Last night I had the strangest dream
It was actually quite symbolic
That I whispered, that I love you
So subtly...
When Mercedes woke up, she was the most comfortable she'd ever been, and she knew it was because she was wrapped up in Sam's arms. The temperature had dropped overnight due to the seasonal weather, and cold as it might have been outside, it was perfectly warm where she was. Mercedes was almost naked in only her nightgown, but she didn't care. It was perfect.
If anything, Sam was in a worse state of undress—boxers and nothing else. Then again, Mercedes wasn't wearing underwear. Oh well.
The sun had wakened her up from her blissful slumber, but she couldn't complain. That was literally the best sleep she had ever gotten in her life. And plus, if she didn't wake up before her mom did and she found Mercedes with Sam like this…
Mercedes wouldn't have to fear the Elites anymore, because she would be dead.
Mercedes raised her hands up to rub the sleep from her eyes and tried to turn around in Sam's arms only for his hands to tighten on her. She smiled, chuckling softly and shaking her head.
"I know you're awake." She said, trying again fruitlessly to face her boyfriend.
Said boyfriend snuggled his head into her neck. "No I'm not." He murmured.
"Is that so?" Mercedes asked, arching her back discreetly against him.
Sam groaned and curled himself around her. "Mercy."
"What was that I heard?" She asked innocently, "Was someone talking?"
Mercedes heard a growl emanate from Sam and she laughed. She finally managed to turn in his arms and smiled. "Are we going to school today or am I just gonna spend the day lying next to you?"
Sam squeezed her waist. "While that does sound like a great idea…you need your education. Whether you tempt me or not."
How exactly was she tempting him? He was the one that wouldn't let her go. Mercedes squinted at him. Never mind.
"Are saying that you don't need an education?"
"Yup, that's exactly what I'm saying," He replied, yawning. "I got mine fifty years ago."
Mercedes sat up. "What?"
"I said—"
"No," Mercedes interjected, "I know what you said. But fifty years ago?"
Sam looked a bit uncomfortable. "Yes. I learned everything I could a very long time ago."
"So…how old are you now?"
"I'm…" He ran a hand through his hair, "Well, to a human I'm quite old. But to the other elites I'm very young."
"Sam." She said softly, "Just tell me. I don't care if you're five hundred years old. It's just a number."
"That's not the problem."
"Then what is it?"
"Well," He replied wistfully, "It's not that I'm ashamed of my age, it's that I don't know what you'll think of me once I tell you. You might feel…differently about me."
Mercedes shook her head. "I doubt that Sam. I'm pretty sure nothing can keep me from wanting you. And you also know that I won't judge you. I mean… you accept me, so why wouldn't I accept you?"
Sam nodded. "Right."
"So…?"
"I'm about ninety years old. Give or take a decade. Elites don't care about age unless you're close to five hundred."
Mercedes blinked. "So you're old enough to be my grandpa? Or better yet, my great grandpa?"
Sam just looked at her. "I thought you weren't going to judge me."
Mercedes almost laughed. She wasn't recoiling from him, was she? "I'm not. I didn't call you my great grandpa, did I?"
"No, you didn't" He agreed, "But I had hoped that you wouldn't get caught up on this." Sam murmured, drawing foreign patterns into her thighs.
"You're just being neurotic." She replied, rolling her eyes.
He looked up from the thigh he was touching. "What makes you think that?"
"You're being way too sensitive about this when you shouldn't feel that way at all. I'm not caught up on this. If I was, wouldn't I be a bit more…uninviting?" Mercedes looked pointedly at Sam's hands that were still caressing her.
He shrugged. "I don't think so. If you hated me, you still wouldn't be able to resist me. It's not in your DNA."
"So you're saying that I don't have a choice?" She asked, befuddled.
Sam sat up then, removing his hand from her and looking very serious. "That's not what I'm saying. See, if anything, I don't have a choice. I can't stay away from 's why we're in this mess to begin with."
"Because of the Promise thing?" Mercedes reasoned softly. "That's why you can't leave me alone, because it's in your DNA?"
He smiled. "No. That's not why at all. The 'Promise thing' that you call it only ensures that I'll be here for you forever. Our Promise together is not a substitute for feelings. So while we'll always be insanely drawn to each other, well, everything else is all me."
…But what was everything else?
"What are you saying Sam?" She whispered.
"Isn't it obvious?" He looked away from her to the door for a moment before leaning over and kissing her lips. "Your mom is awake and on her way here. You have about two minutes to quit looking like you just had some amazing sex."
Mercedes rolled her eyes and Sam smiled at her before getting up from the bed.
"But I haven't."
