A/N: This fic contains potentially triggering subject matter including but not limited to: suicidal references, gun violence, sexual trauma, homelessness, drug abuse, depression, homophobia, and cancer. It may contain inaccuracies. No copyright infringement intended. Thanks for reading!
BOOK TWO - PART THREE - CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
Just then, two homeless men walked by. They looked surprised to see them there. Most people that hung out here didn't look nearly as wealthy. They acknowledged each other with a glance and continued walking until one of the men stopped suddenly.
"Wait—Puckett?"
Sam turned to face him.
Both he and the other man burst into laughter. "Man, that girl's got you whipped."
Sam looked even more embarrassed now, but didn't respond to their teasing. "Buzz. Toad. Been a while." She acknowledged them each with a nod. "How's TowTruck?"
"It's not your color," one of the men remarked with a toothless smile.
"Yeah, thanks. Asshole." Sam clenched her fists and her shoulders tensed.
Both men laughed again.
"You'd better back the fuck off," Sam warned.
"Sam, no," Cat gently scolded, grabbing her arm. "No getting into fights. Are these some of your old friends?"
They were a couple of her fellow ex-gang members, and Sam knew them well, but she wasn't proud of that. It was obvious that they lived on the street. "Something like that," she muttered in response.
One of the men moved closer suddenly. "Hey. You guys got any cash to spare?"
"Can you guys go beg somewhere else?" Sam asked in annoyance.
"Here." Robbie fished $40 out of his wallet and handed $20 to each of them. "Does that help?"
The men looked genuinely surprised. "Oh, man. Guess we can't really rob 'em now, can we?" one of the men whispered to the other.
Sam grabbed them both by the shoulder, turned them around, and gave them a shove in the opposite direction. "Okay, time to go. You guys need to get the fuck out of here. Or else."
"Or else what?" They both smirked.
Sam grabbed one man by the front of his shirt and pulled him in close. "Or else Christine's gonna find out what actually happened to that car." She pulled the other man in. "And Tara's gonna hear about the fight in Compton." She shoved them both back. "And then I'll rip your nuts off. Got it?"
Both men were staring at her, wide-eyed. "Hey, uh… let's not fuck with Puckett, man," one of the guys said quietly to the other. "C'mon." He looked at Sam. "We'll see you around."
Sam flipped them off, watched them leave, then turned back to the others. "Sorry 'bout that. There's some real creeps that hang out here sometimes. Robbie, you didn't have to give them money."
"I thought it would make them go away," Robbie explained.
Tori leaned over next to Bryson. "Hey, what are you doing?" He was turned to the side, hiding the screen of his phone. Tori scoffed and smacked his arm. "Dude! We all agreed we wouldn't look!"
Bryson quickly closed the tab on his phone and put it back in his pocket. "I'm sorry! I couldn't help it."
Everyone groaned in annoyance.
"Well?" Robbie asked, "What are they saying about it?"
"I only had a chance to see one news site," Bryson replied, but didn't really answer the question.
"The response is negative, isn't it?"
Bryson hesitated. "Not exactly. It's… mixed. Some people are super supportive. Some people don't really care. And some are… not very nice. But everyone's pretty shocked—it's breaking news, apparently."
"Crazy how it's still huge news when someone comes out," Jade remarked. "You'd think people would be used to it by now."
"Well, it's not just someone coming out," Tori responded, "It's Cat. She's supposed to be innocent. Those pictures of her kissing Sam practically broke the internet, and now we're basically confirming everything."
Robbie sighed. "Okay, let's seriously not look again until later, okay? We won't be able to do our interview if we're all stressed out and worrying about what people think."
"So… what do we do now, then?" Bryson asked.
"Let's just head home, I guess," Robbie replied, checking the time. "We don't have to be at the studio for, like, six more hours. Let's all just try to relax."
They all stood up and said their goodbyes. Then Robbie, Bryson, Sam and Cat rode back to the house together in Robbie's car. Once they got inside, they headed for Sam's bedroom. On the way there, Cat asked, "So, what do you want to do now?"
"Well, first of all, get me out of this shit—" Sam unzipped the jacket, took it off and flung it at Cat. "I know you think it's hot when you wear my clothes, but… can we not do it the other way around, please?"
Cat giggled and pecked her on the cheek as they entered the room and closed the door. "Sammy," she hummed playfully, "You're so dramatic."
Sam scoffed. "I'm not kidding! If you weren't there, I'd have beaten the shit out of those guys."
"You shouldn't be beating anything out of anyone. You're not gonna act like that anymore," Cat stated firmly. "No more violence. 'Kay?"
Sam grumbled something under her breath. Then, more loudly, she said, "Yeah, okay. Fine. Whatever. I gotta take a waz." She locked herself in the bathroom, then returned two minutes later. "Hey, I'm still kind of worn out from earlier; do you mind if I take a nap?"
Napping was one of Sam's favorite hobbies. Cat hadn't forgotten. "Can I nap with you?"
Sam clearly hadn't expected that. "Um…"
"I want you to spoon me," Cat quietly requested. "Please."
Sam couldn't really argue with that. "Take your clothes off," she told her as she did the same. They both left their underwear on, then climbed into bed and curled up together under the covers. Sam reached her arm around Cat, and her chest was pressed into her back. She was sore from earlier, and it hurt, so she tried to maintain a bit of distance.
Cat could tell by the way Sam was squirming that she was in pain. "Are you uncomfortable?"
"No," Sam forced out through clenched teeth. "I'm fine."
Cat pulled away and rolled onto her back to look up at her. "It hurts to press up against me, huh?"
"It's not a problem," Sam lied.
"Here." Cat grabbed Sam's arm and gave her a little nudge. "Roll over."
"Why?" Sam asked, and she was embarrassed of how nervous she sounded.
"Just do it. Trust me."
Sam sighed. She rolled herself onto her opposite side, which alleviated some of the pain. Then she felt Cat scoot up behind her and wrap an arm around her middle. It felt unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. "Wow. This is… weird. I've never been the little spoon."
"Are you comfortable like this?" Cat asked, lifting her head up to kiss Sam's temple.
"I think so," Sam replied honestly. She snuggled back into Cat's warmth and closed her eyes. Her body relaxed instantly, and all her tension was gone. They laid together for a minute, and then Sam whispered, "Don't leave, okay?"
"I won't. I promise. Get some rest, Sam," Cat murmured.
"You can't tell anyone."
Cat giggled. "It'll be our little secret."
Sam was satisfied with that. "I love you." Clinging to Cat's arm, she was snoring within a minute.