Hello all! This chapter doesn't have much plot furthering, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Sorry for the long wait, but summer is here!
"Buenos Dias!" Brooke came into Sam's room saying on Monday morning.
The weekend had been a time to relax for all three of the family after their trip from New York. Sam had been clingy the first night back, but was back to her normal self by Sunday morning. But now it was Monday, and Sam had spent the night facetiming Jack since she was grounded and couldn't go see him, and now she was dead tired, and did not appreciate the wake up call. She had ignored her alarm clock for a reason! Did her mom not get that?
Sam grabbed a pillow and covered her head with it, "Leave!" She groaned at her mother's too happy for the morning voice.
Brooke just shook her head and walked up to the bed. "No can do, kid. Get up. It's time for school. Don't think I didn't hear your alarm and you hit that snooze button like three times."
"I hate school." She mumbled, "Five more minutes, please."
She curled herself into a ball and tightened her hold on her sheets. Brooke crossed her arms, "Your dad's leaving in half an hour. Go with him or be late. And if you're late then I'm taking your phone."
"MOM!" Sam yelled angrily though the pillow remained over her head.
"Hey, don't get mad at me. I'm not the one that stayed up all night facetiming my boyfriend."
This made Sam's eyes pop open. She rolled over onto her back. Brooke smirked knowing it would make Sam alert.
"H-how?"
"I know everything. And your giggles could be heard around the world."
Sam blushed, "He's not my boyfriend."
If only her mother knew that Sam was just thinking about that last night as she and him talked.
Brooke leaned over and kissed her daughter's forehead, "Mhm. Okay then. Still, 30 minutes. Hurry up."
... ... ...
"CHAMP!" Lucas yelled from down the stairs, "Come on, I'm heading out the door!"
Sam came running down, "I'm coming. I'm coming. Don't leave without me."
Lucas smiled and let Sam lead the way, "Good morning to you too. I'm gonna grab my bags, wait for me in the car."
Sam turned back around before she opened the door, "Did mom leave? I haven't said bye yet."
"I'm just about to in a few." Brooke said emerging from the kitchen. She walked over and handed her a piece of toast, "Eat this since you didn't have time for breakfast." She then hugged her daughter, "Have a good day peanut. Remember, Millie's picking you up from school to take you to the store."
"How could I forget." She groaned looking at the sad looking piece of toast. Even her food seemed sad for the long week ahead of her.
"Happy Grounding!" Brooke added with a wink and turned back to grab her things from the office.
Sam pouted, with wide eyes, and looked at her dad, "Dad you don't think that I could just-"
"Nope. Nope. That won't work on me. Come on, let's go." Lucas was slightly proud of himself. Those puppy dog eyes used to get him. He was getting good at this!
Sam groaned and went towards the car. It looked like her dad was building a better defense to her pout. Her mother had gotten good at it, but he was always the one that was more likely to fall prey to it.. Well not lately, anyway. This week was going to suck.
Brooke came back out and kissed Lucas, "Have a good day. Keep an eye on your kid."
"Easier said than done." Lucas said returning the kiss.
Now in the car, Sam kept eyeing her father as they drove to school, but he was oblivious to the looks. Something particular was on Sam's mind, and she wasn't sure how to ask her dad without him freaking out.
She watched as he changed the station and decided to just ask the question then.
"Hey dad?"
"Yeah?" He asked preoccupied with deciding what station he wanted. He decided to stick to one that was playing his favorite Eminem song.
"You like him?" Sam asked momentarily distracted, "He hates women." She pointed out.
"I don't like him. I just like this song." He clarified.
"You're still supporting him either way."
Lucas held in an eye roll for his little social justice advocate then turned off the radio all together, "Better?"
"Yes."
He turned into the school and found his parking space before turning back to Sam, "So what's up peanut? What'd you wanna ask me?"
Sam tensed a bit then looked up at her dad, "Before I say anything, you have to promise to hear me out." She added for assurance.
"Oh boy." Lucas said playfully, "Remember you're already grounded."
"Seriously dad, please." Sam said in a tone that surprised Lucas. She actually sounded very stern.
He schooled his face, "Alright. Alright. Go for it. I'm all ears champ."
Sam wrung her hands, then looked at her father, "Okay, so...when can I have a boyfriend?"
Lucas was definitely not ready to hear that.
He gulped, "What?"
The father was sure that his heart had stopped a moment and then dropped to his stomach.
"A boyfriend." Sam repeated, "Am I allowed to have one yet?"
Lucas knew she was talking about Jack. Both were smitten and he had allowed them to hang out as friends, but the label of boyfriend brought on territory that Lucas didn't think he or she was ready for. This was his baby! She still crawled into bed with them for God's sake!
"Why are you asking this?"
Sam shrugged, "Well it's not like you didn't expect it, right? I mean, you know who I'm talking about. Jack. Jack and me. I think we're ready."
Lucas laughed, "Samantha you are not ready for that level of commitment with someone yet. Not even Jack."
Sam furrowed her eyebrows, "What's that supposed to mean? I'm being serious dad. Why are you laughing?"
Lucas sighed. They both had to go into school, and he really did not want to have this conversation.
"We can talk about this later Sam. We'll both be late."
"I just wanna know when. Come on dad." Her voice was close to a whine, and Lucas put a stop to it quickly before she really got going.
"Well it won't be this week 'cause you're grounded, so come on, we have to go."
Sam did not appreciate being shut down like that. She unclipped her seatbelt in a huff and rolled her eyes before getting out, "I should've asked mom."
Lucas let out a deep breath and rested his forehead on the steering wheel, "Fuck." He said through his breath. He and Brooke were definitely going to have to talk about this soon.
