never be » lrh book one

Chapter 22

F I N A L L Y

Sam's POV

A couple days later, it was time for me to go over to Michael's. Since Cal had ditched a shit ton lately, I made him go to school today. Michael was my responsibility today, not his. I hadn't told him I saw the kiss, but I think he knew we all knew. This whole car accident thing had taken a toll of him. He seemed to be afraid to do anything outside of the house.

I drove over to Michael's early in the morning. He had been released from the hospital two days ago. His recovery was surprisingly quick, the only problem was half his bones were broken. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but still. He can barely move.

It was around 6:30am when I got there. Michael's dad was getting into his car when I pulled up. I got out, picked up my bag, and walked up the driveway, waving hello to Daryl on my way inside. After walking through the door in their garage, I slipped off my shoes and walked further into the house.

"Karen?" I called, "Michael?"

I was answered by a rushing Karen walking through the kitchen, shoving papers into her work bag. "Yes, yes, hello Sam. Michael's in the recliner in the living room. You can just sit on the couch and occupy yourself. I've got to go. Thank you again."

I nodded and walked into the living room. I saw Michael, his bright green hair matted down to his forehead and his face slacked. For all I know, he could he dead. He was pale and looked sick, his arms elevated along with one of his legs. That couldn't be comfortable.

Because he wasn't awake yet, I made my way to the couch and crashed. It was too early to be awake anyway. The sun was barely rising. The blanket I had found and pulled over me smelled a bit musty, and faitly of laundry detergent. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

The next thing I know, I'm being woken up by Michael calling my name. I lift my head from the couch pillow and look over at him, immediately waking up. "What is it, Michael?" I ask, running a hand through my hair.

"One, your phone rang like six times. Two, it's time for me to take my meds. They're on the counter. And I need to piss." He said, chuckling.

"Oh, right right." I got up from the couch. "Um, how exactly do I help you piss?" I asked, walking into the kitchen and picking up all his medication.When I returned to the living room, I placed the pills in his palm. There was a water bottle on the table beside him so I picked that up and gave that to him to chase the pills.

"I can get to the bathroom myself. I just need you to help me up out of the chair." He said, quickly popping all the pills. "Also, Ash and Cal are coming over in like, an hour."

Instantly, my head turned to look at the stove, which was the only clock in sight. It was 1pm. I slept much longer than I had expected. Instead of worrying about that, I pushed the recliner down and offered my hand to Michael. Our hands locked and I pulled him to his feet. Then, he hopped through the house all the way to the bathroom.

While Michael was doing his business, I checked my phone. Four missed calls from Luke. I assumed he wasn't in school since he had called me so many times. I made the extemporaneous decision to call him, not caring if I got him in trouble or not.

After two rings, he answered. "Sam?" He asked right away.

"Yeah, Luke?" I responded slowly.

"I don't like that you're spending so much time with Michael." He admitted as I heard the toilet flush, then the sound of the door opening.

"I'm not. I'm literally taking care of him because I'm responsible and his parents are busy. You need to relax, Luke." I scolded him slightly as I walked to Michael and aided him in getting back into the chair.

"Yeah, alright." To show him I was a bit annoyed with him, I made sure to make that sound sarcastic and sassy.

"Sam, don't be mad. I'm sorry. Can I come to Michael's later with Ash and Cal?" He asked quickly before I hung up. It was like he could sense my finger hovering over the button. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you want, Luke." I sighed and hung up, turning back to Michael. He looked at me apologetically. I just shook my head, sighed, and sat back down.

* * *

A few hours later, the doorbell rang. Since Michael couldn't, I got up and answered it. It was none other than Ashton and Calum. Happily, I let them in. There was no sign of Luke, which made me kind of happy. I didn't want to deal with his bullshit jealousy right now.

The boys greeted Michael, checking out all his bandages and his set up. Right now, his had an xbox controlled in his hands, popped up on a pillow. I thought it was funny. He could only move his fingers, but that's all it really took to keep him occupied.

Calum challenged Michael to a game of FIFA while Ashton and I talked on the couch. As we were casually talking, occasionally also talking to the other two, Ashton asked me if I wanted to go outside with him for a second. I agreed. It was nice out, anyway.

Ashton led the way through Michael's house. It was very home-y and decorated. Exactly how you would imagine your typical house in the suburbs. Ash slipped on his shoes and I mirrored his actions, then we walked outside through Michael's garage into his driveway. When we got out there, Ash sat down at the very edge of the garage, just under the large door suspended above. I sat down beside him, admiring the beautiful scenery. Okay, okay, maybe it wasn't beautiful. But the sky was bright blue with big white puffy clouds spaced apart. The kind you see in movies. The grass was green everywhere, and in all the yards you could see on the street, their flowers were bright beautiful colors.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm doing better. I'm not depressed or anything. I saw a psychiatrist. Got some meds. I'm good." He informed me, smiling a bit shyly at me. Instantly, a smile formed on my face. I leaned over and threw my arms around his neck, giving him a big congratulatory hug.

Just then, the sound of a car pulling into Michael's driveway forces us apart. I let go of Ash and turn to see Luke getting something out of the backseat of his car. When he reveals what he was picking up, my jaw drops. I rise from the ground and as he walks up the driveway, his eyes lock with mine. He gets closer and closer till he's inches away from me. I don't even know if Ash is still sitting by me or not.

"Sam, I realized today that I don't want you to be with anyone else but me. I love spending time with you and just being around you general. So um, in that case," He handed me a flower. A rose. "Sam, will you be my girlfriend?"

My jaw dropped and I jumped on him, my arms wrapping around his neck and my legs wrapping around his waist. "Yes, Luke! Yes!" I laughed in his ear and he spun me around, then set me down.

After Luke set me down, I turned to see Ashton just in time to see his dirty glare. Then, he disappeared back into the house. Luke and I exchanged a look and I think we both knew this wasn't going to go down well. I let out a sigh and led Luke back into the house. When I got inside, Ash was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Ash?" I asked Michael and Calum. They just shrugged. Luke walked to check upstairs while I looked around. When I checked outside, his car was gone.

I couldn't help but want to cry. I just wanted to be alone right now. But I had to stay with Michael till Karen or Daryl got home. I decided to lock myself in the guest bedroom and calm down. I cried quietly as I heard Luke, Calum, and Michael talking downstairs.

Why was everything suddenly so complicated?