Summery; AU! Sam and Andy meet up in an unexpected way as fate throws them together. A friendship soon evolves between them, but everything they share isn't completely honest. A journey of self-discovery as two lives intertwine when destiny steps in to introduce them.
Chapter 1- A Step Away.
The smell of pine and oak radiated from everywhere around her. The warmth of the sun and the tickle of a breeze billowing through her hair made her eyes close as she drifted away from here.
Birds in the distance chirped away, unaffected by the harsh realities of life.
There were a few hushed voices nearby too, but she pushed them out of her mind and allowed the serenity here to swallow her whole.
Approaching footsteps drew her attention away from her happy place and pulled her back to the present; a place she'd been trying so hard to forget.
"You okay?" Dad was there, it was his footsteps that drew her away from where she wanted to be.
"Fine." She opened her eyes and turned to face him as she spoke.
"Ready?" He asked before cringing. They had been down this road many times in the past, and somehow this was always the point that she had used as an escape route. This was the halfway mark that was always used as a point of return.
But not this time.
She nodded and saw pride flash across his face as he smiled her way and she knew that this was the right decision.
Even if this decision had been made for her really, and she had agreed while only half lucid.
Dad swept his hand out in front of him towards the car and she took one last look at the trees that ran the side of the house before she stepped towards what was going to be hell on earth.
The drive felt like it took forever, miles and miles now between her and her childhood home.
But that was the point really, to get away.
To go where no-one knew her. Nobody would look at her and judge her for her chosen actions.
Surrounded by strangers had never really been something that she looked forward to, but now it seemed like it just might be for the best.
When they arrived at their destination Dad got out first and she hovered in her seat taking in the view.
It really was more than she had expected.
There were high-rise cobblestone walls with electric fencing on the top of it. Inside the walls were masses of well kept trees and flowering plants grouped together. They were separated by vast expanses of plush, green grass.
There were a few benches littering the lawn and a fountain off to the side. It created a complete euphoric atmosphere, even if it was unchartered territory.
Dad walked around the car and opened her door, his smile wavering for a split second as she took a deep breath and remained seated.
She took off her seat belt and climbed out, her insides starting to rattle with nerves as her knees turned to jelly.
This was it.
This was the only solution left to her problems.
Dad had retrieved her bags from the trunk of the car and set them down at her feet. He lingered for a moment before stepping closer and wrapping his arms around her. "I'm proud of you Baby-girl." He whispered into her ear.
She pulled away as she felt the warm tears prickle her eyes.
"Me too Dad." She said as she bent down to pick up her bags.
Her stitches pulled, and she winced but she didn't show it. Instead she plastered a grin onto her lips and gave Dad one final look before walking away.
She didn't look back as she ascended the cobblestone stairs that matched the outside walls.
Reaching the top she threw a glance over her shoulder to find her Dad still standing next to the car watching her walk away.
...
Sam took the room in.
It was white, everything was white.
It had no character, no warmth, no homeyness.
It was hard, chiseled in sterileness.
And for now, it was home.
He set his duffle bag down on the bed, the weight of it creasing the neatly made linen.
Oliver looked uncomfortable when Sam caught him watching him intently. He shifted around from foot to foot before dropping his gaze to the floor. Yup, he was uncomfortable and felt guilty.
"I get it." Sam said honestly.
And he did. He understood why this was happening and why Oliver had forced this to happen.
Besides, if Oliver hadn't then he'd probably end up in a gutter somewhere, a needle still stuck in his vein as his last breath fled his body.
"I'm sorry Sammy..." Oliver knew what he was sorry about and what he was apologizing for. Everything leading up to this point had been chaos. There had been a few times that heated words covered harsh lies, and actions that would be considered unforgivable had come in to play. But then, this was them; their friendship spanning across the boundaries that separated them from others on this earth.
Oliver shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. "Need anything?" He asked out of the blue even if he knew that Sam had everything he needed.
"Nope." Sam tried to hold back on his anger as memories flooded his mind, but it wasn't working out all that well.
"Sam," Oliver cleared his throat as he tried to find the right words but Sam cut him off "Don't."
Oliver nodded then left the room when a face appeared at the door.
It would be three weeks before he was allowed contact with the outside world again so maybe in that time he'd find some way of controlling his anger.
Once Oliver had left, the stranger stepped inside the room. "Left arm." He stated flatly like he too would rather be somewhere else than be here.
Sam tugged up his sleeve and held out his left arm. The stranger who's name tag read Jerry snapped the first plastic bracelet around his arm and secured it fairly tightly. It was white and matched the room, only his name was printed on it in square, black letters. A second followed, a yellow one listing his allergy to penicillin and the name of a Doctor he didn't know.
"I need to search you and your bags now." Jerry said and Sam didn't miss the irony in that.
Here he was to deal with his problems and here Jerry was now pulled into a task that Sam had repeated over and over again on others.
Oh how karma liked to kick you in the ass when you were down.
Sam held his arms up and Jerry patted him down. He then went to Sam's bag and timelessly went about unpacking all its contents onto the bed next to it.
Jerry packed a few items to the side and Sam watched as he finished his search and picked up the items.
