Title: Your Promise
Author: solitary echo
Summary: Songfic to a Mest song. Sandy Foster is Reva's son, and Beth and Philip have another daughter from a long time ago, so Lizzie has an older sister. Sandy finds romance in Springfield, Marah comes to grips with the fact that Sandy is her brother and Marah, Shayne and Sandy become closer. Features Marah/Tony, Tammy/Nico, Lizzie/Joey, Marina/Shayne, but is based upon Sandy/Original Character.
Disclaimer: I only own Allie Spaulding. All other characters belong to CBS and Procter and Gamble.
Author's Note: I edited a couple things. I changed the main female character's name to Allie, and made her a Spaulding instead of a Cooper. I also realized that I had the wrong song in the title, so I changed it.
Prelude: Return to Self-Loathing
Marah couldn't believe that all this time, Sandy was her half-brother. Every time she'd spoken to him, every time she'd entrusted herself to him...and he'd known all along that they were related. But he'd never said a word. She would have normally been overjoyed to find that there was another sibling around for her to get to know, and become close to. But the fact that this sibling had known all along that he was her brother, and not said even a word to her--not even an inkling to let her know that they were related? No. Marah wouldn't take that sitting down. She watched as he sat across the table at Company, beside her mother, awaiting her reaction. "Excuse me, Sandy? Did you just say...you're my brother?"
Sandy was enthralled, but Marah's reaction brought him straight back to Earth. "I...yeah, I am. But I didn't think you'd...I...um..." his uncontrollable nervousness kicked in as he looked Marah in the eye, then turned to Reva, who gave him a gentle look, urging him to continue. "I just didn't know if you'd accept me the same way, knowing we were related and all. Marah..." he bit his lower lip and sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner..." he frowned. "I just..."
Marah shook her head and shushed Sandy. "You know...you could have told me. And mom...how can you accept this? He just wants to waltz into the family and become your third child? Shayne needs you too much right now for you to have to take care of someone else!" she screeched, standing up and looking at Reva with an angry look in her eye.
Reva looked from Sandy to Marah and sighed. "Marah, Shayne already talked to Sandy. Or--Sandy talked to Shayne and he did his best to reply. Shayne seemed happy..." she explained, not wanting to get in too deep with Marah at that moment. "Please, let's just talk about this..."
Marah shook her head and looked from Reva to Sandy. "I can't believe you didn't tell me..." she shook her head and rushed outside, not even waiting for a reply from Sandy or Reva, and just leaving.
Sandy blinked and looked to Reva. "Well...that didn't go over well at all. Maybe I should try to talk to her again tomorrow or something?" he asked with a slight frown. "I mean...I probably just sprung this on her a little too quickly..."
Reva nodded and shrugged, smiling at her newfound son. "Trust me, Sandy. Marah will come around. I can talk to her, if you'd like. Maybe give her a couple of days to cool down..."
Sandy nodded and frowned. "I guess. Thanks. But...I have to get going. I have a psychology class in a few minutes and I don't want to be late or anything..." he smiled at Reva and stood up to leave. "I'll give you a call later tonight, okay?" he wrapped his arms around his mother in a slight hug, then rushed out the door. That confrontation went the exact opposite of what he'd hoped. He wanted to get a good start with his family, but it wasn't happening that way, as he'd figured out. He shook his head and sighed. Finding out that he was related to the Lewis' wasn't at all what he expected it to be. A sigh escaped his lips as he started his car and headed toward Springfield University.
~~
Allie Spaulding sighed deeply. Upon finding out that she was his and Beth Raines' daughter, Philip Spaulding had asked her to move to Springfield from sunny Florida with her adoptive mom and dad Ellen and Carl Ellis, and she wasn't even close to being used to the bitter cold yet. Winter up north was harsh and uncomfortable, and the only good things she'd seen in Springfield as of yet were her best friends, Marah Lewis and Marina Cooper. She was taking classes at Springfield University, and she hated them all except for her psychology course. She loved psychology and learning about the inner machinations of people's minds. She only wished that she'd had the opportunity sooner, when she was being abused and talked down to by her drunkard step father.
