Jack of Clubs (BxB)

6: The Intention Of Breaking The Silence

"I'll never get used to this." Sam cast me a weird look as we both sat in his car. I couldn't agree with him more, because it was disconcerting that we exited the school together and got into the same vehicle. It seemed that we weren't the only ones grossed out by the idea of it, because we managed to gain several quizzical or shocked glances from bystanders.

"Me either." I nodded, shoving aside the peculiar nature of me agreeing with Sam on something. His car hummed to life as he turned the ignition, and I was easily able to find myself relaxing. Just because it was Sam's domain didn't mean that I couldn't bother him with my lack of care. I leaned back against the headrest and debated putting my feet on the white seats just to piss him off.

"Did you end up talking to Millie?" Sam asked, looking at me before finally taking the car out of park.

I squinted my eyes at him. "Why do you care?"

He quickly averted his gaze back to the steering wheel, shifting in his seat briefly as he began to pull out of the parking spot. "Dunno, I was just curious."

Watching his profile for a moment, I cleared my throat and shrugged. "I talked to her."

"Was she angry?"

"She wasn't happy." I answered.

"You didn't tell her everything, right?" He pressed.

"No, Sam. I told you I didn't want her involved."

"Good. Enough people have been dragged into this as it is." By the way he mumbled it, I wasn't entirely sure if the words were intended for me to hear. It caused us both to fall into a pool of silence, filled only by the rushing waves of our individual thoughts. I briefly wondered what plagued his mind.

Mine was easy to describe, because it was primarily a cesspool of anxiety ever since I received that message earlier that morning. To know that I wasn't even safe within the comfort of my bedroom was truly sickening. Sure, I knew that technically I wouldn't be safe anywhere, but it didn't quite hit me as real until then.

My life was never all that interesting before. Millie and I spent most nights watching movies, going for late drives, or eating at Jack of Clubs. What the hell within that could possibly be riveting enough for someone to want to devote so much of their time to watching me? It was both depressing, as well as deeply terrifying, that a person like that existed. It was amplified by the fact that it was an entire group of people, not just one.

I watched through the window as houses blurred past, and I tried to push down those nagging thoughts. But it was incredibly difficult when I had no idea what to do with them. Carefully, I glanced at Sam, who seemed to be too focused to notice me. His eyebrows were gently furrowed, as though he was trapped in some sort of inner hell that I couldn't understand as an outsider. The bruises on his skin were mostly purple, clinging onto him like a parasite.

It was during that long moment that I suddenly realized something.

"Sam." I said quietly.

As though sensing the urgency in my tone, he shot his gaze to me and frowned. "What is it?"

"My bedroom is on the second floor."

He didn't say anything at first, the words vaguely grazing his lips as he tried to understand them. Then suddenly, his eyes went wide and he looked at me again. "You're kidding, right?"

Normally I would have gotten angry with him for questioning me in a moment of vulnerability, but I was too caught up in the possibilities to even care. "I wish I was."

"Jesus." Sam breathed, focusing on the road once more as he turned onto a different street. It was that one I saw when I was driving to his place. Filled with empty mansions and vacant driveways. There were For Sale signs up in most yards, a few appearing unfinished.