22. Samantha

                                    

                                          
I could hear sounds, voices, noise. But it was all so far away and I was so comfortable in this dark place I seemed to be. It was like floating somewhere warm and safe. 
I remember hearing banging and yelling and then movement and lights and more voices. 
Then silence. Blissful silence. 
I could tell time was passing but I didn't know how fast or slow, how much time. For a while I felt both heavy and light at the same time. And hot and cold. Noises would be louder or softer but otherwise I just felt... there. 
A while later, I don't know how long, I felt better. I opened my eyes and looked ahead of myself. A ceiling. Then I looked in front of me and I didn't believe what or who I was seeing was in front of me. I looked between them. 
"M-mom? D-dad?" I asked. I wasn't sure I was seeing them. After so long I didn't know if I'd see them again. They had my hands in theirs and Mom pulled me into a hug as I burst into tears. My parents just held me and let me cry. 
Mom was telling me I was okay. I wasn't but I knew they'd help me get there. One constant whenever something happened was Mom and Dad. And Uncle Josh and Aunt Debby. And of course Rosie and Junie. 
Dad called Uncle Josh and I spoke to Rosie for a little and Uncle Josh as well. I was so happy to see them. 
Mom and Dad said I'd have to talk to the police and the FBI about what happened, but said they'd push it off as much as possible. 
Eventually I got tired and fell asleep. Dad made me take a nap anyway. Which was fine. I needed it. I still didn't feel great. 
I slept so well. I felt safe. I had my parents with me. And apparently detective Jake was here. But I wasn't sure where here was. 
When I woke up again it was dark. I must have slept most of the day. Dad was laying back in a chair and kinda snoring. Mom was beside me. 
"Hey there," she smiled at me. 
"Hi," I said. 
"How're you doing my sweet girl?"
I shrugged. 
"Mom?"
"Yes, baby?"
I took a deep breath. 
"Mom, why did he do it?"
"I don't know sweetheart," she said. 
I nodded. 
"Is he...?"
"Dead?" Mom asked. I nodded. 
"No. He's with the police. And he's in a lot of trouble. Do you want to know who tried to help us find you?" 
I nodded. 
"Carol," she said.
"Carol? Like, Mark's wife?"
Mom nodded. 
I frowned. 
"Carol told us that after he tried to sue us, he lost his job and his work visa in England, and Carol divorced him. She didn't agree with him suing us. She said she would have loved to have you for a semester in England, but she had no desire to take you from us. It's why she didn't participate in the case."
"But, the uniform?"
"She told me that if you did decide to stay, they'd know your sizes. And she wanted to see how you looked in their school uniform. She said you looked very adorable," Mom said.  "She didn't know Mark told us there was a festival. He only told her that we'd asked them to keep you that extra week because we were going to California."
I'm still glad I didn't stay. He probably wouldn't have ever let me leave. 
"I wonder if Benji really took my passport, or if Mark made him," I said. 
"Let's not think about that," Mom said.
"Mom?" I said again. 
"Yes? My beautiful?"
My eyes filled with tears. 
"I think I lost my leg. I don't know where it is. And he left my tour shirt somewhere," I cried. 
"Shh," Mom said. "It's okay. We'll figure it about your leg later. And I know a guy who can probably help with the tour shirt."
I was feeling woozy, so I started falling asleep again.  
Lights and sounds. It was too much. Everything was on fire. Someone was chasing me. Someone was pulling me into a box. They kept pushing me down, down, down. 
"Get the cooling blanket!"
"Grab some more ice packs!"
"Sam? Samantha! Can you hear me, honey?"
"Sammy? When you coming home?"
"Sam?  Samantha?  Sweetheart?  It's Mom, darling. Can you hear me?" 
"Sam? It's Dad. Come on sweetheart. Show us you're getting better. Come on my sweet girl."
"Hey, String Bean, we're pulling for you. You keep fighting okay? You get better.  Rosie and Junie and Aunt Debby and I really miss you and we can't wait to see you."
"Sam? It's Jill. Can't wait for you to get better and come home. We all really miss you. Just, keep fighting okay?"
"Sam? You hear all those messages? Huh?  That's your family and your friends. They're all really pulling hard for you, baby. You keep fighting, okay.  You fight and get better and come back to us, got it?"
"Sammy? I drawed you more pictures. Mama says you sleeping but you will see them when you wake up. When you gonna wake up, Sammy?"
"This infection has really taken a hold. Sepsis is tricky. We're just going to keep fighting it with a broad spectrum antibiotic as we've been. We're running cultures to see if we can find a more targeted antibiotic. She's a fighter."
"Sam, honey, come on sweet girl. You keep fighting. You fight hard."
I'm so tired. I just keep hearing voices. Just so many voices. All talking. Just talking. So many words. So much noise.
I just want to rest.