Black and Blue
Chapter Six:- The Start of Recovery
Within the next hour, Sam was in the hospital, her parents had been called in, Tucker had come over to see her, and Danny had pulled himself together.
He and Tucker were sitting in the hospital waiting to go see Sam. At the moment, the police were taking down her statement.
"I still can't believe that this happened." Tucker said. "I mean it's Sam. She's so tough and strong."
"At least it's over." Danny sighed.
"I still can't understand why Sam wouldn't tell anyone about what was going on." Tucker continued shaking his head. "I just don't get it."
"Neither do I. Although I guess that's how most abuse cases are."
"I guess." Tucker put his hand on Danny's shoulder. "I know this is going to sound corny but, you know you're a hero." Danny shook his head.
"No. I didn't do anything. I just stood there oblivious to everything." He said. "Sam's the hero. She pulled through, she fought back, she found a way out, and she got herself safe. She's strong even if it takes her awhile to get it together."
"Boys," A nurse said behind them. "You can go see her for ten minutes." They stood up and followed the nurse to Sam's room. "Ten minutes." She repeated before letting them in.
Tucker and Danny slowly entered and saw Sam lying in a bed with sheets up to her neck. Her forehead was wrapped in gauze, there were bandages on her major cuts, and her eyes had more life in them. All together, she looked better than when Danny found her. She smiled lightly at them and felt herself feel more alive.
"Hey." The swelling on her lip had gone down and it no longer hurt to smile.
"Hey." Danny smiled back at her. He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her bed.
"I'm suprised you came with your fear of hospitals." Sam joked with Tucker.
"Yeah well, I think I had a pretty good reason to come." He smiled at her. "How you feeling?"
"Better than I have been." She said trying to make it sound like there was nothing wrong to begin with. "What about you guys?"
"Well we're fine." Danny said.
"But we weren't abused by our boy-" Tucker stopped mid-sentence. "I'm not going to finish that." Sam and Danny laughed a little.
"Really guys, I'm okay. They're letting me go home tonight." She looked up at Danny and the look in his eyes made her melt. "Hey Tuck." She said. "Can you give me and Danny a minute?"
"Sure." He gave Danny that sly smile and left as Danny shook his head at him.
"Look Danny," She started. "They're letting me go home tonight but…" She drifted off.
"What Sam?" He asked.
"Could I maybe stay at your house tonight?" His eyes widened. "It's just that even if they bring Adam in, I know I'll be paranoid and unable to get any sleep. I just think I'll feel safer at your house." He reached out and took her hand gently.
"Stay as long as you want." They smiled at each other and Sam felt her eyes coat with tears.
"Sorry. I'm just a little emotional right now." She reached up and wiped her eyes with her free hand.
"It's okay. I understand." He pulled her hand up and kissed it. "Your parents going to be okay with this though?"
"I'm sure I can convince them. It won't be that hard to do. They have tickets to this 'once in a lifetime' play that they're going to this weekend." Danny looked a little surprised. "I told them that it would be okay for them to go. They've been wanting to see this thing for over a year and they know I'll be in good hands." She smiled back up at him again.
"Okay. Well, I have to get going. The nurse is going to start ushering me out soon." They laughed a little as Danny stood up. "You want me to pick you up tonight?"
"No. My parents will drop me off. I'll see you in a bit." He started for the door. "Oh and Danny." He turned around. "Go home." They smiled at each other once more before he nodded and left.
Danny followed Sam's orders and went home. He called his parents and explained what had happened and how Sam was going to stay with him for the night. They said it was okay and that they might try to get home early.
Danny sat on his couch after he got the phone unsure of what to do. He still felt so bad for Sam and could hardly accept the fact of what had happened. He never thought anything like this would happen to any of them. And if anything did, he figured he'd be the one hospitalized not Sam.
He must have been sitting there thinking for a few hours because he heard the door bell ring. He stood up and opened it to find Sam with an overnight bag in hand. He smiled softly at her. She reached up and wiped away the tear stains on his cheeks. He didn't even realize he'd been crying.
Sam turned to face her parents who were standing at the bottom of the steps. Her mom ran up the steps and took her in a soft embrace. Her dad quickly joined in.
"I don't think we should go." Her mom said.
"Mom, go. You've been wanting to for a long time. I'll be fine." Sam tried to convince her mother. "I promise."
