Aussie Note:
Who's a happy author? ME!
Who's that happiness owed to?
Herahell Cba to login, youarethelight, jesse's girl 95, kppm13mylife, WeWe2491, Kpfan72491, RaindropLove, OhSoIris, ober22, iBrown-eyes-blonde, EmilyHelene, hogwartsgirl52, mamaluvsangst,bluejay63, California702, aaamber, TheUltimateNinja, and rachim4!
Hope you liked you're famous moment. (;
Thannksss so much for the kind words on chapter seven, and here comes
CHAPTER EIGHT:
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As soon as I woke up, I noticed that for the first time, I had slept through the whole night. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Samara's cries hadn't woken me up.
Contemplating this, I rolled over so that I was facing the window. I stared out the window at the terrace that extended from my window, all the way to Freddie's.
I was surprised to see Freddie sitting in a lawn chair. I saw up, pulling myself out of the bed. I paused at the window and scoffed at the similarities to that night on the fire escape. I rolled my eyes as I found a cotton hoodie on the floor and slipped it over my shoulders before turning to the window. It slid open easily, unlike my screechy one at home that was prone to getting stuck at the worst times.
I swung one leg over the window frame and ducked through, my eyes never leaving Freddie. However, his eyes were fixed on the sun that was rising on the horizon. His brown eyes were still and glossed over, and I could tell he wasn't actually seeing what was in front of him. He looked deep in thought and I stopped in my tracks. I considered turning around and going back.
"Hey." His voice cracked, his eyes never leaving the horizon.
My breath caught, his greeting had surprised me.
The buzz from the morning traffic was floating noisily up from the streets and if I hadn't been concentrating on Freddie so intently, I wouldn't have noticed he had spoken.
Wind blew through and tugged at my knotty bed-head hair as I spoke.
"What are you doing out here?" I asked.
"Thinking." He said evenly, still staring at the rising sun.
I sat down on the cold metal of the terrace, before speaking again.
"Thinking about what?"
"You can have my seat, Sam. Get off the floor." Freddie offered.
I ignored him.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Them and…" He sighed. "us."
I swallowed back the thick burning in my throat.
"What about them?" I said quietly, choosing to ignore his mentioning to 'us.'
He looked down at the floor before looking up to my eyes.
"Do you ever think it's my fault?"
My heart dropped in surprise.
"How could it be your fault?" I said, my tone filled with disbelief.
"It was my damned party they were coming to, they'd be at home right now if I hadn't invited them to a party."
"They'd be alive right now if the babysitter hadn't been late." I shot back at him, angrily.
He let out a breath he had been holding.
"Sam, I just… can't stop blaming myself."
I stood up furiously, glaring at him.
"Well, stop! You have no reason to be mad at yourself!"
I realized my anger was more towards myself than towards him, it was weird to hear my emotions coming from his mouth.
I was the one angry at myself. He had no reason to be.
I expected him to be surprised by my outburst, but he only stared at me, waiting.
The boy knows me too well.
"Carly died without knowing anything about me." I said quietly. "I kept everything from her."
"What do you mean?"
"All of that stuff I told you last night… I never told her."
I expected him to ask me why, but he didn't. He knew me well enough to know that the answer was pride.
He knew me well enough, to know that him asking me wouldn't get him answer.
Freddie stood up, looking at my concerned. He took a step towards me, quietly.
He cupped my face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears I hadn't realized had fallen.
The anger pulsing in my veins slowed.
"Listen… Sam." He said softly, his eyes never leaving mine. "Carly isn't one to hold a grudge. You only need to forgive yourself."
I turned my head and his hands fell from my face back to his sides. Waiting for the anger to pass, I looked down until I felt the tears stop and my eyes hardened. I turned, walking to the living room doors but Freddie caught my hand, turning me around.
"I was also thinking about you." He said boyishly, staring into my eyes. "About everything you told me, last night."
I controlled my face so that it held a blank expression, I wasn't letting my emotions play on my face.
"And, I know you're doing it again. Trying to keep me out by acting like you're emotionless." My eyes widened slightly and a small smirk played at his lips.
"But, I'm going to say it anyway." He said.
I noticed he still held my hand and he pushed the hair out of my face with his free hand.
"You… are amazing, the things you do." He nodded.
"And.. you're heart…" He breathed out heavily, not finishing his sentence. "And out of everyone I've ever known, you by far are the strongest person I know. When I'm around you I-"
He looked embarrassed by his words that were coming, but the vibrating of his phone interrupted him.
Glancing at the screen, he dropped my hand.
He pressed talk and took a step away from me.
"Hey Spencer."
