Content Warning: Mentions of neglect—and the 2016 U.S. presidential election.


Set in 2019

Serena poked her head into Scott's room. "I'm meeting up with Eric and Jenny for drinks. Do you want to come along?"

Scott looked up from the video game he was playing. "No Emma tonight?"

"No. She's with Dan." Serena smiled. "She really enjoyed clapping with you earlier, though."

Scott laughed. "I had fun clapping with her, too."

Serena glanced at the guitar lying at the foot of the bed. "No lessons tonight?"

"Nah." Scott shut down his computer. "Rufus had to prepare the gallery for an exhibit he's installing tomorrow."

Serena raised her brows. "And my mom isn't really spending any alone time with you?" Shaking her head, Serena sighed. "I swear—it's like she's going out of her way to make sure you're comfortable, but she can't seem to have a real conversation with you."

Scott chuckled and hung his head. "You've noticed that, too?"

Serena's face and heart sank. "You know it's not you, right? I mean, I haven't talked to her about it—but I'm pretty sure she's nervous around you because of stuff that happened before you were born."

His eyes glued to the comforter beneath him, Scott nodded. "I pretty much figured that."

Serena studied him. "Have my mom or Rufus talked to you about what happened?"

"No." Looking up at her for a second, Scott averted his eyes. "I mean—Rufus did tell me that it's hard for Lily to talk about that time in her life."

Serena frowned. "Yeah, well, maybe she should talk about it."

His eyes fixed on the wall, Scott shrugged.

Curling her fingers around the doorframe, Serena shifted her weight between her feet. "Does it bother you that I'm calling her my mom—and not our mom?"

"No." His eyes flying back to hers, Scott swallowed. "Not really."

"It must be hard for you to live here," Serena observed, "—I mean, with her acting the way she is."

"A little," Scott responded. "But I get it."

"How can you get it . . . ?" Serena's hand dropped to her side. "Wait—do you know?"

Scott's body tensed. "That Rufus didn't know about me until I was already an adult?"

Serena's eyes widened.

"I know." Scott's eyes dropped back to the bed. "I've known for a while now."

"Wow." Serena blinked. "I don't even know what to say."

"That's okay," Scott said. "Neither do I."

Serena bit down on her lip. "Maybe I can talk to my mom for you—get her to tell you the whole story?"

"Don't worry about it." Scott frowned. "It's fine."

Serena arched one brow. "No—it's not fine." Glancing over her shoulder, she looked back at Scott and nodded toward the elevator. "Come on. Come out with us. It sounds like a night out with me and Eric is exactly what you need."


Scott right behind her, Serena leaned in to give Eric a hug. "So, get this: Scott knows Mom never told Rufus about him."

"Wow." Eric blinked as Serena leaned back. Shaking his head, he nodded hello to Scott and looked back at Serena. "Hello to you, too."

"It's a lot—I know." Plopping her bag down on the table, Serena sat down next to Eric. "And I'm pretty sure Mom's so nervous about that subject coming up that she's been actively keeping her distance from him."

"It's really okay," Scott said, giving Jenny a hug hello and sitting down next to her.

Serena reached for a menu. "No, it's not."

Jenny took a sip of her drink. "Have you tried talking to her?"

"I . . . I don't know if I should." Scott's eyes fell to the table. "Rufus told me she doesn't like talking about that time in her life."

Jenny shrugged. "So? He doesn't make your decisions for you. If you want to talk to her about it, then you should talk to her."

Scott frowned.

Serena looked at him. "Really, she's the one who should be starting this conversation with you."

"Like I said, it's really okay." Scott flushed. "I really don't want to get her or Rufus upset."

Jenny's brows shot up. "Wait—are you nervous they're going to be angry with you for bringing this up?"

Scott shrugged and hung his head. "I . . . I don't know."

"Scott," Jenny said, "—do you know how hard my dad looked for you from the second he found out about you? How much he wanted you in his life? Nothing could ever change that."

"Jenny would know," Eric laughed. "She's pushed Rufus to his limits more than once."

Narrowing her eyes at him, Jenny smirked. "Thanks. I appreciate the support."

"What?" Eric laughed again and took a sip of his drink. "Shall we go over a list of your past misdeeds?"

Her eyes flickering with amusement, Jenny sighed. "The point I'm trying to make is that Scott has nothing to worry about."

