supposed to wear it under real fucking clothes. Who’s gonna buy the cow when you flaunt the milk for everyone to see, cupcake?”
I pull back to see hurt flash across her face. Good. I need her to fucking hate me. If she does, then at least one of us will be making the smart decision to stay away. She opens her mouth to respond, but closes it. Sam pushes past me silently and I follow her. I know I hurt her. I took it too far. On the other hand, if I let this go any farther I’ll still hurt her, but it’ll probably be worse.
She stands at her spot under the stage as the music starts to play. Her eyes meet mine and I can feel the electricity that she emits flowing through me. She takes a deep breath before the floor starts to rise and the show begins.
I watch her, mesmerized by the way she moves. I know that I’m starting to have feelings for her and I hate it. Maybe I should just quit. I’ll make sure she gets a good replacement, not one of these untrained assholes. She is so electric when she is on stage, you can tell it’s a place where she feels at home. The true Sam shines through when she is up there and it’s fucking beautiful.
I start to notice a change. A missed step here, a stumble there. The song ends and she takes a long drink of water. I try to assess her to figure out what is going on but she turns and starts to move to the next track. Maybe I’m just over analyzing shit. She had a rough day, maybe she is just not on her game.
That’s when it happens. Everything stops as I see her fall. Her body crashes to the floor with a loud bang.
The crowd quiets.
The only sound is screaming.
It’s coming from me.
Chapter Eight
Samantha
Everything hurts. I try to open my eyes but fail. There is an incessant beeping that sounds like it’s right next to my ear. Where am I? I try to remember what happened but everything is fuzzy. A pair of hands grab mine and I feel something wet falling against my skin.
“Please wake up.” The voice sounds distant but I can hear the pain behind it. “You can’t just leave like she did. I won’t let you down. I won’t make the same mistake. Just wake up.” It’s Hunter’s voice. “I saw the signs. I should have been more forceful.” The sadness in his voice gets to me.
I want to tell him I’m fine. I want to ask him what happened but I start to slip away. His voice fades and I can’t make out what he is saying anymore. I fight to stay awake but it’s useless.
“I don’t give a shit what you say. I’m not leaving this damn room until she wakes up.” I hear Hunter again. Anger is prominent in his voice.
“You are in no position—“
“I am telling you now lady, you can sit in here with me and shut the fuck up or you can leave. You serve no purpose here anyway. You would probably just make shit worse as usual.” His voice raises and I can’t figure out who he is talking to.
“She is my daughter, Mr. Stone.” It’s my mother. I can’t believe he is saying those things to her. Hunter is voicing everything I have wanted to for years.
“Then maybe you should treat her like your daughter instead of like your goddamn dog. She is a person. She matters, if not to you, she does to me.” I matter to him? Since when?
I hear their voices but once again I am starting to lose myself. I try even harder to stay alert this time. To wake up and find out what the hell is going on. The darkness starts to set in and I curse my inability to pull myself out of it.
Everything is quiet. I can feel something heavy on my stomach. I try to open my eyes and am finally successful but I shut them immediately from the harshness of the fluorescent lights. I try once more and blink a few times, shocked at my surroundings. I’m in the hospital. I look down and see an IV in my arm. What happened to me?
That’s when I see him. Hunter. His head is resting on my stomach, his eyes are closed. He’s sleeping. I remember hearing the things he said. He had been