Running on Insulin

Chapter 49

We pulled into the driveway a few minutes later and got out of the car.  As much as she was doing better than when we found her, Samantha got a little more apprehensive as we approached the front door.  There was an unfamiliar car in the driveway. 

I put my arm around her as we went into the house.  Jenna came running as soon as I closed the front door. 

"Samantha! You're okay!" she said, wrapping her in a tight hug. 

"Yeah, I'm okay," Samantha said, not making eye contact. 

"Jill and her mom stayed until we knew you were safe. They, along with me, were so worried about you."

Samantha's head stayed down. 

We all went into the living room and Jill got up and ran over to Samantha and pulled her into a hug.  Samantha did not return the hug. 

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Jill said. "What did you go and run off for?"

"Because, because, I hurt you," Samantha said. 

"No you didn't," Jill said. 

"Sure I did. I tried to do something nice and instead gave you a seizure," Samantha said. 

"Samantha Deitz, you did not cause my seizure," Jill said, her hands on her hips.  "I have epilepsy, as you know. Sometimes they just happen. I might have gotten over excited, but that is not your fault. You gave me something that I never, ever thought I would ever get to see!"

Samantha's head lifted just a little. 

"You're not mad at me?"

"Are you crazy? You're, like, my best friend.  You found a way for me to see my favourite band ever, in a way that no one else probably has ever gotten to! But I promise, I won't tell anyone who your foster parents are," Jill said. 

Samantha looked at Jill full on. 

"Really? You're not upset at all?"

"Well, I'm a bit upset I had a seizure, because those suck, and a bit upset you ran off and thought you caused it, but no. I'm not upset with you at all. So stop thinking that I am or that you did anything wrong.  I swear, this was,  like, the best day ever, even if I did have a seizure. It was a good reason to have one," Jill  laughed. 

"Samantha, thank you so much for what you did for Jill today. And for knowing what to do when she had her seizure.  Jenna told me you took charge at first," Erin said. "Oh, I'm Erin. Jill's mom."

Samantha looked at her and at Jill. And then she smiled. 

"You're welcome. I'm sorry she had a seizure, though. And I'm sorry I took off," she apologized. 

Erin hugged Samantha. 

"Regardless, you gave Jill something we couldn't. I think she'll appreciate this forever."

"Sam, I have to go home, because, well, seizure. I'm really tired, so I'm going to relax at home. I'll give you a call or a text tomorrow, okay? And I'll see you in school on Monday?"

"Okay," Samantha said.  We walked Jill and Erin out and then went back into the living room.  Samantha sat on the couch and then burst into tears.  Jenna sat beside her and wrapped her arms around her. 

"Hey, what's this?" she asked. 

"I was so, so sure Jill would be mad at me for causing her seizure," she said. 

"But she's not."

"I know.  I'm, I dunno. Relieved?" Samantha said through her tears. 

Jenna hugged her close and Samantha calmed down. 

"I'm really proud of you, kid," Josh said, sitting down beside Sam on the couch. 

"Why?" Samantha asked him. 

"Because you knew what to do. Even if you panicked after, you knew exactly what to do in the moment."

"Only because Jill told me," she said. 

"Exactly. She told you what to do, and you did it,"

"But, then I ran away, like a chicken," Samantha said, looking down.

"Well, yeah. You ran. But honey," Jenna said. "You're still dealing with all the stuff from before. It's okay that you ran. You're home, you're safe, Jill's okay, and you did the important stuff before you ran."

"Let's focus on the awesome stuff,"  Josh said. "You did something really special for a friend, you were able to make sure she was okay when she had a seizure, and then you came back and talked it out with her. You're okay, kiddo. You're amazing."

"I don't feel so amazing," Samantha said. "I still feel like a screw up."

"Well, maybe you do, but you aren't," I said. 

"Now," Jenna said. "Not to put a damper on all this, but since you've been running around and stressed, I think we need to test your blood sugar. Ty? Grab the kit in the kitchen?"

Samantha frowned, but didn't complain.  Jenna handed her the kit, and Samantha tested. 

"62," she said. 

"A bit low, huh? Jenna asked. Samantha nodded. 

"Ty, grab a juice box from the fridge," Jenna said. I grabbed one and handed it to Sam. She opened it and drank it without complaint.  She stayed leaning into Jenna. 

"So, what? We test again in 15 minutes?" Jenna asked?  Samantha nodded. 

I sat down and turned on the TV.  I flipped around the channels until we all agreed on something. Samantha didn't really participate in choosing, but she'd already told us she never really watched TV much anyway and didn't know what was what. I found a sitcom, and the four of us sat and watched it.  

After about 15 minutes, Jenna had Sam test her sugar again. 

"95," she said. 

"Good?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah," Samantha said. 

We went back to the TV show and the four of us sat, quietly again. 

A little while later, I looked over at Sam, snuggled into Jenna and noticed she'd fallen asleep. I smiled, because despite how she'd been feeling, she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep. 

"Jen," I whispered, and nodded towards Sam.  Jenna looked down and saw Samantha was asleep.  She kissed her on the head and pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and covered Sam. She smiled at me and put her arm around Samantha. 

"I love this kid like crazy," she whispered to me. "I can't wait until we can make it official."

I nodded and smiled. 

"Me too."

"Me three," Josh whispered. We all laughed, quietly.  Samantha stirred a little, but didn't wake up. 

Despite the setbacks, and the issues we still had to face with her, we were realizing Samantha had amazing potential. She had a huge heart, and we knew, with time, she was going to be okay.