Nothing really to say, I make uploads when I feel benevolent enough to do so. Sometimes life be getting in the way, but I'll eventually wrap this fic up
Edited 1/4/23. Edit notes at the end of the chapter.
Flies, hundreds of flies buzzing and flooding Sam's ears, humming in unison, stopping for a moment, then resuming their tune once more. She awoke with a sharp inhale through her nose and a groan as she stretched, grunting in pleasure when her back cracked back into place.
Strange, she thought to herself when she opened her eyes and sat up, yawning and running a hand through her disheveled hair. There weren't any flies in the room even though she could still hear the buzzing. She glanced over at her nightstand to find the source of the noise was actually her phone, and that someone was calling her. She picked it up and swiped right to answer without looking at the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Hey, I didn't wake you did I?" Sam's heart jumped at the sound of Jess's voice. She was wide awake now.
"What the fuck?" Sam blurted out.
"Sorry, was it wrong of me to call?"
"Why the hell are you calling? It's not that I'm not happy to hear from you, I'm just…confused." Why shouldn't she be?
"I get that. Well, to answer your question, I'm calling because I'm back in New York for the holiday and I was curious if you were as well. I don't know how you feel about our situation…" Jess's voice trailed off for a moment or two, "but anyways, I'm throwing a party tomorrow. It'd be cool if you could come." Sam held the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger and squeezed her eyes shut. This was not happening. She took a deep breath.
"Um…" Sam began, uncertain of how she even wanted to answer, "it's not that I'm not down, it's just that I brought my roommate back with me for the holiday-"
"She can come too!" Jess cut in.
"I see." Sam paused. "Well, lemme see if she's down and then I'll call you back?"
"Okay."
Sam hit the red 'end call' button and set her phone down. She inhaled deeply once more and exhaled. Her ears rang, and her heart pounded in its bony cage. Seeing Jess? Could she actually do that? She supposed that it had been a good few months, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't miss hanging around her. If Jess felt like she was ready to be just friends, then Sam supposed she'd be ready as well. So why was she so anxious?
She got up and threw on an over large t-shirt before venturing forth to the guest room to see if Lara was awake. She cracked the door open and peaked inside to see Lara still in her bed, completely immobile save for the way her chest would rhythmically rise and fall with her breathing. Sam deliberated over whether or not to wake Lara up. On one hand, she really didn't want to go to the kitchen alone in case her mom and dad were already awake, and Lara would undoubtedly want to wake up and get her sleep schedule adjusted properly as well. On the other hand, Lara looked so peaceful, and Sam felt bad using her as a buffer for her family's toxicity.
Isn't that why she offered to come back with you in the first place though? Sam thought. Nodding to herself with newfound resolve, she swung the door open the rest of the way and approached the bed, laying a gentle hand on Lara's shoulder and lightly shaking her awake. "Hey, it's nine-thirty. Wake up, we aren't on London time anymore."
"Mmh?" Lara flopped over in bed and looked at Sam with half-open eyes, "Is there coffee?" she grumbled.
"No, but we can make some. Wanna come to the kitchen with me?"
"Yeah," Lara threw the blankets off of herself and clambered onto her feet, "after you." They journeyed out to the kitchen together where, much to Sam's surprise, Antonia was cooking.
"Where's Julia?" Sam asked as they walked in.
"I gave her the day off today since she's been working so hard around the house lately," Antonia replied. Sam regarded her mother with narrowed eyes. Gave Julia the day off? More like her mother wanted to put on a front. "Would you like to help?"
"Uh, sure…?" Sam said, sauntering her way over to the counter, where her mother was cutting up what Sam presumed to be ingredients for omelets.
"Uh-uh!" Antonia raised a stern hand when Lara attempted to follow suit, "Guests don't lift a finger in this house. You just get yourself a cup of coffee and relax, I already have a pot brewed." Lara stopped mid-stride, looking between Sam and Antonia like a tentative toddler.
"Oh, alright. Thank you," she said, "where do you keep your mugs?"
"Cabinet to the right of the sink," Sam replied. Lara fixed herself a cup of coffee and took a seat at the kitchen table while Sam and Antonia toiled over their morning repast.
"Isn't this great?" Antonia asked as Sam heated up some onions and peppers in a pan, "We used to have so much fun cooking together." Sam stopped mid-stir to look at her mom with a raised brow.
