Ingrid gapes at the sight of the gorgeous two-story brick home standing in front of her. This was where she was going to live from now on? It was beautiful, but it was too much, both price and size-wise. This, coupled with Lexie's secret, was a little too much to handle all at once.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help us unpack?" Hunter huffs, jumping down from the moving truck he had been gathering boxes in. He wipes his hands on his pants, looking at his sister as if to say "Well?"

"There's so much to be brought in, though!" Ingrid whines, not wanting to do any work.

"Exactly, so get your butt over here and help."

"Do I really have to?"

"If you really want to have a bed to sleep on tonight."

"Ugh, fine, but you know I won't like it."

Ingrid picks up a box labeled "Pot Lids" before reluctantly trudging into the house, where Grace and Rachel were unpacking boxes in the living room. "Where does this go?" 

"What does the box say?" Rachel asks, still facing the boxes as she takes out a lamp from one of them, placing it on the only other piece of furniture in the house at the moment, an end table.

"Nothing, because it's an inanimate object." her daughter jokes sarcastically, shifting the box so that it was on her hip.

The woman sighs, looking over at her daughter. "Ingrid, what's written on the box?"

"Pot lids."

"Put it in the kitchen with the other boxes."

"We should have hired actual movers, Mom."

"None were available on such short notice, so we're going to make do with what we have. I believe the Jeffersons are sending Chance or Daniel our way, so we'll have an extra set of hands."

Hunter hauls in the front half kitchen table, followed by Chance carrying the other half, who had apparently shown up while Ingrid and her mother were talking.

"Evening, ladies." Chance greets, winking at Ingrid, who rolls her eyes.

"Have you seen your brother lately? I need to talk to him." Ingrid demands, crossing her arms impatiently.

"Moving on to another Jefferson already? What a shame, I kinda liked you, you know."

"Shut it. Where's Daniel?"

"I don't know. I haven't been hanging around at the house much."

"Well, that tells me a lot. Thanks for nothing, Chance."

Ingrid storms outside, pulling out her phone to text Daniel.

He had left her on read. Of course he did. Daniel needs to be there for Lexie, even if he doesn't want to. Her head swirled as she stands in the middle of the front yard, absolutely floored at the lack of interest Daniel had in his future child. After what Shane had done to her mother, she was going to make sure that Daniel never even thought about doing the same to Lexie. 

Before Ingrid could get someone to help her find Daniel, her phone buzzes in her hand. Maybe someone knocked some sense into him. Unfortunately, it was Lexie, who needed someone to talk to.

"You really care about Daniel, don't you?"

Ingrid looks up to see Chance standing in front of her, holding a box. "He's my friend. If I don't care about him, then who will?" she shrugs, avoiding eye contact with the older Jefferson.

"I've never been able to connect with him before. I feel like he hates me or something." Chance mutters, kicking at some dirt with the toe of his shoe.

"I don't think he hates you, Chance. Believe it or not, he's got a lot of stuff going on right now, and he needs all the support he can get."

"I never would have guessed. He never tells me anything."

"I know how you feel. Hunter and I have never had an actual conversation before, so I get where you're coming from."

"I'm glad you're there for him. Our parents haven't exactly been parents of the year, if you get my drift."

Ingrid nods, having nothing else to say. Chance smiles at her before disappearing into the house.

It isn't long before Lexie pulls up in her convertible, tears streaming down her face. "Is there anywhere private we can talk?" the brunette sobs as she shuts her car door behind her, hurriedly walking over to Ingrid.

"Nobody's out in the backyard. We can talk there, if you want." 

"Okay, I guess."

Ingrid takes Lexie out back, sneaking into her backyard through the fence gate. Lexie begins to sob harder after she made sure that they were completely alone. 

"Lexie, you know everything's going to be alright, no matter what you decide." Ingrid sighs, not used to the whole empathy thing everyone around her seemed to use on a regular basis.

"It's not that, it's Daniel. He just called, and he was drunk. He really doesn't want to be a part of my life anymore, Ingrid. How am I going to raise a baby by myself?" Lexie asks, sitting on the swing hanging on the back porch.

"Even if Daniel chooses to walk out; and believe me, if he does, I'm going to beat him to a pulp, I'll still be here. Flynn will still be here. Flynn's family's more than likely going to be there, 'cause his mom was a teen mom too. Besides, they're the least dysfunctional family in Lakeside. And, you know what, my mom will probably be there too. You'll have all these people to support you. If you get kicked out of your house when you tell your own parents, I've got your back. Everything's going to work out just fine, okay? I'm not the best at this whole comforting thing, but things aren't as bad as they seem."

"Thanks. I really needed to hear that. I don't know how, or when, or even if I'm going to tell my parents at all, but if Daniel isn't there, I want you to be."

"Of course. Anything for a friend."

"Was Flynn's mom really a teen mom?" the brunette asks, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah, apparently his mom and dad had a fling the summer before their senior year of high school. Then they just decided to get married and call it a day." the blonde explains, sitting next to her friend.

"I didn't know that."

"Neither did I, but my mom was close to his mom when they were in high school."

"You always seem to surprise me. What else is there to know about you, Ingrid?"

"Well, I like cheesy 80's music, I don't like horror movies, and my dad most likely...no, scratch that, definitely killed someone before he abandoned us."

