Maia's POV
I was quick to get ready, wanting to spend as much time by Sammy's side as possible. After all that'd happened, it only made me realise more that the people we love can be taken away at any time and I didn't want to lose anyone.
I pulled on some casual clothes, not caring whether I looked like I'd just walked out of bed. They were all technically my friends and Sammy's friends so I didn't honestly care what they thought of me. Besides, all the focus would be on the conversation mainly.
Throwing my hair up into a messy bun, I grabbed my phone off the bedside and almost ran down to the kitchen. I did a double take when I couldn't see Sam, but instantly sighed in relief when I heard the TV playing.
I rushed into the room and threw myself into his arms, not caring if I was crushing him.
"What's up?" He looked alarmed but when he saw how scared I was, his facial features softened. He held onto me tighter and rubbed circles on my back soothingly.
I looked into his eyes and he seemed to get the message that I was still scared, we all were. He gave me one last comforting squeeze before I rose from his lap and intertwined our fingers.
He seemed to get that I was signalling that we were leaving and he stood up slowly from his place on the couch and kept our hands joined together on the walk to the car.
He opened my jeep door for me and then got in at the drivers side. As he started driving, his right hand rested on my thigh. It filled me with want and desire as goosebumps rose over my skin.
As if realising the effect he had on me, he smiled. It was the first time in a while I'd seen Sammy smile and it was so contagious that it had me smiled broadly too.
To others, we would have looked like two idiots smiling at nothing in particular but this moment secretly meant so much to us. We were happy. We were content. That was probably about to get ruined.
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When we arrived at the diner, I realised that Maggie's car wasn't there yet but Georgie's was. I also recognised a car that I saw parked in front of Sammy's house a lot, probably Gilinsky's but I wasn't sure.
Sam helped me out of the car like a gentlemen and kept his arm slung around my shoulder. We couldn't care less if someone thought we were making them sick because of our pda. We just wanted to reassure each other.
Walking into the restaurant, my eyes immediately settled on a table where Georgie was on her phone, her eyebrows furrowed and her fingers tapping away impatiently against the screen. Whatever she was looking at, she obviously wasn't pleased. I hope it wasn't about Grayson, things were going well for them currently.
Averting my eyes, I rested my gaze on Jack Gilinsky who was staring blankly out of one of the nearby windows, seeming lost in thought and none of the good kind.
By his side was a impatient looking Jack Johnson who looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here. Even though it wasn't my idea to bring him out here, nothing could stop me from feeling guilty. He looked majorly better than the last time I'd seen him when he'd looked far too pale for him to be living and the bags under his eyes had made the biggest contrast to the colour of his skin. I shivered and finally looked at the last person at the table.
Nate Maloley. I hadn't ever really seen much of him, just at the parties really and on the rare occasion when me and Sam were over at his place. But I could tell that the bags under his eyes weren't normal and were clearly fresh.
I clutched onto Sammy tighter and he looked down at me, kissed my forehead lovingly and then lead us up to the table.
All the heads at the table turned when we scraped back the chairs, selecting our seats. Georgie looked relieved, but she seemed to be the only one. The boys all seemed to look morbid and lost in thought continuously.
Just as Sammy seemed to be about to say something, something caught my eye and obviously Sammy's too. Maggie walked in, looking a mixture of upset and mad. I was guessing her anger was more for Jack but I could never be certain.
She hastily pulled the chair seated between me and Georgie, looking onto Gilinsky on the opposite side. My heart ached for her but she didn't look in the least bit hurt surprisingly. Instead, she focused her attention on sam.
"Okay. When and where do we start?"
It was Johnson who spoke in response, startling everyone, "At the beginning." He chuckled, a brightness returning to his eyes that made hope flood my gut. We could only pray.
"I know it's gonna hurt to talk about it but could you tell us anything baby?" Sammy half-whispered, like he didn't want everyone to hear that I was afraid to speak the truth.
"No, it's fine; I'll recount as much as I can remember. It's what you all deserve." I turned towards all of the people sat in front of me and plunged into every detail I would never be able to forget about my time spent kidnapped.
Starting at when I was captured rudely in the spare bedroom, to when I woke up inside a small box, to when I was injected, to when I had an encounter with the woman whom I still didn't know, and to the parts I hardly remembered at all like being rescued and the first few moments at the hospital.
Once I finished my story, I looked back up and made eye contact with almost every person at the table.
Maggie staring at me with pain evident on her face; Georgie's face an image of hurt; Gilinsky looked taken aback; Johnson's eyes were downcast but he had his shoulders set as if he was unable to be anything other than upset; and Nate looked like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. I could hardly believe myself either, but I knew it was the truth.
But I couldn't bring myself to gauge the reaction of my boyfriend. This was the first time he'd heard about everything that'd happened to me, apart from what he already knew and it was probably a lot of information for him.
Deciding now was the time to see what he was thinking, I turned my line of sight to Sam's face. I flinched when I saw the amount of fury and pain that flashed across his features and I recoiled in my seat.
I grabbed his hand, squeezing it lightly and rubbing my thumb soothingly across the back of his soft skin, signifying that I was still here and still loved him.
Gilinsky coughed causing all eyes to land on him. "Before we go any further, Johnson and I have to tell you all something."
Johnson continued for Gilinsky. "The reason why Taylor couldn't make it today is because he's dead."
