Sam's Town

“I don’t understand why you insist on doing everything yourself when you know you’re just going to hurt yourself and I am right here to help you,” Mike’s voice sounded from behind me in the kitchen.

I turned around slowly and smiled, holding onto my shoulder seeing as I had just tried to stretch it to reach a glass in my cabinet. “I’m sorry, babe,” I laughed. “I honestly feel invincible on these things. Can you please grab a glass for me?”

He shook his head with a smile and walked towards me, grabbing the glass from the top shelf and placing it on the counter. He then filled it up with the orange juice that I had already pulled out of the refrigerator.

He handed me the glass and then put the orange juice jug back into the fridge, “How many of them are you taking?”

“Enough to make me high,” I laughed and sipped on my orange juice.

I had been out of the hospital for two weeks now. Dr. Dresden had put me on oxycodone to help combat the pain that I was going to be dealing with for the next few weeks. There was no doubt that the drug made me feel completely painless, but also pretty high at times. Due to the fact that I was feeling no pain, I began to get sick of Mike doing everything for me really fast, so I started to try to do things myself. He was getting irritated with me because he wanted me to just rest so that I would heal faster, but he didn’t show any anger. I knew he wouldn’t… the last thing he would want would be for us fighting right now, so he just picked on me about trying to do things myself until I caved and let him do them for me.

I set my glass back down on the counter and grabbed Mike’s hands. He was standing in front of me, leaning against the island in my kitchen. I looked up at him with a smile as I laced our fingers together. I pressed my chest against his and eventually he looked down into my eyes. I batted my eyelashes at him and licked over my bottom lip. He rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what I was getting at.

“No. Absolutely not,” he looked away from my eyes and back above my head. “Stop looking at me like that.”

I pouted, squeezed his hands and pressed my chest harder on his. If he looked down all he would see was an extreme amount of cleavage since I was wearing a v-neck. I jutted my bottom lip out and stood on my tip toes, trying to look into his face, “Mikey, please.”

“Rae, no,” he looked down at me with a straight face. “Not yet. Not until at least your shoulder is healed.”

“You can’t even… you know,” I smiled at him and bit the corner of my bottom lip.

“You’re going to try to pull my hair, no.”

I pursed my lips, “You can just handcuff me.”

“Because that won’t strain your shoulder.”

“Mike, I am dying,” I groaned, dragging out the last syllables of dying. “It’s been like two months.”

He shook his head and laughed, “I know, Rae. Imagine how I feel.”

“Yeah, but you can still jack off! It’s not like you have a fucked up shoulder on the hand you do that with.” I pouted once again, “Please, please, please. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

“That’s a damn lie,” he smiled and dipped his head down, pressing his lips to mine firmly. “The answer is no, baby, and that’s final.”

“What’s final?” My mom’s voice sounded from my living room.

I untangled my hands from Mike’s and pushed myself away from him, looking at who just walked in the door. My mom, sister and little brother were here. I smiled at my mom, “Mike won’t help with my female needs.”

My mom’s cheeks heated up, obviously catching on right away to what I was talking about. She shook her head, “Rae Alexandra, what in the hell am I going to do with you?”

“What’s up, little man?” Mike asked while scooping Nick up in his arms, seeing as he was tugging on Mike’s pant leg.

“I’ve been stuck with the girls all day, Mikey,” Nick groaned in Mike’s arms. “Can we do something fun?”

“What do you want to do?” Mike asked him with a smile.

Nick shrugged and I spoke up, “Why don’t you two go for a hike? You haven’t gone in almost a week because you’ve been cooped up in here with me. Plus, you will both be able to get away from the girls for a little bit.”

“Rae, I…”

“Get your ass out of the apartment, Michael,” my mom laughed. “I took care of her for eighteen years, I think I can handle a couple hours.”

Mike rolled his eyes at my mom’s statement, earning a smack on his arm and a slew of Italian curse words in his direction. He set Nick back down on the tile floor, “I’ll go get changed and then we can go.”

“Sweet!” Nick squealed and ran over to the door, ready to go whenever Mike was.

“Should I wait for him to leave before I start asking questions?” My mom asked with a smile.

I nodded as Mike walked back out into the kitchen. “Asking questions about what, Angela?” He raised his eyebrow and leaned down to kiss me. “You better not be talking about me.”

“Goodbye, Michael,” I shoved him with my left hand. “Bring my little brother back in one piece!”



