Different Forms of Happiness

Part 21

Chapter 20 - Scott

Scott fidgeted as he stood outside the door.  Money did get you things in life.  For example, in one of his hands was a bouquet of roses while the other gripped the strings of multiple balloons.  On each, a different saying was surrounded in multiple designs.  He just hoped that this would be enough.  He knew he had hurt Sam by letting her leave the party, but the woman hadn't given him enough time.  He was just happy that they were stopped now.  It did not matter if he was holding up traffic, or if his own driver was laughing at him.  All that mattered was Sam.

The window rolled down, and Scott took a deep breath.  Instead of seeing Sam's face, he saw Graham's smiling one.  Even though it was not the person he expected, that breath whooshed out in relief.  At least Graham was not angry any longer.  Scott didn't know what he would do if both of his friends were angry with him. 

Graham nodded at him before mouthing the words, 'Good luck.'  Scott nodded back; he would need that luck if he were going to gain Sam's forgiveness.  With a smile, Graham rolled the window back up, leaving Scott staring at it with a little bit of shock.  Would his friend really dismiss him?  He had thought that Graham had forgiven him, that there were no hard feelings.  Maybe, it was Sam who did not want to see him.  He nodded; it would make sense.  Graham had always wanted to protect Sam.  This time would be no different.

The sound of a door being thrown open snapped him out of his thoughts.  Before he knew what was happening, Sam fell out of the car.  Landing on her butt, she stared up at the limo with an angry expression on her face.  Jumping to her feet, she pulled at the handle.  "Graham!" she yelled, smacking the door.  "Let me in there, now!"

"Sam."

She froze, and her hand dropped from the limo.  Looking over her shoulder, she sighed.  "What Scott?"

He shook one hand before shaking the other.  "I got you something."

Turning towards him, her mouth twitched when she stared at the balloons.  "As far as I knew, I'm not expecting, sick, or having a birthday."

His hand opened, freeing them into the sky.  "Forget the balloons," he mumbled, his cheeks heating up slightly.  It was not his fault that money could only buy what the store carried.  Holding out the flowers, he attempted a smile.  "I'm sorry.  She can be brash at times, annoying at others, but she is my mother.  I love her, and that will never change."

"I understand," she whispered as she glanced at the ground.  "I would never ask you to choose between your mother and me.  It would be unfair."

"Which is exactly why I like you so much," he said with a small laugh.  "I'm not going to choose between the two of you, because I don't need too.  I made my mother promise to treat you with respect, and I know that you will do nothing less."

Her head snapped up, and her eyes narrowed slightly.  "Was that a demand?"

His mouth opened, but when he saw the amusement in her eyes, it closed once more.  She was joking with him.  A sigh full of relief left his mouth.  If she was laughing at him, she couldn't be too angry.  "Do you accept my apology?"

"I don't know," she drawled.  "It was a horrible apology."

Walking towards her, he dropped down to his knees in front of her.  He looked up at her, giving her his best puppy-dog face.  "Please, Sam, will you forgive me?  I apologize from the pit of my heart, to the bottom of my soul, to the-"

"Enough!" she laughed while tugging at him to stand.  As soon as he was on his feet, she pulled him into a tight hug.  "You're forgiven," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Good, because I would be lost if you hated me," he whispered honestly.  It was the truth.  He didn't know what he would do without Sam.  It may have only been a few days, but she was his friend, a friend that he did not want to part with for a very long time.

When her arms tightened around him, and the sound of a sniffle reached his ears, he pushed her back slightly.  "Are you crying?"

She burrowed her face further into his coat jacket.  "No," she said, her words muffled.  "Fine, I am."  With a deep breath, she pulled away.  "It's just that I missed you, okay?  Don't ever do that again."

He laughed as he swiped a thumb under her eyes.  "You look like a raccoon."

She punched him in the arm with a roll of her eyes.  "Jerk," she whispered while grabbing his hand.  "Come on.  You can come with us to a party."

Scott stayed still, not going along with her.  Shaking his head, he motioned back to his own car.  "I know a party we can go to."

She was shaking her head at him before he finished his sentence.  "No."

He let out a sigh while tugging her closer to him.  "If you run now, she'll never accept you for who you are."

"I'm not running," she snapped with mild anger in her voice.  "Can you honestly blame me if I don't want to go somewhere where I'm not welcome?"

"Sam, look at me."  She stared into her eyes, and he smiled as they flashed angrily at him.  She really was beautiful when she was mad.  "I want you to be in my life, you're one of the best friends I've ever had, but my mom will always be there.  Go back and show her that you're the bigger person.  Hell, even if you want to throw the fact that I ran after you in her face, you can."

Her anger disappeared a little as she laughed at him.  With a sigh, she nodded.  "Fine, but only if Max and Graham will come with us."

"I'll have their driver follow ours," Scott said as he tugged her towards his car with a smile.  It looked like he didn't need the balloons and flowers after all.