Samantha Mercer

Chapter 1: When An Uncle Calls

"About time summer had arrived." Sam sighed in relief. "Fucking teachers and homework are nothing but a pain in the ass."

She looked at the clock by the recliner. Four o'clock. Her dad would be coming home pretty soon from work. She got up and headed up to her room, hopped on my bed and grabbed her MP3. She stuck her headphones in her ears and turned up the music, hoping to think of something to do to keep from getting bored. Unfortunately, so much thinking bored Jamie out so much she ended up falling asleep.

Sam was six years old again in her dreams and she was playing with her uncles Angel, Jerry and Jack Mercer while her grandmother was in the kitchen making lunch.

"Do we really have to play Twister again, youngblood?" Angel whined. "I think I broke my damn back."

"Yes, we do. My daddy told you guys to keep me busy while he was at work. If you don't play with me I'll tell him you guys were paying no attention to me.

Jerry smirked. "You do that and I'm not going to give you the present I got for you. Uncle Jack and me got it for you as soon as we found out you were coming today."he said. "Ain't that right, bro?"

"It's true, Sam. If that's what your gonna tell your daddy then I guess you're not going to be able to see it." Jack said.

Of course Sam took the threat she made back. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! Can I see it, please?"

"You promise you're not going to tell your daddy?" Angel interrogated Sam.

"Yes!" Sam squealed. "Let me see."

All of her uncles smiled as they called for Evelyn, Sam's grandmother. Evelyn came to the living room holding a box, smiling at her granddaughter while she brought it. Sam ran over to the box and opened it without hesitating. Inside the box was camouflage-styled guitar. Sam giggled with delight as she hugged her uncles and grandmother and Bobby walked through the door to see his daughter jumping up and down happily.

" I thought you wanted to learn to how to play after seeing me sing and play guitar all the time." Jack said.

"Sam, baby, what do you say to your uncles and grandma?" Bobby asked Jamie, who obviously knew about the whole thing, as her picked her up.

"Thank you, guys. And you, too, Grandma." Jamie cried as she jumped out of her dad's arms and into Evelyn's. Out of al the people she had in her family, Jamie loved her grandmother the most because of what Bobby had told her about Evelyn saving her dad and her uncle from a bad life. Evelyn smiled down at the small child wrapping her in her arms as the dream began to end.

Sam woke up from her nap with a picture of Evelyn in her mind. She missed how they would spend their time together while Bobby was at work in her childhood. Now, that Sam was going to be seventeen in a few days, she couldn't wait to see her grandmother to celebrate Thanksgiving and have her birthday party at her house.

She looked at the clock on her desk. It was already eleven thirty. She ran downstairs to scrounge around for something to eat. As soon as she reached the first floor, she found Bobby sitting on the couch talking on the phone.

"What the fuck do you mean she's gone, Jerry?" Bobby asked his brother angrily through the phone.

Sam slowly strode towards her dad. "Dad? What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Hold on, baby girl." Bobby replied. "Uncle Jerry just needs to talk to me about something."

"Okay."

Sam left him alone to take his phone call and headed for the kitchen to grab some water. She filled up the cup and drank it down in no time flat. She heard a click from the living room which told her that Bobby had finished talking to Jerry. She walked to the living room and saw Bobby sitting in the recliner with his face buried in his hands.

"Dad? What happened? What did Uncle Jerry say? Is everything okay?" Sam asked, her voice full of concern for Bobby.

Bobby stood up from the recliner. "Sammy, baby, it's your grandma."

"Dad. . ."

"Let me get this off my chest first, Sam." He exhaled slowly. "Your grandma was out shopping for the food for thanksgiving dinner. While she was there these two shitheads came by and held up the store then shot the cashier. The cops tried to get there in time but they were too late."

"Daddy, your starting to scare me. What does that all have to do with Grandma?"

"The cops found her in the store right after the fuckers who robbed the place left the place." Tears rolled down Bobby's cheek as he looked at Sam. "Your grandma is gone."

Samantha gasped as her legs gave away. Bobby caught his daughter and wrapped her in his arms rocking her back and forth. Sam let all her sorrows out as she mourned for Evelyn, the greatest woman in the world who had given her the love no woman had ever given her before. She didn't want to accept that Evelyn was gone.