Enjoy!

There for You

"Carly!" I shouted, opening the door without knocking, "It's me!"

They were all sitting on the couch: Carly, Spencer, and a rather panic-stricken Melanie. I had to contain my joy of seeing her, resisting the urge to run up and hug her. I knew she probably wouldn't be able to handle it right now.

"S-Sam?" Melanie looked up and I quickly noticed the blankness in her eyes.

"Hey, Mel." I gave her a small smile, walking over and sitting beside her on the couch.

Her face lit up immediately, and the glazed over look she once fashioned was gone, "Sam!"

I braced myself for the hug that indefinitely came, holding in the ache to cry out when she came into contact with my bruises and cuts. When she let go, I forced a smile through the pain I was experiencing.

"We'll leave you two alone," Spencer said smiling, dragging Carly away after him.

Carly gave me a brief nod before following her brother upstairs. I didn't know what it meant, other than that maybe she was happy to see me. Maybe she was treating me like I was treating Melanie; trying to keep the emotional outbursts to a minimum. I appreciated it since I probably couldn't handle another hug without breaking down.

"How long have you been here?" I asked Melanie, holding her hand in mine.

She shrugged shakily, "Since last night I think."

I sighed, "So you did come straight here?"

Melanie nodded silently, her eyes on the floor. I squeezed her hand in a comforting way and gave her a small smile, "That's good."

She scratched her head nervously, "I should have stayed."

"Stayed?"

"At home…" Melanie trailed off, her expression hard.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, "I made you go. Don't feel guilty."

Melanie shook her head, eyes watering, "What if he had killed you, Sam? What then? He obviously beat you up pretty bad... I can see blood in your hair…"

I reached up and tried to feel for it, but Melanie stopped me by pulling down a clump of my hair that was tinted a reddish-brown color instead of my natural dirty blonde. My hands curled around the strands before I threw them behind my ear carelessly. The action caused me to feel a sudden tenderness in my head, but I held in the urge to say anything about it.

"It doesn't matter," I muttered finally, "It would have been worse if you had stayed, Mel."

She shook her head, "You shouldn't have intervened. If you had just let him…"

"No!" I cried out a little too loudly, "I wasn't going to let him rape you, Melanie!"

Melanie turned silent immediately, drawing her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them on the couch. I felt suddenly guilty, remembering that he had already done something to her that I didn't understand yet.

"Sorry," I mumbled, "I forgot."

"Forgot what?" Melanie asked innocently.

My lip twitched, "When mom and you were fighting… You said dad loved you the wrong way…"

"Oh," She breathed.

"What did he do?" I questioned, trying not to sound too desperate for an answer.

She shrugged, seemingly put off by the question, but answered regardless, "Touched me… made me touch him."

Her gaze remained at the floor, and I could see her face flush red. I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it quickly, realizing I didn't know what I should say. Melanie was embarrassed.

"I…" She whispered, "I didn't like it… so I told mom."

"And she didn't believe you." I muttered knowingly.

Melanie shook her head, "No."

I nodded angrily, "Bitch."

"Sam, don't call her that," Melanie muttered, "She's still our mother. And anyways, after he left it wasn't such a big deal anymore."

My mouth was agape, "How can you say that? Of course it was a big deal, Mel!"

Melanie flinched, "It's a big deal that he's raped you, but I don't see you acting like it is."

"That's because it's not," I mumbled, remembering the count was at two and a half rapes now, not one, "It's… different."

"How is it different, Sam?" She threw her hands into the air.

I sighed, "I'm older. You were a little kid."

"So?" She retorted.

"I can handle this better than a six-year old, Melanie." I growled, clenching my fists, "I am handling it."

"You think I didn't deal with it?" She frowned, "When I went to boarding school they stuck me in therapy after I told them about it."

Suddenly, I felt my heart drop, "So you told your snobby school people before me?"

"No… Sam it's not like that—" Melanie began before I cut her off.

"Yes it is! You went to them and told them about all of your fudgin' secrets you never told me!" I cried out, holding back the urge to scream.

