Always Gonna Find You (Jericho-Jake Green)

Denver, Colorado (part one)

Chapter One
Denver, Colorado (unedited)

The light toned yellow wallpaper in Samantha's living room didn't match any of the other furniture. The puke green couch she sat on was band-aided in multicolored patches that seemed to be the only thing holding it together at this point. None of the wood tones even came close to matching except maybe the coffee table and hardwood floor, and that was a big maybe. If anything did match it was the ugly yellow walls and her phone case.

If someone walked into the Cafferty household at that very moment, they'd find Samantha Cafferty hard at work on her dingy laptop. She woke up with the certitude that if she didn't start the budget she was tasked with today, she would never get around to it. A classic case of procrastination that couldn't go on any longer. Her intense focus is pulled away when the sound of her phone receiving a call interrupts the television show playing in the background. Samantha grabs the remote, muting the TV, and answers the phone call. "Hello?"

"Samantha?" responds the feminine voice of the caller. It had been years, but Samantha immediately recognizes the voice of her childhood friend.

"Emily Sullivan, is that you?" she replies, her voice accurately displaying her surprise.

"It is." Emily answers. Her voice, even over the phone, gives away that she is smiling, just like Samantha. "How have you been?"

Absentmindedly, Samantha pulls on her shirt sleeve. A decent bruise on her forearm, which was already covered by the material, shoves its presence into the forefront of her mind simultaneously reminding her how she got it. "Good." Samantha answers finally, realizing she had yet to answer. Pushing her thoughts back into place, her smile returns as she asks how Emily has been since they last saw each other.

"I've been doing really great."

"Not that I'm not happy to hear from you," Samantha begins, "but what made you call?"

"Well, believe it or not, but Jake's in Jericho. Like, right now." Samantha freezes, her smile faltering as she listens to Emily continue, "I just talked to him. I thought you might want to know before he leaves."

She has to remind herself to keep breathing, realizing she'd stopped. "Jake Green? The Jake Green?"

Emily laughs softly and confirms, "The one and only."

"Do you know how long he's here?" Samantha asks quickly, hoping to figure out how much time she has to find him.

"He said he's just here for the day." Emily answers.

Standing up from her spot on the ragged couch, Samantha grabs the remote and turns off the TV, simultaneously shutting her laptop and risking her unsaved work. "Any clue where he is right now?" she asks, grabbing a jacket and her car keys.

Being the great friend that she is, Emily quickly spills the details Jake shared with her, "He said something about dropping by his parents' house. If you leave now, you can probably catch him there."

"Trust me," Samantha scoffs lightly as she opens the front door and steps outside, "I'm already getting in the car. If you find him, let me know and do whatever you can to keep him there. He's not getting away so easily this time." Both women laugh and Emily agrees to do what she can if she sees Jake around town again. "And, how about I stop by your place on my way back out of town so we can catch up?"