My heart stopped as I waited.
"We wouldn't miss it."
He listened and his face dropped momentarily, before he rambled off his address for Spencer, hanging up.
He ran his fingers through his hair and the ghost of the expression I had seen when he had told me they died, played at the corners of his eyes.
"Their memorial service is Friday." He said his voice monotonous, walking past me back into the apartment.
I stood there in shock for a moment before following Freddie back into the apartment.
I glanced at Samara's crib, seeing that she was still asleep.
"Wow, she's been sleeping for a long time." I commented.
"She didn't sleep at all last night." Freddie said steadily.
"But…" I stopped. "I didn't hear her."
"I took care of it, don't worry about it." His voice was scarily even and I knew something was wrong.
"Where's the funeral?"
Freddie was sitting on the couch, staring intently at Samara who's crib was on the other side of the room.
"There isn't one. It's just a memorial service."
I stared at him, confused.
"Their bodies… aren't able to be… viewed." He swallowed, looking away.
My stomach flipped, making my nauseous. I felt like my legs were going to give out, so I sat beside Freddie on the couch.
"The wreck flipped the car several times." He explained, his eyes wary. "Carly's skull and spine were cracked."
His eyes were filled with tears and I saw him blink them back.
"It was a sudden death, she didn't suffer long." He said, pulling me into his arms, my cheek rested on his chest and he started playing with my my hair.
"Gibby?" I asked, my voice dangerously close to breaking.
"Organ donor and then cremated." He remarked, his mind obviously still on Carly.
He looked down at me, studying my face.
"Don't leave me again." I said suddenly, the words slipping. I hadn't meant to say the words.
He smiled gently, but the spark didn't reach his eyes.
I felt his uneven heart beat underneath my cheek.
"I couldn't."
-x-
"Thank you, Mr. Ager!" I said, bouncing on my heels.
"Call me Drake." He laughed before saying our goodbyes.
I ran into the kitchen where Freddie was heating up baby formula.
"Dude! I got the part!" I said, running towards him.
He turned around, grinning and pulled me into a hug.
"You were awesome at that audition. Way better than the other girls." He whispered, chuckling in my ear, before burying his face in my neck.
We stayed that way a beat too long.
I pulled away, clearing my throat. I could feel the heat rising in my face and I oddly felt like a love-sick teenager.
Wait. What the chizz did I just say?
I looked up at him embarrassed and took a step back, trying to put distance between us.
Freddie only smiled at me boyishly before smirking.
"Woah, I didn't know Pucketts even knew how to blush." He feigned shock, staring at me knowingly.
"They don't." I said, taking another step away from him.
"Mhm." He said sarcastically and smiled, before turning back to the stove.
"Got something to say, Benson?" I challenged, not so gently shoving him.
He spun around, his eyes glowing playfully.
"Only that I make you a little nervous, huh?" He stepped towards me, amused.
I took a step forward, and scoffed.
"If you knew what was good for you, you'd still be scared of me. Like, when we were younger."
He stepped forward too, lowering his head. He stared attentively into my eyes as I glared back into his.
"I…" He said softly smiling, his voice rough with emotion, "Am terrified of you."
Our faces were inches apart and my face burned.
He ran a thumb across my cheek and I swallowed.
I had to get out of this situation.
I brought my hand up, slapping him across the cheek.
Not hard enough to hurt him, but sudden enough to shock him.
"Good." I said smiling as I walked out of the room, leaving a breathless Freddie behind.
"Because, you should be."
-x-
I sat at a table in front of Drake Ager and Freddie Benson, co-directors of the movie.
We had just finished a three hour long table read. I sighed exhaustedly, looking around. I was surrounded by other actors and actresses, with the male lead, Justin, in the chair beside me.
He smiled at me as I glanced at him.
I let my mind wander to how Samara was doing with Mrs. Crazy Benson. How had Freddie dealt with her for eighteen years?
I thought it over considering.
It would be nice to have a mom care about you that much though.
I tried to ignore that thought, and I focused back on what Drake was saying.
"We'll be rehearsing and doing some more table reads this week, but then…. we're off to Italy for filming!"
Ah, so this was the surprise Drake had mentioned earlier.
Freddie and I exchanged a look of surprise. Freddie had vaguely explained our living situation to Drake, who had found the whole thing very convenient for him. Exclaiming something along the lines of, 'I can reach my two main peeps on the same line? Sweet!'
I rolled my eyes at the memory.
"I'm flying out Friday morning to look at the location, and get everything set up and running." He smiled triumphantly at us.
