It had started out as a harmless dare. But as she hung on for her life it didn't seem to be so harmless anymore. Why had she had to do this, if those stupid girls hadn't called her names such as chicken and scardey cat then she wouldn't have been stupid enough to attempt it; or what if Brad had just happened to not be busy, she could have been hanging out with him instead of cutting through the park as a short cut home.
She kept shouting out for help, but no one came. Her voice just seemed to get carried away by the wind; and the more she hung on there more her voice got weaker. She just wished she had Brad here; he would save her she knew it. But what she also knew was she was going to die; if she let go of the bridge she'd fall at least 50 feet into the river, and if she fall didn't kill her she'd probably drown because she couldn't find any energy left to swim.
Her hands were hurting, she'd probably been hanging here for hours; the sun had set now and the sky was dark. Who was she kidding when she shouted for help; no one was here this late at night. The girls who had dared her had run off as soon as her foot had slipped.
She felt goose pimples scattered up her arms; the wind that every now and then was blowing was rather cold and every time it hit her she had to fight the urge to shiver. That would lead to a higher chance of falling to her death.
It must be late; didn't anyone wonder where she was? Her phone had fallen when she'd fell and smashed off a rock below, shattering it to pieces. But surely Brad would be wondering why she hadn't called or text him at all tonight; he was one of the only ones who knew that she walked through the park to get home. Wouldn't he come looking? What about Carly, she was her best friend. They'd spent the day together and Sam had promised she'd be online tonight; Carly knew she was walking home through the park. Didn't she worry why she hadn't logged on, didn't she think to come searching? Her mom, sure she wasn't best at everything; but she always had a curfew for Sam. Why wasn't she out looking, she had never stayed out this late unless she was sleeping at Carly's house, and she always warned her mom in advance.
Didn't they have police out searching? She was sure she'd been hanging here for hours, wasn't this a police emergency? She felt the blisters which had formed on the palm of her hands grow bigger and more painful as she gripped more tightly. Her fingers were numb, along with the rest of her body from the cold. She knew this was it, she was going to die.
There was so much she hadn't got to do; she hadn't got married, she hadn't had 5 little children. She hadn't made up with her twin sister; she hadn't been able to find her dad. She hadn't graduated school and shocked everyone when she went on to college. She hadn't seen any where outside Seattle, she hadn't visited London England, the place she'd been dreaming about visiting since she first saw the episode of friends. She hadn't even seen the last Harry Potter, the only book she'd ever been interested in. she had been looking forward to finally seeing the Ron & Hermione kiss, and the amazing epilogue. She was supposed to go with Carly this weekend, but she'd be dead.
Carly, her best friend. she didn't get to say goodbye to the one person who had always stuck by her. Listened for hours on end about the problems she had at home; always kept her fridge well stocked so her hungry friend could just eat whenever she wanted. Counted her as part of the family and allowed her to use the apartment as if it was her own home. The thought of never seeing her anymore made tears leak from her eyes.
Brad, her current boyfriend. The only guy who hasn't dated or pretended to fancy her to make Carly jealous; the only guy that's ever made her feel truly special, treat her like a princess. Spent hours on the phone to her every night; set up unique dates which makes them so much more special and magical. She'd never see him every again, never feel his arms around her. the tears were coming now and she couldn't control them.
Her mom, the lady who gave birth and raised her. Sure she wasn't great but she still loved her, even if she got tattoos while waiting in line for fried chicken or backed her car into the school. She knew her mom loved her and cared for her, she just wasn't good at expressing her feelings. Just like herself. The fact she'd never see the hideous sight of her mom parading around the house in a bikini 3 times to small; laughing as her mom shouts at there cat Frothy to go out and get a job. Never see the friendly smile her mom often gives her that she knows translates to I love you.
Melanie, the most annoying twin sister ever. She was at boarding school getting perfect grades and interacting with girls who squeal at the latest topless picture of Taylor Lautner and sing along to Justin Bieber tunes all day. The girl that constantly got on her nerves but always reminded her that she was her sister and she'd always love her and be there for her. she couldn't remember when she'd last told her sister she loved her back; and now it was to late. She remembered when the two use to be really close, they sleep together in the same bed during the night when either one got scared, cuddling into each other. She'd never be able to resolve there problems and do sister stuff with her.
