Lucy had gotten out of bed later than usual with a massive headache, and the urge to vomit. Her clothes stunk of cheap alcohol, and she fell asleep with her shoes on again. Lucy clambered her way into the shower, washed the whiskey sweats from her body, and got ready for the day. Lucy had to be at work in an hour. She liked her job at the video store. Her boss, Max, was a nice guy. He had given the job the moment she walked into the store. Max must've known she was a hard worker just by looking at her. When Lucy introduced herself, she stated she had recently divorced, lost her son, and had moved in with her father since he was getting old and had no one. Lucy didn't mention Samara, she saw no reason to. It wasn't like Max was ever going to meet her, and if he did, she would play it off as if she had just forgotten.

Lucy got dressed in a pale blue, ankle-length dress, and her favorite cardigan with a pair of tan ballerina flats. She made sure her wallet and keys were in her pocket and went downstairs for something to eat. Lucy rolled her eyes at her daughter. Sam had cooked breakfast for everyone again. Lucy didn't understand why Sam ate so much. She was doing her daughter a favor by taking her food away. Lucy took Sam's plate and scooped everything into the trash and sat down to eat her own food. Her daughter could only watch from her place at the table. Lucy smirked at her daughter's sullen expression. She continued to eat as Sam got up and left the table, going up to her room, and slamming the door.

Grandpa Ethan came to put his plate in the sink after throwing out the excess. When he looked in the trash, he could see there was a lot of food thrown away. Ethan looked at his daughter eating her food but his granddaughter wasn't in the kitchen. His mind was going over the things he has seen in the past few days, and it is clear that his daughter has been cruel to his granddaughter. Ethan put his plate in the sink and sat down at the table across from his daughter. Lucy looked up from her plate. He could still see how bloodshot her eyes were from her drinking the night before. Grandpa Ethan was going to give her a little more time before he says anything to her about the treatment of his granddaughter. He knows she is still dealing with Michael's death, but so is Samara and himself. Michael was his grandson. Lucy isn't the only one that lost him. She needs to realize that, and when she does, she will come talk to him.

Lucy left for work a few minutes later. Grandpa Ethan had gone back into this taxidermy room. He was working on stuffing a Tiger a man had hunted and brought home from South Asia. It was illegal to hunt the Tiger, but it wasn't illegal for said animal to be preserved by a Taxidermist. This project will take him at least a week. Ethan would stop long enough to eat the food Sam would bring him, and sleep. The thought of his granddaughter stopped his hands from removing the remainder of the Tiger's entrails. The poor girl had hidden in her room most of the day, only coming out to make herself and him some lunch and wash the laundry.

Sam finished folding or hanging up the clothes she had washed. She wanted to go to the Boardwalk and walk around, maybe go on a few rides. Anything to get out of this house. Sam changed into a cute pair of blue jeans, a light purple tee-shirt, and her high-top sneakers. She packed her sketchbook, some pencils, her wallet, and her house keys. Her hair was, once again, braided and fell over her left shoulder. She headed downstairs, stopping to let her grandpa know she was leaving, "Oh, alright. You be careful, and if it gets too late, call the house and I'll come get you." "Thanks, Grandpa. I'll see you later. Love you," Sam said as she went out the door.

Rough Night

Samara felt like she made it to the Boardwalk in record time. Locking up her bike near her mom's work, then walked towards the other side of the Boardwalk. The lights and sounds of the Boardwalk blocked out all thoughts of her mother. She was able to relax and enjoy her time away from the drama. Sam bought herself a corn dog with ketchup and mustard. She sat down at a picnic table because walking and eating never worked out for whatever shirt she was wearing at the time.

She was about halfway done with her corndog when she felt like someone was staring at her. Sam looked around but couldn't find anyone looking her way. She tried to finish eating but the sensation of eyes burning the back of her skull made her uncomfortable. Sam got and threw the rest of her corndog away, and walked further into the Boardwalk hoping to shake the feeling of someone watching her. She kept looking over her shoulder, trying to see if there was someone following her. Sam faced forward and crashed into a hard body.

