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 THIRTEEN
The next several minutes were a blur as Sam re-dressed herself and exited the clinic with Cat. Once they were in the parking lot, Sam stopped suddenly and blurted, "Hey, can you give me a minute? Go wait for me by my bike." And then she turned and walked off.
Cat disobeyed the command and trailed behind her instead. Moments later, she heard some very unpleasant sounds coming from around the corner. She rushed over to find Sam leaning over the bushes with her hands on her knees, throwing up. When Sam saw Cat there, she looked extremely embarrassed. "Cat, I told you to wait for me by my—" Her shoulders lurched, and she vomited again, and then again. "Fuck," she choked out once she could catch her breath.
Cat rushed to her side. "It's okay. You're okay, Sam." She pulled her hair back for her just in time for her to puke again. Tears were rolling down her face. Cat could feel her holding it back, so she gently murmured, "You can throw up. Go on. Get it all out."
So, Sam did. She vomited several more times, until eventually she was dry heaving. It took a couple minutes before she was finally able to straighten up. She spat twice, wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, and choked out a sob. Then she collapsed into Cat's arms and cried.
Cat murmured, "Shhh… shhh…" rubbing small circles on Sam's back while she held her. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, and then Cat sighed, "Come on. Let's get you home." She pulled out her phone.
"What are you doing?" Sam croaked, sniffling.
"I'm calling Dice to come pick us up. We'll come back for your motorcycle later. You're too sick to drive right now," Cat told her.
"Dice?" Sam repeated in surprise. "You still talk to that kid?"
"Well, he's not a kid anymore, but yes," Cat answered. Then she started speaking into her phone. "Hey, are you busy?" She waited a moment, then said, "Is there any way you could come pick me up somewhere?" Another pause. Then, "Okay, great. Yeah, I'll text you the address. Thanks; see you soon." She hung up. "He'll be here in ten minutes."
"'Kay." Sam was still a bit numb. The two of them sat down on the curb and waited there for a while, until eventually a sleek, black Jaguar XS pulled up in front of them. Sam was seriously impressed. It seemed everyone had gotten ahead in life except for her. Cat opened the door to the backseat, and she and Sam slid in.
"Whoa—Sam?!" 23-year-old Dice exclaimed, twisting around in the driver's seat so he could face them. "Is it really you?!"
Dice had a beard now. Sam was shocked—he wasn't bad looking—he was actually kind of cute. For a boy. "Uh, yeah," she replied, attempting to force a chuckle, "It's me. Hey, kid."
"Dude! When the hell did you get back? I thought you died in a shootout!"
Sam winced at the sudden barrage of questions, so Cat stepped in. "Dice, Sam's not feeling well right now. We can all catch up later, but for now, can you just take us home? Please?"
"But—"
"Please," Cat repeated, more firmly this time.
Dice sighed. "Okay." He pulled out of the parking lot and headed for Cat's house. He was nearly vibrating with the effort to keep from speaking. Finally, he couldn't help himself anymore. "Okay, but seriously—where have you been all this time?" Sam looked mostly the same as he remembered, but had obviously lost a lot of weight.
Sam was busy trying not to burst into tears, or throw up, or both—again. She turned and tucked her head into the side of Cat's neck, hiding her face. Cat held her tightly and sighed, "Dice, it's really not a good time."
"Alright, alright—but later, you guys owe me an explanation," Dice stated seriously. He drove them the rest of the way to Cat's house. It wasn't far. He parked in the driveway after entering the gate's access code.
Cat helped Sam out of the car, then turned to Dice. "Thank you. I'll text you later and let you know when we can all meet up, okay?"
"Okay, I guess. Um… feel better, Sam. It's awesome seeing you again," Dice replied. He looked happy, but confused.
Sam forced a weak smile. "You too, kid. Thanks for the ride." Then she and Cat turned and headed for the door. They made their way inside, and the house seemed to be empty. Sikowitz wasn't back yet, and Robbie wasn't home either.
Cat led Sam back to the bedroom that they'd shared last night. Sam was dragging her feet. Once inside, Cat tried to sound positive and asked, "What do you want to do?" Then she noticed the clock and remembered something. "Oh, jeez, I totally forgot. I'm supposed to meet Jade and Tori at JetBrew in half an hour." She pulled out her phone. "I'll just let them know I won't be coming."
"No," Sam said, "You should go. I really just want to take a nap anyway."
"Are you sure?" Cat didn't like the idea of leaving Sam alone when she was like this. "I can stay if you want. You can hold me while you sleep."
"As much as I like the idea of that, I'd honestly rather be alone right now. I need to… process some stuff." Sam nudged Cat with her elbow. "Go meet your friends. I'm sure they'll be surprised to hear I'm back."
Still, Cat hesitated. "Okay, I guess." She walked further into the room. "You can watch TV when you wake up if you want. The remote's right here. Or you can use the PearPad," she motioned to it. "And you're welcome to get stuff from the kitchen if you get hungry. Robbie might come home, but he shouldn't bother you too much. Can I get you anything before I go?" Then she remembered something. "Oh, man, we forgot to stop at Freezy Queen."
Sam shook her head. "It's okay. I don't really feel like eating right now. Just go meet your friends. I'll see you when you get back."
Cat sighed. "Okay." She pressed a soft kiss to Sam's temple. "I'll pick up your medicine from the pharmacy on my way home. Go get some rest, Sam." She exited the room, looking at her one more time before closing the door.
END OF BOOK ONE - PART ONE