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 ONE - PART ONE - CHAPTER TWO
"Sam, calm down. It's okay."
Sam was drunk, sitting on the couch and sobbing ridiculously. "No, it's not." Today was her 20th birthday, and she had finally lost control. She'd done the one thing she promised herself she would never do.
"No, really—I promise, I'm fine. I'm not upset; I know you didn't mean it," Cat told her.
They had just finished watching a movie with several steamy lesbian sex scenes—the movie selection had been entirely unintentional—but it had left them both feeling a little heated. By the time the credits rolled, the sexual tension between them was at its peak.
Eventually, Sam got too excited and snapped altogether. She waited until Cat's attention was focused elsewhere, and then she pounced, pinning her down on the couch and holding her there. She bit her neck and forcefully groped at her breasts, straddling her hips to keep her in place. Cat screamed at her to stop until she was finally able to wiggle her way out from under her. She was okay once she'd had a second to catch her breath, but Sam seemed to have come back to herself and was now crying with guilt.
"I'm sorry." Sam stopped crying and went pale suddenly. She shot off the couch and raced to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time to vomit repeatedly into the bowl. When Cat came to check on her, she slammed the door in her face.
The next day, Cat came home from school to find Sam's side of the room entirely bare. It was as if she'd never been there at all. Every last one of her belongings was missing. All that Cat found was a single note left on the kitchen counter. She thought she might've somehow ended up in an alternate universe, but that proved too good to be true. She was already sobbing before she reached the end of the first line.
Cat,
If you're reading this, it means I've already left. I need to get out of LA. I'm joining the Obliterators, my buddy's motorcycle gang. I'm not sure where I'm going, but it'll be far away from here. You won't see me again. You deserve to live life without me holding you back. I know you'll probably hate me for this, but I promise it's for the better. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I won't let myself hurt you or corrupt you anymore. We're not meant to be, but I'll never forget you. I love you, Catarina Valentine. I'll love you until the day I die. I promise.
Sam
Desperately missing her over the next couple of years, Cat soon fell into a deep depression, which included an extremely traumatic and nearly successful suicide attempt. It took a lot of therapy and medication to bring her back to being the happy person she used to be. Still, she eventually got there with the help of her close friends. Once JTC started becoming famous, things really started turning around for her. It got easier with time—earlier this year, Robbie had proposed to her, and she'd said yes. She was happy with him. They were now living on the outskirts of LA; in the mansion they'd recently moved into together. But she never forgot about Sam. Not even ten years later. She knew she'd see her again one day—whatever it took.