"Mom...we haven't cooked together since I was ten years old."
"Yeah!" Naomi chimed in as she entered the kitchen decked out in sushi pajamas, "I'm pretty sure we've cooked together more with Julia at this point, but please continue to peacock for Sam's friend like she doesn't already know how dysfunctional we are." Sam snorted and hid her face behind her hair to avoid the nasty glare that Antonia doubtlessly fired at both her and her sibling. "By the way," Naomi continued as she fixed herself a cup of coffee and took a seat beside Lara, "nice to see that dad has volunteered his time to help with the cooking like the family man he is." Sam doubled over from the strain of keeping herself from outright honking like a goose.
"You're not supposed to have coffee," Antonia replied in a measured tone.
"I beg to differ," Naomi fired back, taking a generous gulp of the liquid stimulant and smacking her lips in glee.
"What would you like in your omelet, Lara?" Antonia asked while Naomi and Sam continued to cackle to themselves.
"She wants bacon and cheese," Sam cut in, "Extra bacon. Her leotard's been looking a little loose lately." She shot a glance over at Lara with a crooked smirk.
"She's the boss," Lara said red-faced, avoiding Sam's eyes all the while. Sam frowned and returned to her cooking. After the fourth and final omelet was made for Antonia and they were all settled down to eat, Sam's father finally made his disheveled, glasses-less appearance.
"We just started eating," Antonia said the moment he entered the room, "would you like me to make you one?" Hisao shook his head and helped himself to the last of the coffee. "Are you sure?"
"I have a shareholders' meeting that I have to go to," he said.
"Alright," Antonia replied as Hisao made to leave the room.
"Don't forget to tell them how well Canada's doing!" Naomi fired after him. Hisao shot her a seething glare before making his exit. The next few moments passed in tense silence before Antonia decided to break it.
"So...how did your exams go, Sam?" Antonia asked. Sam took a moment to finish chewing what she had in her mouth.
"Great. My term grades were great."
"What courses did you take this semester? You were always so vague with your father and I whenever we-"
"Intro literature, intro film editing, chemistry, and film theory. And no, before you ask, I'm not studying business." Sam turned her head to stare down her mother, who merely stared back and clenched her jaw.
"So what's your deal?" Naomi cut in, and both Sam and Antonia turned their focus to her to see that she was talking to Lara, "You were saying something about the House of Lords yesterday. What's that?"
"Well…" Lara cleared her throat and set her fork down, "my father was a Count, which meant that he got to serve in a branch of Parliament known as the House of Lords."
"So you're a noble? What are your family's holdings?" Antonia asked.
"That's a funny story. Originally, our primary residence was in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. But after participating in a war against the Kingdom of Essex, our family was awarded a holding in Surrey. Cuthbert Croft moved his primary residence there while maintaining his primary title of 'Count of Abbingdon' and named the property Abbingdon Park. My grandfather donated our other properties to the local historical societies, probably for some sort of tax write-off I'm sure." Sam squirmed guiltily in her seat. She knew that Lara was only fielding questions because she wanted to divert the focus from Sam.
"Abbingdon?" Came Hisao's voice from the hallway. He reentered the kitchen a moment later, this time decked out in a full three piece suit and his glasses rather than his flannel pajama pants and t-shirt, "What's your last name again?" Lara scratched the back of her neck in apparent discomfort.
"Croft."
"Croft?"
"Yes sir."
"You wouldn't happen to be the same Croft as-?"
"Crazy Dicky Croft?" Lara asked. Sam could see that Lara was rapidly bouncing her right leg all the while.
"I was actually going to say the family that was involved with the one DeMornay woman. Amelia, wasn't it? She was supposed to marry the Earl of Farringdon if I remember correctly," Hisao scratched his chin pensively.
"Well, you are the one who has informants on international happenings," Lara remarked. Her eyes had adopted that distant, unfocused look that Sam recognized. Sam looked back and forth between her roommate and father nervously, all thoughts of food and eating long since forgotten.
"Does this mean you'll be able to have a seat in the House as well? My knowledge of English politics is woefully lacking."
"Dad-" Sam began.
"When I turn twenty-one, yes," Lara replied evenly, "but I don't have much of an interest in politics if I'm being honest."
"A shame. There aren't many women sitting in the House," Hisao said as he put his empty coffee mug in the sink.