... ... ...
Brooke walked into her home and frowned at the quiet. She dropped her things and took off her heels.
"Luke?" She called out, "Sammy?" Still no one.
She crossed into the kitchen and saw Luke outside, laying on the hammock he had just put up and reading a book under the dim porch light as it was already eight by the time Brooke walked in.
"Hey hun." Brooke said walking out, "Sorry, I got carried away at work. Aftermath of the modeling show."
Lucas put the book down and stood up to envelop her in a hug and give her a deep kiss.
"Wow." Brooke kissed him back, "What happened?" She said pulling back with a quirked eyebrow.
"Please talk to your daughter."
Brooke's shoulders sagged, "Oh no. What'd she do?"
Lucas sat down in a lawn chair, "I may have overreacted."
"Lucas." Brooke groaned.
"Well hold on. Look, she asked me about having a boyfriend. As in Jack. When they could be official. I freaked. She yelled. I told her to go to her room and not come out until you came home."
Brooke sighed heavily, "Okay, now I'm 100% sure you overreacted."
"She yelled at me!" He defended himself.
"Mhm. Did she really Luke?" Brooke was pretty sure Lucas was just a little too sentimental about this subject to be judge and juror.
"Well she had an attitude." He said with an attitude of his own.
"Well that's not new." Brooke said, "She's a teenager. When do they not?"
He looked down at his hands, "She told me she and Jack liked each other and I couldn't prevent that." He felt emotional and his own lip jutted out and pouted. A pout that could hold it's own against Sam's.
"She, she told me she wasn't my baby anymore and I'd just have to start accepting that. I sent her to her room after that and she just stomped off." He sniffed and clenched his fists as he quickly wiped his eyes, "Damn it." He said at the fact that he was crying.
Brooke felt her heart go out to him, "Lucas." She put an arm around him and turned his face so he could look at her, "She's growing up, yes. But it doesn't matter how old she is, or whether she has a boyfriend or not. She'll still be your baby girl. That won't change."
He crossed his arms and looked away, "Well not according to her."
Brooke grabbed his hand and squeezed it. She thought it cute how Lucas was like putty when it came to Sam.
"She was upset."
"She's too young for a boyfriend Brooke. Please tell me you agree. I don't want her and Jack hanging out if that's what's on their mind right now."
Brooke looked at him incredulously, "Please tell me you didn't tell her that."
"And if I did?"
Brooke rolled her eyes, "Luke, that's why she got so upset. You can't prevent her from hanging out with him. We both read her notebook. We both know how much they've gone through together. And yeah, she's too young for a serious relationship, but we can explain that to her."
Lucas rubbed his face with his hands, "I really don't know why I'm so upset about this."
Brooke smiled and kissed his cheek, "Because you're her daddy, and she's your little champ."
"I'll talk to her about the whole boyfriend thing." She said with a wink, "But you need to talk to her afterwards. You both need to apologize to each other."
After talking with Lucas Brooke walked up the stairs and heard Sam's shower on. She decided to take that time to rid herself of her makeup and work clothes and change into more comfortable sweats and a tshirt. She knocked on the door and heard Sam say come in.
The girl was brushing her hair on her bed when her mom came in.
"Hey princess."
Sam gave her mother sad eyes and a sigh. Brooke walked over giving her a sympathetic smile. She silently took the brush from her hands and started brushing Sam's hair for her.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"You should talk to your fiancee/boyfriend/whatever he is." Sam said sullenly.
Brooke shook her head in amusement. Both of them were being as stubborn as ever."You mean your father?"
"Yeah..him." Sam growled out.
Brooke stopped the brushing motion, "Watch it Sam. He's your dad and you need to respect him."
Sam turned, "I know that. But I'm mad at him. Did he tell you that he sent me up here for no reason? Did he tell you that he told me I couldn't hang out with Jack? I'm not gonna do that. I just asked a question and he freaked out."
Brooke put the brush down on the bed and scooted closer so she could put an arm around Sam's shoulders. Sam leaned her head on Brooke's shoulder and let out a heavy sigh, "I just asked when Jack and I could be boyfriend and girlfriend. We already hang out all the time. I like him mom."
Brooke kissed her daughter's damp hair, "I know you do."
"Dad freaked out, and I've been in here since I got back from working at the store."
"I know peanut. He needed to calm down, and so did you." She gently rubbed Sam's arm and waited patiently for Sam to say something next.
"What do you think about Jack and me?"
Brooke took a moment, "I'm fine with you and Jack liking each other. That's normal. But being in a committed relationship that's very serious, and I just don't think fourteen is a good age for it. Being someone's girlfriend brings up a lot of other possibilities that I don't think you're ready for."
"What? Like sex?"
Brooke cringed at the word. Her baby didn't need to even be thinking about that word.
"Yeah Sam like that."
"I knew it." She said with an eye roll, "Jack and I, we don't, I mean, we won't...do that. When you caught us in my room last time, we were just cuddling, and that's, that's all we do. Promise."
Brooke nodded, "You say that now kiddo. Dad and me don't let you stay home alone with Jack for a reason. Look, sometimes when you're laying down by yourself with a boy that you really like, well one thing leads to another and the next thing you know your clothes are off!"
Sam looked at her mother and blushed.
"Mama." She whined.
"Alright, alright. But really Sam, talk to dad and I about you and Jack being serious next year and our answer might be different. But for now, you're free to have fun and go hang out with Jack, but that next step of being all alone at home that's not happening yet."
Sam felt some guilt sliver up since she and Jack always ended up alone at his house.
"So once we're official, you're telling me we can have sex?" Sam's eyebrow shot up.
