The Special Season
Sam
Sam was a Junior Professor at the University in Texas where he'd settled after finishing his studies, as a young child he'd started out thinking he really wanted to be a rock star, all that drama and stardom was where he felt he was destined to be. His goals changed fairly early in his adult-ish life, and he settled for teaching guitar to a bunch of ambitious kids, the way his life had panned out, his path was proving to be the harder option, the things that had happened in his life, he really thought he needed to learn the hard way.
His parents were pleased when he announced his change of heart, his brother had convinced him that after the upset he'd caused them at such a young age, it was the right thing to do. Sam being the youngest child of two, his brother Ryder, five years his senior, had got married almost straight out of college, took his wife and 1 year old daughter Amy, and gone to Nebraska to head up the family Communications branch, after the untimely death of their only Uncle, and had decided to stay there, well out of harm's way.
He felt his main role within the family was to bring at least a glimmer of joy into their lives, even if that meant not having any in his, he was the child his parents never dreamed could happen, so the pressure to be perfect was immense. He'd often thought; before he caught himself being happy, laughing too much or getting too close to someone, did he really need that distraction, and a resounding no, always saw him fade back into himself and reject that happiness, in whatever form it presented.
He found his only solace when playing his guitar, he'd tap a beat out from something inside his head then sit for hours just strumming, writing and singing to himself, smiling encouragingly at the graduates that went off to live that life he'd dreamed about as a child, jealous of the fact that they'd ceased the day and ran with their dream.
At 30 years old, he was getting ready to start thinking about settling down, his two friends had jumped that hurdle and come out smiling, at least every now and again, on the other side, but he was always stopped at the happy of it all. His life hadn't been boring, he'd had two very stable relationships, long mainly because both parties were very busy, but he just wasn't up for all that commitment, sharing and happiness, so a smell of that stuff coming and he was gone. The one thing he liked about his single life, was that if he was having a shit day he'd be able to just sit on his couch and cry about it, without feeling weak, watched or ungrateful, nobody knew what he'd been through, only he was living his life
His social life had dwindled over the years, the four strong unit had taken its time slimming down, there was only Jake and he left out of the crew, that he could depend on being there. Jake and he worked together, it was by default he was always available, he was married to Kitty, but she had decided, pretty early on, that she loved being a Mrs by name only, so they were married in name only but lived separate lives, neither wanting to afford the divorce.
It was Christmas week, it was a busy family time the Christmas day meal being the least demanding, his Mother's birthday was on the Eve, his Brother's on the Day and his on Boxing day, if it wasn't for the fact that Ryder went home every year, they'd never see him. This year he'd taken time out to attend, because his Mother was going to be 60, Ryder 35 and him 30, so his Dad had set up a surprise for their Mom, called him and demanded he be there on Thursday. As their miracle child, he was over a barrel, at first he was pissed but once he'd booked the ticket, he warmed to the prospect of going home, it had been nearly a year since his niece and nephew has seen him, but had he missed Lima? no way.
Home had never been somewhere he thought of fondly, there were a lot of memories and emotions he'd left behind when he went off to Nebraska, especially around this time of the year, that place, and family, was filled with pain for him, resulting in him moving to Texas for college. No doubt his parents' story would have made Nebraska the best move he'd ever made, told everyone that it was all for his own good, but for him, there were still tell tail signs of regret, at the vivid picture of his parents making their bad decisions about his life choices
His mind was about to go down into that mire when a friendly voice invaded his thoughts "Are you up for a lad's night out, last day of lesson planning for this year and all that?" Jake's face peeped around his classroom door asking
"Man" he moaned "I'd love to, but I've got to go pick my Mom's present up before the shop shuts"
"Oh yeah, birthday weekend, I forgot"
"Lucky you" he laughed
"One for your birthday then"
"You know what, it shouldn't take that long, give me an hour and I'll meet you there, to be honest I need to clear my damn head"
"Heavy day?"
"When isn't it, Brittany's been on the phone again, she keeps having these fucked up Mom conversations with me, she seems to forget she's got a husband to control" he laughed
"She does that to me too, I totally ignore it" Jake laughed "Kitty would kill her if she knew"
"Can I borrow Kitty, for the kill?" Sam laughed
The students were long gone, but he'd been busy setting his lesson plans for their return, he cleaned his desk and went on his journey to collect the green onyx earrings, with a brown stripe running through them for his Mom, he took them home put them in his safe and caught a cab to go meet Jake. They sat talking about the usual stuff; work, how there was always too much of it and music, downing whisky like it was going out of fashion
"I've got to ask" Jake sat back on his chair "What's happening with that song you've been promising since, time immemorial?"
