Variation

Before Allie or Hudson can explain, June tells Eva that Lina is her birth mother. Eva asks who her father is, assuming it’s Gavin, but Hudson admits that he secretly took a DNA test to rule out Gavin. 

June changes the subject to scold Eva for posting a video on social media the night before. The video showed clips of Allie in Giselle, with Eva then performing the same routine as a critique. June points out that Eva didn’t stand up for Allie about the negative comments. Allie is hurt. Hudson takes June and leaves, reminding Allie about the camping trip.

Allie tries to explain about June, but Eva says that they should honor Lina’s reasons for not including them in June’s life, even if they don’t understand them. She then criticizes Allie for taking time off to go camping. She informs Allie the Company just released the fall performance calendar and Equinox is on it. Allie oscillates between not wanting to be in the toxic Company environment anymore and wanting to perform again.

Over the weekend, Allie helps Eva train. She teaches her some of the choreography from Equinox, hoping that her sister can get one of the lead roles in the ballet.

On the first night of the camping trip, Allie and Hudson sleep in separate sleeping bags in the same bed, as their cabin only has one. As Hudson watches her sleep the next morning, he notes how exhausted she is from working out and training June. After she wakes up, Allie asks Hudson about his job. She admits that she never thought about how dangerous it is before, but Hudson insists that he loves it. He asks if she likes her career, and she admits that she dislikes parts of it but is “content.”

At breakfast, Caroline brings up Hudson’s recent test and whether he is considering taking a promotion. Allie is surprised to learn about it. Gavin tells Caroline that Hudson can’t take a promotion if he wants to stay in Cape Cod. Caroline is upset at the idea of him leaving, but Gavin insists that she can’t hold Hudson back because she refuses to ask their parents for help with June or give up the café. However, Hudson tells her that he hasn’t made any decisions yet.

Later, Hudson makes Allie swing on the rope and into the lake. After they land, he realizes that he is falling in love with her again. They kiss in the water, then Hudson asks her to try to be with him, instead of just pretending.

As they climb out of the water, Hudson hears June jump in. He watches, but after several seconds she does not resurface.

After several tense moments, Hudson finds June under the water, stuck on a branch, and brings her back to shore. She coughs up water but is otherwise okay. Watching it all, Allie realizes how much she now cares about June. She also thinks about how scared she was for Hudson during the rescue. 

Hudson realizes how upset Allie is and comforts her. She tries to pull away, but he insists that she doesn’t “have to handle everything on [her] own” (282). She relents and lets Hudson hold her.

Later that night, Allie sits with Caroline by the fire while Hudson plays with June. Caroline confesses that she knows she is overprotective but after she lost her husband, she vowed to protect June. Allie realizes that she understands Caroline much better now, comparing her grief over her husband to how she herself still feels about losing Lina.

Allie asks Hudson to distract Caroline. She then tells June that she deserves to know about Lina. She admits that she does not remember much of the accident, especially because the pieces she does remember don’t match the evidence. However, she remembers performing and then driving home with Lina. She also remembers Lina giving her a ring, which she promises to give to June someday.

Caroline comes over and they stop their conversation. June pretends they were talking about Allie’s injury. After they leave, Hudson asks Allie about the night of her injury. She admits that she was “distracted” during her turns because she thought she saw Hudson in the audience. She is immediately embarrassed by the admission, but Hudson tells her that he was there that night.

Allie doesn’t believe Hudson at first, but he explains that he came because she was performing Giselle. When they were younger and she performed it at the Classic, she told him that she could only do the moves correctly when he was watching. She is shocked and touched that he followed her career for all those years and remembered that, choosing to come to New York just to support her. They both admit they are in love. They return to the cabin and have sex for the first time.

Afterward, Hudson asks Allie to stay for an extra day. She knows she should go home to continue training but decides that she would rather be with him. They spend the next day together, mostly in bed having sex.

When Allie finally gets home, she is surprised to find Kenna there. Kenna tells her that she has been trying to get a hold of her for days, but Allie admits she turned her phone off. Vasily gave Allie’s part in Equinox to Eva.

Hudson does not hear from Allie for a few days. He takes June to Allie’s house for lessons and finds her practicing in the studio. She barely speaks to him and won’t look at him but continues to train June.

Hudson also learns that Eva manipulated her and Allie’s social media accounts. She secretly recorded a video of Allie admitting how difficult the Equinox choreography is, making it look like she could not handle it. Then she posted a video of herself doing the moves that Allie trained her to do.

He tries to talk to Allie, but she dismisses him, telling him that sleeping with him was a mistake. He knows that she is just trying to protect herself, but Allie refuses to listen to him. When he gets a phone call that he is needed for a rescue, however, Allie becomes concerned, asking him why he has to go out. He tells her to take June home after their lessons and leaves.

That night, Hudson goes home and finds that Allie has been waiting outside for hours. She apologizes for being rude to him and admits that she didn’t mean anything she said. He assures her that he is not upset, then invites her to spend the night. Because they are both exhausted, they agree to sleep together without having sex.

As they lie in bed, Allie tells Hudson that she wants to be with him. He initially protests, saying that he still has to make up for what he did when they were younger, but she insists that she has forgiven him. However, she knows that they cannot have a real relationship, as their “worlds” are too different. Hudson is devastated, but he agrees to spend the rest of the summer—the next five weeks—with her.

The next morning, Anne calls Allie. She tells her that she found June’s birth certificate.

At home, Allie scrolls through social media. She watches the videos that Eva posted and reads the comments. Some people are angry at Eva for secretly recording Allie, but most are accusing Allie of lying about her recovery and acting as though she manipulated the Company by pretending she would be back in the fall. She considers responding, but Anne tells her to stop torturing herself.

Everett, the other lead in Equinox, comes to their house—Kenna invited him to help Allie train and get her role back. However, Anne immediately confronts him over June’s birth certificate because he signed his name as June’s father. Everett explains that Sophie asked him to sign the paperwork to make the adoption go smoother. He insists that he doesn’t know who the real father is.

When a car pulls up outside, Kenna explains that she also called her own mother, Eloise, to coach Allie.

Over the next several weeks, Allie trains relentlessly for the Classic, working with Eloise and Everett every day. Eloise starts working with June and questions Allie about how much the girl looks like Lina. Allie decides not to confirm it, even though she knows that Eloise suspects the truth. Eloise buys June an outfit for the Classic. She assures Allie that June is good enough to put on a good performance and place top 20 in her age group.

At night, Allie stays with Hudson. He always ensures that she gets enough sleep while never pressuring her for more time together. She questions her decision to end things after the summer but reassures herself that it is what’s best for everyone.