Brooke's eyes bulged. Oh, God, Lucas would not be happy with the way this conversation was going.
"No, that is not what I'm saying. It's just when you're in a relationship, dad and I will give you the leeway to be alone and that can lead to those things and we'd like for you to be, at the very least, prepared. But listen to me when I say this Sam. Are you listening?"
"Yes." Sam said holding in a groan.
"When you think you're ready to have sex, which I hope isn't for some time, like years down the road, I want you to come talk to me. I might not be happy, but I want to know that you've thought about it and that it has crossed your mind. I'm here for you to talk to. I'm also your mother and I need to know what's going on in your life."
Sam nodded, "Okay."
"Promise me." Brooke said seriously.
"I promise mom." Although Sam wasn't too sure if she'd feel the same way down the line, but they'd cross that bridge when it happened.
Brooke furrowed her brow trying to see if Sam actually meant it. She knew that sex and teenagers was almost a given, if her experience was anything to come by. She sighed, realizing that Sam was beginning to grow up more and more.
"Okay, well I'll hold you to that buddy. And one more thing."
"Yeah?"
"What made you ask the question? Have you and Jack talked about it?"
Sam thought back to the facetime conversation with Jack. He had said she missed her and Sam assured him that they'd get to hang out on the weekend once her grounding was over. He then reminded her that next week was the week that they had first met all those years ago. They spent the rest of the conversation reminiscing and it made Sam's heart flutter as she thought about it.
"We haven't really talked about it. I've just been thinking about all the things we've done and stuff we've been through together. And I really, really trust him, mom."
The mother gave her daughter a knowing smile, "And he really, really, trusts you. You both have something special."
"You think so?" Sam loved the relationship that Brooke and Lucas had, and so any comment regarding relationships that came from them, meant a lot to the teen.
"I know so little one."
Sam nodded, "Thanks mom, that means a lot."
"Anytime baby girl."
"Can I go to bed now?"
Brooke looked at her surprised, "You've been up here all evening. You don't wanna go down or anything?"
Sam shrugged, "I'm tired. After Millie dropped me off, and dad imprisoned me, I just did homework. I might just watch some tv before bed or something."
Brooke looked at the clock it was only 8:45, but she wouldn't argue. Usually, it was a chore to get her to bed. She leaned over and kissed her daughter's head, "I'll leave you to it then."
A knock came at the door and Sam sighed knowing it was Lucas.
"I'll leave you both to talk." Brooke told Lucas as he stepped in and she started to walk out.
Sam glared at her father and made a move to get up, "I need to finish getting ready for bed. I'm tired."
"Hold on champ. Can you let me apologize?"
Sam shook her head, "I get it dad You're uber protective. Blah blah blah. No boyfriend until next year probably. Mom talked to me. I'm fine."
Lucas narrowed her eyes. Next year? That's what Brooke told her? UGH. But he shook it off and remembered he went up to apologize not argue, "Sam I reacted terribly today." He watched as she put away her towel and stuffed her homework in her bag, making no move to tell him something. He composed himself. It annoyed him that she was doing that, but he wanted to get everything out first.
"I know you don't want to be a little girl anymore. Honestly, you came here with more experience than a lot of us grown ups. I guess I need to do better at recognizing that champ."
Sam stopped and turned to look at her dad. He looked so sad and she suddenly felt bad for all the curse words that flew through her head and were directed at him during her solitary confinement.
"I'm sorry for making you wait up here until mama came home. That was just me being a crazy dad. I freaked. I don't want you having a boyfriend, not now or ever. I doubt that'll change, but I'll make the effort to be civil and give you the space to do so. You're growing up, I know that." He went to sit down once he noticed that Sam was letting her guard down.
The father patted the bed, "Sit down with me peanut?"
Sam went over and sat down next to him.
He put an arm around her, "Sammy, you'll always be my little girl. I don't think that'll ever change sweetheart. Sorry if that makes you mad, but I can't help but see my heart walking outside of me every time I see you."
Sam looked up at him, "It just felt like you weren't listening to me today. Everything I said didn't matter to you."
The father frowned, hurt that he made her feel that way, "Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I promise it won't go down like that that again." He held out his pinky and saw Sam give a soft smile. They hadn't done a pinky promise in a while, and it always reminded all three of them about just months ago when the simple gesture was such a huge security blanket for Sam.
The girl wrapped her pinky around her dad's, "I'm sorry for yelling at you too."
He smiled, "How 'bout we act like this afternoon never happened?"
Sam eye's got a scheming glint, "You know, ice cream might fix everything."
Lucas laughed, "Oh is that so? Fine, you and me, lunch time tomorrow. We'll ditch the lame school lunch and we'll go to Ralphs. Deal?"
"Cam mom come?" Sam asked excited about the prospect.
"I'll ask her and see if she could schedule us into her crazy Brooke Davis calendar." He winked, "Heading to sleep this early?"
Sam went towards the head of the bed and crawled under her covers, "I'm gonna watch some Law and Order and then sleep. Wanna watch?"
His smile beamed, "I'd love to." They started to cuddle together on the bed when Brooke walked in, and rolled her eyes, "So I'm assuming you two worked it out?"
"Mhm." Sam said trying to pay attention, "But shh, mom. It's back on."
Lucas smirked, "Yeah, shh Brooke."
"I was gonna head to bed and see if you were coming." She told Luke.
Sam looked at her mom, "Wanna watch with us?"
Brooke hesitated. She had an early morning tomorrow and was grateful for the early night but
Lucas motioned for her to come onto the bed and the mother knew that these moments would only be memories in a few years, so she went over and sat on the other side of Sam,
"Scoot over." She said pushing her daugher playfully. Sam groaned but moved over anyway.
