Sam didn't want to see her father-in-law because he treated her like crap. Carly and Spencer's father had never really liked her, and Sam didn't know why. Brian Shay would probably end up insulting her several times today. "I wonder how Matthew and Elizabeth are," she told Marissa.
"They're fine. The kids are being taken care of," Marissa assured her. She was worried about her grandchildren, but knew that they were doing well.
"I want to go home. I don't want to be here anymore," Sam reluctantly admitted. Seeing Spencer in that stupid coffin hurt so much, and she couldn't handle the pain.
"That's normal, Samantha. You have to stay, though," Marissa comforted. She hugged Sam and led her to a chair.
"I know. Do you think Brian hates me?" Sam wondered. She had this weird feeling that Brian was going to tell her exactly why he hated her today.
Marissa stared at her. "I'm not sure, Sam. You could ask him, but don't do it until later. Now is not the time or place." She wondered where her son was. He and Carly had disappeared a few minutes earlier. Brian Shay was sitting down on a chair, talking to Gibby and Mandy. He looked freaked out by the two. Everyone was freaked out by the couple, and it had been a few years since they had become a couple.
"I'm going to go find Freddie and Carly," Sam muttered. She left the room in a little bit of a daze and quickly found Carly and Freddie. They were whispering to each other about random things.
"What's Dad doing?" Carly asked her sister-in-law. She wanted to have a long conversation with her father, but that wasn't going to happen at the funeral home. Maybe after the funeral.
"Hey, guys. I brought some socks," said Socko. Spencer's best friend had been devastated to hear the news of his death, and had quickly decided to bring over socks for Sam.
Sam cracked a smile, even though she desperately didn't want to. "You were such a good friend to Spence," she told him. Sam hugged Socko and took the socks from him.
"He was awesome," Socko replied. He would miss Spencer so much. Amy, the girl he had just met a few weeks ago, had never gotten to meet Spencer. Socko would always regret not introducing the two. They would like each other.
"Thanks so much for coming," Sam said. She appreciated the fact that Socko had shown up. He was weird, but that didn't matter. They were all weird.
"You're welcome. I'm going to go see him now." Socko left and began wandering around the funeral home. He ended up in the room where Spencer's casket was a few minutes later.
"We should go talk to your dad now." Freddie helped Carly up, and the three friends went back into the room with the casket. They avoided looking at Spencer, because it hurt so much to look at him.
"Where were you at?" asked an obviously irate Brian Shay. He did not show up at his son's funeral to have his daughter, daughter-in-law, and their friend disappear on him. What were they thinking?
"We needed some time alone," Carly answered. Why was her dad so mad? That was really weird. He should be sad, like everyone else was.
"You should stay here and not run off like teenagers," Brian lectured. Why did both his children have to be irresponsible? It was very irritating.
"Chill out," Carly advised. She didn't understand her dad's anger. Anger was one of the five stages of grief, so maybe that's why he was so angry.
"Caroline, don't talk to me like that," Brian angrily replied. He had to get out of his daughter's way for a few seconds, or she was really going to make him furious.
"Sorry, Daddy. We'll just go sit down." Sam, Carly, and Freddie returned to their seats and waited for other mourners to show up.
"What's wrong with your dad?" Freddie asked. He knew that Brian was a jerk, but Freddie couldn't believe the man was acting like this at his own son's funeral.
"I think he's just grieving," Carly answered. She felt so bad for her dad, having to deal with his wife's death and then his son's.
Sam rolled her eyes and exchanged a look with Freddie. The two knew that this was just the way Brian acted. He wasn't a very good man. Never had been. "Whatever you say."
"I think that I should quack soon," Mandy told the three, coming over to visit. Gibby had followed his wife over, and looked very thrilled about his wife's plans.
"You go do that. Right in front of Mr. Shay," Freddie replied. He figured it would irritate Carly and Spencer's father, and that would make him and Sam very happy.
"It does seem like it would make him happy," Carly mused, completely missing the point of the entire conversation. She was a little out of it.
