Chapter One
"Sammy… Wake up." Erik said gently.
"We're turning into our new home." Sam groaned, her eyes fluttering open to see an attractive looking two story house with white panels and a grey roof. It had a front porch and a beautiful lawn that looked like the previous owners had taken meticulous care of it. Sam was fairly sure that her family wouldn't be nearly so fastidious. She sighed, seeing the moving truck pull in after them.
She knew she needed to help bring stuff in and unpack. But she just wanted to sleep. She wanted to go to bed and never have to wake up again. She looked at the barely healed scars on her wrists and arms, crisscrossing up and down them. Proof that this had all happened. Proof that it wasn't just a nightmare. Proof that she wasn't alright, that she would never be alright. She was a freak. She was a perverted, disgusting abomination, and if anyone knew, they would hate her.
She could never tell. Nobody could ever know. Luke was sweet to tell her to just be herself. He was trying to help, but it wasn't in her best interest the last time to be herself. It had gotten her stuck in an endless loop of torture and abuse that ended with her stuck in that alleyway, being violated. She hated remembering the disgusting feeling of their hands all over her, of their mouths on her, of Saoirse's cruel laughter and her contemptuous face as she kicked Sam over and over again.
After fifteen minutes of just sitting in the car, Amanda got Sam's attention.
"Sammy… Would you like to come inside?" Amanda asked gently. Sam shook her head. She was tired, exhausted. She just wanted the pain to stop. She just wanted to be able to rest, to be released from everything that was troubling her.
For now though, maybe going for a walk would help her.
"Do you mind if I go for a walk?" Sam asked nervously. Amanda smiled.
"Okay, sweetie. Your dad and I can get the stuff out of the moving van with the movers. Do you want to choose which room will be yours? Simon said he doesn't mind if you get first choice."
"Does it matter which room is mine? It's just a place to sleep." Sam said cynically. Amanda sighed.
"Well… We have a floor plan. This is Erik's and my room, the Master Bedroom on the first floor." She said, pointing to a large bedroom with a bathroom attached.
"This is one bedroom, on the top floor, facing the backyard. And this is the other one, facing the front yard. It's your choice." Amanda said. Sam sighed.
"I guess I'll take the one facing the backyard." She said. Amanda nodded, kissing Sam lightly on the cheek and smiling at Sam.
"Okay… Well, enjoy your walk. If you get lost, this is our address. I'm sure someone in town can tell you how to get home." Sam nodded and walked off slowly, not really having a destination in mind. She took her guitar with her, just in case she felt a desire to play when she was out.
She walked past a building that looked like an arcade. She used to love video games. So she went in and saw a boy with stark white hair and an African American boy with thick, round glasses playing Dance Dance Revolution. It was obvious just at first glance that the white haired boy was much better. The African American kid wasn't bad, but the white haired boy was just killing it. She took a deep breath. They were much younger than her, but maybe she could try to be friendly with them.
They did look like they were about Simon's age, so she definitely had experience dealing with kids their age.
"Excuse me…" Sam said nervously, wringing her hands as she went over to them. They finished up the level. The white haired boy won by a mile.
"Yeah?" The white haired boy asked.
"Do you mind if I play the winner?" She asked. They smiled.
"Yeah! Sure! My name's Lincoln and this is Clyde. Together, we're…" Lincoln started. Then they spoke together, high fiving.
"Clincoln McCloud!" Sam couldn't help but giggle at this. They were adorable.
She was sure that Simon would get along great with these two. They were dorky, but cute at the same time. Clyde stepped down.
"Go on ahead. What's your name? I don't think we've met before."
"I just moved here from Ohio." Sam said. Lincoln nodded. He had noticed a slight accent on her. He racked his brain, trying to figure out where Ohio was.
"Ummm… Ohio, right…"
"I lived about five hours away from here… One state down. It's nice to meet you, Lincoln and Clyde." She said, stepping up on the dance floor and putting in a quarter, watching the screen flash as it gave directions and they made their selection for dances.
