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_________ c h a p t e r t h i r t y - n i n e
Morning comes, and along with it comes Max, Dustin, Robin and Steve, all packed into Steve's car, waiting for Sam to leave the house.
"Oh, are you going out?" Gianna smiles from her cup of coffee.
"Yeah. Steve and I are gonna get some breakfast, maybe stop by Lover's Lake. Where's dad?"
"Sleeping in. He worked late last night."
"He's overworking himself," she sighs. "You are too."
"Samantha, all you need to worry about is enjoying your last year before going off to that school you always dreamed of."
"Is that why you guys are doing so much overtime? Because of school? Because I got a full ride to Bloomington and-"
"Everyone would be better off..." she could hear Billy's voice echoing in her mind, replaying like a broken record.
"No, no, no. You're on a scholarship," her mom's voice breaks her daydream.
"It's not a full ride."
"Samantha. Go be a teenager. Enjoy not having to worry about anything while you still can."
"Ma."
"Go," she gives a stern look, forcing Sam to oblige and leave the house.
Once she gets in the car, her friends couldn't help but notice her melancholic demeanor. Sam was not easy to read by any means, keeping practically every out of place feeling or thought to herself, but quite literally everyone could sense something was weighing on her mind.
"You alright?" Steve whispers.
"Yeah," she smiles just a bit too enthusiastically, only furthering his suspicion. "I'm great. Let's go."
"Okay..." his gaze lingers for a moment, reversing out of the driveway anyway.
It seemed like a recurring situation for them, as for the past couple days she'd been unusually jumpy and guarded, obviously upset but unable to express why.
He'd hoped it was just the Pratt thing, but it seemed a bit more serious than that.
He had no idea just how serious it was.
____
"Just open the door, I'm sure he knows we're coming," Sam suggests.
"I'd rather not get another beer bottle to the neck," Steve argues.
"Okay, I'll open it," Robin pushes the door open, startling the long-haired boy inside.
"Jesus!" he shouts from his spot at the window, visibly jumping at the sound.