"Okay," Mandy happily agreed. She went off in search of Brian Shay. Sam and Freddie couldn't wait to see Brian's reaction to Mandy's quacking. They had gotten used to it over the years.
The look on Brian's face after Mandy quacked at him was hilarious. Freddie genuinely laughed for the first time in days. He couldn't help it.
"Who wants to bet he'll lose it later on?" Sam asked Freddie. She couldn't wait to see that, although Sam had a feeling his anger would be directed towards her.
"He'll definitely lose it soon," Freddie agreed. He had already decided that Sam would be Brian's target, and Freddie was going to do his best to protect her from his anger.
"What do you think tonight will be like?" Carly wondered. She figured more people would show up, since it was still really early.
"It'll be busier. A lot of people show up for the evening viewing." Freddie didn't know why he knew this information since it was useless, but whatever.
"Are you guys doing okay?" Marissa asked. She was really worried about her son, Samantha, and Caroline. They looked so lost.
"It hurts a lot," Sam reluctantly admitted. She still had a hard time believing this was actually happening. What was she going to do after all this was over?
"I miss Spencer so much." Carly didn't know how she was supposed to move on without her brother, but she would have to learn. It was going to suck.
"I miss him too, Mom." Freddie would really miss the male influence on his life. Spencer's death was going to screw him up for a long time.
"All of those feelings are expected. Just remember that I love you all and we can get through this," Marissa comforted. She wasn't about to let the three fall apart when they didn't have to. They could do that later.
"Why are you sitting around here talking?" an irritated Brian angrily asked. He couldn't believe their behavior.
"We're dealing with Spencer's death by talking it out with Marissa," Carly explained. She hoped her father left the anger stage of grief soon.
"You four are talking about nothing important. We have some important things to discuss soon. Like what you're going to do with Matthew and Elizabeth," he told Sam.
"I'm going to raise them by myself," explained a confused Sam. Was Brian going to try and take her babies away from her? He would fail if he tried.
"Will my grandchildren be fine alone with you? I don't trust you to raise them right." Brian really didn't. Sam didn't deserve to be a mother.
"Excuse me. Sam is a great mother. And who are you to talk about raising your children right? You abandoned your five year old daughter to be in the war and left her with her brother. Who are you to talk about raising children right?" demanded an angry Marissa. She couldn't believe Brian's nerve. He had no right to be a father.
"Fine. I'm leaving. I'm not coming back," Brian angrily informed his daughter. He stormed out of the funeral home, and wasn't seen again.
"I can't believe he threatened to take my kids away from me," Sam said to her friends. She hoped he didn't try anything.
"He's a jerk. Always has been," Socko replied. He had never liked Spencer and Carly's father. Brian had never liked him, claiming he was a bad influence for Spencer.
"Thanks for sticking up for us," Carly told Marissa. Her grief was affecting her view on her father. Carly didn't know why she hadn't seen it before.
"You're welcome. Sam, you don't have to worry about him. Brian's being sent back overseas soon. I heard him telling Gibby and that Mandy girl," Marissa explained.
Brian Shay had made the funeral worse, but it was going to get slightly better.
XXXXXXX
Two days later, Spencer had buried for over twenty-four hours. Carly, Sam, and Freddie were hanging out in the apartment and eating leftovers. Marissa was watching Mattie and Beth for Sam, telling her that she needed some time alone to grieve.
"We need to remember the good times," Sam commented, taking a bite out of a chocolate chip cookie. Her appetite had finally returned, and she was happy for that. It still didn't stop her from missing Spencer, however.
"That's a great idea, Sam." Carly wanted to remember everything good about Spencer. It was what kept her going at this point in time.
"Carls, why don't you go first?" asked Freddie. He wanted to hear Carly's stories first, considering she knew him longer.
Remembering the good times was going to get everyone through the next few months.
Spencer's death had devastated Sam, Freddie, and Spencer, but they had gotten through it, especially with Marissa's help.
Life was going to get better, and that's the point the group eventually hoped to get to. It would take time, but everything was going to improve soon.