I know it's been a while. Life is hard is the only thing I can say, but I do hope you enjoy this chapter!
"Lucas walked from the private school's kindergarten pick up, holding Carter's hand on one side, and carrying Riley in another arm.
The high school had an early release day so the father decided he'd go and surprise his children by picking them up from school. Usually Karen picked up the kids and took them over to say hi to Brooke before watching them until Lucas came home.
Riley seemed a bit sad today and Lucas could tell by the way she was clinging to his neck that something was off. But, like the sensitive soul Lucas was, he knew that Riley always preferred some quiet time when she was upset. Meanwhile Carter was just babbling along, informing Lucas of his latest adventure on the playground.
"Alright big boy hop into your car seat." Lucas instructed.
Carter threw his bag inside and got into his booster seat, "I wanna buckle my belt dad. Don't do it for me." He said determined.
Lucas smiled, "Okay go for it Carter."
He walked to the other side and opened the door, "Riley, honey, into your car seat, okay?"
She just nodded and let go of his neck.
He helped her out and buckled the seat belt for her.
Carter turned over and saw that his sister was sad. But he didn't even know why.
"Daddy, can we listen to music? Riley's favorite song." He requested, hoping to see her smile.
Lucas nodded, "Coming right up."
"Look Riley, it's Katy Perry!" He said gleefully hoping to see her sister smile...nothing.
"Riley, why you sad?" He asked reaching over to grasp her hand.
"I'm not sad. I'm just tired." She explained squeezing her older brother, by a few minutes, hand back.
"Princess, why do you feel so tired?" Lucas immediately asked. He looked through the rearview mirror. He wondered if she was coming down with something.
"I dunno. My head hurts." Her voice sounded a little watery.
"It's okay Riley." Carter said with a look of sympathy in his eyes. "Just take a nap at home." He advised very seriously.
"We'll be home soon Riles." Lucas spoke soothingly.
Once in their driveway, Carter zipped out of his car seat while Riley was much slower.
Lucas helped his youngest out of the car, then locked it and went up to the front door where his children were now waiting for him.
"Daddy open the door. I'm putting Riley down for a nap." Carter demanded.
Lucas chuckled, "Princess, you want Carter to do that?"
"Can you help him?" She asked her father with her big green eyes. Just like Brooke's.
"Of course. Come on, let's get you two inside. It's getting cold out here."
The father watched the two go up the stairs together.
God, they'd grown so much in these short five years.
Their son had almost brown blonde hair, while Riley had light brown hair. Their eyes were green like their mother's, and they had sharp features. Even in their young, innocent faces, Lucas could see that Riley would have beautiful high cheekbones and pouty lips that would drive boys mad. His son had a devilish grin and a gleam in his eyes that he was so sure would get him into and out of trouble.
They toddled up the stairs in their school's navy blue and white school uniform. St. Johns academy was expensive, but Brooke and Lucas spared no expense on their kids. Nothing was necessarily wrong with the public schools in the area, but the best K-8 academy in the city was St. John's and so it seemed like the obvious choice for the two parents.
"DADDY!"
Lucas's thoughts were broken by his screaming son.
"DADDY! WILEY'S THROWING UP!"
Yeah, time to stop daydreaming.
Lucas bounded up the stairs as he could already hear her daughter crying in between her vomiting. The poor girl was right in the hallway with her brother, looking terrified by her side.
"Carter, buddy, can you go get me some towels?" Lucas asked as he kneeled down next to Riley.
Carter quickly nodded and ran towards the bathroom.
"Get it all out honey." Lucas soothed his daughter as she let out her stomach content. The father tried hard not to cringe.
When she finally finished, the little girl was a mess of tears.
"Daddy, I'm sick!" She cried, "I don't feel good!" She started to cry so hard she was coughing up spit.
"Hey, hey. Shhh." He held her in a hug and could feel the oncoming fever.
"I'm gonna get you into a shower, okay?" He cooed, "I got you baby. Daddy'll make you feel better."
"Here daddy!" Carter came back with so many towels that it towered over his little frame.
Lucas let go of Riley to help Carter with the towels.
"Go into the bathroom princess, I'll be in there in a minute to help you get your uniform off. I promise."
Carter took that as another cue to help. "Come on Riley. I'll help you."
He led his still crying sister by the hand into the restroom, giving Lucas time to to quickly place some towels over the throw up to clean up once he had Riley settled and calm.
When Lucas got into the bathroom, Carter was helping his sister out of her clothes. The little girl was sitting on the toilet in just her teddy bear undies, her shoes and socks still on. But Carter was in the process of trying to get her pink converse off. Although the laces were proving too hard for him.
"Hold on Riles, I'm trying to get your shoes off. Please don't cry." The little boy pleaded.
The father beamed at how much of a wonderful brother Carter was.
"I got it buddy." Lucas came in. "How about you go play on the ipad?"
