Sorry, this is a badly written chapter. I rushed parts and over thought parts so hopefully it's ok. Ehhhh I guess I don't have anything else to say. oh, and if you would like to review could you suggest a song for the party?
His fist slammed into the door and nearly sent it off its hinges. " Where is it Jill," his eyes were wild now, blinding him to the fact that I was his daughter, not his dead wife. "I need it now!" He toke two steps forward and raised his fist towards me.
Sam rubbed her eyes and glanced across the room to Jake's empty bed. She saw the glowing lights of the alarm clock – 8:25.
Shit.My mind raced. We had to leave here at 8:50- meaning I had only twenty-five minutes. I sorted quickly through my bags, deciding on a pair of white capris and a navy blue button up shirt with a green cami underneath it. I grabbed my toiletries and raced out into the hallway, only to slam into a boy about a foot taller than me and around my age. He had red hair that covered the tips of his ears and freckles spread across his blushing face.
"I'm sorry, I gotta go," I called as I ran into the bathroom in front of him. I had just rinsed my hair when there was a knock on the door.
"Sam, are you almost ready to go?" Jake yelled.
"Yeah, one second." I answered. I jumped out and wrapped myself in a towel. I had to make sure he was dressed ok, considering we were pretending to be engaged. I opened the door and peeked out into an empty hallway.
"Jake?" I hissed. No answer. Great, now I was going to have to walk to our room in just my towel. I grabbed my stuff and ran for it. Or at least I tried to, before slamming into the second person that morning. Jake's hand came out to steady me – saving my towel from falling in the process.
"Where ya going so fast brat?" I ignored his question and stood back so I could check out his outfit. I let out a long sigh.
"You're wearing that?"
"Uh, yeah," he replied, sheepishly. I shook my head.
"Don't you have any…dressy pants? And a button down shirt?" Before he could answer I walked into our room and headed for his closet. My hand was on the doorknob when he grabbed my arm.
"I wouldn't go in there Sam, it's kind of a mess." I rolled my eyes.
"It can't be that bad." I grabbed my arm back and opened the closet door. He watched in awe as I sorted through piles of clothes, papers, bags, sports equipment, shoes, and general clutter. I came out with a pair of khakis and a slate gray button down shirt. As I shoved him out of the room with his outfit I called,
"Meet you downstairs in five!" Ten minutes later I ran into the kitchen. Jake and two of his brothers were sitting at the table talking to the boy I had smashed into earlier. I smiled at them nervously.
"You ready to go?" Jake asked me. I nodded.
"Ooo, where you going Jake?" Quinn asked. "A date?" Bryan added.
"We have to go pick up some stuff Sam left at school," he lied. I didn't say anything; shy in front of the boy I'd never met. He was sitting back in his chair, watching me. This didn't go unnoticed by Jake, who gruffly said,
"Let's go."
Outside a small drizzle had begun, and a dark sky promised downpour. As soon as we got into Jake's truck I began talking.
"Who was that boy?" I asked. Typical Jake replied in a one-word fashion,
"Friend." My curiosity was erased as we crossed the bridge into my old ranch. Everything looked pretty much the same. Some fences had received a new coat of paint, and the barn had been rebuilt. It held an eerie silence, and I couldn't tell if it was because there was nobody here or because it was the stillness before the storm. A plump, businesslike woman was emerging from the car and walking towards us. I glanced at Jake, who was watching me with raised eyebrows. He was giving me one more chance to back out of this, and I wasn't taking it. I climbed out of his truck and followed him towards the woman.
"Hello! I'm Tracy, and you must be Samantha and Jake! Congratulations on your engagement!" Oh god, I thought. Jake grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze that I returned.
"Yes, we are, and thank you," I told Tracy.
"Come right this way and we can begin the tour," she said cheerily. We entered into the kitchen. Tracy's voice droned on about its country kitchen appeal while I surveyed the room. Nobody had lived here since we had, because the kitchen table and chairs were in the exact same spot. The telephone still hung on the wall, and I could see the faint crayon marks where I had written "mommy's work 824-9880." Then we were walking into the living room, and the only reason I could move was because Jake was pulling me. The coach. Daddy's big chair. The TV stand. The coffee table. The chip in the wood floor where my dad had thrown a wooden box across the room. A locked wooden box. I was pulled back to reality by a sharp poke on the palm of my hand, and two expectant sets of eyes watching me. Tracy laughed nervously.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I tried to look normal, because Tracy looked a little weirded out.
"What do you think of the house so far Samantha?"
"Oh…it's very nice. Could we look around upstairs?"
"Of course. There's three bedrooms, excellent if you're thinking of starting a family," She winked at me, "I just have one last room I'd like to show you downstairs." She led us through the doorway into a study. The first things I noticed were the books. My mom's books, I was sure of. I remembered my dad used to come in here and lock himself in, for hours, sometimes days. I'd hear crying sometimes, and he'd never respond when I asked, "Daddy, are you okay?" Tracy skipped the last room. A small room to the back of the house, my grandmother had stayed in it when she had been too sick and weak to climb the stairs. We went upstairs and entered the first door, a small bathroom. Tracy and Jake filled almost the whole bathroom and I leaned up against Jake's chest so I could fit. I felt good like that – safe almost. The bathroom had been remodeled – probably because of the rusting out tub and leaky sink – so it held no memories for me. The small curtained window expose a steady rain outside, and I shivered. Somewhere in the house a window was open because I could feel a damp breeze. Next we went into my room. My bed, bookshelf, and bureau were still there. The checkered curtains my grandmother had sewn were flapping in the wind from the open window.
