Chapter Ten: A New Development

As he walked into the house, Sam was lying on the couch, trembling violently. Both his parents were already home and Amanda was making tea. Erik was kind of freaking out. He sighed, shaking his head. Stupid bitch… She had a panic attack again. There was a brown haired girl sitting there with her, stroking her hair, doing her best to calm her down. Whoever this girl was, she seemed kind and she was absolutely beautiful. She had some zits like Sam did sometimes.

She cooed lightly to Sam, singing a song that seemed to be having a good effect on her. He recognized it as Rainbow Connection by Kermit the Frog. He chuckled at this. She was so hip looking and seemed like a total rocker. But she was singing a song from the Muppets.
"H-hey…" Simon said. The brown haired girl looked up and smiled cheerfully.

"Hey! You must be Simon! You're Sammy… I mean, Sam's brother, Simon. Right?" The girl asked. Simon nodded, still skeptical.

"And… Are you Ruth or Luna?" He asked. The girl grinned.

"Luna! Sam told you about us, eh?" She asked. Simon nodded.

"She told us a little bit. She said you invited her to join your band and that you play a bunch of instruments. Do you play flute?" Simon asked curiously. Luna chuckled.

"No. I don't. I'm better at stringed instruments. But I do play a lil' bit of trumpet. I'm not great at it. I mostly do rock instruments.

"I can play guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, xylophone. But could you go and see if Mrs. Sharp is ready with that tea?" Luna asked. Simon nodded and went to see his mom, who poured the green tea and walked out with the tray, setting the cups down before them.

"I made some for you as well, Luna." Amanda said kindly. Luna smiled.

"Thanks. Mrs. Sharp. This house is awesome." Luna said, taking a sip of her tea.

"This is delicious." Luna said.

"Is that a mint leaf in here?" Luna asked. Amanda nodded. Sam seemed to perk up slightly as the evening went on. Amanda had suggested that Sam stay home the next day to rest. Sam could tell that her parents weren't treating her any different than they used to. It just felt different. Things were different. Whether her parents were treating her well or not, she couldn't trust Simon.

That had always been something she'd taken for granted. That she could trust Simon without reservation. But now she didn't know. She sighed, looking away from her younger brother, causing the young man to whimper lightly. Luna excused herself for a moment and went outside with Simon, sitting down next to him.

"Everything hangin' well dude?" She asked. He shook his head.

"I did something really bad and hurt Sammy and now she hates me." He said helplessly, finding that he trusted Luna right away. He could see why Sam liked her. He could see why Sam loved spending time with her. He wouldn't blame Sammy for falling in love with Luna. The brown haired rocker was incredible.

"That must be rough. I have a brother about your age. I really love him and I would be really upset if he got angry at me." Luna said gently.

"I painted a picture of her in school to apologize." Simon said. Luna's eyes lit up.

"You're an artist! That's awesome! Lemme see!" She said. Simon took out his phone and showed her the photograph of his painting. Luna grinned brightly.

"Dude! This is rad! Sammy told me you were good at art, but I had no idea you were so amazing!"
"She-she said that about me?" Simon whimpered nervously. Luna nodded.

"She talks about you all the time! How sweet you are and how cool, how handsome and kind you are. She tells me all about how close you two were and that she's afraid that she's losing you." Luna said. Forgetting that Sam had asked her not to repeat what she said to anyone. Especially Simon.

She was just a little embarrassed that she had been so mean to Simon. But she still loved him. He was like a son to her. He would always be her best friend and her staunchest ally. He would always be the person she loved the most, even if they didn't get along. She hated that she was being so mean to him. But she was just afraid that she would drag him down with her. She was afraid she was too dirty and messed up for him and she didn't want to hurt him.

She had talked to Luna and the rest of the band a lot about him and his and her relationship. How she had practically raised him. She didn't know why she trusted Luna so implicitly. But there was something in her voice, her smile, her eyes that instantly drew Sam to her. Sam knew that Luna could easily lead entire nations with her easy charisma and passion. Sam admired that Luna's dream was to be a rock star though.

"She-she said that about me?" Simon repeated. Luna nodded, hugging Simon. He pushed her off of him though and ran inside, hugging Sam tightly.
"I love you too, Sammy." He whispered adoringly, sitting in her lap like he did when he was a little kid, hugging her and just resting his head on her chest, listening to her heartbeat.

Sam tried to keep herself cold. She knew she was still supposed to be angry at him. She just couldn't be. She just worried. What about the next time she got angry? What about the next time she started panicking and she hurt him again? Would that next time be the last time? Would that be the time that broke his heart for good and made him hate her?