The boy looked unsure. His sister needed him.
"She's okay Carter. You're a great big brother, and helped her so much already."
He frowned but nodded and did as he was told, "Make sure she's not hurt daddy. And I put her favorite bath toy in there already for her."
Lucas held in a smile, knowing his five year old meant business, "Yes sir. Riley's in good hands." He winked.
When Carter left Lucas took the girl's socks off and stood her up. He gently pulled down her panties and then kissed her forehead lovingly.
"Do you want a shower or a bath, sweetheart?" Lucas asked as he turned on the water and made it warm.
"Sh-sho-ower." She answered through her hiccups, wanting to get in and out as quickly as possible. Riley was starting to feel cold and light headed.
"Okay shower it is."
Lucas knew it'd be faster if he just got in there with her, so he quickly stripped to his boxers and picked Riley up. Her bare tushy being held up by his forearm.
"Let's get you nice and clean." He told her as they entered the warmth of the shower. Poor Riley cried softly through it all, and mostly let her dad do most of the work.
Once out he grabbed a fluffy towel and wrapped it around his daughter, then picked her up and placed her on the bath mat. He toweled himself off quickly in order to focus back on his sick child.
He put her in a pair of training panties, just in case. The five year old slightly protested when she saw them in her father's hands, but he soothed her.
"Just for today princess. Sometimes when you're sick, accidents happen. Remember last time?"
"But I'm still a big girl."
Riley was four years old the last time that happened anyways! She was a whopping one year older!
"You're still my big girl." He assured her with a whisper and a kiss to her forehead.
"Don't tell Carter." She whimpered.
"I won't Riles. Promise."
45 minutes later Lucas had Riley laid in a million blankets downstairs, wearing her comfiest pajamas, and given children's Flu medicine. She was dozing off as she stared at the animated figures on the screen.
He would've preferred to keep her in her room but he knew that she'd probably want to be where he and Carter were as sick as she was feeling.
He sat down at the center of the sofa after having called Brooke to let her know that their kid was sick. Carter moved over to sit on his dad lap.
"You were so helpful today, big boy." He whispered so as not to bother the dozing child next to them.
"She'll feel better, right daddy?" Carter asked as his father began to bob his knee up and down, a soothing motion to the five year old.
"She just caught a bug. It'll be okay. Besides mommy's gonna bring some more medicine to help her get better even faster." Lucas told him.
The father let his eldest twin lay his blonde head on his chest. His phone buzzed and he leaned over to pick up his phone from the table.
He smiled as he looked at the screen. It was their eldest.
'Mom told me Thing 2 was sick. Give her 20 kisses for me!'
Lucas looked over at where Riley was laying and saw that the medicine had finally put her to sleep.
He took a picture of the sleeping five year old and sent it off to Sam with the text, "I'll kiss her for you when she wakes up."
When Brooke came home in the evening Lucas was cooking some food while Carter was playing with his toy Spiderman and watching TV.
"Mama!" Carter stood up and ran to the front door where his mother now was. Brooke bent down and picked up Carter in a long hug. "Hi big boy." She breathed in his little boy scent and smiled to herself. She was home.
The five year old hung from his mama's neck and squeezed tightly before letting go.
"Mama, Riley is sick." He said seriously, "
Brooke lifted the boy up into her arms and sat down by Riley who had fallen back asleep. Carter took advantage of having his mom so close and cuddled into her chest. Brooke invited the warmth of her little one.
"My poor baby." She frowned deeply as she pushed some of Riley's light brown hair out of her eyes. "Has she thrown up since?" She turned to ask Lucas who had emerged from the kitchen.
Lucas went over and kissed Brooke, letting his lips linger there for a while. "Hello to you too."
The woman smiled knowingly. Sometimes her motherly instincts overtook everything else. "Hi handsome."
"And no she hasn't thrown up since that first time. She's only nibbled on some crackers and water since then as well."
"I helped mama. I helped her in the shower." Carter tugged on his mother's hand.
"Daddy told me you were being a very helpful boy. You're awesome Carter!" She attacked his cheek with kisses making the little boy bubble up with laughter.
The noise made Riley stir. She slowly opened her eyes, "Riley, mommy's here!"
The boy shouted gleefully. Riley looked over at her mom and rubbed at her eyes. Lucas extended his hand for Carter, "Come on bud, dinner's ready. Mom and Riley will be in there with us in a sec."
"Hi pretty girl." Brooke cooed at her youngest. The sleepiness in her daughter's eyes and the way she pulled on the edge of her pajama shirt as she woke herself up reminded the mother of an infant Riley.
"Hi mommy." She spoke through a cough.
Brooke patted her lap and Riley crawled onto her mother. The mother kissed her daughter's forehead, happy to feel that her fever was waning.
"Did you feel sick all day, bug?" Brooke asked turning the TV off and focusing on the little ball of cuteness and germs that was curled into her.