"Here's a filming schedule," He said, handing a stack of folders to each end of the table. "If you don't fly down Friday, you'll need to be there on time for your scenes. You can stay in a trailer, supplied by the company or you can choose to pay for your own hotel. Though, I suggest you make arrangements in advance..."
I could see the wheels turning in Freddie's head, already planning our trip.
Justin handed me a folder, again smiling at me. His blue eyes stayed on mine for a moment too long, and I could already tell how filming with him was going to be.
Freddie and I walked out of rehearsal and onto the streets without saying a word.
He hailed a cab, one pulling over almost immediately and we slid inside.
"So, I'm thinking after the memorial, we'll leave that night." Freddie said, finally breaking the silence.
"What about Samara?" I asked, looking over at him.
"She'll come too." He said, as if it were obvious.
"Who's going to take care of her? I'm in almost every single scene and you, Mr. Director, have to be around for every scene. Have you even looked at this schedule? We have an entire month of filming in Italy."
"Babysitters?" Freddie's eyebrows were pulled together as he shrugged.
"Would Carly have wanted that?" I said, knowingly.
"I don't know, Sam. We'll figure it out."
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I finished curling the last bit of my hair, and dabbed on the bit of lip gloss I was grudgingly wearing.
I looked down at the dress I had bought for Melanie's burial. I swallowed and held back the tears that I knew would come. Seems like every time I pulled out this damned dress, another bit of my heart broke off.
I hated this dress.
"Ready to leave?" Freddie asked, stepping in my room.
"Wow." He breathed, his eyes growing wide as he looked me over.
I rolled my eyes, trying not to let them linger too long on him.
Freddifer had cleaned up well, in an all-black suit. Eh. Who knew?
"Let's get this over with." I muttered pushing past him.
"After you, then, Princess Puckett." He mumbled.
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I sat through the generic service. My blood boiled at how the whole thing was so impersonal.
Not anything like she would have wanted.
It reminded me of the time we had crashed that pie maker's memorial.
I guess this was karma.
I didn't let a single tear fall, and not just because we were in public.
Wanna know why the real reason why?
Freddie held my hand, the whole time.
Wanna know the worst part?
I didn't even freakin' notice, until half way through the service.
Yeah. That's right, I glance down and there they were. Our hands all intertwined and chizz.
My stomach dropped and I yanked my hand back.
Freddie looked at me confused.
"Nervous?" He whispered, smirking down at me.
A challenge. And you know Mamma when it comes to a challenge
I slid my hand back into his and scooted closer, and rolled my eyes.
I grinned evilly up at him, and Freddie's eyes grew large.
He refused to look at me as he stared straight ahead.
"Scared?" I whispered back.
"Not even close." He scoffed.
My heart picked up in double time, because even if Freddie wasn't scared... I was.
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The service came to an end.
"Sam! Freddie!" Spencer's voice rang out.
We realeased each other's hands simultaneously, before hopping up.
He pulled us both into a hug, pushing Freddie and me together.
"I'm so glad you guys are here." His voice broke.
I pulled back and saw Spencer's face.
His expression was filled with grief. The bags under his eyes showed his sleep exhaustion, and I could tell that Spencer had taken it even harder than Freddie and I combined.
My heart painfully stuttered as I looked at the man I had always looked up to.
He looked down at Samara then and his expression completely changed.
He smiled at her, and the spark hit his eyes.
"Hey Samara. It's Uncle Spencie." He bent down to the stroller's height and grinned at her.
Samara laughed at the expression on his face as he continued to talk to her in baby-speak.
And then an idea hit me.
Spencer needed this and I could see that.
"Could you do us a favor?"
Freddie looked over at me surprised, waiting for what I could possibly do next.
"Anything." Spencer said, looking up at me.
I then explained to him how I had gotten a part in a movie and Freddie was directing it. This earned us both a hearty congratulations from him.
"Watch Samara for a month, while we're away." I said, simply.
His face lights up again.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, dude. It would help us out." Freddie said, smiling over at me.
Spencer glanced between us, smiling.
"Yeah… I'd love to do it." He finally said.
Now for a month, alone-ish in Italy…. With Freddie.
Oh chizz.
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Aussie Note:
Alright guys. So let's go over that!
They're going to Italy for a month!
And Samara is staying behind! :(
And Spencer is back! :)
They won't be completely missing from the story, and I'm planning on this story being pretty long, so don't worry! Samara & Seddie moments will be back eventually. She is 10 months old right now, thought you'd like know.
In the next chapter, we're heading to Italy!
You guys leave the NICEST reviews, and I love every single one. I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter and the story thus far!
Peace. –Aussieeeeee.
