Something About Sam

Chapter 14

"Uh, Taite?" I looked up from the book I was reading to see my sister's boyfriend standing in the doorway to my bedroom. "Sarah needs you. Like now."

Throwing the book on my bed, I followed Troy down the hall not even bothering to ask what it was my sister needed.

As soon as Sarah saw me walk through her open door, she frantically waved me over to where she was seated on the pink loveseat in her bedroom. She was on the phone. When I sat down next to her, she pulled the phone from her ear and put it on speaker. She put a finger to her lips, telling me to be quiet. The phone screen lit up. It was Sam.

"I don't know, Sarah. I'm just kinda freaking out." At the sound of Sam's voice, my body automaticlly sank deeper into the cushions. "He hasn't called me in two days. Two days, Sarah. I think I came on to him too strongly. I think I blew it. I definitely blew it. He hates me... That's it. He hates me."

Sarah gave me a hard, narrowed stare before answering him. "Oh, Sammy, he doesn't—"

"There's no other explanation, Sarah! He... I... bloody hell I fucked everything up. I fucked it all up. I fucked us up. Fuck." He stopped talking. He was sniffling, like he had worked himself up enough to start crying. I sat still, listening silently, daring to swallow back the lump that had formed in the back of my throat. "Fuck, Sarah. What am I going to do?" He was definitely crying; his voice was breaking and splintered. He had never sounded so small. I crackled my knuckles, desperate for something to do with my hands.

"Sam, don't cry, honey. Don't cry." Sam sniffled in response. "I know this feels like the end of the world but it isn't. My little brother is dealing with the fact he's gone his whole life thinking he's straight, okay? Give him time."

I forced myself to keep my mouth shut due to the fact Sam had no idea I was listening, despite the fact Sarah's comment made me want to say quite a few things.

I pictured Sam nodding on the other line as he said, "Yeah. I know. I will."

"I'll get him to call you."

"Thanks, Sar. I owe you, love."

"No you don't. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

She hung up the phone, standing up off the couch to look down at me. Placing her hands on her bony hips, she glared at me, one eyebrow raised. She threw her phone onto my lap. "You know what to do."

Grabbing a hold of the awkwardly observing Troy behind her, Sarah left me alone in her room. She even closed the door.

I sighed, sinking into the couch. Flipping her phone over in my hands, I looked around her room. It was simple, and very neat. White walls, white furniture. The pink couch, the blue bedsheets. Everything solid colors, no patterns. She had three framed photos above the bed. One of the family, one of her and Troy, and one of her and a few friends. They were all in black and white. Everything was organized, everything had its place. It reeked of my sister.

I looked back down at the phone. After a minute of my fingers anxiously tapping on the screen, staring at the picture of Winnie Sarah had as her background, I unlocked it. After another two minutes, I pulled up Sam's contact information. Seven minutes later, I dialed his number.

"Sar?" He answered after six rings. "What's up?" He sounded frantic.

"Actually," I sounded extremely confident, despite how absolutely torn up and guilty I felt. "It's the other Jefferson. The handsome one."

Sam breathed what sounded like a sigh of relief. "Taite."

"Yup. In the flesh."

"How are... how are things?"