Leave The City (Book 8 of Adopted by the Josephs)

51. Samantha

"Hey there, sleepyhead," a voice said, quietly, while a hand gently rubbed my back. I groaned and rolled onto my back, opening my eyes to see who had the nerve to disturb my slumber. It was Aunt Sarah. She was smiling down on me as I came into consciousness.

"Hi," I said.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" She asked. I shrugged.

"Okay, I guess," I said.

"Dr. Angela told us about your session.  Not what you talked about, not in detail. Just what you're dealing with."

I nodded.

"I hate asking you this, but, are you hungry? Dinner's ready and you didn't have an after school snack. Or lunch, come to think of it. How are you not low?"

"Stress can make my sugar go high," I said, picking up my phone, which was still beside me on my bed. I pulled up my glucose app. I was trending low-ish, but still in the normal range.

"I see. Well, how about it? I know you might not be in the mood to eat, but you do need to."

"I know," I sighed. "I'm coming. I just have to pee."

"Okay," Aunt Sarah said, smiling. "We're downstairs. See you in a couple of minutes?"

I nodded and sat up as she got off my bed. I stretched and stood up. Aunt Sarah wrapped me in her arms.

"You're going to be okay, Sam," she said. "But you take your time to grieve if you need to, okay?  Uncle B and I are here for you. Anytime you need."

I smiled.

"Thank you," I smiled a small smile.

She cupped my face in her hands and smiled at me.

"See you downstairs," she said and left my room.

I went into my bathroom, did what I needed, and looked at myself in the mirror. I was leaning on my counter and just thinking. Why did I survive the accident?  Why have I survived the things I have? Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I headed downstairs. I left my crutches upstairs. I didn't expect I'd need them to go to the dining room.

"There's my favorite niece!" Uncle Brendon said as I came into the kitchen. "How are you feeling?"

I shrugged again.  He looked at me with a sad smile.

"Lots of stuff coming at you at once, huh?" He asked. I nodded. He pulled me into a hug.

"I know your aunt already said this, but we're here if you need it, okay?"

"Okay," I said. "Thanks."

I helped Aunt Sarah bring the dinner in as Uncle Brendon set the table. I carried the salad while Aunt Sarah brought in a casserole.

"This casserole," she said. "Is one my mom would make when she needed comfort. Or if she thought maybe one of us needed some comfort food. It's beef and macaroni."

"Mom makes something like that," I said, smiling. Aunt Sarah smiled at me.

"You should call them after dinner," Uncle Brendon said. "I know they don't know what happened today, and I don't know if you want to tell them, but you should call home."

"Okay," I said, taking a measured amount of casserole and salad. I bolused my insulin, and sat, looking at the food in front of me.

"Sam?" Aunt Sarah asked, touching my arm. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "Just waiting a minute. For my insulin."

"Oh. Right. Okay," she said. I saw her look over at  Uncle Brendon and I saw him look over at me. I looked at both of them.