A pair of strong arms caught Sam before she fell. She looked at the person who caught her and all she could see was a bare chest. Blushing bright red, Sam's eyes trailed up to the man's face. He was gorgeous. Long, dark, flowing hair, strong jawline, subtle amount of stubble, a slightly off-center nose like it's been broken a few times, and dark brown almost black eyes. His smile and deep, smooth voice brought Sam out of her stupor, "Are you alright?" Samara shook her head, "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry, for bumping into you. I wasn't paying attention." "The name's Dwayne. And you are?" Dwayne asked. He already knew who she was, he just wanted her to say it. Samara shook out of his hold, "Leaving. Sorry again for running into you." Sam moved around Dwayne heading for her bike. She has had enough and is ready to go home.

The guys could smell Samara the moment she got to the boardwalk. It was Dwayne's idea to split up and look for her. He was the first one to find her sitting alone at that picnic table. Dwayne kept an eye on her as she ate, not wanting to approach her yet. He could tell she felt uncomfortable when she stopped eating, looked around, and got up to leave. He followed behind her far enough to not be seen by her. Dwayne sped past Sam and stepped in her path when she looked behind her. He caught her before she could fall, and watched as she blushed. Samara cut off the conversation before saying her name. She walked past him and headed for her bike. They had parked their motorcycles near her bicycle.

Paul was flirting with some blonde bimbos when Marko punched his shoulder, "Ow, dude!" Marko wasn't even facing him, he was facing the direction Samara was walking from. "Sorry, ladies. Something's come up," Paul easily dismissed the girls. David had thrown and stomped out his cigarette, keeping an eye on all of them. He could see Dwayne walking behind Samara. Dwayne gave a subtle shake of his head. Samara came closer, they could all see from her stiff posture and racing heartbeat, she felt uncomfortable, unsafe.

Sam was a little ways from where she locked up her bike. She stopped mid-stride, her bike was surrounded by motorcycles. Her heart sank. She was reminded of Michael. Sam could feel her eyes starting to burn, tears prickling, threatening to fall. Sam politely squeezed through the bikers, a quiet, "Excuse me?" She unlocked her bike, ignoring the eyes on her, and walked her bike through the motorcycles. "Nice bike," Marko said, trying to stall Samara from leaving so soon. "Uh, thanks. It was my brother's before he got his Harley," She politely responded.

"Oh, cool. Where is he? Is he here?" Paul joined the conversation. They watched as she visibly shut down. Samara cleared her throat, trying to hold back her tears, "No. I got to go." She got on her bike and peddled away. The four vampires watched her ride away. Paul's voice was quieter than usual, "What did I say?" Dwayne smacked him in the back of the head, "Ow!" "If her brother was here, we would have seen him at her house. Come on, let's get something to eat," David had already started walking away before any of his brothers could reply.

It took Sam twice as long to get back to her grandpa's. The tears would not stop falling, temporarily blinding her until she swiped them away. She put her bike in the shed next to the house. Going inside, she saw Lucy sitting on the couch with a drink in her hand. Not wanting to deal with her mother, Sam bolted up to her room and closed the door. Lucy just rolled her eyes and took another drink. Grandpa Ethan was on a date with Widow Johnson. So it was just Samara and her mother. Lucy continued to drink, while Sam put on some music to try and drown out her sobs.

By the time the vampires came up to the Emerson house, only the front porch light was on. They could still hear the voice of Jim Morrison singing from Sam's record player. David flew up to her window and looked in. He could see the tear tracks on her face, while she was hugging a pillow. David looked around the room. It was sparsely decorated, no real personal touches of hers. No posters, no pictures, not even a stuffed animal sitting on the bed with her. He did laugh a little at the Owl in mid-flight taxidermy on top of her dresser. It's probably gonna scare her when she wakes up. He rejoins his brothers in the shadows, "Let's go boys. We'll see her tomorrow night."