She just wanted to get it over with so he could heal and she wouldn't have to see that look in his eyes every time she broke his heart and every time she hugged him and begged him not to leave her. She didn't want to keep breaking his heart. She couldn't keep hurting him. She had no right. She had to either be there for him or just turn her back on him for good. Amanda seemed to sense this in Sam, because she looked at Erik.

Erik took Simon aside while Amanda took Sam. They went to opposite ends of the house and sat with their son and daughter respectively.
"Sammy… Nobody expects you to recover right away. What happened to you was horrible. I know it's hard to trust people now, right?" Amanda asked. Sam nodded helplessly.

"Simon… I made Simon tell me about what you were hiding. But I understand why you're hurt that he did. And if you need a little distance from him for right now, I understand that, and Erik is talking to him right now as well. I know this will all get sorted out in time and I know it hurts right now. But Erik and I are here, and Simon is here for you.

"And I can tell you and Luna have become good friends. I'm glad you have friends at school to help you when you need help. I love you, Sammy. Nothing can change that and I'll always be here for you whenever you need help. I promise you. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you from the start. But I want all that to change." Amanda said. Sam nodded, hugging her mother and smiling as she kissed Sam on the cheek.

"Son… You know Sammy is having… A bit of trouble right now. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. I can tell that you've had some trouble lately as well. I know you've made a friend at school and that's great. But I know you also miss Sammy being your friend. Right now she's…" Erik knew how smart Simon was. But he didn't want to overestimate Simon's knowledge of technical subjects and overwhelm him.

"Do you know what PTSD is?" Erik asked. Simon shook his head.

"After something bad happens to someone. A lot of soldiers have PTSD. It means Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." He said, saying the name of the condition slowly for Simon's benefit.

"And it means that an event or series of events has caused the person to be always on guard for bad things to happen.

"In soldiers, a loud sound can trigger an attack and cause them to panic. In Sammy… Well, the fact that she's been beaten… And that night in the alleyway have given her something similar to that. And she's still having trouble getting by. That's why Luna brought her home today. Sammy had a panic attack and she's still really fragile after it. So if she seems cold sometimes, it isn't because she doesn't love you." Erik said gently, trying to keep it fairly straightforward for him.

Simon nodded. He didn't completely get it. But he got the general idea and understood most of what it meant.

"Does that mean Sammy isn't angry at me?" Simon asked. Erik sighed.

"I don't know. It means that she doesn't not love you anymore. She still loves you. She's just having trouble in her own life and… Projecting it outward…" Erik said, trying to remember how Amanda had worded it.

They had spoken. Amanda seemed to know that they would need to talk to Sam and Simon soon and what the topic would probably be. She wanted to prepare Erik for that conversation, since she knew he wasn't dumb, but that his skill in psychology and academics in general was limited. He was more talented physically. He was getting back into shape, going to the gym almost every day, walking around the neighborhood, changing his diet and doing core exercises at home.

He wanted to be in the same shape he was when he initially got his knee injury. He had been out of it for years. But he was determined to get back into it, and he was still above average strength and endurance. He had run Sam all the way to the hospital. And Amanda believed that if he got back in shape, his knee would hurt less because it would have less strain on it.

He was seeing a doctor for his knee, who said that his knee was looking better, but that he should take it easy for the time. Focus on his upper body more than lower and limit the amount of weight he lifted with his legs. Erik didn't know why his mind had wandered to his exercise regimen. But it had and he brought it back to Simon, hugging him tightly.

"Simon… It's gonna be alright. Your mother and I are making sure Sam goes to all her therapy appointments. She has two a week. Doctor Lopez seems to have connected well with Sam." Erik said.

"Until then, I don't want you to think we're ignoring you. So what do you want to do this Saturday? I'll go with you." Erik said. Simon sighed.
"I just want to spend my weekends with Sammy like I used to." He said.

Erik smiled sadly.

"I know. And if you can. That's great. But don't get your hopes up too high." Erik said, trying to be delicate. Simon scowled.
"I know she'll want to! Luna told me that Sammy still talks about me all the time! She said Sammy still loves me and just doesn't want to hurt me!" Simon said.

Erik smiled, hoping that Simon was right. He knew Sam still loved Simon. But he didn't want to see him hurt again. He knew Luna had meant well. But maybe it wasn't for the best. Maybe Luna should have just stayed quiet about that particular conversation between her and Sam. He excused himself and sat with Luna.

"Luna… I need to talk to you." Erik said calmly.