Melanie gritted her teeth, "I woke up crying and screaming every night for the first week I was there. They had to stick me in a room by myself because I was disturbing people. Eventually, I had to tell because if I didn't they were going to send me home. It's a good thing I did too, I'd probably be crazy right now if it wasn't for the meds they put me on."

"Meds?" I felt my anger rising, "You never told me you were on medication."

"For PTSD, yeah." She replied simply, "And the only reason I didn't tell you is because you would worry."

My heard pounded in my chest like a rock. She didn't tell me so I wouldn't worry? That's my thing. I keep my stuff to myself. I hope I haven't somehow rubbed off on her or something.

"You're not allowed to do that," I thought aloud, not realizing she heard me.

"Excuse me?" She grumbled, "Since when do you get to decide what I can and can't do?"

"Since we were born!" I shouted, "I'm supposed to protect you! You can't go around keeping secrets from me because you think I'll worry!"

It was probably the most hypocritical thing I've ever said. But still, I said it.

Melanie snorted and looked me up and down, "You have no room to talk."

I sucked in a long breath, letting it out slowly through my nostrils. Melanie gave me a hard glare, but I ignored it. She just didn't understand. It's always been my job to take care of her. Keeping secrets and emotions locked away in my mind was a huge part of that. If she only knew some of the stuff I never told her, maybe she would understand.

"Whatever," I mumbled finally, "You don't understand."

"That's what you always say, Sam." Melanie muttered.

I stood up and walked into the kitchen, feeling the burning of her eyes in the back of my head. Once there, I got a bottle of root beer out of the fridge and a few pieces of ham. Melanie continued to stare at me incredulously, like she didn't understand what I was doing.

"You're eating… now?" Melanie said finally, an air of annoyance in her voice.

"Another thing you don't understand," I frowned, staring back at her, "I haven't eaten anything in two days, Mel-Loser."

"You're kidding me?" Her face dropped, "You?"

I nodded, "This whole thing with dad has killed my appetite."

"That's not healthy, Sam." Melanie said in the motherly voice I adored as a child, "You can't just stop eating for a couple days."

"Like I said, you don't understand." I mumbled, finally putting the ham in my mouth and savoring the taste.

"I would if you'd tell me these things." She sighed, taking a sip of my root beer.

I jerked the bottle of root beer from her hand, "Mine."

"Bossy…" She muttered, giving me a sly grin.

I took a long gulp of my drink before slamming it onto the table, "You know it."

Melanie smiled but didn't say anything. I cocked an eyebrow, "What?"

She shrugged, "It's just good to know all of this 'stuff' hasn't changed you too much."

"Yeah," I scratched my neck nervously, the cuts on my arm burning and stinging now more than ever, "Good to know."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Melanie asked, her smile fading.

I shook my head, "Nope, I'm straight."

"Okay, just checking." She nodded.

I continued to chew on my ham silently, taking swigs of root beer every few minutes while Melanie watched me closely. I gazed at the countertop in an attempt to keep her from reading what I was actually feeling through my eyes. She was talented at that.

"Sam," Melanie said, I could hear the caution in her voice, "What happened last night after I left?"

I grimaced, "He just got kinda... mad."

"That's all?" Melanie asked, though she already knew the answer.

I lied anyways, "Yep."

"Sam…" She moaned.

"Fine," I mumbled, "He just hit me some."

"That I believe." Melanie sighed, "How bad?"

I shrugged, "It hurt."

"Sarcasm? Really?" Melanie groaned.

I smirked, "Yep."

"Give me a serious answer or I'll just look for myself." She crossed her arms.

"Melanie..." I moaned, "Please don't make me..."

"Tell me, Sam." She frowned, "Don't test me because I will look."

"Kicked me in the head," I muttered, my voice low in embarrassment, "He probably kicked me just about everywhere actually. Then he… stopped."

"He just stopped?" Melanie sounded unconvinced.

I nodded silently, drinking more root beer. Melanie took the bottle from me and glared at me, "Sam?"

"Gimme that back," I whispered weakly.

She tapped her foot, "Tell me the truth."

Our icy blue eyes met, and I knew she meant business. I ripped my gaze from hers, and returned to staring at the counter, "He tried stuff again." My voice was barely above a whisper.

