"Baby you were so good! So good baby." Lucas exclaimed, "You played so beautifully."
Brooke scooted back a bit and let him have his moment with her. He lifted her up easily into his arms, and wrapped her up tightly. Sam's arms fell around his neck.
"I love you so much Sam." He said softly. Sam nodded into his neck.
'I love you too daddy.' She thought.
"I love you too...daddy" She spoke. He thought he heard her murmur the word daddy towards the end and it only made him want to squeeze all the love he could into his little girl.
They both had so many questions to ask her, but knew that now was the time to celebrate Sam and not pester her with inquiries. They both had melted when they heard her call them "mom" and "dad." Could this moment last forever?
Lucas put her down and Sam saw the soft smile on Brooke's face. She opened her arms and Sam jumped in those too.
'Mama.' She thought as she melted in her arms and breathed in Brooke's scent.
Brooke kissed the top of her head, "My girl. My sweet, sweet girl."
"You-you both were here?" Sam said letting go and looking at them as she wiped at her tears.
"Watched the whole thing." Brooke said.
Lucas noticed that the backstage was empty and wondered where the rest of the girls had gone. Sam saw his confusion, "They're upstairs. That's where we wait." She said quietly.
Brooke grabbed her hand and they went to go sit on the couch, and was surprised when Sam sat on her lap and wrapped an arm around her neck.
"You guys were here." She said once more in awe. She didn't care that someone might see her on her mama's lap. She was happy. They came! They really came!
"We rushed over as soon as your friends told us. We wouldn't miss it for the world." Lucas said, "Champ you played absolutely beautifully. We're so proud of you."
Brooke kept Sam steady on her lap as they spoke.
"You guys missed work for me." She was still stuck on the fact that they came. She had gotten it in her head that they wouldn't have shown up for absolutely anything.
Brooke shook her head, "Sammy sweetheart, of course we did. If we had known we wouldn't have said no to you."
She noticed sadness over come her and quickly tried to salvage her comment, "But let's not worry about that okay?" She cooed.
Sam nodded, "I-" She wasn't sure what to say about the whole 'mom' 'dad' thing, it came so naturally, and they hadn't said anything about it. Maybe they ignored it because they didn't want her saying it again? Or maybe they loved it and just didn't want to make a big deal about it?
"I called you guys- I didn't mean to…you know say it, if you guys don't want me to, and, I mean I wanted to, but if it's weird-"
Lucas put a hand on her knee, "Stop right there." He said firmly, "Champ we loved it. We love you. And you can call us mom, dad, Brooke, Lucas. Whatever makes you comfortable."
Brooke rubbed her back, "You're our daughter. Our wonderful, beautiful, and talented daughter, honeybunch. Don't feel uncomfortable calling us 'mom' or 'dad.' Whatever you want."
Sam heard the shuffle of the girl's coming downstairs. Brooke was about to pull her up but Sam tightened her hold, "I don't wanna go back out there." She whispered, "Can we just stay here?"
"You don't want to see them clap for you and your friends?" Lucas asked.
Sam shook her head, "I want to stay with you guys." then rested her head on her mom, taking in the lavender scent.
Brooke rubbed her back and looked to Luke. They hadn't expected her to be clingy once she saw them, but then again she had just admitted more in ten minutes then she had in her whole stay with them. But they were content to just sit in silence with their daughter if that's what she wanted.
Lucas put an arm around Brooke and kissed Sam's temple.
Soon enough, all the girls came rushing down, "Sam!" One of them called going over.
Sam turned to look, "Hey Rach."
"Come on, get off your mom already so we can go back out there."
"Rachel, I-"
Rachel, not picking up on the fact that Sam didn't want to, pulled her up, "No, stop talking. We gotta go. Come on Sammy!"
She then looked to Brooke who was giving Sam an encouraging smile, "Sorry Ms. Davis, but we gotta go back out there."
"It's okay Rachel." Brooke told her softly, then saw Sam's weary look to her, "Go on Sam, your dad and me will be right here when you come back."
With that Sam let herself be pulled along by Rachel towards the stage.
