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the goodbyes didn’t start until a few days after tara and sam went home. the first of the multiple funerals was wes and judy. wes’s father and the police department came together to arrange everything.
after all that happened, it didn’t hit sam until she heard about it. about saying goodbye to those who lost their lives in the murders. to say goodbye to all the people amber and richie killed in their delusions.
sam stared at the picture in front of her. tara sniffled next to her. sam gritted her teeth, cursing amber and richie in her head. cursing her mother for sleeping with a killer. cursing billy for starting everything.
tara reached over and grabbed sam’s hand. the older sibling looked over and gave tara a small smile.
“he was the one who told me,” sam said, blinking the tears away. “he was the only one who thought i should know about what had happened to you.”
“he looked up to you. i think he had a small crush when you were going through your bad girl stage. you know, being all mysterious and drunk all the time,” tara whispered back, letting out a small laugh.
“you were hot though,” chad said, getting a shoulder slap from his sister.
“gross,” tara muttered, shaking her head.
sam let out a laugh. “his mother wouldn’t have approved.”
“oh, she hated you so much after you left,” mindy muttered, shaking her head.
“yeah, she told me to leave town at the hospital,” sam said, feeling tears well up in her eyes. “i shouldn’t have left. if i did-”
“none of this is your fault, okay? you didn’t bring those two psycho’s into our lives,” tara told sam, giving her a look of concern.
“i brought richie,” sam responded, looking away.
tara sighed. “and you stopped him.”
sam sighed. she looked around. “i’ll be back.” she stood up and walked away from her sister and her friends. mindy quickly took sam’s spot and the three teenagers held hands while the service continued.
sam moved off to the side, grabbing the cup of coffee. she took a sip, when she felt someone move to stand next to her.
“i didn’t expect to see you here,” sam said, holding the cup to her lips. she looked at gale. the older woman just gave her a half-smile.
“dewey would want me to be here,” gale responded, looking at the pictures. “he really cared for judy.”
“but she didn’t like you,” sam commented, raising an eyebrow.
“and she didn’t like you either,” gale shot back. “i hated her lemon squares.”
“i liked them,” sam responded, letting out a laugh.
“everyone knows why she didn’t like me. but the question is why didn’t she like you?”
sam shrugged. “i spent most of my teens in a cell.”
“so you were one of those problem children?”
sam shrugged. “i was going through something. i had found out about billy, and the man i thought was my dad left. and i don’t know, i just needed to be numb. so i just took any drug i could get my hands on, drank so much i’m lucky my liver is okay, slept with more than half the guys in my year, some above and a few below while under the influence, did some crime. i was just-”
“you were lost,” gale finished, looking at sam.
sam looked at the coffee in her hand. “yeah. i was lost. it wasn’t until i left woodsboro that i got some control of myself.”
“i get it. sid, dewey and i have been in your shoes, especially sidney.”
sam nodded, just as the ceremony came to an end. mindy, chad, and tara started to walk in her direction. “we are going back to our place, if you want to come with us?”
gale shook her head. “no. there are some things i have to handle. we’ll see each other again.”
sam nodded and watched as the woman walked into the crowd. she smiled fondly, before turning to the teenagers.
“ready to go?”
tara leaned back, knowing she had to stay sober. her med and alcohol didn’t mix, but that didn’t stop the other three. tara looked around, seeing mindy and chad commenting on a romcom they had chosen. she looked at sam, who was asleep. the twenty year old had two beers.
although sam and christina were at odds, the older of the two had a business meeting to attend to. sam took to sleeping on the couch. their mother had transformed sam's room into an office and got rid of most of her things. the teenagers tried to be as quiet as possible, knowing that sam didn’t sleep well. she barely slept at all, the circles under her eyes were proof of her lack of sleep.
once tara saw that sam’s head lulled and her eyes were closed, she had chad move her so she was lying down on the couch and covered with her blanket.
two movies later, dinner was ordered and sam woke up.
“i got a text that vince’s funeral is in two days,” chad said, looking up at the females. “and liv is saturday.”
“wh-when is amber’s?” tara asked, looking at sam. the older girl shrugged.
