7.
She stood paralyzed for a moment.
But not because she was scared. Not in any sense of the word did Auntie's little threat scare her.
It just made her angry.
Unfortunate?
Damn right it would be unfortunate.
It'd be unfortunate 'cause the only way she was letting someone hurt Two-Bit was over her dead body; and she'd be damned if she didn't take someone down with her.
She's not afraid, yet after those few words she finds herself unable to breathe or blink, let alone commit some voluntary action.
So instead she just stands there in shock; unable to function all because of one stupid little threat to one stupid little boy who she suddenly felt guilty for dragging into the whole mess that was her stupid little life.
It's all the guilt….
All the worry…
All the misplaced anger…
It all that and everything else that's piling up in her gut that has her stuck to that one spot of the carpet. Its that little voice in the back of her head that's telling her what she knows is right. Those two simple words that she's starting to believe.
No matter how hard she tries to deny it she knows its true. It's obvious… "She's right."
She's surprised when she realizes the words are coming out of her mouth.
"She is?" Apparently her daddy dearest is surprised too.
He shouldn't be though…
After all wasn't he practically telling her the same thing not too long ago? Wasn't he the one who had brought Two-Bit there for that reason; to 'help' her make up her mind?
Its all true but she ignores that fact for the moment. Sam nods and she's still standing in the same position Auntie left her in. Only now she's starting to believe she's simply refusing to move. So instead she starts to ask questions she already knows the answers to.
"I thought she wasn't coming back for a few weeks…"
Finn sighs and though he knows what she's doing he answers her anyway. "Someone called her and told her about your visitor."
Someone… meaning not him.
Also meaning he either doesn't know who, or is hiding the fact that he does.
"Who?" she questions feeling that the latter is the right assumption.
"Beats me."
Liar, She thinks, Hypocritical backstabber.
She mutters, "For someone who knows so much you don't know shit."
Her daddy dearest just smirks and tells her the same could be said about her.
"After all," he says "You still haven't made up your mind."
What he's trying to say is very clear to her.
He's telling her that she's being incredibly stupid.
He's telling her that its obvious.
He's telling her it doesn't take a genius to make the right choice when its staring her in the face.
Between the lines he's trying to tell her not to make the same mistake he did.
She narrows her eyes at him and tells him to stop meddling. That she would live longer if everyone would just keep their noses out of her business. That things were better when no one gave a shit about her and what she did.
Her hands form fists and she snarls, "I'm sick of this."
Sick of always being watched.
Sick of being stuck here with them.
Sick of being used.
"As soon as I find a way out I'm gone."
As soon as she disappears they can do what ever they damn well please.
He leans back into the chair and tells her to stop running.
That everything has a way of catching up with you in the long run. That you can only hide for so long.
"I mean this is just proof of that right Sammy?"
This is all just living proof that you cant run forever.
"You're wrong."
"No," he says sitting up straight, "I'm right."
He looks her straight in the eyes and tells her, "You're the one who doesn't know shit Sam." He stands up and walks toward her.
"You don't even understand why your still alive."
He tells her, "You should be dead right now."
---------------------------
She had sprawled herself across his bed a while ago.
She'd laid out on her back and began to search for pictures in the stucco ceiling. Anything to kill some time. Anything to take her mind off of the task at hand. She blinked and found the outline of a duck. She shut her eyes and let out an aggravated breath. How much longer would she have to wait? If it was much longer she was going to loose her nerve.
She had come expecting a barrage of questions, expecting to lie her ass off or spill her guts. She had walked through the door already accepting that this was one of those, the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth situations.
That if she wasn't going to tell him everything she couldn't tell him anything.
She'd laid herself across the bed and stared at the ceiling expecting him to any second come in a question her appearance.
She'd been expecting for him to suddenly speak. To ask her some stupid question, but he never did.
She slowly turned her head to the empty spot beside her.
Where the hell was he anyway?
She had started to wonder if he'd already figured it all out and he'd left. If he'd found out the awful truth about her and decided she wasn't worth his trouble.
Maybe he'd found out and decided that she was right, that it was for the best if they just severed all their ties. If they broke clean and parted ways.
Maybe he'd listened in on their little conversation and realized what the obvious choice was. And that it had absolutely nothing to do with what she wanted.
Maybe… he'd just been playing along this whole time.
Maybe he'd known all along that the wedding was just a convenient cover-up for why anyof them were there.
Maybe he'd discovered their little lie…
She paused in her thoughts.
The wedding was a cover-up, but that didn't mean it was a lie... it just wasn't the whole truth.
Nothing was the whole truth anyway.
Everything was just one half truth or a continuation of another. No one was completely genuine anymore. If you weren't lying through your teeth you were still weren't saying the truth. And not saying the truth was as bad as lying. Either way… you were keeping secrets. And secrets were dangerous.
She frowned.
When he finally did open his mouth she'd have to lie him.
She didn't want to keep lying to him, but she couldn't keep avoiding it.
