A/N: This chapter was an ass to write. I made it too long, but if I split it in half it would be too short. I'm sure none of you will mind an extra long chapter... Hopefully. Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Cruel Tricks

"Betrayal is the only truth that sticks." - Arthur Miller

I think of you at the weirdest times, Tuck. Whenever I'm alone, sitting outside, eating... You just keep popping into my mind. Why can't you just leave me the fuck alone?! It's getting annoying... Just like old times.

I remember whenever you'd be on your PDA, I'd roll my eyes, waiting for you to finish. You never did. I miss those times. You never failed to make me laugh, either. Whenever I was upset about home, school, or Danny, you'd be there to cheer me up. Not when you were trying, though. That was why it was so funny I think. You and I, we were the back-up of Team Phantom. What will I do without you? I can't be there for Danny like you can. I can't get through Danny's thick head. I can't do it alone. You're the only one who was willing to help with... My romance problem with Danny.

I need you. I need my techno geek.

I hope you've met Grandfather Jeremiah. He's great fun; he was always there for me, when I needed help or just wanted to play. In a way he's like you; brave, loyal, reliable... Words I once thought described me too.

If it had been me, would you get into as much trouble? Would you tell the story? I wouldn't want you to, but you could. I wouldn't be mad. I'd understand. I think of where you are now. Are you happy up there? I bet there's plenty of video games and snacks, aren't there?

It seems so trivial now, the way we used to fight. I wonder, if I would've handled it differently, would you still be alive? If we didn't get along as well as we did, would it have ended up differently? Is it truly my fault in more ways then one?

Tucker, please. Help me.

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I stepped out of the car, onto soft, crisp grass. Looking up, I see that my aunt's house is in the country. It's beautiful; a place I've dreamed of living all my life. There are feilds for miles around. The house is a beautiful, urban white, with red shutters on the windows. I almost smile. Almost.

There is a swing set out front. I imagined a child lived here. Jessie is carrying my bags up to the house. I made her. Part of her punishment for forcing me into hell. Sure, there was once a time when my aunt and I got along. She decided to throw that all away, though, when I was just a little girl. I never forgave her after that. Sighing, I trudged after her. My usual attire had changed; baggy black pants, with a purple sweatshirt is now what I wore. Why put any thought into my wardrobe? It didn't matter anymore.

"Here we are." she says. As if I didn't already know. She sets a suitcase down to open the door. Without waiting for an invitation, I step inside. It's warm inside the house, but for some reason my skin is still ice cold.

She walks in after me, and I hear the door shut. Jessie grabs my hand and starts dragging me towards the stairs, "Come on, I want you to meet my kids."

'I don't give a care about your devil children,' I think to myself viciously, wishing she'd let me go. She continues to pull me up the stairs, though, and by the time we are to the top I snatch my hand back harshly.

"Mommy!" I wince as I hear a child's voice shriek. I see a blur of midnight blue, before Jessie scoops him into her arms and kisses his forehead.

"Sam," Jessie says, "This is my son, Jeffy."

The little boy stares at me with large, emerald green eyes. I stare back at him. He finally looks at his mom, "Is that cousin Sammy?"

Jessie smiles at me, and nods. Immediately, the boy jumps out of her arms, and hugs my leg. "Cousin Sammy! Mommy told us you're gonna play with us, since you're staying here!"

I blink, staring down at the child. "Don't count on it." I say harshly. Plucking him off me, I hand him back to Jessie. As she takes him back, she gives me a look so dirty it takes me a minute to realize I should return it. Little Jeffy looks unfazed, as he continues to try and talk to me. I tune him out.

Once Jessie shushes him, she ushers him into his room. "You're cousin Mariah is in her room. You'll see her later, she doesn't like others barging in her room."

"Whatever." I reply with a shrug. "Where's my room?"

"Um... Sam, I need to ask you a favor first..."

I narrow my eyes. "What?"

"As you may have imagined, I haven't told my kids the real reason you're staying with us." she tells me. I do, but just to be difficult I raise my brows. "Um... I'd appreciate greatly, it if you kept it a secret."

I cross my arms, angry, fire burning in my eyes. She says gently, "I... I just don't want them to know that everyone thinks you're a... A..."

"A murderer?" I ask simply. She looks surprised to see how easily I could admit it. "They should, because that's what I am."

"You can't be, though." Jessie whispers, almost to herself. "Are... Are you sure?"

I look down, as I answer softly, "I'm positive."

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As I sit on my temporary bed, I stare blankly out the window. My parents were supposed to be here soon. I asked them to bring Danny; I wouldn't be able to get through this without him.

There was a knock on my door, and before I could respond, the door opened. "Hey, you're Sam, right?"

I turned my head to the girl in the doorway. She was very thin, wearing blue jeans and a lighter blue tank top. Her blonde hair covered her face slightly, and her green eyes looked at me with curiosity. I could already tell we wouldn't get along; she looked like a prep, with her light hair tied in a tight pony tail and her perky eyes.

"What is it?" I asked darkly.

"Um, I'm Mariah... And my mom told me you were in here, so I wanted to come in and..." she trailed off, still not taking her eyes off me.

I narrowed my eyes, "Come to goggle at the goth? Too bad, get out."

