Once we'd paid for lunch, we went into the mall. Samantha seemed to be having trouble deciding between staying close to us or staying a safe distance in case she felt the need to run.
We took her into Old Navy to see if there were some jeans and clothes she'd like. We started with jeans.
"Pick whatever style you like. Do you know your size?" I asked her. She nodded.
"It's too expensive," she said.
"Don't worry about the prices, okay? Pretend they don't exist," I said.
She picked a couple of pairs of jeans and then we looked at t-shirts.
"Um..." she said timidly. "I prefer the shirts from the boys' side."
"That's fine. Let's go look over there," I said.
She picked out a couple of shirts and sweatshirts.
"Next we need the more, um, delicate items. Let me send Tyler out to get us drinks. Is a Diet Coke okay?"
Samantha nodded and smiled.
"Ty, we're thirsty. Could you go down to the food court and get us drinks? A Diet Coke for Samantha and an iced tea for me?"
"We just ate lunch. How are you thirsty?"
"Because we are girls and we require hydration," I said, giving him a look that said 'don't question me, just leave'.
"Ah. Okay. Back in a few," he said. I sighed.
"Alright, Miss Samantha. Let's go to the underwear. What kind do you prefer?"
"Shorts. Like the boyfriend style?" She said.
"Me too. Comfortable, aren't they?" I asked. She nodded.
"Make sure you get the right size. You can't try those on," I laughed. Samantha smiled.
She picked out a package of three pairs. I grabbed two more.
"Alright. Let's go try on the jeans and shirts, huh?"
"Uh, okay," she said.
I led her to the change rooms and the attendant let us into a change room.
"I'll be right outside the door, okay?" I asked. Samantha nodded.
I heard her put the clothes on the hooks and waited. And waited.
"Samantha? You okay in there?" I asked. I heard a sniffle.
"Yeah," she said in a shaky voice.
"Are you sure? Can I come in?"
She opened the door a crack. Her eyes were red.
"Sweetie, what's the matter?" I asked.
"N-nothing," she said.
"Oh. Okay. So, you're just crying for the fun of it?"
"N-no," she said.
"Samantha, you are safe with us. You can tell us anything."
"I didn't want you to see," she said.
"See what?" I asked. She stepped back from the dressing room door and turned around. Her back was a patchwork of recent and healing bruises. Her legs had bruises and scars and cuts that looked like they were healing, but still pretty recent.
"Samantha..." I breathed. Did your dad do this to you?"
I closed the door behind me so no one else would see.
YOU ARE READING
Running on Insulin
FanfictionSamantha's life had never been easy. Her abusive father was the only family she had left. Her mom had died when Sam was just a kid, and when she was eight, Sam had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The healthcare costs enraged her father and made...
