Static Electricity | Sam and Colby

Twelve

Sam decides he's going to visit his family.

He doesn't let the others know, just packs up one morning and drives off. They'll be too busy with Colby to care that he's not there for a few days. He drives and he drives and he revels in the silence that his car offers him. There's the thought that the silence isn't healthy for him but he pushes it away because he really just wants time to breathe.

His mother greets him at the door and his sister is soon to follow. They pester him with questions he doesn't answer and they ease up when they realise that maybe he isn't the same Sam he used to be. His dad gives him a silent look he can't read but says nothing and for that, Sam is grateful.

He has dinner with his parents and something lifts off his shoulders. He opens up and he laughs, catching up on the life that he missed in Kansas. He almost wants to stay.

"So Sam," his mum says as they sit around the table. Dinner had finished and now they were just talking. "How are things back at home?"

It's a calculated question, a cunning way to get Sam to react. He does, stiffening at the thought of his 'home'. He came here to get away from all of that yet it had followed him.

"It's fine." His tone is measured, even. It's steady while Sam isn't.

His dad hums thoughtfully and pulls out his phone, but his mother and sister don't give up. "I've been watching your videos," his sister says carefully. "The fans seem to think something's up."

"Because the fans obviously know more about my life than I do," he snaps then widens his eyes and sinks into himself. He hadn't meant to say that.

His mum frowns. "Now I know something's wrong." He can't quite meet her eyes. "Please, Sam. Don't shut us out."

He forces himself to say, "Nothing's wrong," but his eyes are tearing up. He's been hurting for so long and he doesn't want to anymore. He wants to hug his mum and never let her go because he's been so lonely and he just needs someone right now.

His mother and his sister makes small cooing noises as he buries his face in his hands but his dad grunts loudly and when Sam looks up, his eyes are stormy.

"Man up." His dad's voice isn't loud but it's intimidating and Sam finds it hard to maintain eye contact. "Sam, I didn't raise you to shy away from your problems. I understand things might be rough but you can't just run away like a wimp. Just face them. If you can't do that then what good are you out there in the world?"

Sam lowers his eyes as the rest of his family scolds his dad but the words were the truth. Why was he insisting on taking shit from everybody? He could finally say something to Colby and to Brennen or he could curl up and take it like a freaking pet. He wasn't a push-over. He didn't come this far to have it all knocked down because he didn't stand up for himself.

The tears are still burning his eyes and he still really wants a hug but he's not lost anymore. He knows what he has to do and suddenly he'd filled with a sudden need to go back, to set things right.

"Ignore your father, sweetheart," his mother says. "He's-"

"He's right," Sam interrupts. "Mum, he's right. I need to stand up for myself or I'm going to get pushed around for the rest of my life. I'll do things because I think other people want me to. I'll never live for me." His voice drops to a shaky whisper. "He's right."

He stands up at the same time as his sister and she hugs him tightly. He hugs back, scared that if he lets go, he's going to break himself apart and lose the determination that is a warm ember in his stomach. His mother joins in and then his dad does too and they stand there for however long and Sam's crying but he's smiling.

He knows what to do.