“are we going?” mindy questioned, her voice soft. she looked at tara.
the younger carpenter shook her head. “i’m not. she doesn’t deserve a goodbye from me.”
chad nodded. “she attacked me, i’m not going.”
mindy looked at sam, who wasn’t making eye contact with anyone. “how about richie’s?”
sam shrugged. “i don’t know.”
tara stared at her sister, before taking a bite of her burger. sam stared at her own.
“i think i want to go to vince’s. we didn’t get along, but liv,” he said, looking at sam.
she gave him a nod. “i’ll go with you.”
chad and sam stood behind everyone. they watched as vince’s body was lowered.
“did you know him well?” chad asked, looking at sam.
sam shrugged. “we weren’t best friends. we bonded over billy and stu. and, well, he was my dealer.”
chad let out a small laugh. “wow. he dated liv last summer. he was a creep.”
“he was, can’t doubt that. but, he knew what i was going through. you know, having family that was a murderer. we, we did have sex, but it wasn’t just that. sometimes, we just talked about our feelings. i know he didn’t seem like it, but he was a nice guy. he helped me so much.”
“getting high isn’t helping you though,” chad said, his voice a whisper.
sam sighed, looking at the grave. “i visited billy’s grave once. i was sixteen, and it was my birthday. vince came with me. we just sat here with a bottle of tequila.”
“i’m sorry we couldn’t help you with this,” chad told her, putting his arm around her. “it hurt us too, when you left. we all saw you as a big sister too.”
“you were all thirteen. you guys couldn’t have helped me. the only person who could, hated me.”
“well, mindy and i are glad you are staying, if we haven’t already told you.”
sam leaned into him, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her. “let’s go get breakfast.”
chad nodded. “we can spam mindy and tara’s phones.”
sam laughed.
tara gripped chad’s hand, the young man was in tears. he started crying when they arrived. liv’s parents had kept it small. liv’s friends and some family were there. sam stayed in the background, having little contact with liv, but made sure tara, chad and mindy knew she was there.
“i really cared for her,” chad said, pulling from tara’s grip to wipe his tears.
“she knew that,” mindy told her, “she really cared for you too.”
“i accused her of being a killer. that was the last thing i said, i just accused her,” chad cried, turning to look at his sister.
“i did too. we all did,” mindy responded, as tara wrapped her arms around chad. she rubbed his back while he cried.
“everyone was a suspect,” sam cut in, placing her hand on chad’s shoulder.
“yeah, i told everyone you were the killer,” mindy told sam, who just shook her head.
“wait, when did that happen?” tara asked, confused. she looked from sam to mindy.
“it was while you were in the hospital. before wes died,” chad responded, giving tara’s shoulders a squeeze.
“i’m sorry my ex killed your girlfriend,” tara whispered, looking up at chad.
“it’s none of your fault. two psychos decided to kill. it’s not them, not you. all we can do is honor their memory. make sure no one forgets them,” chad said, interlacing her fingers with mindy’s.
liv’s parents walked to the group, tear filled eyes. chad quickly wrapped liv’s mother in a hug. “i am so sorry,” chad whispered, hugging the woman tightly.
liv’s father offered his hand to the girls, all of whom shook it. “we’re sorry for your loss.”
the man nodded. “thank you.”
“our daughter spoke so much about you,” liv’s mother said, moving to her husband.
“we really cared for her,” tara told the older woman.
the parents nodded, before moving to take to other members of the family.
tara looked at sam. “c’mon, sam is paying for lunch.”
sam frowned. “i really need to get a job.”
“have you thought of going back to school?” mindy questioned, as the group of four walked to what used to be richie’s car.
“i barely finished high school,” sam responded, letting out a small laugh. sam turned to chad when they were all in the car. “so, where do you want to go?”
chad smiled, and tara knew they were going to be okay.
dewey’s funeral hit the hardest. not because of his fame, no because he died rescuing sam and tara (and richie).
tara stuck to sam’s side the whole time. her eyes wet, while sam couldn’t. she just watched the service. mindy and chad were there, but wanted to give the sisters some time, knowing about the sacrifice.