"After lunch my head started hurting. Carter said it was because I ate my fries too fast."
Brooke held in her chuckle. Who knows what ran through her son's head half the time.
"Is that really why I got sick mama?"
"No honey. You caught a bug. But the medicine will make you feel better."
"I hafta take more of it?" Her voice curled into a whine. That stuff was so disgusting!
"Yeah you do Riles."
But mommy it's gross!" Her voice now a complete whine.
"Before bed, you'll take another spoonful." Brooke told her without hesitation. One thing she would not bend on was her childrens' health. Sam knew this well. Riley and Carter would learn this too.
Sam had been at the unmoving hand of her mother and medicine before, and her whine wasn't that much different from Riley's. Even at 16 years old.
"Samantha, you have an infection. You need to take this right now." A frustrated Brooke stood in front of the TV, as her teenager moved her head to try and keep watching the screen.
Brooke had decided to work from home and stay with their sick child, while Riley and Carter were at their grandma's. Most of the day had consisted of Sam chilling on the couch while her mom, who was working in her office, would periodically check on her.
Sam had groaned and complained the night before at the prospect of her mom having to watch over her. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and made that clear to both her parents. But Brooke and Luke were adamant. They knew their daughter well. She probably wouldn't take the medicine and would just suffer through the pain.
Their predictions were not wrong.
"The stuff tastes like vomit mom. It's gross." Sam groaned when her mom turned the tv off. "Why can't I just take the pills or something?"
"The doctor said liquid form is the fastest. You have an ear infection, and this will help you. I'm not arguing Samantha."
"Well it doesn't ache anymore." Sam added petulantly. "I don't wanna take that stuff."
The moment she said it, like clockwork, a throbbing pain came into her right ear. She held it close and curled into herself immediately. "Fuck." She squeaked.
The mother shook her head at her daughter's stubborness, and put the spoon and medicine down onto the table.
The throbbing intensified and Sam couldn't help the tears that were welling in her eyes. Ones that Brooke didn't miss.
Brooke sighed softly and put away the frustration she was feeling with her child. Scolding her would be of no use right now.
"Come here." She sat down by her sick daughter and opened her arms. The 16 year old buried her head into her mom's chest.
"It hurts." Sam groaned, pulling her feet up.
"I know sweetheart."
Brooke sat with Sam until the pain dulled slightly.
"This is why you need to take the medicine." Brooke finally told her when a teary eyed Sam sat up and held her ear with her hand.
"It's gross mama." Sam pouted. The fight in her words were no longer there though.
"I know it is. But it's for your own good."
Sam stayed quiet and Brooke decided to go with a subtle threat. "Sammy, I can either give it to you with your cooperation, or I can do it without your help. I don't want to end up fighting you over this."
Sam could see the determination in her mother's eyes. That mixed in with the dull throbbing in her ear was enough for her to give in, but not without at least trying one condition.
"Can we watch the Fairly Odd Parents after?" She asked, hoping her mom would say yes, and only a tad embarrassed of her request to watch her all time favorite cartoon.
She had overheard her mom talking with Millie about a conference call with distributors after she gave Sam medicine and sent her up for a nap.
Sam had rolled her eyes when she heard that. She definitely did not want a nap. She wasn't five! And why was she talking to Millie about how "willful" she was being, and laughing about a stupid joke Millie made about putting her in the corner.
Yeah, right. Her mom would never do that to her...maybe. No, definitely not...right?
Brooke looked at her sick kid and wanted to roll her eyes at how easily she was swayed by those eyes and soft, vulnerable voice.
"Yes, I'll watch one episode with you."
Her eyes glistened, "Just one?" She frowned.
Brooke chuckled and patted her bottom twice, "You need a nap, and I need to work. So yes, just one."
"I don't need a nap!"
Brooke's eyebrow rose, "Well your crankiness says otherwise. And the medicine will make you drowsy. So we'll watch an episode and then you'll go upstairs and straight into bed. I can even tuck you in, if you want."
Sam refrained from rolling her eyes with her mother's hand so close to her backside. She didn't need any sharp reminders to hold her attitude in at the moment.
"Fiiinnneee." She gave in, besides, she was a little bit tired...and being tucked in sounded nice right now. Not that she'd admit that.
"But I don't want anymore! Daddy already gave me some. That's enough mom." Riley added to her argument. Suddenly the sick little girl in Brooke's arms was no longer 16. She was five.
Brooke looked at her youngest daughter and decided that this oncoming argument could be reserved for later. She could see that the five year old was working herself up for something that would happen much later.
"Let's not worry about it now, honey. Come on, daddy and Carter are in the kitchen. Let's go see what they're up to."
… …. …
Luke came into bed at around 10 pm. He saw Brooke laying there with a book and plopped down next to her, nudging his way into her embrace.
