Just for This Year

Chapter Thirty-Two

Friday
November 15th

15 Days After

It was officially the day of the play.

Sam had officially been back in school for a few days now. He was still healing from the accident, however. Lorena thought it was too soon, but he insisted on going back so he could continue to be in the play. He couldn't stand his understudy, and refused to let Charlie go on with the likes of him. The dress rehearsals were going relatively well. There were a few bumps now and then, like his singing, for example. But overall, everyone was doing a good job with their roles. And Sam was no expert, but he would say they were ready.

His injuries were much better. His arm was still in the cast, but he could tell his ribs were getting better daily. Sam had been taking some basic pain medication which had helped. He knew he had a long recovery still, but he was thrilled he was getting better. Most of the time, he just chose to ignore any pain and power through. It wasn't one of the things troubling him at the moment.

One of the main issues Sam was running into was Charlie, of all things.

His twin still didn't know about the recent development to Sam and Charlie's relationship. Sam really would tell Lila soon, but they both had gone through too many changes lately. Sam wasn't even sure what they were, they hadn't talked about it yet. Sam knew they were something. That's more than he ever thought they'd be, and he'd be happy with that forever. He would take whatever Charlie would give him. But still, he didn't know for sure, and so there was no point in telling Lila. At least, that was what he told himself.

He knew he was on borrowed time— his sister was smart. But he just wanted a little while longer of some normalcy. Things were just... too much lately. He just got Charlie. All he wanted was some more time with him. Once Lila knew, everything would change. There was so much change lately and they needed a moment to breathe. Sam wasn't even sure she could handle this right now. So really, he was doing this for Lila, too.

A knock on the door tore him from his thoughts. He looked up from his script, seeing his sister at the door. She had that look on her face that made people squirm. She just looked like she knew everything about you. Like she knew things you didn't even know yourself. In reality, Sam knew that Lila didn't know about him and Charlie. But when times like this when she had that look... it made you rethink everything.

But she gave no indication that she knew, lazily sauntering into his room. She had her arms crossed as she leaned against his desk. She peered over his shoulder, reading over the script. She let her eyes scan for a few moments before laughing gently, shaking her head as she said, "I still can't believe you're the lead in a play."

"Me neither," Sam agreed in the same tone.

She smiled fondly. "You're gonna be great, really."

"We'll see if you still think that after you hear me sing," he reminded his twin, laughing at the thought.

"Well, you sing in the shower," Lila reminded him and he gave her a questioning look, silently asking how he sounded. She gave him a sweet smile, saying saccharinely, "I'm sure you've since improved."

"You're the worst," he said, grabbing a pillow from his bed and swinging it up to smack her on the head.

"Hey!" Lila cried out, laughing more as she held her hands up to stop the blows. "Not my fault you can't sing!"

"As if you can," Sam shot back instantly as he continued swinging the pillow around. "You're way worse than I am."

Lila finally ripped the pillow from his hands, holding it far enough out of his reach, "I'm not the one who signed up for a singing role in a play."