"You trickered me!" Cat shouted at Sam.
Sam nodded her head seriously. "Yes, I did."
"This won't be the last time!" Cat shook her finger at Sam, closing the door. She couldn't believe Sam tricked her, then stole her bed!
'Well,' she thought, 'I guess I'll take the couch for the night.'
Cat crept through the hall and into the kitchen. She was thirsty and wanted water. Accidentally, in the darkness, Cat misjudged the distance between her head and the cabinet and wound up loudly smacking her head with the cabinet door. She let out a soft cry and let the door slam shut.
Tears of pain and slight frustration traced patterns down Cat's cheeks and hair. She made it to the couch without further injury and sat down. As she adjusted the pillow and covered herself with the blanket, Cat thought of her Nona.
As much as she enjoyed having Sam as a roommate, Cat wished her Nona was still living in the apartment. She loved her grandmother's warm presence and patience. Nona was always ready to listen.
Sam, on the other hand, acted like she couldn't care less about Cat's concerns and problems. Cat knew Sam cared about her; but she couldn't help but wonder why the other girl always acted so uninterested in what Cat had to say. Cat always listened to Sam, but it was never vice-versa. And it sometimes hurt Cat's feelings.
Cat thought back to the time when she had first slept on the couch. It was Sam's first night in the apartment, and after Nona sleepwalked and shut Sam into the bed Cat decided to sleep there.
Though Sam didn't want to talk, Cat could sense Sam was nervous. She decided the best way to calm Sam down was to weave fantastic tales of magic, knights, princesses, and rainbows. All Sam did was tell Cat to shut up.
This memory and other similar moments leaked into Cat's thoughts. She remembered all of the times Sam told her that she didn't care, to shut up, and to leave. And the most recent event bothered her: Sam tricking her into sleeping on the couch.
Normally Cat didn't mind when people took advantage of her. She liked seeing people happy, and was willing to go to extremes to do that. But this time, something pushed it too far.
Cat cried into the pillow on the cold, hard, and lumpy couch. Her pillow and hair became soaked from the tears and yet they wouldn't stop.
Eventually, Sam noticed this and wanted to see what all of this racket was. She trudged her way into the living room to find a weeping Cat on the couch.
"Cat? Are you okay?" Sam questioned.
Cat jumped. She didn't realize Sam came into the room until Sam touched her back very gently. She was shocked at Sam's question; did Sam really ask her if she was okay?
"Hey, kid, what's the matter?" Sam sounded more uneasy now.
Cat couldn't answer, not for the fact that she was upset, but now she was crying because she was so surprised Sam said that.
"I'm just a little upset right now." Cat managed to choke out.
"Why?" Sam looked at Cat with visible worry plastered on her face.
"Well," Cat began, tugging at her curly hair, "I miss my Nona. And I don't understand why you're so mean to me sometimes."
Sam was taken aback at this statement. She never knew that the things she said actually hurt Cat's feelings. She just assumed that Cat knew she was only half-serious. "Cat, I'm sorry," she tried to put as much friendliness into her words as possible. They tasted too sugary-sweet as they rolled off her tongue.
The crying ceased and Cat looked up at Sam with awe. She couldn't believe that Sam just apologized. For as long as the short time Cat knew her, Sam never apologized for anything.
"Look, I know that sometimes the things I say are rude, but that's the way I was brought up. The Puckett way-"
Sam was cut off as Cat interjected, "Puckell!"
"What?" Sam screwed up her face.
"Isn't your last name Puckell?"
"No," Sam forced her face to relax. "Puckett. It's Puckett. Anyway. Like I was saying, this is how I've always been. My, uh, old bestfriend never used to be bothered by it. I guessed you were the same. Turns out, I was wrong." The words caught in her throat: "I'm sorry."
Cat jumped onto Sam in a huge bear hug and grinned from ear to ear. "Thank you so much, Sam!" She shook Sam back and forth until Sam screamed, "Not a hugger!"
Sam pulled away from the smaller girl, who was still smiling. "I have an idea," Sam pondered, stroking an imaginary beard. Cat mirrored her action. "We can share the bed."
"That's a great idea!" Cat exclaimed. "I like the bed and I'm glad I can share it with my bestfriend!"
Sam froze at the word 'bestfriend'. Carly instantly came to mind, but Sam pushed her face away. "Night's a-wastin', might as well hit the hay. Already four thirty." Sam made loud footfalls as she lumbered toward Nona's old room. Cat followed behind with her short, light steps.
Both fell onto opposite edges of the bed, facing away from one another. They wished each other goodnight and an awkward silence fell over them.
"Sam?" Cat whispered.
"What?"
"I don't like sleeping alone."
"You have your giraffe thing with you."
"I know, but he's asleep."
"So am I."
Inching toward Sam, Cat inquired, "Can I cuddle with you instead?"
The bluntness of the question knocked Sam back, and she turned around to face the other girl. "Uh, um, I don't know."
Making puppy-dog eyes, Cat stuck out her lower lip into a pout. "Please?"
"Fine." Sam sighed, "Come here."
Cat fell asleep tangled in blankets and firmly wrapped in Sam's arms, with Sam's heartbeat to her back. Cat felt protected and knew Sam did too, by the way her heart was thumping. Cat fell asleep with a smile on her face.