Halfway through the episode Sam was leaning on her mother, "Hey mama?"
Brooke looked down and could tell the teen was really sleepy.
"Yeah babe?"
"Dad and I are gonna get ice cream tomorrow for lunch. Can you come, or are you busy?"
Sam asked her eyes half closing as she attempted to finish watching the episode.
Brooke looked up with a raised eyebrow at a guilty looking Lucas.
"Wimp." She whispered at him, causing him to smirk, then looked back down, "I'm pretty sure I can go with you two heathens."
"Hey!" Lucas said playfully.
"Awesome." Sam said through a yawn.
"Getting sleepy buddy?" He asked her.
"Mhm." Sam mumbled. Brooke held her tighter and felt as Sam leaned into her further. The episode hadn't even finished before Sam had fallen asleep.
... ... ...
It was now Wednesday and Sam was slowly becoming stir crazy. She just had to stick out her grounding for a little bit more. She thought that working at Clothes over Bros would've been easy, but it was actual work! Oh, and it really sucked. All she wanted was to hang out with her friends. The worst part was she found out Liz got Friday off, and her, Tamara, and Jack were all going to catch a movie, meanwhile she was still left to stew.
Millie scanned the store looking for Sam. She had told her to stay out front while she went to grab them some food. Usually Brooke had two employees working the store, but gave them the week off and had Millie man it along with Sam after school.
The assistant huffed in annoyance.
'Why do I always get stuck babysitting Brooke's kid?" She muttered. Someone could've stolen something! Luckily, it was late in the day and the boutique's customers were sparse during that time. She scowled at the sign on the counter that read in Sam's scrawled handwriting "Knock back door for assistance."
Millie went straight for the back door and knocked on it none too lightly.
She heard grumbles from the back, and knocked even harder still.
"Hey calm down, I'm coming!" Sam yelled, then opened the door, "Chill dude. Damn."
Her once annoyed glare melted, "Oh….H-hi Millie."
"Samantha. what. the. hell?"
"Ummm...Do you need assistance?" She asked weakly.
"You are so lucky you're Brooke's daughter."
Sam smirked, "Or else what Mils?"
Millie stuck out the food and Sam gladly took it and walked towards the back, Mllie right behind her.
"Or else you would've been fired."
Sam laughed, "Ummm, can you please fire me? I don't wanna be here anyways."
Millie closed her eyes, took one deep breath and heard the ding of the alarm motioning that someone came in. She sighed, "Eat your food, and organize the cloth that came in from the distributors, "I'd like to remind you that I report to your mother and not to you, as in I'm babysitting you and any misbehavior your mother will know."
Sam frowned and furrowed her eyebrow, "Aww come on Millie. Babysitting? Am I four? Don't be such a downer. Nobody came in anyways." Why did Millie have to bring her mom into this? It really isn't that big a deal!
Mille shook her head, "That doesn't matter Sam. Someone could've come in and stolen something, get it? And it would've been my ass, not yours."
Sam looked down, "Probably would've been mine too." She mumbled more to herself and rubbed her behind absentmindedly as she thought back to the none too light spanking her mother gave her four days ago.
Millie had hear her mutter and gave her a small smile, "Brooke would never spank you for this. Don't worry. But I'm sure she can arrange a longer grounding."
Sam looked up at her a slight blush rising to her cheeks. Her mother had told Millie?! God, who else knew that she had been on the receiving end of such a childish punishment? And how much did Millie know? This was just embarrassing.
Millie schooled her face. She didn't want to embarrass the teen. "Your mother was very upset on Saturday when I called her about work, and I asked her what was wrong. She admitted to feeling guilty about erm, punishing you earlier. She didn't get into the details. But that's why I know. I can assure you nobody else besides me knows about this."
"You're sure?" Sam said uneasily, "This, um, isn't exactly something that I want, you know, out there and stuff."
Millie gave her a knowing look, "You misbehaved, you were punished, and the world moves on. It happens all the time Sammy. Don't dwell on it. Okay?"
Sam sighed, "I guess.."
The assistant gave her a short nod, "Now get to it little miss. There's a lot of cloth to organize. And there's a customer out there that I need to attend to."
Sam watched her leave and sighed as she looked at the mountain of work that she had to do.
When Millie came back a few hours later all the cloth was organized by color, a nice gradient like pattern of lighter to darker cloth. Millie smiled seeing that Sam had Brooke's eyes for the nuance of detail. She looked for the 14 year old and found her in the corner just surfing through her phone.
"Hiding from me?"
Sam jumped and dropped her phone, "No.I like corners, and if it so happened that I'd avoid any more work here, then that's just an added benefit."
Mille rolled her eyes, "Come on kid. Your mother's going to spring you out of here soon. I have no more work for you anyways."
Sam got up, "Thank God!" She said dramatically causing Millie to laugh.
Soon enough Brooke came into her store, heels clicking as she walked in, excited to see her kid after a long day at the office.
"Hey Millie! Where's my girl?" She asked scanning the store for Sam.
"She went to the restroom just now. How was work?"
Brooke sighed, "Long and finally over."
Millie frowned, "Who was it this time?"
"Investors. My mother. It was just a rough day. It's over though, and that's what matters. How was it here?" She quickly squeezed her eyes shut, "Please tell me Sam was perfect and I don't have to yell at her for breaking my store."
"Sam was perfect and you don't have to yell at her for breaking your store." Sam said walking into their conversation.
Brooke opened her eyes and shook her head with a chuckle, "Well it doesn't count when it comes from the culprit herself."
