Chapter Twelve: Truth or Dare
"Samantha," a voice weakly calls out her name, "over here." "EJ?" she calls out, walking in the direction from which she heard his voice. She sees Lucas laying face down on the ground, but quickly glances over him and looks in front of her, seeing EJ slumped over, clutching his chest, blood gushing through his fingers. "EJ!" Sami shouts, rushing over to him. She takes off her gloves and makes a compress on his bullet wound, pressing down with one hand while calling 911 on her cell with her free hand. After getting off the phone with 911 she leans over EJ and kisses his temple. He looks her in the eyes and gives her a weak smile. "Does it hurt horribly?" she whispers to him. "Yeah, but it's not unbearable," EJ replies. He's about to continue speaking but a moan from Lucas cuts him off. EJ and Sami both look at each other, then look at Lucas, rocking slightly as though he's trying to turn himself over. "Sami," he mumbles to himself. As Lucas struggles to sit up the medics arrive on the scene, with the police close behind (by police I mean Roman and Bo because it's not as plot driving to have it be just some random street beat cop). The medics rush to EJ as Roman asks, "What da hell is going on over here?" Bo, the observational genius, replies that it looks as though someone's been shot. At that moment they hear Lucas say, "What's this?" Everyone looks over at him and sees him holding up a gun. Tears spill down Sami's face and she shakes her head as she whispers, "Oh, Lucas, no, please tell me you didn't…" "No!" Lucas shouts, clutching the side of his head and staggering slightly, "no way! I didn't shoot EJ!" Bo and Roman look at each other and remember the scene from the party earlier that night. "Lucas, I'm afraid we'll have to bring you in," Bo says, turning to the medic and asking, "Does he need to go to the hospital?" "Yes, he needs stitches and probably needs to stay overnight for observation, but will probably be ready for release tomorrow." Lucas looks over at Sami, his eyes glazed over in a booze-induced stupor. "I couldn't have done this. Tell them, Sami. Tell them!" he screams as the medics lay Lucas down on the other stretcher. "Sami, we'll need a statement from you," Roman tells her. "Okay, Daddy, but I'm going with EJ to the hospital. I can't leave him." Roman tells her to go ahead and ride in the ambulance with EJ and that they could get her statement at the hospital. Sami climbs in the back of the ambulance and sits opposite the medic. She takes EJ's hand in her own and rubs her thumb across his palm. Although they cannot speak aloud due to the medic's presence, they exchange a look telling each other all they need to know.
Sami sits in the lobby with Roman and Bo while EJ is in the emergency room. "Okay, Peanut, tell us exactly what happened," Roman tells her, taking one of her hands in his own. Sami takes her hand out of his and runs it through her hair, then rests her face in both her hands. "I don't know, Daddy. After the party I felt so bad, I didn't want him to be alone. I knew I had hurt him horribly and wanted to be there for him. I waited while he, well…" "Got drunk?" Bo interjected. Sami nodded. "I offered to drive him home and he accepted. I helped him get in the car and we took off. We were talking in the car on the ride home and I started getting upset so I pulled over. We argued a bit and he got out. I sat for a few minutes and waited, then I got out to look for him. I didn't want him to hurt himself. I was looking for him, calling out to him, and I heard a noise- a gunshot. I called out for him again after that but it was EJ that responded. I ran towards him, saw Lucas laying face down on the ground, and EJ slumped over, bleeding. I called 911 and, well, the rest you know." Sami fought valiantly to keep the tears pooling in her eyes from streaming down her face. "Did you know he was carrying a gun?" Bo asks. Sami shakes her head no. "I knew he owned one, because he loaned it to me. Back when I had been getting those notes he gave it to me for just in case. I put it in my glove box and pretty much forgot about it." "Was Lucas ever in a position to get it back from your car, tonight?" Sami appeared to think for a minute, then slowly says, "When I got him in my car, I did run back in the restaurant to use the ladies room, but that was only a minute." Roman and Bo look at each other; they both think of how lucky they are that a case this cut and dry won't even need much investigating. If there was one thing Salem PD hated, it was police work.
Lexie Carver wanders through the hospital, glancing at the charts of patients that wouldn't let her touch them with a ten foot pole. She meanders into the ER and sees them working on EJ. She moves quickly to the nearest phone and dials. "Yes, let me speak to father, now!"