Badass Rejected

Chapter 13: Memories

Gabriel pulled his jeep to a stop outside an old unkept house, the front garden was overgrown with weeds and grass while the house paint was chipped. The blue front door with bolted shut with a new lock that Sam had not seen before.

" You ready?" Gabriel asked gently to Sam who let out a deep breath and nodded. They opened their door and stepped out the jeep. Sam walked around and stood in front of the waist height gate. Gabriel moved around and placed a hand onto the small of her back, rubbing small circles over her to calm her down.

" You don't have to yet," Gabriel said making sure this was what she wanted to do and did not feel she had to. Sam took another deep shaky breath looked to Gabriel.

" I have to do this." She whispered as Gabriel smiled softly to her and grabbed her hand into his own, giving it a tight squeeze before Sam moved forward towards to front door. Gabriel reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of different sized key and flicked through them until he found the one he was looking for. He put the key into the lock and twisted to unbolt the door. He stepped back without opening the door and waited for Sam to make her move.

" Do you mind um... Waiting here?" Sam asked Gabriel not looking from the door before her.

" No problem, call me if you need anything. Take your time." Gabriel whispered to her as she stepped forward and placed a hand onto the golden metal handle and pushed down to open the door. With a fair amount of effort, the door screamed as it was opened to a dark and dusty living room come hallway. There was no light apart from the dulled daylight filtering through the closed curtains on every window. Sam took a step inside and the place felt dead and empty.

She looked around the old dusty living room that seemed to have no colour or life held within it anymore. She looked down at the sofa chairs and her memory flashed back to the time when she and her parents would play a board game every Wednesday night. She could remember their laughs as she would sulk for loosing. The fireplace that once stood as the centrepiece was now ruined and falling apart. Sam walked through to the kitchen and saw the same thing, little light and dust everywhere.

Sam remember baking cakes and eating dinner upon the centre island every night with her mother and father. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembers the past, but she kept them at bay as she left the kitchen and began to walk up the old wooden stairs. They groan and complained under the new weight that they had not seen in over a year. Once at the top, she turned left and made her way to the one wooden door. Placing her hand onto the handle, she seemed to hesitate upon opening it. She steadied her breath and bite her lip as she pushed open the door.

The room was still as she had left it that morning, a year and six months ago. Sam's old bed was still made perfectly with soft purple sheets and two pillows. Her vanity desk stood at the opposite end to her right was covered in a thick coat of grey dust along with her brush and a few pieces of accessories here and there. The three deep purple walls and one light grey wall along with a light grey ceiling were still the same colour but slightly faded with her cream coloured carpet. Sam walked into the room and ran her hand over the dust-covered vanity desk, gaining a thick layer on the tip of her finger. Sam then turned and left her room before heading towards her parent's old room. With her hand now on the handle of the door, Sam took in a struggled breath before twisting the door handle. She stepped into the room following behind the door with her eyes trained to the ground of cream coloured carpet.

Sam lifted her eyes to see the dark wooden four pillar bed standing proudly in the centre of the room against the wall to her left. The coffee coloured sheets made perfectly untouched with the pillows a light creamy coffee colour. Sam half expected her father to lift only his head up to look at her with his old usual sleepy glance and grunt. She smirked softly as she carefully walked over to the dark wood vanity desk with an oval mirror, around it picture frames stood in their spots. The pictures were barely visible under the coating of thick dust. Recognising the frame, Sam picked one up and cleared the dust away from the glass. The picture brought a gentle smile to her face and tears welled up within her eyes. She sunk down onto the dark wooden seat with a coffee colour pillow and held the picture frame in her hands with her elbows propped on her knees.

The picture was of three figures all smiling happily with a happy birthday banner in the background. Sam stood at the front of the picture which was taken on her sixteen birthday, her father standing to her right with a proud smile on his face and his back straight. His brown hair much like her own was short but he had bright green eyes with a strong jawline and a small thin layer of stubble. His hand placed on her shoulder while the other was wrapped around Sam's mother's waist. Sam's mother had long curly locks of red hair that seemed to always sit perfectly without her even trying accompanied with sparkling brown eyes that held so much love and cheer. Sam placed her forefinger on the glass and moved it over her mothers face as tears fell from her eyes.

Sam then heard footsteps leading up to her as she quickly tried to wipe away the tears that only continued to fall. Gabriel appeared in the doorway with a sombre look on his face as he walked over to her and stooped in front of the chair, dipping down to his knees so he was just smaller than Sam and he positioned himself in between her legs taking the picture and looking at it with a soft smile.

" That was my sixteenth birthday, I did not really want a party but they refused to say I had too." Sam chuckled as Gabriel placed the picture back onto the vanity and moved his hands to cup her cheeks and wipe away her rolling tears.

" I miss them. I miss them so much." Sam whispered as the tears struggled to be held back as Gabriel made sure she was looking in his eyes.

" Baby, don't hold it in. I'm here for you." He whispered as Sam looked to him before her face scrunched up and she began to cry her eyes out leaning forward. Gabriel placed a soft kiss on her forehead before letting her head sink to his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her tightly as she gripped him tightly, sobbing into his neck. He pulled her off the chair and into his lap as they sat on the floor, he rocked back and forth while whispering sweet nothings into her ear. It did not take long for Sam to drift into a calm yet stirred sleep in Gabriel's arms.