Author's Note: Okay, before yall start reading this new one-shot, I need to talk to all of you. I know I have gotten lazy on my two other stories and I am so sorry I haven't continued them yet. I thought I would have more time during the summer, but apparently I didn't. :( And now that school has started, i'm even more busy. I am so very sorry to say this, but I think it would be best if I put those two stories on hiatus right now. Although I am prone to just get an idea out of nowhere...so I really don't know when i'll post another chapter. But i'll probably be posting one-shots every now and then to keep yall Phantom Stallion readers interested.
So here is a sad 'grab your tissues' kind of one-shot. I hope yall enjoy this story which was inspired by the song "I'll Walk" by Bucky Covington. When I first heard it, I cried my eyes out and I recommend listening to it. It really is full of meaning. And remember...I love reviews... :)
We were 18, it was prom night.
We had our first big fight.
She said, "Pull this car over".
I did and then I told her, "I don't know what you are crying for".
I grabbed her hand, as she reached for the door.
Darkness. That's all the two best friends could see as they were driving back from her senior prom. It had started out great. They were dancing and laughing. He even gave her her first kiss and Jake and Sam had finally admitted to having feelings for the other. But it ended in disaster. He didn't even recall saying anything to make her so mad.
The silence in the blue jean colored truck was torture to both of them. But the one time he actually starts talking first is the one time she starts yelling at him to just stop. Just stop everything. Including the truck.
"Please just pull the truck over, Jake." she said in a hoarse tone from her yelling and crying. He shook his head no and said, "It's too dangerous. Just wait, we're almost back to River Bend."
"No! I don't want to sit here with you anymore. Just pull this truck over and let me go right now." she whispered.
He pulled over on the side of the dirt road. As her hand grabbed hold of the door handle, he grabbed for her hand, and asked, "Why are you crying, Samantha?"
She said, I'll walk.
Let go of my hand.
Right now I'm hurt, and you don't understand.
So just be quiet.
And later we will talk.
Just leave, don't worry.
I'll walk.
"I don't want to talk about it right now." answered Sam. "Just let me out. We'll talk about what happened later."
He stared at her...like he was unsure if he should let her go or not. She saw his hurt mustang eyes and explained.
"Look at me." He looked her in the eyes and she continued. "I'm hurt right now and you just don't understand, okay?"
He nodded and asked, "But how are you going to get home?"
"Don't worry. River Bend isn't that far. I'll walk." She opened the truck door, climbed out, and slammed it. He watched her walk off in her swaying floor length black dress. He knew she was mad, but he didn't feel comfortable with the idea of his Brat walking in the darkness alone.
It was a dark night, a black dress.
Driver never saw her, around the bend.
I never will forget the call, or driving to the hospital
when they said her legs still wouldn't move.
I cried, when I walked into her room.
Jake started the car and drove home in silence. No radio. No Sam.
He finally pulled into Three Ponies Ranch and decided to get some sleep. He would call Sam in the morning and they would talk it out. They always talked it out. When he made it to his room, he changed into his pyjamas and collapsed in the bed.
But it wasn't long until he was woken up by his mother. He looked up at her light skin and blonde hair before asking, "What time is it?"
"It's three in the morning. Jake...I just got a phone call."
He groaned. "So you woke me up to tell me you got a phone call?"
"Jacob, this is serious!" At the usage of his full name, he jumped. "That was Grace...you need to go to the hospital now."
His heart sank. What had happened to Sam?
"What happened, Mom?" She sighed and said, "I think it would be best if you heard it from Grace at the hospital."
He jumped out of his bed and ran to his truck, not bothering to close the front door. The drive to the hospital was endless.
What if Sam had gone on another midnight ride with Blackie and fallen off? What if...What if...
Finally he saw the bright neon white lights of the hospital sign in the distance. He parked in the first spot he saw and practically ran inside. He immediately saw Wyatt looking down at the pale tiled floor, Cody asleep on a chair next to him, and Grace and Brynna crying.
