A/N: Wow, got to say that this chapter was the hardest thing to write. It took me awhile to. I give props to my partner in crime who helped me a lot in this chapter. Partner in crime you know who you are. Hope you like this chapter.
Chapter Eight: Hurt
"How are you feeling? Are you feeling any better?"
"The bruises will heal Aria. Don't worry so much about me."
Aria grins and slides closer to Sam.
"I'll always worry about you."
Sam blushes and ducks her head. No one had ever treated her like this before so she was confused as to what to do. Should she flirt back? Should she act innocent? Sam didn't know.
"I love it when you blush. You come off as cute."
"I'm not cute."
Aria nods her head.
"Oh yes you are. You are cute, Samantha."
Sam grabs a hold of Aria's hand and interlocks their fingers. It was a gesture that made Aria really happy.
"You're not so bad yourself."
-Complications of the Heart-
"I don't know anyone who has had that hard of life," Nathan says as he watches his wife around the kitchen.
Haley had just told Nathan what was going on with Sam and Brooke. Nathan had always felt like a big brother to Brooke. He knew she must have been hurting a lot.
"I don't either Nathan. I mean Sam's life makes your childhood a walk in the park."
"Dan was always verbal, but it was never abusive. Is Sam going to be okay?"
"She keeps her emotions in. She's a lot like Brooke in that way. I just don't know if Sam will ever let that out when I know she needs to."
"I'm sure Brooke will take care of her. You realize that everyone we know is having some sort of problem and we're just fine when usually we are the ones with the problems."
"I can be happy that we don't have any problems. I just feel bad for everyone else in their situation, especially Lucas and Peyton."
"I always knew Lucas was an ass."
Haley laughs.
"It's funny that you two switched places. I do feel horrible for lying to him though."
"What'd you lie about?"
Haley mentally scolded herself for not watching her tongue. This whole Peyton and Brooke in limbo thing were really starting to kick her ass. She really needed to watch what she brought up.
"Peyton and Brooke and them being together."
Nathan raises an eyebrow. "That's all? I figured it would be something else."
"Yes that's a…hey, how'd you know about them?"
"Haley I was born once, but I'm not stupid. It was written all over their faces throughout high school. I'm surprised Lucas didn't catch it earlier."
"What was written on their faces?"
"Peyton and Brooke wore the same face that I have for you."
Haley walks closer to Nathan and puts her arms around his neck.
"And what face would that be?"
"The face of love."
Haley smiles and leans up to kiss her husband.
-Complications of the Heart-
"What should we do with our few hours Jamie?" Quinn asks her nephew.
"I don't know. Mama has been talking about Sam. I miss her."
Quinn had heard things about Sam from Jamie. Apparently Sam was cool. Jamie's words not hers.
"I'm sure you'll get to see her later, Jamie. Things right now have been tense for everyone."
Jamie and Quinn continued to walk along the barren beach.
"Are you okay Aunt Quinn?"
Quinn smiles down at her nephew.
"I'm doing okay Jamie. I worked things with David and now we are on better terms."
"That's good."
Quinn just chuckles at Jamie. She never understood the mind of an eight year old.
-Complications of the Heart-
"Are you just going to go back to New York and forget all about your daughter?" Peyton accuses.
She and Lucas had been going at it for a few hours. After Lucas's confession and Peyton explaining her past with Brooke, they were now fighting about the one thing that kept them together, Sawyer.
"No Peyton! I could never forget my daughter."
"But you could forget that you had a wife."
"Why are you so angry with me? You love Brooke."
"But I didn't do anything with Brooke."
"You still emotionally cheated Peyton. You know you can't deny that."
Peyton takes a breath and leans against her chair.
"You're right I can't. What are you going to do Lucas? You have a baby on the way and it's not with me."
Lucas sits down opposite of Peyton and nods his head.
"New York is home for me now."
"Tree Hill has always been home for me Lucas."
Lucas rests his hands on his knees. It was obvious that their marriage was ending, but they had Sawyer to think about and Lucas had to think about Lindsey and the new baby.
"It's fairly obvious we are filing for divorce," Peyton nods her head at that. "And you'll stay here while I go back to New York."
"Where does that leave Sawyer?" Peyton questions softly.
"I'll be pretty busy in New York so I think she should stay with you. We'll figure out everything else later."