Is it a shame because you actually care about diversity, or is it because you'd love to have that type of connection? Sam thought to herself as her father made his exit. The rest of breakfast passed without another word exchanged, finally ending with Sam and her mother cleaning up after their toils. Just as Sam was loading the last dish into the dishwasher, there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it," Naomi declared, momentarily leaving Lara and Sam alone with Antonia only to come bolting back into the kitchen just seconds later, "it's Uncle! He's here!" She squealed with delight.
"Uncle?" Sam peaked down the hallway to see her stocky Uncle Toru making his way towards them. "UNCLE TORU!" She screamed and ran to give him a hug, "what are you doing here?!"
"I'm here to see you, of course," he laughed as he embraced his niece, "I heard you were back for the holidays. Plus it doesn't hurt to see my little brother once in a while. Speaking of which…?" He broke his embrace with Sam and looked at Antonia, who was standing in the kitchen doorway, expectantly.
"You just missed him," Antonia said, "he's at a shareholders' meeting. But we would be more than happy to have you until he gets back." She made her way over to Toru and embraced him as well, "it goes without saying that it's lovely to see you."
"You too, 'Tonia." Toru examined his sister-in-law at arm's length, "You modeling again? You look fantastic!"
"Armani, in fact," Antonia grinned.
"Great stuff," Toru replied, finally shifting his focus to Lara, "where are my manners? I didn't realize you had a guest." He approached Lara and held a hand out, "Toru Nishimura-"
"From Toru Technologies, I presume?" Lara asked as she shook his hand. Toru beamed at her.
"The one and only! Good to know someone is familiar with my work. That is an excellent grip, by the way," Toru added.
"Thank you," Lara replied with a small smile, "but how can I not know about your work? Your company is regarded as being a pioneer in materials research. Last I heard, weren't your people working on body armor that bonds straight to a persons' skin?"
"That we are," Toru beamed, "though we're a long ways off from achieving that milestone. And what might be the well-read young woman's name?"
"Lara."
"I can tell we're going to have some interesting discussions. In fact, perhaps you and Sam can join me for lunch later on this week? I know you just ate." Both he and Lara looked to Sam for a response.
"I'm sure I can find some space in my schedule for you, Uncle," Sam replied.
"What, already busy with Hollywood interviews, Ms. Future Director?" The corner of Toru's lips twitched, "Alright, I won't hold you two up any more. I wanna have a quick chat with your mother and-" he looked around, "where's Naomi?"
"Mmph?" Naomi peaked her head out from behind the kitchen doorway with a mouthful of Milano cookies. Sam and Lara parted ways with the rest of the Nishimura clan with assorted snickers and head-shakes and made their way back into Sam's room.
"Your uncle seems great," Lara remarked when Sam firmly latched the door behind them.
"Isn't he? I don't understand how him and dad are related. Honestly, I view him as more of a dad than my own dad," Sam said.
"I know the feeling," Lara said. "Your sister though, she seems a little…"
"Sassy and problematic? I'm aware, but I can't blame her. I was definitely a lot worse at her age. Plus my mom kind of deserved it," Sam shrugged as she rifled through her chest of drawers for something to wear. "By the way," she continued as she pulled on a pair of jeans, "would you be down to go to a party tomorrow?" She looked over at Lara, who was averting her gaze to the posters and trinkets scattered about the room.
"Sure, sounds fun," Lara said, still looking at all the posters as Sam took off her sleep shirt and threw on a black graphic tee in its stead.
"You good, by the way?" Sam asked, turning to face her roommate with a brow raised in concern, "You seem a bit off this morning." Lara cocked her head to look Sam in the eye.
"I'm feeling a bit jet lagged, I suppose," Lara said, letting her gaze drift back over to the 'Support Working Women!' poster on Sam's wall as she spoke, "but otherwise, yeah, I'm alright."
"I'm sorry you kind of had to go through the grinder in the kitchen if that means anything?" Sam said while she ran a quick hand through her hair and scratched the back of her neck nervously.
"Sam," Lara said in a more serious tone, this time locking sustained eye contact with Sam, "really, I'm alright. I don't mind taking the fall for you." Sam narrowed her eyes and watched as Lara's eyes started darting around the room, almost as though she was trying to find a way out.
"Are you s-?" Sam began.
