Just a short chapter—only two scenes. More to come. Don't forget to review!
Chapter 4- Comfort Levels
"What did you want to talk about?" Drew asked as he sat down with Carly and Sam at the Metro Court.
"How come you didn't let Scout come for New Years?" Carly asked.
Sam sighed. "It's not that I didn't let her. Scout didn't want to go."
Drew frowned. "Why not?"
Carly shook her head. "That's ridiculous. Scout loves being with us and the girls."
"She said Donna and Avery haven't been nice to her lately," Sam said.
Carly laughed. "What? Donna and Avery adore Scout."
"She said they boss her around a lot," Sam explained. "And threaten her if she doesn't do what they want."
Drew scrunched his face. "Threaten her, how?"
"One example she said they wanted her to take Carly's earrings. They told her if she didn't then Drew would go away again."
Carly's cheeks went pink. "Scout took my earrings?"
Sam scoffed. "She felt she had to. She says Avery has them."
"Then you should be talking to Ava about this," Carly said.
"Donna also told her that if she didn't draw with permanent marker on Josslyn's desk that she'd never see me or Danny again."
"That's enough," Carly said. "I've had enough of your accusations against my daughters."
"What's worse," Sam continued anyway. "They told her that Drew loves you more than her. And that's why he went to prison. To protect you and the girls, not Scout."
Drew's face went sullen. "She doesn't believe that. Does she?"
"I don't even blame Donna or Avery for that," Sam said. "That's what you've been showing Scout, Drew. It might not be intentional, but she has legitimate reasons to feel that way."
Drew rubbed his temples.
"Jason always did the same thing," Sam said. "He always put Sonny and Carly above us. You always said you hated that, Drew. But now you're doing the same thing."
"So, this isn't really about Scout," Carly said. "This is about you. You feel threatened by my relationship with Drew."
Sam gaped at her. "Excuse me?"
"That's why you kept Danny from Jason," Carly said. "You were jealous of our bond."
"Maybe because Jason was supposed to be with me and kept running off to help you and Sonny at the drop of a dime. But that's not what this is about. This is about Scout's relationship with Drew and the fact she's not comfortable being around him when you and the girls are with him."
Carly shook her head. Drew went pale.
"One last thing," Sam said. "Scout's not going to your fancy school, Drew."
His mouth dropped slightly. "Why not?"
"She doesn't want to," Sam said simply. "You never asked me or Scout. You just announced it. But she's happy and comfortable at her current school with her own friends.
"But this school is going to open up so many amazing opportunities for her," Drew argued. "She deserves the best."
"And the best is keeping her where she is comfortable." Sam rose. "I'll be in touch. But I won't be sending Scout to you until she is ready." She walked out.
GHGHGH
Nina paced her office. Sat at her desk. Got up and paced again. Maybe she should just do it. Out with it and deal with the fall out. Then she wouldn't have to deal with Michael and Ned blackmailing her anymore. Besides, the truth always has a way of coming out eventually. But she couldn't stand the thought of losing Willow or Sonny. And who would she tell first? Maybe she should get it over with and tell them both together. She didn't even care about Carly at this point. Or did she? She did have a huge influence on Willow and everyone around her. It's like Carly's thoughts become everyone else's thoughts.
No, she had to let it out. She would start with Sonny. As much as she didn't want to lose him, it will hurt even more to lose Willow. So, she'd get Sonny out of the way first and hope for the best. They were meeting at the Savoy anyway, so Sonny wouldn't have any plans.
She made for the door but jerked back when she saw her daughter. "Willow."
"Hi, Nina." Willow smiled nervously.
"Hi, come in."
Willow walked in. "I took the chance that you'd still be here this late. I know you said you've been working double the hours lately. I'm sorry, did I catch you on your way out?"
"No, you were just in the nick of time," Nina said. "What's up?"
"I was on my way to meet Michael, but then I hit a snag. Literally…." She lowered her hand revealing a rip in her dress. "I changed clothes at the hospital but then I decided to check in on a patient before I left then my skirt got caught on the door and… I thought maybe you could help me out."
Nina beamed. "Of course, I can. I have lots of dresses in the back. In fact, I have one that will look amazing on you." She took Willow to the back and showed her a blue cocktail dress. "Do you like it?"
"I love it," Willow said.
Nina went back to her office and waited for Willow to change. Finally, Willow came out.
"Well, what do you think?" Willow asked.
"You look lovely," Nina said. "Almost perfect."
"Almost?"
"You need a necklace." Nina removed hers. "Here, take mine." She moved around Willow and helped her put it on. "There you go. Now it's perfect."
Willow smiled. "Thank you. So generous."
"Well, anything for you," Nina said.
Willow reached for her hand. "I knew I could count on you."
Nina started to cry.
"What's wrong?" Willow asked.
"It-it's nothing."
"I know we're still getting used to this and trying to build a relationship," Willow said. "But I'm hoping we'll get to the point eventually where we feel comfortable telling each other anything."
Nina nodded. "Yeah. I do too. I need to…" Nina choked up. "…to tell you something…. Suddenly, looking at you, I realize how we were robbed. All the moments that we didn't get. Me brushing your hair before school. Taking a million pictures at your prom. And helping you pick out your wedding dress."
Willow started to tear up.
"The list goes on," Nina said. "You know, I was so happy when I found out I was pregnant. And I dreamed of all the things that I would do if I had a daughter. And…" she laughed. "I had a daughter. But we never got to do those things."
"The-the important thing," Willow said. "Is that we have each other now."
Nina smiled.
"And there will be…." Willow reached for her hand again. "… lots more moments for us in the future. And we could start right now. Why don't you come to the Savoy with me and Michael? We can ask Sonny to meet us."
"That's actually where I was heading," Nina said. "Sonny's meeting me there."
"Perfect."
