Boarded
A/N:
Chapter 46 (Visitation and Breaking News)
When Sam actually awoke and people could go in to see her, they did not want to overwhelm her, so people visited her in singles or doubles. Gibby had his own private time with her after going in with Pam and Janet, who had left so he'd have his time. It was very romantic and soothing watching from the outside, very touching for everyone to see his tears and how much he loved her. Of course, she told him not to go after the person that did this to her, she didn't want him getting hurt because of her. It was hard to convince him, but she made him promise. Even weakened and in a hospital bed, she was still tough as nails.
Melanie and Freddie went in after them and stood on either side of Sam's bed, they were very, very happy she was doing so well. "How are you feeling?" Freddie asked as he pulled her bed sheet up a bit. Sam looked at her chest and lifted the hospital gown up at the collar to see in, she wasn't able to see much.
"All I can say is, now I know how a shish kabob feels like." Freddie and Melanie looked at each other and chuckled dryly. They weren't sure if she was joking or not. "That, and I'm really hungry right now." She looked to Freddie and lifted her hand an inch. "Benson, did you happen to sneak in some jerky or something?" He closed his eyes and smiled while Melanie stifled a laugh.
"Good to see you're feeling back to normal. You know you gave your mom and sister, cousin too, quite the scare." Sam closed her lips and grinded the back ends of her teeth. She looked through the window of the door and saw Jeremy and Jessica talking. She felt guilty about going after Lenny, she knew she probably shouldn't have done that the minute she saw what happened to Jeremy's mailbox. "I was a little late getting here because I was helping Jonah on some project at the shop when Mel texted me." Sam nodded at him and turned her eyes to her sister, remembering the sounds of panic coming from the phone that day. She was able to acknowledge that it was Melanie's fast action that might have saved her life, or the fact that something told her to call her mother in that moment.
"I'm so sorry I put you through that." Melanie moved in to hug her sister and was careful to do it gently and to avoid where Sam had been hit. Sam winced just a bit, as her entire body still felt the pain. It wasn't so bad anymore, not as bad as it felt with the spikes in her. Melanie backed up and wiped a tear from her eyes as Sam's hands balled up. "I'm not paralyzed, I hope." She couldn't see her feet, but at least she thought they moved when she attempted to move them. "I'm going to be real pissed if he paralyzed me." Unfortunately if he had, that meant she wouldn't be able to get him. "It was Lenny, wasn't it, Mel?"
"There's no proof of that, Sam. No proof at all…" Sam frowned and stared at her feet under the sheet. She felt like she was going to be sick. If there was no evidence to support the claim that Lenny was behind this, then that meant he would not be arrested. Freddie stared at the sisters with a baffled expression. Who was Lenny? He had no idea. Melanie looked at him, seeing the confusion in his eyes. It upset her that she couldn't tell him what he obviously wanted to know, it was not her place to tell anybody. "I'm sorry Freddie, I know what you want to know…"
"Can't tell me who Lenny is?" She closed her eyes and shook her head, she made a promise to Jessica.
"It's not my place. I didn't even want to tell Sam, but she made me. Now you see why I didn't want to tell her." She pointed at Sam, who continued to stare at her feet. Guilt and pain hit her, but no physical pain. She deserved those words, because it was her who went after Lenny like an idiot. "I may look like I don't know much, but I do know what I'm talking about." She knelt next to Sam and carefully brushed her bangs from her face. "I'm sorry if I sound mean, Sis…"
"No it's okay, you're right. I shouldn't have gone after him. I put everybody through a lot of hell by doing that…does Jessica know about everything?"
"Yes, she has a pretty good idea who's behind all this…" Sam closed her eyes and grasped the sheets tightly in her fingers.
"Would you send her in now? I love you Mel, and thank you for being here for me." Sam lifted her hand and dabbed away the tears in her eyes. She looked at Freddie and smiled at him. "You too, thank you." He smiled back as Melanie gave her one last hug.
"I love you too, Sis." Sam watched the two leave, sharp pangs of guilt still gutted her. She closed her eyes and scoffed, trying to push the guilt away. Seeing her mom's tears and hearing Melanie's words really did hit her. If Jessica knew what happened, then she was really in for it. It was funny, though. Carly wasn't out there, she noticed. She missed her old friend, hadn't seen her in two months. The last she heard of her, she'd made it onto the cheerleading squad.
