Sam Campbell needed to escape, escape from her life, her messy divorce, and all the pitying looks. Looks she couldn't ignore when everyone in town had known her and Cam, had known her shame and failure. So, she took the first job she could get, teac...
Sam came down the stairs the next afternoon in jeans shorts and a t-shirt, eager to celebrate the warm day ahead. Winter was finally letting go, releasing everyone from the hold of its icy grasp, allowing summer to take over. The forecast showed nothing but sun and temperatures in the seventies and eighties for the next week. She was looking forward to letting her pale limbs that had been hidden under layers of clothes for months see the light of day and slowly turn to golden brown.
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She'd slept in a bit this morning after what had turned out to be a late night with Eddie. They'd finished Scream, which would now be added to her list of all-time favorite horror movies because Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich were absolutely everything in that movie. Neve Campbell had been one hell of a final girl. The way they played off all the horror movie rules and that twist with Drew Barrymore. Who would have thought the biggest name in that movie would meet their demise so quickly? The whole thing was genius.
But then Eddie had surprised her when he suggested that they watch The Craft as well. Sam had been glad that he wanted to spend more time with her instead of getting out of there as quickly as possible after the awkward and failed, almost, maybe kiss, if that had even been what it was. Her delusional mind could have just imagined the whole thing. But she'd also been confused because he seemed uncomfortable, staying firmly on his side of the couch, his legs spread wide in front of him, arms behind his head, taking up as much space as he could without actually risking invading any of hers.
But maybe it was as simple as he did just want to try to be her friend. Was that really so bad? She tried to focus on that piece, the fact that he could actually tolerate her now, instead of the burning want that flamed within her in the hopes to be more. There was just something about Eddie, something that pulled her in like the moon to the tides, something she could not explain no matter how she tried.
This man was an enigma, mysterious and puzzling, invading her mind, body, and soul. Sam knew it was crazy, absolutely insane, but she couldn't seem to control it. She barely knew him. It made no sense why he'd completely taken her over, burrowing under her skin and infesting her with this ridiculous desire for him in a matter of a few weeks. It made no sense why she was even interested in him after the dickhead way he'd treated her. Red flags everywhere, Sam! But she couldn't seem to stop it. She longed to hold him, to comfort him, to soothe whatever was aching within him.
And that man was definitely hurting. Every now and again, if you watched him closely and she hated to admit that she did, far more closely than she should, it was like a veil of sadness and pain had been drawn over his face. There would be a dark, haunted look in his eyes as he became lost in his own thoughts and memories. It was this deep sense of grief, as if he had seen things and experienced things that shouldn't have happened, things that had left deep scars on his body as well as his soul, things that Sam could never understand. Whatever had happened to him had clearly left its mark just as deeply as those raccoons. And she still wasn't sure she believed that ridiculous story.
