The London Paradigm (book 4 of Adopted by the Josephs)

31. Tyler

"Sam, Sam, calm down," I said as my daughter looked frantically around. "You're okay. It was just a dream. You're okay."

I pulled her close to me, but she pulled away. She must not have been completely awake yet.

"Sam, honey," Jenna said, rubbing Samantha's arm. "Honey, it was a nightmare. You're okay. You're safe. You're at home. You're okay."

She stopped looking around so frantically. Her eyes cleared and she looked at me. Then she burst into tears.

"Shh, shh," I said, hugging her to me. This time she didn't pull away. She melted into me as she sobbed.

"You're okay," I said. I looked at Jenna who looked upset by Samantha's nightmare. She smiled sadly at me.

"Want to tell us about it?" Jenna asked Samantha. She nodded but she was sobbing too hard to get any words out.

"Okay, okay," I said to her, hugging her tight and rubbing her back. "Take your time. We're right here when you're ready. You just get it all out. You're fine. You're okay."

Finally, Samantha's sobs stopped being heaving sobs. She quieted down and leaned into me. I looked down at her.

"It's okay baby cakes. Whenever you're ready, we're here to listen."

"I had a nightmare," she sniffed.

"We figured," I said, pulling the blanket back up around her. "Want to tell us about it?"

"I dreamt I was being chased. Like the night I came here. It was cold and raining. I ran through the woods and climbed the fence, but then I was in a different back yard. I think it was Mark and Carol's. So I ran through the gate and I was still being chased."

"Oh, baby cakes," I said, sadly.

"I ran to the park that's near their house and Emma and Benji and Taylor and Brittany were there. I tried to get them to help me but they said they wanted me to stay in England and that you don't really love me. That I'm a publicity stunt."

"Oh, baby, you know that isn't true," Jenna said. Sam nodded.

She related more about this 'conversation' she'd had.

"And then, when I asked them again for their help, they said there was no reason because he was right behind me. And when I turned around it was Stanley, but he was rotting. And he said 'I told you I would always look after you'."

"That sounds terrifying," I said, pulling her closer still.

"What if Mark was friends with Stanley?  What if after all this, even though he's related, he's really on Stanley's side?"

"I can't answer that," I said. "But, I will talk to Mr. Greyson and maybe even Mr. Whittingham, and maybe they can look into whether or not Mark knew Stanley besides as your dad."

Sam nodded. She was tracing the tattoos on my arm again. Something I'd notice she'd do when she needed to calm down, needed reassurance or just needed to distract her mind. She was tracing my 'Carpe Noctem' tattoo, which I thought was appropriate, given she'd been woken from a nightmare.

"How are you doing now?" I asked her, smoothing her hair and giving her a kiss on the head.

She shrugged. I'm pretty sure the images were still pervasive in her mind's eye.  I hugged her tight again.

Jenna was also sitting close and had her arm around Samantha and was speaking soothingly to her.

"You know none of that was true, right?" She asked Samantha. Sam nodded.

"It felt so real, though. And they were so insistent that I belong in England."

"I know sweetheart," I said. "I know."

"Do you think that's why they asked me to stay - well, made me stay, longer? To try to convince me?  Maybe to make me stay?  Maybe Benji was told to take my passport?"

"I can't answer that, sweetie. But I told Mark if you weren't on that plane home, we would call the police and get everyone involved that we could. Because you're our kid and we're fighting like hell to keep you home with us. Where you belong. Where your friends are. Where your mom is buried."

"And in this family, where my life really started," Samantha said, looking up at me.

I got a bit of a tear in my eye. As did Jenna.

"Aw, kiddo. We're so happy we were able to do that for you. You have grown into such an amazing person, Sam. A total 180 from the little girl who landed in our backyard and then passed out.

I mean, a year ago, would you have gone to England alone?"

"Hell no!" She said. "I mean, a year and a half ago I wouldn't even leave the house."

I recalled the days after we'd gotten her back when Stanley kidnapped her. How she didn't speak for three weeks. How even when she cried it was silent. The only noise she made was screaming. Either from nightmares or when she saw someone in the woods behind the house.

"Sam, there is one thing you should know about this case," I said.

"What?  Besides that it sucks and Mark is a douche?"

I smiled a bit at that.

"There will be press involved. This is a big case, a big story, even if it doesn't wind up going to court. First, I think you'd better warn your friends. And we'll talk to the school."

"Oh no!!" Sam said, panicking. "I can't start high school as a story in the news!!"

"I'm sorry, honey. But the media is going to catch wind of this. They have people who check court filings. We're going to do our best to shield you as much as possible. But I'm warning you, they might show up at your school. We'll try to keep that from happening. I promise. We'll do our best. But we may not be able to do as much as we'd like. They'll definitely be at the house. But we have the gate."

"What about the woods?" Sam asked.

I sighed. I hadn't thought of the woods.

"I'm going to have to talk to some security firms to maybe get some security around the house. We'll see if we need that, though. I'll call some tomorrow. Just to get an idea."

Sam's head dropped.

"Now I'm going to cost even more."

"Samantha Joseph," I said, taking her chin in my hand and making her look at me. "I would happily go bankrupt to protect you."