“how are you doing?” someone asked. sam looked over to see sidney standing next to her.
sam gave her a small smile. “we’re okay. we’re doing better now. how about you? i know dewey meant a lot to you.”
sidney nodded. “he was my best friend’s older brother. i had known him all my life.”
“i’m sorry, i-i tried to stop him. but i also had to get tara out,” sam said, squeezing tara closer.
“no, dewey, he couldn’t save his sister, so he went down saving yours,” sidney whispered, and tara had fresh tears fall down her face at the thought. sam started to rub her back. mindy and chad, who were watching, decided to move and take tara with her, leaving sam and sidney alone.
“can i ask you a question?” sam asked, looking at sidney.
the older woman nodded, her eyes on the picture of dewey riley.
“did you ever visit billy’s grave? or go to his funeral?”
“i wanted to, but no. why? do you plan to go to amber’s or richie’s?” sidney questioned, looking back at the twenty year old.
“i don’t know. do you think it’ll help me?”
sidney shrugged. “i don’t know.”
“sidney,” someone said, and they looked over to see gale standing there. sidney was quick to put her arms around her. sam gave gale’s arm a squeeze before moving to be with her sister.
tara looked at sam, who gave her a half smile. tara turned back to the front. “he died saving me,” she whispered, rubbing the tears out of her eyes.
“it’s not your fault. you didn’t ask to be attacked,” sam responded.
“that doesn’t help. how do you deal with this?”
“i never really dealt with my feelings. i just numbed it with drugs,” sam deadpanned.
tara turned to look at sam. “where can i get some?”
“they don't help. they never do,” sam whispered, rubbing tara’s shoulder. the two stood there, hand in hand. chad and mindy both moved forward, to be a part of the siblings moment.
mindy held tara’s other hand, while chad placed his hand on sam’s elbow.
gale looked at the crowd at dewey’s memorial. it angered her, knowing that most of the people there didn’t even know him. they were there because of his fame. it disgusted her.
her eyes scanned over the crowds, stopping at sidney and sam. she took a deep breath and walked towards them, feeling the looks everyone was shooting at her. sidney noticed her first, and she stopped the conversation she was having with sam to give her the full attention.
sam looked at her, before averting her eyes. she gave gale a smile, before moving away to give sidney and gale a moment.
“how are you doing?” sidney asked, moving closer to the other woman.
“i love him,” gale said, her own eyes watering.
sidney placed her hand on gale’s shoulder. “he loved you too. he always did and never stopped.”
gale gritted her teeth, trying to stop her sobs. “why did he have to die?”
“he died saving people. it’s who he was,” sidney whispered, pulling gale in for a hug. gale took a deep breath, to rein herself in. she pulled away and nodded at sidney.
“what are you going to do with the ashes?” sidney asked after a moment of silence.
gale looked at the picture of her former husband. “he had a location written up. a place he’d like the ashes to be scattered, along with tatum’s.”
sidney nodded. “i’d like to join when you decide to do that.”
gale gave her a smile. the two turned to the front, hand in hand, ready for what came next.
chad, mindy and tara were all lying around the living room. there were three bowls of popcorn on the table, a comedy movie playing on the television. the news channels were all covering amber’s funeral. none of them wanted to be there, thus having a movie day with just the three of the teens.
“and then, wes came in, and he was going crazy because erica was implying that she wanted to have sex, and wes didn’t know what to do,” chad told them, getting laughs from the other two teenagers.
“wes was so pure, it was cute,” mindy commented, raising the beer bottle to her lips.
“he was a great friend,” tara stated, grabbing her cup of lemonade. she raised it. “for wes, judy, liv. for dewey.”
“for vince,” chad added, raising his own beer.
“for everyone whose lives were changed because of ghostface,” mindy ended, and all three teenagers took a sip of their drinks.
“where is sam? i think this may be the first time we hang out and she isn’t around.”
“she’s getting her things from modesto,” tara answered, grabbing her phone. she checked the last message from her sister, letting her know that she had arrived.
mindy and chad both turned their attention to tara. “alone?”