While Sam was up on stage the whole clan, including a newly arrived Peyton, Nathan, and Jamie went backstage. Haley had called to tell them the news and they excitedly made the journey to Southside.
"Alright we're all excited, but I'm telling all of you not one questioning word about why she didn't tell us about this." She warned the group as if they were her students, "She has her own reasons, and we'll respect that. Got it?" She said, especially looking to Nathan and Julian.
"What?" Nathan said innocently, "I wouldn't!" He defended himself.
Haley nodded, "Fine, but I'm warning you now. That's a conversation between her and her parents. Not us. We're here to congratulate her."
The rest of them nodded, feeling as if they were right back in the classroom with Haley as the teacher.
"Sammy!" The horde of them yelled when she came back with the rest of the girls. She felt herself passed along to each of them. It was beautiful. Sam had never felt what family was, but was sure that this was it.
"Thank you guys." She told them wholeheartedly, "I, I can't believe you all came for me."
Lucas was standing beside his daughter and wrapped an arm around her as she spoke.
"Of course Sam. You're family." Nathan told her.
Lucas couldn't have been happier that Nathan said that to his little girl.
Haley walked up and cupped Sam's cheek, "Thank you for trusting us enough to let us come." She spoke earnestly.
"You're my Aunt Haley, right?" She said softly, "Of course I trust you."
Sam smiled knowingly at Haley who just wrapped her in another hug.
"And thanks Liz and Manny for calling my parents." Sam said to her friends.
Manny pulled her towards him, "What are friends for?!" He said with his show smile.
"I'm glad you spoke all that Sam." Jack told her quietly as the adults started to talk amongst themselves.
She nodded and gave him a kiss on his cheek, "You and Tamara have been there for me since the start."
Before he could respond, Tamara bopped him on the side of the head, "Are y'all gonna be mushy now? Sam you did great, but now I'm hungry. I say we go out for some food."
Liz nodded in agreement, "I second that. Manny and me missed lunch trying to call your parents."
"Okay. Let me just tell my mom and-"
She stopped, realizing how easy it was for her to say 'mom' and 'dad.' Why wouldn't it be? She had been calling them that in her head ever since she was six, and writing it down in her journal since she was twelve. The next step was obvious and natural.
"Earth to Sam!" Tamara said snapping her fingers.
"Huh, what?"
"You were saying something about your mom." Liz said. Sam smiled, even her friends didn't bat an eye at her proclamation, "Right, let me just tell my mom and dad that we're gonna go for food."
"Hey Brooke?" Sam said. Brooke turned to look at her, "Sammy, ready to go?"
"We were gonna grab some food." She said pointing to her friends, "Is that okay?"
Lucas looked over, "Well we all wanted to take you out for a celebratory dinner, does that work?"
Sam gave them a wide smile, "Yeah, that works."
"Where do you wanna go?" Brooke asked her.
Sam turned to Tamara and Jack, and all three of them put on a devilish grin, "PIZZA PLANET!" They yelled simultaneously.
Brooke frowned. That was not what she had in mind.
"What? I thought you hated pizza Samson?" Julian said ruffling her hair.
"I do, but they have good wings." She explained putting her hair back in place.
"Great." Brooke moaned.
Sam and Liz laughed at Brooke's discontent, "Don't worry Brooke. I promise you'll only gain five pounds, and not ten." Tamara quipped.
Brooke shot her a look, "If I gain so much as two pounds I'm putting you all on a diet."
"Yeah right, mom! Good luck with that." Sam dodged the hand that was about pull her back and walked with her friends, "I'm gonna go say bye to Ms. Thrice and the girls, then we'll wait by the cars!" She said as they retreated.
Brooke smiled. She was 'mom.'
/ / /
It was nine o' clock and the group was getting ready to make their way back home from Pizza Planet, but not before Brooke went to go wash her hands. Sam had laughed at her pointing out that she could never wash the memory of having gone to Pizza Planet, to which Brooke only rolled her eyes in response.
When Brooke opened the door to the bathroom, Tamara was just about to make her way out.
