∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆Sammie's POV∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

Sammie spent the next two days settling into the new routine. Going to work, going to collect the reports for Angela, and then off to her apartment. Strangely enough, Samuel gave her some time off on their late night misadventures. She still went jogging every evening though, if only not to make Alex suspicious.

And also so she could tired herself enough to sleep. Sleep never came easy to her anymore.

She normally didn't like doing so much work, she wasn't as lazy as Alex but even she liked to relax. Angela had said that this was her punishment, so she'll take it and say nothing.

Honestly, she felt she was lucky that Samuel hasn't bothered her.

Lucky... Maybe that wasn't the right word. He had to be up to something.

Angela had instructed her to tell anyone who asked that she was meditating under a waterfall and couldn't be disturbed. She didn't know if the lie was motivated by a desire to protect her own pride, but she found it hilarious. In any case, she felt like the excuse was a bit of a stretch. Especially considering it was very anime-ish.

Everyone asked. Everyone believed that Angela was sitting under a waterfall for the rest of the week. Well, Sammie figured that Angela knew her fellow officers better than she did.

She spent the next day wishing she had a car, hell even a bicycle would have been better. It was in no way an easy task to walk all around town.

Getting home felt like a huge relief. She sat at the table, placing her head flat on it. When she looked up she saw that Alex had set a mug of coffee next to her. He remembered that she wasn't very fond of black coffee. How sweet. He sat down at his usual spot on the other side of the table, setting his own mug down right in front of himself.

“Please don't spill that,” Sammie muttered, laying her head back down. He always managed to spill something on a daily basis.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Alex look over to the clock on the kitchen wall. “Wasn't planning on it,” Alex said.

“Oh, and thank you for the coffee," she said, tilting her head.

“No problem.”

She looked up again long enough to smile at him. She may be tired, but she didn't want to be rude. A little kindness goes a long way honey, she remembered someone told her. Mom? Dad? Angela? Either way, it was what felt right.

She heard soft tapping, Alex was texting it looked like. She wondered to who though, he didn't have much friends. He let out a small smile, and for a brief moment she felt jealous of the person on the other side of his cell. Who ever it was.

Curious, but tired she didn't ask who it was. If he wanted other friends it was fine.

“So what's written in here anyway?" Alex said, his eyes looking over Angela's file that Sammie had put on the table.

She shrugged, and she could swear that her head was boiling over. It felt horrible, and her trying to talk to Alex wasn't helping. Still, she didn't want to tell him to go away. This was his place, too, after all. She pushed her chair back and downed the rest of her coffee.

...God, did Alex have to put so much sugar in everything? Cakes, brownies, tea, coffee, was nothing safe?

She tried not to grimace as she adjusted to the overpowering sweetness, and waited for her teeth to not hurt. He was just being thoughtful, so she was going to finish the mug no matter what.

Alex was skimming the report that laid on the table. Sammie hasn't gone to Angela's to stop it off yet. “Monday, West Misan forest, burning has seemed to stop, possible arsenal."

“I guess that solves that,” Sammie mumbled. Honestly, that was the huge relief that they stopped focusing on it and just labeled it arsenal. Hoping the search stops there, too.

Strangely enough, she felt the tiredness down to her bones. Not sure why though, since she had only been at work for four hours today.

At the moment, her skull felt like it would split open any minute. Texts from Melissa were starting to morph into meaningless squiggles.

Melly: Hey yur sister is at my place & she says she will be back by 5pm. (-_-') so sorry... Signed Melissa♡

“Soooo, did you hit your weight goal yet? How's the bet going.” Alex asked. "My money's on you, since you go out jogging every night."

Sammie frowned. He was worried. She knew it was all her fault. “Yeah, I'm getting closer.”

“By the way, why is this here? Isn't Angela home?”

“Not yet, she's at her girlfriend's place,” she looked over to the file. She wanted to read all they put about the burnt clearing, but was too afraid of what she would see. "Melissa texted me to let me know."

Alsx picked up the filed report. “Melissa is nice, and she's got to be better than chasing Samuel around like a love sick puppy dog everywh- eh, sorry!”

Alex blurted when Sammie couldn't hide her stricken expression. “I forgot, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sure he's a cool friend!"

She made a sniffle sound. She wasn't heartbroken over Samuel, like Alex probably thought. She was just so fucking done.

