My Personal Fairytale | COMPLETE

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Three raps on the door echoed through the inside of the Benson's house. On the outside, Sam took a baby step back and tapped her foot on the front step. She heard the sound of something slamming shut and heavy footsteps treading across a wooden floor before the door swung open. Will's father stood behind it, smiling broadly at the sight of their guest.

"Samantha!" he greeted her enthusiastically, stepping aside so she could enter. Sam smiled as she greeted him.

"Oh!" Mrs. Benson called from the room Sam knew to be the kitchen. Her head appeared around the corner. "It's nice to see you!"

"Thanks," Sam responded bashfully.

"Come on in," Mrs. Benson said with a wave of her hand. "Would you like some tea before Will steals you away?"

Sam blinked in surprise. So maybe Will was actually here. On the way over, she'd all but convinced herself that Sarah was mistaken. She knew all about little siblings- they were impossible to keep track of all the time.

"Sure," Sam agreed, following the older woman into the kitchen.

Mrs. Benson pulled out a chair at the table and made Sam sit as she bustled over to the stove. She already had water boiling.

"It's lemon, is that okay?" she asked.

Sam only had time to nod her head once before Mrs. Benson continued, "This is so nice Sam. Sarah never has time to come sit with me."

"She must be busy," Sam commented. Mrs. Benson sat down at the table and slid a cup of tea over to her.

"She is," Mrs. Benson sighed. Her eyes flicked up to the doorway where her husband was now standing. "She's her father's daughter. Always has something important to do."

Sam smiled between the two of them, taking a sip of her drink and listening to them talk.

After a few minutes, during which Mr. Benson had gravitated over to the table with an apple in hand and Sam had hardly had to say a word, the was a lull in the conversation. Sam finished her tea and glanced around; there was still no sign of Will. She moved to stand up, thanking Mrs. Benson again.

"It was no problem at all. Stop by any time!" she said at the same time Mr. Benson wondered, "Where is that boy?"

Sam felt her stomach clench uncomfortably. 'Here it comes,' she thought.

Mrs. Benson just laughed. "I'm shocked he hadn't made an appearance yet. Will!"

There was no response, but neither adult seemed to care. Mr. Benson threw out his apple core and strolled towards the door, saying something about yard work while his wife moved the tea cups into the sink.

She turned towards the stairs. "What took you so long?"

Sam looked between Mrs. Benson and the empty space she was talking to.

"Oh, Sam and I were chatting down here with your father."

But there was no response, or at least not one that Sam could hear. Mrs. Benson laughed. "You guys go an have fun. But be home for dinner, okay?"

There was a short pause. "Go on, Sam! It was nice talking to you this morning." Mrs. Benson looked at her expectantly.

Sam waved half-heartedly and made her feet move forward. Will was nowhere to be seen, of course, but his mother was completely oblivious.

She opened the door and shut it behind herself, feeling a chill wrack her body.

She was cold.

And Will was actually gone.

Sarah appeared around the corner, a thin sheen of sweat covering her body as she jogged toward her driveway. "Hey, Sam," she said with a wink, flicking her eyes to Sam's left. She slowed down to a walk and skipped towards the door. "See you guys later!"

And with that she disappeared.

"Well," Sam muttered, "WE will."

She got home well before her dad and the twins, who were still downtown. Kicking off her shoes, she ran up the stairs and barricaded herself in her bedroom with Sunny. She flipped open her laptop and stared at the blank Internet search bar.

Real-life fairy godmother? Magically induced hallucinations? Sam's fingers hovered over the keyboard. It sounded crazy, even to her. Finally, she typed in what she remembered of the riddle and pressed search.

She scrolled through the results, hopefully at first, past web pages about everything from baby names and relationship forums to sports retailers. Somebody who's her father's child, her mother's child, and nobody's son.

It was too simple. All riddles were, really. Sam knew that if she stopped thinking about it, it would probably come to her.

The only problem was she didn't necessarily have enough time for that to happen.

She clicked around a little more, phrasing her search every different way she knew how. Before she knew it, the front door slammed and her family was home. She smiled at the sound of little feet, probably in their new sneakers, running around on the floor. Sam shut her laptop and pushed it to the side, not wanting to have to answer any questions if somebody barged in.

Sure enough, there was a knock at her door no more than a minute later.

"Come in," she called as the door swung open. Her dad stepped in.

Sam put down the book she'd grabbed as a coverup. "What's up?" she asked. "Good trip?"

Mr. Smith nodded. "We're all set. New shoes and books for everybody."

Sam laughed. "Great."

Her father crossed the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Kaila isn't going to watch the twins after school this week," he said.

Sam cocked her head. "Why not? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Mr. Smith said, almost stiffly. Sam noticed the tone of his voice with concern.

"So what's the problem, then?"

Sam's father paused for a moment. "I want you to start spending more time with them."

"What?" The confusion was starting to fade into something else.

"I need you to watch the twins for me next week," Mr. Smith stated.

"But Dad," Sam said with a hint of panic. This was seriously not a good week for him to decide they needed some family bonding. "I'd love to, but I have homework and stuff. I don't have time to play all afternoon."

"Get as much done as you can today," he said simply. He stood up and walked out into the hall. "Dinner at six, okay?"

Sam nodded without a word.

***

Hey everyone!

I'm really sorry for the long wait. school has been CRAZY for the past few weeks (and it's probably only going to get worse...blehhh) but here's the next chapter!

And the next one is already written so it should be up by the end of the weekend!

Thanks for reading, and please leave me a comment. I'm serious, it motivates me to write sooo much...

<3 <3 <3 emanicl