She offered Brooke a gentle smile.
"Wait, honey, hold on." Brooke said.
Tamara turned back around, " 'Sup Brooke?" She leaned onto the wall and put her hands in her jacket pockets. Brooke looked at the girl, noticing that the jacket she was wearing probably did little to protect her from the cold. She didn't have a mom to force her into wearing boots, gloves, and a hat either. Sam, on the other hand….
"You should probably be wearing something thicker than that." She pointed out.
"I gave my other jacket to my foster sister the other day. This is all I have."
Brooke gave her a short nod, "You're not going out like that again. Understood? It's much too cold for you to be out there like that. You and me are gonna go and get you some clothes tomorrow. Sam can come too if you want her too. But this is happening, got it?"
Tamara looked at her stunned, "Brooke you don't have to-"
Brooke put a hand up, "Nonsense. Yes, I do. I can't have you freezing to death. It's the middle of winter. It's cold out, and it'll start snowing soon."
Unlike Sam, Tamara didn't care if people wanted to help her out, but the fact that Brooke and Lucas helped her so easily left her a bit uneasy.
She watched as Brooke washed her hands.
"Why are you doing this?" She asked her, "I ain't Sam. You don't have to make me like you, I already do."
Brooke threw the paper towel away, "I'm not doing this because of Sam, I'm doing this because I care about you."
"But why?" Tamara asked again. Why in the world would this woman care about her so much? She was just her daughter's friend.
Brooke gathered Tamara's hands in hers, "Because everyone needs someone to care for them. I'm here for you Tamara."
Tamara willed the threatening tears back. She was Tamara Peters. She didn't do tears.
"I don't need you to act like a mom with me. I have one." She shot back crossing her arms.
This surprised Brooke she didn't know Tamara knew her mother, or did she consider her foster mother, her mother? She wasn't sure.
"Oh, I didn't mean to try and replace you mother." Brooke tried placate the girl, "I just want you to know that there's someone else out there aside from your mother and friends that wants to look out for you."
Tamara looked away towards the door, "My mom's too drugged up to care for me." She mumbled.
Brooke realized she knew not one thing about Tamara's past. The girl was opening up to her and so she went over and locked the door of the bathroom, then went back to the girl
"I'm sorry to hear that sweetheart." Brooke cooed gently.
Tamara sniffled a bit. Damn it! What was with these tears?!
"She went to prison when I was five and lost custody of me." She spoke quietly, "She got out two years ago. She spends her time in crackhouses. I try and go find her sometimes, but she moves around so much. I've seen her twice this year."
When she looked to Brooke she saw tears in the woman's eyes. She couldn't believe she had admitted that so openly. She swiped at her own tears, "I'm sorry." She replied.
"No, no." Brooke said getting it together, "I'm glad you told me."
Tamara quickly recovered and changed the subject. She couldn't dwell on it, or else she'd really break down, "Well, fine, do what you want and take me tomorrow. But I need new shoes too." She said giving Brooke a mischievous look.
"We can do shoes too." Brooke said with a light smile creeping onto her face.
She sobered up a bit, "Tamara, how's your new home? Everything's okay there?"
Tamara frowned, "There's always a lot going on. There's seven of us, so it's easy to just slip by. But they're not mean or anything, just…inattentive."
Brooke tucked some of Tamara's hair back, "You tell me if they're not treating you well, okay?"
Tamara nodded. Brooke was really good at this 'mom' thing because she couldn't help but be pacified by Brooke's words.
"And Marcus, has he bothered you?"
Tamara looked at her shoes, "I-I asked my social worker for a restraining order from him…like you said." She mumbled.
Brooke lifted her chin gently, "Sweetheart that makes me so happy." Then wrapped her in a deep hug. Tamara stiffened at first but went lax when she felt Brooke's hands relax her. So this is what it's like to have a good mom she thought.
…. …. …..
Monday had come and Brooke and Lucas were in the kitchen looking at pianos to get Sam.
Lucas saw Sam and Liz coming down, "Hey Sam, look at this black one it looks really nice. And Morning Lizzie!"