He smirked. "Is that a challenge I hear?"
"Go away Sam." She laughed.
"Alright my fair maiden. I'll go get dressed and then I'll be around in a tree somewhere, waiting patiently."
Mercedes snorted, grabbing her hair and making quick work to braid it. "Oh please. You'll probably be in the tree next to my window, watching me undress like the peeping Tom you are."
Sam walked over to her window, unlocking the hatch. "Baby, my name is Sam. I didn't hear you calling me Tom last night."
"Bye Sam."
"Yeah yeah. You have a minute." He reminded her.
She nodded and he was out the window soon after. Mercedes wrapped a rubber band around her braid then got up from her spot on the bed to grab their clothes off the floor that were long forgotten from the night before. Her mom would kill her if she even suspected Mercedes of doing something with Sam. Mercedes had her room picked up fairly well in thirty seconds and was situated back in bed before her mother knocked on the door.
"Mercedes? Are you awake?"
"Yeah mom," She answered loudly, her voice sounding gravelly with sleep. "I'm up."
Her mother opened the door at that moment, and smiled at her daughter. "Morning baby. Get dressed; breakfast will be done in fifteen minutes."
"Okay."
Mercedes walked down the stairs ten minutes after that, dressed and ready for school. As much as she would like to sit around and throw an outfit together worthy of making Sam drool, she didn't have the time or energy to do so. Plus, that's not the kind of girl Mercedes was. She attempted to look decent, and that was the best she could do. So when she arrived in the kitchen in her high waist jeans and crop top, Mercedes felt a bit accomplished. The crop top didn't show any skin because of her jeans, and if by some chance it did, people would see her stomach that was flattening as the days went by. Not that awful belly she used to have. Mercedes' hair was still in her signature braid with a few tendrils of hair out.
"Good morning Cedes," Her mother greeted her, giving her a once over. "Don't you look nice today?"
Mercedes smiled bashfully. "Thanks mom. What's for breakfast?"
Mrs. Jones looked pleasantly surprised at that question. "Your favorite: Bacon, cheese eggs and waffles."
She bit her lip at the sight of Mercedes' reaction. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to. I just thought—"
"No Mom," Mercedes said, walking around her and fixing a plate for herself. "I'll try and eat. It smells good."
Mercedes' heart partially broke at the overjoyed look on her mom's face. "Thank you baby. All I want is for you to try."
Her plate was filled with minuscule portions, but at least she was trying. She broke her bacon in halves before taking a bite. Baby steps. Once they were both seated Mercedes stared at her mother remorsefully. I need to apologize, she thought.
"Cedes?"
She looked up from her plate, taking a bite out of her bacon. "Yes?"
"Tell me about your boyfriend."
Mercedes almost choked on her bacon. "Huh?"
"You know, the green eyed, blonde haired boy you brought to dinner last night."
"Well mom I… I don't know what to say. He pretty much told you everything last night."
Mrs. Jones smiled. "Alright. So tell me, who made the first move?"
Who do you think? "He did."
"Of course, my demure innocent baby would never. It's unthinkable." She chuckled.
Mercedes' eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh nothing Cedes. It means nothing. What's important is how serious you are with him. I just hope you two are being safe."
Safe? She practically coughed up her waffle. "Mom we're not…we aren't doing that."
"Okay, I was just checking." Her mom replied relieved, "Though I'm sure a young fellow like Sam, no matter how respectful he is, will eventually attempt something."
You have no idea.
"But you should never feel forced to do anything you don't want," Mrs. Jones went on, "And if Sam appreciates and respects you, he won't pressure you."
Mercedes' cheeks were burning. "Okay mom."
They went back to eating after that. And while it was taking everything in her willpower to keep eating, it was easier than yesterday's meal. She couldn't help but feel triumphant for that. Before Mercedes could take another bite, she decided that she had waited long enough. "Mom?"
Her mom hummed around the food in her mouth. "Hmm?"
"I am so, so sorry for the way I treated you on Friday. I had no right to be so awful and badger you with all those questions. It was wrong and I knew it was wrong even as I was doing it."
Mrs. Jones swallowed and waved at the air in dismissal. "I know that, Cedes. You were trying to deflect the situation and it worked."
"But I still shouldn't have. I was so busy trying to hide that I didn't even consider you. It was horrible of me." She took another bite of her bacon half. It was almost gone.
"I agree, it was, but it wouldn't have worked if it wasn't true."
Mercedes dropped the bacon onto her plate. "What?"
"Your father cheated on me Mercedes."
She could feel bile rising in her throat and she tried to hold it back. "What?"
