Leaving Arcadia Bay | A Rachel Amber Story

Chapter 16: Game Day

Las Vegas. Day 2.

When Rachel woke up the next morning, Sam wasn't in the room with her. Rachel rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stretched. When she sat up, she saw her old pair of clothes folded on a chair beside the bed. They were washed and clean. Rachel got out of bed and grabbed her clothes and left the room.

When she got out to the hallway, Sharon was just leaving her bedroom dressed in a professional suit. She smiled when she saw Rachel. "Good morning Rachel. How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good. After yesterday, I practically slept like a baby."

Sharon laughed. "That's good. Samantha told me all about what you girls were up to yesterday. I hope you two had fun." Sharon said. "And that no one recognized you." She added. "Yeah, I hope so too." Rachel said.

"Thanks for washing my clothes, by the way." Rachel said. "You're welcome. You can hop in the shower if you'd like. No one's in there at the moment. Samantha and the boys are downstairs, and Liam just left for work." Sharon said. "Pretty soon, I have to head out for a meeting so if you and Samantha wouldn't mind watching the boys today, that'd be great." Rachel nodded. "Sure thing Sharon. It's the least I can do after you let me stay with you guys." Rachel said.

Rachel closed the bathroom door behind her and set her clothes on the counter.

After her shower, Rachel got dressed and left the bathroom. She walked down the hall and made her way downstairs. Sam was sitting on the couch watching a TV show. She saw Rachel walk in and smiled. "Hey." She said. "Hey, you." Rachel replied.

"I really liked Iron Man 3!" Levi said from the dinner table.

"My favorite part is when all the Iron Man suits showed up at the end." Joey replied.

"Hm. Guess I must have missed that one." Rachel said as she sat next to Sam. "Yeah, it like just came out." Sam said. Rachel nodded. "Oh, okay." She said.

Slouched into the cushions, Sam stretched before draping her arm over the couch. She caught a scent of jasmine coming off of Rachel. She wondered how she smelled and worried that Rachel would notice that she didn't shower that morning.

"Hey so, like, your mom and dad are at work. Shouldn't you and your brothers be at school?" Rachel said. Sam smirked. "We're off until next week. Well, at least I am. They go back tomorrow." She said. "Hmm. Weird." Rachel said. "What's up?" Sam questioned.

"I don't know. Everything just feels... planned out. Almost like I'm in a poorly written book." Rachel said.

Sam raised her eyebrows in question. "What?" Sam said with an amused laugh. "Doesn't it feel a little bit odd that I just so happen to show up at your house when you're on break from school?" Rachel said. Sam lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Nope. Just a coincidence. This is real life, Rachel." Sam said. "Sometimes, things just happen. Maybe you were supposed to come here. Maybe it's fate." She said. Rachel nodded, fancying the thought. "Maybe..." She said.

Rachel went back and forth believing in fate. Or any kind of thing related to fate. Maybe perhaps it was her destiny to find and meet Sera. To leave behind her old life. To embark on this journey. Whatever the explanation, Rachel knew one thing. And that was that she wanted to meet her mother.

But right now, she was with Sam. There was no need to worry about traveling and the cops for now.

"Sam, yesterday was so much fun. Thank you for letting me escape. Even if it was just for a few hours." Rachel said. Sam smiled softly. "No problem, Rach'. It was fun hanging out with you, just like old times." She said. "Because, sooner or later... you're going to have to leave again." Sam said, a frown on her face. Rachel nodded slowly. She didn't like seeing Sam sad. "Tell you what. When this is all done, I'll come back. And then we can properly spend time together." Rachel told her.