Themes Things we Left behind Lucy Score

Trust and Vulnerability in Things We Left Behind: Sloane & Lucian’s Journey

Thematic Claim

In Things We Left Behind, Lucy Score argues that authentic intimacy requires partners to risk vulnerability even when past betrayals make trust feel impossible. Sloane Walton and Lucian Rollins must dismantle the protective walls they built after a childhood betrayal—the 911 call that sent Lucian to jail and left his mother exposed—and learn to offer their deepest fears to each other. Only by doing so can they transform mutual suspicion into a bond strong enough to withstand external threats and internal doubts.

Tracing the Theme Across the Plot

1. The Origins of Mistrust (High School Years)

The foundation of Sloane and Lucian’s fractured trust is laid in adolescence. Lucian, terrified that his abusive father would hurt anyone he cared about, extracts a promise from Sloane never to call the police. When she breaks that promise—dialing 911 to protect him—her action lands him in jail and leaves his mother vulnerable. This event cements Lucian’s belief that letting someone close invites disaster. For years he pushes Sloane away, seeing her as a risk he cannot afford.

The chapter evidence from their teenage interactions (Chapter 11) shows Lucian clinging to control. He insists, “You have to trust me. Cops would just make it worse.” His demand for absolute obedience masks his fear: if his father learns Sloane matters, she will be destroyed. Sloane’s betrayal, though born of love, confirms his deepest dread—that proximity to him is dangerous.

2. The Breaking Point (The Fire and Its Aftermath)

The theme intensifies when Sloane is nearly killed in a fire set by a threat tied to Lucian’s present (Chapter 38). Lucian finds her broken, covered in soot and bruises, and for the first time allows himself to be fully present in her vulnerability. He climbs through her window—a callback to their youth—and holds her without demanding explanations. The text describes him realizing, “I’d left her vulnerable to a danger I hadn’t anticipated.” This moment forces Lucian to confront the limit of his protective strategy: distance does not keep her safe; it only leaves her alone. His decision to become “Sloane’s shadow” marks a shift from guarding against vulnerability to embracing it as the only path forward.

3. The Confrontation of the Past (The Therapy Session)

The crucial turning point occurs in Chapter 44, when Lucian drags Sloane to his therapist, Emry Sadik. In that session, the raw wounds of the 911 call are finally spoken aloud. Lucian lists his grievances: “You broke my trust… because of you, I went to jail… my past cemented my future.” Yet he immediately follows with acknowledgment of her courage: “You put yourself between my mother and father… You are the only person in the world to ever stand up for me like that.” This dual confession—naming the hurt and recognizing the love behind it—allows both characters to release the story they have held onto. Emry’s quiet prompting (“you’ve never really had the opportunity to deal with the issues”) underscores that trust can only be rebuilt when both parties risk the painful truth.

4. The Resolution (Epilogue and Christmas Wedding)

The epilogue shows trust fully realized. On their wedding day, Sloane panics, missing her father. Lucian climbs through the window (a repeated motif of entering her space) to reassure her. He endows the Simon Walton Foundation as a wedding gift—a tangible symbol that he honors her family and legacy. She gives him a photo of her father’s last text, acknowledging the man who asked Lucian to protect his daughters. The ceremony itself—Sloane running into his arms, Karen giving her away—is a public declaration that they have rebuilt what was broken. The ten-year bonus epilogue reinforces the theme: Lucian, now a grandfather, reflects on the family Sloane gave him, and his vow “All for you. Always.” shows that vulnerability, once a source of terror, has become the foundation of his happiness.

Character Connections

  • Lucian Rollins: His arc is a journey from controlling every emotion (as he tells Emry, “control hinges on not letting my emotions get the better of me”) to allowing himself to be emotionally exposed. The Lucian Rollins character page details his childhood trauma and his slow learning that safety cannot be achieved through isolation.

  • Sloane Walton: She must overcome the pain of being rejected twice—once after the 911 call and again when Lucian cuts her off as adults. Her willingness to keep showing up, even when hurt, is her form of vulnerability. The Sloane Walton page explores her fierce independence and her eventual choice to let Lucian in.