"Cordell cheated on me," Her mother repeated, "You stumbled right onto the truth Friday. I should have told you then, but I was too hurt. I still am."
"Mom—"
"I know this isn't what you want to hear," She continued, "But it's the truth and you need to know this. I won't go into detail about it though. You can ask your father all about it after school."
Mercedes pushed her plate away. Her body was screaming for food, but she didn't have the energy to deal with her mind's constant objections anymore.
Mrs. Jones noticed. "I'm sorry. You've lost your appetite now, haven't you?"
No. I'm fucking starving. But if I eat anymore I'm gonna have to puke, and you don't want that, do you?
"Something like that, yeah."
"Mercedes can I ask you something?" Her mother said after a brief silence.
"Hmm?"
"Why did you start making yourself sick?"
Sick? What did she mean by—oh. "I don't know."
Her mom looked confused. "Was it because you thought you weren't good enough? Have your father and I ever made you feel less than?"
No but…yes. Of course you did. "No mom. It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault."
"Well, certainly you don't feel ugly, right?" Mrs. Jones pressed, "You're a beautiful girl that's growing, and you're not overweight. You're just curvy."
Mercedes almost laughed. "Mom, I'm not 'curvy'. Victoria Secret models are curvy. I'm fat. I've been fat my whole life."
"I bet Sam doesn't think that."
"Don't bring him into this." She replied quietly.
"How can I not?" Her mom asked, appalled, "You're sitting here hating on yourself, when you have a handsome boyfriend that looks at you like you're a gift from God. And you are."
Mercedes shook her head. "Stop."
"You're only telling me to stop because you know it's true. If you're going to hate yourself, at least realize that you have people around you that love you very much. And I'm not just talking about your parents."
I cannot deal with this today.
"Mom, I have to go soon…" She said, looking at her phone and finding a missed text.
I'm outside waiting for you on the driveway. You get the privilege of this stud taking you to school.—Sam
"Yeah," Her mom replied, looking out the kitchen window, "I can see Sam's Jeep from here."
Thank God no one could tell if she was blushing.
Mercedes picked up her backpack, purse, coat, and was making her way to the door before her mother's voice stopped her.
"Mercedes?"
"Yes?"
"How long have you…how long have you had this eating disorder?"
One, two, three, four years. Four years. Four years. Four years. Four years. Mercedes bit her lip. "A while."
"More than a year?"
Mercedes was tired of talking about this. It was physically and emotionally exhausting. "Yes."
Mrs. Jones sighed. "I'm really sorry Mercedes."
"I told you, it's not your fault."
"As a mother, I'm supposed to protect you. I've been so busy trying to protect you from the world that I didn't see that I should've been protecting you from yourself. I will always be sorry for that. And it will always be my fault." She wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat.
"Go on now, Cedes. Your boyfriend's waiting."
Mercedes walked to Sam's Jeep with her eyes down and her lip bitten. She knew that the moment he saw her face he'd ask what was wrong, but she wanted a few more moments to herself to gather her thoughts.
Her mother thought that Sam loved her.
Dad cheated on mom.
She was sorry Mercedes was suffering from bulimia…Somehow; she thought that it was her fault.
And the worst part was that she didn't really know why she was bulimic.
Maybe it was a combination of everything around her that made her feel the need to purge. She wasn't sure. It could've been anything that finally set her off when she was thirteen. And the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to purge. Just to figure it out. To get in the mindset of purging would help her reason why she was doing it at all. Because Mercedes knew the result, it was an anesthetic. But why did she need the anesthetic? What was she trying to escape? The immediate answer was getting fatter, of course; however, it went a lot deeper than that. Mercedes didn't know. She knew that she had to figure it out if she had any hopes of getting better.
Did she even want to get better?
For Sam, yes. Of course. But for herself?
To be honest…
"No." Mercedes whispered brokenly, grabbing the handle to Sam's Jeep and pulling it open.
"No to what?" Sam asked, leaning over and grabbing her belongings to put in the backseat.
She shook her head. There was no way she was telling him. Some things needed to be kept private. "I don't wanna talk about it."
He grabbed her hand once she was in the vehicle. "The last I saw of you, you were laughing. Now you look like you want to cry. How did this happen?"
Mercedes shook her head again. "I just need some time to think before I say anything. I don't understand what's going on myself."
"Okay," Sam said, nodding, "I get it."
"Thank you."
They drove in a comfortable quiet before Sam squeezed her hand. "There are a few things I think you should know about what's going to happen during Christmas Break."
"Yeah?"
