*Disclaimer I own nothing recognizable, all those rights go to Stephenie Meyer. As all Song Rights go to the listed artist. I only own any original characters.
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Chapter 2
In My Arms
Story books are full of fairy tales
Of kings and queens and the bluest skies
My heart is torn just in knowing
You'll someday see the truth from lies
In My Arms
By: Plumb
Sam sighed as he ran the chipped plastic comb through Bella's greasy hair, knowing if it wasn't for her poor diet and lack of cleanliness, there would be no way he'd be able to pull it through.
His eyes darted to meet the peridot ones that reflected back at him in the cracked mirror along their bedroom wall. It broke him seeing that bit of hope and sparkle in those normally dull eyes at what he knew was racing through her little mind. But they weren't like other kids, who were right now running down their hallway in excitement to what laid at the base of that sparkling tree. Keeping his eyes connected to hers, he gave her a sad half smile.
"Ammy done?"
"Yeah, I'm done," he said, stepping back to put the comb on the window ledge. The corner of his eye caught his little sister bouncing eagerly, yet wobbly on the balls of her toes, resulting in little squeaks from the rubber soles of her worn shoes on the badly worn floor.
"Got ants in your pants," he chuckled, taking in what joy he could as he took her little hand and began to lead her down the hall and down the steps. As they descended, Sam was glad that the only sounds in the house were from their footsteps; he was very grateful for their father's week long absence. Today wouldn't be much but at least they didn't have to spend it with degrading words and dodging liquor bottles. As they came to the base of the steps, Bella wiggled herself free from his grip and clumsily darted into the living room. Running his hand through his hair in frustration, he pushed forward causing him to become rooted at what was before him.
There on the mostly empty wooden living room floor at the base of a makeshift Christmas tree, which he had managed to make out of a trimmed and disregarded pine branch he found at a tree lot, sat a devastated little girl. Gone was the elated little girl from his memory who danced around the tree singing 'Ingle Bell' over and over a few days earlier.
"Anta no wuv us eater," she whispered, which caused Sam to break from his thoughts as he looked down at his sister. The sight of her caused his heart to clench and a nauseous feeling to enter his stomach at her words and at the shimmering wetness that replaced what was moments before joy in her eyes.
He knew Santa wasn't real; had known for so long but he never had the heart to tell his baby sister. She would always say maybe if she was just better the next year Santa and Daddy would love them. He knew neither were true, and maybe he should lay it out for her. She was six now, maybe he should stop taking her to the mall to see Santa; but he just couldn't. He couldn't take away seeing that happy smile and lightheartedness as he took Bella to see Santa. She would tell him in her broken words how much, 'Ooder she wa tis ear,' He could hear her broken words clear as day at the memory. But how much longer could he take seeing this; and when did he break even more of her innocence?
'Not today,' he told himself with resolve. He felt the warm stinging behind his eyes, quickly he turned making his way to the hall closet. He wouldn't let her see him cry; he had to be strong to show her there was nothing to fear. As he pulled the door open, he bent and retrieved what laid in the farthermost, darkest corner. Taking it in his hands and placing it behind his back, he approached the misty eyed girl, who now looked up at him again, causing his heart to once again clench. With one hand he smoothed back the hair from her small face, before resting his hand on her boney cheek "He might not, but I do." He smiled as he pulled the object from behind his back and handed it over. Quickly a smile graced her frail face as she took the gift that he had wrapped with discarded newspaper from the street and tying it with twine he found from the tree lot.
The paper gave away to black material; a squeal rang through the house as the joy came back; canceling out some of the dullness in her eyes. She held up her treasure, a way to big LA Kings jersey that surely would come to her knees. She wasted no time pulling it over her head.
"Ank ou, Ammy!" she squealed again as she began to dance around.
Sam couldn't help to smile brightly. It was by pure luck last month when he was at the clothing drive, he stumbled upon the find and knew this would make her Christmas. He chuckled as she clumsily mimicked skating around the almost bare living room. He never could understand why she loved the sport so much. Maybe it was because it was the first escape they engrossed themselves with when they moved here. He would take her down to the street corner to a store that always played local sports on the large TVS that sat in the glass windows. They would sit on the concrete out front and watch for hours, taking in the peace that it provided away from the hell that lurked at home. Sam knew the streets weren't exactly safe, but when having to pick a poison, the streets won every time. A beeping of his watch let him know it was time to head out.
"Come on, hockey star, we gotta go."