"It's coming, I just need to find my muse" Sam laughed
"It's that same old story again" Jake rolled his eyes "Dude find a girl, any girl and let it grow"
"You're wrong actually, I'm thinking about settling down, if the right woman comes along, I'm ready to be game"
"Serious?" Jake looked at him shocked "Dude that calls for another shot" he held his hand up for the waiter
Soon the night came to an end, it was nearly midnight they shared a cab home, Sam dropping Jake off first, he was home before he realised he needed to eat, not bothering with going out again he threw something quick in the microwave, made himself a hot drink and went off to his bedroom to eat and flake out
"What?" he jumped out of his sleep, a half-eaten pizza on his bed, the hot drink still full and warm on the side cabinet "What?" he looked around his room before realising it was his phone ringing, he grabbed it off the bed and pressed answer "Hello?" he responded fearing something was wrong at home, wondering why his parents had a private number
"Sam Evans?" the weak voice came back at him
"Yes, who is this?" he looked at his phone again
"It's Asia" the voice came back at him, Sam sat trying to think when he'd given one of his students his private number, knowing that would never happen
"Sorry which class are you in?"
"I'm not in any of your classes" the voice came back at him, baffling him even more
"Sorry I don't know anyone called Asia you might have the wrong number"
"You're Sam Evans from Lima Ohio, right?"
"Yes" he looked at the phone, there weren't many people who knew that much about him, alarm bells started ringing
"Maybe you'd know me as Alicia?" she replied
"Alicia?" he asked, the word taking his breath "Alicia" he gasped "How did you? Where are you?" he didn't know what to say
"I need to meet with you"
"You're in Lima right now?" he asked wondering how this obsessed woman had returned to harass his family
"Yes, you need to meet me, tomorrow?"
"Yes" he got up looking around for pen and paper "Just tell me where, when and I'll be there" she sounded real young but he'd remembered this fatal attraction he'd hooked up with 2 years ago, at a bar, his parents had set it all up, god only knows what they were thinking, but he wasn't having it this holiday, she was a nightmare
"I'll text you the details" she snapped, and the call ended
He sat looking at the phone, wondering if this was really going to be his damn birthday present, surely his parents couldn't have hooked them up again, he couldn't do that again, he needed help. His past had come back to haunt him, it had been nearly a few hours since they'd spoken, they had been best friends since what felt like birth, he looked at his phone, remembering how their short relationship ended
Flashback
"We're not splitting up" he'd grabbed hold of her hand as he watched her parents dragging her away from him, he stood not far from his home, watching the horror of their truth unfold
"Sam" she looked back at him
"We'll find a way" he assured her, watching her get smaller as the distance lengthened between them
They'd been pulled apart, without the chance to say anything in their defence, he wanted to scream at them to leave her alone, to let them be but at such a young age, where were they going to be, what were they going to do, how were they going to survive, all questions they still had no answers to.
The next day he stood at the bus stop, watching her house, waiting for her to show up, but she didn't come, he got on the bus sat in their seat hoping she'd get on at the next stop, but she wasn't there "Dude" his friend Blaine called "She left this message with my sister for you" he handed him the letter "Sorry"
"Have you read it?" he looked up at him angry already
"No" Blaine told him surprised at the question
"So, what are you sorry about?" he snatched the letter off the boy
"I just heard a lot of crying last night, Rachel was still crying this morning, and now she's not here" he told him looking at the empty seat
Sam didn't answer he just nodded his appreciation, wiped his wet face and opened the letter
How do you write a goodbye letter to someone you still love, very much?
Babe, don't listen to anyone, you are exactly who I need, the person that makes me breathe every day, they say our love is forbidden, but how can that be when everything within me craves your love. I think they're sending me away in the morning, I don't know where yet, but just in case they succeed, I want you to know we'll find our way back
I hope you never forget me.