"I know you meant well with what you told Simon… About what Sam said to you about him. But maybe it would have been better to just let them work things out on their own. You got Simon's hopes way up, and now he wants to spend the whole weekend with Sammy. And if Sammy isn't up for that this weekend, I can tell Simon will be really hurt.

"I know that wasn't what you meant to put in motion. But I would appreciate it if you would be a bit more discreet in the future with what Sam says to you. Whether it's about Simon or not." Erik said. Luna nodded.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Sharp. I was just trying to make Simon feel better. He was really upset and I thought that knowing that Sam still loved him would make him feel better." Luna said. Erik nodded.

"Please. Call me Erik." He said.
"And he does feel better. But I don't want him to get his hopes up that everything will be rosy from now on. He already is convinced that he'll be able to spend the whole weekend with Sam, and that might just not be practical." He said. He wouldn't specify what had happened to Sam, and Luna got the impression that she shouldn't ask. She would let Sam tell her in her own time.

Luna was curious. But she respected Sam's privacy too. She went out to sit with Sam, who was sitting on the couch, already being pestered by Simon to hang out with her on the weekend. Luna sighed, tapping Simon on the shoulder.
"Listen, Simon… Can you give Sam and I some time to talk?" Luna asked. Simon nodded, smiling knowing that Luna was good for Sam.

"Sammy… I'm sorry. Simon's… Excitement is my fault. I told him what you said about him. I'm sorry. He was just so upset that I wanted to make him feel better. I didn't realize it would cause trouble for you." Luna said. Sam sighed, seeming disappointed briefly. But it seemed to disappear just as quickly.

"I understand. Luna, I appreciate that you want to help Simon. But in the future, if I ask you not to tell anyone what I said, don't tell anyone what I said." Sam said, still seeming annoyed.

Luna nodded.

"Will you still come to the Music Club tomorrow?" Luna asked hopefully, already being really drawn to Sam. She didn't know what it was about Sam. But Luna was inexplicably drawn to her. She wanted to be friends with Sam. She already felt close to her. And she could tell, despite Sam trying to keep her distance that the blonde felt the same way.

"I will. You should probably get home for the night though, Luna. I'll be fine. I need to eat dinner and you probably do too and start getting our homework done and everything." Sam said. Luna nodded, hugging Sam and getting her shoes on. She thanked Amanda for the tea and then headed back to her place. She walked into the house, smiling as she went upstairs to do her homework before dinner.

She wasn't super into homework or school. But she knew that her parents wouldn't let her stay in the music club if she wasn't doing well enough in school. So she did about half an hour of homework, working on the Pi Song. She had already made it to 80 digits and she had only been working on it for a week about. So she was pretty sure that she would do well on the test. She was also studying the regular math work and keeping up with her studies.

She did about half an hour of the Pi Song before she had to go down to dinner and let it all sink in. She talked with Lincoln and the others about their days and about what they were working on in Music Club. Ruthie, Georgie and Sammy and her were all working on the Pi Song together. So in a way, they were using their music club time to work on homework. She was sure they would all ace their test.

Rita asked if she was still doing her other homework, reminding her that if she didn't keep her grades at at least an 85, she wouldn't be allowed to stay in Music Club. Luna nodded.

"What's goin' on in your school, Linc?" Luna asked.

"Well… There's a new kid at our lunch table. A kid named Simon. He's Sam's brother. He's really cool. A little shy, but cool." Lincoln said.

"What about you, Lynn?" Lincoln asked.

"I'm doing really well in soccer, track, biking, swimming and basketball." Lynn said cheerfully.

"There are a few kids who are jealous. But they'll get over it. I'm going into middle school next year anyway. Maybe there are other kids who are as good as me at sports. I just wish I was a bit better at school. Maybe then I'd have more time for sports cuz homework wouldn't take so long." Lynn laughed.

The rest of the table laughed as well, except for Lisa, who was in her high chair and still cooing lightly, not quite making words. Rita and Lynn were going to take her to see a specialist the next day. Lynn was taking the day off of work to see someone who could pinpoint what was causing Lisa to not talk. She hadn't even said any words, much less the 200 that experts said most two year olds could say. She was undoubtedly intelligent. She played with blocks and made impressive structures.

Lola, their four year old got jealous or angry sometimes when she saw Lynn and Rita praising Lisa's newest structure and kicked the structure, knocking it over. Lisa never even reacted though. She just glared for a moment or two at Lola and began building again. Sometimes Lisa read books. But they were far more advanced than normal for a 2 year old. She seemed to absorb them pretty well. At one point, she was reading fourth to fifth grade books.