She glared at me, "Don't be that way. You're my cousin. We're family."

"I really don't care. Leave me alone."

"Told you she'd be a total bitch..." a voice said behin me cousin, who I assumed was a friend of her's.

I didn't here Mariah's response, for she shut the door tightly. I turned my attention back to the window. A bright red car was pulling up.

I immediately hopped off my bed, my bare feet hitting the floor hard. I took no notice. Danny was here, finally.

Speeding down the stairs, I focused on seeing Danny. He was the only one who I wanted to see, who I needed to see. By the time I was downstairs, my parents were entering the house.

I felt myself be embraced by my mother. "Oh, Sammy-kins! This is all so awful!" she sobbed. "My sweetie's not a killer, this is all just a misunderstanding!"

I want to tell her that I am a killer, that I killed Tucker... But I see Danny, looking awkward and nervous at this strange family reunion. I pry myself from my mother's arms, and run to hug him.

His embrace makes me feel ok again. Like nothing bad happened, like Tucker never died... But when he lets me go, reality sinks in again. I don't show it, though. "Hey, Danny. Glad you could make it." I say casually.

Danny grinned, "... Hey Sam..." he cleared his throat nervously, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a pack of mini powdered doughnuts. "I... I brought you some powdered doughnuts, I know how much you like them."

I smile, taking the package. "Thanks, Danny. That was cool of you to do." I quietly opened the package, and took out a single mini doughnut. I didn't take a bite, though. I stared at it for a few minutes, while trying to listen to the hushed whispers my parents and aunt were talking in.

Deciding I couldn't, I looked back up at Danny. He was staring at me the whole time. Clearing my throat, I asked, "Do you want to hang out up in my room?"

Danny smiled, and nodded. I grabbed his wrist, and began leading him towards my room.

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We talked as if Tucker had never left. Danny told me about what was going on back at home. I told him about my new temporary home. We talked about school life, video games, and everything we always talked about. I could tell Danny was straining to avoid the topic of Tuck. I inwardly sighed, reclining on my bed, as Danny rested his back against the wall.

"Sam?" a voice called from the other side of the door. "Sam, can we come in? Someone's here to talk to you."

I sat up, curious. "Sure, go ahead." I called.

Jessie opened the door, walked in, and stepped aside. My grandma came in, looking concerned and afraid for me. I stood up, and asked, "Grandma Ida? Why are you here?"

"My bubeleh." Grandma said, smiling softly at me. "Come here, sweetie."

I walked towards her, and put my hand in her's. She stroked it gently. "I must say, when I heard the news, I nearly fell out of my seat." she shook her head sadly. "But, I couldn't believe it. Not you, my Sammy."

I smiled softly. She really did care about me, I could see it in her eyes. I told her, "Grandma... I'm... I'm sorry..." I wasn't sure what I was apologizing for. Maybe for letting her down, for doing something she'd never thought her bubeleh would do.

"It's alright, it's alright." she said, placing a hand to my cheek. "Why don't you come downstairs, by the fire, and tell grandma Ida what really happened to you?"

I stared at my grandma for a moment. I couldn't tell her, yet I couldn't tell her why either...

Then realization hit me. I stared at her, with glassy eyes. I looked from Jessie, to my grandma, and back to Jessie.

I put a hand to my mouth, and backed away. "You... You..." I closed my eyes, shaking my head repeatedly. "You fucking assholes!"

I opened my eyes, to see Grandma Ida staring at me helplessly. I glared at Jessie, with so much hate that all she could do was stare at the ground. I was as angry as hell, but for some reason I couldn't move. I was quivering with anger and grief... My legs were getting weaker...

Finally, I collapsed to the ground in a broken mess. Danny rushed to my side. He understood what happened. Jessie had used my own weaknesses against me, lied to me, just to get the story.

Grandma Ida reached down, trying to stroke my head. "Please, bubeleh, don't be sad... I love you, I'm here for--" I smacked her hand away.

"No, don't." I breathed, my voice jagged. "Everything, it was all a lie... Even you, Grandma... How? How could..." I coughed, my throat suddenly hurting. "I'm not..." I coughed again, "I'm not related to you! Any of you! You, mom, dad... All of you."

Danny held onto me, stroking my back. Jessie kneeled down to look at me. "Sam... I had to use extreme measures, please... Don't..." she sighed, "We used to get along so well. Why are you like this, now? To me? How could you throw away everything we once shared?"

"... The same way you did." I muttered, losing the will to fight.

"You're still mad at me about that?" Jessie asked, looking at me with pained eyes. "Sam, I love you. But you commited murder."

"Come on, Sam." Danny whispered, taking my hand and helping me up.

"Where are you taking her?" Jessie asked angrily, "She is under custody of law to stay--"

"You've done enough!" Danny spat, whirling around to glare at Jessie. I see his eyes flash green for a second, before turning blue again. Jessie stared at the two of us, dumbfounded.

He grabbed my hand, and lead me out the bedroom door. I stop him halfway down the stairs. "Danny?" I whisper.

"What is it, Sam?" he asks, concern in his voice.

"Is it murder..." I look at him, eyes bloodshot and hands shaking, "Is it murder," I re-state, "If he was already dying?"