LOVEBUGS, I MISSED YOU ALL SO SO SO MUCH
Minor Life Update: The college I am attending has a mandatory six-week program, and when I tell yall I have been drained to capacity, I mean it wholeheartedly. The coursework has been a lot, and they always keep us busy, but it will be DONE after this upcoming week, and I get my summer back before school starts. I love you all fiercely, and I never forgot about you guys.
Enjoy lovebugs ;)
Mercedes was in a daze. The last thing she remembered was Artie telling her to leave. Like a robot, she got in her car and was driving but wasn't driving to her apartment. She was going to Sam's place. She needed someone to talk to, and she hoped that he would be willing to listen. She had been so mean to him; all he tried to do was help her, and she pushed him away. She parked her car in the garage and walked up to Sam's apartment in a daze. When she made it, she knocked on the door gently, and within moments, Sam opened it.
"Mercedes, what happened to you?" He rushed out, pulled her into his apartment, and checked the hallway to ensure no one saw her.
"A-Artie t-took me to see him, and I-I-I." She stuttered out as she stood, tears falling down her eyes trying to explain the predicament that she was in. Sam looked down at her and jumped into action mode. He pulled Mercedes close and looked at her straight in her eyes.
"Mercedes, listen to me, you just killed someone, and you are covered in their blood; I need you to go to my room and shower, ok. You know where everything is that you need to get out of these clothes, and I will call Artie, ok?" Sam spoke clearly. Mercedes nodded her head vigorously and turned away to the bathroom. Sam looked around his apartment and noticed the few blood splatters that had managed to fall about. He went to his closet, grabbed a towel, and cleaned up the blood. Then he grabbed a trash bag, rushed to his bathroom, grabbed Mercedes's clothes from the toilet, and stuffed them in the bag before wiping away the blood. He left the bathroom and called Artie.
"What, Sam?" Artie spoke on the phone.
"What the fuck were you thinking by bringing her there. She didn't go home. She came here covered in blood. I need you to wipe any cameras in this area." Sam replied on the phone.
"I told her to go straight home. Did you wipe up any blood and get rid of her clothes?" Artie asked.
"Yes, I did, she's in the shower now, and I am waiting for her to get out."
"Look, you both stay put, do not talk to anyone other than me; once I get done here, I will work on wiping the cameras, but Mercedes does not need to do anything or talk to anyone. Understood."
"Understood." Sam ended the call and grabbed Mercedes's purse, which was left abandoned on the couch. He grabbed her phone out of the bag and checked the notifications, and sure enough, there were a bunch of missed calls and unanswered texts from Sean. He rolled his eyes, shut the phone off, and headed to the kitchen.
When Mercedes got out of the shower, she dressed in one of Sam's t-shirts and a pair of his boxers. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail as she looked for him in the apartment.
"Sam," She called out, surprised by how small her voice sounded as she entered the apartment and found Sam in the kitchen.
"Hey," Sam spoke when he lifted his head and caught wind of Mercedes, "I, um, I just finished making this chicken and broccoli soup that mom used to make me." Sam pulled the bowls from the counter and poured the soup into the bowls before passing one to Mercedes.
"We can eat in the living room if you want," Sam suggested. Mercedes nodded, walked a few feet to the couch, and sat down with Sam behind her. They sat down and ate in silence, neither knowing what to say. Once they were finished, Mercedes turned towards Sam.
"I'm sorry, Sam. You tried to help me, but I didn't recognize it then. So I lashed out at you, and I didn't mean to, and today that guy was talking, and I just snapped. He said if he had the chance, he would have done it all over again, and Sam, I just snapped." Mercedes cried. Sam pulled her to him and wrapped her in his arms as she cried into his shirt.
"It's ok, Mercedes, it will be ok, Mercedes. I am not going to let you go through this alone. I love you too much to leave you like this." Sam whispered in her hair.
"I love you too," Mercedes mustered out. Sam held Mercedes until her cries and shaking finally ceased, and when he looked down, he noticed that she was fast asleep. He shifted to carry her and hoisted her up carefully without waking her; he walked them to his room before placing her in the bed and pulling the covers over her. When he got a call, He headed to the living room to put their dishes away. He knew by the ringtone that it was a command, and he thought about just not answering the phone, but he thought better against it.
"Hello," Sam spoke.
"Is my daughter with you?" He questioned.
"Yeah, she's asleep. I can tell her to call you when she wakes up." Sam answered.
"No, just tell me if my daughter is ok." Command insisted.
Sam sighed, "Honestly, sir, no, she isn't ok, and I fear she isn't ok for a while."
Command listened, "Look, Sam, I know I don't give you compliments or anything like that, but thank you for all that you do and for keeping my daughter safe because if something was to happen to her before you got there, I don't want to think about how much I would have had to destroy as revenge."
"No problem, sir. And I completely understand." Sam hung up and went to the room where Mercedes was still sleeping. He removed his clothes and got in behind Mercedes, gently pulling her close to his frame as she kept sleeping. Soon after he finally stopped thinking, Sam was fast asleep behind Mercedes.
This was the first night since the attack that Mercedes had slept through the night, so when she woke up, she felt refreshed. She looked around and noticed she was in Sam's arms. She gently removed them and kissed his forehead before going to the bathroom to do her morning routine. After she was done, she headed to the front and grabbed her phone. She saw the eons of phone calls from Sean and skipped through them, not wanting to talk to him at all. Then she called Artie.
"Mercedes, are you ok?" He asked the minute the call picked up.
"Yeah, I am fine. I ended up at Sam's. I hope I didn't make the job too difficult." She replied.
"You know I would go through hell if it meant protecting you, Merce," Artie assured her.
"Artie, I think I need a break from everything, and I want to go somewhere far where no one knows that I exist, but I don't want to leave you guys. I also don't know how long I will be gone because I fear that once I am there, I will not want to leave."
"Mercedes, you spend all your days caring for us and other people. It is time for you to take care of yourself. No one will blame you if you want to go to some remote island alone or with Sam. Is that what you want to do?"
"Yes."
"Good, I'll let the others know."
"Artie," Mercedes said.
"Yeah." He replied.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." When they hung up, she turned around and saw Sam coming into the room, rubbing the sleep of his eyes.
"I want to leave America, and I need a break." She spoke.
Sam looked at her, "How soon do you want to leave?"
Three hours later, Mercedes's father had charted a private jet for Mercedes and Sam. They didn't know where they were going but were assured that everything would be on her father's tab. When they boarded the plane, Mercedes saw another call from Sean. She blocked the number and shut her phone down as she snuggled into Sam. She promised herself that she would be present at this time.
Kurt entered the Oval House to find Sean sifting through another set of pictures as he looked to have been crying.
"May I ask what it was wrong, Mr. President?" Kurt spoke as he stopped at the desk.
Sean slid the photos towards Kurt, who looked at them and saw it was of Mercedes and Sam getting on a plane with bags.
Kurt looked at Sean as he downed more of the bourbon, "I want the photographer called off. She moved on with her life it is time for us to move on like she was never a part of this damn campaign." Sean growled out.