"Tried?"

I nodded, "I stopped him."

Melanie turned pale, "How?"

"Just did," I muttered angrily.

"He's not dead or something is he?" Melanie joked with a small laugh.

I lifted my head, "I didn't stick around long enough to find out for sure."

Before she could say something else, I quickly added, "Not kidding."

Her eyes froze on my face, and I knew she was searching for the answers using instinct alone. Instead of forcing her to question me for another fifteen minutes or so, I eventually let out a long sigh and mumbled, "He tried to rape me again, but I wasn't going to let him. Freddie's bat was there… and chizz happened."

"Chizz happened?" Melanie said incredulously.

I nodded solemnly, "Chizz happened."

We sat in solitude for a few minutes before Melanie finally spoke.

"You hit him with the bat," She said as I nodded, "And when you left you weren't sure whether he was alive or not?"

I nodded again, "I'm in serious chizz, Mel. Mom called the cops and… I heard sirens when I was leaving. They're probably out looking for me right now."

"Well," Melanie sighed, "Maybe if you just explain what happened, then they'll call it self-defense and you won't be in trouble."

I shook my head, "The cops around here won't believe that for a second. They know my history."

Melanie gave me a grave look, "This is bad."

"Really bad," My heart pounded, "The cops will probably be here soon. Maybe you should go."

"Why would you think that?"

I shrugged, "Mom hates me right now. She probably already told them who my best friend is, so they'll be here in a heartbeat."

I tried to remain as calm on the outside as I could, but internally I was breaking.

"Sam, don't think like that." She sighed, "Spencer won't let them arrest you."

"It's not his call," I laughed sadly.

She frowned, "Sam, relax."

I rolled my eyes and ate another piece of ham, "Whatever."

"So, anyways," Melanie changed the subject after realizing this conversation wasn't going anywhere, "Where did you go last night? Carly was pretty worried."

I shrugged with a sly smile, "Freddie's."

"Freddie, as in Freddie Benson?" Melanie's face lit up, "Gimme deets!"

My lips curled into a smile, "There are no 'deets'."

"Oh, come on, Sam!" She begged me like a kid wanting a new toy, "Please?"

"We kissed." I said finally, holding back the urge to scream it.

"Holy cheese, no way!" Melanie hopped up, "I bet it was good, Freddie's got lips sent from God."

"Ugh," I cringed, "I just remembered he kissed you."

Melanie smirked, "Yep, and it was awesome before he ran away."

I snorted, "That's just sad."

"Whatever. It was only because he thought I was you… or something." She rolled her eyes, "Do you like him?"

"Freddie?" I sighed, "No."

"Oh, come on, Sam!" Melanie squealed, "You can't kiss someone and not like them."

I frowned, "That's not true. When we kissed on the fire escape a couple of years ago I hated him."

"Yeah," She nodded, "But that's different."

My fingers twitched, "How so?"

"You guys were younger then and your hormones were really out of whack," Melanie replied smiling, "Now you're older, in whack, and more experienced when it comes to 'love'."

"More experienced?" I glared, "I haven't had a boyfriend since ninth grade, Mel."

Melanie breathed, "So? That's one more boyfriend than you had before you and Freddie kissed the first time, right?"

I shrugged and gave in, "I guess..."

"So you do like him!" She shrieked, clapping her hands.

I rolled my eyes, "No, I don't. He was just helping me through some stuff, and the kisses just happened."

"Kisses plural?" Melanie grinned.

"Can we drop this?" I growled, "I'm just really confused right now about me and Freddie."

"Aw!" Melanie cried out, "You said 'me and Freddie'! It's like you're married already!"

"Ugh, you're so weird." I shook my head, drinking more root beer, "I'm gonna go get Carly and Spencer so I can talk to some normal people."

"Sam?" Melanie said suddenly, stopping me from running upstairs to fetch Carly, "Maybe you should tell her… about dad."

I shook my head, "She'll never look at me the same, Mel."

"But Carly is your best friend, Sam." She retorted, "I think she deserves to know."

I exhaled loudly, "She won't be able to handle that type of information."

