One Argument And It's Over | Complete

Chapter 7 (Rewrite)

As she dried her hair, using the towel to slice through her blonde locks, Sam realised the reality of the situation. Freddie was going away to college in a few days – that fact was never going to go away. He was getting on a plane and flying halfway across the country without another thought. She'd be alone – like it was maybe always meant to be. With everyone else gone, she could maybe find a job downtown and find a place somewhere, sofa surfing through her phone contacts until she found a permanent place. She just wasn't sure if she could say goodbye, especially to Freddie.

Freddie came back into the apartment, hanging up his phone and dressed in a clean shirt and bottoms. He threw her over some clean clothes from his dresser. "They might be a bit big."

Sam just nodded, slipping her wet clothes off and pulling up the bottoms Freddie turned away, embarrassed and red in the face. "Okay, it isn't like you haven't seen me naked before."

"Okay, but I'm being a respectful guy," Freddie pointed out.

"Like we didn't already know you were," Sam complimented, changing the top. She discarded her wet clothes into a plastic bag. "You can turn around now." She took her seat on the sofa again, continuing to slice through her hair and attempt to untangle it with her fingers. Freddie sat down beside her, their knees touching. "Who were you on the phone to?"

"This nursing company," Freddie sighed. "You'd think your mother being a nurse herself would mean she would know full time carers that would drop anything to help her."

"Are you still looking for someone to look after her? You've seemed really stressed about that lately."

Freddie got to his feet, shaking his head. "Yes. I have called every company advertised on Boogle in the past few hours and nobody can help. Apparently, she isn't high priority enough." He walked into the open-plan kitchen and opened the fridge. "We should go shopping tomorrow for food – I can pay to fill the cupboards for at least a few weeks. You shouldn't have to starve."

"Oh, no, it's okay; I was going to find a job," Sam said. "I have some savings for now."

"Sam," Freddie insisted. "I'm not going to let you starve."

"Well, I'm not going to let you spend your money on me. Since when did you stop being stingy with your boy wallet?" she teased lightly.

The boy closed the fridge and made his way back over to the couch, sitting down close to her with two water bottles in hand. "Here." She took it into both hands. "What are you thinking about, hm? Penny for your thoughts?"

"Ah, nothing," Sam said nonchalantly. "It's a silly idea."

"No, no, tell me," he told her, insistent.

Sam sighed. "It's no surprise that I'm not going to college, but I was thinking about an idea that could help us both out in the long run."

"Go on."

"I can take a few classes here and there at a community college. I'm not exactly a bad chef, and I have the potential to be a great housewife—"

"Sam, what are you getting to?"

"Let me take care of your mother." He opened his mouth to reply, but she stopped him before he could. "I told you it's crazy. I-I could get a part time job or a night shift somewhere for food money, a-and I could be a stay-in carer for her until she can go back to work. It's a win-win situation. I, of course, wouldn't expect you to pay me – think of it as a favour for all you've done for me."

Freddie looked at her. "Sam, for a woman who doesn't entirely like my mother, that's a really caring and considerate thing to do."

"Don't tell anyone," she huffed. "I like my reputation as a cold-hearted human being, thank you very much." He laughed to himself. "But what do you think?"

"You're right – you're crazy," he agreed with her. She sighed, thinking he had shut her down. "But I like crazy." Her eyes almost sparkled as her face lit up. "But please, allow me to pay for food and anything extra you need. I didn't get the chance to tell you, but I applied for a part-time technical support job at a local library near MIT. If most of my money goes to you, you'd be the one doing me the favour because I'd have limited funds to spend on Galaxy Wars merch." The two shared a laugh. "We can talk to my mother about it tomorrow – come with me to the hospital and we can share this crazy idea to her together."

Sam nodded. "It sounds hella crazy, doesn't it?"

"It's absolutely insane," Freddie grinned. "But since when have we been normal?"

The two got engrossed in a movie not too long after, but the original topic still lingered in the air. And the question still stood – what were they now? Friends or more? Sam fell asleep before she could ask the question, and so did Freddie. On opposite ends of the sofa but leaning in towards each other.

The question lingered for another few days.

Mrs. Benson, laid up in hospital, had agreed to the crazy idea – after all, she had always been called Crazy for years by the blonde. Freddie was happy about the idea; it seemed like the right fit. He wouldn't trust anyone else with the health of his mother, and with a trial day set in place, he booked his fight out to the Massachusetts for the day after – three days from now. Sam signed up for a few night classes, realising she'd spend most of the day looking after Marissa, as she was now told to call her. Looking after someone else seemed like the best way to ensure she also looked after herself.

Sam stayed at the Shays' former apartment, but Freddie insisted on staying at his place. As much as he wanted to stay with her for the last few nights he was at home, he also wanted to say a proper goodbye to his room and his mother. He had some final packing to do as well. His mother wheeled herself into the room, knocking her fist at the door once.

"Hi," she greeted. "Freddie, I just wanted to check something with you." He wasn't paying much attention, humming in response. "You and Samantha—I mean, Sam—what's going on there? I'm obviously going to be spending a lot of time with her for the next few months until I can at least get back to work."

"Oh, uh, were just friends," Freddie told her awkwardly, not entirely sure what truth there was behind his words. The night before, the two had tried to talk about things, but it ended with them watching a movie in silence and talking about anything but the topic at hand. The elephant in the room was growing faster than either of them could do anything.

"She's a lovely girl, really," Mrs. Benson admitted. "We had lunch together today, and she hasn't had the best time in life by the sounds of it. Her mother just abandoned her for Mexico and left her with no electricity or hot water – that isn't what a mother should do." Freddie nodded. "Is she okay staying at the apartment across the hall? She's welcome to the guest room while she's helping me here."

His mother speaking highly of Sam. What had happened?

"I'm going to bed," she told him. "Are you able to help me a little later? I think I'll be okay getting into bed for now." Then, she was gone. She was able to go back to work in a few months, but until then, she was going to be very dependent on others, and Freddie felt weird to go away while his mother was like that. Of course, he trusted Sam to look after her, but he was all she had left – after his dad died when he was seven.

Before he went, he needed to talk to Sam. He needed to make up with her. His mother's words made him realise that he still loved her – she was all that was on his mind.