Boarding School Bliss

Chapter 14

"How'd you like the movie?" Dawson asked Samantha as they were driving away from the drive-in. He had a twinkle in his eyes that told her he knew exactly how much she'd enjoyed it.

She made a face at him. "It was good, a little scary." Dawson laughed at that. "But it had a happy ending, so that's my kind of movie. Did you like it?"

Dawson grinned at her. "I actually had a little trouble focusing on the movie."

Samantha pretended to huff a little. "I'm glad you find my fear so amusing."

Dawson laughed again, but struggled to look apologetic. "I just find you amusing."

Samantha rolled her eyes, but she really didn't mind. She liked seeing Dawson smile. More than that, she liked to be the one making Dawson smile, even if it was because she was a big scaredy-cat.

"So what happy thing should we do to take your mind off of the scariness?" Dawson asked her.

"Ice cream." Samantha answered without hesitation.

"Ooh, yes." Dawson nodded his head in approval. Samantha had learned that he had a major sweet tooth when he'd piled his, and her, arms full of candy before the movie.

They got ice cream at a little place not too far from their school and decided to walk around as they ate it, enjoying the night air. Samantha took a deep breath, reveling in the smell of an impending thunderstorm. There was nothing better than the air right before a storm.

They walked in a companionable silence until Samantha noticed Dawson toying with the bracelet around his wrist.

"How old is your sister?" She asked.

Dawson's lips tilted in a fond smile at the mention of his sister. "Six."

Samantha's heart hurt a little at that. She was so little. "Is she okay?" She said the words softly, tentatively, not sure if Dawson wanted to talk about it.

Dawson blew out a breath and didn't answer right away. "She's not doing great right now, but it's been worse."

"What's wrong with her?" Samantha asked.

"She was diagnosed with a tumor a few years ago." The words hit Samantha hard, her heart breaking for the little girl, but Dawson continued talking, "She had surgery and they removed it. She was great for a long time, but recently she's not been feeling well again. My parents are afraid it's another tumor, but the doctors keep telling us not to get ahead of ourselves." He shrugged as if it was nothing, but his eyes were shadowed with sadness. "She's having tests done to figure out what's wrong."

"Oh, Dawson, I'm so sorry." Samantha said as she grabbed his hand and squeezed it in her own.

"She'll be okay." Dawson said. The words were lined with a fierceness as if he could keep his sister healthy by sheer force of will. "She's tough."

"Are you two close?" Samantha asked him.

He glanced at her, that fond smile back on his face. "Yeah, we are. There's such a big age gap between us that she sort of hero-worships me," He laughed at that. "And I, of course, adore her."

"That's so sweet." Samantha said.

Dawson shrugged a little self-consciously.

"Where is your family?" Samantha asked, suddenly realizing she had no idea where he was from.

"A few hours from here in Preston." Samantha knew of the town but she'd never been there. "What about you? Where are your parents?" Dawson asked.

The mention of Samantha's parents flustered her a little. She honestly had no idea where her parents were at the moment. "Uh, I'm actually from Olympia, in Washington." Samantha tried to be casual about it, but Dawson's eyebrows shot up anyway.

"That's on the other side of the country. Do you get to see them often?"

"My parents?" Dawson nodded and Samantha tilted her head and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. A telltale sign of her discomfort. She couldn't help it, she hated talking about her home life. "Um, no, not really. They're rarely home when I am."

Dawson looked incredulous. "You don't miss them?"

Samantha grimaced a little. "We're not really close."

Dawson's eyebrows pulled together and he studied her with confusion, silently asking for more of an explanation. Samantha let out a sigh and said, "My parents had me when they were really young. They weren't ready to be parents. I was pretty much raised by nannies until I was old enough for them to send me to boarding school." Samantha shrugged and gestured in the direction of the school. "So, Darken is as much my home as anywhere, I guess."

Dawson was full-on frowning now. "What about when school is out?"

"I go back to my house, but my parents either aren't there or they make it clear they wish I wasn't." Samantha tried to stay emotionless as she said the words. She didn't like to dwell on her situation with her parents and she didn't want Dawson to worry about it either.

"That's horrible." Dawson murmured, as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"It's fine, Dawson." Samantha said with a shrug and a small smile that she only had to kind of force. "I'm used to it."

That answer only made Dawson frown more, but he didn't say anything else for a while. He looked lost in his thoughts. Samantha tugged on his arm to get his attention and tilted her head in a gesture to get him walking again. Dawson pulled himself from his thoughts and gave her a smile. They strolled back to his car and made their way back to the school. 

Author's note: Hello again so soon friends! I hope yall enjoyed their date and hold on to your seats, couches, beds, whatever you're reading this on, cause the next chapter is gonna be a bit rocky! Thanks for reading, please vote (for those who don't know, voting helps my book get seen by others), and see you soon!!