"Could you possibly get me more coffee, however?" Lara cut in, her facial features having reassembled themselves into something resembling composure, "I'm afraid that I'm still a little knackered."
"You know that I know this is your attempt at a diversion, right? And you aren't going to get me to drop this?" Sam crossed her arms over her chest and chewed the inside of her cheek.
"I'm aware," Lara said, "but please, can you understand that in asking you to get me coffee I'm not trying to divert you, but rather give myself a moment or two to gather my thoughts? Because I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now?" Sam's arms relaxed into a loose fold as she considered Lara with a slightly cocked brow. She had noticed Lara fidgeting at the kitchen table earlier.
"How about instead of a stimulant, which is only going to make you feel worse, I get you water or tea?" Sam asked.
"Water would work," Lara said, taking a seat on Sam's bed and twiddling her thumbs on her lap absentmindedly.
"Alright," Sam exited the room and shut the door behind her. She took a moment to lean back against the wall beside the door, and closed her eyes to think. Was she going crazy, or was Lara acting really strange lately? She thought back to the night Lara had walked in on her in the dorm bathroom during her self-care hours.
The more she thought about it, that was around when Lara started acting strange around her: she avoided eye contact, she was often reserved, and she was more easily flustered than usual. Sam wondered why that was, and supposed that maybe she had made Lara uncomfortable with the encounter. Lara, after all, had gone to a Christian boarding school. Maybe she wasn't as comfortable with the human form?
Still, if that wasn't the case was it possible that Lara was…? Sam shook her head and started making her way back to the kitchen. She didn't know. It was certainly possible. She thought back to the day they went to the library to study for a literature exam. Just after Sam had chased Alex off by loudly asking Lara about feminine hygiene products, they had an interesting exchange.
"...and thank God you chased him off. Guys like that are definitely not my type."
"What is your type?" Sam asked with a frown. Lara paused right in the middle of pulling her class materials out of her bag.
"...Good question," was all she said after a moment or two before getting her laptop and the rest of her notes out.
"Good question?" Sam raised a brow as she took a seat across from Lara.
"I never really thought about it…"
It was certainly in the realm of possibility. But there were so many other variables in the equation. Maybe she was looking deeply into nothing? Maybe Lara just had some things on her mind? Maybe Lara had anxiety? Who knew?
"Where's your friend?" Toru asked immediately when he saw her enter the kitchen.
"Oh, she's experiencing a bit of a headache so I came out here to get her a glass of water to take some ibuprofen with," Sam shrugged.
"Is she alright?" Antonia asked with a brow raised in concern.
"Yeah," Sam nodded, "she gets them from time to time. If there's someone who carries a lot of stress, it's her."
"I can imagine," Toru began as Sam opened one of the cabinets to get a glass, "'Tonia here mentioned she was related to-?"
"Yes," Sam snapped the cabinet door shut with glass-in-hand, "and I don't want anybody else mentioning it. I understand the curiosity, but it's a really sensitive subject and she's been through enough without people constantly pestering her about it." Sam set the glass she was holding down beside the sink with a sharp rap and turned to face everyone, "Okay? I mean it."
"To be fair, I was trying to prevent a bitching match between you and mom," Naomi chimed in with a shrug.
"Bitching match?" Toru looked between Sam and her mother with wary eyes, "Alright. What is it now?"
"It's nothing Toru, don't worry about-" Antonia said before Naomi covered her mouth with a hand.
"Mom and dad are pissed at Sam because she isn't studying business. And yes," Naomi looked her mom in the eyes, "I may or may not know this because I spy on you and dad all the time. But hey, takes two to tango right?" She gave a mischievous smile at everyone before removing her hand from Antonia's mouth and taking her seat once more. Antonia's face grew ghastly white with rage at her youngest child's blatant contempt.
"Okay…" Toru said slowly, "That...is a lot to unpack. Am I going to be the one to start?" He looked around at all the Nishimura women before shaking his head, "Figures. Alright, let's start with the business thing. Why exactly does Sam have to study business?"
"I can answer that for you," Sam said, "dad wants me to take the business over for him one day. I don't want to do that. He thinks he can determine my future for me because my tuition trust came from his pocket. I disagree, and I'm studying film because that's what I'm interested in."
"Is this true?" Toru shifted his attention to Antonia, who appeared to be inflating from the physical effort of keeping the truth inside before she let out a small sigh and nodded.