"You could have led with your dad definitely killing someone part. Is that why you have a problem with him?" Lexie's eyes were wide with shock at Ingrid's last comment, but Ingrid wasn't really fazed by it.

"It's not that he just killed that woman, it's that he did it and then left us high and dry to be poor." Ingrid leans back against the swing, pulling her legs up into a cross-legged position.

"That's awful. Is he going to go to jail?"

"I'm hoping he gets sent to federal prison, but, come on, it's Shane Armstrong. The man gets away with anything he sets his mind to. Besides, it happened so long ago now that there's little to no chance he'll actually get arrested. Unless he commits another crime, which wouldn't surprise me at all, he's a free man."

"Ingrid, can I ask you something?"

"You've been asking away since you've got here, so go ahead."

Lexie takes a deep breath, as if she was trying to work up the nerve to ask her question. 

"Did you ever have feelings for Daniel? I mean, I think you did at some point, or maybe even still do, but now that we've made a big mistake that might jeopardize your relationship with him, I've just gotta know."

"Not anymore, Lex, don't worry. I saw his true colors at the carnival that night, and that just about did it for me. Sure, I want to stay friends with him, but if you want to be with him, I don't have a problem with it."

"I don't want to be with Daniel, and I don't know if I want to be with Flynn, either. Daniel and I have a complicated history, and I don't want to hurt Flynn. If I decide to keep this...thing, it's going to be hard to be with Flynn knowing that he's not the father."

"Flynn's a great guy, Lexie. Anyone would be lucky enough to have him, especially you. If you have this baby, whether or not Daniel stays in the picture, you and I both know Flynn's going to be right there by your side, even if you break up."

"I'm sorry for ever being jealous of you, by the way. You're actually really funny now that I'm getting to know you." Lexie murmurs, following it up with "I was wrong about you."

"Where's this coming from all of a sudden? I thought we were over this." Ingrid raises an eyebrow, not expecting that to come out out of her friend's mouth.

"I'm still feeling really bad about everything I've told you in the past."

"Maybe you already have your maternal instinct."

"Not helpful."

"Sorry. I kinda just blurted that out, I don't really think before I talk."

"It's fine, you were just trying to help. So, about the fitting tomorrow..."

Ingrid slides open one of the glass doors, hoping that everyone else had gone home. She quietly enters the kitchen, closing it behind her when she senses someone behind her.

"Who were you talking to outside?" Rachel crosses her arms as Ingrid slowly turns around to face her mother, who had since changed into her nightgown and robe. 

"Lexie came over. Should I have talked to you about it first?" Ingrid jumps up to sit on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs back and forth.

"I would have liked that, yeah. You were out there the whole time we were unpacking."

"I'm sorry, Lexie's got a lot on her plate right now and I want to be a good friend."

"I'm glad you made friends with Lexie. She's going to be around more often after the wedding, you know."

"Did you have to mention the wedding? I don't want to wear a stupid dress."

"Ingrid Josephine, you're going to wear your bridesmaid's dress to the wedding and that's final. Don't give Grace any trouble about it, either. She's under a lot of stress right now." the woman warns, to which her daughter rolls her eyes.

"Wedding, schmedding. It's all just a big waste of time and money." the teenager mutters. Although Ingrid wanted everyone to believe she absolutely despised weddings, she secretly wanted to elope somewhere if she ever got the chance to. She had never formally been to a wedding, but she had seen depictions of them on TV, and she didn't want any elaborate event if it ever came down to it.

"Don't you ever want to get married one day, Ingrid? I know it didn't work out between your father and I, but what if you find the love of your life?" Rachel interrupts, pulling out a kitchen chair and turning it to face her daughter before sitting on it, crossing one leg over the other.

"And spend a ridiculous amount of money on an ugly dress I'll only ever wear once? No, thank you."

"Weddings are beautiful, Ingrid. Ballroom, beach, wherever it's being held, weddings just bring out the romantic in everyone."

"Who would ever want to marry me, Mom? I'm a hot mess rolled up into an even bigger hot mess."

"You'd be surprised at the number of people who are into hot messes rolled up into even bigger hot messes." 

Ingrid groans, scrunching her nose in disgust at her mother's...compliment? Prediction? Either way, she wasn't in the mood to talk about weddings. She yawns, hopping off of the counter. "I'm going to head to bed. I do have a bed, don't I?"

"Yes, you've got a bed to sleep in. It's upstairs, the first door to the left." her mother chuckles, shaking her head with amusement. "You can't miss it. Goodnight, Ingrid."

"Night, Mom."

Ingrid climbs the stairs, one by one, until she reached the top floor, turning the knob to the first door to the left open to reveal a relatively bare-looking room. She didn't have many decorations to begin with, but this was just humiliating. Be glad that you have a bed, some kids out there don't. "Oh, shut up, selfless thoughts!" Ingrid yells out loud to herself. "I'm selfish and I know it." she adds, sticking her nose in the air as she changes into her pajamas, soon spreading herself out across her bed.

How did her summer end up like this? When she left school for summer break, she was unpopular and unliked. Now, she was hanging out with the stars of the football team and the cheer captain. She started her summer poor, but now she was at least middle class now. Add her father into the mix and that's how she ended up here, wide awake on her first night in her new house. This was turning out to be more than just her average summer now, and she was just realizing it.