It started counting down and the two began dancing. Lincoln was good… Actually, Sam had always loved dancing, and Dance Dance was a game that she was really, really good at. She played against Simon, Simon's friends, her friends all the time and had gotten really skilled at it. In the end, Lincoln was left gaping. Sam had been behind in the beginning because she was a bit distracted. But she caught up quickly, leaving Lincoln behind.
"Good job, Lincoln… I had fun… You're about my brother's age. Right?" Sam asked. Lincoln shrugged.
"Well, how old is your brother?" He asked.
"Eight." Sam said.
"I'm nine. So pretty close. What about you? Well first of all, what's your name?" He asked.
"I'm Sam Sharp… I have a brother named Simon… Do you two have any brothers or sisters?"
"Well… My dads have a cat named Cleopawtra." Clyde said. Sam giggled at the pun. These two had a strange way about them of bringing out the fun in things. She had just wanted to take a walk to clear her head, but now she was actually having some fun. She knew as soon as she got home and was alone, she would be miserable again. But for now, this wasn't so bad.
"And you, Lincoln?"
"I have nine sisters. The oldest is fifteen and the youngest is two, and I'm pretty sure my mom is pregnant with the eleventh kid right now. Knowing my luck, it'll be another girl. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with girls. I just… Kind of wish I had a brother. My sister, Luna is the same age as you. Maybe you and she will be friends." Lincoln said.
Sam couldn't help but blush slightly. Lincoln was really sweet. He reminded her a lot of Simon. He was so genuine and kind and didn't seem like he had a mean bone in his body.
"I'm gonna keep walking around town." Sam said. "It was nice to meet you, Lincoln and Clyde."
"Hey, wait! Maybe Clyde and I can show you around!" Lincoln said.
"My mom won't be coming to pick me up until this evening.
"I'll call her now to tell her I'm showing a friend around town." Sam gasped. Friend? He probably wouldn't want to be friends with her if he knew what a sick, perverted degenerate she was. He was bound to find out eventually. But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the time until he did.
"Hey, Mom… There's this new girl in town… She looks like she's older than me… I don't know exactly how old she is! You always told me it's impolite to ask a lady her age.
"Her name is Sam Sharp… Yeah… Yeah… She just… Yeah, Clyde and I are gonna show her around town… Yeah… She just moved here from Ohio… I don't know where in Ohio. She said about five hours away… Uh huh… Yeah, we'll be done by 5… Of course I haven't met her parents, but she's a good dancer and Clyde seems to like her…" He said that last part as if it settled everything.
"Yeah, I've got my danger whistle on me." He turned to Sam and shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. Sam couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, we'll be careful. Okay, I love you too, Mom. Bye." Lincoln said. He sighed as he went back over to Sam.
"My mom is a bit overprotective. Are your Mom and Dad like that?"
"They are now. They didn't used to be. It's a long story and I don't really want to talk about it." Sam said, cutting the conversation short. Lincoln and Clyde went out and turned right.
"This is the best arcade in town. It's got good pizza too. We have a movie theater right over here, and a mall right down the road… I dunno what kind of things you like to buy… You look like you play guitar. Luna is big into guitar, drums, keyboard… Really any kind of rock instrument.
"She'd be a better person to ask where to get supplies, but there is a store at the mall for that if you're interested." Lincoln said.
"The park is right over here." Clyde said. "Great place for taking a loved one for a romantic picnic… Too bad that louse, Bobby got his claws in her!" Clyde growled.
"Alright, easy buddy." Lincoln calmed Clyde down a bit.
They took her through the town, then sat down on a bench for a while. Sam sighed, taking out her guitar and tuning it before playing California Girls for the boys, who sang along with it, drawing a small crowd, who applauded at the end. After about half an hour, they packed up and moved on. Sam had no idea where she was, though.
"Um… Do you think you could… Help me get home? I'm afraid I'm completely lost now." Sam laughed sheepishly. Lincoln smiled.