"Sam." Her mom pulled away. "I know you'll be okay. It's just that…" Her voice trailed off.
"Your mother and I are just a little shaken about all this still." Her dad told her. Sam nodded and took a step back. "We'll be back as soon as we can."
"Just go. Have a good time." She smiled at them and they slowly descended the steps into their car. Her mother waved to her as they drove off and Sam waved back.
"You okay?" Danny asked her as she turned back to face him.
"Yeah. I'm okay." They walked into his house and she put her stuff on the floor in the living room.
"Do you want something to eat or drink?" He offered.
"No. I don't really have much of an appetite."
"Alright." He wasn't really sure what to do. He had never been uncomfortable with Sam before but for some reason, now he was. It scared him a little.
"They brought Adam in for questioning." She said trying to make conversation. "I'm not really sure what's going to happen though. There's no real evidence he did it."
"No evidence?" Danny asked. "Look at you! That's evidence enough." He shook his head.
"It's evidence that someone did it. No evidence yet that he did it. At least I don't think." She looked down. "Then I'll have to go to court god knows how many times and I'm going to be getting those pity looks at school. The counselor is going to want to talk to me. My teachers are going to pull me aside and ask how I am. Everyone will have their own questions." She looked away and felt a tear roll down her cheek. She sat down on the couch and groaned. "How'd I get myself into this?" Danny came and sat down next to her.
"You know I'll help in any way I can." He told her taking her hand in his. "But I have to ask, how did you get into this?" She sighed. She knew she was going to tell him but she hated telling the story.
"It started out like any normal relationship. He asked me out, we went to the movies, dinner, the usual. He was charming, I was flirty. We were going out casually for about two weeks before he first hit me." She paused not wanting to go on. Danny scooted closer to her urging her to go on with the story. "We were hanging out at his place and I did something to upset him. I can't even remember what it was but he started screaming and when I turned to leave, he pushed me hard. I fell to the floor and he came to my side. He bent down and started apologizing." She looked down and took a big breath. "I thought maybe he was having a bad day and he just snapped."
"Sam, I don't want to sound mean or cruel or anything but, you just forgave him?" He asked finding it a little hard to believe.
"Danny… It's hard to explain. He was just that charming and I thought that just maybe I could make it work and I know how dumb that sounds. It's just that, after you work hard at something, you don't want to give up and that's what happened. Each time, I kept trying harder for a few weeks. Eventually I gave up on that idea but when I was going to brake up with him," She stopped and started sobbing. "He threatened me."
"Oh god." Danny sighed only able to imagine how that would have looked and felt from her position.
"I tried to end it with him. I did. When I told him I didn't want to see him anymore, he flipped out. He bruised my shoulder and slapped me. He said he'd kill me if I broke up with him." She felt the tears roll down her face. "I wanted to tell someone but I knew that if I did, he'd kill me." She cried. "I'd rather live with him than die and I know how weird that sounds. Most people would want to die but… I never did."
"That's good." He pulled her close to him. "Sam, I'm just glad you're still here with me now." He hugged her as tight as he could without hurting her. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Danny," He looked down at her. "I'm tired, you mind if I go to sleep?"
"Go ahead Sam. You've had a hard day." He nodded. "You're going to sleep in my room. I'm going to sleep on the couch."
"No. It's your house and you've already done so much for me."
"Look, I'm not letting you sleep on this couch. It's old and hard. My bed's soft and it'll get you a good night's sleep."
"Danny it's really fine."
"Sam." He said sternly. "You're staying in my room. Now c'mon, let's go get you set up." She smiled as he stood up taking her hand again. He turned to walk but she pulled him back towards her.
She made him turn to face her and she leaned up and pressed her lips to his gently. She pulled away quickly and smiled at him again. He was too shocked to move. Years and years of hoping, of waiting, had finally paid off. She kissed him.
Danny leaned down and kissed her. He rested his hands on her waist pulling her a little closer. He was being gentler than he normally would be. He wasn't sure what would hurt her and if she'd say so if it did. He did add a little passion though. Their bodies melted and suddenly, Sam felt like she had two months ago, perfect.
He pulled away and looked into her eyes. For the first time in a month, when he looked into them, he knew everything was alright. It was all going to be okay.
Ugh short again! I hate that! lol. Well... There's still more to come. I'm adding a few more twists in here in the next few chptrs. You'll just have to wait and see. Until next time...