"You are going to go to Quinn's house. It's big and in the middle of other estates, so just in case, you know...something happens, all the Promises will be around other humans. Meaning that the Elites can't swoop in and capture you all. That should bide me or someone else time to get ya'll to safety. It shouldn't come to that though. "
"Is that it?" She asked.
"For now, yes."
"Who else is coming to help?"
"I don't know," Sam replied, sounding stressed, "Damien's supposed to be giving me that information today."
"Well good. You have a plan and that's always useful."
He pulled into the high school and Mercedes leaned over to kiss Sam once he found a proper parking pace. He swiftly shifted into park and grabbed the back of her head to keep her there. Mercedes knew that Sam was worrying like mad and if thirty seconds of bliss could get his mind off of it, so be it.
Every kiss with Sam was like a new adventure, and this proved no different. His hands were grasping at her sides desperately, and she held onto his shoulders for dear life. Sam's passion was overwhelming. He was kissing her intensely, and just like last night, she could feel a knot in her stomach. Was it healthy for her to be feeling this way so early in the morning?
"Sam," She gasped as his lips started to travel down her neck, "We—we can't—we're in the school parking lot. We have to stop."
"I know, I know," Sam breathed into her neck, "But do you want me to stop?"
Hell no. "We have to. Class starts in fifteen minutes."
"That's not what I asked," He said, nipping her earlobe, "And I can smell you already. You don't want me to stop."
"I thought you said that I needed an education." She panted, shivering.
He smirked. "I can teach you a lot, Mercedes."
Mercedes pulled away from him before she let herself succumb to ignorant bliss. "We have to talk to Damien and Quinn today. Plus I have to talk to Quinn, one on one. And I still need to congratulate Santana on our success in the Trouble Tones."
"Ugh!" Sam growled out, leaning back heavily in his chair and murmuring in disapproval. She understood his irritation and quite frankly the feeling was mutual, however there was no time for this. Mercedes would love to finish their…thing later, but right now there were other things to do.
She chewed her lip and calmed her breathing down. After Mercedes felt like she could be near him and not pounce, she nuzzled her face into his neck. "Later." She mumbled, giving Sam's skin a kiss over her love bites from last night.
"Okay." He agreed.
They got their bags together and Mercedes turned to stare at him. "Hey Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you think—" She stopped and ducked her head, already feeling mortified, "Last night, you know, with the biting, how come it happened? I mean, I really liked it and it felt amazing but…it was overwhelming. Is that normal? Does it have to do with the Promise thing?"
Sam nodded and looked away for a moment. "It has everything to do with you being my Promise. Our lure for each other is a lot stronger than regular human attraction. And it was meant to be that way. When a Promise and an Elite spend forever together, it's meant to be complete unadulterated pleasure every time they're…together. It's supposed to be overwhelming. So when we bit each other last night, it was a natural reaction to our primal needs."
Mercedes didn't know how Sam could sound so erogenous and clinical at the same time. Probably because when Sam said anything it made her heat up. She felt the bites on her neck that were minuscule but still slightly raised from the rest of her skin. Mercedes pressed down on them and felt a wave of hot molten want surge through her. "Are the bites still supposed to make me feel overwhelmed?"
"I guess so," He shrugged and leaned over to kiss the wound on her neck. A helpless moan emanated from her mouth, "It should go away within a few days."
"I'm going to explode before that happens."
He laughed.
They walked into McKinley sometime after that holding hands. It took some convincing on Sam's part, considering that she didn't want the attention, nonetheless it worked out. And as Mercedes had suspected, people were staring at them and their joined hands as well as their united front. At least now when people looked at one of them, they'd have no choice but to think about the other. She was no longer just Mercedes, she was Mercedes & Sam. Or Sam & Mercedes. It was nice and terrifying.
"You don't know how much people are glaring at me." Mercedes said as they walked to her locker.
Sam shrugged and waited as she started pulling out books and putting some back. "It's not 'people' that are glaring, it's only girls. And you should see how I'm getting frowned at."
"Oh please Sam," She replied, "The only people glaring at you are the few black guys that occupy the football team. And that's only because they're racist. Plus Shane thinks he owns me or something."
Sam's expressed turned dark. "The only person you will ever belong to is me."
"I belong to no one," Mercedes groaned exasperatedly, rolling her eyes, "You and me belong together."
Nothing Mercedes said managed to register to Sam because he still had that possessive look on his face. He swooped down, kissing her neck right over another bite mark he created last night and she had to stop herself from crying out. This was public indecency and PDA on so many levels. What the hell was wrong with him? They were at school for God's sake!
She tried taking a step back from him but he gripped her waist. "Sam what the hell are you doing this is not the time or the place and you—"
"You're mine, Mercy," He growled lowly, ignoring her, "Say you're mine and I'll stop."
