A/N: I have nothing to say lol

Chapter Seven

Life is Like A Box of Chocolate...

Sam sat there after finishing the song and could hear her sniffling softly. He must have waited for what seemed like hours before realizing her sniffling stopped, he stood and knocked softly before biting the bullet and turning the knob. The door was unlocked and he slowly opened it and looked around but didn't see her right away but when he did he had to turn away for a moment. Seeing her curled in a ball like that hit close to home and his reaction was immediate and he went over to where she was and wrapped her up in his arms before picking her up and placing her onto the bed. He removed her shoes and pulled the covers down before draping them over her, he noticed the bruise on her lower back and couldn't help the memory that flashed into his mind.

Flashback

"Mom?"

"Mom!" Sam shouted running when he found her laying curled up in the corner. She was groaning and bloodied, her hair was matted to her head and she was trembling.

"Mom, mom, mom.. mom?" Sam said not sure what to do in this situation except to try to get her up off the floor and try to get her to respond right when he was about to move her he heard footsteps coming from behind him.

"What you doing boy? I left her there for a reason! I ain't done with her just yet." The man said slurring his words and slinging beer on him.

"Jack, you've done enough! Just leave us alone… she's not responding we have to call for help." Sam said turning to face the drunk man. He was shorter than Sam but what he lacked in height he made up in build, he had dark brown eyes and thinning hair.

"You ain't gonna do shit but leave her there so I can finish!"

"You are finished you sorry piece of shit! You wouldn't even be here if my father was alive, you think she loves you? You think she would still love you after doing this to her?" Sam shouted at the man who seemed a little shocked that he challenged him and gave him a dark look before chugging what was left of his beer and swiftly turning around hitting Sam with the bottle. When it shattered he brought it back across his chest cutting him deeply and making him scream out, Mary finally came to and saw the commotion and charged at Jack for attacking her son.

She was to weak to make an actual impact but she fought him long enough before Jack cut her as well causing her to topple over and Jack to realize just what he did, he ran out of the house while Sam moved over to his mother and pulled out his phone calling for help and holding her until the ambulance and police arrived. He had to get stitches while his mother was taken into surgery for internal bleeding and the huge gash from the cut across her face. Sam stayed there for as long as he could before he had to make the decision to sit and cry or make sure Jack never did what he did to his mother to another person again.

The day Jack was located and arrested was the same day Mary died. She held on until he was found and Sam testified refusing to hold eye contact with the man that killed his mother until the guilty verdict was given and he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. He vowed to visit him every year on the day of her death to remind him why would never be free and only a few years ago he finally made peace with everything and forgave him but let him know he would never forget.

End Flashback

He stared down at her for a little while longer before heading back downstairs and cleaning up the kitchen and deciding to quickly go to his cabin and shower before heading back to hers because the door still needed fixing which he would have done but she was sleeping so peacefully that he didn't want to wake her with loud knocking noises. The door wasn't too damaged but he was more worried about an animal wandering in and scaring her, he made sure to blow the candles out before heading over to his cabin to shower. He slowly walked upstairs, feeling emotionally exhausted as he removed his clothes and walked into his bathroom. He allowed the hot water to release the pint of stress from his shoulder and found his self starting to relax, he stood under the running water until it was ice cold and forced his self to get out.

He dried and slipped on a pair of pajama bottoms and a shirt, when he walked out of the bathroom he was met by pair of brown eyes looking at him with tears threatening to fall. She moved closer to him so he could really see her and he noticed she was wearing a tank and a pair of short, his eyes scanned her body and he had to look away for a moment before he looked at her again this time with his own tears falling.

"You asked… you asked earlier what he had done to me." She said choking up on her words before lifting her tank slightly so he could see her stomach, the one place he always attacked her. Sam breathing hitched at the sight of the old bruises, he looked at them studying them and almost fell back when he realized it was a shoe print.