As grateful as I was for having Mike here to take care of me and be with me when I needed it the most, it felt pretty good to have a little bit of time away from him. A few hours with my mother, and my sister, were exactly what I needed right now. A little bit of personal time where I could vent about everything and just talk without someone trying to ask if I need anything or to relax or whatever.

“It’s so weird to see actual drinks in your fridge instead of alcohol,” Nat laughed as she rummaged through the fridge.

“If you want a beer, they’re in one of the bottom drawers. Don’t let Mike see the bottle. They’re his,” I sighed as I heard the drawer open and her pop a beer bottle top.

She grabbed one of my portable coffee mugs and poured the beer in it, then wrapped the bottle in paper towels and threw it away. She took a seat on the couch next to me and put her feet up on the coffee table. My sister and I were never really close seeing as we had a big gap in our age difference. She was going to be sixteen this year and I was going to be twenty-three. She also wasn’t the “perfect daughter”. My mom had practically given up on her. Growing up, I had to sneak drinking alcohol until I turned eighteen. If my mom had found out I was having sex or smoking weed she would’ve had me locked in a tall tower. My mom knew Nat drank, smoked weed, smoked cigs and slept with multiple boys already.

“So, Mike really won’t do anything sexual with you?” Nat asked, breaking the silence.

“No,” I said flatly. “We can’t have sex for a while. He’s right when he says that I just need to relax and work on my body getting back to normal.”

“Can’t you just do other stuff then?” She asked, looking at me confused.

I sighed and leaned back into the couch, “Nat, I’m sorry but I don’t feel comfortable talking about my sex life with you. When I was your age, sex was one of the last things on my mind. I don’t condone you sleeping with people and I’m not going to discuss what goes on between Mike and I behind closed doors with you.”

“I’m your sister,” she huffed.

I turned and looked at her, “You’re a complete and total mess. You act like you’re grown up and you’re fucking fifteen, Nat. It’s disgusting. You shouldn’t be sleeping around. You shouldn’t be doing drugs. You shouldn’t be drinking. You should be acting like a normal high school kid.”

“Times have changed since you were in high school, Rae,” she rolled her eyes.

“Times may have change, but that’s no excuse to be a whore.”

My mom groaned as Natalie started to throw a complete and total temper tantrum about how she isn’t a whore. She just likes to party and have fun, and sex comes along with that. She started cursing at me like a damn sailor. My mom wasn’t going to step in - it would be useless. She already gave up, there was no going back.

I held my hand in front of Nat’s face, “Mom may not step up and say shit to you because she’s given up, but I’m not going to sit here and have you curse me out in my own place because I called you what you are. You are trash, Nat. There is nothing else that describes you. I like to party and have fun as well, but you don’t see me sleeping around with a bunch of people. I never did that and I never will. You’ve done more shit in the little fifteen-year-life you have had than I have done in mine. You’re never going to go anywhere. You’re never going to have anyone take you seriously. You’re noting but a piece of shit, little whore.”

“Fuck you,” she spat at me.

My hand automatically went for her throat, pinning her against the couch, “You should be really fucking happy that I’m injured, because if you ever, ever, speak to me like that again, I will knock your teeth right out of your mouth. You need a wake up call.” I let go of her throat and she gasped for air, “I’m going to call Mike and tell him to head back. You can go sit out in Mom’s car or walk around or something. Just get the fuck out of my apartment.”

She stood up quickly and ran out of the apartment, shaking and slamming the door behind her. I checked my phone to see I had received a text from Mike five minutes ago saying that they would be here in about fifteen minutes.

“She’s out of control. I have tried everything, Rae. I don’t know what else I can do,” my mom sighed from beside me.

I placed my hand on her knee, “I’m sorry, Mama. And I’m sorry I got a little nasty with her and you had to listen to it, but she needed it. She needs a serious kick in the ass.”

“Anthony and I have been contemplating sending her away for a little. I cannot handle this anymore. I’m embarrassed to call her my own,” she frowned and looked at me with sad eyes. “It’s not healthy for Nick to grow up around her.”

I gave her a small smile, “You need to do what is best for everyone. Sending her elsewhere is not only good for Nick and you guys, but it will also be good for her. She’ll resent you for it for a while, but one day she’ll thank you.”

“There’s a boarding school in Montana for girls like her. They have extremely good turn-out ratings. I would like her to start there at the end of the summer. I’m worried if I speak to her about it that she will run away from home and drop out,” my mom began to tear up.

