Disclaimer: The 7th Heaven characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them to tell a story. Please don't sue. All non 7th Heaven characters belong to me.
The beginning of this chapter is a repost from the original chapter 2. After the *.~.* break, the story will be completely new.
Don't forget the feedback/review!
Witness
By Dark Inzanity (c) 2002
Chapter 2
Going Home
My mother flew in from California to pick me up from jail. I would have to come back to Texas to testify against Rick and the others, but because I agreed to finger them for the attack on the old lady and a few other crimes around the city, I would not have to stand trial.
Rick vowed he would make me pay. Somehow. Someday when I least expected it. He would be there. And there would be no escape for me. I let his threats roll off my back. My mother posed a far worse obstacle at the moment.
"Sam Camden, what were you thinking?" She demanded of me the moment we were alone. In the car, still in the police station parking lot.
Old as she was, my mother still had a fire in her that could make my siblings quiver in their boots. I think that was one reason I wanted to go to college out of state.
"You wouldn't understand." I knew better than that. Mom would never accept that answer. She would push and push and demand answers until I broke down and bared my soul to her.
"Try me."
I took a deep breath. I didn't know where to start. I told her about Quinn helping me when I got jumped. I told her I really liked Quinn and I didn't know what he was really like until it was too late. "I never wanted to do the things they did, Mom, and most of the time I didn't."
"You did last night. That poor woman..."
"I know, Mom. I'm sorry. I didn't want to do it."
"Then why did you?"
"Because they would have killed me if I didn't go along with it. You don't know these people, Mom. They do what they want, and you do it too or you get hurt."
My mother gave me a narrow-eyed look that said she wasn't going to buy into that one.
I sighed. "Fine. Believe me or don't. I don't care. I messed up. I'm going home with my tail between my legs. But I am alive. And that's almost more than I could have hoped for because I had no intention of raping that woman. I would have let them kill me before I did that."
"Well, that is a relief."
"Would it help if I told you I'm the one who called 911?"
"Did you?"
"Yes. That's why they offered me the plea bargain."
And I took it. Despite Rick's threats. Despite the fear that Rick would come looking for me one day.
*.~.*
We drove to the airport in total silence. She didn't even turn the radio on. I reclined the passenger seat a bit and settled with my head against the window.
I could feel her anger, and I didn't want to get her dander up any more than it already was. I expected she would keep it under control until we were safely home in Glen Oak. She would be on her best behavior on the plane, until we got in the car.
I wasn't looking forward to the drive home, and I really wasn't looking forward to getting home. I wondered if anyone else knew what had happened, if David knew. I wanted to believe Davey didn't know, or he would have flown out to Texas with Mom.
David used to be my other half. We were so much younger than the other kids. Matt got married and moved to New York the year we were three. Mary went to Ft Lauderdale later that year. Lucy and Kevin were married the year after that. Simon graduated and went to LA to be an actor two years after that, and Ruthie was eight years older than us, so we weren't close to her either.
Mostly it felt like it was always just Davey and me against the world. Davey was bigger and stronger and more popular than me when we were in school. He took care of me and made sure no one really picked on me.
I went to Texas to get out from under his shadow. I wanted to live my own life and find my own way in the world without David looking over my shoulder or leading the way.
In the beginning, before I met Quinn, I missed David terribly. I started thinking I had made a terrible mistake, but I couldn't admit it. I couldn't go home with my tail between my legs. I had to keep my head up and get through the days, one day at a time, until winter break when I could go home for a month.
I thought about transferring to a school closer to home for the spring semester, but Quinn came along, saved me from certain death, and took me under his wing. He filled the void I felt, and eased the longing for David. I didn't miss Davey so much, because Quinn took care of me, Quinn protected me just like Davey always did before.
*.~.*
That's all for now. It's midnight here and I have to get up early for school in the morning (had today off for MLK Day, yay!) so I better get my sorry self into bed. Please read and review this chapter, it means a lot. The first part is from the original posting, the second part is new material. Chapter three will deal with Sam's homecoming and possibly a little dream sequence where the breaking and entering turns out a little different in his mind-if I can work out the words to make it flow like I want, you won't want to miss it!
