Disclaimer: The iCarly name, characters and show belong to Dan Schnieder. I own nothing.
Well, here it is. The next chapter. Y'all gave such yearning reviews, I pushed myself to get this done as soon as possible. Once again, thanks for all your kind words.
R&R people!
iWake Up.
Tingling sensations sprang across her body, the first signs of her recovering consciousness. The only thing that Sam could take in was the booming thunder and the hiss of the rain. Which was then followed by the painful throbbing of her head, and the sudden urge to throw up. Holding a hand to her bursting mouth, she ran top speed towards the bathroom, violently throwing up into the toilet bowl. Wiping her mouth, she let her head fall spiritlessly onto the toilet seat. Freddie was gone, taken from her by his mother. This was exactly why she was so repulsive to people to begin with. To avoid this. To avoid being hurt, and not having control over what she felt.
You could've stopped this.
No, she couldn't have.
What are you saying? Of course she could've. I told you all along, keep the feelings to yourself. Feelings get you hurt.
How was she supposed to know that his mother was THAT insane?
It doesn't change the fact you let her drop her guard, Samantha.
Her two inner sides had taken up arms against each other, seeing Freddie crumple to the ground, and then getting shocked herself must've torn her apart. Unable to hold them back, her tears fell onto the white tiles. While the thunder and the lightning still raged on outside.
See how weak you are? Don't you ever stop listening to me ever again. Samantha doesn't know what she's talking about. You just can't trust people. It's not you.
You're wrong! What about Carly? She took her in after her mom left her! Explain that!
People always want something. Hell, I bet after she gets better, she'll tell you that the two of you are even and kick you right out.
"SHUTUP!" yelled Sam through her tears.
Silence. No more inner arguing. At least that was one thing she had some control over, but it was only a small victory. She wante-, no, she needed to find Freddie. She needed to know where his psycho bitch of her mom took him to. There's no way she would be taking him somewhere too far, clinging to the hope that she wouldn't just move Freddie away from Sam, because right now, denial was all she had.
Frantically, Marissa stuffed her car keys into the car lock.
"Lewbert, put him the back seat!" she commanded.
In his tattered, dirty doorman uniform, Lewbert pushed the luggage cart across the concrete, the wheels sending clicking echoes throughout the underground parking lot.
"Boy! Your son sure is heavy!" commented Lewbert, as he opened the back seat of the car.
"DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT MY SON LIKE THAT!" Marissa yelled, her eyes open in wide insanity.
Lewbert shrieked, his arms brought up to his face in a defensive pose.
"Calm down! I jus-"
"GET OUT OF HERE. HE'S MY SON!" she shrieked.
He needed no reiteration, and like the coward that he was, he fled to the elevator. Satisfied that she was alone with Freddie, she dropped her keys into her hand bag and heaved his body off of the trolley, and carefully placed him in the back seat.
"I'm so sorry my Freddikins." grabbing a small pillow from the rear dashboard and putting it under his head. "You have to understand, I'm doing this for your safety." lecturing his unconscious face. "Your mother is the only one that can love you, and take care of you." gently caressing his face, as if he were asleep. With great care, she closed the car door, and fished into her bag to retrieve the car keys, instead, her fingers wrapped around a small container; cylindrical, with a wide cap. Yanking it out of the bag, she looked at the small orange cylinder and read the label.
BENSON, MARISSA. Risperdal, 4 mg. To be taken twice, daily.
"I don't need this anymore." announcing to herself.
With great disgust, she threw her medication away, got in the car and drove out of the parking lot, to anywhere but here.
"He's gone Carls." sobbed Sam. "He's gone, and I don't know what to do."
Carly would've patted her on the shoulder, but as she sat on her bed, coughing and hacking, she knew that it'd be better to keep her distance. Yes, it pained her to see her friend like this, but it pained her still that another one of her best friends was snatched the way he was. Everyone knew that Mrs. Benson was nuts when it came to Freddie. On some days, she'd have killed for a mom that cared that much. But all of this made her want to kick herself for even thinking that.
"Sam…" she began. "We'll find him. We can use iCarly-"
"SCREW iCARLY!" she bellowed. "HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO IT WITHOUT HIM? I MEAN, WHO'S GOING TO COUNT US IN FROM FIVE, AND SKIP THE ONE?"
Carly never thought it possible, but Sam broke down crying, even more than she already was. It was almost like watching a freak show; you'd never see a moustache on a girl, and you'd never see a person like Sam cry her eyes out. That was it though, Sam was a person, and people had feelings. There was almost nothing she could do to cheer her up, save for magically making Freddie waltz through the door. Although… there was something that she could give to her, something Freddie told Carly to keep.
"Look, he'll be back. I'm not saying it'll be now, or tomorrow, or next month. But that boy loves you. I know because, before last night, he came to me to whine about how being around you was so hard. He'll make sure that he'll be with you, and he'll make up for all the time that he missed with you." assured Carly. "Trust me."
For a brief moment, Sam stopped blowing her nose, and looked up at Carly.
"Open that drawer." insisted Carly.
Hiccoughing, Sam pulled Carly's bedside table open.
"That envelope there?" she pointed out "take it, and read what's inside. He wanted to give this to you before, but he gave it to me, because he wanted to say everything to you in person."