"Morning Lucas. Morning Aunt Brooke."
Sam rolled her eyes, "Guys I knew you were gonna make a big deal out of this. It's fine." She said taking a seat, although she would love to have a piano to play at home, she could never willingly let them pay up the thousands of dollars. No, she was fine with going to Clydesville on Tuesdays and playing the one at school when she got the chance.
They closed the window on the computer. But they wouldn't take no for an answer. Their girl was getting a piano.
Brooke took a sip of her coffee. They still hadn't talked about why she couldn't tell them about it before. Honestly, they just wanted to know, they didn't want to make Sam wade through any more insecurities by talking about it.
Brooke went over and placed a kiss atop her head, then placed Sam her own coffee cup in front of her, "We just want you to be happy." She said then gave Liz her own kiss atop her head.
"I am." She said taking a drink of her milky coffee. Lucas smiled, "Baby can you tell us why you didn't want us to know before?"
Sam squirmed in her seat as three sets of eyes looked to her. It was a dumb reason. She had already explained it to Thrice all those weeks ago. What if they thought it was dumb? She then thought of the perfect distraction.
"Can I ask you guys a question first?" She said.
"Sure, anything." Brooke answered.
Sam gave a small smirk, and suddenly they weren't so sure about the question that was coming their way.
"So, question, have you guys had sex since you know, you had sex and I was conceived?"
Their faces were stunned. Lucas's hands broke the egg that he was holding. Liz burst out laughing.
"I'm just saying." Sam shrugged, "You guys have been giving each other little kisses, and you're always over each others houses. I know if it were me and some dude, I probably would've"
"SAMANTHA!" Brooke yelled.
Liz nudged Sam, "You are crazy!" She said through her laughs.
Sam looked at her parents' angry faces. "So I'm assuming that's a yes?" She asked, "You guys need to be more upfront about your feelings."
Lucas was seething, "Samantha we have not!"
Lies.
"And you shouldn't be thinking about that. You are too young to be having sex."
"We're not talking about me. We're talking about you two." Sam still said calmly.
Brooke rolled her eyes at the way that Sam so easily riled Lucas up.
"Your mother and I-"
"Love each other?" Sam asked.
"Yes." He said.
"So then you've had sex?"
"NO!" Both of them answered.
Sam gulped down her coffee, meanwhile Liz watched in pure amusement.
Sam shrugged, "You guys are confusing. You love each other, act like a married couple, but aren't together, and act all weird when you're around Peyton and Julian. I'm 14 and even I know that you guys are totally going about this love thing wrong."
She hopped off the chair and slung her bag over her shoulder. Liz looked at Sam with wide eyes, then at the two parents who were too appalled to say anything.
Sam went over and hugged her mom then kissed her cheek, "Bye Brooke."
Then did the same with her dad, "Bye Luke, I'll see you at school. Liz and me are gonna take the bus. Come on Liz!"
Liz got off the chair then watched Sam head towards the door, "Ha! She got you guys good." She said chuckling, "Bye Aunt Brooke! See ya later Luke."
Once the girls left both parents turned to each other, "I can't believe she- oh my God." Luke said.
Brooke rolled her eyes and laughed, "She's crazy, that's what she is." She looked at Luke who was cleaning the mess he had made with the egg, "She has a point though."
Lucas stopped and stared at Brooke.
"We just need to be honest with everyone." She spoke once more.
Lucas sighed, "I need to talk to Peyton. We've kinda just been avoiding it."
"And I need to talk to Julian."
Lucas looked at her, "So this is happening?"
Brooke cracked a smile, "Well we've had sex, and according to Sam that proves we love each other, right?"
Lucas pulled her in for a hug, "Ha! Right." He kissed her lips, "You wanna-"
Brooke pushed him off, "Luke, no! I have work, and so do you!"
Lucas gave her sad eyes, "But, just five minutes?"
Brooke scoffed, "Excuse me? A quickie?! Hell no!"