Jeremy and Jessica walked into the room, a bit wary of what Sam might think about them entering together. She smiled at them and waved, showing them she wasn't at all bothered by the fact. Jerry moved to where Freddie had been standing while Jessica hurried over and hugged her cousin. "Sam, I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Thanks, I'm glad I'm all right too. Did you happen to bring a steak with you?" Jeremy chuckled while Jessica smiled and rolled her eyes. She was so glad she actually loved her cousin with all her heart and her cousin's being bedridden told her she could smack her upside the head. "So, did Melanie tell you what happened?" Jessica shook her head and stood up, she was so ridden with fear and a mix of other emotions that she never thought to ask Melanie anything about the attack.
"All I know is someone broke your bike…and I think it was the same person who put that gash on Jeremy's arm." Jeremy's arms were folded neatly across his chest, and of course this made the bandage show a bit. He closed his eyes and smirked a bit, breathing from his nose.
"It's just a little cut, not a gash."
"It's a gash, and you know it! Stop trying to make it not seem so bad to make me feel better…" She looked down and he gazed at her, she was going through so much. He stepped in front of her and placed his hands on her arms, looking into her eyes. "What?"
"Don't blame yourself." He put emphasis on the words. He knew they wouldn't really impact her as much as he wanted them to, but he had to try. Sam watched the two and tilted her head, she felt a sort of aura coming from them. Jessica was still having a hard time and still crying, and of course Jeremy was wiping the tears away. "Now, we're here to see your cousin. She's okay, perfectly fine, so those better be tears of joy or I'm going to have to make you laugh. That may or may not involve some form of tickling." Jessica felt a single laugh slip from her throat and out her lips, then covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hide the smile growing on her face. "Ah what was that, now?" He smirked and wagged his eyebrows as he lifted his hand to hers. "Let's see what you're hiding, bet it's a lovely smile."
"Mm-mm!" She shook her head, her eyes dancing into his. She pressed her hand firmly to her cheeks and Jeremy knew he wasn't getting her hand from her mouth.
"Well let me see if I can remember." He tapped his chin lightly as Jessica raised an eyebrow, her cheekbones rising and falling a bit. "Ah yes, we're eight or nine and playing in the back yard with Gibby…your mother comes out and says it's time for dinner…" Jessica thought back, she knew what he was doing. This memory always made her laugh. "Well Gibby and I didn't want to go home."
"We were eight…" She was already starting to struggle to suppress the laughter, she really didn't want to give in, but it was too much.
"Right. So what happens, you tell us to hide and you trick me, why you chose to trick me like this, I still haven't figured out." She smirked under her hand as she recalled the brilliant memory as though it were yesterday. "You hide Gibby in your closet…and push me under your mom and dad's bed."
Sam's eyebrows rose, she didn't remember this and wasn't sure if it happened before or after she moved in with Jessica. She remembered Janet's husband had gone overseas shortly after she moved in with her, he was still over there, but his duty was about to end and he was scheduled to come home, but she wasn't sure exactly when. "You ensure me that it's a safe place to hide, and for some reason, I actually believed you." Jessica giggled and caught herself, then watched as Jeremy's hot smirk formed upon his lips. "What was that? A giggle?"
"Sucker."
"Oh? I'm a sucker?"
"Yes, because you believed me when I told you hiding under mom and dad's bed would be safe."
"Yeah, I was a sucker." He laughed and she exploded in laughter. It happened to be that night was when her parents decided to have sex, Jessica did not know that would happen and thought that her mom would simply find Jeremy and have a stern talking to him. It was so embarrassing for them, but after a while, the two were able to just laugh about it. "I sat through an hour of one of the most painful things that an eight year old child should never have to go through." Sam's eyes widened as she got what they were talking about.
"Wow." The two looked at Sam as she stared at them with a mix of astonishment and disbelief. "You two are a riot, you know that, right?" At least Jeremy was able to make her laugh, Jessica deserved that much with all the crap going on lately. "By the way, I have a question for you two, and it may make you feel incredibly uncomfortable."
"What's the question?" They both asked simultaneously, then looked at each other for a split second. Sam rolled her eyes and the corners of her lips tilted upwards.
"Is there always this much sexual tension between you two?"