Brooke smiled and put the book down wrapping her arms around him. "Just the two of us."
"A rare treat." He hugged her tight, "Riley finally went to sleep."
The mother sighed, feeling a little guilty about the fact that her youngest wanted daddy to put her to bed and not mama.
Riley wasn't too happy about the fact that her mother had basically dragged her to the kitchen, crying her eyes out, and threatened her with a timeout and no tv time if she didn't take her medicine. After that debacle, the sensitive five year old only wanted her father's comfort.
"I'm glad you got her to sleep. I think she may hate taking medicine more than Sam."
Luke laughed a bit, "Oh God. Don't curse us."
"I miss her." Brooke mumbled as they stayed in each others' arms basking in the quiet aside from their own voices.
"Did she call you?" Luke asked, "I was texting her throughout the day. She had this huge exam today that she feels pretty good about."
The mother frowned, "I missed her call because I didn't get out of a meeting until later than expected.
It was Sam's second semester in college, the girl had decided on going to the University of North Carolina. The parents were still getting accustomed to not having their daughter around as much as they'd like, and when Sam first started coming home, she was as clingy as ever. But the girl was also becoming accustomed to the separation. The clinginess had subsided, but it still wasn't uncommon for the parents to wake up to their eldest snuggled up between them, her thumb lazily hung in her mouth, and Barry hugged tightly to her, whenever Sam was home. Hugging her bear and sucking her thumb was something the girl only did in the comfort of her parents presence now. Maybe being 18 was too old for this, but her parents didn't care, and Sam appreciated that they still let her be vulnerable and young when she needed it.
"She's coming this weekend for Jack's birthday so you won't have to miss her too long." He said with a smile as he kissed Brooke's lips, "But you know, I'm here right now. And you're here right now. And there's no child between us."
Brooke couldn't resist those lips on her, or the look of pure love and lust on Lucas's face, so the mother tabled the longing she had to see her eldest baby and focused on the fact that her handsome husband was lying alone in bed with her.
…. …. ...
"I've missed this...Us." Jack whispered into Sam's ear as they lay naked in his bed. It was a Friday afternoon and Sam had skipped her classes to head to Tree Hill early and spend the day with Jack before getting to her parents' house at 7 pm like they'd planned.
Sam moved her head, which was laying on Jack's chest to look at him, "I'm glad I skipped my classes to be with you." She kissed his lips and held him tighter, breathing in his scent for a moment while he played with her hair.
"You're my little college badass." He chuckled, "Never thought I'd be dating a college girl."
"Yeah, well I'd never thought I could be this happy just laying in someone's arms." She quipped right back.
"I guess we both got lucky then." He said a bit more seriously.
Jack's phone pinged and he reluctantly reached over to pick it up from the night table by his bed. He sighed heavily as he read the text.
"Looks like I have to pick up Addie from school." He groaned.
Sam rose an eyebrow, "It's only 12 o' clock."
"Yeah, well she got into a fight and Sue can't get out of work."
"OUR Addie?!" Sam was shocked.
"Yeah, well our Addie hasn't exactly been easy to deal with lately." Jack admitted as he got up and threw Sam her pants and shirt. They both quickly got dressed. Jack wore his worn jeans with a blue collared shirt, while Sam wore black jeans with a UNC sweatshirt.
Sam looked over at Jack as he drove and she could read the worry etched on his face. "What's been up with her?" She asked him.
The 19 year old sighed, "I wish I knew. Sue just keeps saying it's hormones or whatever. But she's been having such an attitude, and you know, Sue's been taking extra shifts for a while now 'cause her dad's in the hospital and she's paying his bills. So it's been Addie and I in the house a lot. And I've been, ya know, trying to let her do her thing, but I think that I've been letting her get away with a lot. But, like, I'm not a dad Sammy. It's not, I'm not-" He groaned, unable to explain his thoughts.
Sam thought for a moment, imagining herself in Jack's position, "That sounds like a lot of pressure on you."
He abruptly slammed his hand on the wheel, "God, she can't be fucked up like me, Sam! She can't! She's gotta be like you Sam. She's gotta go to college, and not be me or Tamara. She's gotta be you! But she's been ignoring her school stuff and hanging around these dumb girls and it scares me, man. It really scares me."
Jack was thrown off by the lump in his throat. Sam's heart went out for her boyfriend. She knew how much Jack loved Adelyn He truly saw himself as more than just a brother to her.
He parked right up front by the school and took a deep breath. "Do you want me to come in with you?"
"It's fine. I'll be quick." He grumbled out before closing the door, leaving Sam alone.
Sure enough five minutes later Jack was coming with a pouting Addie in tow. She was wearing the school sanctioned uniform of khaki pants and a white collared shirt, but Sam noticed she was still wearing the bracelet that Jack had gotten her when she was nine. It was obvious to Sam how much she loved her older brother.