They didn't mind lying to Sam about this. This was their sex life, for God's sake! Meanwhile, Sam had effectively diverted their attention away from the piano. Success.
…. …. ….
Sam noticed that Liz had turned a bit more serious on the way to school. She was completely ignoring Manny's incessant talking.
"Manny, hold on." Sam whispered as she nudged him slightly.
She looked over at Liz, "Hey Liz what's up? You seem kinda quiet." Manny looked over, "Yeah Liz you haven't commented on my new shoes. What do you think?" He lifted his leg but put it down when Sam shot him a glare, "Or not." He mumbled.
Liz sighed, "We have that test in Haley's class today."
"Oh." Sam said unsure of why that plagued her so much. "It's just on the book, though. You've been reading it right? It's not that big a deal. Her tests aren't hard if you read."
Manny agreed, "Yeah I usually gets B's and A's and so does Sam. Well Sammy usually gets A's, but she's an English whiz. You'll be fine." He assured her.
Liz frowned, "Oh, okay."
Sam kept looking at her, her 'okay' wasn't convincing at all.
As they made their way into class Liz got a hold of Sam's arm and pulled her to the side.
"What the hell Liz?" Sam asked confused.
"You have to let me cheat." Liz pleaded, "Please Sam I sit right behind you just make sure I can see your test."
Sam looked at her incredulously, "What, why?!" She shook herself off.
"Because!" Liz hissed slamming her hand on her side, "I haven't read alright? I've been busy with cheer. I'm new so I had to catch up on all the routines, and I can't fail this. My mom'll be so pissed and will make me quit cheer because it's hurting my academics or something dumb like that."
"Well clearly it is hurting your academics!" Sam shot back.
"Sam it's not a big deal!" She was getting frustrated. Why couldn't Sam just say yes? It's not like she was asking her to kill someone.
"What if we get caught Liz?" Sam asked.
"You won't be in trouble, I will, because I'm the one doing it. Sam, come on, please. We're friends, right?"
Liz couldn't believe she pulled the friend card, but dire times called for dire circumstances. She needed to stay on the cheer team. As much as she loved Sam and Manny, she also loved her spot on the top of the social ladder.
Sam sighed and rolled her eyes, "Whatever fine. You have to promise that you'll read after this."
Liz heard the late bell ring, "Shit. Yeah, yeah Sammy. I'll read, alright? So is this a yes?"
"Yes." Sam groaned, "Just don't make it obvious. Change some of them."
"I will." Liz said sounding more pleased.
Haley came out and saw the two girls, "Ladies, I hope you're planning on coming in within the next five seconds."
They hurriedly made their way in.
Haley watched her students work through the tests. She turned towards Sam who seemed to be breezing through the exam. Haley turned away smiling. Sam was one of her best students, and she was so discreet about it. Haley loved it.
With twenty minutes left of the class period Haley noticed that Sam had finished, but was yet to turn her paper over. This was one of her rules.
"Samantha please turn your exam over."
Sam tensed she knew Liz wasn't done yet. She had shot a glance towards her only moments ago and saw her still working.
She looked up and was relieved when Haley had diverted her attention to a student with a question.
She turned around quickly, "Hurry up." She whispered.
Liz motioned her to turn the page of the exam and Sam did so. She was on the last page, thank God.
Haley went back to scan the rest of the classroom and once more Sam was yet to turn her paper over, "Samantha I thought I told you to turn your exam over. Aren't you done with it?"
Sam looked towards her, "No." She said tersely. Haley sighed and walked over not wanting to distract the rest of them. She picked up the exam and knew she was done. "Yes you are." She turned it over for her, and started to walk but heard the sound of the paper being moved back to where it was.
She gave Sam a dangerous look, "Young lady-"
"I want it like this." Sam answered her. Shit, Liz owed her big time after this.
Haley clenched her fist, "You know the rules. Everyone else is following them and so should you."
Liz took advantage of Haley's diverted attention and quickly started writing the answers down. Damn, she sure did owe Sam big time.
"Well it's a stupid rule." Sam spit.