Bella turned to him, a smile on her face and nodded as she made her way to him; stopping in front of him to allow him to put a purple beanie on her head. Taking her hand, he led them out into the late afternoon air; it was one thing he didn't mind about living here. The weather wasn't overly cold as he remembered from where they use to live; saving him from having to worry terribly about coats.
It didn't take long until they came to the bustling entrance of the soup kitchen. Sam pulled Bella off to the side and waited; it didn't take long to see their opportunity and pulling quickly on her hand, he led her forward, blending in with a small family that made their way through the serving line. Making sure to stick close but not too close to make the family suspicious; it was always a risky game, but it was a game of chance they had to play. It had to look like they weren't here alone. One misstep could bring everything crashing down around them and the authorities would be called because they are unsupervised children.
As they came to the end of the line, Sam let go of Bella's hand as he picked up both trays. Bella quickly grabbed the back of his shirt as he led them behind the small family until he knew they were out of sight of the volunteers. He turned sharply and led them to an empty table in the back corner.
Sitting down the trays, Sam pulled the cracked plastic chair from the table before helping Bella into the seat; then pushed it close to the table in hopes that more food would go into her mouth than on her clothes. It was more than her walking that was an uncoordinated task for her; it seemed bringing an utensil to her mouth sometimes seemed like a chore to her. She was unable to get what she held in her hand to her mouth on the first try. After one accident where she lightly stabbed herself in the cheek with a fork, Sam quickly decided it was a spoon or fingers for her. Again he wasn't sure why she had trouble, but again what could he do?
Taking his place next to her, he took a look at what was dished out to them; he grimaced a bit. The meat seemed to be something that resembled wet cat food, along with watery mashed potatoes, a small helping of corn with a single slice of white bread. It was the holidays, and people couldn't even now seem to find it in their hearts to give to others. Wasn't that the meaning of this holiday?
Sam turned his gaze to see his sister eying the food happily, she never was picky or fussy and neither was Sam. He was grateful just to have something to eat, but that didn't stop the hope or wishing for a real good meal. Most of all today of all days. Sam handed her a spoon and watched her get to work on her tray. Seeing her okay with the all these hardships always made him smile and continue on without another complaint.
It didn't take long before the trays were empty and the stomach pains were gone.
"done, Ammy!" her cheery voice called out
Turning his attention to her, he couldn't help the chuckle and smile that came to him as he took in her appearance. Her jersey made it through stain free but the same couldn't be said for her food encrusted face. With a shake of his head, he pulled the napkins from her tray and his and began cleaning up her stained face. He couldn't help but wonder if she got more on her face then in her mouth.
As the last bit was wiped away, he stood, pulling out Bella's chair before helping her down. Once he knew she was as steady as she was going to get on her feet, he grabbed both trays and like before Bella took a hold of his shirt as he weaved through the tables, after dropping the trays off at the counter and taking her hand back in his, he led the way out.
Normally they would go home, but not today. Today he had a surprise for her. It was the least he could do because he knew this would be her last Christmas of innocence. He would burst her bubble next year and he needed to give her this Christmas magic she still believed in this one last time.
After a block of walking, they came to a stop; Bella's face was full of surprise as she looked up wide eyed. Pulling her forward through the door, up the steps where he dug into his pocket and pulled out some change he had been collecting off the streets for months. He deposited it into the box next to the driver before leading Bella to an open seat on the bus, allowing her to take the spot next to the window. She would be able to watch the world go by, but also Sam liked having himself between the aisle and his sister. He was an average eight year old in size but still he felt better having her along the wall, making her less easy of a target for anyone to try to grab.
Trips like this were a treat, mostly to Bella. They usually didn't last long; this one being no different. Their stop came quickly; as they departed the bus her eyes grew even wider at the large building that stood before them. Sam felt himself preen with pride at the look on her face. She didn't know where they were, just that it was busy and lit up for the holiday. With a quick glance at his watch, he knew they had to move. Again with a simple tug, he broke Bella's daze as she toddled next to him as he led her around the back.
Right on cue a door opened as some grumbling teens moaned about working. As they lit their cigarettes, their attention was taken away from the opened door; allowing both brother and sister to slip in and over to a staircase. Sam dropped to his knees and signaled Bella to hop onto his back. He knew it was going to be tiring but worth it as he started up the stairs. When they came to the last flight, he knelt down let her slide off and in his usual habit took her hand and led her forward. As they broke through the tunnel, he could hear Bella's gasp.
"Ockey," she shouted as she looked up in excitement at her big brother.
"Welcome to the Forum, Bella," he said as he pulled her too some abandoned seats.