I LOVE YOU BABE
He sat the rest of the ride into town in silence, Easter shopping had no meaning that day, and he wasn't sure if any of these festivities would ever mean anything to him ever again
End of Flashback
They'd been together for just over 16 months, but even now at the ripe age of 30, it was still the most intense and profound 16 months of his life, he'd carried everything he felt, heard and believed at that time, through life with him to this day
Right now, that very second, all he could see was his family being tormented by this unhinged woman, he'd made a grave mistake in taking for a drink 2 years ago, he could think of no one else to call, so he made the call
Cedes
Cedes had taken her career to the level she'd always wanted to be at, she'd made her mark in the world of music, theatre, cinema, and television. After nearly six years of dabbling she finally found her niche, deciding she really wanted to give back, and to do that she was going to provide opportunities for those that rarely got the opportunity to chase their dreams. Her contracts had finished and she was finally smelling the sweet scent of rest, so everyone thought her next venture was too big, but she believed in it, she'd promised herself everything as a child, she couldn't have what she wanted so, she was taking pleasure in giving others their dreams.
At first she was learning children to sing for free, but quite quickly she realised she was only doing half the job, so she set up two studio's in Los Angeles and rented the spaces out to well-known clients to afford free time for those coming up. Her next venture came when she met up on a very talented boy called Alex, he had something and she could see it, he was just a regular youth from the streets trying, and that grabbed her enough to try her hand at managing.
Within that year, she got herself a label, signed him up and learned on the job about what she needed to do, she thought setting up her own label would be fun, but it was hard work, but she felt ready to go solo, she had the funds so she did.
She'd avoided going home to Lima for the last 5 years, hiding behind work, new ventures and even a, failing from the start, new relationship, but this time she'd been forced into visiting, her Grandma was visiting from Ghana for the holidays, and her parents had demanded, which isn't a strong enough word, that she get home to meet her, she'd never set eyes on the woman before in her life, so her attendance was non-negotiable.
She'd booked the ticket and packed her bag on the same day and then let them sit there, so she could remember the resentment every time she looked at them. She knew the drill, she could hear them already bringing up the past as if it bare any resemblance to her present let alone her future, putting all her mistakes on family show, the disapproving looks, she'd played it all out in her head.
She'd managed to block it all out for the last 2 years, using the time to, train, rebrand and write for Alex while learning the job, sending out demo's, covers, while carefully feeling the waters before getting down to putting the work in to produce an EP, they had three of the five songs down already and maybe if they worked hard they could get track four sorted tonight, she'd promised Bubbly
Everyone pulled their A game out the bag, getting something she was happy with, so now it was time to party, they'd been at this album for nearly 12 months it felt like a well-worn coat, they all needed a break "That's a wrap" Angelo looked at Cedes, and faded the beat
"I think that deserves bubbles please" Earl smiled up at her
"Meet you there, I just need to grab a break" Cedes told them grabbing her purse, to get her phone, walking off "Usual place in fifteen" she told them as the door closed behind her.
The club was already in full swing when she got there, everyone excited for getting close to the EP end, everything about this time was exciting for Alex, he'd just turned 21 last month so the whole adult party scene was new to him, but Angelo and Earl, very much his seniors, were treating him like their own, he had nothing to worry about
Leaving them to themselves, she eventually headed off home, flopped on the couch in her very red lounge, she was exhausted, she'd just done yet another 20-hour day and to top it all, was going to get 4 hours sleep, before her flight. She looked at her waiting case, rolled her eyes and put her phone on the table hoping one of the many alarms she's set that morning would wake her in time for her flight
It felt like she'd just closed her eyes, but when they flickered open, the sun was burning bright outside, her eyes stung sending her a reminder that she hadn't drawn her blinds last night "Okay" she slapped the clock next to her, still hearing the ring "Okay" she looked around for a second before she realised it was her phone "Hello" she called rolling her eyes at the damn thing still ringing, before she pressed to answer "Hello" she moaned "What time is it?" she asked looking around the room
"Mercy" she heard making her smile
"Sam?" he was the only one in the world that called her that "Sam, is that you, I thought you were going to sleep?"
"It's me Mercy" a smile in his voice
"What's up?" she giggled
"You still going to Lima tomorrow"
"Why?"
"Are you going to Lima tomorrow?"
"No, I told you I'm flying later this morning, what's happened Sam, is it your Mom?" she sat up asking "Shit Sam, what's happened?"
"Look, what time will you get here?"
"You're in Lima already?"
"Yeah, what time Mercy?"
