I walked out of the baggage area both excited and a little nervous to see Uncle Brendon and Aunt Sarah.
But they weren't there.
I looked around and didn't see anyone I recognized.
"Sam!" I heard my name called. I turned around and saw Zack on the other side of the stanchions, where people waited for travellers. I frowned. Where were Uncle Brendon and Aunt Sarah? Were they still mad at me? Had they changed their minds about me staying with them?
"Hey, you okay?" Zack asked. I shrugged.
"Didn't Brendon or Sarah text you to tell you I was picking you up?"
I shook my head. I was afraid if I opened my mouth, I might cry.
"Are you sure? Brendon told me he texted you."
I looked at my phone and showed it to Zack. No texts since I left Ohio.
"Your phone is still on Airplane Mode, kiddo," Zack said. I looked at him quizzically and looked at my phone. And indeed, the little airplane icon was still on the top. And I hadn't connected to the airport wifi. I rolled my eyes at myself and turned off airplane mode. My phone essentially started to blow up. They were all texts from Uncle Brendon saying they'd sent Zack to get me because they had some things to take care of and weren't sure they'd be home in time to come get me, too. Now I just felt a bit dumb.
"All good?" Zack asked me. I nodded. I still didn't quite trust my voice.
"You hungry?" He asked as we got to his car.
"No, thanks. I'm okay."
"Are you sure? Brendon told me you don't usually like airplane food and that you're usually hungry when you get here."
"He's right. But tonight the food was, well, not horrible. I ate most of it."
"Okay," Zack said. "You're sure?"
I smiled and nodded. I actually wasn't hungry.
I leaned back and watched the scenery as Zack drove us towards Uncle Brendon and Sarah's house. He asked a few questions about my time back at home, the trial, that sort of stuff. We chatted a little.
When we got to the house, I went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Aunt Sarah usually keeps a pitcher of lemon water in the fridge and I liked it. It was refreshing and wouldn't mess with my blood sugar.
I drank a couple of glasses and then told Zack I was getting tired and went upstairs. He told me he'd stay until Uncle Brendon and Aunt Sarah came home.
"I know you're 18 and quite capable of taking care of yourself, but I'll feel better if I'm here until I know they're home. I know you were sick recently, so I'll be here if you need anything."
"Okay," I said. "Thanks, Other Uncle Zack."
He smiled at me.
"Sleep tight, kiddo."
I went upstairs and started unpacking my clothes from the weekend, and the few things I'd taken back with me. I put my computer and charger on my desk and plugged the computer in. The more stuff I got done the happier I was feeling. It was a little strange, because, I mean, I was just unpacking. But whatever.
I heard a knock on the door and went to open it. Uncle Brendon and Aunt Sarah were there. I was so happy to see them, I hugged them both.
"Hi, guys!" I squealed, hugging them both again. I felt giddy.
"Sam? Are you... drunk again?" Uncle Brendon asked.
"Brendon!" Aunt Sarah said.
"What? She's euphoric. And she smells drunk!"
No, I don't think so. I only had a diet Foke on the planter, I mean, plane," that sounded wrong. I grinned. Diet Foke. That's funny.
"Where did you get alcohol?" Uncle Brendon fumed at me. "Who the fuck gave you alcohol?"
Suddenly Other Uncle Zack was there. I giggled. Other Uncle. I'm hilarious.
"What the hell, Bren?" he asked, in shock.
"Did you happen to see inside her backpack?" He was asking Zack. Everything was kinda ... swimmy.
"Bren, I don't know what you're going on about. Sam was fine when she got off the plane. She was upset at first, because I was there and not you," he said.
"I texted her a million times!" Uncle Brendon said.
"Bren, I know. Let me finish. She was upset and I told her you texted her. She showed me she hadn't gotten any texts. She was still in Airplane Mode and hadn't connected to the airport WiFi."
"Okay, so, how does that explain her getting drunk? Again?"
"Okay, I don't know about how she got like this, but all she's had, so far as I could tell was water from the fridge."
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" I said, bouncing on my crutches and losing my balance. I shook my head. Things were fuzzy sounding. "Was that pitcher not lemon water?"
"No," Aunt Sarah said. "That was water. Why?"
"I had a glass of water before I came upstairs," I said, swaying a bit. An alarm went off.
"Uncle Brend? I don't feel so good," I said. Everything went dark and quiet for a bit. Then I heard some murmuring.
"Mama?" I said as I opened my eyes. I don't know why. I just always do.
"Sorry, sweetheart. It's Uncle Brendon and Aunt Sarah. How're you feeling?" He asked, turning to me and leaning over me.
"My head hurts. What happened?"
"Well, I thought..." he started.
"Hey! You thought I was drunk!" I said, suddenly realizing what he'd been saying before I... what? Passed out? I sat up and crossed my arms, pushing Uncle Brendon's arm that was over me, away. "Do you really think after how that felt and how I was feeling - how I was letting myself feel, that I could come here again and get drunk?"
"Well," Uncle Brendon said. "We hadn't gotten synced back to your CGM so we didn't get any notifications. Why didn't you notice?"
I frowned at him, then picked up my phone. It was dead. He smirked at me.
"Sorry," I said, sheepishly. And then I frowned, and looked up at him and Aunt Sarah.
