Better on our own - English

An unsettling evening

"Sam, don't do it! Think about your son! He needs you!" I shouted and ran over to him. I had barely reached him when I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his chest to held him tightly. He definitely wouldn't jump down tonight, and if he did he would at least have to take me with him!

To my surprise, Sam didn't resist at all, but stiffened for a moment as he looked at Sarah, who now also came to a stop next to him.

"I'm not sso ssure whether you've really improved with Niall, Sarah," he commented skeptically as he tapped his forehead with his finger and then pointed at me. "What'sss wrong with him?" I rolled my eyes in annoyance when Sarah laughed quietly and I let go of Sam, but still held on to his upper arm - just to be safe! While he may not have been suicidal, he seemed to have had quite a bit of drinks, judging by the way he slurred when he spoke. Something could quickly go wrong if the senses were impaired by alcohol.

"He thinks you want to harm yourself and just wants to stop you from doing it, like me," Sarah said seriously and I could tell she was still worried. So the suspicion that he wanted to harm himself wasn't completely erased after all?!

"Why would I harm myssself?" Sam replied, genuinely confused. So that convinced me a little that he didn't want to do it!

"Because of Penny?!" Sarah explained to him and leaned on the railing next to her uncle, who sighed briefly - but at least her legs stayed on the side of the street, while Sam's were still dangling over the river.

"It'sss true that my life no longer hasss any meaning without her, but yessterday afternoon showed me that there iss sstill hope, that we can at leasst be friendss again," Sam answered his niece sadly, which made me sit up and take notice. His words didn't really match the tone of his voice.

"And that would be enough for you?" I asked amazed.

"It'ss better than not having her in my life at all, right?" he snapped back at me. Whether it was because I was still holding him tightly or because he didn't like my question, I couldn't say. I gave Sarah a questioning look, but she just shrugged her shoulders. Sam took a deep breath before continuing, "Back then when Penny left and I really thought I meant nothing to her and that our argument couldn't be ressolved, I applied for a job in America. I just wanted to get away from here. Ass far away ass possssible and sstart over. I thought that would help me to forget her. Now I know that I would have never been able to forget her," he then explained to us quietly and I looked at Sarah only to see that she was quite shocked by her uncle's words. Apparently he never told his family that.

"What made you stay?" I asked him out of curiosity and to keep the conversation going. Not that Sam changed his mind about jumping when he remembered the cloudy memories from the past!

"Her call...Cody...I couldn't dissappear and let my child grow up without hiss father. It's my duty and my ressponssibility," he told us before taking another deep breath. "He'ss one of the children who I had wished for having with her," he then added, without taking his eyes off the river below him, as he had been doing all along, but none of us missed the sadness in his voice. I was briefly tempted to cheer him up a little by telling him that the second one was already on the way, but I held back at the last moment. Penny would strangle me if I told him - or would she try the rifle on myself?

"Perhaps you will soon have the happy family that you so much want," Sarah objected carefully and placed a hand on her uncle's shoulder.

"I really thought we were finally on the right track, but the mayor always interveness," Sam then grumbled. Sarah and I had heard something similar before today.

"Believe me, he's not good for Penny and she'll soon realize that!" I just mumbled and Sam gave me a skeptical sideways glance before shaking his head and looking down at the water again.