On this week’s episode of Chasing Life, a snow storm keeps George in Boston for a little longer, prompting April and Natalie to ambush him with questions about their father and the truth surrounding Thomas’ death is revealed.
April wants to talk to her uncle George. She has questions regarding her father and his relationship with Natalie’s mother. April calls George out on his lie and says Natalie’s mom was seeing Marco. Despite having lied, George seems to vaguely remember Marco. April asks if there’s anything else about her father that George kept secret and he tells her Thomas was stressed out about handing in his finished manuscript before he died. Enter Mae, who wants to know if George is ready to head home later. Unprepared, George exits to pack.
Cue opening theme.
April shares what she learned with Natalie and Brenna videotapes it. April thinks George is lying; Natalie agrees. Brenna wonders what else George could hide given what they’ve found out about Natalie and their dad’s book. Brenna thinks her sisters are overreacting.
Beth shows up at the Carver house looking to talk to April. April says everything’s okay between them. Sara orders Beth to stay due to the raging snowstorm outside.
At dinner, Sara and George question Brenna about her plans at Berkeley, Mae discusses her presentation at Columbia, and Natalie and April ambush George when he prepares to leave. He promised to play a few games with the family before he left. April searches for the box of games in her room and finds a snow globe from her dad that triggers a flashback. Thomas is preparing to go on another one of his business trips—this time to Baltimore—and brings her the trinket as a present.
When April lags behind, Sara catches up with her and April shares her memory with her mother. They have a heart-to-heart and Sara says that things regarding her father were complicated.
April meets Natalie in the kitchen and the pair disagrees over how to talk to George. When George and Mae’s flight is cancelled for another day, Natalie sees that as her and April’s opportunity to get the answers they deserve.
April, her family, and Beth play celebrity and Beth and Brenna win big. Natalie suggests switching the gaming to calling one’s bluff and George says they need to play something the adults can enjoy. Later, April, Sara, and Beth talk about April’s meltdown that occurred the previous day in the kitchen and April and Natalie ask George if their dad had a third secret family in Baltimore.
April excuses herself to take her meds. Enter Brenna who reminds April that George was the one to tell her she had cancer. Sara follows close behind and April apologizes for interrogating George. Sara says she’s sure her dead husband didn’t have a third family. It is then that Sara reveals Thomas’ alcoholism. Sara made him go to rehab in Baltimore. Sara kept this a secret so as to not taint April’s memories of her father. Thomas’ alcoholism became problematic while April was in college.
Beth is going stir crazy and wants to leave, but Brenna tries to stop her. The storm is too powerful, so Beth is forced to stay.
April reveals Thomas’ alcoholism to Natalie. Natalie is still hung up on George’s deception. Natalie wants to investigate and enlists April’s help. They’re looking for their father’s manuscript that George claims he hasn’t finished reading.
Meanwhile, Beth, Sara, George, Mae, and Brenna drink and watch the weather report. Sara gets negative vibes from Mae and mentions this to George. Natalie tries to distract George while April rifles through his suitcase, but he catches her and explains he threw away Tom’s book for the good of the family.
Before anyone can respond, a tree comes crashing through the window and the flying glass cuts Mae on the arm. Moments later, George attempts to treat Mae’s wound and tensions fly between the couple. Once he is finished, Mae goes to bed.
April and Beth clean up the broken glass and talk things out. April says she doesn’t blame Beth if she doesn’t want to be friends anymore and asks why she hasn’t talked about her life in a while. Beth updates April on Josh and April is happy for her friend’s new relationship. Later, Natalie snags April to talk.
April, Natalie, and Brenna discuss the possibilities surrounding George’s deceptions and Brenna reveals Sara’s relationship with George. April counters that, going back to the first line of the manuscript and how Thomas supposedly planned his death, wondering if George really drove the car the night of his accident.
The storm knocks the power out, so Sara and George search for blankets in the dark. Simultaneously, they discuss George’s relationship with Mae and their breakup. George says Mae could never get over that he and Sara dated.
Later, the gang hangs out in the living room and a drunk Beth roasts s’mores in the fireplace. When Beth retires to bed, April organizes a family talk. April asks George about the first line of her dad’s book, Natalie questions Sara and George’s dating history, and Brenna speculates as to whether or not Sara had an affair with George while married. When Thomas’ potential suicide is mentioned, George reveals that his brother was dying. Thomas had ALS, which is incurable. Thomas wanted George to help him die. Thomas kept his condition secret from his wife and daughters, because he knew they’d try to talk him out of it.
Hearing this story, Sara is in disbelief. George says the Baltimore trip was really to see a specialist at Johns Hopkins, not rehab. Following that trip, George met his brother down to Florida with his brother and agreed to help him kill himself. As it turns out, Thomas died on his own, by purposely speeding into a tree. George didn’t try to save him; he made everything look like an accident and pretended he drove the car the night of Thomas’ death.
Natalie says what George did was basically murder. George defends himself, saying he didn’t want to tell April, her mother, and her sisters his secret, because he didn’t want them to have another secret to carry.
The next morning, George and Mae head out and Beth informs April that Natalie is gone.
End of episode.
Image Credit: Walter McBride/INFphoto.com
Chasing Life airs every Monday at 9 p.m. on ABC Family.