Everybody Hurts

Chapter 22

Knock! Knock!

Sam paused in pouring a cup of coffee from the third pot she'd made, fueling her as she sat up at the table with a notebook and pencil all night, frantically trying to figure out a way to get Eddie out of this. Or if nothing else, a way to get him to fight back, to tell the judge the truth, that he'd acted in self-defense or in defense of her. Anything but to stand there and plead guilty for smashing in the face of a man who more than had it coming.

Opening the door, she found Robin and Steve standing on her porch, looking as frazzled as she felt. Disheveled hair and clothing, purple half moons darkening under their eyes, showing signs that they had just as much trouble sleeping as she had. Her heart gave a hopeful tug. Maybe they'd come up with something. Maybe they'd had some grand epiphany that she hadn't.

"Have you heard anything?" she asked anxiously.

Steve shook his head, "No, not yet. But Hop's a man of his word. He'll call as soon as he's talked to Eddie. No, we're actually here for something else."

"Okay..."

Sam was confused and honestly a little irritated. What could possibly have brought them here that was more important than Eddie potentially going to prison? Shouldn't that be the main focus right now?

"Steve and I were talking last night and we have decided that it's time to tell you," Robin said.

"Tell me what?"

"Everything," she answered, giving Sam a pointed look, a look that had her insides jumping with both trepidation and relief.

"I called Nancy this morning and let her know everything that's going on and everyone is on their way here," Steve continued. "We're going to tell you the truth, all of it. We have agreed that it's time you know. You've more than proven your devotion to Eddie and to all of us. It's not fair to keep you in the dark, especially not if you're going to be with him. And especially not with everything that's going on. You need to know what has brought us here, why all of this happened."

Sam backed into the house, the two of them following her inside. Mixed emotions coursed through her. On one hand, she was eager to finally learn the truth, to have the veil lifted, to know exactly what had happened here. On the other hand, she didn't mind admitting that she was more than a little nervous that what she was about to find out was going to be more awful than she could even begin to imagine.

Slow footsteps into the kitchen, her hands grabbing onto the coffee pot, filling her mug to the brim. Trembling fingers lifted it to her lips, sipping the hot liquid, burning her tongue but barely registering it. A hand with ragged fingernails, chewed down from anxious energy, took the mug from her hand, setting it down on the counter.

"Sweetie, you might want to cool it on the caffeine," Robin told her softly. "You might want something a bit...inebriating for what we're about to tell you, actually."

Steve's eyes roamed around the kitchen, lighting up when he spotted the bottle of amber colored liquid, the color of Eddie's eyes. Grabbing onto the neck of it, he held it up with a smile, eyebrows lifting.

"Maker's Mark." He let out a low whistle. "The good shit. This is definitely what we need right now."

Glancing at the clock next to the window, Sam saw it was only ten in the morning. But hell, it was five o'clock somewhere, right? And she'd been up for over twenty-four hours so what did it matter if she partook in an adult beverage?

Stepping around Robin, Sam opened the cabinet above the stove, pulling down three glasses. She made her way to the freezer, grabbing the ice cube tray. Twisting it, she freed a few ice cubes, dropping two into each glass before sliding them across the table to Steve who gave them each a generous pour.