Chapter 2

No reviews Oh well, I like the idea I have for this story, so I'll keep up with it anyway, although reviews make it so much more fun.

Sam rested her head on her arm for a few minutes before sitting back up. She moved back against the shower. Spencer leaned against the wall adjacent to her, keeping his eyes cautiously on Sam the whole time.

Finally, Sam opened her eyes and said, "Can I use your shower?"

Spencer ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I really think you should go to the hospital."

She shook her head, "I can't, okay? They'll ask too many questions."

"That's good though. Sam you didn't do anything wrong."

"No. You don't get it!" She yelled before dropping her head back against the shower door behind her. She took a deep breath. "The guy that I was on a date with," she paused, rubbing her forehead. Then she cleared her throat. "It was Aidan Forest."

"Who?"

"Jackson Forest's son."

"Senator Jackson Forest?" Spencer suddenly felt like he might vomit next. Sam nodded and he looked at her sadly. How did things get so messed up? "Well I don't care who he was, that doesn't give him the right – "

"I know. But still," she looked hopelessly into his eyes. "They'll turn it around, I know they will. With my record and his family's connections, I'm dead."

"Sam,"

"I killed him, Spencer!" Sam sat up on her knees and unzipped her jacket, pulling it off roughly. "You see this?" Spencer looked at her in shock. Her shirt was ripped and seemed to be soaked in blood. If he hadn't already heard what happened, he would have thought she'd been shot in the stomach and was bleeding to death in front of him.

"Oh my God, Sam…"

She got to her feet and he stood up too. "Look, can I use your shower, or should I go use Carly's?"

"No, no of course you can use mine." Spencer opened the linen closet and pulled out some clean towels and wash rags. "I'll get you some clothes from Carly's room. She keeps some here for when she visits."

Sam nodded and watched as Spencer left. She was alone again. She walked to the shower and turned it on. She thought about looking at herself in the mirror but decided she didn't need that image to haunt her too, so she just began to undress.

Spencer ran to Carly's room, thinking harder than he ever had in his life. What are we going to do? He had no idea but he was sure of one thing – they were in this together. He loved Sam. In fact, she was on a short list of people he considered true friends, and a member of his immediate family. He practically raised Sam along with Carly. He'd watched this tough little girl grow into one of the strongest women he'd ever known. He respected her and it was killing him to know that some little prick had dared to disrespect her in any way.

Spencer wanted to punch the wall. He sat down on Carly's bed to gather his thoughts. It was all just too much. This shouldn't have happened!

"Oh Sam," he said out loud. "I'm so sorry."

He found a pair of pink sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt and then headed back to the bathroom. He knocked lightly and called, "I'm just going to set these clothes inside the door." He turned the knob and opened the door just a crack, careful not to look in.

"Spencer," she called. "Can you help me?"

Spencer opened the door and saw Sam standing there with one arm hanging out of her mutilated shirt. "You okay?" he asked.

"I can't lift my arm enough to take my shirt off. Can you get some scissors? It's gotta be trashed anyway."

He nodded and ran into his room, finding a pair in his desk drawer. when he returned to the bathroom, she turned around, facing away from him. "Can you just cut it up that back for me, and then ya know, get out?"

Spencer laughed a little and gently said, "Sure thing."

He cut the material in a mostly straight quick line up the center of her back, eager to finish and give her some privacy. It was good that she trusted him, but the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable in any way.

As soon as he'd cut the collar open, he began to leave when the color red caught his eye. He gasped as he saw that her back was completely torn with scrapes, some of which had clearly bled. "Your back!" he cried out, startling her a little.

She turned to face him, holding the remaining material of her shirt against her chest. "When.. when Aidan caught me, he dragged me by my hair into the woods a little ways. I guess my back got pretty scratched up." She looked down.

Spencer's eyes filled with tears and, as if following an instinct, he reached out to her, pulling her against his chest in a secure, yet careful, hug. "Sweet baby," he whispered sadly into her hair before kissing the top of her head. "I'll never let anything hurt you again. I promise."

Sam wrapped her good arm around him and rubbed his back. She felt like she was soothing him. And that actually felt good. "Thank you, Spencer. For everything."

He wiped his tears away, trying to look like he was holding it together. "You got it kid." He sniffed and then smiled at her and touched her face for a moment. "Alright, I'm outta here. But if you need me, just yell. I'll be right outside the door, okay?"

She nodded, smiling back at him. After he shut the door behind him, Sam removed the rest of her clothes and stepped slowly into the shower. The hot water stung her raw skin but she welcomed the heat. She pressed her face against the stream, wishing it would break her open and flow through her veins. She closed her eyes and images poured into her mind as rapid and copious as each drop of water pelting her body.

The sound of his footsteps behind her. The pain of his grip on her hair. The stench of his breath on her neck. The color of his blood splattered on her skin...

She opened her eyes and the small shower stall began to spin around her. Then the air was gone. She gulped and wheezed for a breath, but none came. Sam lowered her body to the tile floor. She tried to call out for Spencer but the pressure against her chest made it too hard to scream. She was only able to release a small cry from her now closing throat. The room got darker as she felt herself fading. The last thing she remembered was a faint sound coming from far away.

"Sam? Sam!"