“Hey, so I'm thinking of cooking, do you wanna help?” he said, obviously trying to change the topic.

She smiled at him, which he returned immediately. Alex picked up his shoes to put them on, when he noticed something underneath.

Alex made a face and dropped the shoe. “Shit! I'm gonna go wash my hands now.”

Sammie laughed, following him with her eyes. When he came back, he lifted the shoes with a napkin.

A small smile crossed Sammie's face, along with a idea. As he went to drop the shoes in the bath tub, she followed him as quiet as possible. She quickly poked his sides, making him jump.

“You think you're sneaky, huh?” He wrapped his arms around her as she tried to run. He smelled of coffee, and old book smell. While she definitely loved the smells alone, together on him it was intoxicating.

"Don't hate, just 'cause you can't sneak to save your life,” She laughed, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. She never wanted it to end.

“I'm not capable, huh?” Alex pressed one hand to his heart in mock offense. “I'm hurt badly, such words have wounded me deeply."

"I'll show you deeply." She let out a snort, only to cringe at what she said after. It sounded a lot funnier in her head.

“Don't try to be funny. I'm supposed to be the funny one.”

“You are? Then which one am I?” Sammie was in such a good mood, she gripped it tightly. “The beautiful one? The brainy one?”

“The bossy one.”

“I'm not bossy!” She huffed, she poked him in the cheek. His skin was so soft, though he did have a few pimples.

“Dude.” Alex gave her a look. “How many times did you try to get me to clean my room? Or to do laundry?”

To be honest, Sammie didn't even notice the smell of his room anymore. The noseblindness is real. “Well, clean it up, then! Must I do everything?”

Alex grinned. “See? Bossy. It's okay,” he said. “I'm sure you'll be a great homebody for some lucky guy or gal someday.”

“Please.” Sammie rolled his eyes. “I'm a career woman.” She frowned when her gaze caught the clock on the wall. “Speaking of which,” he said, “I should go to Angela's to drop this off.”

“Right.” Alex seemed to suddenly stop glowing. “Sorry about that. I gotta learn how to turn off my time-wasting aura.”

“I doubt there's enough magic in the world for that,” Sammie said, and playfully nudged him.

She hadn't realized just how down Alex had gotten until this too-brief reminder of how he used to be. Guilt curled up in her chest, making it it's new home. Her mood sunk lower still when she realized that his new job shift had started an hour ago.

"Er,” she said, reluctant to mention it. “Are you...are you working today?”

Alex cast a sullen look at the floor. “I dunno, I'm not really feeling it today.” He glanced up at Sammie, unsure. “Do you want me to?”

So much for keeping this new job. She found it hard to think of anything else now. He has to find a stable job.
“If you're not going out,” she said, looking around the room, “I could use some help here.”

In all likelihood, Alex would be able to find another job on his own. Even if it didn't, she could look around for him.

Alex frowned, visibly confused by the lack of scolding. Then, he brightened, just a bit. “You want me to clean house?”

“If you want, no pressure.” Sammie smiled, her headache was down to a dull throbbing now. Hopefully, the fresh air will help.

“No worries babycakes, I can do it.” Alex joked, winking at her. She felt her face grow warm, but tried not to show it. “Just write me a list of what to do.”

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

With the fresh air, her headache was gone. Now her mind was free to think, like how Alex had perked up a bit when she hugged him before she left. It struck her now that he must be lonely, with her working so much (on top of the other thing that kept her away from home several nights a week).

Alex was popular enough in town, thanks to his calm attitude, and witty jokes. Yet he seemed uninterested in socializing with anyone other than her. Now that Sammie noticed, she couldn't believe how long it took for her eyes to open to the plight of it all.

She wondered how long Alex had been struggling, and why it had taken her so long to pick up on it. His messy habits, and his beyond laid-back attitude took on a different and very much worrying shade to it.

There had been a time when Alex had been more vibrant, when he'd cared more. When he would seem more interested in things. Back when they were kids, he was more open to talking to people. Back when he actually tried hard.

The change had just been so gradual that she had failed to notice. She was the failure. She had been too wrapped up in her own world to notice that her oldest friend in need.

If Samuel had done one good thing, she bitterly mused, it was shaking her out of her little bubble and letting her see what was happening under her own roof. She didn't intend to stand by, idly fiddling her thumbs, while Alex was suffering. Whatever he needed, Sammie would do her best to provide.

