iAm Not Afraid
Chapter 11: M&M's
"Thanks Sam," Freddie said as he closed his eyes.
"For what?" Sam yawned.
"For helping me."
Sam smiled. "That's what friends are for." She closed her eyes.
"No," Freddie whispered. "We're more than that." Then he fell asleep.
Carly was laying on the sofa, watching TV. It has been already a week since Sam and Freddie's disappearance. Life sucked for Carly. She canceled iCarly, which was one of the hardest things she has ever done. She was so depressed that Carly sat in front of the TV all day. She would usually be hanging out with Sam and Freddie, enjoying the warm sun or hating the stormy rains, outside, breathing some fresh air. The only time she got up was for eating, bathroom, and school.
Speaking of school, it hasn't been pretty the past week. Carly's A's dropped down to a D minus. Spencer, concerned about his little sister, tried to talk to her. She always refused. Carly was locking herself up.
Carly was lonely.
Spencer did all in his power to try and get Carly at least a bit happier. No such luck. Eventually, he gave up on her. He knew how hard this was, but he didn't know what else to do.
Carly stood up and went to get something to drink. Then, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Carly called, sitting down in the sofa.
The door opened to a very worried Mrs. Benson.
"Great," Carly muttered under her breath.
"Carly," she said calmly. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine," Carly replied, no emotion.
"I know this is hard to accept," Mrs. Benson said, sitting down next to Carly. "We'll just have to wait for them to come back."
"I thought you'd be freaking out by now," Carly said. "In fact, I'd be crazy if I didn't say you didn't freak out the moment they got lost!"
"I already freaked out," Mrs. Benson said. "That's why I've been gone for so long. I had to calm myself down before I interact with other people, or things would've gotten ugly."
"I bet," Carly said, smiling a bit.
"So, how're you feeling?" Mrs. Benson asked.
"Bummed out," Carly said, turning off the TV. "I'm always here watching TV by myself."
"You've been crying?" Mrs. Benson asked.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Carly said remembering the hundreds of times she cried the past week.
There was an awkward silence. Then Mrs. Benson broke it with a slight, quiet laugh.
"I remember when Freddie was four years old when he got lost in the mall," Mrs. Benson said. Carly paid attention. "The mall was too big for him. He got separated from me. He was lost. I freaked out. My mind went into panic mode. I was harassing people, going to people, showing them a picture of Freddie. Then I broke to tears after an hour of searching. Then, he just came up to me."
"Wait, what?" Carly said, a bit confused.
"He just appeared from nowhere and approached me. He asked me why I was crying. I gave him a big hug. Then I told him that I was crying because I lost him. Then he explained that he thought I looked hungry. So he went into a candy store and bought me a packet of M&M's."
"They let a four-year old boy buy something?" Carly asked.
"Yup. He apparently got the money from his piggy bank, saving up for later. But he brought a dollar just in case."
"What was the point of that story?" Carly asked, a bit rude; not too much though.
"The point is that if you lose something, don't let anything slow you down or change your emotions. Stay calm and do something that could help. But if you are stuck, let them come to you."
Carly nodded, letting the lesson sink in. Then she noticed Mrs. Benson was holding a bag. It was a paper bag, one of those fancy ones that you use for gifts.
"What's in there?" Carly asked.
"Oh, this is for you," Mrs. Benson said, handing it to Carly. "There are enough for you and Spencer. Please use them Carly. It might cheer you up."
Carly looked inside. There were movie tickets, concert tickets, gift cards, all that good stuff.
Carly faked a smile. "Thanks Mrs. Benson."
Mrs. Benson smiled. "You're welcome dear."
They hugged each other for a few seconds. Carly was the first to pull away.
"Well, I gotta run," Mrs. Benson said. "Gotta do some chores around the house."
Carly noticed how she was cool, calm and collected.
Mrs. Benson!" Carly called right before she left. Mrs. Benson stuck in a head.
"Yes?"
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Stay so calm about this whole situation?"
Mrs. Benson smiled slightly. "Stay positive. I know this isn't the way I would've normally reacted. But does freaking out over someone who is lost bring them back? No. It just makes things worse. So you gotta stay positive. They are coming back." Mrs. Benson said the last part firmly. "I gotta go." She left abruptly.
Carly thought about her talk with Mrs. Benson. She knew the things that she had said already. She just didn't know how to do it. It was too hard for her to stay positive. Her mind would keep wandering off into how Sam got raped and Freddie got shot. Then she got even more depressed. Her mind was thinking on it's own. She couldn't control it.
Then, Carly threw the bag Mrs. Benson gave her to the ground. She turned on the TV and continued watching.
A few minutes later, Spencer came in from the front door.
"Hey Carly," he greeted.
"I never knew you left," Carly mumbled.
"I told you I was leaving," Spencer said. "I was gonna get something to eat for dinner."
"Oh, I didn't notice," Carly said.
Spencer sighed. He had enough of Carly's glumness. He knew this was hard for her, but she didn't need to act like how she's acting right now. Then he noticed a small paper bag on the ground. He looked inside.
"Hey, who gave you these?" Spencer asked.
"Mrs. Benson," Carly said. "She was here for a talk."
"Oh really?" Spencer asked, sitting down next to her. "Why don't we use some of these?"
"Right now?" Carly asked.
"Yeah!"
"No," Carly said firmly.
"C'mon Carly! Let's go watch a comedy! You know, laughing releases endorphins, which makes you feel better."
Then, Carly snapped. "Sam and Freddie are lost out there, somewhere to a God-forsaken place, and you want me to laugh to feel better? Huh?" Then she started crying.
Spencer scooted closer and gave Carly a hug. Carly accepted the hug.
"I'm sorry Spencer," Carly cried.
"It's okay," Spencer said. "Crying releases endorphins too."
Carly felt weak and vulnerable. And that's what she was right now. Something else overtook her. One of the most powerful things ever. Her mind.
A/N: A very short chapter, I might add the next chapter a bit later. If you guys really like this story, please spread the word, I would love new people checking my story out, so if you want to, please spread the word about this story. Thanks so much guys for all the support you have given me so far! More to come soon! Soon meaning tomorrow! :)