"My face heals faster because he usually avoids hitting it but my body was always fair game to him. I don't know why but I trust you… I've had this innate need to tell you since the first day I met you on that elevator but I… don't know how to tell you so I'm showing you what I can show you." She said trembling as she turned around and parted her hair showing the patches of missing hair that only just started to grow back. Sam placed a hand over his mouth to stifle the cry that so desperately wanted to escape, she was riddled with bruises and scars, her beautiful flesh was tarnished by a boy pretending to be a man. He moved closer and turned her around so that she look at him, he saw the tears but her eyes didn't convey fear they showed that she wanted to fight for herself. He pulled his shirt off so she could see his scar before grabbing her hand and placing it on the deep wound.

"I got this the day I found my mother nearly beaten to death… well he did end up being the reason she died but for two months I had hope." He said calmly as she ran her hand from the start of the scar to the end of it.

"What did he use… to cut you with I mean." She asked softly.

"Beer bottle… bad drunk."

"I wish I could say the Shane was drunk when he did this to me but it's usually when he feels like I disrespected him or broke one of his many rules he has for me." She said stepping back and pulling her shirt down and looking up at him with a weak smile.

"Here." He said handing her his shirt so she didn't feel uncomfortable and went to grab another one for him to put on as well. There was an easy silence that fell over them as they both reflected on the revelations they each revealed.

"If you want we can watch a movie or play cards… I'm not extremely tired but if you are you're more than welcomed in taking my bed or going back over to other cabin. I was going to work on the door but you were sleeping… but I will have it fixed tomorrow so you can have your since of privacy back."

"My dad and I used to stay up late and watch movies after my mom went to bed… we used to drink hot cocoa and he would always fill his up with marshmallows and whipped cream." She said shaking her head because it had been years since that memory even crossed her mind.

"Well… I don't have whipped cream but marshmallows I have a ton of those." He said with a hopeful smile.

"I don't want to impose and it's not really proper for my to sleep in your bed…"

"How about this then, we can go downstairs and you can show me how you and your dad made the hot cocoa and after we'll pick a movie I'll sit in the recliner and you can have which ever sofa to yourself. You won't even know I'm there well unless I fall asleep then you'll know for sure." He said with a slight chuckle which made her giggle. She thought about it for a moment before realizing she hadn't had hot cocoa since marrying Shane.

"Okay, deal." She said finally, he smiled and they both headed down stairs to the kitchen.

…

After showing Sam how she and her dad prepared their cocoa they went into the living room for her choose a movie to watch. He had a lot to choose from and waited patiently for her to pick one and when she did, he couldn't help but notice the beautiful smile that crossed her face.

"Found one?" He asked settling down in the recliner as promised, she nodded and put the movie and sat on the couch closest to the recliner and got comfortable before pressing play. It took a minute for Sam to figure out what it was but he chuckled when realized she put in Forrest Gump, she gave him an innocent look that made him laugh a little more. Every so often he would hear her quoting the movie and that made him smile knowing she felt comfortable enough to share this moment with him and he had so hoped it would last but after they both drifted off the screaming started again, only this time she was screaming "please stop, don't do this!" He stood there frozen his mind racing and unsure how to react or what to do to help her, the longer he stood the worse it got, he could see the tears falling and her struggled movements increased.

"Shane please stop…" She cried snapping him out of his fog and right when he reached for her, she opened her eyes and looked at him for only a moment but she wasn't seeing him, she was still sleep but his figure standing above her cause her to scream and jump up. She ran blindly until reaching to door he was trying to catch up to her but damnit if she wasn't fast, he had to get to her before she wondered off too far and got lost. It was dark and she was heading in no specific direction but the woods behind their cabins were vast and all it took was one wrong turn or a slip and fall and she would seriously hurt.

"MERCEDES!" He shouted hoping his voice would register to her and stop her but her could still hear the crunching of leaves but then he heard her yelp and slight thud. He quicken his pace until he reached her and let out gasp, she had fallen down or tripped and rolled straight into a tree. He turned her gently and checked to make sure she was breathing moving her hair out of her face and he could see the cut on her forehead, the laid her flat and assessed her before scooping her up and taking her back to his cabin.

He laid her down and quickly grabbed his phone calling a close friend of his to come over with his wife, he knew doing this would make her feel less safe but she was nurse and could help. He waited patiently until he heard the knock on the door and quickly went to open it and let them in.

