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 THREE - PART TWO- CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWO

"Sam?"

"Cat?" Sam sounded nervous. "Hey. So, um… there's a problem."

"Why? What's wrong?" Cat asked in concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Well… y'know the mail guy?"

Cat was a bit lost.

"The postman?"

"Louis?"

"Yeah. Uh, he's passed out on our doorstep."

Cat took a second to process that. "What—why? Did you just find him there?"

"No, he, um… hit his head on something."

"On what?"

"My fist."

Cat stood up. "Oh, God. Sam, why'd you knock out the mail guy?!"

"I opened the door to sign for something."

"Yeah? And?"

"He was staring at my boobs."

Cat palmed her forehead. "So, you punched him in the head?"

"Yeah. The left side of his face is kind of messed up. What should I do? He's just kind of slumped over—I'm afraid people are gonna see him. Should I drag him inside?"

Cat sighed deeply. "Absolutely not. Just—leave him there. Are you alone? Is Robbie home?"

"No, I'm alone."

"'Kay, I'll be home as soon as I can. Just stay there with him in case he wakes up."

"What if a cop sees me?"

It was extremely unlikely, but definitely possible. Cat groaned in frustration. "Okay, you said he's on the doorstep, right? Stand behind the door so no one sees you and keep an eye on him. I'll be there in a few minutes." She ended the call.

Jade was already standing up, holding her keys. "Need a ride?"

"Quickly, please," Cat replied as they rushed to the staircase.

"Mind if I tag along?" Tori asked. She was curious about how this whole thing was going to play out.

"Whatever, just hurry," Cat responded. They rushed outside and hopped into Jade's car. Within seconds, they were on the road, speeding toward Cat's house. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" Cat was muttering under her breath. She was angry at Sam—she'd thought she'd grown out of doing things like this. The ride didn't take long, and soon they were parked in Cat's driveway.

They all got out of the car and Cat ran up to the front door. Sure enough, Louis, her usual postman, was crumpled awkwardly on the ground. The side of his face was swollen and slightly bloodied. Cat kneeled down next to him. "Dang it, Sam…"

Sam peeked around the open door. "Asshole deserved it," she grumbled. "He should know not to stare."

"Oh, my God," Tori said as she and Jade approached them. "He's alive, right?"

Sam nonchalantly reached down and checked the man's pulse. "Ah, yeah, he'll be fine."

"We need to get him to the doctor," Cat stated. "Should we call 911?"

"No! Don't do that; my parole officer can't find out," Sam blurted.

Just then, Louis began to move. He blinked his eyes open and squinted up at them. "Uh, what the hell happened?" He touched the left side of his head, and his eyes went wide when he saw blood on his fingertips. "You—you attacked me!" He pointed at Sam. "What the fuck is your problem?!"

"Staring's rude," Sam responded. "You're lucky I only punched you once."

"Sam, that's not okay." Cat's voice was firm. She took Louis' hand. "Come on, let me help you up. I'm so sorry about this." She helped him to his feet. Then she said, "Stay here. I'll be right back." And she rushed inside the house.

Louis was still shaking his head, gathering his bearings. "I need to go to the hospital."

Jade found the whole thing hilarious. "Can't drive concussed. Better start walking."

Louis scowled. "What—no! I'm not just gonna let you get away with—"

Cat returned only moments later, holding a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills. This wasn't the first time she'd had to pay to get Sam out of a sticky situation. She handed Louis the money. "You can keep all of that as long as you swear not to identify her as the one who attacked you."

Louis scoffed, shaking his head. "You people are fucking crazy." Still, he tucked the cash into his pocket and backed towards his car. As quickly as he could, he hopped in and sped away.

All of them went inside the house.

"Man," Sam commented, "Glad that's over." She reached over and placed her hand on Cat's shoulder. "Hey, how was—"

Cat startled Sam by abruptly pulling away and heading further inside.

Jade and Tori tagged along behind, and Jade chuckled quietly when she saw Cat dodge Sam.

Sam looked genuinely confused. "Cat? Hey, what's wrong?" She chased after her. "Cat?"

Cat whirled around in the hallway to face her, looking angry. "What?"

"Why are you mad? 'Cause I knocked that guy out?" Sam asked, not understanding. "He woke up within half an hour. Everything was fine."

"Fine? I had to bribe him with a thousand dollars to keep you from getting arrested again. He could still sue me," Cat scoffed. "Are you seriously saying it's fine to knock somebody out on our doorstep?"

Sam seemed to be struggling for words. "He… he was staring."

"I don't care! People are gonna stare, Sam—it's not something people normally see," Cat argued. "You're gonna have to learn to live with that."

Sam was angry and close to tears. "So… basically, you're saying I'm a freak."

Cat was annoyed and frustrated. She crossed her arms and sarcastically quipped, "Yes, Sam. You're a total freak. Everyone in the world thinks you look awful."

Sam seemed to miss her sarcasm, because her gaze fell and she forced out, "Oh. I… didn't know you felt that way."

Cat rolled her eyes—she knew well of Sam's theatrics. She looked at her and said, "I don't know why I even put up with you sometimes."

Then, to Cat's surprise, Sam gave out a hiccup and began sobbing. She hid her face with her hands and turned away.

Cat's eyes went wide. "Sam? No—I wasn't being serious!"

Sniffling, Sam mumbled, "No, you're right; I'm a fucking freak and I don't deserve you."

"You're not a freak," Cat told her, reaching out for her. "I was being sarcastic 'cause you made me mad."

Sam stepped out of her reach. "I… need to be alone for a while." She checked her pocket for her keys and headed back out the door.

Cat chased her all the way to her motorcycle. "Please don't leave. Please, Sam." She didn't want her to go out and do something crazy. "Let's just go inside. We'll forget about the whole thing."

Sam climbed onto her motorcycle and put on her helmet. "I'll be back sometime later."

Cat was almost in tears now, too. "Sam…"

Sam leaned over and pecked her on the lips. "I love you, Cat. I just… I'm sorry I can't be better for you." And with that, she started up her bike and sped off.