  • Emry Sadik: The therapist acts as a catalyst, literally creating the space for the couple to speak the unspeakable. He embodies the novel’s belief that therapy and honest communication are essential to healing trust.

  • Knox and Nash Morgan: These brothers, from Knox Morgan and Nash Morgan, represent alternative models of trust. Their stable relationships with Lina and Naomi provide a contrast to Lucian’s struggle and offer a blueprint of what he might achieve.

Symbol Connections

  • The Cherry Tree: The cherry blossom in the bonus epilogue—framed as an anniversary gift—symbolizes the fragile yet resilient trust that Sloane and Lucian have nurtured. Like the tree, their bond took years to root and required careful tending. See the cherry tree symbol page.

  • The Fence: Lucian’s childhood fence (detailed in the fence symbol) represents the barrier he erected between himself and others. Climbing over it to reach Sloane—both literally and metaphorically—becomes a repeated act of vulnerability.

  • The Library: Sloane’s profession as a librarian and the library setting symbolize a place of knowledge and sanctuary. It is where Sloane feels competent and where Lucian first sees her as an equal, not a liability.

  • Shania Twain: The music they share as teenagers (especially “From This Moment On”) becomes an anchor for their secret connection. The Shania Twain symbol page highlights how shared art can create intimacy even when words fail.

Complexity and Contradiction

The novel does not present trust as a simple switch. A key contradiction appears in Lucian’s behavior: he claims to want Sloane safe, yet he also deliberately dates other women to throw off a mobster, a strategy that reopens her wounds. His therapist, Emry, calls him out: “You keep making the same choices.” Even after the fire, Lucian initially tries to control Sloane’s life by demanding she move in with him—not out of trust but out of fear. Sloane rightly refuses, saying, “A couple of drawers are not going to make me feel secure enough.”

Another layer of complexity is that Lucian’s father taught him that love equals vulnerability equals destruction. Unlearning that equation requires not just one conversation but repeated acts of showing up. The bonus epilogue shows that trust, once earned, still requires maintenance: Lucian continues to doubt himself, asking if he deserves his happiness. The novel insists that vulnerability is not a one-time surrender but a daily practice.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Lucian believe keeping Sloane at a distance protects her, and what event finally proves this belief wrong?
Lucian thinks distance shields Sloane from the danger tied to his past—his abusive father and later the mob. The fire in Chapter 38 proves him wrong because Sloane was nearly killed while he was not there; his absence left her vulnerable to a threat he hadn’t anticipated.

2. How does the 911 call from their past function as both a betrayal and a love gift?
Sloane called 911 to protect Lucian, but her action landed him in jail and left his mother exposed. Lucian sees it as a betrayal of his explicit request. Yet Sloane’s intention was to stand up for him, and decades later he acknowledges she was “the only person to ever stand up for me.” The call is thus both a wound and a proof of her devotion.

3. What role does Emry Sadik play in helping Sloane and Lucian rebuild trust?
Emry provides a safe, neutral space for them to voice long-suppressed feelings. He forces Lucian to articulate his grievances and then to recognize Sloane’s bravery. His presence models the kind of honest communication that the couple must learn.

4. Analyze how the symbol of the window—the window Sloane leaves open as a teenager—connects to the theme of vulnerability.
The open window represents Sloane’s willingness to let Lucian into her life even when he resists. As a teen, he climbs through it to escape his home; as an adult, he uses the same route after the fire. The window becomes a literal and figurative passage into vulnerability—Lucian must enter her space on her terms.

5. In the bonus epilogue, Lucian reflects on the family Sloane gave him. How does this contrast with his earlier fear of intimacy?
Lucian’s early fear was that closeness would bring destruction, as it did with his father. By the bonus epilogue, he sees intimacy as the source of his greatest joy—a wife, children, a grandchild. His internal shift from seeing vulnerability as a risk to seeing it as a gift completes his arc.