Haley could tell everyone was a bit surprised at Sam's defiance. She grabbed the test off of Sam's desk and put it on hers.
"Congratulations you just lose five points off your test grade and earned yourself lunch detention."
"What?" Sam exclaimed, "You can't take points from me. That's my grade you're messing with!"
Haley raised her eyebrow, "I can do what I want. This is my classroom."
By now everyone had forgotten about the exam on their desks, and watched the two go at it.
"Well you're running your classroom wrong!" Sam said sitting up angrily, "This isn't North Korea! This so stupid! I'm not coming to your dumb detention."
Haley took a deep breath. She walked closer to Sam, who wasn't giving up her angry glare, it seemed.
"And a call home." She said, "I don't tolerate outright defiance in my classroom, and I'm pretty sure, no, I'm actually positive that your parents do not either."
Everyone knew Coach Scott and Haley were best friends, and that he was Sam's dad. Damn, poor girl. Low blow Mrs. Scott. Low. Blow.
That was the kicker. Sam slumped down. She was going to kill Liz.
Liz fel horrible. She hadn't meant for Sam to get in trouble.
"Whatever." Sam sassed. By now she had stopped arguing for Liz's sake. She was just mad. Haley was messing with her grade!
"Out of my classroom." Haley demanded.
Sam's arms fell, "What?"
"Out." Haley repeated, "Go to room 110. Mr. Woodward would love to take you in for the last fifteen minutes of class."
"Hal- Mrs. Scott," Sam spoke, the fight in her gone.
"NOW." She deadpanned pointing to the door.
Sam pushed up grabbing her things and avoiding Haley's eyes, as well as everyone else's. Just fucking great. Haley had kicked her out of her classroom. Did that mean she didn't want to be her aunt anymore?
"Everyone back to work! You have twelve minutes." Haley watched the door close. What the hell was wrong with her niece?
…. …. ….
Sam sat down in a desk in the center of the classroom. Haley had left her a note letting her know that she was off to grab lunch, but that she had better find her sitting there when she came back.
As Sam sat there defiantly, Ashley waltzed in.
"Well if it isn't foster care." She said walking towards her.
Well this day just kept getting better and better for Sam.
"What do you want Ashley?" Sam said unamused.
"Nothing I'm just enjoying this. It's fun, the apple of Mrs. Scott's eye, not so happy anymore."
Sam just stared at the whiteboard, "Have your fun, I don't give a shit what you think."
Ashley sat down on the desk in front of Sam and turned the chair towards her, "Well aren't we cranky. Sheesh, foster care, no wonder your parents haven't adopted you. You're a freak show. "
Sam's gaze fell at her words. She tried to hide the pain that the words brought on. That's right, her parents hadn't even mentioned adoption, and what if they thought she was a freak show? Even Sam knew that some of her problems made her different from her peers. Oh no, maybe they she'd always be their foster kid just in case they finally got tired of her.
Just then Liz walked in, "Sam thank God you're here." She noticed Ashley sitting in front of Sam. She had never witnessed Ashley treating Sam or Manny badly, so she didn't think anything of it. Although she knew that Ashley and Sam didn't enjoy each other's presence.
"Ash what're you doing?" She asked her.
Ashley smiled brightly at her friend and got up, "oh Nothing. Just teasing Sam for getting in trouble today." She looked at Sam's hurt, but angry demeanor, "Sorry Sam. It was just too funny to pass up."
"Leave her alone Ash. It's not her fault." Liz said a bit harshly.
Ashley looked at her surprised, "Geez, alright. I'll be at the cafeteria with the team. See you there?"
Liz kept staring at Sam, who refused to look at her, "Yeah…maybe."
She waited for her to leave before sitting down where Ashley had previously sat, "Sam I'm so sorry!" She said looking to her friend, "Please Sam I didn't know you'd get in trouble."
Sam looked at her furiously, "Well I did! You said you'd get in trouble, how is that I'm the one sitting in detention about get my head ripped off by Haley?"
Liz sighed, "I'll never ask for this again. I didn't know you were gonna freak out on Mrs. Scott like that! You could've just turned the paper over Sam. This is all my fault. I owe you. What can I do?"