"I'm sorry Officer, these can't stay." Jerry waved Sam's razor blades and aftershave up in the air.
Sam's brows furrowed and Jerry stated an explanation "The others..." Well it was a semi-explanation anyway.
"Right." Sam said.
Jerry left after that and Sam set out to pack his clothes away into the built in cupboard.
After that was done, he placed his empty duffle bag on the top shelf of the cupboard and then sat down on the bed and looked out the window.
There wasn't much to see, so his mind took the opportunity to run back in time as he started thinking about what exactly it was that landed him up in this much trouble in the first place.
...
Once inside Andy was warmly greeted and led to the left wing.
She noticed the copious amounts of camera's lining the hallways and the code keypad's on the doors. Security was obviously a high priority here.
They took the stairs up to the second floor and stopped at the third door on the right.
Since arriving Andy had yet to see another person besides the woman that met her at the door and was still with her.
She had introduced herself as Mrs Williams and had allowed her friendliness to invade Andy since she stepped through the door.
Opening the door that they were in front of, Mrs Williams nodded to Andy who stepped inside the room.
The room was empty, apart from a bed and built in cupboard.
There was a window on the left, the view from it obscured by what looked like wire mesh on the outside.
"This is just to start with." Mrs Williams said.
Andy nodded and walked across the small room to put her bags down on the floor beside the bed.
Mrs Williams asked Andy to pack everything out of her bags and onto the bed before she rummaged through the items.
She confiscated some perfume and Andy's razor blades, but managed a smile when she saw a photo and a sketch book with a few charcoal sticks.
"There are some nice places to draw out in the garden." Mrs Williams smiled again.
What was with that? Was it even normal to smile that much?
Mrs Williams dumped her confiscated possessions into a clear plastic bag with her name on it and held up two plastic bracelets.
She fastened the white one bearing her name on her wrist first, followed by a red one that had nothing on it. Mrs Williams was careful to secure the bracelets over her bandage, she obviously didn't want to hurt her freshly stitched scar.
She felt her eyes squint at the bracelet, but Mrs Williams patted her arm and reassured her that she was seeing correctly "I'm sorry, that ones for notification of a suicide watch."
She should have winced at the terminology, but she didn't. That was only because the terminology had become a familiar term used in her vocabulary and that of those closest to her.
She nodded in understanding, a feeling of embarrassment escaping her this time. It was usually the case; she'd become embarrassed when someone looked at her wrists, or mentioned food or a meal time. It was mostly shame that would surface, but eventually the embarrassment would bubble to the top.
"We'll start with your program tomorrow, until then unpack and get settled in. You'll get the guided tour before lunch." Mrs Williams smiled again and she cringed inwardly at the mention of the 'lunch' word.
"Don't worry, you'll get through it." Mrs Williams soothed and Andy felt some comfort in the warmth she heard resonating in the older woman's voice.
Mrs Williams made a slow retreat after that, leaving her to her own device as she unpacked the rest of the items in her bag into the very sturdy looking cupboard. The doors and shelving were constructed of thick wood, thicker than any she had ever seen.
Once everything was neatly packed away, her empty bag went up onto the top shelf on its own. Taking a deep breath, she took a seat on the edge of the small bed and let her mind wander into a time filled with tranquility and bliss.
...
Sam was not amused.
Not in the least bit.
The tremors took over before he remembered to expect them, the involuntary movements annoying and frustrating him more than anything else.
The fiery burn that claimed his insides more frequently in recent history returned with vengeance, the pain more intense than he remembered it being.
As if sensing his sudden change, an orderly appeared at his side as his feet failed to navigate the white walled hallway with the ease that should have been second nature.
"Easy there Buddy." The orderly said as he gave Sam the once over while Sam braced the wall with his hand and gave up hope of taking another step.
Persuading his mind to leave the present Sam focused his attention on the face in front of him, a crop of dark hair covering a face close in age to his own.
Sam knew that they guy who's name tag read Jones worked here because of well, the name tag and the dark blue golf shirt that he wore. Sam had seen a few of them worn by people milling the hallways as he took himself on a tour of his temporary new home. Jerry had the same shirt on too.
Sam nodded and let go of the wall, some normalcy returning to his body. Although his body still ached, he knew that he had to push past it and keep his head in the game, keep his mind set on keeping straight.
"So, I'm Paul," the stranger extended his hand towards Sam in greeting, a flash of a smile tracing its way over his still hesitant face. He was trying to get a read on Sam, and wasn't succeeding.
"Sam," he answered and moved to walk away, another searing burn pulling through his organs.
Sam took the strangers offer of taking a seat for a moment and sat down on the chairs that lined the hallway close to where they stood. Paul didn't actually tell Sam to sit down, but a small look in the direction of them was enough to communicate the words silently.
Sam looked up and down the hallway, no people to occupy his mind as the heat seared through him and reminded him that there was a long road ahead of him.
It wasn't the first time that he'd been down this road- only difference was that the last time had been easier.
*****Thank for reading!
So this is a tester chapter- let me know if you want more?
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Have an awesome day!
Jbj.