"Lucas, you have to support her. She's your daughter. Look, you don't have to support me, I get that, but you have a daughter. Support her Lucas."
Lucas looks at Peyton once before looking away.
"I'm going to check on Sawyer," Lucas says before getting up.
-Complications of the Heart-
Sam and Aria were walking around town, they were still holding hands.
"Have you decided on what you are going to do?" Aria questions softly wanting to be ahead of the game.
"No, I just…I'm confused mostly."
"I've been there Sam, but eventually you'll be hit with clarity and realize that you don't deserve to be treated that way by anyone."
"Why are you so good to me?"
"Well that's easy. I like you Sam. I'm not going anywhere."
"Such a sweet talker, aren't you?"
Aria shrugs her shoulders while kissing the back of Sam's hand causing her to blush and Aria to grin.
"I have plenty of these moments. You just have to agree to go out with me."
Sam rolls her eyes, but Aria just continues to smile.
"Aria, I'm thinking okay? I know it's not fair for you, but I'm just so messed up and I have so much baggage that I don't think I could handle a relationship."
"Let me be your anchor Sam. Let me be your new light. Let me guide you."
Sam stops them at the end of the street. Sam takes her free hand and pushes strands of hair behind Aria's ear. She steps closer and lets her finger graze Aria's cheek. Sam leans forward and places a small kiss on Aria's lips. Sam pulls away with a smile.
"Does that mean you'll date me?" Aria asks as she opens her eyes.
Sam doesn't answer, but she drags Aria to begin walking with her.
"You know for a basketball player I figured you'd be a bitch."
"That's all stereotypical. I could never be that not with how I was raised."
"Right, that's so true."
After a moment of silence Aria glanced at Sam tugging their bodies closer together.
"Sam, are you ever going to answer my question?"
"What do you think?" Sam says with a smirk.
"Well considering the few kisses we have shared I would say yes which means if anyone tries to hit on you I can calmly tell them that you have a girlfriend already."
Sam kisses Aria quickly easily falling lost in their lips.
-Complications of the Heart-
"Tell me what's going on Brooke!"
Brooke feels like its déjà vu. First it was Haley storming into her house and now it was her mother. Joy!
"You haven't returned my calls. What is going on?"
Brooke closes her laptop again and sighs.
"A lot actually and I need to figure this stuff out."
Brooke really didn't want to talk to her mother right now especially after what she found out about Sam. It was Victoria's comment the night of the supposed adoption that made Brooke rethink everything.
"I think you should consider her spending more time with her mother on a more permanent basis."
"You screwed everything up for me," Brooke whispers.
Victoria looks at her daughter in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"Did you even like Sam? Were you afraid of my happiness? What was it?"
"Brooke, what are you talking about?"
"You told me that she should see her birth mother. You were wrong. You were all wrong. It made everything worse."
"Brooke, I need more details," Victoria says as she sits down in front of her daughter.
"I blame you. I blame you for it all."
"Brooke, you blame me for everything so can you fill me in on what you are blaming me for this time."
"Sam is being abused by her birth mother."
Those words froze Victoria to the core. She loved Sam she could admit that. They got along greatly despite her daughter's reluctance to the relationship. Victoria could definitely see a Davis in Sam which made her all the more appealing.
"How do you know that?"
"She called Peyton, Victoria and Peyton called me. I've seen the bruised. I've heard the stories. I blame you."
"I didn't think that by saying what I did that night Brooke would do any harm to Sam."
"Yeah, well I didn't think letting her leave the house that she'd come back into it chalk full of bruises and more problems than she came in here with."
"What am I supposed to do about it?"
"Nothing…I just…I don't know."
"Where is Sam then?"
"She should be here in a few minutes. We haven't figured out what we want to do yet."
"You have to report her. That's the obvious thing to do. Brooke, don't be stupid about this."
"She's going to stay here when I do. She won't leave again."
"We'll make sure of it. I have to go and do some things, but I'll come by later. I'd like to see Sam."
Brooke nods her head and watches as her mother walks out her door. Brooke opens her laptop back up and continues to research.
