DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE NOR ITS CHARACTERS BUT THIS STORY I DO!
ENJOY :)
The next couple of days at the gym was beyond awkward. Others didn't know what was going on nor did they know how to react to the changes that were made. However, for all parties involved, it wasn't affecting them like it was others. Sam was giving everyone space, while Mercedes had kept her word on being out of sight and out of mind. She truly didn't know how to react other than to do so out of anger and confusion, and she definitely wasn't going to admit it aloud but she was hurt for a lot of reasons that had to do with Sam.
Poppy was placing her folder back in her book bag after she had finished her homework. She has gotten over the flu and had started back school today. She never knew that she could be so happy to be going back to school and seeing her friends, but she was. Sitting her book bag back down, she looked around and found Sam stepping into the ring. Her feet starting to head in that direction, stopping and sending him a smile when he saw her, "Hi Sam."
"Hey Poppy." Sam greeted the little girl as he went closer, prompting him to squat down and look at her between the ropes, "You feeling better?"
Poppy nodded her head, "A lot better."
"That's good." Sam smiled at her, and he could see the questions that were swarming in her head as she looked behind him.
"Who's that?"
"That's Bridgette, she's my trainer." He responded, watching as her eyebrows knitted up in confusion.
It couldn't be said enough, but Poppy was really intelligent for her age and in this moment, everything was coming at her so fast. Why would anybody other than her family be training Sam? She knew that he had left over the summer and that her mom never spoke word about him when she asked, other than saying he was gone and not giving her a reason for it. Before she could respond back and asked some questions, she turned her head when she heard Mercedes.
"Let's go, Poppy." Mercedes called for her daughter when she notice that she was over there. She watched as she said something to Sam before coming back over to her.
Poppy stared at Mercedes for a minute before she picked up her book bag and placed it on her back, eyes darting back and forth between them. She knew not to question it, so she just headed to the door, smiling when she saw Chanel, leaning over and giving her a big hug.
"Hi my sweet girl." She greeted as she hugged her back before letting go, watching as she went and gave Mercedes one before heading out.
Chanel moved closer to her cousin and gave her a hug, looking over her shoulder to the ring, a brow raising as she pulled back and looked at Mercedes, "Seriously?"
Mercedes laughed humorlessly a bit before shrugging, "Yeah."
"I can't believe Uncle Hen would allow this."
"Well, you know dad…he always have a logical reasoning for everything."
"I'm not finding one for this." Chanel looked back at her cousin and pulled her in for another hug when she noticed her whole aura, "You're going to be fine."
"I know." Mercedes whispered as she hugged her before pulling back with a smile, "I'm fine, I promise."
"You're not and that's okay." She told her truthfully as she watched her face falter a bit, "But I do know for sure you're going to get through this."
Mercedes nodded silently as she stood back, "I'll pick her up Sunday."
Chanel nodded as she squeezed her cousin's shoulder before heading out of the gym.
Mercedes turned back around, eyes accidentally meeting Sam's as he taped his hands up. She didn't mean to hold his gaze as long as she did, but she snapped out of it when she heard her students for her class starting to come in.
Sam placed the key in his pocket as he walked up the steps, coming in-front of the door, he rung the door bell twice and knocked. Standing back, he took a deep breath, leaning back when he heard movement coming from the back yard. He went down the side steps and headed to the back, peeking over the wooden door, he saw the woman sitting down plowing through the dirt with her hoe, face focused on the task before her. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, promoting her to look up, her face showing no expression.
"Oh, you're alive and well, that's good to know." Emily commented as she stared at her son, stopping what she was doing and taking off her gardening gloves, "To what do I owe the pleasure of having you here?"
"I came to apologize." He voiced as he walked forward. He needed to come see his mother. After taking off for the summer, he hasn't seen nor spoken that much to her since he has been gone. He handed her the bouquet of flowers that occupied his hands and gave a sincere, apologetic expression, "I really am sorry for the lack of answering and calling. I was just trying to get my head back in the right space."
Emily stared at him for a long while before opening her mouth again, "And is it?"
"Barely."
The older woman sighed before sitting the gloves on the chair, leaning over and grabbing the flowers before turning around to open the sliding door, "Come on."
Sam walked behind her as they headed in through the back that led to the kitchen, closing the door behind them. He walked over and took a seat at the table, watching his mom for the next few minutes remove the flowers from the bag, clip the ends, and placed them in a water filled vase, "Where's Sabrina?"
"Amusement park with some friends."
Sam nodded his head as he played with place mat. He didn't even know where to start and that was a first. It has always been so easy talking to her, but now it felt like everything he did was hard and wrong, "Bridgette is in Oakland."
Emily stopped what she was doing and turned to him, "Why?"
"I thought it would be a good idea if she trained me…" He stopped when he saw the look on her face, trying to hurry along with this conversation so they could move on, "I know how it sounds."
"I'm just confused, Sam." She crossed her arms and looked at him seriously puzzled at his admission, "What sense does that make?"
"I just needed familiarity, someone who knows me and how I operate now and not how I did in the past." He ran his hands through his hair then over his face, shaking his head, "Me and Mercedes wasn't working out."
"So, why couldn't you just work with Henry or Gill? Because they're way more qualified than Bridgette." She asked as she stared at him in disbelief, "What the real reason she's there?"
Sam couldn't even look at her because he didn't even know what to say himself. How crazy did that sound? He was angry at himself and no one else, and he acted out of anger like he always did.
"While you try to figure out some excuse, and find some reasoning, I'm going to tell you what I do know for certain. You got mad and acted on impulse. You didn't like the fact that Mercedes called you out on your BS, and told you what you needed to hear, so you left." She held her hand up when he opened his mouth to speak, "No, it's time for you to close your mouth and open your ears. You need therapy, point blank. You've been through a lot of trauma…"
"I don't need a therapist to tell me I'm messed up, I already know that." He cut her off, shutting his mouth almost immediately when he realized how disrespectful that came out.
"And you want the truth?" She stared down at him with seriousness in her eyes, ignoring his outburst, "Nobody knows you better than Henry and Mercedes Jones, past and present. They both had parts in making who you are today, so don't ever get that misconstrued."
Sam couldn't even say anything because he knew that she was right but his stubbornness and pride wouldn't let him reel in the truth. His belief was that Bridgette was his safety net and when he went back to Chicago, he did indeed feel like he could do this if she was by his side. Truth was, he didn't realize that he had made himself believe that it was true and not that it actual was.
For it to not be fully into fall yet, it sure was a little breezy out, cold even. Why they decided to sit outside was based off the mood that they…well, one person was in and it has a lot to due with the predicament she got herself into.
The man watched her carefully as she in front of him at the table, her eyes were swollen as if she has been crying all night, but she swore that it was her allergies. He knew the truth though. He never thought that he would be caught up in this with her, let alone be anyone's voice of reasoning.
"I wish you would stop staring at me like that."
"You won't be able to hide it any longer." He ignored her words as he watched her play with the food, hearing her let out a deep sigh as her eyes shifted to him, "You need to tell them."
The woman looked at him then put her head down, placing a hand over her growing belly, "I know."
A/N. WHO IS THIS CHILE??? IS THIS A FLASHBACK OR IS IT THE PRESENT?? GUESS WE'LL FIND OUT……IN 2022 ;)