Rendezvous: A Lost Chapter of Sam Drake

Chapter 10: Origin Story

(A/N: trigger warning for anyone who experienced childhood traumas. This chapter talks about Sam and Skylar and how they ended up in the orphanage. Triggers: alcoholics, abuse, suicide, drugs. Don't feel pressured to read this section if you feel uncomfortable. I'll just see ya for the next chapter! Much love, LoveGirl <3) 

We were all on Sully's plane which he borrowed through a connection of his. Sam and I sat in the back while Sully flew the plane. Nate was a few seats away with music playing loudly in his earbuds as he was researching last minute things for finding Avery's grave. "Hey Sky?" Sam said looking at me thoughtfully. "Hmm?" I said turning my attention from my book. "Yknow, you never told me how you ended up in the orphanage." My stomach dropped the same way it drops on one of those big rollercoasters at the theme park. "Well, you never told me how you did, either so... we're even." Sam scoffed "That's a lie and you know it. Don't you remember the night I snuck into you room? Right before Christmas?" Ah... Sam and I's first fight. How could I forget. 

MANY YEARS AGO, IN THE ORPHANAGE 

I had just gotten ready for bed. I turned my tableside lamp off and crawled under the sheets of my small bed. I rolled over trying to get comfortable. I closed my eyes and started to drift to sleep. As soon as I was about to drift away into whatever dream my subconscious had created for me, there was a loud knock at my window. I shot up out of bed. It was of course, Sam. I sighed and got out of bed to open my window for him. "I honestly don't know why you keep this thing locked. I'm in here like every night." He said climbing into my room and sitting on my bed. "Not every night." I rebutted. "Well... when you leave it open, I come in here and make sure you have enough blankets or just to check on you. I always check every night, though. Sometimes you'll have it locked and if I knock and you don't answer I peek through to make sure you're just sleeping. But yeah... I check on Nate and then head over here to check on you." I smiled "Awwwww Sammm my own personal spider-man." I laughed pinching his cheeks. "Yeah, well I feel better checking on you guys. I used to always have to check on Nate when we lived with Mom and Dad. Dad was an alcoholic and he would get violent sometimes. I would check on Mom and then Nate and sometimes Nate would make me sleep in his room. My Mom ended up committing suicide and my piece of shit dad didn't want us so... that's how we ended up here." He half smiled at me. "I'm sorry, Sam." He shook his head "Nah its cool. I never really liked my Dad anyways. I just felt so bad for Mom." He sighed thinking about her. "So... Christmas is coming up... and I may or may not have gotten you something.." He smiled wide and handed me a little white box. "Open it!" Sam said excitedly. "Sam, you didn't need to do that." He shushed me "Well, maybe I just wanted to! Just open it." I rolled my eyes and opened the box. It was a gold ring with a cross on the front. "It was my mother's and I want you to have it." I shook my head "Sam... You're gonna want this one day. Don't waste it on me." He sighed and took the ring out of the box and slipped it on my ring finger on my right hand. "Just take it. It fits you perfectly." I smiled and hugged Sam. "Thank you" I smiled. "So.. how did you end up here?" He asked. "We don't need to talk about it Sam." I sighed. "Oh come on, I told you how we ended up here." I shot him a look "Ok and? I didn't ask you to. I'm not ready to have this conversation right now." Sam shook his head "Yeah whatever. have a good fucking night." He got up and crawled out of my window and headed back to his room. 

PRESENT DAY

"Yeah Sam, I remember" I said twisting the ring on my finger. I never took it off. "So?? You gonna tell me or do we have to wait another 20 years?" I laughed "So.. It started two days before Christmas when I was nine...." 

DECEMBER 23RD 1981 

"Francesca! I'm so SICK of this shit!! I'm not sleeping with Amy!" I heard my dad yell at my mom. This was a nightly routine. My parents fought every night since I was little, but it was normal. I sat at the top of the stairs so I could listen in. Sounded like dad had a sleepover with Amy. Sounds like fun to me. I have sleepovers all the time. "Frannie, I'm done playing these games.. look at you! Skylar doesn't have any parent around right now because your lazy ass staying in bed drugged out on your new prescription of the month! Do you realize how much debt we're in? I've taken you to the best hospitals in the country and you wanna know what they all said?? That it was all mental!!! It's all in your fucking head, Frannie!" I heard my dad grab his keys. "Oh yeah, thats just like you, Andy... leave when shit gets hard! I'm calling the cops!" Mom grabbed the phone and dialed 911. My dad went for the door but I ran down and got infront of him to stop him "Daddy you can't leave me here alone with her. please dont go. you cant go!!!" Mom hung up the phone and Dad told me to move out of the way. I moved and he went to his car, but my mom wasn't having it. She hopped in her car and decided to play bumper cars with my dad. They kept running into eachother and hitting eachother's cars until the police showed up. 

They interviewed me and told my dad to stay somewhere else for the night. The next day dad was supposed to come back home, but mom got in her car and told me to come with her. "Stay in the car. Don't answer it for anyone." we ended up at a police station I've never seen before. I sat in the car for ours without the keys in the ignition. finally, after the sun had set my dad came to pick me up. My mom was thrown in a mental institution for a few months, and I would visit her every few days while dad and I stayed with my grandparents. My parents filed for a divorce, but my dad had a shitty lawyer who lost the case. I moved back in with my mom, but my grandparents called DSS on her and I ended up in the orphanage. This is just the tail end of the story. There were years of physical, mental and emotional abuse and neglect that I'll keep to myself for now, but this is the gist of what happened. 

PRESENT

"So yeah.. that's it. my dad ended up in jail and got into a fight and was killed in prison. My mom is still strung out on drugs, homeless, and doesn't give a shit about me. But yeah.. that's the story." Sam shook his head "Shit... no wonder you don't like to talk about it." I nodded. "So Christmas can be extra hard on me every once and a while, but I try not to think about my past. I just think about my present and my future." Sam smiled "You're incredibly strong, you know that?" He said reaching over the isle to hold my hand. I grabbed his hand and smiled. I went back to my book and read for a while longer.