I apologized again for the things I did and said before I went to Ohio. They were super understanding and Uncle Brendon explained that Dad had told them what I thought had been the reason for drinking so much that night.
When I was feeling a bit more normal, we all went downstairs and I had some apple juice and a snack. I stayed up a little longer, making sure my sugar stabilized and stuff. We talked about things back home and then I felt tired and said I was going to bed. I was tired. I mean, it was three hours later for me than it is in California. And I'd had a bad low. Those exhaust me, too.
I brushed my teeth and got my stuff together for school in the morning, made sure my phone was charging, and set my alarms. I got into bed and was asleep, I'm pretty sure, before my head even hit the pillow.
I groaned when my alarm went off.
"Up and at 'em, kiddo!" I heard Uncle Brendon say as he knocked on my door as he passed my room.
I groaned again, pulled my pillow over my face and then made myself get up.
I did my bathroom stuff, put my leg on and got dressed, grabbed my school stuff and made my way downstairs.
"Good morning!" Uncle Brendon said. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay," I said.
"How'd you sleep?"
"I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. I was awake, and then my alarm went off," I grinned.
"You probably needed it. You're sure you're feeling okay today?" He asked, scrutinizing me.
"I am. Promise. I feel way better than I did last night," I said.
"Okay. What would you like for breakfast? We've got," he turned around and looked at the clock. "Half an hour before we have to leave to take you to school."
"Ummm, cereal's fine," I said.
"Froot Loops, Corn Pops or Kashi?" Uncle Brendon asked.
"Corn Pops, obviously," I said, grinning. Uncle Brendon smiled, rolled his eyes and got out the cereal and milk while I grabbed a bowl and spoon.
"Do you want some, too?" I asked. He looked at me as though I'd insulted him.
"Obviously," he said. I laughed.
We sat down at the breakfast bar and ate our cereal. As we were finishing up, Aunt Sarah came downstairs.
"Good morning, Sam," she said brightly. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"
"I'm alright, thanks," I said. She came and hugged me and gave me a kiss on the head.
"I'm glad," she said.
She poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot Uncle Brendon had brewed, and sat in his vacated seat to drink it.
"After school," Aunt Sarah said. "Pete and Meagan invited us over for dinner. Do you have practice or anything today?"
"I don't think so. Are we going straight there?"
"We thought so. You could swim, if you want."
"No, that's okay. If it's alright, I'll try to get some homework done there before dinner?"
"I think that's fine," Aunt Sarah said. "His boys will have homework too, then we can all hang out."
"Okay," I said.
When it was time to go, Uncle Brendon and I went out to the car. Aunt Sarah wished me a good day and we left. We chatted and sang the whole drive to school. I was feeling a lot better. I was glad I'd apologized and I was glad they weren't mad at me.
We pulled up to the school and I got out of the car, said goodbye to Uncle B and headed inside to drop some things in my locker.
"Sammy! You're back!" Brandi said, running up to me at my locker and hugging me. "How was Ohio? We heard you got sick."
"Yeah. I got an infection. Ohio was otherwise okay. My uncle's looking at a lot of time in jail."
"I heard that, too. How weird was it seeing him again?"
"Not as weird as listening to his ex-wife testify for us."
"Wait, what?!" Brandi asked as we walked towards homeroom.
"Yeah. She came in with my cousins and was on our side. My uncle and her divorced after he tried to sue my parents for custody. It was sort of the brick that broke the camel's back," I said.
"Isn't it 'straw'?" Brandi said.
"It is when it's a small thing. But apparently, they were already headed to divorce and that pushed her over the edge. I don't know all the details, but I know the important things. And now I have an aunt and cousins I can talk with without worrying they're trying to manipulate me or something."
"That's nice, then," Brandi said, taking her seat. I nodded as I took mine.
My friends all greeted me and welcomed me back to school. The teacher did, too.
A lot of the day I was welcomed back by teachers and teammates. I didn't think that many people would have even noticed I was gone. It felt kinda nice.
At the end of the day, I stopped at my locker to drop off a couple of texts I wouldn't need overnight and picked up a couple I would.
I looked around the hallway and smiled. I think coming here was a great idea.
"Sam, party Friday night, my house!" Dylan said, as he came down the hallway. He stopped at my locker. "You gotta be there!"
"I'll see. My aunt and uncle weren't to thrilled after the bonfire."
"You gotta come. Please?" He said.
"I'll try. I'll talk to them. But if they say yes, I cannot get that drunk again! If they don't kill me, my parents will fly out here and kill me themselves!"
Dylan grinned.
"You'll persuade them. Try, okay? You missed, like, three of them being away, and being grounded."
I shrugged.
"I'll talk to them," I promised.
"Cool. Okay. See ya tomorrow!" He said, chasing after Aubrey, a friend of his.
I walked out into the front of the school and saw Uncle B's car. I smiled as I climbed into the back seat.
"Good day?" He asked as I buckled my seatbelt.
"It was alright," I said.
"Everyone happy to see you again?" Aunt Sarah asked.
"Yeah. I got a very nice welcome back."
They smiled and I sat back and watched the streets pass by as we drove up to Uncle Pete's in Beverley Hills.