"Get in the car." Jack demanded as he opened the door for her. Adelyn didn't bother to acknowledge Sam in the car, so Sam took the initiative.
"Hi Addie." She said turning around and giving the 11 year old a smile.
Adelyn gave her a weak smile in return and promptly turned to look out the window. No more words were exchanged in the car until they reached Jack's house.
"Go to your room." Jack told her as he turned the key in your ignition, and for some reason this set Adelyn off.
"Why?" She asked rather sassily.
"Because I asked you to." Jack answered getting out of the car, Sam doing the same.
Adelyn crossed her arms and stayed sitting in the seat.
Jack opened the backseat door, "Addie, get out of the car and go to your room. I'm gonna call Sue and sees how she wants to deal with this."
"I don't wanna go to my room. I didn't do anything wrong!"
Sam felt awkward as she stood there watching the standoff.
"You punched a girl! That's what you did wrong!"
Addie undid her seatbelt and pushed past Jack, "The only reason you want me to go to my room is 'cause Sam's here and you just hate that I ruined your alone time with her!" She yelled at him before running inside.
"ADELYN!" He yelled after but she ignored him completely.
Feeling at his wits end, Jack squeezed his fists together and kicked his tire, "Damn it!" He proclaimed.
He only felt tension leave when delicate arms wrapped behind him. Sam's arms. "Addie needs your attention." She whispered as she hugged him.
"I give her my attention."
Sam sighed and let go of their embrace, "When I first got to Brooke and Lucas's all I wanted was their attention. I wanted them to hold me, to tell me I was loved, to hear me out. But I also realize now that they gave me structure. Addie's still a little girl Jack. She needs that. And with Sue working so much she doesn't have that."
"I-I don't. What do you mean? I don't get what you're saying." He shook his head, "She's the one that stopped wanting to hang out with me. She wants to be left alone so I've been leaving her alone."
"She needs you to go in there and ask her what really happened, to let her get her emotions out. She needs you to deal with this. She doesn't need you to pawn her off to Sue because even if that's not what you're doing, that's how she feels."
"How do you know that?" He said with so much worry in his words.
Sam wanted to tell him 'because that was her at some point.' but she only whispered out a 'trust me.'
Jack took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, trying to appear more confident than he felt.
"You're sure?" He checked again.
"I'm sure Jack." Sam assured him.
When they finally walked in they saw that Adelyn was on the couch watching TV.
"I thought I told you to go to your room." Jack moved to stand in front of the device.
"Move Jack." She haughtily answered, "You're in the way."
"Addie, go now."
"I'm not gonna punch someone sitting on this couch. Why don't you and Sam go to your room and ignore me."
"Why are you so hung up on Sam?" Jack replied, frustrated.
"Why do you care so much that I go to my room?!" She sassed. Her voice raised higher.
"Because you need to go and think about what you did!"
"I'm not getting off this couch." She bit and looked at him daringly.
Jack looked up towards Sam and gave her a small pleading look. She mouthed the words 'talk to her.'
The 19 year old, feeling completely unequipped took a deep breath, "Ads." His voice filled with sincerity, "How 'bout I go with you?"
The girl's obstinance finally gave way and cracked a bit, "What?"
"You and me." He swallowed some of his spit, "We can talk, in your room. I wanna know what happened."
She couldn't seem to believe it, "No, you don't. You just want me to be perfectly okay and be happy and act like my life is perfect. Like nothing ever happens to me!"
He shook his head sadly. Is that what she thought? Had he been giving off that vibe? "No, I want to help you, and be there for you."
Sam took a deep breath and decided to do what her mind had been yelling for her to do once Jack got that first text. Both brother and sister needed some quality time alone.
"Hey Addie?" She walked over tentatively.
Adelyn looked over at Sam. The girl she's looked up to since as long as she could remember, "Jack loves you so much, and has been really worried about you. Trust me, he talks about you all the time."
The young girl looked at her brother in awe, "Y-you do?"
He gave her a crooked smile and a nod.
"I think you and him need some time together, so I'll leave you two alone."
Jack gave her girlfriend a loving look, "Thanks Sammy."
"I'll call you." Sam told him before kissing Addie's forehead and giving Jack a chaste kiss.
Both Jack and Adelyn watched Sam head out the door with one last goodbye. Jack finally looked over at his sister and saw that her eyes had reddened.
"What's wrong kid?" He asked, worried. She hadn't been crying, or showed signs of wanting to cry until now.
And that was when he saw the fear of the 8 year old that first came into their home. It was a complete 180 reaction. But it wasn't uncommon for kids in the system for their anger to turn to fear, to turn to sadness, remorse, etc. See, it had happened to him, it happened to Sam, to Tamara. To countless of them.
"Are you mad that I made Sam leave 'cause I was a bad girl?"
