Chapter 6: Humble Hurtings

"The difference between friendship and love is how much you can hurt each other." - Ashleigh Brilliant

Diana Foley walked calmly through the halls, her eyes focused on getting to her destination. She flipped her long, formally braided black hair over her shoulder, and straightened her dark blue jacket. The clicking of her stiletto heels echoed off the walls, in the quiet, dark hallway.

Finally, the woman stopped near a brown door. She grabbed the handle, and gently opened it up.

Admiral Tanner looked up from his papers, at the woman that now stood before him. He blinked, waiting for her to speak. When she didn't, he asked slowly, "... May I help you?"

Diana bit her lip, trying to stop it from trembling. She spoke in a soft tone, her voice shaking slightly as if she were struggling to speak, "I want her behind bars,"

Admiral Tanner sighed, placing down a stack of paper and removing his glasses, "Miss Foley, I presume..." he began cleaning his glasses with a soft cloth, "I'm sorry, but--"

"No," Diana slammed her hand down on the desk, causing the Admiral to look up in surprise. "I have evidence." she told him sharply, her eyes resembling the rage of a storm, "Let me be the prosecutor. The man you have will not make sure Samantha Manson gets what she deserves." she was breathing deeply now, staring into the Admiral's blank gray eyes.

"And what do you think she deserves?" he asked calmly, standing up from his seat.

"Life, in prison," stated Diana, a look of determination upon her young face, "Make her suffer for the life she's taken from us."

She stood her ground, shoulder's straight, awaiting his approval. The Admiral sighed, slowly making his way towards her, as he shook his head, "I'm sorry, Diana... Your opinion is biased. You won't judge Miss Manson fairly."

"But I--"

"Please, leave my office."

Diana glared at the admiral. She pointed a shaking finger at him, and said in a low, dangerous voice, "Believe me, Sam Manson is going down," she stormed towards the exit, and shut the door with a resounding smack.

The doorbell rang, right as Sam was making her way down the stairs. Her hair was ruffled and messy, as if she had just woke up. She tried to flatten down her hair, while at the same time adjusting her deep purple tank top, which matched well with her baggy black sweat pants. "I'll get it!" Sam called, finally giving up on her hair.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement, at the thought of it being Danny, as she opened the door. She abruptly went back to her passive state. Instead of Danny, her grandmother Ida was in the doorway.

Narrowing her eyes, Sam would have slammed the door shut, had it not been for her curiosity of what her grandmother had to say. Instead, she asked sharply, "What do you want?"

"Sammy," Ida said, reaching out her aged hand to touch her granddaughter's cheek. She stroked it softly, until Sam grabbed her hand and slowly lowered it. The older woman sighed, and said softly, "I can't make you forgive me... But please, can we just put this all behind us? I love you, my sweet bubeleh..."

"No," Sam said suddenly, "don't call me that. Never call me that again. You don't deserve to have a nickname for me."

"Sam?"

Sam whirled around, her black hair whipping her face softly. The blue-eyed boy stood behind her, as if he had been there all along. "Danny..." she spoke softly. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and said, "Please tell this woman I never want to see her again."

"Sam, you don't mean that," Danny whispered, taking her hand in his, "she's your grandmother, she never meant to hurt you..."

Ida nodded in agreement, and said, "You're my world, Sam... Your grandfather wouldn't have wanted us--"

Sam reached her breaking point. She turned around, held up a shaking finger to her grandmother, and said, "Don't you dare, don't you dare, talk about grandpa. I mean it."

The older woman stared at Sam in utter shock, "Sammy, he was my husband! How could you--"

"SHUT UP!" Sam shouted, covering her face with her hands, "No, no, NO! You didn't care about him! You let him die! Get away from me, you... You heartless..." she abruptly turned away, and pushed past Danny, rushing up to her room.

Danny watched her leave in confusion, his eyebrows furrowed. He turned back to Ida, who was staring down at the floor in shame. He looked to the stair case, and back to the elder woman, before walking towards her. "I'll walk you out," he muttered bluntly.