"What happened to Sam?" he asked. They all looked up at the sound of his voice. Grace went over to him and hugged him. And she told him what happened while whispering.
He swears his face was probably pale as a ghost. Sam had been hit by a car on the walk home.
He walked to her hospital room and when he opened the door, a small tear fell out of his eye. She was laying on the bed, her long auburn hair sprawled out and contrasting to the bright white pillows. Her eyes were closed and her face was white as a sheet. Except for an awful purple bruise on the right side of her face and the greyish bags underneath her eyes that stood out. She looked like a broken angel.
She said, I'll walk.
Please come and hold my hand.
Right now I'm hurt, and I don't understand.
Lets just be quiet, and later we can talk.
Please stay, don't worry.
I'll walk.
Jake sat down in the metal chair beside her bed and held her hand. He didn't care for how long. Long enough for her to wake up.
He sat there until he fell asleep. But he woke up when he felt his hand being tugged on by a soft, small hand. His eyes shot open at the sight of her awake. She was giving him a half smile and asked in the most confused tone, "What happened?"
He looked down and was about to tell her what happened when he started to cry again. For him...it was the first time he had truly cried in a long time. Her hand still held his and she pulled him toward her. He sat down on the edge of his bed and let Sam wipe away the tears.
"Why are you crying? You never cry."
He looked in her light brown eyes. They looked so confused. He took a deep breath and choked out, "Sam, you were hit by a car earlier. The doctors...well...they said you might not walk again."
He saw her eyes widen in shock and he watched her face form a small smile. He looked at her confused and asked, "Why are you smiling?"
"Because you said 'might' Jake. I...'might not walk again.'" she explained. "I believe in God. And faith and hope. There's a chance. Just pray with me, Jake. Just pray that i'll walk."
He watched as she bowed her head, closed her eyes, and started whispering to herself. Somewhere in her moment of silence, Jake joined her.
I held her hand through everything.
The weeks and months of therapy.
And I held her hand and asked her, to be my bride.
She's dreamed from a little girl, to have her daddy bring her down the aisle.
So from her wheelchair, she looks up to him and smiles.
That night he prayed. He prayed that she would walk again someday. And he also swore to himself that he would continue to stick to her like glue. He swore to help her through everything.
A year went by. She was still doing therapy and he was still helping her though the tough times. They had gotten so much closer and he was preparing to do something extreme tonight. Something he had been wanting to do since that first kiss on prom night. He was going to propose to his Brat.
When he finally popped the question that night, she cried. He asked her what was wrong and she answered, "Why would you want me? I'm in a wheelchair and i'm just not good enough for you."
His heart stopped again. He answered, "How could you think that? I love you. I don't care if you're in a wheelchair. You're perfect to me. You are and will always be my Samantha."
She nodded and whispered a soft 'yes'. He slipped the simple ring on her finger and he kissed his new fiance on the lips.
On the day of the wedding, Sam was sitting down in her wheelchair in a private room in the church. She looked up at her father and smiled nervously. Her heart was pounding and her breathing was ragged. She knew what she was going to do would hurt, but it would hurt worse if she didn't do what she had planned.
And says, I'll walk.
Please hold my hand.
I know that this will hurt, I know you understand.
Please daddy don't cry.
This is already hard.
Let's go, don't worry.
I'll walk.
Her dad wasn't comfortable with her outrageous idea. But she had refused to go down the aisle any other way and he had given in. They were waiting behind the closed doors and when the music started playing, she took a deep breath and her dad helped her out of the wheelchair. Her shoeless feet touched the blessed floors and her simple white dress fell to the ground.
When she stood all the way up, the tears started to come. It hurt so much. Her dad was crying to, but only because he was proud.
Her dad opened the doors for the both of them and the first thing she saw was Jake. This was his gift from her and she knew he had surprised not just him, but everyone. Everyone's jaws were dropped. Most people were crying, including the man standing at the alter. He was also smiling his signature smile.
Everyone couldn't believe it. She had had faith. She had prayed over and over again. And she had kept her promise to all of them.
She finally walked.