Bad girl. The insult of choice that Adelyn's mother and her boyfriend use to use when blaming her for their misfortunes. For their financial troubles, for the police snooping in their homes, for the lack of food. It was always Adelyn's fault.
"I'm sorry I was bad. I shouldn't have punched Karrie. She was being mean to me. I'm sorry."
Jack held in his tears and wrapped her up. "I'm not mad Addie. I'm not mad at you for that."
He picked her up and sat her in his lap, rocking her in the process, "Shhh. It's okay. You're not bad. I promise you, you're not a bad girl. You're our good girl. Our awesome, sweet, courageous girl."
In that moment Jack knew Sam was right. He needed to be more of a father figure to the girl that was crying softly in his arms.
… …. …
As Sam drove home she felt the memories of her first days in Brooke and Lucas's home come back to her. She hadn't thought about that in a while. But damn, her parents saved her. They really did.
She remembered her father checking in on her incessantly at night, trying not to wake her up (and failing) as he cried a bit watching her sleep. She remembered all the times she would wake up in a cold sweat and she'd jump into her parents' bed, knowing that she would wake up either with her head on her mother's chest, the warmth of her mother's skin making her perfectly content, or wrapped up in her dad's large, strong arms. Sam remembered the first time her mother told her 'I love you.' and how warm and fuzzy it made her feel inside. She remembered refusing to wear anything but her mom or dad's tshirts to bed because it was the only thing that made her feel safe at her height of uncertainty.
Sam also remembered the stricter times. Like when her father put his foot down after she refused to help him clean the kitchen at his house, after she got mad at him and pushed her plate accidentally dropping it and breaking the plate. The man literally carried her out of the room and placed her in the middle of the kitchen with a firm swat to her behind and a very stern, "You made this mess, You clean it up."
She remembered when she was caught skipping and the look of both relief and anger that burned in her mother's eyes when they found her at Southside. She remembered all the times she wanted to be coddled but was met with stern words, which in hindsight were exactly what she needed.
The 18 year old remembered it all. And she knew that in a heartbeat her parents would do it all again for her.
And so instead of taking the exit she usually would to get home, Sam took the one to get to her mom's work.
… …. ….
"Sam, wha-"
"Hey Millie." Sam gave her mother's assistant a bright smile, knowing that the woman would find something to scold her over.
"It is 1:25." The woman said catching her bearings, "Why aren't you in your macroeconomics class?"
Sam raised an eyebrow, "You know my schedule?"
Millicent scoffed indignantly, "Of course I do. Your mother is a busy woman and I remind her where you are before she decides to call you or not."
Sam rolled her eyes. Wonderful.
"Well is my mom busy right now?"
"Are you skipping school?"
"It's college." Sam deadpanned.
"So you are skipping."
"Millie!"
The woman shrugged, knowing she was right, "Your mother will not be happy about that."
"Can you just tell me if she's busy or not?" Sam asked frustrated.
"She has a meeting in 30-" Sam didn't let her finish and walked off towards her mom's office. "That girl." Millie shook her head, half amused and half frustrated.
When Sam opened the door to her mom's office, the woman was typing up an email and hadn't bothered to look up. Her mom's reading glasses were on, but her suit jacket was placed on her chair, leaving Brooke in an off white blouse that showed off her still toned arms.
"One second Millie." The business woman murmured.
"M-mom?"
That voice immediately pulled her from her computer and towards the short girl standing in front of her.
Brooke's eyebrow furrowed as she took off her glasses, "Peanut, what are you-" She stood up and peeked out of her door quickly, "Hold my calls Millie." She directed her assistant before closing the door and wrapping her daughter in a warm hug that made Sam melt.
"Hi mama." She whispered, holding Brooke close, wishing she was 14 again when she was two inches shorter, thinner than she was even now (and that's saying alot), and her mom could pick her all the way up with ease.
Brooke noticed the urgency in her daughter's hug and felt alarmed. She kissed the side of her daughter's head, "Hi baby girl. What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Sam sniffled and chuckled at her own emotions, "I'm fine. I just-I wanted to see you."
"Okay." Brooke spoke softly and smiled leading them to her couch, where they could talk, or she could just hold Sam if that's what the girl needed.
"I know I'm supposed to be at school but I went to see Jack instead." The girl saw her mom's eyebrow raise, "You can get onto me about that later, but that's not the point. I, well, Addie got into trouble at school when we were together. She got into a fight or something."
"Is she okay?" Brooke asked concerned for her.
"Yeah, she's fine, it's just Jack's been saying how they've been struggling with her lately, and it made me realize how much,-" The 18 year old smiled to herself, "How much of a difference you and dad made for me, you know? Like you guys were just natural parents, and you knew exactly what I needed."