Now she was deep into high school books. And Rita was pretty sure she wasn't just looking at the pictures or acting like she was reading them.

"How was your day, Lola?" Rita asked. Lola smiled brightly. Lola was a real show off. She wasn't especially advanced intellectually. But socially, she was the top dog so to speak in their kindergarten class. She had some kids scared and some kids charmed.

Either way, she was in charge a lot of the time. She was busy with child pageants and loved wearing dresses and crowns. The fancier they were, the more Lola loved them. Lana had been like Lola for a while. When they were three, they both were in small pageants. They said they wanted to be in one together. But now, Lana was discovering a love of frogs and other amphibians and snakes and such and spent more time in the water, mud and even garbage.

That was pretty typical for a four year old. So Rita and Lynn were waiting to see where it went for her.

"How is school going for you, Lucy?" Lincoln asked. Lucy sighed loudly.

"Sigh. Nobody liked my poem in English class. They say it's weird and creepy to talk about death." The six year old said.

Lincoln smiled ruefully.

"Well, don't listen to them. Just because they can't appreciate your work doesn't mean it's not good." Luan said.

"I take some hecklers sometimes with my work too. That doesn't mean that your work is bad or that you shouldn't keep doing it. Just that some people won't appreciate what you do." Luan said.

Luan had always had some trouble with anxiety, so she understood Lucy better than most of the family did. Luan channeled her anxiety through performance and especially comedy so that when people laughed, she knew they were laughing at her jokes, or if nothing else, she could tell herself they were. Lucy was still finding herself in that regard.

She had channeled her anxiety through dark poetry and stories and love of pagan rites and dark magic, which she was getting into now that she knew there was a shop near their house. She went and talked to the witch who ran the shop. It wasn't a pejorative term. She self-identified as a witch, someone who practiced Witchcraft, and she had sort of taken Lucy under her wing, teaching her some minor spells and just about the lifestyle in general. With her parents' permission of course.

"And you, Luan? How was your day?" Rita asked.

"Oh, it was alright. There was a test in geometry that I don't think I did that well on. But other than that, it was a cute day." Luan said, stressing the last words. Lynn Sr. chuckled.

"Good one, Lu." He said.

"I always know the right angle! Ahahahahaha! Get it?" She asked.

Most of the siblings groaned good naturedly, rolling their eyes at her puns.

"Aw, everybody's a critic." Luan said dismissively. Luna talked about Sam and how they were getting pretty close. They were having fun writing songs together with the band in Music Club and their work on the Pi song was going well.

Leni still was having a lot of trouble in school, especially now that she was in high school. They had started reading Romeo and Juliet. And she had a bit of trouble following books in 'today speak' as Leni called it. Reading old-timey books like Dickens and Shakespeare just made her head hurt even more. She seemed really upset. Lynn Sr. smiled sympathetically.

"I had trouble with Shakespeare too, sweetie. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe your mom and I can help you keep up with it." He said.

"How 'bout you, Lori?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"Today was literally pretty good. There's this boy named Justin in my gym class that I think likes me. He's kinda cute. But Bobby is just so sweet and cool." Lori said. Rita thought for a minute.

"Bobby… Santiago?" Rita asked.

"Yeah… How'd you know?"
"Oh, well he and his sister see the dentist at my office." Rita said. She didn't think it was too serious a breach of confidentiality since a lot of people in Royal Woods saw one of the dentists in Doctor Feinstein's office.

"Bobby has a sister?" Lori asked.

"Yeah. Sure she does." Rita said. She couldn't say anything more specific about them since she was pushing her luck as it was. But they both were patients of Doctor Feinstein. They were both actually pretty fastidious about cleaning their teeth.

Ronnie Anne was a bit of a rough kid, but she took good care of her mouth. Bobby was sensitive to pain, so sometimes they needed to numb him a bit with a topical anesthetic to work on him. But they were both good kids, and Rita got along well with Maria, since they both worked in the medical field and their kids were so close in age. Both mothers hoped Lincoln would make friends with Ronnie Anne when they met.

Dinner wound down and the kids went back upstairs to finish up their homework and start getting ready for bed. Luna continued working on the Pi Song, having gotten a bit further in just the half hour that she'd been practicing at home. She was up to 90 digits now, and she was hoping that she would get as far as Mr. Ryan had in memorizing it. She played what she knew so far from memory, and smiled, finishing up the rest of her homework and brushing her teeth before doing a bit of work on some other music she was writing and getting ready for bed.