All of the Lights

Chapter Twenty-Two

Previously...

"I love you." I said it again. It felt so good to say. I propped myself up on my elbows and kissed his nose. He smiled.

"I love you, I love you, I love you." I said in between each kiss. Sam's eyes were full of love and happiness, a look I hadn't seen on him in a while.

"So, what should we do today?" Sam rubbed my arm.

"Finish what we started." I smirked. Sam let out a small laugh and licked his lips. He rolled on top of me and looked into my eyes, trying to figure me out... He was always trying to figure me out.

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Chapter Twenty-Two

"I don't think I expressed a proper thank you earlier." Jake walked into the living room. I had just gotten off the phone with my management and was now watching TLC.

"You were right, Jake. I was treating him like shit." I gave him a nod. Jake plopped down on the couch across from me and shrugged.

"He's so happy, Riles. He talked to me a little bit. He told me that he knew you were trying to get better. He could tell that you were trying to act normal. He really appreciated it. I don't know if he apologized to you, but he was telling me that he felt terrible because he kind of shut down during breakfast. He said it was a habit, I guess. He's gonna' try to work on it. Things don't get better just like that, you know?" Jake snapped his fingers.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I nodded my head.

"I'm just really glad you're trying." Jake put his attention on the television.

"Me too." I agreed. We both sat there in silence. I flipped through the channels, trying to find a better tv show to watch.

"Whoa! Turn back! Turn back!" Jake's sudden voice made me jump. I flipped back a few channels. On the screen was the boy's band. It was a small clip of them performing on stage.

"Haha! I love it!" Jake smiled, leaning back against the couch.

"Look at Cody!" I laughed, pointing at the boy. His arms were flailing as he sang a high energy song. Jake laughed along and we both watched the short clip end and the host start talking about something else.

"That felt so long ago. Time flies." Jake laughed.

"Oh yeah." I agreed again.

"So what's up with your mu..." Jake's voice was interrupted by a loud bang coming from upstairs. We gave each other shocked looks.

"What was..." I started to say.

"Shh! Shh!" Jake shushed me. I muted the tv. We both stared at the ceiling, waiting for another bang.

"I fucking hate you!" A muffled voice yelled. My heart stopped. It was Sam's.

"You don't deserve anything you have! You're a piece of shit!" A second muffled voice yelled. It was Cody's. A second slam filled the room. Jake and I both shot up.

We ran up the stairs and into Cody's room. Jake pushed open the door, gasping when he saw what was inside. He ran into the room and over to the two boys. I peeked in, examining what had happened.

Sam had Cody pressed up against the wall. Sam's back was facing me, so I couldn't see the damage done on him. Cody, however, had a trickle of blood falling onto his shirt from his nose. His lip was puffy with blood.

"What the hell, Sam!" Jake yelled. He grabbed Sam, trying to pull him off of Cody.

"Fight your own damn battles, you little prick!" Sam bashed his fist into Cody's face. Cody let out an agonizing groan.