"I'll be there about 6pm your time"
"I'll meet you at the airport, we can talk then"
"Sam, what is it?" she hissed "I hate when you do stuff like this" she laughed
"We'll talk when you get here"
"This better not be about that damn cat downstairs from you"
"It's not I just need your help, and you said…"
"Okay" she giggled, closing the call "Coffee" she jumped up, curious to know what had made him call so late "Shit Sam" she stood remembering why she was going to the end of the earth for this guy
Flashback
They were just gone fourteen when they'd started dating, they were each other's very first hook up, they felt like big people walking around hand in hand. It had been raining the day they'd made their move, stood at the bus stop in the pouring rain waiting to get into town for Christmas shopping, nearly all the kids from their year was on the bus, everyone rushing to get their last minute presents on Christmas Eve.
"Mercedes isn't it?" he smiled at her
"Yeah" she smirked, he was super cute, all the girls talked about him every day
"We were in the alternative nativity together"
"Yeah" she smiled, happy he'd even noticed her, she was an extra, making up the busy town when Mary and Joseph walked into Bethlehem, while he was a wise man, not just wise but handsome as hell too "Do you want to share my umbrella?"
"Yeah" he dragged his already soaked self under and smiled "Very kind"
"I try to be" she giggled, like the child she was "Oh the bus" she tapped her feet against the wet floor rhythmically, nodding her head to whatever the tune was she had in her head
"What is that?" he looked down at her feet tapping
"Oh it's just a silly beat thing I do" she laughed, stepping back as the bus neared to splash them with the puddle at the stop, she got on, showed her pass and had nearly sat down before the familiar roar of noise came from the back, the group of guys on the backrow, she knew he hung out with, shouting Sam's name as he got on
"Morning" he waved at them and sat next to her, the guys jeered him for that move, but he didn't seem to care
"So, what's this beat thing?" he asked interested
"Oh, I'm so into music I find a beat in almost anything and everything" she laughed
"Teach me" he looked into her eyes asking but telling
"I guess" she looked around "I guess you could do it with the roar of the engine, find a beat in there and build a whole song around it" she closed her eyes and felt the beat, he sat watching her tap out the beat, humming ''Cause I don't want nobody unless that somebody is you, if I had anybody, I would want somebody like you, and I know that we shouldn't but I know there's worse we could do, I don't want to, I don't want to…" 'Dance Alone' by Tayla Parx he could feel it as the bus moved "Try it" her eyes suddenly opened piercing into his, they sat in silence for a few seconds just taking that in "Just close your eyes and find the beat, any beat and go with it" she smiled
"What song was that?"
"That's for you to find out" she giggled
"Okay" he smiled something had just happened for both of them, he did as she'd asked and sure enough within seconds he was listening to the sound of the engine and building his own beat around it, finally humming"I don't want to know if you fall in love with someone new, if someone makes you happier than I could ever do, I don't want to know…" 'I Don't Wanna Know" by James Smith "It works" he opened his eyes laughing
"I've never heard that before what was it?" she sat staring into his eyes unashamedly
"I write" he held her eyes with his, a cheeky smile on his face
"So, you write music?" she smiled "I wrote mine too" she finally looked away "I love music" she rolled her eyes "I want to either sing it, write it, teach it or produce it" she laughed "All four would just be my idea of heaven"
"Make that one your first hit"
"You think?" she smiled at him nodding his head
"Do you play?"
"The piano, do you?"
"The guitar" he smiled "I want to be a rock star" he told her strumming wind as he said the words, looking back at her looking at him like he was being ridiculous "Or a Teacher of an instrument, preferably the guitar" he rolled his eyes smiling at her looking fed up of the jeering from his friends "I better go back there, otherwise they'll give us hell all day, but can we meet up after on Boxing day, talk some more about music?" he got up and bent over the chair talking to her
"Sure" she smiled
"That's my birthday" he smiled
"We should make it special, come find me" she hugged her bag pleased with herself
"I will and I'll fill every spare minute till then finding a beat" he laughed, walking away "What?" she heard him asking as the guys jeered louder
They caught the bus back home that afternoon, talking all the way, Christmas Day they met at the corner of the street, standing there for a while before, he saw she was too cold to stay out and walked her back home. By boxing day there was something different about him, he was unusually quiet around the shops, shy about the guitar trinket she'd given him, and fidgety on the way back, he was stood at the bus stop tapping his foot and for the life of her Mercy couldn't find his beat "Are you alright?" she asked him
"Yeah" he laughed "Just a bit nervous"
"Why what's happening?" they jumped on the bus
"I want to ask you to be my person, but I'm so scared you'll say no, I've never done anything like this before …"
"Yes" she smiled
"You will?"
