Until Dawn- Control [Josh and Sam]

Disappointment.

                                                                      A sorry doesn't bring her back.

                                                

The house was clean and tidy, but without any sign of life. There were no clothes in the living room, no magazines on the kitchen counter, no dirty plates in the sink. Every single room was held in the colors of white and black, something making the missing mess even worse. The only thing showing Sam that someone had slept here, were the keys on the board next to her, plus someone had definitely used too much perfume, poisoning the air with its disgusting scent. It was a man's cologne, heavy and dark, the smell of whiskey dominating the mixture.

She had barely entered the house as the Washington's dog Winston Churchill stormed towards her, his tail wiggling excited. "Church! Haven't seen you in a while! Good boy!" She kneeled down, stroking along his head with her left hand while setting down her bag on the dark, mirroring floor.    She still remembered the house being filled with the smell of cake, tea and coffee. It had been  the day she had met Hannah, the first time she had been at the Washington's house.  

Her mum had taken her with her, luckily, although she did't really want to go there back then. She had always been afraid of this huge dog in the garden, playing with a brown-haired boy called Josh who seemed to notice her frown at the big animal, but never said a word when she was sitting inside her tree house, playing with her toys as she looked outside the window, seeing him running around, laughing, after being joined by two girls at her age. They were neighbors, but Sam's family had just moved there due to her father getting a new job at the city's main hospital, so she didn't have the courage to go over and talk to the kids. Although Sam was anything but shy, she didn't know how to start a conversation. The day her mother finally took her over, she had been spending time on drawing a butterfly with lovely, baby-blue wings, still wearing her pajamas whilst sitting on the ground, her hair an adorable mess. "Sammy, we're visiting the neighbors today. I want you to change so we can go over in a few." Sam pouted. "But I am not ready! I need to draw this, mummy! And they have this huge dog! I bet it will bite me!" "You can take it with you. Maybe they like butterflies, too? And the dog is really, really nice." "What if they don't like me?" "They will, I'm sure!", her mother said, packing the pencils and the papers inside a backpack, a soft smile on her face. Sam stood up, walking towards the dresser opening its doors quickly. "Why are we going there?" "It's their birthday. They are turning 5 today and  they invited you."  "Why?" "Ask her." Sam took out  white shirt with long, pink sleeves and a green legging, putting them on slowly, her eyes on the backpack while she closed her shoes, standing up straight afterwards. "Okay. Now I am ready."

They walked towards the house, already hearing music and cheering. The door was opened by a tall woman, her smile wide and friendly. "Ana! And you must be Samantha, right?" "Yes, ma'm." The woman burst out into laughter and Sam shot her mother a puzzled glanced who just smiled at her mildly. "Come on in! They are already waiting for you. Ana, you want to talk in the kitchen?" Sam's mum nodded, kneeling down to talk to her daughter. "Go get some new friends! Have fun!" Samantha  giggled, her face red as she walked into the living room. The girls were sitting around a table, their dark, brown hair braided into crowns on top of their heads. One of them wore glasses and a small butterfly-bracelet around her left hand, the other one was using a pencil to draw all other a huge paper covered in not so well written names. Sam cleared her throat,  crossing her arms in front of her chest. The one with the glasses looked at her, bending other whispering something into her twin's ear. She lifted her head, smiling. Sam made her way towards them, breathing nervously. "Hi. I am Samantha, but you can call me Sam." "Hi Sam! I'm Hannah and this is Beth!" "Do you like butterflies?" Sam took out the picture she had drawn and her prettiest pencil. "Because this is for you."

