Family is Forever (Sequel to Running on Insulin)

Chapter 42

We had a long, long talk with Samantha about running away, how we were going to deal with pain and fear when she felt that running away was the answer. What the consequences were going to be if something like this happened again. We needed them to be fair, but serious enough.

We talked long into the evening, stopping only to do something about making sure Samantha had a snack, and then dinner.  We discussed all the things we needed to with regards to how we could best make sure that we didn't have a repeat of this. We had to reiterate over and over, for  our own sanity, that we would always have what we felt was best for her in mind, and that running away was never a solution. 

In the end, we decided, since Samantha wasn't used to having anything, taking things away from her was not much of a consequence. She was used to doing without, so taking away her phone or her Switch, or grounding her from the TV, wouldn't really have much effect.  We wouldn't make her go to her room, because she spent enough time isolated from the world when she lived with Stanley.  So, our solution was that she had to write us a letter explaining why running away was not a solution and how she was going to help us help her when it came to discussing hard things, or dealing with hard situations. We wanted her to tell us whether she understood that our intentions were always to keep her safe, even if it seemed like we had failed in the past. 

It seemed kind of lame, but it worked for us. Physical punishment was something we would never do, even if abuse hadn't been something she'd endured. And as mentioned, we certainly wouldn't be sending her to her room to isolate her even further. 

We also told her that for the first week back at school, she would not be able to go over to Jill's, or have Jill over after school.  That was literally the only thing we could take away from her that would have any effect. She understood, and at the end of our very, very long discussion, we all felt that we had come to a good understanding.  Samantha had the chance to tell us exactly how she'd been feeling and how betrayed she had felt by us knowing about Stanley's escape. 

In the end, there were plenty of tears, a little bit of yelling, but finally, understanding. 

It was nearly ten o'clock when we finished, and Samantha was clearly exhausted.  We all went upstairs, and she got ready for bed. 

"Do you want either of us to stay with you tonight?" I asked her, as she climbed into her bed, having brushed her teeth and put away her clothes. 

"No, thanks. I'm okay.  And I'm still really sorry, Dad."

I smiled at her. 

"I know you are, sweetheart.  And I love that you're calling me Dad again."

Her cheeks flushed and she smiled slightly. 

"It suits you," she said. 

Jenna came into the room just then and came over and sat on Samantha's bed. 

"You all good, sweet girl?" she asked. 

Samantha nodded. 

"Sweet dreams then, my darling," Jenna said, kissing Samantha on the forehead. 

"Good night, Mom. I'm sorry, again."

"I know, baby. But we had a good talk tonight, and we're going to talk about things when we're upset, aren't we?"

Samantha nodded. 

"Alright. Under the covers with you," Jenna said, pulling up the comforter and tucking Samantha into bed. "Sweet dreams."

We turned out the light and went to our own room.  Josh was in his room with the door open, putting clothes in his suitcase. He was heading home in the morning. It would be just the three of us for the rest of the day, and on Monday, Samantha would return to school. We'd decided, together, during our discussion, that if she was able to go downtown on a bus, by herself, and then get on that bus, she was able to go to school. 

In the morning, the four of us were up by nine. Jenna and Samantha made breakfast and we all ate together.  Josh said goodbye to Samantha and told us we should really consider coming out to California for Spring Break.  We could stay with him, and we could visit Brendon and Sarah. We told him we would definitely consider it. 

I took Josh to the airport while Sam and Jenna stayed at home. 

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Jenna POV

"Okay, kiddo. Go upstairs and clean your room. Gather up whatever laundry you have, and we'll get that in the machine.  Then we can watch a movie, or you can read a book or work on that letter we asked you to write," I said. 

Samantha frowned, just a little, but went upstairs and came back down about a half an hour later with her laundry basket. She sat at the island with some paper and started writing.  I pulled out some chicken breasts to thaw for dinner, and started contemplating both lunch for the three of us, once Tyler came home from the airport, and then what to do with the chicken for dinner. 

Tyler came in about an hour later, and flopped onto the couch.

"Josh got off okay?" I asked. 

"Yup," he said. 

"Good. He must be happy to be heading home."

"He's not, actually. He's still worried about Sam."

"I'm fine!" she called from the kitchen. Tyler and I started laughing. 

"Stop eavesdropping, you teenager!" Tyler called out.  Samantha laughed from the kitchen. 

I went into the kitchen and pulled out some bread and cold cuts. 

"You two ready for lunch?" I asked. 

They both said they were.  Samantha tested and dosed, though shakily. 

The three of us sat at the table together eating sandwiches and talking. Samantha agreed she was ready to go back to school, and was sort of looking forward to it. 

"I kind of missed being in class when I was working with the tutor. But I was also way too scared to go."

"We understand, baby," I said, smiling at her. 

It was nice that things were starting to settle down. We let Sam know that she still had an appointment with Dr. Freud this coming week, after school. She sighed, and seemed resigned to it. But the anger and fear she'd had the first time we'd told her about her appointment with Dr. Freud.  She'd come so far, both since she came to us, and since we got her back from Stanley.