"Yo, what's up? Why the urgency?"

"She's still not awake and I think something's broke.. I need your help, well Quinn's." Sam said to his friend who shot him a confused look, he hadn't really explained why he needed them to come just that it was urgent.

"She? Who's she?" Puck asked looking at his friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, I will explain all of that later just please help her." He replied grabbing Quinn's hand and taking her where Mercedes was laying. Puck let out whistle and earned him a stern look from his wife but he didn't seem to notice or care.

"She's gorgeous… what'd you to her?" He asked mouthing 'ow' when Quinn punched him.

"Mercedes… her name is Mercedes and she's my boss's wife and I'm helping her… well I'm trying to, she was having a nightmare or reliving a memory. She woke or so I thought and looked at me before running outside and she fell or tripped and rolled right into a tree." Sam said letting out a shaky breath.

"Helping her how?" Quinn asked looking over the woman while checking her pulse.

"She.. he abuses her and I offered her the other cabin to be safe."

"Abuses her how?" Puck asked with a hint anger in his voice, sure he didn't know the woman laying there but he didn't tolerate that kind of shit.

"I just know physically and mentally… possibly sexually. I haven't gotten that far in finding out how deep it all goes. I just know right now she needs-"

"To go to the hospital, she needs to go the hospital then the police. I swear Sam you need to think these things through, what the hell can you do to help protect her? She clearly has night terrors and suffer from so much mental and emotional abuse not to forget she is riddled with bruises. She needs real help..." Quinn cut in shaking her head and pulling out her phone to call for an ambulance but stopped with Sam placed his hands over her phone.

"I can't take her to hospital! He doesn't know where she is or that she's even left, me taking her there will only put her location on his radar. You have to help her." Sam pleaded.

"No, I won't. Puck let's go and if you were smart you'd take her to the hospital and leave her."

"Quinn that's enough, now I have a plan that may work." Puck said sternly before continuing. "Carol is a doctor and she can get her in without any question… we'll just admit her as your wife and tell them she fell and hit her head because that's what really happened. Is anything broken?"

"Her leg possibly I can't be sure." Quinn replied with a sigh as she rubbed her temples.

"Then call Carol tell her what's going on and Sam help me get her into the truck and Quinn don't ever talk about someone like that again." Puck said before nodding at Sam to pick up Mercedes so they could put her in the truck.

Sam sat in the back holding Mercedes hoping like hell she would wake soon, he could feel his self starting to panic more the closer they got to the hospital. He looked down at her and studied her features and noticed she looked peaceful even with the scratch on her forehead that thankfully had stopped bleeding. Quinn peered at him through the review mirror and shook her head causing Puck to look at her with a quizzical expression to which she just nodded to the back. He looked at his friend who was clearly entranced by the unconscious woman he insisted on cradling until they reached the hospital and chuckled.

They pulled up and was met by Carol who told them that she had a room ready and to follow her, Puck told Sam that he and Quinn would wait in the waiting room for while before joining him, he just nodded and said thanks before following Carol.

"You need to chill." Puck said as soon as they were out of sight.

"He's going to get hurt and you know it."

"I don't know shit just like you don't and who's to say he feels anyway towards her? They don't even know each other." Puck replied letting out an annoyed breath.

"You know how he is… it doesn't take much for Sam Evans to fall in love with someone and she has trouble written all over her. Think about how muddy it already is.. she's his boss's wife who ran away from an abusive marriage with the help of a complete stranger! Oh let's not forget how he was looking at her the entire time, if he hasn't he will and when she hurts him it'll be on you because I refuse to get involved!" Quinn retorted rolling her eyes.

"Last I check he wasn't asking you to get involved, he just needed our help and that's just what the hell we're going to do." Puck said with a sense of finality.

Soooo... Okay so this was a little loaded with moments. Sam's flashback... Mercedes's feeling safe enough to show the bruises she's had to hide and that sweet moment talking about her dad and them enjoying a movie together but she is damaged but so is Sam... PLEASE don't hate Quinn... she has good intentions I swear! Until next time! XOXO