"Huh?" Their eyes widened and Jessica's jaw dropped as she stared at her cousin with pure shock.
"Seriously, the raging pheromones are pouring from your bodies! Hell, the tension's so powerful I could feel it from a mile away." Jessica's face grew red as a tomato and she near instantly fainted on the spot.
"What makes you think there's anything between me and Jerry?"
"The fact that…" Sam thought for a second and exhaled slowly. "Let me put it this way. The thing about twins, they know each other's feelings and can kind of gauge somewhere within the ballpark of their thoughts. And I've been pretty sure for a while now that whenever she talked about how you were being friendly with Jeremy, that there was something going on. She doesn't get all dramatic with her sighs unless there's something romantic going on somewhere."
"Oh, I see…" Jeremy closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. So, maybe Sam had figured something out, but there really wasn't anything going on.
"At least right now, we're just friends." Sam rolled her eyes and looked to Jeremy, pointing at him.
"And right now you are being a filthy liar. Don't lie, I know you don't lie, because if you lied, Jessica wouldn't give a shit about you. Now is the sexual tension between you this bad whenever you're alone?" Jessica's blush increased as her heart started to pound. Jeremy kept his cool, not wanting to press the panic button just yet. His face softened and his voice lowered a bit.
"Worse." Jessica nodded with agreement. It was so bad that whenever she was with him, she just wanted to kiss him and never pull away. She couldn't help it that she thought he was completely hot and she felt like, maybe, she might be falling for him. He looked at Jessica through the corner of his eyes and her eyes slowly drifted to his. Already the heated tension was flaring up. Sam took notice of this and lifted her hands up.
"Whoa okay, reminder, cousin in the hospital bed here…you lovebirds can put that stuff on the backburner for a bit." They turned their eyes sharply upon Sam, their cheeks becoming hotter. They didn't consider themselves lovebirds, as she put. If anything, they just had a really powerful crush on each other and equally powerful urges. Sam's face softened as she saw the smile on Jessica's face. She was happy, that was all that mattered. "Just remember this, Jeremy. We all are watching. We don't hold your past against you any longer, so don't think that influences what I'm going to say, because I said the same thing to Freddie, we've said the same thing to Gibby, said the same thing to Jonah, and I'll say the same thing to you, if anything ever happens between you two, that is…"
"Okay?" He looked nervously at Jessica for a minute, while she felt a sense of calmness coming onto her. She for sure thought Sam would react much worse to Jeremy than anyone else, but maybe the fact that she too had a past with him made a difference. She, like Jessica, knew that the things he'd done were not what was truly in his heart. She knew a much different man than that.
"You protect her, you treat her right, you keep her happy. Do you understand me so far?" He swallowed and slowly nodded his head. Shouldn't she be tearing him apart right about now? She probably would if she could get out of that hospital bed. She pointed at him and narrowed her eyes. "If you ever hurt her, and I don't think that you will, because I know you're a better person than that…but if you ever hurt her, then I'm going to beat the shit out of you, and you will have lost my trust and respect."
He was not going to argue with that, because he knew he would deserve a beating if he ever did anything to harm her. "I'd sooner die than to cause her any pain."
"Good, because believe me, there's someone much worse than I am that you'd have to deal with if you ever did cause her any pain." Jessica mused on that statement, who could there be? Then realization hit her, he was coming home this month! He didn't even know the things she'd gone through, either! Her eyes locked with Sam's and almost pleaded with her. Jeremy was confused, but he had an idea who Sam was talking about. "Now I will not tell Uncle John about the things that you did when you were…out of your mind…" Jeremy's eyes widened, he was right, she was referring to Jessica's father. The military man in the Army, he'd just been promoted to the first General rank and should be coming home rather soon. If anything could be said about all the crap that had been going on lately and someone with the power to stop it, it was General John Trent, perhaps the most protective person around. People had been messing with his family, and if word got out, he'd destroy everyone that caused them any pain and suffering. That, and he controlled a whole section of the Army now.
"Mr. Trent…" Jessica's eyes brightened as she nearly jumped up with joy at the mention of her father's name. She'd not seen him in so long, but had always gotten letters back and forth. She couldn't wait to see him again. "With my luck, he might try to recruit me into the military…" Sam laughed and pointed at him.
"And if he does, you'd better join. It might do you a world of good." Jessica gasped and placed her hand protectively on his chest.