Her dad, the other half of her. He'd gone to get some milk, promised mom he always loved her but then never returned. She'd never get to go and try find im, get answers to the questions that had been haunting her for 8 years now. She'd never get to feel him hug her and listen as he told her he loved her plus Melanie and her mom. That he'd been forced to leave them; she knew it wasn't likely to be true. But she'd never know either way.
As she felt her hands slipping she tried to grip on for a few minutes and shouted out for help once more. As she did rain began to fall, hitting her hard making it harder to keep hold of the little piece of wood she had hold of, she knew if she ever got to see those hands again they would be full with splinters. The rain was getting heavier and she looked up towards the sky, maybe this was what her life plan was. Falling of a bridge was her death, maybe it was always suppose to happen; maybe it was a punishment for all the things she'd done wrong; like beating up cops, going to juvie, misbehaving in school. She was about to let go when she heard a male voice.
"Is there someone down there!" the shock of a human voice almost made her let go of the wood, but she kept tight hold. Her might have a phone and can call for help. She shouted the words once more.
"Help!" it didn't come out as loud as she hoped however; and she just hoped he heard her voice. When there was no immediate reply she though the voice had gone, left probably before she'd even shouted for help. But suddenly a human shadow appeared at the edge of the bridge; she could tell it was a boy about her age, maybe a year older. He was noticeably taller than her but then again she was one of the smallest in her year at school. The light was dark and she couldn't see his face because it was covered in shadow; and his other features where hard to make out as well. She immediately hoped it was Brad, he was probably about the same height. But when he spoke she knew the voice didn't belong to Brad.
"Oh My God; don't let go I'll try get you up from there!" the male voice said; Sam fought the earge to shout something witty like why the heck would I let go at him. It wouldn't be a good idea, he was the only one who had came to help her since she'd feel and if she treated him badly he might just leave like everyone else. This was her only hope of survival. His shadow had disappeared and she only hoped he was smart enough to phone for help instead of going to try find it. She tried to strain her ears to hear some form of phone call; but suddenly he appeared above her.
"What's your name?" he asked as he seemed to pull of his hoodie and then other shirt. If he didn't have a third layer on her would have been freezing. He began to tie them together
"Sam!" she answered, not really knowing why it was relevant.
"Well Sam my name's Freddie and I want you to grab hold of my t-shirt so I can pull you up!" the boy, who was called Freddie said and he lowed his t-shirt and hoodie down towards her, he'd tied them together to make a rope thing. Sam was hesitant though, what if she grabbed it and then he left go.
"Sam grab hold okay, I promise im not going to let go for anything. We need to get you back to land or you'll fall to your death. Just trust me, if I drop you I'll jump of the bridge myself." He told her sincerely. Sam thought, she could stay hanging here and eventually fall, or she could try grab this make shift rope, sure she could fall to her death that way as well, but she had 50% chance of survival. He sounded sincere enough, Sam doubted he'd jump of the bridge if he dropped her but it was reassuring when he said that. Cautiously she took her left hand of the piece of wood she was hanging from and grabbed the shirt. He started saying stuff like good, and just one more hand. She looked down, it was a big drop. She looked back up, she could see this Freddie's eyes now, there were brown and were looking directly at them, as soon as she meet his eyes she knew she could trust him. She very slowly lifted her right hand off and grabbed the shirt. The same second she grabbed his shirt he began to pull; she grew scared and closed her eyes. She really didn't want to fall to the her death, it seemed like the worst death possible. she could feel herself still rising and suddenly she felt arms wrap under her arms and she opened her eyes. He had grabbed onto her, leaving go of the shirt so she was completely in his arms, he pulled her up and onto the beat up bridge. Sam sighed with relief; this stranger had saved her life. He kept a tight hold of her as the two cautiously made there way back off the bridge, making sure neither one stood on yet another piece of loose wood.
She was back on land, she just collapsed and laid down on the grass. She was still holding tightly onto Freddie's shirt rope. Her body wasn't so numb anymore and the goose pimples where covering her body. Suddenly Freddie spoke.
"My car's about 5 minutes away, I can take you home or to get you checked out at a hospital. I also have a phone if you want to call a parent or friend to come and get you instead if you don't feel comfortable getting in a car with a stranger" Freddie exclaimed, Sam didn't know what to do. She was in a state of shock. She'd never met him in her life, he'd just risked his own life to save her's; he was now offering her a lift. Why was he so bloody kind? Sam wouldn't do this for someone and neither would many, they'd phone someone like an ambulance, police or fire men to come save them from a falling bridge.