Sam tore the envelope open. It read:
Sam,
I know that we're broken up, but I've been meaning to say something to you for a long time…
I want you back Sam. I don't care about the differences we have, because when I'm with you, I'm just glad that I can make you smile. In any way. Even if it's when you give me a royal fizz-bin, or when I trip over something, or because I made you a ham and mustard sandwich. You know I call that the Princess Puckett special? It's true. Every time I see anyone eat ham and mustard in the same sandwich, I think of you. I know that giving you this letter would be a long shot. You're fine with being frienemies, I get that. In fact, I'm pretty sure you stopped reading at 'we're' back on the first line. In case you didn't, in case you miraculously kept reading this. Samantha Puckett, I still love you. Right now, I'm getting the feeling that you won't return them. I already forgive you for screaming in my face, telling me to get out of the way. But I needed to let you know. It's not going to change. If you give me another chance, let me in, I promise to never leave you, or hurt you. Cause I love you.
Love, Freddie.
Like that, she felt an emotion running through her veins that she thought would never return. A warm, safe sensation that only came when she was around Freddie. Clinging to the letter, she looked at Carly, a small smile forming on her face.
"Thanks." she simply said, sniffling.
The rain never let up. Even as she drove out of Seattle, Marissa still had torrents of rain pouring onto the wind-shield. Spotting a familiar exit, she veered off of the Freeway. The micro-chip that knocked Freddie out still had a cold grip on his conscious.
"We're going to a motel we stayed in all those years back!" she indicated to him. "You were still a toddler, you probably don't remember. But back then, your father, and your older brother…" she paused, taking a large gulp. "They were still alive."
Freddie's unconscious body gave no response. It didn't stop her from going on though.
"I remember you running your head between two poles. You were in there for a long time, took two ounces of butter to get you out of there, your dad didn't stop pulling." she recalled. "He was a good man your father. Your brother looked like he was going to be one too."
Finally, she pulled into the motel driveway, thanking God that there was still vacant rooms. When she parked, Marissa turned around to face him, still apparently oblivious that he wasn't hearing a word she said.
"You have to understand Freddie, I'm not letting you go. You can't see that… Samantha girl anymore. You're my son, and I'm going to make sure I'm not going to lose you." she declared with a hint of insanity.
A few hours later, after she checked them in, and while she was meticulously cleaning the motel room bathroom, Freddie woke up. Instantly, he grabbed the first thing he could vomit in, a garbage can.
"Oh good! Freddie, you're awake." sighed his mom.
Everything was slightly blurry to him, and waking up in an odd motel room made it worse. He spotted an unfamiliar TV set, the bulky kind. The lighting wasn't white and fluorescent like he was used to, it was more on the yellow and dim side. The sheets he lay on, they felt processed and rough.
"Mom? Where am I?" he groaned.
"Never mind that Freddiekins. Here, eat this." offering him a plate with a sandwich on it, the faint smell of mustard wafting from it.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Mustard and ham." she chimed, walking back to the bathroom.
Sam.
Flashes of things came back to his head. Carly getting sick. Staying over her place with Sam, and finally telling Sam about how he felt. Kissing her. The thoughts filled his heart, making him feel like jumping the moon. Then everything else hit him. His mom walking into Carly's apartment, calling Sam a devil girl, and then pulling out a device, pressing a button, then… nothing. He needed to find Sam, quickly, he needed to know what happened. Carelessly, he tossed aside the plate, rushing to the phone.
"…Freddie? Was that the plate! Did you hurt yourself?" panicked his mom as she came running out from the bathroom. "Who're you calling?" she curiously requested.
"Sam. I need to know what happ-"
"NO! NO NO NO NO!" she shrieked. "WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN'T EVER SEE HER AGAIN? SHE'S NOTHING BUT BAD NEWS FOR YOU! EVERY GIRL IS!"
"Mom! What's wrong with you? Can't you just let me call her? After what you did to me, I'm sure you can at least let me call her to make sure she's okay!"
"NO! FREDDIE, I FORBID YOU TO CALL HER. YOU NEED TO LET GO OF HER."
"NO MOM. NO. I'M NOT LETTING GO OF SAM. I LOVE HER."
In a frenzied attempt to stop him, she leapt at him, screaming. Just as he was about to dial the last few digits, he grabbed the phone and protected it from her with his body. His mom kept clawing at him, desperately reaching for the phone.
"Freddie! Stop it! Stop dialling! She won't love you! I'm the only one that will love you, STOP IT!" she yelled.
With an almighty heave, he pushed her off of his body, onto the bed. Hearing the dial tone, he patiently waited for Sam to pick up.
"Yeah?" answered Sam.
His heart skipped a beat hearing her melodic voice, he knew she was safe.
"Sam! It's Freddie, look I'm sorry about my mom, sh-" a pulsing sensation rumbled through his body, making him buckle at the knees and crumple to the floor. Lifelessly, he dropped the phone receiver. On the other side of the room, Mrs. Benson stood stiffly, clutching the knockout switch.
"Freddie? Freddie! Freddie! Don't do this to me Benson! It's not funny! Where are you! Come back! I need you!" pleaded Sam's voice.
Mrs. Benson grabbed the phone and brought it up to her mouth.
"You're not going to get anywhere near him. He's my son." and then hung up.
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