Chapter One - Go Sam, and please...
"I don't understand…..Sam stop for a minute, please!"
Mercedes finally stopped as they reached the door, Sams hand was on the doorknob and his back was to her. She was so flustered and confused, that for a moment she had no idea what to say. Then all of his words hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Wait, so this is how it's ending? You're just going to tell me it's over and leave?"
Sam didn't move, didn't say a word, his shoulders were slumped and his head hung low.
"Answer me…." she began but was stopped when he opened the door and continued out of the front door and onto her lawn. She of course followed him out, angrier now than she was before. "Stop right now Sam Evans! You don't get to walk away from me!"
"What do you want me to tell you Mercedes?" He finally yelled, spinning on his heel and facing her. His eyes were glassy and blooshot, his cheeks red and his blonde hair standing on end. "I'm leaving in 12 hours, my parents are moving us to my grandparents till we can get our own place! I have no choice and I'm not going to make you wait for me!"
"That's not your damn choice, it's mine!" Mercedes shouted, too angry for tears at this moment. "We can talk on the phone, text, we can even write letters for christ sakes!"
"That's not fair to either of us!"
"What do you mean?"
"Mercedes, long distance relationships don't work and I don't want to hurt you," he said, moving closer to her and reaching her in just two strides, holding her face in his hands. "I NEVER want to hurt you."
"You won't hurt me Sammy, you won't." She replied in a whisper, placing her hands behind his neck and pulling his face closer to hers. "We can do this, we're not like other people, we can make this work."
"No, Merce, we can't." He whispered back, the tears in his eyes finally threatening to spill over.
"Why is it so easy for you to do this?" She yelled, shoving him away.
"It's not! Can you not see that?"
"No! What I see is you trying to run away as fast as you can!"
"Mercedes, I have never loved anyone the way that I love you," Sam snapped, trying to bring her into a hug, but watching her dodge his grasp. "I don't know how to do this!"
"You seem to be doing just fine!" She cried, tears leaking from her bright brown eyes now.
"Don't say that."
"Just leave Sam, you're practically itching to." Mercedes hissed, backing away from him, shaking her head.
"No, no, this is all wrong!"
"Just go!" She screamed, crossing her arms across her chest, trying to hide her quivering body.
"Mercedes," he said, trying to catch hold of her again. She responded with reaching up and slapping him across the face.
"Go Sam, and Please…" She sobbed, backing to her door and trying to hide the fear and the pain in her face, trying to be strong. "Don't come back." with this, she turned, crossed the threshold and slammed the door.
Another day was slowly ticking by as Mercedes chewed on the end of her pen. Class had just begun and already she wanted to leave, which wouldn't be that big of a deal seeing as she had straight A's in all of her classes. Shane kept texting her and though they were bringing a smile to her face, after a while it just became a distraction. Granted she caught herself thinking that's why she began dating him, a distraction, but she would quickly dismiss that idea and return his text with a smiley face. The teacher began to drone on about something that Mercedes didn't hear and didn't acknowledge, not until their seemed to be a hushed conversation circling the room. She looked up and for a moment she thought she might've drifted off to sleep. There at the front of the class was the blonde she so often saw in her dreams, the one that had left her broken and bruised. When she realized it wasn't a dream, she stopped breathing and after a couple of seconds began to gasp for air.
"Mercedes?" the teacher called, a very worried expression painting his face. The blonde was now looking dead at her, his full lips forming words she couldn't read, though it kind of looked like he was saying her name. One moment she was staring at him and then the next everything went black.
The next time Mercedes opened her eyes, she was lying under bright flourescent lights and the room smelled like bandaids and menthol. Rolling over, she found she was in the clinic and went to pull aside the curtain when a noise behind her made her roll over. Sam was in the corner of the room, fast asleep in the uncomfortable school chair. Mercedes didn't say a thing, only stared wide-eyed at her ex boyfriend.
"He rushed you in here," The nurse said, pulling aside the curtain "said you had a panic attack."
Mercedes didn't say anything, just nodded and sat up. The nurse checked her forehead with the backside of her hand and then lifted her head to examine her pupils. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." she wheezed, coughing and then swallowing hard, trying to push the knot in her throat down.