"He just wants what's best for his kids-"
"Bullshit!" Sam blurted out.
"Watch it," Toru warned.
"Sorry."
"It's fine," Toru assured her before returning his gaze to Antonia, "so that's one thing I need to have a conversation with my brother about, got it. Now, you wanna explain what Naomi meant by that 'two to tango' remark?"
"Hisao has been going through her texts and social media," Antonia admitted.
"So it's suddenly okay for him to violate another human being's privacy?" Toru demanded.
"I don't agree with it either, but you have to understand that Hisao's not perfect-"
"Oh-ho-ho, no he isn't. Far from it. Speak of the devil…" The three of them turned their heads at the sound of the front door opening and closing, followed by the sight of Hisao walking down the hall. He stopped dead in his tracks and blinked reproachfully when he saw his brother.
"Nii-san," he remarked, "you could have called beforehand."
"I happened to be in the area," Toru replied evenly. Sam and Naomi both exchanged a look that bore the exact same message:
Oh, shit.
"By the way," Toru continued, "I heard you closed down the NBN's base of operations in Canada. Not doing too well, are you?"
"Office. Now!" Hisao barked before storming back down the hall. Toru let out a small snort of contempt before getting up to follow. Sam bit her lip guiltily.
"Uncle, I'm sorry for all of this," She said as he walked by. Toru stopped to put a hand on Sam's shoulder and give her a reassuring smile before he followed his brother. Sam watched him go before she took advantage of the forlorn silence that surrounded her to grab Lara's water and leave without further confrontation. As she made her way back to her bedroom, she could hear a heated discussion going on in her father's office as she walked by. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she stopped and pressed an ear against the door to listen in.
"-Every time you are here you try to undermine and humiliate me!" Sam could hear her father saying from within.
"Because you are acting just like dad," Toru countered.
"I am NOTHING like-!" Hisao roared at his brother, causing Sam to jump where she stood and nearly spill the water she held.
"Really?" Toru demanded with a laugh, "You have no loyalty to the people who make you rich and you're completely out of touch with your own family. I don't even think you're capable of loving-"
"Don't you insert yourself into my personal life, Toru-"
"I'm already involved, Hisao. You know how often I have to play damage control for you when one of your daughters calls me? I've been more of a father to those girls-" Sam flinched when she heard something slam into the ground.
It's fine, everything's fine, she told herself.
"Nice, very productive," Toru said, "do you feel better now?"
"Just because you don't have a family-"
"You're right, I don't have a family. And because of that, I have the time to make myself more available to yours than you do."
"Here we go," Hisao let out a derisive snort.
"Drop the tough guy act," Toru sounded weary with the way he talked, "tell me something. Are you honestly okay with going the way dad did? With barely anyone attending the funeral outside of the press? Because you're on the right path if that's the case." There was an audible silence between the two of them before Toru continued, "I know dad wasn't good to either of us. I lived through it too. But that doesn't mean you need to continue the cycle. Those two girls are hurting, and I'm already worried that Samantha might be scarred for life-"
"Do you know how much I had to cope with while Sam was growing up?" Hisao demanded.
"Do you know how much she had to cope with growing up? No? Of course not, because you never talk to your kids. You and Antonia put far too much pressure on Sam. It's no wonder she has anxiety, though it seems she's at least coping well since moving out. I haven't gotten nearly as many calls as I used to."
"Sam doesn't have anxiety, we put her on medication for that."
"Oh my God," Toru exclaimed, "mental disorders don't just go away, they get treated for life. Your daughter has a learning disability and severe anxious distress that still both affect her every day. Medication can help with symptom management, but having a prescription doesn't mean she's magically cured. But again, you don't talk to your children. So how would you know?"
"Antonia could have-"
"But this isn't about Antonia. And I'm not going to sit here and argue with you over this all day. Your family is waiting for us." Sam darted to a bathroom nearby when she heard footsteps approaching the door and peered around the edge of the door to see her father and uncle rapidly retreating to the kitchen. When she peered into her father's now-abandoned office, she saw his desk chair lay abandoned on its side completely opposite of the space it usually occupied. Sam took another glance at the direction her father and uncle headed before turning on the spot and returning to her room with the half empty glass of water she still held.
Edit notes: redrafted phone call with Jess. Consistency edits. Rewrote bits of first kitchen scene.
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