This was becoming ridiculous. They'd be better off in his car. If Higgins or Coach Sue found either one of them like this she was getting suspended. They both were, but she was betting that she was that only one who actually cared about that. God knows people were staring, and now she wasn't going to be able to go into first hour without blushing madly. Yet and still like the besotted girl Mercedes was, she went along with it.
"I'm yours." She acquiesced softly. She was so pathetic.
"Well well well, I thought you two had already partaken in your hourly necking, but I guess you're behind schedule." Came Damien's mocking voice from behind her boyfriend.
Sam groaned, clearly irritated, but stepped away from Mercedes nonetheless. She didn't think there would ever be a time when she'd be happier to see Damien more than now. Because she was almost positive that Sam was going to convince her to go back out to his car and finish what they had started earlier. And while she wanted to, there were more pressing matters to deal with.
"Good morning Damien." Mercedes greeted him.
"I don't think my morning was nearly as good as yours has turned out, but yeah." He replied.
Mercedes looked around her boyfriend's shoulder and found Quinn on Damien's arm. It seemed like they were already a couple, even after she had warned Damien to give Quinn some time. This made her strangely upset.
Mercedes held no ties with Quinn at all, although considering that they were both bi-products of their Elites, she felt like they were connected to each other somehow. They were both Promises. They both had men going off to war for their safety, and they were both infatuated. Damien should have heeded her warning. Quinn had been through a lot the past year, and he knew that. He could have at least given her a freaking day to sort through her feelings! Because now when Damien left for war, Quinn was probably going to be heartbroken beyond repair. Especially if he didn't come back.
Instead of replying, Mercedes ignored Damien's unrelenting rudeness and looked at Quinn as the first tardy bell rang. "Don't we have first hour together?" She asked around the roar of teenagers scrambling to get to class.
Quinn looked dumbfounded, but she nodded. "Yeah?"
Because yeah was a question. "We'd better get to our class then."
Quinn looked at Damien for a moment and he shrugged. "Alright." She said nodding.
"I have to talk to Sam anyway," Damien stated as he visibly gave her hand a squeeze, "So I'll be waiting for you when it's over."
"You're still not enrolled?" Sam asked.
"Of course not. What would be the point?" He replied, giving Quinn one last smile before she left.
A look dawned on Sam's face and he turned accusatory eyes on Damien. "You tell me."
Mercedes knew what Sam was thinking. Had he given away everything already?
"Bye Sam," She said, reaching up and tugging on a few strands of his hair, "I'll see you after class."
Sam smiled and kissed Mercedes chastely. "Bye."
"If we're leaving, we should go now." Quinn said to Mercedes, staring blankly at Sam. Possessiveness swelled up in her but she squashed it down. Quinn had Damien now. Sam and Mercedes were together. End of story.
"Right."
"So how do you like Damien so far?" Mercedes asked as they walked to first hour.
Quinn looked over at her curiously. "I like him a lot. He's amazing."
"Look," She started, and stopped walking before they could get to their class, "I know you know more than you're letting on. And I know that we still have unfinished business. So I'm only going to say this: remember to be careful with Damien."
"And what do you mean by that?"
"I mean that Damien has your best interest at heart, but you need slow down and sort through your emotions first. I know you still have feelings for Sam and you still hate me. So if you don't go ahead and deal with your inner demons now, they're going to carry into your relationship with Damien."
Quinn scowled at her. "The only thing you're right about is how I feel about you and that we have unfinished business. The rest is nonsense. I don't care what you think about me or Damien, this is my relationship and you can't wreck it like the last one."
Mercedes shrugged and pulled her backpack strap higher up on her shoulder. "If you jump into Damien's arms with a chip on your shoulder I won't be able to do anything more than you have Quinn. You'll have wrecked your own relationship all by yourself."
THANK YOU: GeorgetteA, Emily8x3, Kimpa7809, snicklelickinboot, NCC-0419 (missed your reviews), LovesamcedesStory, eowyn, krazykay23 (missed you!), Oxford (I almost thought you weren't reading anymore), mh and zeejack for reviewing the last chapter!
I've missed you all profusely, and I miss writing for this story. The only thing that's keeping me from updating like I used to is life. I plan to update two more times within the next two weeks before I have to go back to school, so watch out for those! If you're still reading, thank you for always being here and please don't give up on this story. I cannot stress enough that this story will be finished.
How do we feel about Mercedes' development? Her thing with Quinn and Sam's…Sam-ness. Were there any favorite parts of this chapter? Anything that made you mad?
Please review!