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

45. Samantha

I hav no idea how much time passed before I woke up. When I did, Jim was curled up next to me and looking at me with his soulful eyes. I smiled and pet his head.

I really had to pee, so I gently nudged him off the bed so I could go use the washroom. Once I was done, Jim and I went downstairs.

"Hey there, String Bean!" Uncle Josh said with a smile. "You slept hard! Four hours. How do you feel?"

"Pretty good," I said, smiling. "Hungry though."

"Yeah! Let's get you some lunch!" Uncle Josh said getting up. Debby got up too and came over to give me a hug.

"How did you sleep?" She asked.

"Good," I said. "Great, actually."

Uncle Josh offered sandwiches for lunch and I asked for a turkey sandwich. While he was making it I realized something.

"I didn't have a nightmare," I said, looking at Uncle Josh incredulously. "I slept and I didn't have a nightmare."

Uncle Josh beamed at me.

"Good. You need some good sleep," he said, putting the sandwich in front of me and a glass of milk. Aunt Debby leaned on the counter and smiled.

"I'm so glad. You look a lot better. The circles under your eyes are mostly gone. I guess Jim will be your roomie tonight, too."

"Okay," I said. "He's a good roommate. Not too loud, doesn't steal my stuff."

Uncle Josh laughed. So did Aunt Debby.

"String Bean," Uncle Josh said, leaning towards me on the counter. "Aunt Debby and I were talking. The press seem to have not noticed you're here. Debby and I were thinking, maybe you'd like to stay here a few more days? Until or unless they catch on? Your mom and dad can bring your school stuff and some extra clothes. Just so maybe you can get some more sleep, some more peace until the press figures it out?"

"Did Mom and Dad ask you to keep me longer?"

"No! Not at all," he said. "After our talk in the woods, and your very understandable little breakdown, I thought maybe you'd like a few more days of peace."

"They'll probably figure it out Monday anyway," I said.

"Maybe. Or we could drive to your parents' house, make it look like we brought you home from school, then hide you again and come back here. Anyway, it's up to you. You think about it."

I nodded. It did sound nice to maybe have a few more days before the press figured it out. But at the same time, I missed Mom and Dad. And Rosie.

After we had lunch and cleaned up, Aunt Debby asked if I wanted to go shopping. I said no. The press would figure out where I was.

Uncle Josh suggested playing some Fortnite together so we did that for a while.

After we got tired of that, Uncle Josh decided to try to teach me the drums. It was fun. I found a sort of, calmness to it.

"You're pretty good," Uncle Josh said. "Maybe you'll take over for me and I can take a vacation next tour."

"Oh Haha." I said. "I'm not that good."

"You caught on pretty quick. Just like when Uncle Brendon taught you the piano. You're talented. Embrace it."

I smiled. Dad and Uncle Brendon had said I'm talented but hearing it from Uncle Josh also made me feel like, maybe I am a bit.

"You guys ready for dinner?" Aunt Debby asked, coming into the basement. "Sam, you should have had a snack by now."

"I lost track of time," I said.

"How are your sugars?" Aunt Debby asked. I checked my app.

"A little low, but still in normal range. But yeah. Dinner sounds good."

"Okay. Come on up. I was thinking we could order Chinese or pizza. What are you two in the mood for?"

"I could go for Chinese," Uncle Josh said. I agreed. We all went into the kitchen to figure out what dishes to order.

Aunt Debby made me drink some chocolate milk to bring my sugars up a bit and then when dinner came. I was better able to bolus accurately.

We chatted over dinner. Not about anything specific. Just stuff. They did ask a little bit about how I was feeling about the case in general and I admitted I'm still scared.

After dinner, Uncle Josh, Aunt Debby and I went outside in the back and played fetch with Jim.

He was a very slobbery fetcher. But he was too cute.

Aunt Debby brought out some ice cream and coffee and we sat outside, even though it was a hit cool. Eventually I got too cold to stay outside so I said I was going in. They came with.

We watched a movie and had popcorn. It was a comedy. And funny. We laughed a lot. It was the first time in a while I felt kinda normal. Not that it's Mom and Dad's fault things aren't normal at home. But tonight, finally, I felt at ease.

Just as we were turning off the movie and the TV, something caught my attention on the news.

"Mark Solman, Samantha Joseph's biological uncle, arrived in Columbus today ahead of the custody trial that he and his family have launched against singer Tyler Joseph and his wife, Jenna.

The Solmans allege they did not know the teen had been born after Mr. Solman's family had been alienated from his sister's family following her marriage to the disgraced local lawyer, the late Stanley Deitz, who himself was the focus of a nationwide manhunt two years ago.

With Mr. Solman's arrival in the United States, press and coverage has increased around the Joseph's home, where Samantha has not been seen in a couple of days. A source close to the family says that Samantha is well, and is currently at an undisclosed location as her physical and mental health have been affected by the press coverage and intrusion into her daily life."

"Uncle Josh?" I said.

"Yeah, String Bean?" He said, looking at me.

"Can I stay a few more days?"