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 ONE - CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Hey. You coming home anytime soon?

it'll be a few more hours. y? did something happen?

I think Sam's sick again. She ran to the bathroom and now she's in there crying. What should I do?

y is she crying? is she hurt?

No. She turned the shower on. I think she threw up and didn't make it to the toilet in time or something.

ohhhhh my god. can u let me talk to her? slide ur phone under the bathroom door or something?

It'll probably piss her off but I'll try. Give me a sec.

Dice cautiously approached the bathroom door and knocked. "Hey, uh, Sam?"

"I told you to fuck off," Sam growled out threateningly.

"Cat wants to talk to you. I'm sliding my phone under the door, okay?" Dice told her, and then did just that. "I'll be out here if you need help." Then he quickly retreated away from the bathroom and went back to the couch.

Sam ignored the phone. She finished showering and cleaning up, but she wasn't sure what to do about her soiled clothing. After wrapping herself in a clean towel, she finally picked up the phone. There was an unread text waiting.

hey sam r u ok? dice said u were crying. what happened?

Nothing. I'm fine. He needs to mind his own business.

plz tell me? u can delete these texts when we're done talking.

I'm fucking pathetic ok? That's all. Please just leave me alone.

the laxatives kicked in didnt they? and u didn't make it in time?

Did Dice tell you that?

he thinks u threw up. u should ask him to bring u some clothes.

Oh thank god. Ok I'll ask, but how do I get rid of these clothes without being seen? I'm not gonna try washing them.

theres trash bags under the sink. double bag them and take them out to the dumpster behind the house.

I'm sorry. This is really disgusting. Thank you for not making fun of me.

ur not disgusting sam. it was just an accident and its no big deal ok? now go finish getting cleaned up and then try to relax. i'll be home soonish. 3

Ok. See you soon.

Sam sighed. She quickly deleted their text messages so Dice wouldn't see them. Then she went to the closed door and knocked. "Dice? Here's your phone back. Do you think you could bring me some clothes?" She slid the phone under the door.

"Sure. What should I bring you?"

"Just some more sweats and a plain shirt? All my stuff's in the black bag out there."

"Got it. Let me just…" Suddenly, Dice blurted, "Oh, shit! Fuck; I'm sorry; you meant the duffel bag, didn't you? Oh, my God."

"What? Yes," Sam answered, confused. "I only have one bag."

"I thought you were talking about the plastic bag. The one, uh… by the bed. Don't worry, I only looked for, like, a second," Dice stammered. "Um, give me a sec."

Sam didn't remember there being a black plastic bag in the room. She puzzled over it, trying to figure it out, until the realization eventually hit her. Cat had pulled the vibrator out of that bag last night. She must've put it back at some point and left it there. Sam could feel her face heating up. "Did you see what was in it?" she dared to ask.

"Uh, yeah. Maybe not everything, but yeah," Dice replied. He approached the door. "I got your clothes."

Sam cracked the door open just enough to grab the pile of clothes from him, then pushed it shut again. "Thanks." Then she paused suddenly. "Wait. What do you mean, you didn't see everything? Wasn't there only one thing in there?"

Dice chuckled nervously and went back to the couch. "There were at least a few different things in there. But we don't have to talk about it; it's totally your guys' own business."

Sam quickly finished up getting dressed and picked up her ruined clothes. They had been wrapped in a couple of towels she'd destroyed, then had been double-bagged and tied off tightly. She exited the bathroom and said, "Hey, I gotta… do something real quick. I'll be back in a sec." Hurrying out of the room, she eventually found the dumpster behind the house. Once all the evidence was disposed of, she went back inside to the bedroom. On the bright side, her stomach felt much better now. But something else demanded her attention. "That's the bag you looked in?" Sam asked Dice, motioning to it.

"Yes..?" Dice answered.

Sam went over to the bag, looked inside, and nearly choked. Her vibrator was there, but so was a black strap-on harness, a relatively small purple dildo, and some strawberry-flavored lube. "What the fuck, Cat?" she said under her breath, hiding a smile. She'd had no idea she'd been fantasizing about doing something like this—but she found it incredibly sexy that she had. Having the confidence to buy the items herself proved how badly she actually wanted it, and Sam could feel herself getting turned on, despite everything that had happened today.

"I'm assuming you didn't know she bought that stuff?" Dice asked, chuckling. He found that kind of hot.

"I had no idea. I didn't even know that was something she wanted to do," Sam admitted. "Damn." She glanced at the clock. It would be several more hours until nighttime, when Cat would return. She needed to cool down. She went back to the couch and sat a couple of cushions away from Dice. Then she resumed her Netflix show, picked up the PearPad, and continued reading news about her and Cat. Her stomach growled loudly again, but this time it was from emptiness. She hadn't eaten a proper meal in days. "Hey, Dice?"

"Just a sec." Dice finished typing, then looked over. "'Kay, what's up?"

"Is that something you can take a break from?" Sam asked, motioning to his laptop. His screen displayed lines and lines of code. "I was hoping you could do something for me."

"Oh, sure. My fingers were getting sore from typing anyways. What'd you need?" Dice asked.

"I haven't been able to eat much lately, but I actually feel hungry right now," Sam explained. "Do you think you could run to Tubba Chicken real quick? I… don't have any cash."

Dice smiled and stood up. "It's on me. What should I get you?"

"Um, just a three-piece, probably. Pucks. With ranch and barbeque sauce," Sam answered. She'd be lucky if she could finish a meal even as small as this, but her mouth was watering just thinking about it.

"Drink?"

"Peppy Cola, if that's okay?" Sam replied. "No rush."

Dice patted his pockets to be sure he had everything he needed, then headed to the door. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes." Tubba Chicken was just down the street.

"Okay. Thanks, kid." Sam leaned back on the couch.

Dice exited the room, shutting her inside.