"Sure." He called up his mom again.
"Hey, Mom… We're at the bench on 3rd and Parker… Maybe you could pick Sam up as well? Yeah, she doesn't know how to get home from here… Yeah, fine… How old are you, Sam?"
"Thirteen."
"She's thirteen. Yeah, same grade as Luna. Okay. Thanks. See you soon. Bye." Lincoln said.
"She'll be here in about five minutes." Lincoln said. They talked for the five minutes, and Lincoln and Clyde learned a little bit about Columbus, Ohio before Rita showed up in Vanzilla.
"Hey, Mom!" Lincoln said. He climbed in the back to see Lucy, Lola, Lana and Lisa in various seats.
"Hello, Sam Sharp was your name, right?" Lincoln's mom asked.
"Yes, Ma'am." Sam said timidly. Rita smiled. She seemed like a nice girl.
"Where do you live, Sam?" Rita asked. Sam handed her a piece of paper with her address on it.
"Oh! Wow! This is barely ten minutes away from our house by foot. I'll have you home in a jiffy." Rita said. Sam smiled nervously.
"Thank you, Ms…"
"Loud. Rita Loud."
"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Loud." Sam said. "Lincoln tells me you have ten children." Sam said. Rita laughed sheepishly.
"Yes… We do have a big family… And there's another one on the way. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, but they should be here pretty soon. Lincoln is hoping for a boy, right, Linc?" Lincoln blushed.
"Oh, I just want them to be born healthy."
"Well… This is Lucy, the girl in black, writing in her diary. This is Lola, Lana, and Lisa.
"You're so pretty, Sam! You have hair like Rapunzel!" Lola said, her eyes sparkling with excitement at Sam's long, blonde hair. Sam smiled.
"Thank you. I actually need to get a haircut. I promised myself that I would donate it to Locks of Love if I… Well… If I… N-never mind." Sam muttered.
"I'm Lana!" Lana said in a raspy voice.
"You wanna meet Roachy?" She asked, pulling a cockroach out of her pocket and holding it out to Sam, who shrieked in shock and disgust and swatted the bug away.
"Roachy!" Lana protested, diving under the seat to find her pet.
"Lucy… Don't be rude. Say hello."
"Your hair is lovely, but your aura shows a darkness that has already begun to consume you. I recommend a good exorcist. I can make some recommendations, or I can come do the exorcism myself." Lucy said, her voice soft and melancholy. Sam shivered slightly.
"Lisa doesn't really talk yet. She's brilliant. She's already reading and comprehending high school material, so we know she understands what we say. But she hasn't quite gotten to speaking yet. She'll get there when she's ready." Lisa opened her mouth and some small sounds came out that sounded like half-formed words. They never quite turned into a sentence though.
"It's very nice to meet you all… Ooh… Looks like my Dad is waiting outside for me." Sam said, hissing in nervousness. She sighed as she got out of the car and said hi to her father. Rita looked at Erik. He was tall and extremely strong looking. The blonde mother pulled to the side of the road and got out of the car.
"Hello, Mr. Sharp… My name is Rita Loud… I'm sorry for bringing your daughter home so late. My… Nine year old son and his friend wanted to show Sam around the town." Rita said.
Erik smiled.
"Not at all. Thank your son for me for showing Sammy around, and thank you for bringing her home… We were starting to worry that she had gotten lost." Erik said, shaking Rita's hand politely. The two adults talked for a while. Lincoln knew that he could probably get out of the car and walk home before the two of them even finished talking.
Eventually, Rita finished talking and got back in the car, driving everyone home. It wasn't until they got there that Rita noticed Sam's guitar still sitting on the floor of Vanzilla. She sighed.
"Well… Luna can bring it to Sam on Monday, right? Didn't you say they were the same age?" Lincoln nodded, and the kids went inside, with Rita taking the guitar with her up to Luna's and Luan's room.