“i offered to go. but she said she had to do it alone. she lived with richie,” tara responded, feeling the urge to text sam, but she knew that sam needed the time alone.
“we should have gone with her,” chad said, looking worried. “isn’t it richie’s funeral tomorrow?”
tara looked at chad and mindy, not giving them a verbal answer. but it was all they needed to hear to know the answer.
sam sat in the rented car. she had left richie’s car at their shared apartment building. she didn’t want to have any of his things. her things were boxed up in the backseat. but she was holding one of richie’s hoodies. the one she had gifted him for his birthday. she was angry, she hated him, but she had grown to love him.
he had been the first person to try to understand her, who was able to find a spot in her heart. sam could have seen herself spending the rest of her life with him.
sam gripped the hoodie, bringing it to her face and inhaling deeply, taking in his scent. sam closed her eyes, remembering his face as she stabbed him over and over and over again.
sam looked at the crowd outside her door, a few yards away. sam pushed the sweater to the passenger seat. she could see richie’s parents in the distance.
sam got out of the car and walked towards the grave. she made sure she stayed hidden from view, but felt the need to be there. she listened as the minister said a few words. sam leaned against the tree, her eyes closed.
“you’re samantha carpenter,” she heard someone say, and sam’s eyes snapped open. she looked straight at the camera that was shoved in her face.
sam stared at them, her eyes wide. she looked for an escape, when someone else noticed her. someone sam wanted to steer clear of. sam stepped away from the camera’s and sped walk to the car.
“you killed my baby!” richie’s mother snapped, storming towards sam.
sam glared at the woman. she balled up her hands. “he tried to kill me! he stabbed me!” sam snapped, not wanting to back down.
“my boy would never hurt anyone! i know all about you. you are the daughter of a murderer, a drug user. i know you were no good and i was right. you are just like your father, a murderer,” the older woman said, stepping closer.
sam felt anger rush through her. “i killed him to protect my sister. and i would do it again. you say i’m the murderer, but your sone proved the type of monster he really was.”
richie’s mother’s open palm slammed against sam’s cheek. “if you ever show your face again, i will finish what he started.”
sam glared back. she took a step forward. “you can try. but if you, or anyone else, tried to hurt me or my sister, i won’t hesitate to kill you.” sam got into the car and drove off, her cheek stinging. sam gripped the steering wheel, holding it tightly as she drove. she drove straight to woodsboro. she didn’t stop, she couldn’t.
sam drives until she arrives at the location. she gets out of the car and walks, her legs on autopilot. sam stopped when she saw the name she wanted to see. sam falls to her knees and just stares at the name.
billy loomis
sam just stays there, on her knees, staring at the name. she doesn’t know how long she stays there, when she hears leaves crunch behind her. she doesn’t react, just stays there.
“you know, we got through one genre horror film, we don’t need to go to another,” tara said, sitting down next to her sister.
sam blinked, before realizing the sun had gone down. the two sisters were in a cemetery after dark. the start of a supernatural horror show. sam let out a chuckle. “i went to the funeral.”
tara nodded. “i know. you were trending. the news caught your little thing with richie’s mom. she’s lucky i wasn’t there. i would have slapped the bitchiness out of her.”
sam laughed. tara joined in on the laughter. after a moment of silence,
“did it help?” tara asked, her voice low and soothing.
“billy killed because he was angry, and his mother killed for revenge. i killed to protect you. i’m not him. i’m not a loomis,” sam said, staring at the name.
“you’re not him. you’re a carpenter, and you’re a good person,” tara told her, leaning towards sam. the older woman wrapped her arm around tara’s shoulders.
“i think it would be a good idea to get some help,” sam muttered, letting out a sigh.
“i think so too.”
the two sat in silence. “let’s go home,” sam said, standing up. she pulled tara up, and together, the two sisters walked back.
“hey, you know i would protect you too, right? i mean, richie’s mother is dead to me. and i did kill amber,” tara said, using the crutch to walk with her sister.
sam let out a laugh. “no one will separate us.”
“they’ll die trying.”
the two sisters linked their arms the best they could and walked together.