Sam felt her eyes water and she groaned, "Sorry, I don't know why I'm crying. It's stupid. I left Jack to talk to Addie, and I was gonna go home, but I just started thinking about all these memories and I just needed to see you or dad, and, and you were closer so…"
Brooke shook her head lightheartedly then kissed her daughter's forehead, "Get in here, peanut." She pulled her in, "You still fit nice and snug in mom's arms. Get all the way in here." Sam blushed but she brought her legs up and curled in closer.
"Mom?"
"Hmmm?"
"Thank you."
Brooke sighed, "Sweetheart, I am your mother. Just like that tall man I'm married to is your father. Don't thank us for anything. We love you and will go to the ends of the earth for you."
After a minute or so Brooke had an idea,
"School's almost out for dad, how 'bout you and I get out of here and see if Dad can skip practice to get some Ralph's ice cream. We can still talk about this if you want."
"But Millie said you had calls, and-"
"I think I can get them all to be held for tomorrow."
Sam sat up and then looked at her mom curiously. The look her daughter was giving her amused Brooke to no end.
"Are you mad at me for skipping?" Sam finally asked.
Brooke put on a stern face. One that made Sam squirm. "Skipping to see your boyfriend? You know if you were in highschool, Dad and I would ground you for that." Brooke deadpanned.
"Mama." Sam whined, "You can't ground me anymore!"
Brooke laughed at her daughter's seriousness, "Relax. We're not going to ground you. I will however warn you that I don't want to hear about you failing that macroeconomics class. Or else you will be grounded."
Sam nodded and mumbled out a 'yes ma'am.' not wanting to poke the bear any longer. "You want me to text dad and see if he's down?"
The teenager was quick to change the subject.
"Yes, please." Brooke stood up and adjusted her blouse. She went back to her desk and called Millie in from her intercom.
A minute later Millie was in the office. She smirked at Sam who was laying down on her mother's couch curled up like a rollie pollie as she stared at her phone screen.
"Need a blanket Sam?"
Sam scrunched her nose, "No, why?"
"You look cold."
Sam outstretched herself and sat up, "I was comfortable."
"I wasn't making fun of you for it. It was just a question."
"You live to bother me." Sam quipped, "So I'm sure you were trying to bug me."
"Oh on the contrary, your job is to bother me." Millie remarked, pointing her pen at Sam accusingly.
"And my job is to get you both to be in one room without bickering." Brooke added in pointedly.
Millie smiled shyly and sighed, dropping her faux fight with her boss's daughter "You rang Brooke? What's up?"
"Can you cancel meetings and calls for today?"
Millie gave her a regretful look, "Yes...except for this one that's upcoming in five minutes. It's too short notice and there's a huge deadline coming up for the Macy's collection."
Brooke sighed heavily, "It can't last more than 40 minutes."
"I'll make sure of it."
The mother looked over at her daughter, "You're okay with waiting 45 minutes?"
"Yeah, sure." Sam smiled and took off her shoes, ready to make herself more comfortable on her mom's couch.
"Get her a blanket from the linens storage. Just in case she takes a nap." Brooke texted Millie so Sam wouldn't hear her say it, knowing her remake would be met with an eye roll and grumbles.
'Forever Brooke's little girl.' Millie thought as she watched Brooke place the blanket she gave her over Sam who was settled comfortably with her headphones on.
"I'll be done as quickly as I can."
"I'm fine waiting mom." Sam assured her, "I like watching you work."
That line turned the business woman to mush. She was already poised to indulge her child, as she hadn't seen her in weeks, but with that she would move heaven and earth if Sam so askd for it.
Brooke's little girl indeed.
… … ….
"SAMMY!" Riley yelled when she saw her eldest sister come through Karen's door. The little girl was feeling much better now. She was still lightly congested but that was it. She had enough energy to be her normal self again, and seeing her sister made her the happiest kid alive.
Usually it was their mom or dad who picked them up from their grandma's. But after having gone for ice cream with her parents Sam asked if she could be the one to get the twins.
Karen looked over from where she was to see the twins attacking their older sister. She was also pleasantly surprised by the sight.
"You're here early sweetheart. I thought I was going to see you this evening."
"Hi nana." Sam smiled, "I had a change of plans and got here earlier. But everything's okay." She added that last part when concern etched the older woman's face.
"Well why don't you give me a ride back to your place and we can all spend some much needed time together."
"Yeah, I'd like that." Sam accepted the kiss that her grandmother placed on her cheek.
"Sammy, how's college?" Carter asked taking her attention away from their nana, "Daddy says college is harder than kindergarten, and I don't believe it!"
Sam laughed and lifted Carter up, holding him on one hip, "Well I have homework that lasts hours. It's like ten power ranger episodes."
Carter's eyes widened, "Nuh uh. That's like a billion hours!"
Riley who was putting her coat on scoffed at her little brother, "Nuh uh Carter. It's not a billion hours!"
"Yeah it is Riley!" He argued.
"Nana tell him it's not a billion." Riley looked to an adult for proof of her correctness.