"What time is?" she asked, she expected Freddie to be taken back by this question when it had nothing to do with what he'd said. But he wasn't he just gave her the answer. It was only a few hours after curfew, she thought it had been much longer but that was probably because she was hanging on for her life.
"Would you possibly be able to take me to my friends, I'd much rather confront her than my mom; but could I also quickly borrow your phone just to ring her in case she's worried that I broke curfew?" she asked, she felt cheeky. Normally she wouldn't hesitate to ask people for things, but he'd saved her life and now she wanted more from him. That was cheeky.
"Here you go!" he handed her his phone; it was the newest pear phone and Sam guessed he came from a family with money; all she had was a stupid red flip phone, or she had had that phone. No it was smashed off a rock. She thanked him, and began to dial her home number. It was hard because her hands were still really numb. She pressed call and pressed the phone against her ear.
"Hello." A panicked version of her mom answered.
"Mom it's me Sam!" Sam answered quietly waiting for the abuse that was coming.
"WHERE THE HELL IS YOU SAMANTHA PUCKETT, YOU'RE EXACTLY 3 HOURS LATE HOME. I'VE BEEN WORRIED SICK, I PHONED CARLY AND SHE SAID YOU HAD GOEN HOME AGES AGO. I WAS GOING TO PHONE BRAD BUT I DON'T HAVE HIS NUMBER. I WAS ABOUT A HOUR AWAY FROM PHONING THE POLICE." She shouted and Sam winced at her moms tone.
"Mom I'm sorry, I met up with Brad, he decided to take me to a movie because he had been busy all day, I must have left my phone at Carls so I couldn't phone you and Brad couldn't get signal in the movie theatre; and then the bloody movie screen wasn't working so we had to wait for it to get fixed. I'm really sorry I didn't phone earlier, I didn't think. I'm going to go sleep at Carly's as well." I added
"SAMANTHA PUCKETT YOU STOP LYING TO ME RIGHT NOW AND TELL ME THE TRUTH." Her mom shouted and Sam winced again, she was going to have to tell her the truth she knew it.
"Okay mom, something seriously bad happened tonight, im not on my phone so I'm going to have to go because im wasting his credit. But meet me at Carly's place and I'll tell you both." Sam said and the other line went dead. Sam hung up and handed the phone back to Freddie.
"Where'd you need to go?" he asked.
"Bushwell Plaza please." Sam asked, standing up from the warm patch of grass.
"Really?" he asked suddenly surprised.
"Yeah why?" she asked him curious.
"That's where I live, well where my mom lives!" he told her and she was surprised by this information. "You should put the hoodie on, it's cold out and you most be freezing since you've been hanging there with the wind and rain for hours." He finished, handed over his hoodie. it was white with blue, navy and a deep purple coloured stripes on the chest. She was hesitant but he insisted and she finally caved. She pulled it over her head and immediately felt herself warm up; it was nice and thick. It was slightly big for her so it warmed her nicely. She followed him to his car, it was a brand new car and she was impressed, he most only been 16 or 17 so he can't have had his licence long and his parents trusted him with a car like this.
The car journey home was quiet, neither knowing what to say to the other. It wasn't a long journey and they arrived at the apartment building within 15 minutes. They both stepped out of the car and into the apartment block. Carly, Spencer and her mom were all waiting in the lobby and when she entered they had looks of concern on there faces. They all raced towards her, Freddie smiled a goodbye before heading towards the stair.
"Freddie wait, your hoodie." Sam said wiggling away from the group.
"Keep it Sam , you must still be freezing. I'll see you around." He said with a smile and Sam before she knew what she was doing wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, it took a second before he hugged her back. She whispered in his ear.
"Thanks for saving my life, I owe you sometime!" with that she left go, they smiled at each other before he continued upstairs and Sam turned to her family and friends.
A/N: I know I probably shouldn't have started this with me doing reunion, but I got this idea off a youtube video and the final destination 5 trailer. Anyway. I don't know weather to continue this or make it a one shot. I might make it a two shot; it depends.
Oh and the hoodie Freddie gives Sam is the hoodie Freddie wears in iBelieve in Bigfoot when he's talking to Sam by her locker. I really liked that hoodie (and seddie moment) so I used it in this chapter.
And btw for anyone who's confused, Freddie isn't suppose to know Sam before now. He isn't suppose to attend Ridgeway because he lives with his dad and attends some other school in Seattle, Carly suppose to vaguly know him from when he visits his mom since she still lives across from Carly and Spencer.
Anyway please review, it makes me smile