Sam fidgeted in her seat, "Nothing. It's fine. I'll be fine. Just, just read, okay?" She looked at her more earnestly, "I'll help you out with the work if it's hard."
Liz rolled her eyes, "It's nor hard. I'm just busy."
"Well make yourself unbusy." Sam said frustrated. Sam couldn't understand why Liz couldn't just do her work! Even Sam, a habitual ditcher, kept up with her work. It just seemed automatic to her. Sam always thought that good grades would be a way into the hearts of her foster parents. Even though it never worked, she kept it up, and now it was just normal to do so.
Haley walked in and put her sandwich and water bottle down, "Excuse me Liz, but Ms. Walker has detention and she's not allowed to speak to anyone."
Sam slumped her shoulders at Haley's presence. Freakin' perfect.
"Sorry, I'll leave." Liz said making a quick exit, but not before casting Sam a pleading glance.
Haley waited for the girl to leave then walked slowly towards Sam. Her heels clicking in the process. Sam felt herself shrink every time the click got closer to her.
Soon enough Haley was close enough to be towering over the girl whose glance was kept to the desktop.
"I'm beyond frustrated with you." Haley spoke.
Sam's chin quivered. Haley wasn't her aunt anymore, and she was mad at her. "I'm Sorry." She mustered out.
"You were outright rude to me. You've never had a problem with my rule. What made this time different?"
Sam looked at her, "Are you really calling my parents?"
Haley didn't budge, "Yes I am."
Sam frowned. Now she'd be in trouble with them too.
"Answer my question." She replied to Sam's silence.
"I don't know you just told me to do it, then I forgot, and then you said it again but you were mad, so I got mad and one thing turned into another."
Haley sighed, "Well, as I'm sure you know, there's consequences for your actions. And you already know what the consequences for what you did are."
"Yeah, you're making me fail." Sam grumbled.
Haley rolled her eyes at Sam's dramatics, "No, knowing you you'll most likely still have an A, A- at the least. Now you sit there and think about what you did. I told your father not to come in today because I had a student in detention." Haley said with a smirk.
Sam looked at her nervously, "Does my dad know who the student is?"
Haley smiled, "Nope." She walked towards her desk, but was stopped by another one of Sam's questions.
"Haley…um, you don't want to be my aunt anymore?" Sam asked cautiously and let a tear drip down her cheek. Haley stopped immediately and walked back, "Sweetheart what makes you think that?" She asked now sitting in front of her.
Sam sniffled, "You kicked me out. Every time someone kicks me out from somewhere it's because they don't want me anymore."
Haley could just kick herself right then. She knew Sam was sensitive about these things but she let her frustration get the best of her and made the brash move of telling Sam to leave her classroom.
"Sammy, no. I made you leave because I needed time to regroup and so did you. I'm sorry I didn't mean for you to think that. Of course I'm still your aunt. Nothing you do is going to change that."
She wiped the stray tears that escaped Sam with her thumb, "Sammy, like your mom and dad, I want you to understand that you being angry isn't going to get you your way. Things don't work like that, and that's why you're being punished. I'm not budging on that, but that doesn't change how much I love you. Understood?"
"Yes m'am." Sam grumbled.
What Haley didn't understand is that she shouldn't even be in trouble! She was doing all this for Liz, and no one would know it except for her.
…. …. …. …. ….
Sam stared angrily at the black tv screen. This wasn't fair. Why is it that she was exiled to her room until further notice, while she could hear Liz, Rebecca, Brooke, and Lucas downstairs? Liz should be grounded for the day too! And what's worse is she was sent to her room with a swat to her backside for her "attitude." If they only knew why, damn it! Her day was horrible and no one fucking cared! Well, her mom had asked her repeatedly why she was so upset and Sam only sassed her back, which is how she earned the swat in the first place. And earned Brooke an indignant 'Mom!" with a side of Sam's pouting.
But that was beside the point!
She heard a peal of laughter and groaned, falling back onto the bed, "This is so stupid." She grumbled, "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."