"I could have sworn I shut that," Tracy muttered as she rushed to close it. A loud rumble of thunder rang throughout the house as the storm declared its power. I shriveled up against Jake, scared. It figures the one-day I get to see my house is the same weather as the last time I saw my dad. I remembered sitting up in this room, waiting for my dad to come home. I just wanted my daddy, and I hadn't understood when he came home so late, acting different. A bright flash of lightning lit up the room and Tracy moved onto the next bedroom.
My parents and guest bedroom whirled together with Tracy's constant chatter, Jake's silent protectiveness, and the storms continues howl. Something was on my mind. I had remembered something, but not the right thing. Not the answer. Not the one thing I needed to know. We ended up back at the kitchen table. Tracy had a pile of paperwork and was telling Jake,
"If you two would like to venture out you can check out the barn, I'm sure it's nice and dry inside as they have just rebuilt it. I just have some paperwork to get together-" I cut her off.
"We'd love to look at the barn." It was my last chance to remember what I needed to. Tracy looked at me curiously but shrugged her shoulders.
"Be my guest." Jake threw his leather jacket at me as we walked through the front door onto the porch.
"I don't need it. You take it." I told him.
"Sam, I'm supposed to look like your fiancé." I sighed and wrapped myself up in its warm leather. I could smell him on it, and that mixed with the humid sent of rain sent adrenaline pulsing throughout me.
"Let's go." I grabbed his hand and we ran towards the barn, heads bent down. Jake slid the wooden door open and a feeling of calmness rushed over me as the rain hushed to a pounding on the tin roof. Jake tried the lights but nothing came on.
"Power must not be connected, unless we lost it." His words were lost on me as I walked further into the barn. Only part had been rebuilt, the original feed room and tack room were still there. I entered the feed room and a sharp pain hit me inside. I had been in here, returning my pony's saddle. My dad had walked in.
"Samantha, I have some bad news honey."
"What is it daddy?"
"Your mom has had an accident. She was driving and swerved to miss some animals and got in a car crash. She is at the hospital right now but she's not going to make it." My young mind had not been able to wrap itself around this.
"What do you mean?"
"Mommy's not coming home."
Lightning flashed outside the tack room window and I found myself curled up on the floor. Then another flashback…
Footsteps. So close, and I was definitely hearing them. "Tell me. Tell me where it is." His voice. His fist, rushing at me. "Where is what?" My small, pathetic, whispering voice.
Then a door slaming, and my eyes flew open. Jake was standing in front of me. I screamed.
The Key.
"The key. It's what I need. I need it, Jake, it's what I need." I was in near hysterics. I had finally figured it out, what I had been wondering ever since it happened. I didn't know what it meant, a key to what? But I knew it, what my whole life had been centered around. I had remembered.
"Sam? Are you okay?" He was looking at me curled up on the floor in the dark room, shaking and crying. When a blast of lightning lit up the room his face looked shocked.
Without another word he was pulling me up. My wet hair whipped around me and my tears mixed with the rain as we ran back across the yard and into his truck. He turned his heater up full blast and we pulled out without saying goodbye to Tracy. We were driving but I didn't even realize it. I couldn't get over the shock of it – I now knew what I had to do. I had to find the key. I didn't notice we had stopped, or that Jake was talking to me, until a strong grasp on my arm pulled me into conscience.
"Sam?" Dark eyes were gazing steadily into mine.
"I found out Jake. I know what I have to do. I have to find the key." I told him giddily. He drew me closer to him and then pulled my face to look at him.
"Samantha, I need you to listen to me." I nodded. "You can't act obsessed with this, okay? People will think your crazy, and you'll get sent back to that school." He paused to let me think it over. "Okay?" I realized what he was saying. Just because I had remembered didn't solve everything. It was just a clue, a step towards the answer.
"Oh." Bam. I tried looking away from Jake but he still held my face.
"You ready to go back?" He asked. I nodded and glanced at the clock – it was already 1:30. As Jake pulled back out onto the road I saw how hard it was raining. Streams ran alongside the muddy dirt road and trees bowed down with the wind. He navigated slowly back to his ranch. My mind was trying to tug me in, trying to make me think about what just happened, but I didn't want to. I was confused as to what I should do next, but I didn't want to ask Jake. He already thought I was crazy.
"I don't think your crazy." He had to speak loudly over the pounding on the trucks roof. I froze – had he just read my mind?
"Did you just read my mind?" He just smirked.
"So…do you still want to help me?"
"Yeah."
Sam pondered this, curled up against the passenger door. She didn't know what to do next. Jake sat up straight, both hands piloting the truck down the slick road. He kept glancing at Sam from the corner of his eye. Obviously visiting her house had been emotionally draining for her, and he didn't believe her when she said she was okay.
"Do you have any idea, at all, where this key is, or what it's to?" Sam said.
"No." Jake lied.