Sam laughed, "Geez! Have a little faith in me. I was nothing but the definition of perfect today." She flashed her mother a smile and then went and hugged her, "Hi mama." She said pulling back only slightly, and looking up at her mother, "It's nice to see you too."
Brooke smiled back, "Oh, come here you." She held her daughter tight and kissed the top of her head, "Hi troublemaker. Is the reason you're being so nice and cuddly with me because you did something wrong?"
Sam pouted, "My own mother doesn't accept my love. How sad."
Brooke laughed off her daughter's dramatics, "You know Samantha, I was probably the biggest drama queen at 14. I can see past all your tricks."
The mother kept an arm around her daughter's shoulders, "Millie, you're the last word in this. Does she get a pass on extra chores today or was she giving you trouble?"
Of course Brooke was just messing around about the chores, but she'd make her daughter sweat it out. Millie had already texted her about their small mishap and wasn't planning on getting onto her about it.
Millie looked at Sam and could see her eyes begging for a free pass. Millie just shook her head in amusement, "I think she's done enough today. Right Sam?"
Sam nodded, "Mhm. See, mom? I'm perfect."
Brooke rose her eyebrow, "Perfect huh? I guess if letting people traipse into my store while you're enjoying your break in the back counts as perfect."
Sam's shoulders slumped and she sent a betrayed glance to Millie, who only raised her hands in innocence.
Sam looked at her mother nervously, "I, umm, well, I-" Damn. Caught, yet again. Sam was beginning to think she wasn't the sneakiest of kids.
Brooke decided to put her daughter out of her misery and gave her a tight side hug and a kiss on the cheek, "It's okay, you're not in trouble. Let's refrain from letting it happen again though, hmm?"
Sam blushed, "Yes m'am."
"Okay, go wait in the car for me."
She let her off and watched her go with a smile on her face.
"Millie, please tell me she hasn't been giving you a hard time. She's been a little stir crazy being stuck here or at home. I get it. You don't have to cover for her."
"It's fine Brooke. It was just a long day. I mean you've had her working here from 2:30 to 6pm this whole week. She's bound to get restless. Besides I just discovered she has a knack for detail and color. I'm going to milk that these next two coming days."
Brooke raised an eyebrow, "You mean, as in actual proof she's related to me? Wow."
"Shut up! She's all you. Her talent for getting into trouble. Her smart mouth. That's all Brooke Davis."
Brooke couldn't argue with that, "And her beauty. That's all me too."
"Of course, we can't forget that."
A few moments later Brooke made her way into her car and sat down. She looked over at Sam who was texting away, "Who are you texting?"
"Jack."
Brooke could've guessed it.
"How is he?"
"He's okay. He said he misses me."
"I'm sure he does." She said turning on the car. The mother was silently thankful that both Lucas and Sam had dropped the issue about Jack that had plagued them on Monday.
"Put your seatbelt on." She reminded her.
Sam quickly did so, "Are we going to grab food? I'm starving."
"Any cravings?" Brooke asked.
"You choose. I chose last time we got takeout."
"Chinese it is." Brooke said happily.
"Really? Not the place that's like hours away!" Sam begged.
"It's only like twenty minutes. And you get to spend it with THE Brooke Davis. What could be better?" Brooke said with a wink.
"I could think of some things." Sam said with a smirk.
"Ha! You tell yourself that." Brooke shot back, "But anyway, how was your day?"
Sam shrugged, "Boring. There was a pep rally during lunch and Manny and I performed."
"What? Why didn't I know about this? I'm gonna kill your father."
Sam laughed, "Mom, it was really not a big deal. It was just to accompany the dance team to their performance."
"What song did you play?"
Sam looked at her mischievously, "You're too old. You wouldn't know it."
Brooke scoffed, "Rude! I am not old. And I'm up to date with my pop culture. You know some people think I define pop culture."
Sam rolled her eyes at her mom's ego, "Fashion and music are two different things. Is your mind deteriorating already?"
Brooke glared at her daughter and stuck her tongue out, "You're such a brat."
"But I'm your brat so you're stuck with me. And since you're practically begging here, it was an Ellie Goulding song."
"See, I know who that is!"
Sam gave her mother a slow clap and an unamused look to which Brooke just laughed at.
"So that was the most eventful part of your day?" The mother asked.
"Well then you subjected me to slave labor yet again."
Brooke rolled her eyes, "You know I don't think it's fair to equate working in a boutique to slavery. I feel like that's ethically wrong."
Sam glared at her mother, "You can't belittle what the oppressed is feeling, considering the fact that you're the oppressor. It's basic sociology, mom. Matrix of domination and all that jazz."
Brooke turned to her daughter like she was crazy, "What the hell have you been reading?"
"I've had a lot of spare time on my hands, and dad has a great book collection. So, yeah, slave labor, I'm still going with that one."
Brooke bonked her daughter on the side of her head.
"Ow! See! Opression!"
Brooke laughed, "Alright little sociologist, Your slave labor is almost over this Friday anyways. You should be happy about that. Liberation...and all that jazz"
Sam's once jovial nature turned a little more somber, "Yeah, I guess."
Brooke eyed her and saw the frown form on her kid's face. What? What'd she do? Brooke sighed. Damn, they were just having a good time.
"Alright, why the sudden mood change? You haven't moped about your grounding ending on Friday before. Why now?"
Sam opened her mouth to say something but closed it, "It's nothing. Nevermind."
Brooke wasn't convinced.
"Well obviously it's something, Sammy. Or else you wouldn't have gone from preaching to me about oppression to saying nothing. Come on, tell me what's wrong sweetheart."
Sam bit her lip, "Promise to hear me out?"