The beginning of this chapter is a repost from the original chapter 2. After the *.~.* break, the story will be completely new.
Don't forget the feedback/review!
Witness
By Dark Inzanity (c) 2002
Chapter 2
Going Home
My mother flew in from California to pick me up from jail. I would have to come back to Texas to testify against Rick and the others, but because I agreed to finger them for the attack on the old lady and a few other crimes around the city, I would not have to stand trial.
Rick vowed he would make me pay. Somehow. Someday when I least expected it. He would be there. And there would be no escape for me. I let his threats roll off my back. My mother posed a far worse obstacle at the moment.
"Sam Camden, what were you thinking?" She demanded of me the moment we were alone. In the car, still in the police station parking lot.
Old as she was, my mother still had a fire in her that could make my siblings quiver in their boots. I think that was one reason I wanted to go to college out of state.
"You wouldn't understand." I knew better than that. Mom would never accept that answer. She would push and push and demand answers until I broke down and bared my soul to her.
"Try me."
I took a deep breath. I didn't know where to start. I told her about Quinn helping me when I got jumped. I told her I really liked Quinn and I didn't know what he was really like until it was too late. "I never wanted to do the things they did, Mom, and most of the time I didn't."
"You did last night. That poor woman..."
"I know, Mom. I'm sorry. I didn't want to do it."
"Then why did you?"
"Because they would have killed me if I didn't go along with it. You don't know these people, Mom. They do what they want, and you do it too or you get hurt."
My mother gave me a narrow-eyed look that said she wasn't going to buy into that one.
I sighed. "Fine. Believe me or don't. I don't care. I messed up. I'm going home with my tail between my legs. But I am alive. And that's almost more than I could have hoped for because I had no intention of raping that woman. I would have let them kill me before I did that."
"Well, that is a relief."
"Would it help if I told you I'm the one who called 911?"
"Did you?"
"Yes. That's why they offered me the plea bargain."
And I took it. Despite Rick's threats. Despite the fear that Rick would come looking for me one day.
*.~.*
We drove to the airport in total silence. She didn't even turn the radio on. I reclined the passenger seat a bit and settled with my head against the window.
I could feel her anger, and I didn't want to get her dander up any more than it already was. I expected she would keep it under control until we were safely home in Glen Oak. She would be on her best behavior on the plane, until we got in the car.
I wasn't looking forward to the drive home, and I really wasn't looking forward to getting home. I wondered if anyone else knew what had happened, if David knew. I wanted to believe Davey didn't know, or he would have flown out to Texas with Mom.
David used to be my other half. We were so much younger than the other kids. Matt got married and moved to New York the year we were three. Mary went to Ft Lauderdale later that year. Lucy and Kevin were married the year after that. Simon graduated and went to LA to be an actor two years after that, and Ruthie was eight years older than us, so we weren't close to her either.
Mostly it felt like it was always just Davey and me against the world. Davey was bigger and stronger and more popular than me when we were in school. He took care of me and made sure no one really picked on me.
I went to Texas to get out from under his shadow. I wanted to live my own life and find my own way in the world without David looking over my shoulder or leading the way.
In the beginning, before I met Quinn, I missed David terribly. I started thinking I had made a terrible mistake, but I couldn't admit it. I couldn't go home with my tail between my legs. I had to keep my head up and get through the days, one day at a time, until winter break when I could go home for a month.
I thought about transferring to a school closer to home for the spring semester, but Quinn came along, saved me from certain death, and took me under his wing. He filled the void I felt, and eased the longing for David. I didn't miss Davey so much, because Quinn took care of me, Quinn protected me just like Davey always did before.
*.~.*
That's all for now. It's midnight here and I have to get up early for school in the morning (had today off for MLK Day, yay!) so I better get my sorry self into bed. Please read and review this chapter, it means a lot. The first part is from the original posting, the second part is new material. Chapter three will deal with Sam's homecoming and possibly a little dream sequence where the breaking and entering turns out a little different in his mind-if I can work out the words to make it flow like I want, you won't want to miss it!