"Yes" she laughed
"I guess we could kiss when we get back" he looked around the bus "Your parents" he reminded her
"I guess we could" she looked at him wondering what being a person meant
The bus pulled up and while they stood waiting to get off, they quickly held hands before they jumped off the bus. They crossed the road and had their first kiss, if that's what you could have called it, behind the lamppost outside her house, the kiss lasted three seconds and they parted lips awkwardly, said their goodbye and she went inside, both on cloud nine as they walked into their homes.
By the end of the holidays there was no more jeering, everyone stood observing while they hung out in the local gully behind Sam's house, he had a girlfriend now, and until they'd bit the bullet and got one for themselves they had nothing to say about that.
End of Flashback
Call it first love or silly bitch syndrome, but that boy took her there in those 16 months they were together, left her tainted for anyone else, and to this day no one had ever loved her the way he had, he was her first love, he'd left a mark.
She cleaned up, had a shower, grabbed her bags, and left for the airport, two hours early, but it was better than sitting in the apartment wondering. On the flight, her attention was grabbed for a full hour by this damn child playing her parents up, she actually fell asleep to the noise, smiling at the vivid memory that was taking her back to a place she felt comfortable, loved and in love
Flashback
They'd been together officially for a year, but the feeling was as if they'd known each other foremost of their lives. The other guys were safe with them but the girls had some jealousy thing going on, they were taking pokes at Mercy every shot they got, she'd smile and pretend it didn't matter, but she knew he could see it was hurting like hell.
"Please tell me you haven't hit second base with this bitch?" Beckie snapped at them, looking Mercy up and down, while everyone stood at the bus stop, waiting to get home from their traditional festive shop
"Mind your business" Sam snapped back at her
"I guess if she's doing anything it's with that mouth of hers" Beckie carried on
"Beckie" Sam snapped loudly, that hurt both of them, especially as they'd promised sex for presents that year, tried to get something going, but fumbled the whole thing, they hadn't even found the right place to put anything, they'd ended up giggling at their efforts and calling it a night. To be fair neither of them had mentioned it all day, they got on the bus and sat in silence, getting off at their stop to wait for the bus to pull off before they found their usual tree for a kiss and part company
"I'll be in your garden again at 9pm" Sam whispered in her ear letting her go
"No" she turned to tell him "My Dad will be coming in then, I'll come to the alley at 9.30pm"
"Hey" he quickly pulled her back to him "Are we going to try again"
"We'll see" she giggled pulling away from him to get into her house
That night they'd met at the back of his house, found their usual dark space, and went about trying again, it was full of fumbling, giggling and even kissing but they finally got the deed done. "Sorry I didn't give you fireworks" he grinned down at her, their breath hot and uneven
"That's fine, I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing either" she smiled "We'll do better next time"
"I think I love you" he looked into her eyes smiling
"You better know you love me after that" she kissed him, nipping his bottom lip, smiling at him cringe at the pain
"What should we do now?" he sucked the blood off his lip
"I watched someone on TV doing this earlier, can we try it?" she turned her back to him and spread her legs "You have to pull my hair" she turned to tell him "And be quiet" she took his kiss "Happy birthday"
He knew where he needed to get to he quickly worked it out "God this is killing my legs" he complained after a while, lifting her off the floor while she screamed at the pain
"Carry on" she quickly instructed, something had changed in that move he was deeper inside her, and she was gripping him, he could feel her pulsing on him and after that everything ….
End of Flashback
She woke up suddenly to her body trying to force itself to enjoy the dream, looking around before she realised someone was banging the back of her head, she raised her head sharply and looked over the head rest, smiling at the toddler before she closed her eyes again, opening them nearly three hours later, upset at having lost the dream
Before she could think, she was jerking as the wheels touched the ground and everyone cheered for a safe landing, clapping the pilot and his crew for the journey. "Okay" she sat with her seatbelt still on watching everyone hurriedly preparing to leave the plane, she was the opposite, she really didn't want to be home, the thought of sitting with old people for four days when she could be back home creating was getting to her already "Okay" she clicked her belt off and got up, now the isles were clear