She just had to find the time.

The walk to Angela's was quiet and uneventful.

In hindsight, it would only make sense that Angela's girlfriend would be there, since she had gone to visit her. Still when Sammie saw that it was fair skinned woman who answered the door, her face showed surprise.

“Hello?” the woman said, sounding as if she weren't quite sure that to say and she was avoiding all eye contact.

Sammie gave up on trying to catch her eyes. “Oh, hello.”

This visit wasn't going well so far. Is this Melissa? Sammie has never met her face to face before this. All contact was over text or on her social media. Melissa seemed so much more confident in text and online.

"I'm, er...here to deliver Angela's report, and,” she said, pulling out her Tupperware from her skull bag. “some lasagna.”

She had bought it on her way here. Better than her making it out of love and guilt.

The barely taller than her woman took the dish from her, and stood aside to let her inside. Melissa's green eyes still not looking at Sammie's brown ones at all. She tried to remember anything that might break the ice.

All Sammie knew of Melissa was that she didn't post pictures of herself often, she loved harlem anime, and that she had a sweet tooth. At least, she might have one, considering how often she posted cute cake pictures.

“That's nice of you. It certainly smells amazing.” She said. “I'll, um, I'll just put this in the fridge.”

She rushed away, before Sammie could say anything. They never met before so it felt awkward now. Melissa had very fair skin, similar to Alex's. Sammie and Angela had more of a tawny tone to their skin.

“MELISSA, I'M DYING!”

Sammie and Melissa jumped, poor Melissa also banged her head on the freezer door as she shot upright. Ouch.

The bellowing from Angela's bedroom continued, and the both of them ran for the door.

“Babe?” Melissa burst into the room just ahead of Sammie. “W-what's wrong? Is it your head?”

Angela sat in bed, propped up by several well-fluffed pillows, and empty glass in her hand. Typical Angela.

"Actually, would you be a doll and get me another glass of water?” The ice made clinking sounds as she shook the glass in Melissa's direction. “I'm thirsty.”

Melissa's shoulder's relaxed. “Is that all?” she asked.

“Um,” Angela said,  “Could you get the remote for me, too? I sort of threw it at the TV.”

She pointed to the remote, laying on the floor beneath a suspicious-looking dent in the plaster of the far wall.

Melissa sighed and went about her tasks. Angela, meanwhile, turned her attention to her sister.

“Sissy! Get in here, you doofus. Sit yourself down.”

“How are you feeling?” Sammie eyed Angela, who looked comfortable in her bed. Her head also looked better.

Angela caught her looking, and smiled widely. "I'm perfectly fine."

"I'm still sorry tha-"

"Stop that.."

“Sorry.”

“Sissy, you're killing me here,” Angela said, making Sammie flinch at her poor choice of words. “You don't need to keep apologizing. You got that report?”

Sammie pulled out the papers from her bag, and handed them to her.

“Wow,” she said, “Your bag can do it all, huh? What else you got in there?”

"Nothing,” Sammie said, “Just my wallet now."

And pink goop.

Angela tossed the report onto the bedspread beside her. “Anyway how's things that guy you liked? Samuel, right? You see him often?”

Sammie forced a smile. Alex had asked the same thing not too long ago. Was everyone thinking that is where she went to every night?

Sammie wasn't mad, but she didn't want them to think she was being with him. The thought of Samuel alone made her stomach hurt.

Sammie shook her head, "No, I'm just friend with him. Not even that actually, since I can't remember the last time I saw him."

Maybe if she said she didn't see him they would stop asking about him. If she was lucky, they would just stop asking questions. She did her best not to think about Samuel as a potential boyfriend. Something she hoped for what felt like years ago, even though it was about a month ago.

The sisters chatted for an hour or so about random things. Angela had done nothing but watch television for the last couple days, so she caught Sammie up on the latest events. Which didn't take long, since she already heard about Emily Rosario's pregnancy via Twitter.

Every day was a slow news day in the Misaburn. In this small town of three thousand or so people, entertainment was hard to come by.

As normal as she tried to act, Angela eventually dozed off. Sammie left her to her nap.

Melissa was seated at the kitchen table, browsing on her phone. She looked tired. Sammie didn't know if she really felt like staying, but she was being very kind by looking after Angela. This was the first time they'd met 'i.r.l.' and it would be rude to just leave without acknowledging her. Especially since, girlfriend or not, Angela was a fussy patient to take care of. She put the kettle on. It seemed like the thing to do.