They wouldn't get to watch much seeing as it was almost the end of the second period already. As they took their seats, Bella's eyes never left the skating figures, just like the smile never left her face. As the buzzer finally sounded, Sam pulled a reluctant Bella up.
"We'll come right back. Promise," he said with a soft smile as he led her into the halls that were filled with people.
As he brought her to a bathroom, a brawny man caught Sam's attention, "You do know this is the boys' room, don't you, Son."
Sam snorted "Yeah, I know but while waiting for snacks, she had to go and my Dad needed to stay in line. So I'm on baby sister duty," he said as if he was annoyed, throwing in an eye roll for good measure. Sometimes it really helped that Bella looked more like four then six. The man chuckled and let them pass at Sam's dramatics.
As they made their way inside, they took the handicap stall and did like they always did. Sam went first while Bella faced the corner and once he was done, he left her alone to do her business but stood outside the door.
When the lock clicked and the door opened, Sam helped Bella wash her hands before he followed suit. Knowing it almost seemed pointless with what he was about to do, he again took a hold of Bella's hand and walked out of the bathroom and into the now empty halls.
"One minute until puck drop," was announced.
Quickly he pulled Bella over to the trash can and peered down inside; he was surprised at what he found. He quickly pulled out a half-eaten bag of popcorn and hot dog along with two half full sodas. He handed the drinks to Bella before turning and making their way back to the abandoned seats from earlier. As they sat, the puck was dropped and Bella again fell into a daze at the dance below her. They spent the period snacking on their finds, cheering and booing with the crowd. For that twenty minutes,
Sam forgot about all the troubles, about where their next meal would come from and for once they weren't the poor kids. It felt like they were just like everyone else, a part of society that people cared about. But like all good things, they come to an end at some point and as the buzzer rang through the building, it also brought back reality onto him.
On cue, he took Bella's hand and tugged but was met with resistance. He could see the sadness in her eyes that the game was over. She didn't want to leave here, and to be honest, Sam didn't either but there wasn't a choice in the matter.
"We'll come back again. Promise," he smiled.
With a nod she gave up her fight and followed him out of the building. Sam paused before picking up a packet from the ground, causing him to smile; it was a program from tonight's game.
LA KINGS
VS
NY RANGERS
12/25/1976
He handed it to Bella who smiled at the players on the front. "Something to always remember tonight," he said softly as they continued on and got onto the bus.
Sam watched her briefly as she stared out the window. He meant what he said, he would bring her back but he didn't know when. He used up the last of his money to pay for their ride home, but he always kept his word. She knew that, and even if it took a few more years, he'd get her back here again. Maybe then they wouldn't have to sneak in, they'd be able to go in with tickets.
As the bus came to a stop, they exited and made their trek down the darkened streets and up the worn steps of their porch. Taking a deep breath, Sam placed Bella behind him in case when he opened the door a bottle was launched in their direction so he would take the hit and not her.
As he twisted the knob he took a deep breath and stepped inside, pausing at the entryway listening. When no bottles, no cursing, not even a drunken snore presented itself, he knew they were safe and still alone. Pulling Bella forward so he could close the door, he saw her rub her eyes tiredly. He smirked, they did have a long day.
Like every time steps were involved, he placed her in front of him and helped her up the steps and into their room. She quickly laid down onto their blanket bed still holding the program to her chest like a would be teddy bear. She fought her heavy eyes; Sam sat behind her and pulled her shoes from her feet and the beanie from her head, placing them neatly by the base of their blankets. Laying down beside her and pulling their blanket atop them, he pulled her tight to him and kissed her head.
"Wuv you, Sammy," her sleepy voice washed over him in shock.
Tears started to flood his eyes. "Love you too," he whispered
The tears slowly started to track down his face as he buried his head into her hair for a minute as she peacefully slept. He kissed her again. Today might not seem like much but it was a day that he would never forget. Such as the happiness of her gift, their full bellies, the bonus of snacks, and her exuberant expression as they watched the hockey game. What made this the best Christmas of his life so far wasn't anything of monetary value or the feeling of fitting in, it was the gift she just gave him by finally saying Sammy. He felt now maybe just maybe things would be okay. Maybe Bella wasn't wrong; maybe Santa was real and did love them after all because he just got what was atop his Christmas list.
There you have it,
I Hope you all enjoyed a Sam and Bella Christmas. While not glamorous I think Sam managed to keep up with Good Old St. Nick, with what little means he had available. Unfortunately this chapter is the calm before the storm that is about to hit.
Please review, and let me know what you think. No Flame Please.
