Pouring himself a glass of champagne, Nick gripes about his Dad and tells the bewildered ladies that this is no game; he’s never been more serious about anything in his life.
Hilary wraps up the show with more teary-eyed talk about how life changes; we don’t know what will happen next – that’s the beauty and terror of our existence. Let go of fear and focus on the journey. You may go places you never imagined. Thanks for making me part of your day and your lives. I’m fine, she snaps and again leaves Mariah and Tessa perplexed. Could she be cheating with that guy? Sometimes there’s things in your past you can’t let go of, Tessa says cryptically.
Shawna lets Charlie in and gives him a kiss. Are you sure? he asks. It’s all he’s been thinking of too. He’s never felt this way before. Shawna too – it’s special. Do you have the …? Yeah, Charlie pats his pocket and is lead upstairs.
Back at HWG, Lily can’t find an email about this cross country meeting and doesn’t think Charlie should be running in this heat. After leaving him a message, Lily decides to go to the school. Mattie jumps up – you’ll embarrass Charlie in front of his friends. Lily wants to know what’s going on – right now.
All seated around the table, Nick agrees that this is about Dad. I looked up to him – he taught me to play chess and box (flashback to a much younger Victor teaching his son to box) With more flashbacks, Nick talks about how supportive Dad was when he married Sharon and again when Cassie died. He was my rock. But we’ve all felt his wrath; Nick lists what Victor’s done to everyone in the room – Summer will be next he’s sure. He used Mariah to gaslight Sharon (another flashback) Then the lawsuit over their trust funds – and Victor punching Nick after the MS benefit. He swore that night he’d never be like his Dad. You are right now, Vikki points out.
Nick’s nothing like his Dad – he tried to make things work; reached out to him when he was in the hospital and agreed to come back to NE. He wanted to believe things had changed – until he was offered Vikki’s COO job (because she colluded with Jack) Dad wanted me to screw you over; when I wouldn’t, he took Christian to punish me. Abby and Summer are then stunned to hear that Nick’s the one who leaked his Dad’s medical records (which Summer thinks is badass)
As Lily lets herself into Devon’s apartment, Shawna skips downstairs. Charlie follows buttoning his shirt and whining about Mattie ratting him out. When Hilary comes home to wonder what’s going on, Lily’s horrified to when Shawna claims that she knew Charlie was coming over and was cool with it.
Hilary thinks Lily’s making a big deal out of nothing. This is a misunderstanding – the kids wouldn’t have to ‘lie and sneak around’ if you weren’t such a prude. Lily hopes Charlie used protection – she won’t let him ruin his life over one stupid mistake. Lily also thinks Shawna should face consequences (as Charlie will)