Through the Open Door || Change My Mind Sequel || SP

Saved By The Bell

Continued

Sam laid on the couch with Lucy, drinking wine after a few fireball shots. "Girl, how is the sex? I imagine still pretty good since you have so many kids," Lucy giggled with Miclhelle joining in, coming from the bathroom.

"Yeah! You literally went from kids are disgusting to three in two years," she laughed, plopping on the loveseat and picking up her drink. Sam chuckled, taking another sip and carefully sliding up the side of the couch.

"I'm not going to lie and say it's shitty...well," she squeaked. "It's not shitty per say, it's just boring. Like every time we try something new, I get pregnant. With the twins, Gene and Nick were in the house. With Zeek, we didn't wait the 6 weeks. And with Ezra, Matt's fucking vasectomy didn't work. Like I've given up. I'm back on the pill and hopefully we can keep the kid count at four. These kids are too damn expensive," Sam answered. The sexual relationship between she and Matt was the same as it had always been. And the fact that he hadn't even tried to touch her in weeks solidified that he was probably bored too.

"Damn. Maybe you just need to stop having sex," Lucy laughed. Sam forced a giggle and sip some more of her wine.

"Did y'all hear about that guy they found in that theater like a month ago? The one that was beaten to death?" Michelle asked. Lucy shook her head, while Sam sank a bit in her corner of the couch, her breathing startling to pick a bit.

"Oh my god! No! What happened?" Lucy asked, leaning closer to the end of the couch, intrigued.

"I don't know. But, the paper said he was found beaten with painted 2x4. There was no prints on it and the stage where they found him was in the process of being cleaned when they found him so..." she trailed off. Sam started to full on hyperventilate, hopping up from the couch.

"Sam! Are you okay?" Michelle asked, as she and Lucy followed her to the kitchen is and where she leaned, trying not to throw up. Lucy and Michele both grabbed one of her arms, but Lucy made the unfortunate mistake of also rubbing Sam's bad side at the same time.

"Ahh," she winced, folding over even lower.

"What?" Lucy asked, slowly lifting Sam's shirt to see the tender bruise on her side. "What is this? Who did this to you?" She asked, grabbing some ice and dish towel from her kitchen. Michelle had Sam sit at the counter and rolled up the side of her shirt, clipping with a chip bag clip to keep it out of the way.

"It's nothing-,"

"Ah ah," Lucy said, handing her the ice pack. "Don't lie to us. I'll grab my chancla and give you another one on the other side," she threatened, her Cuban roots coming out. The comfort Sam had with her girls versus the judgement she felt with her sister was moving her to open up to them a lot easier.

"I was there," she quietly spoke. Michelle and Lucy stared at Sam, doing their best to keep a neutral face through out. "The guy that was found beaten to death at the theater was an old production manager at SIX," she mumbled, tears welling in her ducts. "He was fired and taken to jail when they found out he molested my daughter and a few other little girls," she cried.

That Night

Sam and Avery, a student at the local high school were working late on her college audition. "It's sounds great and the choices you are making are stellar," she said. The student got up from the edge of the stage and started to grab her things.

"You want me to wait for you?" She asked, pulling her backpack on. Sam shook her head, while putting her laptop away.

"No, I'm good. You go ahead. I'll see you next week," she smiled, collecting some more of her sheet music. Avery nodded and left the dimly lit hall, leaving Sam alone.

"Hey," a soft masculine voice called from the wings behind Sam.

"Oh hey. We're done in here," she said, thinking it was the janitor. The man slowly walked to center stage, making Sam turn back and quickly stand up from her seat.

"W-what are you doing here?" She asked. A chuckle. "Aren't you supposed to be in prison?" Sam tried to stay cool, packing her the rest of her bag and grabbing her water bottle.

"Did most of my seat time in jail," he answered, coming up the table and running his hand along it. "How's my kid?" Sam pulled her bag on her shoulder and tried to move around the table past him. He quickly slid before her, running his hand down her cheek.

"Ask her parents," she forcefully replied, jerking her head away. A switch flipped in Jason's eyes. They went dark. The felon grabbed a fist of Sam's hair in the back of her head, pulling her in, and locking her in close.

"I am her parent," he growled, driving his fist in her right side, knocking the wind out of Sam's body. "I came to apologize, but clearly you're ungrateful," he said, dropping Sam to the floor, her water bottle and bag falling off the front of the stage.

"Ungrateful," she gasped, trying to collect as much air as possible. "You raped my daughter," she choked, sliding away from him as best as possible. Jason took a few steps, closing the gap between them.

"I didn't rape her," he scoffed, rolling his eyes, kneeling next to Sam. "And besides, I did you a favor. I could've had both of your girls," he smirked. "So sweet, so smooth-,"

"She's a child!" Sam yelled, hitting him with no effect. A short chuckle was heard as the adult male stood up, and forcefully kicked Sam in the same right side.

"She was mine. Mine to mold. And you stole her from me!" He screamed, kicking Sam a few more times. In his rage, Jason hadn't notice Avery come back for her hoodie she'd forgotten. The high schooler panicked, but knowing the layout of the drama department, she dropped her gang at the door and sprinted backstage. "Mine!" Jason screamed over and over again, driving his foot into the same spot. "Mi-," It stopped. Sam opened her eyes, coughing up blood, to see Avery standing over Jason with the unused wood from the last musical set piece. She beat him a few times til his breathing was shallow and his movements ceased.

Jason Peters laid on the cold floor of a local theater. He had a weak pulse, that only grew weaker as the minutes passed. Sam holding her side, was breathing hard. "Is he...?" Sam shuttered. The girl across from her, holding a bloody 2x4.

"He will be soon," Avery answered. "We have to get out of here," she said, kicking his body of the stage into a bunch of music stands to make it look like he fell.

"What about the wood? And the blood?" Sam asked, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. Avery looked around quickly before grabbing the red paint by an half painted staircase and poured it on the stage, mixing it with Jason and Sam's blood.

"We drop paint all the time. By the time the janitor realizes he's down there, he'll have cleaned it with the floor cleaner. He never pays attention. Let's go " she rushed, putting the paint can back and carefully moving around it to help Sam up.

"Thank you,"

"We don't talk about it. I see you next week. Then I do my audition. You raise your kids and we don't talk about this,"

Present Day

Lucy, Michelle, and Sam sat and stood around the island not a dry eye in sight. "What did Matt say?" Michelle asked, pulling the bottle of tequila closer, needing something stronger than wine.

"I didn't tell him. He doesn't know. And I don't want him to. I shouldn't have even told you guys," Sam mumbled, making Lucy come around the countertop.

"You trusted us because we are your girls. We aren't going to tell anyone and we'll be there for you," Lucy assured. A quiet moment passed, emotions running to high for Sam.

"I just- pass me the bottle. I don't want to think about that right now," she diverted, grabbing the tequila bottle and taking a swig as the doorbell rang. "Saved by the bell," she whispered, hoping off the seat and heading back to the couch.

To Be Continued.