Brooke chuckled, "Yes, I promise. Don't I always?"
Sam shrugged, "I guess so."
"Alright then. 'I guess' is good enough for me. So go for it."
Sam took a deep breath, "It's just, well, I got the worst punishment out of all of us." Sam said plainly.
Brooke held her breath, hoping to God Sam didn't try to weasel her way out of her last two days. They weren't going to budge and that would just make Sam upset and of course, argumentative.
"How so?" She asked as the car came to a red light.
"Well Rebecca is going to end Liz's grounding on Thursday 'cause she had bought tickets in advance to see this movie premiere. Everyone's going, and I wanna go too, but I'm the only one out of all my friends that can't because I'm still grounded."
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. But you know we can't let you off, right? We agreed to this. It's not changing."
"But don't you think I got it worse than Liz and T?"
"I don't think that's the case, and remember Tamara is grounded too. It's just different. She's taking care of her brothers and sisters for the week because Camille has day and night shifts.
"But mom you, you know...spanked me, on top of it. It's not fair. Don't you think you should end-"
"Stop right there." Brooke said, "Dad and I are not ending your grounding, Sam. It's only a week. You were fine about it until you heard about this movie, and we're sorry but you're going to have to wait. Punishments aren't meant to fit in your schedule. And Sam please understand that your spanking shortened your grounding. This could've easily been two weeks."
Sam groaned and sat up a bit, "But Mom! Liz and Tamara did the exact same thing that I did and they got off easier than I did!"
"No Sam. I'm sorry. It's still no."
Sam felt her frustration rise, "You're being so unfair! Are you even listening?"
"Sam, yes. Of course I'm listening." Brooke said trying to calm her daughter, "And what I'm hearing is my daughter's temper rising because she's not getting what she wants. And I get that your friends are all off their punishment Friday, but that's their parents' prerogative. Dad and I already decided, and that's the end of that. You are our child and they are not."
Sam crossed her arms across her chest and spoke under her breath, "Well isn't that fucking great."
Brooke tried her best to remain calm, though she knew her daughter was damn lucky that they were in a car. She turned and gave Sam a piercing stare, "Watch it. Keep acting the way you are and we can add on another week."
Well there went their nice drive.
Sam groaned in frustration, "You and dad ALWAYS do that. Just because you don't like what I have to say doesn't mean you just get to end the whole discussion with a threat."
Brooke took a deep breath and gripped the wheel. 'Do not kill your daughter. You'd go to prison.' She reminded herself.
"It's not a conversation when you're yelling at me and cursing under your breath. Calm down, Samantha."
Her mother always thought she was yelling. Her voice was only slightly raised to make a point!,
"I just want a day off my grounding. You're being unreasonable!"
If Brooke was even thinking about letting Sam off that would've gone out the window with her behavior at the moment.
Another red light came, and Brooke spoke once more," Samantha, I need you to listen carefully, before your mouth gets you into more trouble. I am not being unreasonable. You are just angry that you're not getting your way. There's a difference. Your dad and I won't be changing your grounding. I don't care what is happening on Friday with your friends, you're going to be home, and that's it. And don't even think about raising your voice at me again. I'm already thinking about sending you straight to bed once we're home for an early bedtime."
Sam slouched back into the passenger seat.
"It's not even eight yet." She said forlornly after a few moments of silence, and in a quieter tone. "Not even Jamie goes to bed at this time." She hated being sent to bed early even worse than getting grounded sometimes. She mostly hated the word "bedtime." It sounded so unhighschool.
"And neither will you if you just stop pushing it, young lady."
Sam felt herself get emotional. ugh. She hated how much of a crybaby she was sometimes. She just wanted to go out with her friends on Friday. Why couldn't she do that?
Brooke heard Sam grumble the words 'so unfair.' The mother sighed in frustration, "Samantha-"
"Okay, mom. Okay. I'll stop." Sam said through a teary voice, though still visibly annoyed. She looked out the window, "Just, just leave me alone."
Brooke looked over at her pouting daughter and sighed deeply, "Fine." She said taking a page out of Sam's own arsenal of responses.
Brooke parked the car at the restaurant and could see that Sam was avoiding looking at her and her face was still etched with anger. The mother wanted to say something but just as Sam was annoyed with her, so was Brooke at Sam.
Sam was about to undo her seatbelt.
"No. You stay here and take the time to calm down." She was already tired and wasn't up for standing next to a defiant 14 year old, and risk causing some sort of scene that would inevitably end up embarrassing both of them.
Brooke saw an eye roll come from Sam, but decided to ignore it.
"Just perfect." She groaned when she saw the line she had to wait in. She threw a quick glance at the car. Her kid could pout all she wanted, it wouldn't change anything. But the mother couldn't lie, she would have loved to look over at the car and see Sam smiling, rather than looking so sad.
Why had Rebecca decided to end Liz's punishment earlier? It just made things harder for her and Lucas. But as Brooke waited in line and she thought about it more, she realized that those tickets were bought by Liz's increasingly alienated father.
"Of course." Brooke told herself, "that bastard."
Rebecca couldn't take that away from Liz. It would devastate the girl who was already trying hard to keep her dad in her life. And, of course Brooke couldn't tell Sam that Liz had also gotten spanked and probably much harder than she did. Brooke wished she could tell her that Liz actually probably had it much harder. Liz had literally lost all her freedom, and when not at school had to be in her mom's sight.
… …. ….
Brooke had gone over two nights before to finish up some talking points and was there to witness it all. She saw Liz do her homework right next to her mother in the kitchen then get sent up to get ready for bed by 7:30.
"Time for bed Liz. Go upstairs and take a shower, then come down when you're ready."
