Chapter 69

Samantha's POV

"Don't forget you stupid girl, you may live somewhere else. You may have new so-called parents, but you will always be my kid. And soon enough they'll be tired of you and all the problems you cause. They'll kick you out just like I should have done after your useless mother died," he said to me.

I looked around. I was in my old house. How did I get here? How did he get here?

"No. You're wrong," I said. "You're not here."

"Stupid girl. You can't escape me that easily. Man, I wish I'd done this the night your mother died," he levelled the gun at me and pulled the trigger.

"Samantha, Samantha, wake up! Wake up sweetheart. You're having a nightmare. Sweetie, come on, wake up," I heard.

I also heard screaming. Who was screaming like that?

I was. It was me screaming. Arms were around me, someone rubbing my back. I stopped screaming and started crying instead.

"That was some nightmare, huh?" The voice said. It was Jenna. I was breathing hard and trying to get my breath. I clung to Jenna.

Tears were streaming down my face.

"Want to talk about it?" Tyler asked, sitting on the bed beside me. I shook my head. I didn't think I'd be able to talk about it just yet.

"Might as well check your blood sugar while we're here," Tyler said, picking up my kit.

I offered him my shaky hand.

"Uh, I guess I'll do it for you, huh? You're still pretty shaky. Do you feel low?" He asked. I shook my head.

Tyler set the kit up and tested my sugar.

"84, that's good, right?"

I nodded.

"You okay, kid?" Josh asked from my bedroom door. I looked up from Jenna's shoulder and shrugged.

"That sounded like a doozy," he said. "You haven't had one like that in a while."

I shrugged. Again.

Tyler cleaned up the kit and gave me a smile and a kiss on my head.

"You okay?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Alright. I'm gonna go back to bed. You need anything, just call, okay?"

I nodded again. Jenna made to get up as well. I clung to her.

"Want me to stay for a while?" She asked. I nodded.

"No problem. Move over," she smiled and climbed into bed with me. She pulled me close to her and I felt safer. But not safe enough.

I did manage to fall asleep again, but Stanley kept creeping into my dreams. I was woken by Jenna at least twice.

When my alarm went off in the morning both of us looked rough.

"Good morning, my beautiful daughter," she said to me. "Let's get you up and ready for school, okay?"

I nodded.

"Rough night, huh?" She said, looking at me sympathetically.

I nodded.

"Well, it's Friday. You can come home and nap after school if you want. You'll have the weekend to get your homework done."

I nodded.

She handed me my test kit and I checked my sugar. 72. Not bad. She smiled and left the room so I could get ready for school.

I got dressed, brushed my teeth and took my new meds.

I went downstairs where Josh was cooking breakfast. I looked at him.

"You had a hell of a night. And I know when I have a crappy night, cheesy eggs always help. And a cup of tea. I don't know why but tea sounded right," he smiled.

I smiled back and put a few things in my backpack that I'd left downstairs.

Josh put a plate in front of me, and my insulin. I dosed carefully and he watched as I turned the dial.

"Is that the right amount?" He asked. "That looks lower than I've seen."

I looked up at him. Tears formed in my eyes. I shook my head.

"I'm guessing Stanley was the reason for your nightmares last night?"

I nodded. He came around the counter and gave me a hug.

"You're safe here, Samantha. Tyler and Jenna are good people. They will protect you. I promise."

I sighed. He didn't know what Stanley was capable of.

I fixed my dose and injected my insulin. I turned to my breakfast and started eating. Josh ruffled my hair and smiled at me as he made himself a plate and poured a cup of coffee.

"Almost ready to go?" Jenna asked me, coming into the kitchen. I nodded as I finished my eggs. I put my dishes in the dishwasher and grabbed my backpack and jacket.

Jill was waiting outside the school when I got there and grinned when she saw me.

"Have a good day, sweetheart," Jenna said to me. I smiled at her.

"Hey Sam!" Jill said as I approached her. I gave her a small smile.

"How did yesterday go?" She asked with sympathy in her eyes.

I shrugged.

"That good, huh? Hey, Adam got suspended for beating you up."

I shrugged again.

"How are you feeling? I heard you had broken ribs."

I nodded.

"And a black eye. Ouch."

We walked into English and Mrs Wilson came over to me.

"Samantha, glad you're back. How are you feeling?"

I shrugged.

She knelt beside me.

"How did yesterday go?"

I shrugged again.

"I understand. If you need anything, you can come to me, okay?"

I nodded.

Mrs. Wilson didn't call on me at all during class. She seemed to know I wasn't in the mood to talk.

Jill kept a running monologue after class.

It was weird walking into social studies and not having Adam and his friends making comments. In fact his friends were there but quiet. They actually smiled at me with a sort of look of sympathy. Unsurprising that without Adam, they weren't such big guys.

I pretty much stayed silent for the entire day. I wasn't afraid to speak, I just couldn't. I was still processing the dream.

In math class my teacher called me over while the class worked on the questions in our text.

"I got a report from your psychologist," he said quietly. "He says that your trouble with math isn't a trouble so much as a natural ability to do the calculations in a different way?"

I shrugged.

"Can you show me?  Here's Question One from your assignment. Sit here and work it out so I can see. Okay?"

He wasn't being mean. He sounded interested.

I looked at the question and started calculating. I wrote down the calculations as I saw them in my mind, then the answer.

"That's incredible," the teacher said. "Your answer is right and your calculations are right, but you got there faster than the way we've been teaching. How do you do that?"

I shrugged. I don't know how I do it. I just do.

"Okay. I'm going to stop marking your calculations wrong.  Clearly you have some natural ability you shouldn't be punished for. Go on back to your desk and get to work." He smiled.

I finished the assignment before anyone else in the class.

Because my ribs were broken, I couldn't take PE, so I sat in the teacher's office doing my homework.

I was so relieved when the bell rang and I could finally go home.