"Well you can stay in here until first period is over and then you either have to go back to class, or you have to call your parents to come get you."
"that's fine, i'll go to class." Mercedes said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. The nurse nodded and looked behind her before exiting and shutting the curtain.
"Mercedes?"
Mercedes jumped and turned, Sam was awake and looking at her through tired eyes. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She replied sharply, standing from the bed and wobbling a bit. In an instant he was up and out of his chair, reaching out to grab her arm and steady her. Quickly she snatched her arm back held onto the bed for stability instead. "What are you doing here?"
"We moved back to Lima." Sam said, watching her carefully "My dads best friend is starting his own business and wanted my dad to be his partner."
Mercedes once again didn't respond and instead reached into her bag for her cell phone. Shane had text her 6 times, the last one a very worried one. She answered him back, telling him everything was okay and not to leave class for her.
"Mercedes, look at me."
She couldn't bring herself to follow his orders, the tremor is her hands overwhelming. He was really here, it wasn't a dream or a nightmare, it was Sam Evans in the flesh. She had often dreamed he would come back, against her wishes. She planned the whole conversation, her apology, and then their lips meeting in gentle but hasty way. She'd missed him everyday since he'd been gone but she still held on to that night so hard, the pain it had caused.
"Look at me." He demanded more forcefully this time, and yet still gentle. She turned and crossed her arms defiantly, though all she wanted to do was cross the room and dive into his embrace.
"What do you want Sam?"
"You." He replied honestly, making her heart skip a beat and her kness shake, the inside of her thighs tingling a bit.
"Don't do this Sam, not now." Mercedes replied, digging her nails into her arms so they would stop shaking. His phone buzzed and she watched him look at it and then place it back down on the table.
"It's Quinn, she wants to talk."
"I didn't ask."
"I wanted you to know."
"Well you can go, I'm not keeping you here." Mercedes said, biting the inside of her mouth to stop herself from imagining exactly he tasted.
"I know you're mad, and you can continue to be as mad as you want, but I'm not leaving and I will get you back."
"Sam.."
"No," He said, interrupting her "I will not let you go again, except it, don't except it, that's your choice."
"It's not going to happen….it can't" Mercedes said, the second part a little weaker than the first. He just shook his head and stood from his chair, taking a few steps in her direction.
"You don't have to be afraid Mercedes, I won't leave you again."
She was surprised she didn't groan out loud, the urge to close the distance between them almost unbearable. The apology was burning in her throat, along with those three important words that changed things between them only a few months ago.
"Mercedes, did you hear me? I'm not going anywhere."
"Sammy, I am so…"
"Mercedes."
Both of them turned to see Shane standing in the doorway, his worried expression slowly changing into one of confusion. Sam seemed to stiffen, and it was as if all the air in the room had been sucked out.
"Hi." She replied, looking down at the floor and then back up at him "I thought I said not to come."
"I was worried." He said, stepping into the room. "Who is this?"
"This is Sam, he went here last semester and was….."
"I know who he is." Shane replied
"Hi." Sam said dryly, offering his hand.
"Hey," Shane replied, taking his hand quickly and then dropping it. "Welcome back."
"Thank you." Sam said, smiling now "It should be a good semester."
The school bell rang and Mercedes knew the nurse would be coming in in a few minutes to kick them all out. She turned and picked up her bag, trying hard to avoid both of their eyes.
"Come on baby, we have to get to class." Shane said, reaching for her hand. She let him take it but she didn't squeeze back. Sam was now standing there with his hands in his pockets and a smile still on his face.
"It was nice to meet you Sam." Shane lied, pulling her to the door "Have a nice day."
"You too." Sam said, but he wasn't looking at him, he was looking at Mercedes. "I'm not going anywhere." he said again, loud enough for Shane to hear him to. Shane shot them both a look and then tugged Mercedes out of the clinic, leaving Sam there with an even bigger determination. He stepped out into the hall and watched them walk away, Mercedes occasionally throwing a glance back in his direction. His phone buzzed again and he opened it to see Quinns name again, he looked up and found her at her locker, smiling at him. He closed his phone, nodded, and walked in the opposite direction.