It was safer for everyone if he didn't know.
It would just be easier for her to choose if he didn't know anything about her 'choice'. Because if he knew then he'd want to know which she was going to pick. And what would she say? 'I don't know'?
If she said that he'd just try to help her decide. She didn't want to know what he'd try…
She tucked one arm under her head and adverted her eyes from the ceiling, waiting. The clock was ticking and here she was wasting time waiting for him.
She took a deep breath and released it slowly.
She was running out of time.
She was running out of chances to run.
She needed to run.
She needed to get away… soon.
She closed her eyes and banished the thoughts.
She couldn't leave him here alone with those people.
No matter what it meant for her she had to protect him. Make sure they didn't hurt him. She had to make sure they didn't ever get the chance to…
She laid there and realized the mistake she'd made.
---------------------------
In the back of his mind he knew exactly what he should do.
Nod politely and walk away.
Don't say a word.
Just back away slowly.
Get away as quick as possible.
That's what he should do. That's what she'd told him to do. But he'd never been one to do as he was told. And as far as curiosity was concerned once he was interested in knowing something he tended to forget exactly what he should do.
Hence the numerous almost kidnappings of his youth.
But forget about that. He sure did.
The proof was the fact that he was standing there when he should have been running for dear life.
"So you're Samantha's friend correct?"
Nod.
"Are you sure that's all? You're not hiding something are you Mr. Mathews?" He let out a nervous laugh and began to search for possible means of escape.
This chick was crazy…
And that was putting it lightly.
She took a step towards him and as he took a step back and realized his mistake. She slowly backed him into a corner. She leaned forward and almost glared at him.
She looked him straight in the eyes and told him to ask himself who exactly is Samantha Turner. Because she isn't who he thinks she is.
"I'm sure you'll find out the truth soon enough…" He'll realize she's keeping secrets from him.
There was an almost sinister glint in her eyes.
"You'll figure out exactly what the truth is soon enough."
But she cant guarantee he'll like it, or even believe it for that matter.
She hasn't looked away and he can almost see the evil laughter in her eyes at this point in her little speech on the evils of Sam.
"You'll see soon enough. But I'll tell you now little boy,"
She wont let her escape.
She wont let her get away.
She wont let her 'niece' turn her back on this family.
She doesn't say this though.
What she does say is, "I wont let her pick you."
She smiles evilly and backed away slightly.
He opened his mouth to question her when some other voice filled the hallway.
"Mathews what the hell are you doing?"
Both Two-Bit and the 'crazy chick' turned to look at a confused and slightly angry looking guy. It takes him a second but it clicks were he's seen him before.
He almost says something out loud but doesn't. He just stares at the man standing in front of him more than slightly confused as to why he's rescuing him and even more confused as to why he's even able to.
The guy just sighs and motions to the empty hallway behind him.
"Sam's looking for you."
He looks at 'Auntie' and glares.
"You better go. She seems worried."
Two-Bit pulls himself away from the woman and walks toward his savior.
Their eyes meet for half a second before he hears Sam yell for him and hurries to tell her to shut up. That he's fine. That nothing happened. So stop yelling already.
The woman watches amused as he allows Two-Bit to walk off to see Sam.
She stands up straighter and pushes back her dark hair back as she voices her surprise.
"You just let him go?"
He's still glaring at her as he leans against the wall blocking her path.
Blocking the way to Two-Bit and Sam.
"Why wouldn't I?"
She smirks.
"I didn't think you were nice enough to share is all."
He practically hisses, "She's not some object you can own."
She touches his chin and lets her finger sit there.
"That's where you're wrong."
As long as she's a Turner, she belongs to them.
"You had your chance to save her,"
And he blew it.
"Who says I was the one who was supposed to save her?"
She smiles and tells him Mathews she can handle.
"He's too oblivious to realize the power he has."
Even if he does realize it he's easily manipulated.
He tells her she's underestimating him.
She smiles falsely and tells him she's glad that Finn brought him here. That she's sorry she didn't think of it first. She can make anything he does work to her advantage.
He's just her pawn.
He raises an eye brow and fights back a laugh.
"You're a horrible liar,"
She growls, and tells him to shut up and respect his elders.
He sighs and tells her that if she thinks he's going to sit back and watch her destroy what he worked so hard to fix she has another thing coming.
He tells her that he hasn't always done the right thing, and he's not at all a good person. But if she thinks he's going to sit back and let her screw with the one person who actually cared about him then she's insane.
He smirks, "Well you're insane anyway but that's beside the point."
It doesn't matter if she doesn't care about him that way.
He wouldn't care if she hated him…
He's still going to help her.
And if that means helping Mathews than so be it.
His smile gets wider and he stares back at her.
He tells her, that if that means he has to take her down a peg he'd gladly do it.
Her eyes narrow and she grips his face harshly in her hand.
"Stay out of my business." She tells him.
She says, "Its none of your concern what happens to her."
He smiles and grips her wrist.
"You made it my concern."
---------------------------