Her whole room had been turned upside down. Everything except her bed, in which Carly was curled up, crying. Sam was the first to run to her. Freddie tried not to trip over everything. Sam must have had experiences with overturned objects and fights.
"Carls. Carly…calm down."
"Calm down?" she said softly. "HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN?" She had lifted her head to reveal disheveled hair, a smeared make-up face, and crazy, blood shot eyes. Both Sam and Freddie were taken back a little.
"It took me forever to come to terms with the idea of my mom dying. And now, all of a sudden, I find out my real mom had lived so close most of my life, not caring, not helping, while I suffered through my life without a mom! Now I'm tired of being the good girl! The one who always keeps her cool! I have every right to NOT calm down!" Sam looked at Freddie, who stood a few feet away. And Carly started crying again. Sam stood up.
"You wanna start or should I?"
"It worked the first time." He gave her a small smile and she nodded. She sat back down on the bed.
"Carly, you heard all of the reasons Mrs. Benson gave for not being there for you. You just didn't wanna listen. Yes, you have every right to be angry and shocked and confused… but obviously everyone else has gone through the same emotions. Spencer and Mrs. Benson are worrying about you guys so much and they've gone through so much pain over the years." Carly contemplated this.
"That's…true. I've never seen Spencer more upset. And Mrs. Benson looked like she might cry. But she could've married my dad or at least taken us both or us left BOTH with my dad!"
"She was young and scared. Could you have taken care of twins while having a husband at war?" Carly looked down.
"…No. No, I couldn't have," she whispered, "I should apologize to her. Thanks, Sam." They hugged.
"You see? Sam is a great friend! And possibly more," Freddie said and kissed her cheek without thinking. Sam's eyes widened and she pushed him away. But Carly saw.
"You guys are together now? Well Mrs. Benson ruined my life! If she would've been honest from the beginning I wouldn't be having this heartbreak right now." She threw her face into her pillow and started crying again.
"Way to go, Freddie," Sam whispered. He mouthed a 'Sorry.'
"Your turn," she whispered again, "Don't screw it up." He walked over to Carly.
"Hey Carly? Please don't blame my mom for this. It's not that I don't love you. It's just that I love like I did. Like a friend or a sister if you will. I'm sorry we only got to date for a day but it's probably best if we're siblings and all." She laughed slightly.
"And Sam, I don't want you to feel like a rebound or that I only like you for what you did. You're not my Bolivian bacon." This time Sam laughed lightly.
"I've always had a deep connection with both of you girls. But it took me until now to realize that one was sisterly love," he took Carly's hand, "and one was affection," he reached out and Sam took his other hand. They all sat together, hands joined, and let it all soak in.
"So don't be mad at my-our mom. She couldn't have predicted any of this to happen."
"And she was always in your life," Sam added, "She gave up a really nursing job in L.A. to stay home with you."
"How do you know that?"
"I heard her talking on the phone one day. She said she couldn't take the job because she couldn't move for at least two more years. Well now I get it, it's because you'll be eighteen in two years!"
"But she could've done it for Freddie. He'll be eighteen in two years too."
"Oh…er, well she also said that she made a promise sixteen years ago and she couldn't leave." Carly's face turned from confusion to shock to sadness.
"I-I guess I could go talk to her. I over reacted. "
"Good, let's go," Sam said. Carly got up and lead the way.
"My mom never got a job offer in L.A." Freddie whispered to Sam.
"I know," she whispered back, "I made it up. And thanks for not saying that out loud. You are getting better at not screwing things up."
"Thanks…hey!" Sam laughed and took his hand as they followed Carly downstairs.