The Reckless Conclusion [On Hold]

10| Dead Or Alive

It felt harder than expected for Sam to adjust to the new environment. With Ray's permission and help, she rearranged the kitchen and bedroom, but the house still felt slightly foreign to her. Adapting to new environments has never been her strongest trait, but she had to admit living in the house felt easier with each day.

New routines brought comfort and a sense of normality, but it seemed hard to get out of the vicious cycle of questioning each surrounding. Her thought process seemed slow, she tried to understand every person in her life, their motivations, and actions. It appeared she lost trust in other people, just because she was deceived by Scott for so long.

Thoughts of him often visited her, she couldn't help but think about what would be the outcome if she had never met Ray. Raymond shook her life in a way she never expected. Would she be with Tom? If not for Ray stepping into her life. Perhaps. In a way, he forced her to think about changes in her life and all of them felt wonderful. Except one of her best friends now was dead.

She still thought of Scott as her best friend, there were more good times than bad ones, right? Sam finally understood her parents and their point. She had no legacy, nothing that would be worth mentioning. Her life seemed pointless and with no sense of direction. She needed to grow up, Sam often reminded herself of that as she lay awake at night.

Sleep seemed like a luxury these days, mostly because of shoulder pain. Ray's deep breaths used to feel like a lullaby before sleep, and she tried to focus on them but failed miserably.

The bedroom appeared dull as the first sun glimpses emerged through the unsealed giant windows. Sam slowly sneaked out of bed and looked at the view of sunrise. She loved the location of the house, from the second-floor bedroom windows a big chunk of the city appeared, and each morning it seemed different.

Sam grabbed a silk robe from the backrest of the chair. And traveled to the door covering herself. She dragged her feet downstairs, sensing the coldness of the black floor tiles on her bare feet.

A rattling sound appeared, forcing her to stop, Spot ran around the kitchen island, his name tag on the collar swaying to the sides. The dog huffed, stopping in front of Sam, his tongue hung low and soon he licked her hand.

It seemed strange but comforting to have a dog in the house. Ray suggested Molly could stay with them instead of at the hotel, and Sam loved the idea of having Molly around.

She knew something was off with her friend, but didn't want to pry too much. It seemed strange Molly took Spot with her as it was supposed to be a brief trip to Los Angeles to check on Sam. Or at least that was what Molly initially told her. It's been almost two weeks since she arrived and Molly showed no plans to return to Vancouver.

Something was definitely up. Sam thought, caressing the dog's head. She washed her hands and started to make coffee, the dog's presence behind her bringing slight comfort. Sam settled into new habits, the lack of sleep felt always present, and waking up early seemed strange for her, but the pain often appeared during the early morning hours. She guessed the medicine stopped working at that point.