iLight Up The Darkness

Sunday night gave way to Monday morning as a fog blanketed both the City of Seattle as well as the mind of one Samantha Ann Puckett. Sam was sprawled across the sofa, wearing nothing but a t-shirt, boxers, and a pair of socks, all covered haphazardly by a single blanket. She was alone. Carly had already left for her early Communications class. Sam wasn't due to see the inside of a classroom until that evening. Melanie had the entire day free. She was enjoying a cup of tea in the kitchen – until she heard her sister scream.

Sam Puckett was in Hell. Everything in her world was being taken from her, and this sadistic bastard was forcing her to watch it all, over and over again. The Soup Monster had returned, but this time, something was different. She was watching herself be victimized over and over again, her precious soup – which she now knew was Carly – was taken from her, again and again, no matter how hard she fought, bit, kicked, scratched, clawed, or threw things.

Then the realization hit her. It finally all made sense.

It had been months, and it never made sense – not once. Carly, of course, insisted that the Soup Monster was not real and that Sam had beaten him anyway, since they were together and they always would be. It didn't matter. The dark, twisted monster had come back – invaded her dreams – in search of the only thing in the world that would ever be as important to Sam Puckett as her beautiful, precious Carly Shay.

Sam was writhing – thrashing around in her sleep – fighting the evil in her head with every ounce of strength her body possessed. She would protect this precious part of herself with all she had, or she would die trying. She screamed, completely unaware that it was even happening.

"No!...Don't…Kill you…Mine!...No!..."

Sam's eyes flew wide open. Completely unaware of where she was, she was still fighting. All she knew was that she was being restrained. It took her sleepy blonde brain a long moment to process the truth – discerning reality from fantasy.

It took a moment to realize that she wasn't being smothered out of existence by the dark shrouded figure that had tormented her for years, the stealer of her dreams. This was a warm and soothing embrace. It could only be one person, she thought.

"Carls?" She asked, still in a daze.

She was being shushed and rocked, pulled tight to her chest – the kind of thing only Carly did for her when she had a nightmare – The Nightmare. There was only this one.

"Shhh… No, Sweetie… it's Mel… Carly's in class… You were screaming… you cried for me…"

She most certainly had not. Sam wasn't sure of much right now, but she certainly knew she would never show that kind of weakness. Melanie knew that she loved her, but she could never show her just how much. That kind of openness left you vulnerable. That kind of openness, Sam Puckett had learned, got you hurt.

"I never said…." Sam was angry.

"Well," Melanie smirked, "if you have another Melanie, shouldn't I be telling Carly?" she teased.

Sam raised her head and looked into her sister's eyes. She didn't want a fight. She loved her too much. The look said it all.

"Not funny, Princess…"

Sam heard the footfalls of wet bare feet on the hardwood floor. She felt a surge of adrenaline. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't decide whether she was going to have a stroke or simply lay waste to the place.

"Hey Hun… Have you seen?..."

The sentence died there.

What Sam Puckett saw was enough to send her into a blind rage.

Fredward Benson. Leaving her bathroom. In a towel.

As usual, Sam Puckett immediately jumped to the only conclusion she saw – the absolutely wrong one.

She launched herself over the back of the sofa, restrained only by Melanie's quick thinking and equally fast reflexes, which allowed her to catch her sister by the t-shirt, even if it forced her to hold her in a way she knew only Carly ever had.

"YOU!... Kill you!..."

Sam had just jumped to the conclusion farthest from the truth, without regard for her surroundings. As far as she was concerned, it was just her and the half-naked boy. She was hyperventilating from the adrenaline surging through her body. She was red, flushed, and out for blood. She could only get words out at random, but never anything resembling a coherent English sentence. That was immaterial. She got her point across just the same.

"Sleep in my bed? Where my precious Cupcake sleeps?...Deflower….sister…END YOU!"

Melanie grabbed her twin by the shoulders, pulling her backward. She took every ounce of care she could not to hurt Sam. She didn't want her to fall backward into the coffee table.

"Sam…Sam…Sam…SAM!"