Ida offered a weak smile to the boy, and said softly, "Thank you, Danny." she sighed, and looked at the window sill, where a picture of a thirteen-year-old Sam sat. "By God if you two aren't the spittin' image of love."

Danny looked from the picture, and back to Sam's grandmother. He smiled softly.

Back Then

She learned what kind of person he was that day, what kind of things he thought about. She learned he wasn't the air-headed boy she always thought him as, but something much, much more than that. As the two watched the children play in the park, families having picnics, puppy dogs playing with the little boys, they learned about each other in ways no one ever would. Sam knew it, too. She knew he would know her in ways no one could understand.

Her amethyst eyes traveled to the fountain, where she watched a little girl toss a coin inside. She had her eyes shut tightly, as if she were thinking. A small smile played on her lips, Sam asked Tucker, "Tuck, have you ever made a wish? I mean, you know, a serious one."

Tucker gave her a look of confusion, before turning his attention back to the kids playing with their dog. "That's a stupid question," he muttered, eyebrows raised. "I think everyone has made a wish at one point in there lives."

"What was your greatest wish?" asked Sam, resting on her stomach as she picked some grass off the ground in boredom. "I mean, what was it that you wanted more than anything?"

Tucker stared down at the grass, as if deciding whether to answer or not. Finally, he said, "You first, Sam."

Sam grinned, without looking up. She gave a small shrug, and said, "I don't know, I guess the only real wishes I ever made was for Grandpa Jerry." she suddenly paused, thinking. That was the first time she had ever openly mentioned her grandpa.

Tucker's expression brightened, and his eyes shown with interest. "Tell me about them, I wanna hear."

Sam chuckled, shaking her head. "No, it's a long story. You won't want to hear about it."

"I got time. Come on, Sam, please?"

The goth looked into her friend's pleading eyes, and she couldn't help but say, "Ok, ok, I'll tell you... I guess it all started the morning my uncle commited suicide..."

Do you remember him, Grandpa? Do you remember uncle Tom, the one who always babysat me? He was like my best friend, the one I always talked to. Danny, Tucker and I were never as close as he and I were. Do you think he always planned on doing it? When mommy and daddy were out doing their own thing, and he babysat me? When we watched Halloween movies together? When he kissed me goodnight? I don't understand why he was so depressed...

When he killed himself, I saw how depressed you were. I knew you were nearing breaking point, and so that's when I began making sure you were with me every minute I wasn't at school. I even watched Beauty and The Beast with you, a movie I despised. I watched it because you liked it, Grandpa.

Then you left me, too... But it hurt more than when uncle left, grandpa... And do you know why?

Now...

Interview: Samantha Manson

Case: Manson vs. State

Crime: Murder of fifteen-year-old, Tucker Foley

Psychologist: Doctor Larenzo

Appearance: Samantha Manson appeared perfectly content upon entering, yet somewhat moody. Hair color: Jet black. Eye color: Deep violet. Possibly contacts. Upon close examination, it appeared she had a black eye, along with various bruises in which she claimed were from prison. Mentally, Manson seems to be in perfect condition. No high blood pressure, no signs of insanity or depression. When asked questions, Samantha Manson comfirmed that she knew what she was doing, and was concious during the entire episode. While repeatedly saying she was indeed guilty, it was noted that her left eye twitched slightly every so often. It may suggest that she is possibly hiding something from the court.

The only thing that could be taken into question was when Manson was asked about her family. She asked me to specify the question. She was asked if any of her family members were notably bi-sexual, suicidal, or had any mental issues that may have affected her family or her life personally. Manson stared at the ground for a moment, as if debating whether to answer truthfully.

Her answer was no.

A/N: Didn't expect so much family revealing to appear in this chapter. Diana Foley (Tucker's older cousin) and Uncle Tommeh (Sam's uncle, and Jerry's son, obviously).Oh well. Yes, I know it was a long wait. I apologize. You've heard all the excuses before. Don't worry, I'm back in action, so yey. Hope you enjoyed my long-ass chapter that took forever to write. Bleh. I know it might be hard to keep up with everything, (Hell, it was for me at first.) but don't worry, you'll get it later on. Fwee. Next chapter coming A LOT faster than this one.