I Think I Love You (Jori)

Puckett

     Tori gripped her hands tight around the steering wheel. Her phone was off and her mind was set to forget—just for a little while.

She remembered a girl Cat had been staying with for awhile. What was her name? Sam? She rolled her eyes, she'd figure that out later. She did remember Carly and Freddie and—Sam was Carly's friend! She threw her hands in the air, she couldn't believe she didn't remember that.

     With Seattle as her destination, she drove at top speed to the girl's apartment.

     Then out of nowhere, a motorcycle cut her off. She slammed on her brakes and the bike stopped too.

     "What the hell," Tori screamed, rolling her window down. "Watch where you're fucking going next time, you dumbass!"

The bike turned off and the rider took off their helmet, revealing none other than,

"Sam," Tori asked.

"Tori, right? Cat told me about you!"

"Do you have a place I could stay? Just for a couple days. I have—"

"Say no more, darlin'," Same interrupted, putting her helmet back on and revving her bike back up.

     Eventually, they arrived at the apartment and they both walked inside.

     "Sam, I'm so sorry that I yelled at you like—"

     "It's cool, it's cool. Mama gets it," Sam took off her leather jacket and boots and plopped down on the couch, scratching her belly and sprawling out. "Sit down, hun," she gestured over to the empty chair beside the couch.

     Hesitantly, Tori abided and sat down. It was quiet for a moment, then Tori broke the silence. Quite bluntly:

     "Why'd Cat move out?"

     Sam sighed and sat up, patting the empty space on the couch beside her.

     Tori got up and sat next to her.

     "It's a little difficult to explain," Sam laughed. "Actually it's not difficult at all."

     Tori stayed quiet, observing her body language as she spoke. She looked tense, scared. Tori knew she was in for something big.

     "I—I told her a secret, a—a secret that pretty much killed us."

     "Hm, that doesn't sound like Cat at all."

     "Oh anybody, even Cat, would move out after what I told her."

     "Well what'd you say," Tori asked slowly.

     Sam sighed again, "I told the kid that I loved her," she scoffed, "really, really loved her. I told her that everything she did was perfect: the way she ate Bibble by the gallon and her hair and her smell. Everything about her was perfect and I told her that I didn't wanna spend another second without her as mine."

     Tori's eyes welled with tears. The heartbreak in Sam's voice was gut-wrenching.

     Sam sniffled and got up. She walked over to the end table by the couch and tossed a small box to Tori. A jewelry box.

     Confused, Tori opened it and gasped. It was a ring. A real "will you marry me" ring.

     "I showed her that very ring and she cried. That chick cried for what seemed like forever," Sam laughed and sat back down. "She never said anything. She cried and then. . . and then she left. I come back from work the next day and poof all of her shit's gone and she's gone."