And then it was over. Sam was her sister again. She was a sweaty, shaking, frayed, blonde mess, but she was back to something like normal. She lay against Melanie, who was now pinned between Sam and the coffee table. Sam's back was pressed into Melanie's chest and stomach. She was still panting, as though she'd just completed the Seattle Marathon. Knowing this was a 'Sisters Only' moment, Melanie sent Freddie away with a simple look, telling him to go get dressed. They didn't need words.

"Sam…" Melanie began, cool and even, "you can't keep doing this. You can't keep treating Freddie this way…"

"But he… bathroom…naked…promised…reasonable…keep you safe…"

Melanie smirked.

"You really don't remember anything at all about last night do you?"

Sam didn't speak, but it was clear that she had no earthly idea what Melanie was talking about.

Melanie held her close, unconcerned that they were still in a painful position between the coffee table and the sofa.

"Sam, if I let go of you, do you promise me you won't hurt him?"

She whined.

"Sam…"

"I won't… You know I won't…"

Of course Melanie knew. It was the simplest thing in the world. It was so simple, even Sam's precious little Carly Shay never thought of it.

All she had to do was ask.

Minutes later, Freddie, lazily dressed, gingerly reentered the room. He looked afraid that he might get jumped at any moment.

Melanie, now sitting with Sam at the kitchen table, motioned for him to him to come and sit beside her.

"It's okay, Sweety, we talked…"

Freddie was still unsure, but he trusted Melanie implicitly.

Once he was comfortably at her side, Melanie continued recounting the previous night, solely for Sam's benefit.

"By the time we dropped off Spencer's motorcycle and picked up the car, it was already late. We'd been all over the city, and even though neither of us had class, Freddie insisted on bringing me home – such a gentleman…" Melanie gushed. Freddie turned scarlet. Sam wanted to vomit.

"Anyway…" she continued, "You and Carly obviously had a good day, because you two were sacked out on the sofa with the TV on when we walked in.

"…Thank God we got dressed after…" Sam thought.

"So Freddie and I…"

Sam interrupted.

"Mel, but…"

"…No buts, Samantha… Who's telling this story, are you or am I?"

Sam shut up.

"so we just went on to bed…" anticipating her sister's next outburst, Melanie made a pre-emptive strike. "…and NOTHING HAPPENED, Sam…"

Sam felt her blood pressure rise. She snapped.

"But he was in our bathroom… How could you? You little Nub… my sister… in my bed… where I sleep with my Cupcake…"

Melanie's tone was heavy-handed. This was Tough Love.

"Sam! Do you honestly think I would disrespect you and Carly like that? Do you really think that little of me?"

Of course Sam didn't. She just couldn't bring herself to articulate it.

"We took some blankets and we slept in the studio… on the floor, if you must know. And as for him 'deflowering' me, as you put it… I'm a big girl, Sam, and my intimate life isn't truly any of your concern, the same way that yours and Carly's isn't any of mine. I trust you to make grown-up, big people choices and do the best you can…"

What Sam heard next both warmed and broke her heart all at once.

"I get it, Sam… I really get it, but you need to realize we're not four years old anymore. You don't have to protect me from the world anymore – especially not from him…" Her eyes were now brimming with tears. "Sam, he is for me what Carly is for you. He makes everything okay… and do you know what else? When I go to sleep every night, I thank God, my little sister, and my best friend for bringing someone so wonderful into my life. It's the greatest gift I could have ever been given, and, if I live for a hundred years, I hope I'm able to repay you for everything you've done for me…"

Sam felt nauseous. She had misjudged everything so terribly. She had to end this, once and for all, in true Sam Puckett fashion.

"Fredward?"

He smiled. He sensed what was coming, and he played right along, knowing the reaction it would elicit. If there was one thing Freddie Benson loved in this world as much or more than Melanie Puckett, it was getting a rise out of her little sister.

"Yes, Blonde Headed Demon?"

"You do realize… that if you ever make Princess here cry… for any reason… I will end you, ya hear?"

Freddie smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah Puckett… I hear you…"

Melanie chuckled. She knew everything would be okay from now on.