her room where her nighttime play-thing was waiting for her.

"Best of luck to you dealing with that." Odette nods her head in the direction of their mother's room.

Cort follows her stare but then looks back at her, "Yeah well, good luck to you too."

"Thanks."

She was going to need it.

---

No one liked to have to admit they were wrong. It required you to swallow your pride and this was difficult for a lot of people, Odette included.

But she did it. She rode up the elevator to the Bass's penthouse, tail between her legs and a freshly warmed up pie in hand. With each step she took down the long hallway to their front door her nerves grew by ten.

She was at two-hundred by the time she knocked at the door. Someone answered quickly, holding the door open but not allowing her entry.

"The dinner is long over, mam." The housekeeper didn't recognize her, of course. Why would she? Chuck didn't live here anymore so therefore Odette had never stepped foot in this home or been around the people that worked here.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm here to see Chuck, actually."

The older woman didn't seem at all impressed or pleased by this. But nonetheless, she turned and walked off to find him.

Odette stayed in the hallway but since the door had been left open she could hear the woman say, 'Mr. Chuck, a girl is asking for you.'

Shortly after that Chuck comes around the corner and stands in the doorway looking very confused, "What are you doing here?"

"Happy Thanksgiving." Odette chews on her inner lip, waiting to see if he responds.

He doesn't.

"I brought you a pie," Odette tilts the porcelain dish forward so that he can see the contents, "You know, cherry pie since you popped my sisters cherry and all..."

At the mention of that ridiculous rumor Chuck rolls his eyes, "I didn't-"

"I know." Odette quickly clarifies, stepping closer to him, "That's why I'm here. I owe you an apology. I've been in turmoil over being accused of something I didn't do and all along I was treating you just the same. I'm really sorry, and I understand if things can't go back but I wanted you to know how I feel."

Chuck stood in place, staring down at his feet and not saying anything for what felt like a long time to Odette. But once he looked back up at her, the corner of his lips were turned up into a barely-there smile, "Well, I'm not going to turn down the chance to taste your cherry pie." The innuendo was obvious and while usually she'd be annoyed with such lewd comments from him at this moment she knew that was his way of telling her, 'we're good.'

"We can eat the pie back at my place," Chuck offers, "I have to tell you about my uncle and your mother."

"No, I have to tell you about your uncle and my mother." Odette covers her mouth as she begins to laugh at the image of Jack Bass standing there in a towel all over again.

Chuck goes to wrap his arm around her shoulder and guide her out of the apartment, but before he can they're interrupted.

"Charles, you're leaving?"

Both teenagers turn back around and are met with a critical gaze from Bart Bass.

Bart was seen as an extremely intimidating man to just about all their peers. He was a ruthless and cunning businessman that many admired and also hated. Odette had grown up with a family filled with men just like Bart though and therefore wasn't nearly as spooked by him as the others.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Bass. I'm sorry for dropping in so late, I just got back from upstate and wanted to bring Chuck some pie."

"I see," Bart squints his eyes as if to study them, "Happy Thanksgiving to you as well, Odette."

Bart didn't know a whole lot about Odette but he had overheard J.D bragging about the fact she was taking advanced classes with plans to graduate early. That was exactly the kind of girl Bart wouldn't expect his son to go for and that's because that's exactly the kind of girl he'd want him with.

He had only ever seen Chuck with promiscuous, drug-ridden, girls, but if a girl from such a respectable family was giving him the time of day it was possible Chuck wasn't as much of a lost cause as he had thought. "What kind of pie is that?"

"Cherry." Both Chuck and Odette answer him in perfect unison.

Hearing this, Bart's facial features soften, "That was Chuck's mother's favorite. I don't think I've had it since before she passed."

Chuck hadn't either, but that felt like something too personal to be admitting. His mother would always be an incredibly sensitive subject for him. Usually, she was for his father too which made it even more surprising that he was openly acknowledging her in front of Odette.

"I don't want to force anything on either of you, but if you'd like to, we could cut into the pie now?" Odette looks between the two Bass men, slightly holding up the dish and waving it in front of them as if it would help them consider.

"No, my father has had to entertain people all day. I'm sure he's tired." Chuck stares at Odettly briefly, softly shaking his head. He hoped she wouldn't push it further because he was certain his father had already hit the quota in regards to how much time he would spend with him in a single day.

"I'm fine. If you two have plans I don't want to keep you but if not I wouldn't be opposed to trying it out."

Once she's received this confirmation from Bart, Odette's entire face lights up as she walks towards him, "Great! I really think you'll love it, Mr. Bass. I make the whole thing from scratch."

Watching his father walk alongside Odette towards their dining room table, Chuck felt extremely skeptical. It was rare he saw this softer-side of Bart and he wasn't sure what had brought it out of him. He followed behind them, but at a slower rate, and stayed silent as he listened to them go back and forth.

Odette had been detailing the way she prepared the dough for her crust which had launched Bart into a story about the time Evelyn had tried to make her own pie from scratch and almost burned their home down. As he told the story Bart began to laugh, and not a forced chuckle, but a deep laugh that emits from the pit of your stomach; fully genuine.

Chuck's eyebrows shot up in surprise. It had been way too long since he last heard his dad laugh and Odette had managed to do it without even trying.

Bart never liked to talk about Evelyn, not even on her birthday or the anniversary of her death, and yet here was talking about her in front of a relative stranger. It was the oddest thing to Chuck, but he also couldn't complain because it made him feel good to hear Bart acknowledge her and the life they once had.

