"Where did Parker just go?" Laura cried, staring wide-eyed as the car drove away. "What does she think she's doing?" The brunette sounded close to tears, and started to chase after the silver car. It wasn't long before her lack of coordination in heels caught up with her, and she tripped over her feet, collapsing to the ground.
Sam was instantly at his girlfriend's side, helping her to her feet, and kissing her scraped palms. "Are you okay?" Sam asked, checking Laura for any major injuries.
"I'm fine," Laura told him, studying the rip in her fishnets. "The real question is how are we going to get home?"
Sam had been wondering the same question. It was clear that his sister wasn't returning anytime soon. It seemed that the inevitable action was to walk. The thought was unappealing to both teens; Laura dreaded trying to hike back to the house in her heels, while Sam was already dripping bullets of sweat from the many layers of clothing he had on. Not to mention the sled that he was still carting.
"I guess we have no choice but to walk, "Sam finally said, stating the obvious. Laura groaned, knowing the boy was right, and gabbed Peter's hand, pulling him in the direction of the Hall's house.
Laura thought if she took another step, she would collapse. Her feet had long since formed blistered, and her eyes were starting to fill with tears.
"Sam?" she said as pathetically as she could, "Will you carry me?"
Sam looked at Laura. He felt like he was going to pass out from pulling the sled, and die of heat stroke. The last thing he wanted to do was add another burden to him. The look in her eyes, however, made Sam cave, and he knew he could not refuse her request. Sam nodded, and Laura pulled herself onto his back.
Instantly Sam felt his knees buckle, and he struggled to keep her on his back. He knew this wasn't going to work, and regretfully let the girl slide back to her feet.
"Sam!" Laura whined. "Why are you putting me down?" She was tired and irritable, and just wanted to be carried.
"Because I'm tired, and hot, and I can't carry you, and chase after Peter," Sam explained. He too was exhausted, and was cursing his sister with every breath.
Laura let out a whimper, and Sam wished he could gather the energy to scoop her again. He could not think of a time when he was so miserable. Not even while they had been trapped in the library had he wanted to be in his own bed this badly.
"Let me go!" Sam heard the scream come from behind him, and turned to see Laura grabbing Peter, pulling him off someone's lawn. "I want candy!" the eight year old cried.
"You have candy," Laura tried to explain to the child. "Now its time to go home."
"I don't want to," he pouted, and began to drag his feet. Laura gave the boy a defeated look, and attempted to drag him along.
"Come on, Peter," she begged. "You have plenty of candy. Its time to go home."
"I need more candy!" The boy shrieked, and Laura winced. Without hesitation, Sam threw his sack at the child.
"Here!" he yelled, having quite enough of the tantrum. "Take my candy." The child look at Sam, and after a moment continued to shriek.
"I want more! You can't make me go home!" Peter was no about to give up, but Sam had other plans for the child. With one swoop, he used the last on his energy to toss the kid over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" Peter squealed, "You can't do that! Sam! I'm telling mom!" Sam had stop hearing the boy, and was completely focused on getting them home.
The trio marched on in silence, Peter long since given up his protest, and had now collapsed exhausted on Sam's shoulder. While the quiet was enjoyable, Sam it was beginning to be outweighed by the cumbersome sled that was in tow.
"Sam," Laura broke the silence, "Why don't we leave the sled, and come back for it in the morning."
"My dad will kill me if I don't bring this home." He explained to his girlfriend, who was tiring quickly.
"Well, if we are going to keep it, can I have a ride?" the brown-eyed girl asked, her eyes huge and sad.
Sam knew he couldn't make eye contact with her. The look in her eyes always won him over, and he just could not pull her along with Peter.
"Sam?" she said again, and regrettably he met her gaze.
"Get on," he said feeling defeated. How far away could they from anyway? They had been walking for over an hour, and Sam assumed they must have been getting close.
The added weight to the sled caused it to sink lower onto the pavement. With each step the sled produced a shower of sparks, and anyone who would have passed by would have thought they were clinically insane.
As it turned out, Sam was wrong. They weren't almost home, if fact two hours later when Sam pulled the sled into the Hall's driveway, he swore his feet were literally bleeding. Laura had fallen asleep on the sled, her brown hair cascading over her bare shoulder, and making her look adorable with her lopsided bunny ears. Peter was still unconscious on Sam's shoulder, and Sam left Laura only momentarily in the yard to bring Peter inside.
After returning from the child's room, Sam was startled to find Laura sitting on the couch.
"Did you carry me all the way home?" she asked, managing to look gorgeous even though she had just awoken. Sam could only imagine what it would be like to wake up with her every morning.
"Yeah," he said, and a smile broke across Laura's face.
"Sam, you are too good to me," she stated, and her boyfriend seated himself on the couch beside her.
"I know," he joked, kissing her on the mouth. "You know, I was out all night looking like this, "he gestured to himself, "and I didn't get any tricks." Sam was relieved though, for he had figured that at least one jerky kid would have hurled an egg at the paleoclimatologist.
Laura cocked her head, allowing the bunny ears to tip in front of her face. She pulled them off her head, and placed them on Sam. Smiling she kissed him on the nose. "Silly rabbit," she said grinning, "tricks are for kids."
"Well I didn't get any treats either," he told the girl, reminding her of the fact that he had given all of his precious candy to Peter.
"I think I can fix that," she whispered, kissing him again. Sam returned to kiss and the two fell back onto the sofa. Laura pulled back after a moment.
"I love you," she whispered, snuggling down beside him on the couch. Sam kissed her forehead lightly, and stroked her hair. Within moments, Laura was asleep again, and Sam knew that despite everything that had happened that evening, he would do it all again to end it like this.