She put on a dress at his insistence. He's lucky she brought it at all, because she almost didn't. But that Just in Case part of her brain was one of the few that hadn't been completely ravaged in the last few years. If anything, it was the best working part of her mind she had left. A Martin wasn't anything if they weren't prepared, and that included spontaneous trips to the middle of nowhere.
So she showered and put on a fresh set of clothing, a navy dress with a blazer and flats, even dabbed on some makeup before Sam knocked on her door that evening.
It was funny to her how much Sam wanted her to impress the Greene's. I made a sort of sense though. He talked about them as if they were gods, and she could see that he wanted to join them almost desperately. It was so very un-Sam. But in a good way. Sovay couldn't remember ever seeing him so invested and excited about any people before. Since his diagnosis, and even Berger really, he'd never been a people person. But neither was she. That was why they were so close. It had only just been them, for so long, anyone else seemed strange.
That's part of the reason why it was so hard for him once he'd started college. There were just so many people, not like their tiny hometown, and so much noise. It didn't help that he had a roommate for the first time in his life either, or that he was so far away from everything he knew. She'd probably never understand why he chose the University of Louisville, a school nearly 6 hours away from the place they grew up. And yet she did, sort of. What she did know, was that after he'd made that phone call, when he'd told her about his diagnosis, finally getting answered, she knew she'd have to follow his footsteps. There was no way she'd allow him to be alone.
And so she went and things were fine for awhile until they weren't. He'd already decided to drop out of school by the time she started her first year. He couldn't handled the stress of it all, but he wanted to stay close. Something in the city drew him in.
So their friendship went on, hardly any changes, with the exception of Kelsey. It was different with her, than all the other people they'd met. It seemed like she was hardly a stranger at all, and soon she wasn't. The trio was together always, that first year, and all was grand. Until Sovay and Kelsey joined the sorority together and became roommates.
She didn't know why she did it. Looking back now, it seems so completely out of her comfort zone. And at times it was. But she was there, she was a sister and had a family outside of Sam and her own. She thinks that's what broke him.
It went south after that. Sam was getting moodier, and kept pulling away, more so than he'd ever done before. Until one night, near the end of what would have been his final year, he snapped. He came storming into the sorority house, screaming his head off about some nonsense. Neither of the girls could understand him, not completely, but they got bits and pieces. He started throwing things around and ended up cutting his arm open, falling and gaining a gash on the head. Someone else in the house called the police, but he was gone before they's arrived, leaving just as suddenly as he'd come.
And he was gone after that. Really gone. They went by his apartment and called his mother and stepfather. Found out that he'd been off his meds for some time. Kelsey went with her today ole a missing persons report, with no results. She guessed she'd have to cancel that now.
She was worried when he called. More than worried. It'd been more than a year with nothing and a part of her thought he might have been dead. So when he called, and asked her to come, how could she not?
And then she was furious, he called her about a girl. A girl?! After so long, that's what he wanted to speak to her about? She had every right to be mad. Until she remembered who she was thinking about. This was Sam after all. He'd never played by convention's rules, and he probably never would. The important thing to remember was that he did call. Finally. Even if it was just about a girl.
But she was happy for him, of course she was. Who wouldn't want their best friend in the whole world to be happy?
By the time she finished getting ready, and with her little internal monologue, Sam was knocking on the door, all spruced up himself. He wasted no time hustling her out the door and into his car, starting the engine and taking off before she'd even fastened her seatbelt. He jabbered the whole way about Beth and her family, but she barely listened, choosing to gaze out the window instead. She had to admit that it was a beautiful view, even if she wouldn't ever say it out loud.
Before she knew it, they were pulling up the long drive to the Greene farm and parking the car. Sam basically jumped from the car and walked around to her door, pulling her out before she was ready, continuing to pull her along as he walked up to the front door of the beautiful white country house. He knocked excitedly and tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for someone to answer.
She quickly became less happy with her friend as the door opened to reveal a crude detective with a smug look on his face.
It was awkward to say the least. She vaguely remembers Sam telling her that Detective Dixon was one of Beth's brothers, but the information had been buried away under all the other facts he'd thrown at her. Not to mention, they have different last names. It wasn't her fault that she hadn't held onto it like she clearly should have.
Sam had just short of pushed her through the open doorway, almost completely ignoring the rough man, save for a slight nod of the head. And he kept pushing her until they reached the kitchen, where an older brunette woman sat peeling peas and another blonde woman stood facing away from them at the sink. When he cleared his throat both women looked towards the pair, the blonde grinning wider than Sovay had ever seen. This must be Beth, she thought.
She barely had time to take in the girlish woman before she was enveloped in a breathtaking hug. "Oh my gosh!" came an angelic voice, pulling back to look into her face. "I'm so glad I finally get to meet you, Sovay! Sam had told me so much about you!"
Sovay finally got a good look at her then, and it was no wonder Sam was ensnared with her. She had bright blue doe eyes and a doll-like face, surrounded by wild blonde hair. Oh yeah, Sam is a goner.