Running From Your Shadows

Chapter 14

Marina never had any doubts in her heart about Sam, no matter what he did in his past. He wanted to be forgiven, to heal, to be helped and loved. Marina was grateful she could console him, and now he was calm as they sat on the floor in his closet, talking as he held a small box on his lap. Marina listened as he talked about his life growing up.

"It was a small house in southern Utah, in an okay neighborhood. I had my mother, my sister, Alissia, and then my dad and my older brother, Rowan. I remember the undeniable love between my parents, but for some reason something happened. My father hated me, which in turn caused my brother to hate me, and then my mother suddenly died. No one wanted to be around me, or pay attention to me. Alissia was a kind-hearted sister, and the only one to talk to me. I wish I knew what I did, so that I can say I'm sorry. I wanted to know that I was good enough." Marina snuggled closer as she kissed the underside of his jaw.

"What's your dream, Samuel?" He chuckled, making Marina purr in response.

"I want to be a hero, Marina, as cliché as that sounds. I want to be there for children who are being told they're not good enough. I want to show them what it means to love and be loved. I want to give them what I never had as odd as it sounds, but they deserve a chance." Marina sighed contentedly, and he noticed her reverent smile.

"You can help me with my dream then, sweet Samuel." He kissed the top of her head in response.

"What's your dream, Marina?" She rested her head on his lap after moving the box to the side, and she gazed at the ceiling and Samuel.

"I want to open a school, Sam. I want to open a school big enough for any child who wants an opportunity to succeed and find their calling, because each child is gifted and deserves every right to succeed and to have opportunity. I remember Tyler was such a gifted child. He was gifted with words, and I always found him with a book of poetry. I wanted to find him opportunities to grow as a linguist. I can pay it forward by giving opportunity to those who have none, because my parents sure tried with me..." Sam brushed her hair away from her face, and grimaced when he saw the light fade from her eyes.

"You don't talk about your family, Marina. I don't recall you mentioning them to me." She sighed in response.

"They abandoned me, Samuel, the moment I fell pregnant to my son." Sam wrapped his arms around Marina and cradled her, a crease in his brow revealing his slowly building anger.

"What?" He growled.

"My parents were very overbearing, Samuel, but I knew they loved me, even when they failed to show it correctly. You may know me as a responsible, sensible woman, but I wasn't always this way. Because of how stuck-up and overprotective my parents were, I was constantly rebelling against them. While it may be normal to have a phase, that was my entire life. When I first met Mitchell, he fed my addiction of rebelling, and I was attracted to that at the time. He was my escape from a family of expectations and deaf ears. He listened, he cared. I loved how he made me feel, even I'd tell myself then I engaged in such sinful acts. Upon learning I was pregnant, my parents disowned me, threw me out. We barely graduated high school when we married and abruptly moved to Reach," tears started to well in her eyes. "I regret Mitchell, but I will never regret having Tyler." Samuel touched his forehead to hers.

"You are an incredible woman, Marina. I hate to say this but your parents were fools for neglecting you." She smiled.

"There was a verse in the Bible I've kept with me since settling down on Reach: Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

"It's from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. I knew I must never worry, because He will take me to tomorrow." Sam couldn't help but smile at the sentiment, it reminded him of his mom who kept Catholic emblems in the house, and was big on family and on love. Sam kissed her lips, then diverted his attention to the box. He reached for it with one hand, and opened the lid. Marina glances over her shoulder into the box to see a bunch of old photos, some letters, and a necklace. Sam reached in and pulled out the necklace.

"It's beautiful, Samuel." She admired it as it glimmered in the sunlight. It was white gold sculpted into a heart, and a cross in the middle. She saw engraving on the side, and noticed it had the names of all three children Sam's mother bore.

"It was a gift to my mother from my father, a celebration of her birthing his third child, which was me. When she died, dad went on a rampage and started throwing away anything that was hers. This necklace is the one thing I saved from him aside from some old photographs which are found in the box." Marina sat up and in front of Sam as he undid the clasp of the necklace, then wrapped it around Marina's neck and closed the clasp. She gawked at it, before shaking her head at Sam.

"Sam, this is yours. I don't want to take something that reminds you of your mother." Sam placed a hand over her heart where the pendant was, then gently held her chin.

"It's my necklace, it's mine to freely give, just like my heart." He reached over to kiss her once more.