“You're Dr. Melissa Turner, right? Sorry!” she said, when Melissa jumped in her seat. “I didn't mean to startle you.”

Melissa's cheeks shaded pink for a moment while she composed herself. “No, that's quite all right,” she said. “I, uh, I was spacing out.”

There was a gap. Sammie noticed the pile of dishes in the sink, and the table had more than a few empty containers of take out.

“Oh!” Melissa blushed darker. “Yes, I'm Dr. Turner.”

Sammie started filling the sink. She could easily finish up the dishes before the water boiled. Plus, she noticed if she had her back to Melissa, she seemed to talk more. Maybe she's be more comfortable that way.

“I thought you looked familiar! It was really bothering me when I got here. It's silly of me to not know my own sister's girlfriend. You've been dating over a year now, correct?"

The tapping of phone keys continued. She was probably updating her status. She was very conscientious about her blog. On tumblr I think, Sammie tried to remember what her username was. Candy-Warrior?

Sammie mused that it must be because doctors were in the habit of taking notes on everything. Either about doctor things or candy was up to them.

“Oh?” she said. “Oh, that's right! You're...” she paused, her cheeks red as could be. “You're deaths-musicbox, right? I'm sorry. I swear I know your name, but I'm blanking.”

“That's okay!” Sammie smiled. Angela always used her name, so that's how she'd come to think of her as well. “I'm Sammie, short for Samantha.”

She started on the dishes. It wouldn't take long at all. There were no pots or pans, just bowls and chopsticks. Hmm. Good thing she'd bought that lasagna. Not everyone was good at cooking, and Angela needed more than cup-a-noodles.

“Sammie,” she said. “I knew it was something that sounded like that, er...” She typed for a few seconds. “Do you know a Alex Carter, by any chance? Sorry if that's a stupid question.”

Sammie didn't know why Melissa kept acting like she didn't want to talk to her. Was facing away from her the wrong move? Oh, well. The dishes were almost finished, anyway.

“Yeah,” she said, “He's my roommate. I didn't know you knew Alex. I mean, he's never mentioned you.”

That possibly could have been worded better. There are a lot of things Alex doesn't mention, after all.

“We're not really friends,” Melissa said, quickly. She still had that apologetic edge to her voice. “More like science club members. I just remember him mentioning you a lot.”

Acquaintances. That honestly described Alex's relationship with most people. Sammie frowned as rinsed the sink clean. Melissa couldn't see her frowning, which was good because she would probably assume that she was frowning for some other reason.

“You, um, didn't have to do that, you know. It was my mess after all.”

“Oh, it's no trouble,” Sammie said, smiling over to Melissa. “I like cleaning. Besides, I'm sure Angela has been running you off your feet all day.”

She glanced back at her while she fixed the tea, and gave her a grin. She didn't dive under the table, so that was good.

“The last two days, actually,” she said. “Sorry I'm such a mess. I didn't plan to stay the night, so I didn't have a change of clothes. Figures I meet someone I know when I look like total garbage. Heh...” She fidgeted with her pink sweater sleeves. They were pretty wrinkled, but she was working hard taking care of someone who was hurt. Anyone would look rumpled.

Sammie still wasn't sure if Melissa even wanted her to stay, but it would be weird to make tea without drinking it, so she brought both mugs over and sat down across from her.

“Thanks,” she said.

Sammie smiled. “You're welcome. I hope green tea is okay.. I, uh, I see it on your desk a lot when you post pictures, so...”

“Yeah, it's my favorite.” Melissa smiled back, she has an amazing smile. “You're, um, really observant.”

“I just remember things about people,” Sammie said, blushing. "I try to actually put a lot of work into learning about the people I meet, but i know that could come across as somewhat...weird. I just want to make everyone happy, ya know?"

Melissa giggled as she blew on her tea to cool it. “I can't even remember people's names half the time, heh...”

“Oh, I hope you don't think I was criticizing you!” This wasn't going so well. Melissa was a lot more relaxed online. So she couldn't figure out why she was so awkward around her now. “You're a very busy person, after all. Got a lot of important...doctor things to worry about.”

She wasn't entirely sure what she actually did, all she knew was that she was a doctor.