Getting to Springfield was no picnic for Allie, either. She came to find that her younger sister, Lizzie Spaulding, was a basket case...she'd sabotaged all the people's lives who'd tried to get close to someone in her family. God only knew when Allie's time was going to come. She shook her head and sighed. Not only was Lizzie psycho, but her family was too dense to even see that it was so. Her mother was so wrapped up in her own affairs that Lizzie was the farthest thing from her mind. Her father was too busy getting every other woman in town knocked up to even care about Lizzie, and her grandfather, Alan and aunt Alexandra thought Lizzie was an angel. Thank God she had Marah and Marina, because without them, she would have already left Springfield, and been back in Florida, on her own...away from the Ellis'.
Marah was supposed to be in that class with her, but she was taking time off from school to take care of her brother and Marina's boyfriend, Shayne Lewis, who had just been paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident. Allie's sympathy was unparalleled, and she knew that they'd spend plenty of time together once things got straightened out with Shayne. She glanced around the class, wondering where everyone else was. She knew that she was mildly early, but the fact that she was the only person in the class bothered her a bit. As soon as she thought that, though, an older man entered the room, presumably the professor. She took a seat as soon as he entered, and after about five minutes, the room was filled.
She looked over to the seat beside her and smiled. A guy, not much older than she was, with black hair and blue eyes smiled back over at her, although he looked far from happy, aside from the smile. She immediately looked back to the professor, though, as he began the lesson. She looked at the guy sitting beside her out of the corner of her eye, though. He was gorgeous! She peeled her eyes from him and looked up to the front of the class, a smile on her face now. Maybe after class, they could talk. Besides, her grandpa, Alan Spaulding was paying to put her through psych classes, and she didn't want him to flip when she flunked out of them because she was staring at some guy whose name she didn't even know. Wouldn't she love seeing his face then...all scrunched up and veiny.
~~
Sandy watched as she paid close attention to the professor. She was pretty! She had long, light brown hair, bright brown eyes and a killer smile. Her deeply embedded tan shone bright under the florescent light in the room. He wondered who she was--and how he could have never seen her before. He tore his eyes away from her and paid attention to what the professor was saying. It was difficult, though, when all he wanted to do was find out her name. After thinking about her for a couple more seconds, his mind drew back to Marah, and the fact that she'd rejected him as a brother. Shayne had accepted him, but Marah--the one he'd expected acceptance from, had kicked him to the curb. Even Josh had accepted him, although he wasn't even his son.
He held back a sigh and closed his eyes. Concentration was futile at that point, and he knew it. Life as Sandy Foster knew it was tearing apart at the seams...deforming into something new before his eyes. Truthfully, he wasn't sure he was ready for the change. He was used to having nothing but his mole puppet. Then Marah came along, but he'd more than realized that she was no longer a presence in his life, whether it be sisterly or friendly. A very low-pitched sigh escaped his lips. At least now he had a mother, someone he could tell at least a part of his life story to. Never, though, would Reva Lewis know about how Michael Foster abused him, or how he never had any friends. The only person he'd ever told that to was Marah. And now she was gone.
It was becoming abundantly clear to Sandy that he was never supposed to tell anyone anything. He was forever to remain a secret, and if anyone ever found out about him, they would be taken from him, whether it be by choice or by force. He was destined to be a loner...
Looking for answers to all the questions no one knows
Bleeded and begged, asked you for nothing but something showed
Your uneasy eyes the sweat on your forehead, everyone's pointing your nervous out.
You're restless and weak, time to start over. There's nothing to keep them from knowing this now.
Nothing to keep them from knowing this now.
Promises, shattered pieces, memories of nothing. Cowardly you'll face this all alone.
You're finding your truths are nothing but lies still no one knows.
You see yourself run, but I see you crawling to face the truth.
Your hesitant now, your heart must be burning, ripping and tearing, your insides are numb.
Restless and weak, time to start over, and nothing can keep them from emptiness now.
Nothing can keep them from emptiness now.
Promises, shattered pieces, memories of nothing. Cowardly you'll face this all alone.
You know how this will end, cause the pain inside your head is cutting yourself thin.
Nothing to do now when you're buried underground. Your promise haunts you now.
Promises, shattered pieces, memories of nothing. Cowardly you'll face this all alone.