-Complications of the Heart-
Lucas hated what he was going to do, but he knew somewhere deep down it was for the best. He wasn't going to tell anybody what he was thinking about doing, but he knew he would be hated by doing it. He had Sawyer under false pretences. He hadn't loved Peyton then if he really thought about it. He knew Peyton didn't love him then either, but they had Sawyer anyway.
Lucas leaned against the door frame. Sawyer was sitting in her room playing with her stuffed animals.
"Sawyer, can I talk to you?"
Sawyer looked at her dad with a smile.
"Come daddy."
Lucas sat down next to his daughter and continued to watch Sawyer play with her things.
"Sawyer, daddy needs to talk to you."
"About what?" Sawyer asks innocently.
"I'm leaving soon and I don't know if I'll ever see you again."
Sawyer stops what she is doing looks up at her dad in confusion.
"I have to go away for awhile, but daddy loves you and he's only doing this so that you will be okay. I just want you and your mom to be happy."
"I no unsand."
Lucas smiles at Sawyer's mistakes.
"You will someday, sweetie."
-Complications of the Heart-
Sam walks into Brooke's house with a smile on her face. Aria, her girlfriend, Sam smiles at the thought, just walked her home.
Brooke had finished her research for the night a few minutes ago so when Sam came in, Brooke was sitting on the couch channel surfing. She really didn't want to work with everything in her mind.
"You seem happy. I like it."
"I am happy. Aria makes me happy."
"I knew it," Brooke cheers as she points her finger teasingly at Sam. "I knew you two were going to end up together."
Sam rolls her eyes and takes a seat next to Brooke.
"Yeah, well. She just kept flirting with me and I wanted to stop blushing so I gave in. I still have issues to work through, but with Aria next to me I think I can do it faster."
"I'm really happy for you Sam."
"Thanks, that really means a lot, but you do know Aria is a girl right?"
Brooke raises an eyebrow at Sam not understanding what she is trying to get at.
"What's your point?"
"Are you okay with me seeing a girl? Are you like a homophobe?"
"No, I'm not."
I'd be a hypocrite otherwise.
"That's good."
"Sam, sit down for a second. We need to have a serious talk," Brooke states calmly.
"Okay Brooke, but if this is for a sex talk I don't think I need it…yet," Sam said sarcastically as she sat down.
"No Sam, that's not what this is about. I talked to my lawyer today and he said that the only way for me to get custody of you is if we report Rebecca and then take her to court," Brooke responded.
"Brooke, I don't know about this. I want to live with you. I want you to be my mom, but I don't want go to the cops…and I…I…I just need to go for a walk, can we talk about this more after I go for a walk please?" Sam stated while crying.
"Yes Sam, you may go for a walk, but please don't go anywhere near Rebecca's, don't stay out to late and take your phone."
"Okay, thanks, see ya in a bit Brooke," Sam replied as she wiped her remaining tears away from her face.
-Complications of the Heart-
Samantha was walking aimlessly around Tree Hill thinking about the past years of her life and what had gotten her to this point. Never in a million years would she believe that someone out there actually cared enough about her to want to adopt or to take care of. Brooke was that someone who didn't care about the check permanently attached onto her from the state.
Sam walked past the beach, and the river court, and out of old habit she ended up at the café where Rebecca works. Unfortunately the walk had taken longer than she had planned. It was starting to get dark. Rebecca was coming out of the Café as Samantha was about to walk in for some coffee.
Rebecca walked out of the Café and spotted Sam right away. She sneered. Sam was going to pay. Rebecca grabbed Sam's arm, as she did so she whispered in her ear. "Get your ass in the car, and don't say a word or I will kill Brooke, while I make you watch."
Samantha did as she was ordered.
Rebecca drove Samantha back to her house in silence. When they got back to her house she told Sam to go into the house and told Samantha to get in the living room and stand on her knees.
Samantha was absolutely terrified. She knew what was going to happen, just not how bad. She hopped for a way to escape. There was no chance of running. Rebecca had grabbed her arm earlier and practically dragged Sam into the car. Sam's ribs were starting to hurt again.
Rebecca walked into the house and spotted Sam in the living room on her knees.
"Samantha, you called the cops on me and ran away! Who do you think you are?" Rebecca screamed.
"I didn't call the cops…I swear, it was not…" Sam begged her to listen.
Rebecca smacked Sam across the face.
"I don't think I gave you permission to speak, you bitch!"