Liz only rolled her eyes and silently went up.
Brooke looked at her friend concerned.
"I know, you don't have to say it. She hates me right now."
"And I thought I was being hard on Sam."
Rebecca rubbed her face with her hands, "It's a little harsh, but the last time she got caught in one of Ronnie's schemes I warned her that the next time it happened she'd lose all of her teenage freedom for a while. She knew better than to bring everyone to that girl's house. I even warned her not to do it. I know she did it because Ronnie would make her look cool in front of Sam and Tamara. But now she has to deal with the consequences. She hates it, and I hate it too. She's been really subdued and doesn't say much, but I'm sticking to my guns."
Brooke looked at her friend with sympathy, "It seems like you're getting punished too."
Rebecca chuckled, "Yeah. It kills me that she's so upset with me. She said she felt like I was treating her like a ten year old. I took everything away for this week. Phone, computer, tv. I know it's hard to be fifteen and be forced to be your mother's shadow but it really disappointed me that she went ahead and did that after she promised me she wouldn't."
Brooke grabbed Rebecca's hand and squeezed it, "It'll be okay Becs. Liz can be just as hard headed as Sammy and sometimes they need that tough love." Brooke answered, feeling like the roles reversed. usually Rebecca was counseling her.
"You're right." Rebecca said with a weary smile, "Hopefully she'll learn that I'm serious about these things and that her actions have consequences. Hopefully the likes of Ronnie and anyone like that girl won't come around here after this."
Half an hour later Liz came down clad in her pajamas.
Rebecca looked at her daughter who stood near the table, "What do you have to say to Aunt Brooke?"
Liz immediately felt a blush rise to her, "Mom-"
"Elizabeth. What did we talk about?"
Liz sighed and turned to her aunt, "Aunt Brooke I'm sorry I took Sam and Tamara to my friend Ronnie's house, even though mom didn't want me too. I knew she was probably gonna have something fun to do, but I was in over my head. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. It was stupid and dumb and...yeah. Just, sorry. She's not much of a friend anyways."
Brooke's heart broke for the little girl in front of her. She could see the tears well up in her eyes, "She always gets me into trouble." Liz wiped her eyes with her fingers and sniffed.
Brooke stood up and hugged her tightly, "It's okay Lizzie. It's not your fault. Sam and Tamara went along with it too. You all knew it was wrong. Okay? Don't put all the blame on yourself."
Liz nodded, "Okay."
"And sometimes we think people are friends and they're not. It happens. That's how you learn."
Liz sniffled, "Mom said that too."
Brooke looked up and saw Rebecca smirking and nodding. Brooke chuckled, "Maybe we should listen to mom more often then huh? Trust me, moms know a lot more than you think, kid."
Brooke kissed the top of her head, "I love you Lizzie."
"I love you too Auntie Brooke." Liz whispered.
Rebecca watched the exchange and smiled at her daughter who turned to look at her,
"Give me five minutes and I'll be up to tuck you in bug." Rebecca told her daughter. Liz nodded and trudged up the stairs.
When Rebecca went upstairs she saw her daughter in bed her back to the door. Rebecca sighed and moved towards the bed.
"Bug, I know you're still mad at me."
Liz only coiled further into herself when she heard her mother. It was so stupid that she had to be in bed by 8:00, even though it was Wednesday. Yes, she knew what she did was wrong, but she was still angry at how far her mother was taking this punishment.
Rebecca sat on the bed and started to rub her daughter's back. "You promised me this wouldn't happen again, though, and yet it did. But I'm not going to lecture you anymore about it. We'll just have to get through this one, okay?"
Liz made no move to respond.
Rebecca couldn't lie, her daughter's coldness was hard to swallow.
"Are you going to let me tuck you in today?"
Still nothing from the upset teen.
But she really did want her mom to tuck her in. She had refused to let her since they got back from New York that Saturday, and she kinda missed it. Especially now that she sneaked a facebook look at school and saw Ronnie posting pictures of her and Sam as if they were best friends. She had used Liz just to get to Sam and then get attention. Liz felt so stupid, and she wanted to tell her mom. But she didn't want to get in trouble for being on Facebook. She actually really just wanted to curl up into her mother because she felt so betrayed. Stupid Ronnie.
Once Rebecca realized her daughter wasn't giving up on her defiance yet, she leaned in and gave her daughter's head a kiss, "Goodnight Lizzie."
Liz felt the weight shift from the bed as her mother got up.
No. She wanted her mother to stay. She clenched her fists and turned over, "Wait Mom." Her voice was a hushed, but hurried whisper, "Don't leave."
Rebecca stopped walking and smiled before turning back around and towards the bed. It had taken four nights, but her daughter finally cracked. Good, because Rebecca was dying for her kid to let her in again.
"Can you, can you just stay for five minutes?"
"Of course buggyboo."
Rebecca sat down and felt Liz immediately cuddle into her,
"What changed your mind sweetheart?" The mother asked softly as her fingers trailed her daughter's hair.
"Ronnie's mean. I don't wanna talk about it though."
Rebecca held in her 'I told you so.' and decided against asking what exactly prompted this. Instead, she opted for holding her child for a few minutes before heading back down with Brooke.
"Okay. Try and sleep then."
"It's too early."
"Well just relax then."
Liz sighed but held onto her mother and inhaled her scent feeling completely at ease as her mother hummed her favorite lullaby.
…. …. …..
Brooke came back into the car and set the food on Sam's lap, "Hold it, so nothing spills please."
Sam only nodded and looked back towards the window.
Brooke watched Sam as she clicked her seatbelt in place.