Melanie gave me a sideways glance, "She's already suspicious that he did something to you. After last night, you really can't get away with not telling her any longer."

My eyes widened, "You didn't say anything… did you?"

"I… I said enough to get her thinking," She breathed, "But not enough for her to figure it out on her own. You need to tell her."

I gritted my teeth, "I'll make you a deal, if she brings it up, I'll tell her."

"Good." Melanie smiled.

I rolled my eyes and ran upstairs, "Whatever."

I found Carly and Spencer in the iCarly studio, having some kind of intense conversation. Though the door was closed I could hear them clearly, more than clearly enough to eavesdrop.

"—But Spencer!" Carly whined, "Something happened at her house, I know it."

He shook his head, "Until she actually confesses to anything happening at home with her mom or dad, I can't do anything about it, Carls."

Carly looked as if she could cry, "When Melanie showed up here last night, don't tell me that you believed her when she said that she got mugged. Please don't be that naïve, Spencer."

"I didn't believe her, Carly." There was an air of annoyance in his voice, "But I wasn't going to question her to death until she shut down completely."

Carly scratched her neck and stared at the ground, "I wonder what they're talking about down there."

Spencer shrugged, "Everything probably."

"I wish Sam would tell me more," Carly thought aloud, "I know she thinks she has to be strong for everyone, but it would be nice to know some more about my best friend besides that her favorite food is ham."

"You know things about Sam." Spencer frowned.

She shook her head, "I know the difference between when she's mad, and when she's just bored. But when it comes to the things that really matter, I don't have a clue."

"Knowing a person doesn't mean that you know all of their secrets, Carls." Spencer said, sounding more and more like an adult with each passing word, "Sometimes, it means that you know their moods, or their body language. With Sam, it's all of those things."

Carly's face brightened slightly, "That makes sense."

"Anyways, it's not like you don't know any of her secrets." He continued, "You and I both know how afraid of being alone she is."

I cringed, feeling weakness creeping over me. They aren't supposed to know what I'm scared of. Suddenly, I angrily barged into the room, trying not to show I'd been listening in to their conversation.

"Sam!" Carly exclaimed, jumping up from her beanbag and running up to me.

Instead of embracing me in the super hug I'd expected, she stopped in front of me motionless. I looked up at her, noticing the pained look in her eyes. She was scanning my battered appearance from my face down to my feet, as if she was trying to figure out how to hug me without causing pain. After a few seconds of this, I released a long sigh.

"It won't hurt that bad, Carls." I muttered with a smirk.

She still seemed unconvinced. Finally, I decided to take the prerogative and hugged her myself. Carly was surprised at first, but finally relaxed into my arms. It felt good hugging her, almost cleansing.

"I've missed you…" Carly mumbled into my shirt, "A lot."

"I saw you a couple days ago," I muttered, trying to keep calm.

"That's not what I meant," Carly pulled away, "You haven't been… you lately."

I wiped at my eyes, keeping tears to a minimum, "I know."

"What happened?" She asked as Spencer left the room without a word, "To you, I mean."

I shrugged, "A lot has happened, Carls."

We sat down together on the bean bags before she spoke, "Just start from the beginning."

I released a long sigh, "You have to promise me something first."

"Okay?" Carly smiled, "What is it?"

"You have to promise that no matter what I tell you, you can't treat me any differently."

"This is bad, isn't it?" Carly frowned before nodding with a sigh, "I promise."

"Okay," I breathed, "But I'm going to warn you, this isn't going to be fun to listen to."

She nodded again, "I understand."

"Fine," I said reluctantly, still not prepared to tell her everything, "But remember, I warned you..."

Cliffy Time! Yay! Looks like Sam is finally going to come clean to everyone! lol. It's actually a really big step for her when you think about it.

Hope ya liked! I'm not very sure how much longer this story is going to go... but it will definitely be longer than thirty chapters. I've already gotten most of those written too! lol. After I finish revising them and whatnot I'll have maybe one up tomorrow or Thursday, then maybe another Friday. It just really depends if I get on my laptop tomorrow or not.

:)

Review? Maybe? Pleez? :D

Not beggin', just askin'!