"Sorry," Sam apologizes softly.
Her lip was hurting her and she knew it was bleeding, but she never moved her arms. They stayed at her side.
Rebecca kicked Sam in the stomach as hard as she could muster. Sam's body instantly curled into the fetal position.
"I said don't speak without permission you worthless whore. Learn your place. Stand up now!" Rebecca ordered in a fierce voice.
Samantha stood as fast as she could. She was having trouble due to her already bruised ribs.
Rebecca stood face to face in front of Sam. Sam's eyes never left hers not even when she knew what was coming next. A fist to the face and Sam fell to the floor.
Rebecca had quickly gotten into the kitchen and went under the sink. She had to hurry fast. She knew Sam would try to escape. Rebecca found her home made chloroform. She grabbed a cloth and poured it all over it.
Rebecca returned to the living room and saw Sam trying to walk out the door, but she was still moving slowly. Rebecca's hands went towards Sam's mouth and nose. The cloth held between Sam's face and Rebecca's hand. It didn't take long for Sam to pass out.
Rebecca threw the cloth away and dragged Sam by the hair to the living room. Rebecca was in a haze. She started talking not knowing that Sam was unconscious.
"I saw you with that girl. I saw you kiss that girl, you slut."
Rebecca went to the kitchen and came back with a knife.
"No one wants you Sam. You're worthless. No one wants you."
Rebecca ripped open Sam's shirt. Rebecca smiled at the bruises on Sam's stomach. Rebecca brought the knife down to Sam's stomach and started cutting an S into Sam's skin.
Sam's eyes started to flutter open and she groaned. Rebecca looked up and pointed the knife to Sam's throat.
"If you move or make a sound I'll slice your throat."
Sam whimpered and closed her eyes. She was hurting badly. Rebecca went back to her task.
She cut an L next to the S.
"What you are doing with that girl is a sin!"
Sam was quivering, but she didn't make a sound.
Rebecca cut a U next to the L and watched as the blood dripped from Sam's stomach to the floor.
"She's not going to want your body now, is she?"
"Stop it," Sam pleaded through her tears.
Rebecca ignored the pleading and finished cutting up Sam's stomach. SLUT was clearly cut into Sam's stomach.
"You know Sam, all you had to do was follow the rules, but you couldn't even do that, could you?"
Sam opened her eyes and saw Rebecca standing in front of her, next to her feet. With all her strength Sam kicked her feet out and Rebecca tumbled into the wall the knife quickly dropping from her hands. Sam struggled to army crawl away, but a searing pain floated through her body starting at her leg. Sam turned and watched Rebecca looking at her with a maddening smile. Sam's leg was broken and Sam knew that Rebecca had stomped on it.
"B-b-itch," Sam rasps out.
Rebecca rounded a rain of kicks on Sam's stomach. Sam stopped moving and Rebecca stopped kicking.
"You deserve it all, slut."
Rebecca stomped on Sam's stomach one more time before grabbing bottle of vodka from her fridge. She walked to her room and preceded to drink until she passed out, not caring that Sam was dying on her floor.
-Complications of the Heart-
She didn't know how long she was out, but when she came to, Sam knew she couldn't move. She hurt all over and she was pretty sure that her leg was broken. Sam places her shaky fingers on her still bleeding stomach and winces. Then she remembered her secret weapon in her pants pocket. Sam quickly dug out her phone and dialed quickly.
-Complications of the Heart-
Brooke was starting to worry. Sam had left before sundown and now it was late and she had still not heard a word from Sam. She was pacing the room. When the phone rang, Brooke froze. Snapping out of it Brooke ran to the phone in a hurry.
"Hello?"
-Complications of the Heart-
Aria felt like she was on cloud nine. Samantha Walker was her girlfriend. The kisses were amazing. Aria truly felt like she could easily fall for this girl.
If her kisses are amazing I wonder what it would be like to…
Aria giggles at the thought.
The phone rings bringing Aria out of her happy thoughts.
"Hello?"
-Complications of the Heart-
Nathan was sleeping soundly next to his wife when his phone rang. Haley groans and Nathan kisses her forehead.
"I'll get it."
"M'kay," Haley murmurs before falling quickly back to sleep.
Nathan turns in bed and picks up the receiver.
"Hello?" Nathan answers groggily.