Running on Insulin

Chapter 58

Samantha POV

It was just easier to  make them think I realized that running away was a dumb idea, and that everything was fine. I wasn't lying when I told them I was scared about the idea of going up to the prison to see Stanley. I was. Which is why making them think I wasn't going to run away was why I had to run away. Stanley wasn't ever going to let me go, and I knew it wasn't safe for Jenna and Tyler for me to be here. Stanley wouldn't stop just because they were here. 

I waited until I heard the house quiet down. I went through the motions of getting ready for bed, and said goodnight and all the usual stuff, but once they'd turned out the light and gone to their own room, I got out of bed, quietly, changed out of my pyjamas, and put a few things in my school bag. I didn't deserve all the clothes and stuff they'd bought me, so I left the computer and the phone on the desk with my school books. I just threw in some clothes, the ones I had been wearing when I landed in their back yard, and a couple sweatshirts and pants. I'd grab the jacket they bought me, because it was November, and I'd definitely not survive the winter without a warm jacket. 

I knew Tyler would probably check around 2 am because that's when he'd come check my blood sugar, so I had to make sure I was gone long before then, but after everyone was asleep. 

I waited near my door while I heard Tyler and Jenna talking in their room. I kept an eye on the clock. I knew I had to be out before, 2, but not so early that someone might hear me.  Josh's room was already quiet. I didn't know if he was asleep already or maybe reading, but I didn't have to pass his room to leave, nor Jenna and Tyler's, but I wanted to make sure they were all asleep before I left. 

I listened for a little longer, and when I saw it was midnight and the house seemed silent, I quietly opened my bedroom door and looked up the hallway. The house was quiet. There was no light coming from under anyone's doors. Josh's door was closed, as was Jenna and Tyler's. 

I carried my shoes in my hand, so I didn't make any noise, and looked over the bannister. No light from downstairs either.   Looked like it was clear straight to the front door. 

I slowly and quietly made my way down the stairs staying against the wall so I didn't hit any spot on the stairs that might creak.  I sighed when I got to the bottom of the stairs, because I could walk straight to the front door unimpeded. I'd put my shoes on at the front door, take my jacket out of the closet and I'd be gone before anyone even realized I had left. With a two hour head start, there's no way they'd be able to find me. I wasn't sure where I was going to go, but I'd head towards downtown. 

I walked past the living room, and towards the front door. 

Suddenly, a lamp turned on. I stopped, hoping it was just a timer. 

"Going somewhere?" I heard a voice ask. I turned around to find Josh was sitting on the couch and had turned on the lamp. 

"Ummm, would you believe me if I said I needed some fresh air?"

Josh got up and came over to me, took my shoes from my hand and my backpack out of my other hand.

"And your backpack needed some air, too? Come on. Come sit down. Let's talk," Josh said. Tears welled up in my eyes. I was so close. I was so close to escaping and protecting Jenna and Tyler, and even myself. 

"So," Josh said. "Where were you heading at midnight on a school  night?"

He sat me down on the sofa beside him.

"I told you. I was going for a walk," I said. 

Josh opened my knapsack and pulled out a sweatshirt. He looked at me and I looked away. 

"Taking your laundry along for a walk, too?"

I didn't answer. He wasn't stupid. He knew what I was up to. 

"Look, kid. I am not going to pretend I  have any idea what your life was like before you landed in Jenna and Tyler's backyard. I can  only imagine based on what you've told us, that it was pretty much a living hell. I've heard your screams when you've had nightmares, and I know your dad, sorry, Stanley, scares the living hell out of you. But Jenna and Tyler, they love you like crazy. They're amazing people and when they wake up to check your blood sugar in the middle of the night, and find you're gone, how do you think they're going to feel?"

I stayed silent. Josh sat forward and closer to me. 

"Samantha, Tyler and Jenna don't make decisions lightly. They didn't know you from any other kid, and when you landed in their backyard, they took you in, and before they even discussed it, when they found out what your - what Stanley - had been doing to you, and that you were going into foster care, they stepped up and asked to be your foster parents. And then they decided that when your - when Stanley's - rights were terminated, they wanted to adopt you, no questions asked. And as they've gotten to know you, and I have to admit, as I have, too, they have fallen completely in love with you."

Tears started falling from my eyes. 

"They'll be devastated to find you gone.  And sick with worry, because they worry even when you're at school, that you're keeping an eye on your blood sugar. Imagine when they wake up and find out that you've taken off. Their first kid. A kid they took in, knowing she had diabetes, and that she has a past that was pretty fucking traumatic. A kid they chose to adopt and already love as if she had been born to them. But," he said, putting my sweatshirt back in my bag and handing it to me. "If that's what you want to do to two people who've shown you nothing but love and care and understanding, I suppose I don't actually have the authority to stop you."

I was crying for real now. Josh was right. Tyler and Jenna had been nothing but awesome and caring. 

"What's going on down there?" I heard from upstairs. Tyler came downstairs and into the living room where he came across Josh and I. He saw I was crying and looked around. "Josh, what's going on?"

"Someone thought a midnight walk might be a good idea," Josh said. Tyler looked at me, I looked away. He saw the knapsack at my feet. 

"Samantha, were you going to run away?"

I started sobbing. 

Tyler knelt down and pulled me into a hug. He let me cry, and he didn't say anything. He just held me. 

"Ty? What on earth? Why is everyone down  here, and Samantha, why are you out of bed? What's the matter?" Jenna said, rushing over to Tyler and I, sitting on the floor. 

"I think Samantha was planning on leaving to protect us anyway," Tyler said. 

"Oh, Samantha," Jenna said, getting down on the floor and rubbing my back while I continued to cry. 

"I had a hunch that she wasn't quite convinced that she's safe here, and that you can and will protect her. I mean, she's been with you guys a month or so, and years with Stanley doing to her whatever it was he did to make her so absolutely terrified of him." Josh said. "So, after you all went to bed, I snuck back down here and sat in the dark, just in case someone thought going out at night was a good idea."

I continued crying. 

"Oh, Sam," Jenna said. "I can't, for the life of me, imagine what you're thinking. I don't know why you would think running away would be better for you, and for us. Sam, you're our daughter now. It's our job to take care of you, not your job to take care of us. Sam, honey, you're home. We have the resources to keep you safe. I promise. Leaving us would, well, it would hurt us much more than anything Stanley could try to do. We love you. We really do. And we want to make sure you're safe, and healthy and happy. Please, Sam. Please trust us."

I looked up. Jenna had also started crying, which made me start crying even harder. She pulled me to her and hugged me tight.