"I agree with you about that." A smile still tugging at his lips, Eric turned to Scott. "And even if talking about this makes my mom upset, I don't think she'll be angry with you for bringing it up." His smile fading, Eric studied Scott. "If anything, I'm surprised you're not angry with her."

"I was." Scott looked up. "But then my mom—the mom I grew up with—pointed out that I didn't know the whole story and that having me on her own must have been really hard for Lily."

"I'm sure it was." Jenny turned to him. "You know my dad would have been there if he had known, right?"

Scott fingered the menu in front of him. "Yeah, I know that."

"Don't worry—you didn't miss anything," Eric said. "At least not on our side of the family. Our mom left us with the nanny, the housekeeper, or even to fend for ourselves so much when we were younger, that our ringtone for her was 'Since U Been Gone.'"

Jenny laughed. "I forgot about that."

Serena raised her brows. "Yeah, well, it's kind of hard for us to forget it."

Eric looked at Jenny. "I think some part of her was trying to find what she had with Rufus again."

"Yeah," Serena groaned. "We were just afterthoughts to her."

"That must have been hard," Scott said.

"It definitely was." Eric dipped a chip in the bowl of guacamole in front of him. "But I still think you should try to talk to her about this. She may get defensive at first when you confront her about things, but—once she gets past that—she usually at least tries to listen."

"You mean like that time you confronted her about all the years she just wasn't there?" Serena said.

"Yes, like that time," Eric agreed. "Or all the times she and I have discussed how she voted in the last presidential election."

Jenny picked up a chip. "Those couldn't have been fun conversations."

"They weren't." Taking a bite of the chip in his hand, Eric swallowed and took a sip of his drink. "I mean, I know she voted the way she did because she thought it made sense financially, but the reason she and I still have a good relationship is because she finally recognized just what she had voted for."

Serena took a bite of a chip. "Wow. That was really big of her."

"She said she didn't think it would get this bad." Putting down his glass, Eric looked at Scott. "But once she got past being defensive, she actually heard me and apologized—and said she regretted voting the way that she had. Our mom may have many, many faults, but not everyone will own it when they do something that hurts someone they love—I have to give her credit for that."

Scott nodded and swallowed.

Eric leaned forward on his elbows. "Scott—I really don't think you need to be nervous about talking to her."

Scott averted his eyes. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"You're still nervous about this, aren't you?" Jenny asked.

"Maybe." Scott twisted his lips.

A member of the waitstaff stopped in front of their table. "Can I get you anything else?"

Scott's eyes flew up. "I could really go for some French fries right now."

Serena and Eric looked at each other and smirked.

"What?" Scott asked. "What is it?"

"Nothing." His expression softening, Eric turned back to Scott. "I just really hope you and Mom can find a way through this—you may have more in common than you think you do."


Serena leaned up against the bar. "Could we get the bill for our table?"

The bartender nodded. "Just give me a few minutes."

"Thanks," Serena said, turning back to Eric.

Eric fixed his eyes on hers. "So, you're really going to try to talk to Mom?"

"I think I need to," Serena sighed. "Scott seems way too nervous to bring the subject up."

"I agree," Eric said, "—but you also know it's not your job to fix this, right?"

"I know that." Serena groaned. "It's just really hard watching it."

"I bet it is—and I'm sure I would feel the same way if I were living with all of you." Eric's brow creased. "But, Serena—you practically raised me when we were both kids. And, as much as I will always appreciate that, it wasn't your job back then, and it's still not your job to fix this for Scott right now."

Serena tightened her fingers around her bag. "I just want to help."

"I know you do." Eric frowned. "And I wish we could make this better for Scott, too. But I think the best thing we can do right now is help him work up the courage to approach Mom about this himself."

Serena looked at Scott, who was deep in conversation with Jenny. "I don't think he's going to get there anytime soon."

"Maybe not," Eric said. "But that doesn't make it your problem to solve."

"I know," Serena said.

"Okay," Eric sighed. "If this all gets to be too much and you need to talk, you know how to get me. . . ."

"Thanks." Turning back to him, Serena smiled and squeezed his arm. "But don't worry about me. I'm just going to encourage Mom to talk to him. I promise—that's it."


Series continues with: "Forward Motion"