“That's nice of you to say.” Melissa gave her another dazzling smile. It was easy to see why Angela said she was beautiful, now that she wasn't hiding her face behind her red hair.

Sammie tapped her fingertips against the table. “So,” she started, “how has Angela been holding up? Until now, I just drop off the reports and go."

Melissa's features settled into the worried frown that was her natural expression.

"Oh, well,” she said. “Angela is really tough. She's mostly been sleeping and eating. And yelling.” She scowled briefly, but with more fondness than irritation. “Tyler says that's good. Um.”

There was an uncomfortably long pause while Melissa seemed to debate something with herself. Very, very hesitantly, she reached out to give Sammie the shortest, lightest pat on her hand. It felt like being comforted by a particularly skittish mouse.

“You really shouldn't, um, beat yourself up about it,” she said, mumbling into her mug of tea. “She's going to be okay, and it's not like you meant to hurt her.”

“It doesn't really matter if I meant to or not. I still hurt her.” Her sister would have been dead. If things had gone even slightly worse…

Melissa went a little pale at that.

“It would have mattered to me,” she said, her voice serious. “There's a difference between an accident and just being careless or cruel. There has to be.”

Sammie didn't want to argue when Melissa sounded so earnest, so she just sipped her tea. Sammie wanted to go home now. Alex would be there. They could watch TV or read books. She could stop thinking about all this for a few hours. Hopefully.

“You, um, haven't been online much lately,” Melissa said, surprising her by talking without being prompted. “Before this, even. I was getting kind of worried, to be honest.”

Oh, no. “I've just been too busy,” Sammie said, faking another smile. She never use to have to fake her smiles before, but she didn't need yet another person poking at her. Melissa was very cool and nice, last thing she needed was to get her into any kind of trouble. “Working a lot.”

“Oh, I understand. If you ever get too stressed out, uh… Well,” she said, “I know you're up late a lot, so I just wanted to say I pretty much live in front of my computer. If you ever need to vent or something, you can always message me. Even if it's something stupid, I don't mind.”

Melissa was getting red again. “I hope that's not too weird...”

“No, that's really nice of you. I'll remember that.” Sammie chugged the rest of her tea. She needed to leave before she got too emotional. “I should really get home before Alex decides to make surprise stew for dinner again.”

Melissa blinked. “S-surprise stew?”

Sammie sighed. “I don't even know what is in it. It's a surprise. But its less like a birthday party surprise, and more like getting attacked by a cat you tried to pet off the streets.”

"Did you try to pet a cat off the streets?" Melissa asked.

Sammie nodded, smiling sheepishly.

Melissa actually laughed at that, a silvery laugh that she forced down immediately. Sammie couldn't help smiling to herself. Making Melissa laugh out loud felt something like an accomplishment, one that she could take some pride in.

She went to carry her mug to the sink.
Melissa stood up, too. “Oh, I can wash these,” she said. “You cleaned everything else.”

“Thanks,” Sammie said. “And thanks for looking after my sister.”

“I don't mind.” Melissa smiled again, mostly to herself. “She's always looking out for me, so it's actually kind of nice to be able to do this for her.”

Sammie wanted to hug her for that, but she might not like that very much.

“You're really cool,” Sammie said instead.

Melissa's flushed face was back. The hug would definitely have been too much for her.

“Take care of yourself, too, though. Eat some real food. All you have to do is heat it up, so there's no excuse.”

“I thought that was for Angela."

Sammie smiled at her. “I got enough for you both, it's all thanks to the little Italian restaurant by here."

“Oh! I love that place.”

Sammie felt better that they are gonna eat something other than instant noodles. Not that she can complain, since it's a good chunk of what she eats, too.

"So, uh, are you and Alex dating?" Melissa asked, much to Sammie's embarrassment.

"No, just friends." Sammie laughed. "I'm not used to being asked that. Usually they asked if I'm dating Samuel."

"Samuel? Oh! I remember Angela saying he was wooing you into running away with him." Melissa let out a snort. "Angela is afraid that he is gonna take you away with her."

"I'd never leave Angela, and I'm not even into him. I mean," Sammie laugh again, this time forced. "I never see him anymore."

"That reminds me of a saying 'sisters before misters' or something along those lines." Melissa said as she walked Sammie to the door. They were both genuinely smiling now.

"Angela doesn't need a mister," Sammie stated, walking out the door. "When she's got someone as cool as you."