She knew that simply giving in and letting her go out would change Sam's demeanor in a second. But as much as she wanted her daughter to look happy she knew that letting her have what she wanted wasn't the right thing to do.
The mother put the car in drive with a frustrated sigh and took them home.
Damn, and all Brooke wanted was a nice evening.
Sam, on the other hand, although still wanting to be free on Friday had felt a creeping guilt as her mother made her wait for her in the car.
She felt kind of dumb for raising her voice once she had a chance to think about it. I mean, she already knew what her mom's answer was going to be. She just wanted to try, especially because it seemed like her mom was in a good mood. But, I guess good mood doesn't equate to giving mood. Sam also felt bad because she had overheard Brooke telling Millie that she had a rough day at work.
She really wasn't trying to be difficult, it just so happened that she really wanted to go out with her friends. But her mother didn't deserve her attitude on top of the shit she had to deal with at work.
Sam kept looking out the window as all these thoughts swirled through her head. She gave a quick look at her mom who was focused on the drive.
After a few more minutes of silence, the teen finally swallowed her pride.
"Mom?" Brooke heard her say.
"Yes?"
Brooke looked over and saw that Sam had her head down and was fiddling with the styrofoam holder that held some of their food, a little embarrassed and remorseful for the way she had acted.
"Sam, what is it?" Brooke tried again, then looked back at the road.
"I'm sorry." She said softly, "I shouldn't have yelled at you."
Brooke gave a short nod, acknowledging her daughter's words, but stayed quiet and let the apology sit until they got home. She could feel her daughter glance at her on occasion, but she'd wait to say anything. Once at their driveway Brooke turned the key and undid her seatbelt then turned to her daughter who was just staring at the food on her lap. Brooke could see that her daughter regretted the way she acted.
"Anything else you wanna say?" Brooke really wanted to understand what was going through her daughter's mind.
Sam bit her lip as she racked her brain for the right words. "I, umm, I was just being childish, I guess. I'm not, I mean, I wish that you and dad would let me go Friday, but I'm not gonna ask anymore. I didn't mean to make you mad. I just, I guess, I just really want to go and I felt frustrated. But really, I'm sorry.I know that yelling only gets me into trouble and stuff. You didn't deserve it." Sam was playing with the styrofoam so much that she had ripped a piece off. She picked at the lone piece in her hand, "And I hate when we get mad at each other." Sam said more softly.
Brooke felt her heart warm.
"Look at me sweetheart."
Sam looked up at her mother with puppy dog eyes. She wasn't sure how the day went to pits so quickly. They were fine, and then she had to go and ruin it, and now her mother was upset and tired.
Brooke bent over the console and kissed her daughter's forehead, "I don't like it either little one."
"Are we, are we okay now?" The teen asked tentatively. She really hoped her mother didn't send her to bed early still.
"Sammy, I had a long day and all I could think was that at the end of it I'd be able to get to hold you while we watched some tv with dad. Can we still do that?" She tapped her daughter's nose with her finger, "Or is your attitude going to get in the way of that?"
Sam shook her head, "I'll behave. Promise."
Brooke smiled and cupped Sam's face with her hands, "I love you Samantha, and I want to spend the rest of this quickly ending day enjoying your company and not scolding you. Thank you for your apology. It was really sweet, and I'm proud of you for swallowing your pride and admitting all of that."
Sam's frown turned into a smile. Her mother had a way of doing that to her, "I'd rather have you not yelling at me either."
Brooke laughed, "Alright, come on. Grab the food and take it inside. I'll call dad and see if he's on his way."
... ... ...
Fortunately for Brooke she was able to get the nice evening she had wanted. It was now late at night and Lucas was in the lazy-boy, while Brooke was in the corner of the sofa, with Sam's head resting in her lap. The girl had changed into her "I love NY" tshirt and black mesh shorts that reached her midthigh. They were all watching reruns of the The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, once the commercials hit, Lucas looked to Brooke and motioned that Sam was falling asleep.
Brooke softly patted the girl's bottom, "Sweetie let's get you up and ready for bed?"
Sam's fluttering eyes opened, "What time is it?"
"It's eleven. And you have school tomorrow."
"Mhm. Okay." Though she made no move to lift her head off her mother's lap.
"Come on Sammy, you have to get up. You're already in your PJs just go upstairs and lay on your bed." The mother tried coaxing her.
"It's so far away." She whined tiredly.
Lucas looked at Sam with amusement, "Peanut, do you want me to help you up to your room?"
The girl sighed, "No, I'll go. It's fine." She pushed herself up half asleep from her mom and began to drag herself, "Night." She mumbled.
But Sam looked at the stairs and felt instant dread having to climb them. Nope, not happening. She made a turn and then went straight to her dad and sat on his lap.
"umph." Lucas chuckled, "Stairs?"
"Too many." Sam said through a yawn and closed her eyes again.
"Can't I just sleep here?"
"On top of me?"
"You're comfy daddy." She said buttering him up and moving her face into his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her, "Alright, come on sleepyhead. I'll take you up. Wrap your arms around my neck." Sam did so and he got up with only a slight wince. "You're lucky I'm strong kiddo."
It was Brooke's turn to look at her two loves with amusement. She stood up and followed them up. Once Lucas laid her down Brooke kissed her daughter on the cheek, "Goodnight Sammy."
"Night mama." Sam said snuggling down into her covers.
Lucas covered her up and sat down next to her and leant in to kiss her forehead.
Brooke smiled as she watched the two. Her day ended just as she imagined. Now she just hoped that they'd get through Friday without much moping. I mean, one could hope, right?
Please tell me what you think! The next chapter will probably skip ahead to after Sam's grounding. Also feel free to ask me questions on my tumblr!