The Pain that Lies Within Chapter Four

Sam's POV

My heart began beating faster as I struggled to find a way out of this situation. Tony got on top of me and pinned me down. I had nowhere to go and I seemingly had no way out. I felt his hand move up my shirt and touch my bra.

I let a small cry escape from my lips as I felt him move to unhook it. He sat up and began taking off his own pants which actually gave me an idea. The only reason I managed to knock him down last time was because I hit him square in the family jewels.

So I waited and as he got close I struck him with my knee. He cursed loudly and fell to his side. I quickly hopped up and ran out of the room and out of the house just as I had done several hours earlier. I ran and ran until the house was no longer in sight.

I stopped at a bench to sit down and catch my breath. "What the hell am I going to do now?" I said softly to myself and I tried to think. My mind instantly floated to Freddie's offer. "Just call me if you need anything" He had said but did he mean it?

The relationship between her and Freddie had always been difficult to say the least but she hoped that they had evolved from bitter enemies to some sort of friendship. With nowhere else to go, Sam once again began the long walk to Bushwell Plaza. Sam arrived there shortly after and walked up to Freddie's apartment. She raised her hand to knock on the door but hesitated.

Thoughts of rejection flashed through her mind as she finally raised the courage to knock on the door. She waited a few seconds before hearing a click and the door opened.

"Sam?" Freddie said with slight surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here". Sam inwardly winced knowing that coming here was a bad idea. "You know what just forget it" Sam said and turned away.

"Sam, hold on" Freddie said and Sam reluctantly turned back towards him.

"Why are you here?" he said with concern in his eyes. Sam cursed to herself for not remembering to make up an excuse as to why she was there in the first place. She struggled to think of a plausible lie that would convince Freddie to let her stay there.

"Look Freddie this is hard to explain but basically I need a place to stay tonight" Sam gave Freddie an almost pleading look. Freddie's expression softened and he moved, letting Sam enter his apartment.

Sam began walking in but stopped when she was right next to Freddie. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this" Sam whispered so low that Freddie almost didn't hear it. Sam continued walking in and dived right onto the couch.

"So Fredweird where's that even crazier mother of yours?" Sam said making her way into the kitchen and grabbing some popcorn. Freddie smirked slightly at Sam.

"For your information my mom is at a seminar in Aberdeen about aggressive parenting" Freddie grinned. "She'll be gone for the rest of the week" he continued.

Sam was very pleased about that. The last thing she needed right now was Freddie's overprotective mother hounding her all weekend. "Alright Fredalupe I'm gonna go take a shower and no you may not watch" she added when she saw Freddie start to grin. Sam walked into the bathroom and began undressing. She stepped into the shower and let the warm water run all over her.

She grabbed the soap and began scrubbing furiously at her skin. Just the mere thought that Tony could've… she couldn't even finish the sentence it was too painful. She sat down in the shower and let the tears flow freely.

If she hadn't done what she did then Tony most certainly would've raped her which would've ruined her life. She could take the physical abuse to a certain degree but even the thought that he would've done what he almost did would've destroyed her. Sam finished washing herself and stepped out of the shower. "This is gonna be a long night" she said to herself and prepared herself to face Freddie.

After Sam departed for her shower, Freddie sat down on the couch and began thinking about Sam. Their friendship had changed a lot over the past year and they had certainly been closer than ever before but something was definitely off about Sam these last few days. It started with her sickness and then there were the bruises and now her showing up on his doorstep in the middle of the night.

"What the heck is going on with her?" Freddie said to himself and shook his head. For Sam to have shown up at his door, he knew she must have been desperate. But about what? Why would Sam need a place to stay tonight? Does Carly know?

That unanswered question suddenly gave Freddie an idea. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed a number he knew oh so well. It rang a few times before going to voicemail. Freddie sighed and decided to leave a message.

"Hey Carly, it's Freddie listen this is going to sound weird but do you know if anything is going on with Sam lately? She seems… different. Anyways call me back as soon as you get this" Freddie snapped his phone shut and lied on the couch.

A few moments later he heard the bathroom door open and Sam walked in still wet from her shower. Freddie planned on questioning her about tonight's developments but Sam stopped him before he could say a word. "Hey Freddie I'm pretty tired tonight so if you don't mind I'd like to go to bed" Sam said and moved to sleep on the couch.

Freddie rolled his eyes and motioned Sam to follow him into his room. Sam was confused but nevertheless followed him. "It's rude to make a guest sleep in the living room. So, for as long as you are here, this is your room now" Freddie gestured to the room.

"Freddie you really don't need to do that" Sam shook her head but Freddie wouldn't let up. "I'm trying to be a gentleman here Sam, just play along, will you?" Freddie looked at her. He wasn't exactly sure why he had decided to offer up his room at the last second but he knew that Sam was having some sort of severe personal trouble and he wanted to help her somehow, in some way.

"Well thank you Freddie that is very sweet of you" Sam managed to choke out which made Freddie smirk. "Anytime" he winked and he let Sam get settled while he decided to set up a makeshift bed on the couch. Sam got into the bed and fell asleep that night feeling safe for the first time in several years.

The first scream jerked Freddie out of his slumber around 3 AM. Once he recognized where the screams were coming from he jumped up without a second thought and raced into his room.

He heard a second scream as he reached the door and quickly looked inside. He saw Sam writhing on the bed in apparent agony in her sleep as she kicked out against her dream.

She looked so scared, so... vulnerable that Freddie froze for a second. He made his way over to her and his eyes traveled to Sam's stomach for a moment. Her shirt had ridden up slightly and many scars and bruises remained deep within the flesh.

Freddie's eyes widened and he made a mental note to talk to her about those tomorrow but his goal right now was to get Sam out of her personal nightmare. "Sam" he said softly trying to wake her but she didn't seem to hear him.

"Sam!" his voice rose, but she continued to fight him, not stirring from her dream. Finally he put his arms on her shoulders and shook her. "Sam!" he yelled and her eyes shot open. She struggled against him as she was obviously still stuck in her dream.

"Sam, it's me Freddie" he said and her eyes finally flashed with recognition. She felt his arms wrap around her a bit and immediately shrunk away from his grasp. She couldn't handle all of this at once.

His touch brought back memories of this afternoon which she could not afford to relive. "I'm awake Freddie now please just let me go" Sam said with a quivering tone as she backed away a bit.

Freddie watched as Sam turned away from him and he took that as his cue to exit the room. Freddie shook his head and sighed.

What the hell is going on with her? He thought to himself as he closed the door behind him. Tomorrow he would definitely get to the bottom of this whole thing. Maybe a visit to Sam's home would give him some insight…

A/N: Hey guys first of all thank you so much for the response to the last chapter. I was very thrilled and it inspired me to write this chapter so quickly. I know the characters are a bit OOC but I'm still learning on the job haha and doing it without a beta is not easy. The next update won't be for a while probably until this weekend but I wanted to get you guys this quick chapter to tide you over. Anyways let me know what you think of this chapter