"But Jeremy can't stand the sight of death, and if he joins the military, he might have to go to war and…kill people."
"Eh, it would teach him a few things that he'd need to know about life. Besides, the chances of him actually going to war are pretty slim." John knew Jeremy well, being the grandson of the nice lady across the street, he'd probably love to see the kid again. Jessica gave Sam a warning look and lifted her finger up.
"You are not to tell dad a thing about what Jeremy did. That's over and done with, even mom isn't going to tell dad. Dad looks at Jeremy as if he's his own, he has nothing but respect for him." Sam agreed and wouldn't actually tell him anything. Besides, she didn't have a right to tear down her uncle's trust like that. "I'm just so happy, because dad's coming home this month!" Now there really was nothing to fear. He'd lay it all to rest with a single motion of his hand. Nobody would escape his grasp.
"Yeah, I think Uncle John might have enough on his plate if he learns anything about the rodeo…"
"Oh, he uh…he knows what happened with Uncle Hector and Jeremy's dad." Sam lifted her eyebrows and Jeremy carefully rubbed the back of his neck. "We correspond with letters and while I never told him about Jeremy's past, though he always asked about him…I did tell him about Uncle Hector, about Tyler, and that's about it…should I not have?" Sam pressed her lips together and sighed.
"Probably not. Did you ever get a letter back?"
"Yeah, I'm starting to think my talking about that influenced his decision…" He'd been scheduled to leave some time around November, but he sent a letter back to Jessica saying that he requested an earlier leave and was granted it. So now, he was coming home sometime early June. "He requested earlier leave. But I'm so incredibly happy about that!"
"So am I, but I have a feeling there's going to be a few unhappy people." Lenny, Hector, Tyler, just to name a few. It would be hard to miss somebody stalking your daughter, whether Jessica told him or not. People were often able to pick up on fear and terror when it came to those they loved.
The group talked a bit more for about five minutes, before visitation was over. When they left, a police officer entered the room and Sam was curious as to why he was there. The reasoning was much worse than just Lenny. He flipped the television on for her and the national news came up with an important alert.
"This just in!" The news lady appeared calm and collected, something Sam always wondered how news reporters did when revealing terrible things. Her eyebrows rose when a picture of her father appeared on the screen. "Hector "Texan Thunder" Puckett has escaped from jail singlehandedly and left devastation at his wake." Images of the prison rolled across the screen and Sam felt sick to her stomach, the dead bodies were numerous. There were about five or six dead guards. Had her father really done all of that? She couldn't wrap her mind around that, but it was possible. "An anonymous witness accounts that he worked alone, masterminding a great plot for his escape. How he acquired the weapons, we do not know, but it is believed he received them from other inmates and guards. He is a dangerous and violent man, please keep a lookout for him and call your emergency hotline if you spot this man on the streets!" Sam wasn't so sure, and was suspicious about the anonymous witness. Her father was smart, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. For him to pull off something so heinous was practically unbelievable. No, she refused to believe he acted alone, if at all. Besides, what of Tyler, where was he in this whole charade?
Then it hit her, Tyler didn't want to be found. The police already knew he was at large, he wouldn't them to know he performed something so terrible. Maybe she was being paranoid, but what if he was using Hector? He hated Jessica, he probably hated 'Jackie' as well and most likely know that she'd been that Jackie girl. What if Hector was just the driver of the ride that Tyler hijacked, what if Hector didn't know? Because Sam knew one thing about her father, he wouldn't let anybody kill his dear niece, or his children. He never allowed anyone to touch them except for himself, and that look on his face at the rodeo when Tyler aimed his gun at Jessica. Rage, the same rage that Sam had seen all her life. Hector didn't know anything, he couldn't know anything. Tyler had to have broken him out and now he was pinning the whole thing on him. Sam sat up, ignoring her wounds, and shouted at the screen and defended her father for the first time, but to nobody other than the police officer in the room. "My dad didn't do that!" Suddenly she became aware of the pain shooting through her and screamed painfully. "Shit!" The officer ran over to her and helped her to lay down, reminding her that she needed to be more careful. All Sam could do was stare at the ceiling, thinking to herself that her father wasn't dangerous, a much more dangerous person was coming and nobody would know it.
So Sam's got a pretty good idea. Next chapter is the debut of General John Alexander Trent.
