WARNING: brief mentions of sexual assault, drug use, and abuse. read at you own risk. even if you skip this chapter, stop at the authors note at the end for some important information!
💕 Beth

"Schneider? I have a few questions for you,", I said, walking into our living room.

Recently, at school, people were asking me why I was having a Bat Mitzvah, because it was a Catholic school and they all knew that Schneider wasn't Jewish , so I definitely had some questions about my biological parents. I mean, I knew that my mother was Jewish, and that's why I was having a Bat Mitzvah, but besides that, I knew next to nothing.

"Holy crap. Please don't tell me you got your first period. I'm not equipped to give you the period talk", he said.

"Ew. No. That's gross. I got it like last year and Penelope talked me through it, and that's not the point. Anyways, my bat mitzvah is in a month, and I was wondering about my family and my birth parents", I said.

"Oh thank God. I was not about to coach you on putting in a tampon and stuff. What do you want to know about your birth parents?", he asked.

"Only everything. I mean I know that my mom's name is Zoe Schneider-Matthews and that she has a different mother than you. That's why I'm half Jewish and half Catholic, and you're full Catholic. I want to know about my dad, and her relationship with my dad and all of that.", I replied.

"You might want to sit down for this, Sam", Schneider said.

"Why? Oh, are you joking?", I asked.

"No. Just sit down, Sam", he replied.

"You know how your mom O'Ded when you were a baby?", he asked.

I nodded.

"Well that's not true. It's true that both her and I struggled with addiction, but she didn't die from that. Her house, and her husband, it just wasn't safe for you. When you were three, she drove you here and dropped you off with me", he said.

"So you've been lying to me for my whole life?", I asked angrily.

"There's a good reason. Just listen", he said.

"And what's the reason? Why have I been lied to?", I asked.

"Her husband, your biological father, was very abusive. He'd been arrested three times in the past before your mother married him."

I cut him off, "Arrested for what?"

"For... for sexual assault ".

"Was I the product of sexual assault?", I asked.

"No. You were conceived in a one night stand. She fell in love with him without really knowing the real him, and they eloped. Once you were born, he became very abusive towards both of you", he said.

"Why did she wait until I was three to give me away?", I asked.

"Because he was killing her. She was so weak when she gave you to me. She knew she was going to die soon, and she didn't want to leave you alone with him. I legally adopted you on your fourth birthday. I was an addict back then, but I was still able to give you a better home than your father would have", he said.

The tears I had been holding out all began to fall.

"Wh... what happened to both of them?", I asked.

"She died two months after she gave you to me. He died three years ago, from a pain pill overdose", he said.

"Can I change my last name?", I asked crying.

"Sammie, I know I shouldn't have told you all of this. But you asked, and once I started talking, I couldn't stop. I'm so sorry", he said.

He hugged me, as I continued crying.

"One more question, why do you want to change your last name?", he asked.

"Because. I don't want the last name of the man who killed my mom", I said.

"You don't have his name. Matthews was the last name of her mother. You originally had his last name, but when I adopted you, I gave you the last name of her mother, your grandmother. I was scared that your biological father might try to find you, and I figured he'd look for someone named Samantha Schneider, not Samantha Matthews", he said.

"Schneider, you're the best parent I could ever ask for", I said, still crying.

"I love you Sam", he said, pulling me into another hug.

Authors note!!

There you have it! Sam's background! This was really hard to think up and to write, so I hope you guys enjoy it, and that it answers any questions you have about Sam's background! The next chapter will be about S2 E2 of One Day At A Time. If you decided to skip this chapter, I promise that you didn't miss much at all!

Also, huge thanks to katiejo_15 for the amazing new cover! I love it a lot, so thanks 💛