"I think you're both right." Sam answered, trying to find compromise, "It feels like a billion hours, but it really isn't." She kissed Carter on the cheek and put him down, "Put your coat on Carter, so we can get home."
"A billion is too big Carter." Riley still tried to explain, "That's like a million power ranger episodes."
"Well it feels like it." Carter added, "And that's what I meant." He pulled up his zipper and despite feeling annoyed with his sister, he noticed she was struggling with her own pink coat.
"Let me do it Riley." He bent over and fumbled with the jacket until he clipped the zipper just right and pulled it all the way up, "There." He kissed her cheek like their dad does after helping them with their clothes.
"We're ready!" He announced, both were blissfully unaware that Sam was recording the interaction between the two, eager to post it on her SnapChat story.
She captioned the sweet video with the words "Missed Thing 1 and Thing 2."
"Alright come on little devils. Mama and daddy are waiting for us." She told them both before leaving Karen's home.
… … ….
Sam had taken a break from watching "Finding Dory," a Riley and Carter favorite to grab something to drink from the fridge. Her whole family was sitting at the living room, enjoying some quality cuddle time.
Her phone vibrated and she took it out from her back pocket. It was a text from Jack.
'I got her to talk. You were right. She needs me to be a parent and pick up the slack 'cause Sue's gone so much...Do you think I can do that. I don't know if I can.'
Sam frowned and texted him back assuring him he could, and that she'd call him later on that night once the twins and her parents went to bed.
The girl looked out to the living room and smiled before looking down at her phone thinking about Jack and Addie's situation.
"Hey champ, you're gonna miss the best part." Lucas came into the kitchen saying. Sam looked to her dad, pulled from her thoughts and gave him a half hearted nod, "I'll be back out."
Lucas put the water bottle he came to get down and walked closer to his daughter, "What's wrong?" His voice grew softer.
She shrugged with a sigh, "I'm worried about Jack and Addie."
The father understood and softly stroked his daughter's cheek, "They will come out on top buddy. Jack loves her too much to let her slip through the cracks. I didn't know how to be a dad but the love I had for you, and the feeling of protectiveness took over and it became instinct. He just has to let himself open up and be confident in his ability to parent her."
"Were you scared of messing up. When you first got me. Were you scared?"
He chuckled, "Out of my mind scared." He answered honestly, "You weren't the easiest kid to crack."
Sam blushed and he smiled, "But god I fell in love with you the moment I knew who you were, and I knew I had to try my damndest to give you everything you deserved. Kids aren't easy, but they're worth it Sammy. Everything about you makes it all worthwhile."
The girl moved to hug her father tightly, "I love you dad." She whispered. He hugged her back and rocked them both, "I love you too my little champ."
"Daddy, Sammy, you're gonna miss it!" They heard Riley call them.
"That's our cue, kid." Lucas said and held out his hand for Sam to take. Five minutes later Sam was cuddled into her dad's chest as he played with her hair. Brooke would eye them from time to time, wanting so badly to take a picture so she could cherish the moment for years to come. Eventually Sam succumbed to her tiredness and fell asleep. Lucas adjusted the girl so her head was laying on his lap.
Karen who was holding a dozing off Carter looked to Brooke with a similar fond look, "How's it feel?" She asked her pseudo daughter.
"What do you mean?" Brooke asked her, adjusting Riley on her lap, then moving to pat the girl's bottom absent mindedly.
"To have all your kids safe and sound in one roof."
Brooke took a deep breath, "The most wonderful feeling ever. My heart's full." The woman's eyes watered, "I wish she didn't have to leave."
Karen frowned in empathy, "I know it's hard Brookie. But she's grown so much since leaving for college."
"I know." Brooke conceded, "It's amazing right? There's still so many parts of her that make me worry though. How small she is. God, she's so small...How she'll react after a nightmare. If she'll have a flashback and she won't have me there to hold her."
"She's made it this far." Karen assured her.
Brooke knew Karen was right. But a mother worries. She couldn't help it. "Will I ever stop worrying?"
Karen shook her head, "Nope."
"Great." Brooke moaned. She was met with a small laugh from Karen.
The mother looked around and took it all in. Carter with his spider man locked tightly in his embrace, snoring softly. Sam lying, curled into her father's lap asleep, and the child on her lap, Riley, completely focused on the screen. Life at the moment felt like bliss.
She stared at Lucas and realized that they'd built this wonderful life together. Lucas eventually realized someone staring. He looked over and saw Brooke's content look.
"I love you babe." She told him, and in that moment, he understood exactly what she was feeling.
They both smiled widely at each other, not needing to mince any words, but rather basked in the wonderfully, benign domesticity of that simple moment, both wishing it never ended.
Some people have asked if I have quit writing. Nope! I'm just starting a new career and so my life is nonexistent. But it's all your uplifting words, reviews, and reads that make me write. I may be slow, but I won't stop!