The Knowing Secret

Chapter 36

"You're leaving," Sam said, grabbing me by the arm as he searched for my parent's car. I was still in shock and unable to speak or protest when he started to pull me along. Why was Sam here and why was this lady expecting him?

As these questions raced through my head my voice returned to me. "Why are you here, Sam?" I asked, stopping him from pulling me any closer to the car. "Better yet, why is she expecting you?"

"You shouldn't be here," was all he said, as he forced me the rest of the way to the car. "You need to leave."

"No!" I snapped. "What the heck is going on!?"

"It is none of your concern," he said, trying to stay calm as he grabbed my purse and took out my keys.

"None of my concern?" I yelled. "Since this seems to be about me it is definitely my concern! How does she know you, Sam!? How does the lady Evan is working for know you!?"

"Get in the car, Riley," he said, opening the door.

"Not until you answer me! What's going on?" When he didn't answer I said "Fine I'll get the answers on my own," and turned to walk back to the building.

"Get in the car!" he snapped, grabbing a hold of my arm and dragging me back to the car.

"Get the heck off of me!" I yelled smacking his chest.

"Why don't you ever listen to me?" he asked with his voice raised. "You shouldn't be here. It isn't safe. Get. In. The. Car."

"No!" I yelled, again pushing him away from me.

"I'm not going to ask you again, Riley," he said, trying to regain control of his voice.

"Oh this was you asking?" I asked sarcastically. "I'm not getting in that car until I get some answers!" I added with a yell, and started to head back to the building. Soon Sam's arms were around my waist and my feet were off the ground. "Put me down!" I screamed, kicking my legs and swinging my arms hitting any part of him that I could. It didn't make a difference. He put me in the back seat of the car and slammed the door shut.

I immediately tried to open the door while he got into the driver's seat. "Dang it!" I yelled when I couldn't get it open. He had put the child lock on; there was no way I was getting out if he didn't want me to. "Leave me alone, Sam." I said, as he shut his door and started the car. "I don't want to be anywhere near you."

"Oh I'm not letting you out of my sight," he replied, as he took off down the street.

I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest in defeat. There was nothing I could do while he was driving but my emotions continued to grow more intense. I was infuriated with Sam. How could he do this? We came so close to getting all of our answers. The lady's voice echoed in my head "Sam, you're early." I felt so betrayed. A tear rolled down my cheek as the rain started to fall outside. I quickly wiped it away like the wipers on the windshield and glanced up to see Sam watching me in the rearview mirror. His face was full of concern but his walls were up high. Refusing to give into him and give him any sort of comfort I turned my head and looked out the window. I heard a sigh from the front seat as he continued to drive in silence.

When he finally put the car in park outside of his apartment building he unlocked the doors and stepped out of the car into the pouring rain. As soon as the door closed I climbed into the front seat and checked to see if he left the keys in the ignition. There was a tap on the window beside me. I looked up and saw Sam holding the keys. "Get out of the car, Riley," he said, already soaked by the rain.

I sat there for a few minutes with my arms crossed over my chest until I realized he wasn't leaving and I was just being childish. Slowly I opened the door and stepped out of the car. Once the door was shut Sam started to walk to his apartment. After a few steps he noticed I wasn't following him and turned around with a sigh. "Are you just going to stand out here in the rain?" he asked.