Running on Insulin

Chapter 70

Jenna and I pulled into the driveway and got out of the car.

"Sam?" She said as I closed the door. I stopped and turned to look at her.

"Are you okay sweetheart? You're very quiet today."

I shrugged.

"Honey, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Tears formed in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks.

"Oh, sweetie," Jenna said coming up to me. "What is it?"

She led me to the front porch and sat me down on the couch swing they had out there. She kept her arm around me while I cried. I couldn't seem to stop. Jenna didn't tell me to stop or demand that I tell her why I was crying. She just rubbed my arm and made soothing sounds and soothing comments.

"It's okay, my sweet girl. You just let it out. Shhhh, you're okay. You're safe. But you just cry if that's what you need right now," she said.

It was almost hard to keep crying when she was so soothing.

"You're okay my sweet girl. I'm here whenever you're ready to talk. It's okay," she missed the top of my head.

Finally, I was cried out. I stayed leaning up against Jenna as she swung us back and forth slowly.

"I'm right here, whenever you're ready to talk," she said again. "Okay?  You take your time. But I'm here when you're ready."

The front door burst open.

"There you two are!" Tyler said. "I heard you pull up but then you didn't come into the house. What's going on?"

"Nothing much," Jenna said. "Someone just needed a good cry and I think was just about to tell my why. But it's okay if she's not ready."

Tyler knelt down in front of me, forcing Jenna to stop rocking the swing.

"Baby girl, what's the matter?  What's got you so sad?"

"I'm not sad," I whispered. "I'm scared."

Tyler got up and sat beside me, on my other side, and carefully wrapped his arm around me, too.

"What are you scared of, sweetheart?" He asked.

"Stanley," I said.

"Oh bunny," Jenna said. "He can't get to you."

"He said he has friends. He said he's going to keep an eye on me. And in my dream last night he said he should have also done to me what he did to my mom the night she died. And in my dream he shot me in the head," I said, tears falling from my eyes again as my voice started shaking.

"Oh sweetheart," Jenna said. "No wonder you were screaming like that. My poor, sweet girl."

Tyler ran his hand through my hair.

"Sam, I know it's hard for you to believe, but we will protect you. I know you've had so many years of the people who are supposed to protect you failing you. First your mom, but that wasn't her fault. Then your dad, then social services.

But you don't need to worry so much anymore.  You have us, and Josh, and our friends, who you'll meet tomorrow.

We're all going to protect you. Marie is going to find out if there's anything we can do about the threat he made, but sweetheart, you are safe with us. Okay?"

"But, what if he has something planned?"

"Marie thinks that he's full of Sh— baloney," Tyler said. "He knows the law. He knows that he can get into more trouble and add to his sentence once he has his trial."

"Exactly. He knows the law," I said.

"Do you want me to call Dr Freud?  See if he can see you today or Monday?  Maybe he can help you work through this better than us?"

"No. Thanks," I said. "I'm okay.  I'm just, still kinda scared. But I'll tell him on Thursday."

"Okay sweet girl. Ready for a snack?" Tyler asked.

"And a nap," I said.

The three of us got up and went into the house.

I could swear I saw someone on the road with a camera. But then, Tyler is a celebrity. It might have been paparazzi.

————-
Tyler's POV

I hate how scared Samantha is, still, of her birth father. Even from prison he still held sway.

Marie had called while Jenna was picking Sam up from school. She'd said there really wasn't anything the police could do because Stanley hadn't actually threatened Sam with a specific threat. He'd just said he'd keep an eye on her. And how would he do that from prison?

I'd put together a snack for Sam while I'd waited for them to come in, and Sam sat and ate it at the kitchen table. Her broken ribs were still bothering her but she wouldn't take anything stronger than an Advil anymore. Which was fine by me, if they worked.

It was a good thing we got her in when we did because her blood sugar tested at 52. I got her a juice box to drink with her snack. She took less insulin to cover the snack because she was so low.

After she ate, she said she wanted a nap because she'd slept so badly the night before. Jenna walked upstairs with her.

"She okay?" I asked when Jenna came back down.

"I think so. She's a bit scared to go to sleep because she's afraid of more nightmares. And honestly, if her nightmare was her - Stanley - shooting her in the head, I'd be afraid too. But she needs the sleep."

"Homework?" I asked.

"First off, I told her she has all weekend to do it, and second, she told me she got it done in PE since she can't actually participate. Good thing, too. They started floor hockey."

My cell phone rang and I checked the number. Brendon.

"Hey Brendon," I said answering the phone. I spoke to him for a few minutes and when I hung up Jenna looked at me quizzically.

"Brendon and Sarah and Zack and Kala flew in this morning and wondered if they could come meet Samantha tonight. That way she'll already know them tomorrow. I invited them for dinner,"

"Tyler Robert Joseph, did you stop the think whether or not I want them over for dinner?  Or whether I had anything planned?"

"Well, my beautiful and understanding wife who I know is joking because your eyes sparkle when you do that, they are bringing Chinese food. So you don't even have to worry about cooking."

"But the roast I thawed," I smiled.

"Funny. You didn't thaw any roast. I've been home all day. I would have noticed.  But I'll tell you what you can thaw," I grinned.

"Tyler!" Jenna laughed.

We were interrupted by a scream from upstairs. Both of us bolted up the stairs so fast, I couldn't be sure my feet touched them at all.