Worst Summer Ever... (Book 7 of Adopted by Jenna and Tyler Joseph)

26. Tyler

As brave as she seemed to be acting, I could see there was still a part of Samantha that was fighting against her resolve. She second guessed more than she had in the past.

Media coverage of her abduction and then her rescue and return home had brought more scrutiny on her and since coming home, there was press at the end of the driveway still.

But Samantha was taking this much better than anything before. She might second guess herself a bit more, but she wasn't allowing anything to stop her from doing what she wanted.

Jill and Erin had come by a few days after Samantha was home, after having called first. The girls disappeared into Samantha's room and occasionally we'd hear laughter.

"She seems to be doing okay," Erin observed.

"She is, actually. The nightmares are back, but not as bad as they've been in the past. And she's much more open about how she's feeling. She said that despite what happened, she really doesn't think Mark intended to harm her, even though he did," I said.

"What about her leg?" Erin asked. I see she's on her crutches again."

"We still don't know what happened to her leg. She doesn't know the names of any of the motels they stayed in and he's not giving much information."

Mark was being held without bail until his trial, which hadn't been set yet. He wasn't giving anything up and wouldn't even tell us if he knew where he left Samantha's leg.

"I know how Samantha struggles sometimes, but I'm shocked, well, pleasantly surprised, that she's doing so well this time. Maybe because, like you said she said, because Mark didn't really want to hurt her."

"Sam thinks he didn't think things through with regards to her diabetes. And that she doesn't think he had the mental capacity to realize what that meant. Carol said he'd become obsessed with getting custody of Samantha."

We visited with Erin who asked what our plans were regarding Samantha's birthday. We'd had a party planned. Obviously we had to cancel since throwing a party while the guest of honour was missing seemed... like a bad idea.

"We haven't even brought it up to her, to be honest," Jenna said. "We don't know if she even wants to celebrate it considering where she was when her birthday happened."

"Fair," Erin said. "Jill brought her her gift anyway."

I smiled. Sam still deserved to have her birthday acknowledged. After all, she wasn't convinced she would have made it to 18 with her birth... parent.

Before dinner, Jill and Erin left and Samantha came back down and sat in the living room with us, cuddling up to Jenna.

"How're you doing, Baby?" She asked Sam.

"I'm okay," she said. "A little sad."

"Why's that?" I asked her.

"Doc told me he might have to discharge me soon because he deals with adolescents and I'm legally an adult. But, he said he could probably keep me on as a patient for longer because of the relationship we built. And how I don't easily trust a lot of people."

"How do you feel about that?" I asked.

"A little sad if he can't keep me as a patient. But one thing for sure, I'll probably trust anyone he recommends. Eventually."

She grinned up at Jenna who laughed at that.

Jenna got up to start dinner, and Samantha went to help. I followed them and helped Sam bring plates and cutlery to the table. It was easier for her to set the table when she was on her crutches than to do much more that might require two hands. We'd ordered a new leg, but those take time.