In an effort to protect his son from the extreme grief that followed her suicide, Bart had packed all memories of Evelyn up, literally and metaphorically. He had locked it all away and thrown out the key. He did this to try to help Chuck cope but it in turn had done the opposite. Chuck still felt that he never properly grieved his mother and the older he got the more her memory faded. In a lot of ways, it felt like Bart wanted to make it like she never existed at all. At least, that's how Chuck was made to feel all these years. So, in a way, hearing his mother's name leave his father's lips after all this time made him feel like he actually had something to be thankful for this year.

"This pie is really best with vanilla ice cream. I didn't even think about bringing any with me." Odette sulked at this obvious lapse in her planning.

"I have some in the freezer, Charles can you get it?" Bart's eyes flickered to his son momentarily before settling back on Odette as she cuts him a thick slice, plating it before serving him, "Thank you. So, you attend Constance, right?. Are you involved in any clubs or sports there?"

"Yes sir, I play varsity soccer. I also write for St. Judes and Constance's shared newspaper and I was involved in Model UN last year but I'm not so sure I want to do it again this year. I think that'll be a lot what with everything else in my schedule."

Bart was liking her more and more by the minute, "Impressive. Chuck used to play soccer, did you know that?"

"I didn't actually." She wouldn't say it in front of his father, obviously, but the only physical activity she knew Chuck got was in the bedroom.

"Yeah, he started when he was young but he quit last year." Bart's tone is slightly bitter, "I suppose it was never much of a passion for him. We're both much more interested in hockey."

"Oh, you play?" Odette jokes, serving herself and Chuck a piece as well.

"No," Bart cracks a very faint smile at the thought, "But we love to watch. We haven't been to a game in a long time though."

"You should go." She says it as if it's the most obvious and simple answer in the world. It should be, but it never felt that way. It never felt that simple. "In fact, I know my grandfather is a club ticketholder for pretty much everything at Madison Square Garden. Not that you can't afford your own tickets, but he does have great seats up in the skybox if you ever wanted to go?"

"I think I might just have to take you up on that offer."

"I think you should." Odette nods in agreement before taking a bite of the pie. "Mm, I may be biased but this pie is so good."

Bart follows her lead and takes a bite as well. As soon as the cherry bursts in his mouth he feels almost transported back to another time, "Our first date was at this twenty-four-hour diner in Brooklyn. They had the most incredible pies. Evie loved them, craved them almost every day when she was pregnant with Chuck." As he realizes what he's said Bart straightens up his posture and clears his throat in an attempt to regain himself, "Charles, having trouble?" How hard was it to find ice cream in an almost entirely empty freezer?

From the other room, Chuck calls back, "Just a second!"

In the kitchen, the vanilla ice cream pint is sitting on top of the marble counter. The ice on the lid is starting to drip as it adjusts to room temperature and begins to defrost. Although this was the only thing Chuck had come into the kitchen for it was now the furthest thing from his mind.

He could hear his father and Odette laughing and socializing in the adjacent room but all he could focus on was the text that had just popped up on his phone. He had read it over six times.

To: Chuck

From: Blair

FYI, Serena knows we slept together. She heard us at my party apparently. I swore her to secrecy but

just thought you should be aware. No one else needs to know though, agreed?

"Fuck."

---

Alright, there we have it! I don't know if this chapter will feel massive from a reader's point, but writing and editing it has taken a serious toll on me. Nonetheless, I truly hope you were all able to enjoy this chapter even though there wasn't necessarily a whole lot going on. This chapter was very essential to developing Odette and Coco further as well as close some plotlines that have been ongoing, just to turn around and open up a few more lol.

I'm sure some of you are very surprised by the Chuck/Blair reveal at the end. From the beginning, I knew this was one canon plotline I didn't want to skip over. The start to 'Chair' in 1x08 was such a big moment for the series and there were so many plotlines in the later half of season one that stemmed from that first initial hook-up. I think it's a shame when OC writers completely ignore major plotlines for the sake of pushing their own character/ship so instead of ignoring it I wanted to approach it like, 'well, how differently would it have played out if Odette was canon'. And we shall see...

There was obviously some heavy content featured in this chapter and I really hope I didn't offend anyone with Coco's sexual assault scene. Rape culture is a real thing, unfortunately, and as a victim myself I always feel drawn to explore that some in my writing. The show did such a disservice having so many instances of assault but never really following through with the after-effects or repercussions and healing processes and I think that's irresponsible storytelling. The show always relied on over the top storylines and got super campy the longer it was on, and I enjoy that to a degree but I also think there are plenty of real-life situations that can be covered as well and be just as dramatic and thrilling. From the start, that's what this story was always meant to be; a more realistic dive into this unrealistic world. I wanted to focus less on outrageous schemes and takedowns and shine more of a light on the wonderful(and terrible) things that every day people go through and experience.

On a lighter note, I've massively updated this story's insta page and have the whole Rockefeller family profiles up, as well as Jordan and Alyssa. And last, but certainly not least, Ms. Mackenzie Humphrey (she's not *my* character but she's gorgeous and you need to see for yourselves!) I'm someone that really loves to have a face to match with a character I'm reading about so if you're curious what this dysfunctional Brady-Bunch looks like head over to gilded . ff (no spaces). I also would appreciate you going to check it out because I'm a psycho about 'casting' and spent a lot of time finding actors that had similar enough features to truly look like they could be related. I'm talking down to face shape, eye size, nose structure, etc. Truly, truly, psychotic lol.

Thank you, once again, to everyone out there that gives this story a chance. Please don't give up on me, I have so much in store for this story and can't wait to see what you think of it all xo