A few minutes after Red went back upstairs, Hyde leaves his room and walks into the empty basement. Since Eric's departure, it is now normal to find the place empty. While he usually misses the others hanging around, talking about senseless things, right now he is grateful for the silence. It gives him some time to think more about the decision he has just made and whether or not it is the right one for him.
The silence, however, is short-lived as his wife descends down the wooden staircase and joins him in the basement. Sam does not sit. She stands behind the couch and scans the place, taking in every tiny detail. Hyde watches her and it feels so strange seeing her there. She seems so out of place, a stranger in a place so sacred to him and his friends. He remembered the time they all sat around, wondering if they needed to add another person to the group in order to make things more excited. After talking and testing out a few people, they decided that no, they didn't actually need anyone else because they were content enough sitting around with each other even if all they did was sit around watching TV in silence.
Kitty told me I would find you here" she finally says, finally bringing his attention to him.
Hyde nods, "year, that's usually the case."
"I just wanted to talk before I leave" Sam tells him.
"Before you leave?" Hyde repeats. He sits upright and folds his arms across his chest, his attentive stance.
"Yeah, I think coming here wasn't such a good idea" Sam says, a faint smile on her face.
Again, Hyde nods. He would be lying if he disagreed with her about it being a bad idea, but he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. Besides, she was already here, was he supposed to just send her packing back to Las Vegas? That isn't the kind of guy he wants to be. He had already driven Jackie away with his lack of effort and commitment, he wasn't going to make that a pattern. He already made up his mind. As stupid as others might think it is, he was determined to give this marriage a try and prove that he can be a responsible adult who can also take accountability over his actions.
"Sit Sam" he says. She slowly makes her way around the couch and sits in the middle of it, far enough from Hyde for him to notice how uncomfortable she must be. Of course it must be uncomfortable. Here she is, in a new state, and the first thing she encounters is judgment and a lot of hesitation from everyone including him. Not to mention, she walks in right as he and Jackie tried to talk through their issues. He really believed, at that moment, that they would mend their relationship and move forward. That's what he wanted, still does, but it's not possible anymore. There was no way Jackie would forgive him for this.
"Look, I'm sorry about the way things started so, uh, you know. We were all a little surprised to say the least" he starts in his attempt to open up to her a bit.
"I actually wasn't too surprised by the reaction" she replies.
"I bet. How did you, um...how'd you know where to come?" he asks her.
"You gave me the address when you left, told me to give you a few days to sort things out before I come" Sam told him. She twirls her fingers around and looks around the basement some more. "You told me a lot about this place" she adds.
"The basement?" he asks.
Sam nods her head. Hyde takes a look around himself. This place has been his sanctuary for a long time so it doesn't surprise him that even in an inebriated stated he would talk about it. "Huh" is all he says.
How much had he told her? Had he mentioned Jackie?
Jackie...
Shit Hyde thinks to himself. In all the chaos since Sam's entrance, he hadn't bothered to go after Jackie. It was probably too late now, there was no chance in hell she would even want to see him, let alone hear him out.
"Where are you going to go?" Hyde asks her.
"Back to Vegas. I still have my apartment out there and could probably get my job back" she replies turning to look at him.
Hyde looks into her eyes and notices that there are no traced of sadness or disappointment. She didn't seem to be taking the situation into offense. It's almost as though she had had no real expectations, and Hyde likes that. The mere fact that she wasn't making a scene or yelling at him meant that she was someone like him, who took things in stride and rolled with the punches, with whatever life threw at them. This could actually work.
"You could stay here" he said. "I mean we wouldn't be able to stay here but what the hell, you made the trip and I guess we're married so what do you say we just give this a go and see where we end up?"
Sam nods her head slightly. "Sure, why not?"
Hyde offers a small smile. No grand reaction or spiel about love. This could definitely work he thinks as they both sit silently trying to get used to each other's presence.