She sent the pillows on her bed flying and bunched up the covers. If she was stuck up here she might as well get comfortable. She peeled off her pants, shoes, and shirt, then grabbed her night shirt and slipped it on. She laid down and started texting Jack, maybe he could keep her company.
"Can I go upstairs with Sam?" Liz asked Brooke and Luke. The guilt was eating away at her.
Rebecca answered before they could, "No sweetie. You can talk to her in school tomorrow."
Brooke sighed, "I'm sorry Liz. Do you know why she did that? I just, she seemed fine in the morning."
Liz shrugged, "Um, no. She, uh, seemed fine to me too. You know she just gets angry sometimes. Don't think about it too much."
Lucas nodded, "Well she can think about it upstairs." He said looking at the offending second floor, "I just wish she'd try and talk to us. She stomped her way here, refused to give us an answer. It's been a frustrating day with her."
Rebecca gave them a sympathetic look, "Teenagers are hard work. I've had to put this one in her place many times before. Trust me." She said giving her daughter a reproachful look.
Brooke sighed, thinking about the sulking daughter that she had upstairs.
Liz could just die now. But she couldn't say anything. Her mom would get mad. But she had to get out of there. She walked over to the living room and turned on the tv, away from the confused parents. This was much better, she thought.
About an hour or so later Rebecca went to get her daughter from the living room.
"Lizzie let's go home?"
Liz hopped up and turned off the tv. Her mom had just gotten back form New York and the girl had missed her mother dearly. Rebecca held out an arm and Liz gladly melted into her side, "I missed you mommy." She whispered.
Rebecca held her tightly, "Me too baby. Let's go home and you and me can watch a movie together."
Liz gladly agreed. A movie and her mother would help get her mind off this day.
Brooke and Lucas watched them walk out, then both went over and let themselves fall into the couch.
"Did you talk to Peyton?" Brooke asked Lucas, avoiding the heavier talk of Sam's behavior.
"Did you talk to Julian?" He asked her before he answered. Peyton had told her something that shocked him and wasn't sure if Brooke knew.
She nodded, "Yeah."
Lucas lifted an eyebrow, "So…you know?"
Brooke sighed, "That they're thinking about getting back together…yeah."
"Are you okay?" He asked putting an arm around her.
"I'm fine, it's just Peyton's been distant lately and it hurts to know that she thinks she can't talk to me about this, and Julian tries to act like nothing happened, but it's just so…hard. I'm just glad they're so good to Sammy."
Lucas kissed her temple, "Things will work out. You guys have been friends for too long."
"I guess so." She placed her head on his shoulder, "What's wrong with your daughter?" She said after some silence.
He smirked, "Oh, now she's my daughter. Last I checked she was 'our' daughter."
Brooke smiled, "What's wrong with our baby?" She asked modifying the question.
He took a deep breath then checked the time. It was eight o' clock. Sam had been holed up there for three hours, "You want to bring her down?" He asked, "She needs to eat something."
Brooke nodded and got up from his embrace and headed up the stairs.
Jack held Sam in his arms. She looked at his eyes and he at hers. "It'll all work out Sam." He told her, "Just apologize to your parents and Haley, then ride the punishment out."
Sam sighed, "Yeah I guess so." She held him tighter. Her hands holding onto his shirtless back. So what'd you do today?" She asked him.
But he never got to answer because the door that Sam had forgotten to lock opened.
"Sammy come down for dinner, so your dad and I can-"
She stopped mid-sentence when the door opened completely and she caught sight of the two teenagers.
Jack and Sam let go of each other quickly.
"Mama!" Sam yelled without a second thought.
Sam had never seen the expression that Brooke had on now. She was sure Brooke had been possessed by some sort of demon, and that demon was getting ready to kill her.
Sam's luck just seems to have disappeared. And Jack finally got caught... Keep on reading, Ashley's about to jump into this mess as well! I'm so pleased by everyone that takes the time to read my story. Please continue to review because it helps me write faster! For all you faithful reviewers, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH.