the society imagines

grizzam

"Sam, can you please stop pacing? You're making both of us nervous," Becca grumbled, bouncing a fussy Eden on her lap while struggling to sign to him.

"Sorry," he replied, lifting Eden from her grasp and tossing her gently in the air, making her giggle. He momentarily forgot why he had been pacing in the first place until Becca gently placed her hand on his arm.

"I know you're upset about what happened with Grizz," she said, offering him a small smile. He sat down and cradled Eden against his chest, careful to keep his head down to hide the tears pooling in his eyes. She tapped him so he would be looking at her as she signed. "Have you tried FaceTiming him?"

"Multiple times. He just doesn't want to talk to me," he said with a shrug. Eden reached up for him and he playfully bit her hand. "It's fine. I get the hint."

"You can't just give up. It's obvious you two care about each other. You can't let that go," she said. She pulled Eden from his arms and handed him his phone which he had tossed on the bed a few minutes ago. "Go."

He smiled and nodded, giving her arm a squeeze and kissing Eden's head before heading out the door. He sent Grizz a quick text and couldn't help smiling to himself. He was going to make this right.

———————————————————————

sam: we need to talk, coming over now

Grizz frowned and glanced at the clock again. He had gotten that text half an hour ago and Sam still hadn't shown up. He finally decided to call Becca. She picked up on the second ring and he could hear Eden crying.

"Did I wake her up?"

"Yeah, both of us. What do you need?"

Grizz frowned but continued. "Is Sam there?"

She hesitated before responding. "Uh, no. He left about half an hour ago. He was on his way to meet you. Is he not there?"

"No he isn't. I keep looking out the window but," Grizz said, trailing off.

"Oh my God Grizz, you don't think something happened to him right?" Eden was wailing in the background and Grizz was finding it hard to think.

"No I'm sure he's fine. I'm gonna go out and look for him. He probably just got held up somewhere." He said goodbye and grabbed a jacket before heading out into the rain.

He had been walking for a few minutes before he heard yelling coming from a small clearing in some trees by the road. He jogged over and saw a figure curled on the ground with another one hovering above them.

When he got closer he recognized Campbell's voice and felt his stomach sink. "Hey!"

Campbell glanced up and took off, leaving the figure cowering on the ground. Grizz ran over and knelt down beside Sam, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sobs were causing his body to shake and Grizz's heart broke.

"Hey," he whispered, gently pulling Sam into his lap. He shook his jacket off and draped it around Sam's shoulders before lifting him up, trying not to jostle him too much. "It's okay, I got you."

He carried him back to the house and straight to the bathroom. In the light, he could see the damage Campbell had done. There was a cut above his eyebrow and bruises littered his cheek and jaw. Grizz cleaned him up as best as possible and Sam watched him carefully.

When he was done Sam offered him a smile. "Thank you," he whispered.

Grizz reached up and wiped a stray tear from his cheek. "Don't thank me, please. I'm sorry I was ignoring you all day. I feel like this is my fault."

Sam pulled Grizz into a tight squeeze, hiding a wince and holding him tightly. "Stop it."

Grizz wrapped his arms around him and smiled, enjoying the smell of his cologne. He hadn't realized how much he actually missed him. He pulled away and slowly signed, "Let's get you to bed."

He gave Sam some spare clothes and smiled at the way they fit his small frame. He automatically pulled him against his chest and was glad when Sam didn't pull away, but relaxed completely into him. "Thank you," he whispered again before he drifted off, Grizz following quickly afterwards.