"So, Samantha. I'd like to talk about a lot of things. Since... Beth died, you haven't been around." "I've been busy pretending I'm fine.", She laughed, "Because I have nothing else to do." She lifted the cup up to her lips as Melinda looked at her with eyes full of sadness. "I know. But never mind. How is your mother doing?" Sam's breath stopped and she looked down. She answered, a bit too hastily, maybe: "She's fine. Work is very hard." Melinda sent her a doubtful look, watching her move uncomfortably as she sunk back  into the chair.  "Great. She... I miss her. Could you tell her? She could phone me sometime. "Yeah, I will. I mean, when I see her next time." "You know that I am here for you. Both of us have lost them. And if you need support-" "Really, I am fine." She looked down, inhaling. Church came in, laying his head down on her knee, glancing up at her. "Hey, Church. Do you want to be cuddled? Yeah?" She buried her face in his pelt, ignoring Melinda walking out of the room, after telling her she would get some cookies she had made the day before. Her voice never left her ears since she was humming a song in the kitchen. The windows were closed and Sam made her way towards them, opening the door. She stepped out into the garden, Church at her feet. The tree house was till there. Sam stood there, staring onto the part of her childhood, something she had missed without even knowing it. Church was stroking around her legs, begging for her attention, causing her to laugh a little at the dog's widened eyes as he jumped from foot to foot, everything that could be appreciated by her.

"Is it true that a dog's senses are so good you know better than humans what people feel?" He looked at her with his dark eyes, barking loudly. "Yeah, obviously you do." She sat down on the grass, watching the sun go down, its light shining through the tree's branches, making the scenery seem a little magical, filled with all the beauty this world could content. Sam felt the dog's warmth at her side, the cold that sent chills down her spine. She pulled the earphones out her pocket and started the music, her eyes closed. Although she really wanted to relax, she could't. There was something in her stomach that wouldn't disappear, that accompanied her nights and days, always keeping her from laughing freely. She twinkled a few times, blinking the phantom pain in her intestines away, before being called by Melinda. Sam went inside, inhaling at the door, before stepping into the heated living room. Because her hands were freezing cold she hid them in the pockets of her trousers where they joined the mobile phone. Melinda entered the room, a huge smile on her face, setting down a pot of hot, dampening soup on the table made of dark wood. "I thought you needed something to warm up since you spent about an hour outside in the cold which isn't that of a good idea on a day like this. I didn't want to disturb you though. Have you seen the couple that moved into your house? After your mother started going on these journeys and sold it due to her being away all week, so she had no use for it anymore, it was empty for a  couple of months before the young people bought it. I think they're just a few years older than you are now. I just wished i could have seen my children move into houses- but yeah, now you need me to help you whether you should marry some day, if Ana can deal with that." "I think she is able to handle that.", Sam murmured, taking a spoon full of the hot liquid, nearly burning herself as her shivering hand spilled a bit of it over her skin. "Ouch." "Oh no! Wait, go into the kitchen and cool it. Then you might not get a-"

The door shut closed and Sam heard a guy screaming. "Melinda, where's the beer?" He hiccuped and the strong scent of alcohol filled the room. Melindas expression changed, she started panicking. The mood changes, Church sunk down onto his paws. "You should go now. Samantha, please." "What?"

"Melinda!?"

The woman glanced at the ground, sighing heavily at the sight of the man she had loved, until he started to drink. "Who's this?" "Bob. Don't you know her? It's... Sam, Hannah's best friend."   "Wait, isn't that one of their fuckin'killers?" His face became red, the vein on his neck swelling with each word. "You are one of them aren't you?" "No, she isn't-" "Shut up, Melissa." His hand collided with her cheek. He looked at Sam. "Weren't you my son's slut too? The one that spent nights in his room? I  don't know what you did up there, but as I know my son, I guess it was something sexual. " Sam wanted to scream. He is not like this! "Stop it, Bob! This is the alcohol! Please." "I...I should go.", Sam stuttered, her eyes widened in shock, holding herself back. She knew if she wouldn't go know it would probably end with her crying again which she wanted to avoid as good as possible. "You should. Run, slut. Before I use my gun to get you off my-" "Bob!"

"I'm sorry. I-"

"A sorry doesn't bring her back."