“Mama, listen,” I pulled her into a hug with my left arm. “She’s going to make her own decisions, you know that. If she runs away, she runs away. You have done everything you possibly could and she just fights back. If she’s smart she’ll go to Montana. Bring her out there on a vacation and let her see the place, or better yet, leave her there.”

“Your father is willing to help pay,” she said quietly as she pulled away from me.

“Dad?” I raised an eyebrow. “When did you speak to him?”

“I called to let him know you had gotten in a car accident, and I also called when you got out. He asked for your number, but I told him I didn’t know if it was right to give it to him or not. I said it was your call and that I would let you have his.”

I snorted, “So now he cares? Twelve years later he cares. I’m not calling him. He’s lucky if I even call him and invite him to my damn wedding one day.”

The front door of my apartment opened and in popped Nick and Mike. Nick had a huge smile on his face as he squealed, “Mikey and I hiked up real high! I got to see everything! And he gave me piggy back ride on the way down because I got tired.”

“No, you got lazy,” Mike laughed and kicked his shoes off by the door. “Where’s Nat?”

“Long story,” I rolled my eyes. “Are you going to head out?”

“Yes,” my mom kissed my forehead and stood up. She gave Mike a hug as well, “It was nice to come by for a bit. Maybe in a couple weeks you’ll be able to come over and I’ll cook dinner.”

“That would be really great,” I laughed. “I know Mike’s sick of cooking for me.”



Later that evening, I sat curled up on the couch, well, as curled up as I could possibly be with my right leg stretched out onto the coffee table, watching some home improvement show while Mike cooked dinner. Mike could tell that I was irritable about something that happened earlier, but he hadn’t pushed to see what had got me into such a funk. I didn’t want to get in such a blown up screaming match with my sister, but she needed to hear it. I sighed and leaned forward to grab my nearly-empty glass of water, chugging the last sip and setting it back down. I hated sitting on the couch, helpless. My pain medication was wearing off and I didn’t want to take another until bed because that was the usual time I should be taking it. If I took too much it would be not only an overdose, but like Mike said, I will just be straining my body more because I can’t feel anything, so I just had to sit here and put up with uncomfortable feelings for a few more hours.

“Do you want more water?” Mike asked as he set my plate down on the coffee table, Diablo running as fast as his little legs could take him to try to get to it.

“D, stop. Bed, now,” I pointed at his dog bed next to the couch. He hung his head and walked over there, plopping down and giving me sad eyes. “Yes, please… and can you get a couple treats out for D?” I looked at Mike while grabbing my plate and fork.

“Of course, babe,” Mike smiled and headed off to the kitchen. He came back out with a handful of treats and a water bottle, pouring the cold water into my glass and setting the treats in his bed. He then grabbed his own plate and sat down next to me.

It didn’t take long before I dove into the food that sat in front of me. I had been craving fettuccine alfredo for a week now, and finally Mike had gone to the store to get everything for it. Of course, being hispanic he had no idea what he was doing, so I had to write down step-by-step instructions and the recipe I always used for it. He managed to make it taste almost exactly the same as mine, and I was throughly impressed.

I smiled and set my empty plate on my lap, “Whenever you’re done eating do you think you can get me more?” He went to put his plate down and I stopped him, “No. When you’re done yours. I can wait, Mike.”

He finished his plate and then grabbed both, filling them up with the creamy pasta once again and handing one to me. I devoured that one nearly as fast, feeling extremely full afterwards. I placed my plate down on the coffee table and moved my leg to the ground, standing up slowly and explaining to Mike that I had to pee.

I walked into the bathroom and did my business, groaning when I felt that familiar gush come out of me. “Jesus Christ,” I mumbled to myself. Since I was in the hospital for almost two months in a coma, I was unable to be on my birth control. The birth control that I was on prior to the accident had made my period go away completely… I hadn’t had a period in nearly five months. This was going to suck. “Mike! I need you!”

His head popped into the bathroom, “What?”

“Can you reach in the drawer and please get me a tampon,” I frowned.

He laughed and walked inside, opening the drawer and handing a tampon to me, “That explains the attitude earlier.”

“Out,” I glared at him. I finished up in the bathroom and walked back out into the living room, seeing that Mike had already cleaned up our plates and the kitchen. “I just want to go to bed and kill myself.”

Mike rolled his eyes, “Don’t be such a drama queen, Rae. It’s just a period.”

“It’s just a period,” I mocked him. “You try having blood come out your dick and tear your insides apart then tell me how you feel.”

“Okay, if you’re going to be grumpy go on to bed. I’ll make you tea and get your pills.” He grabbed the remote and turned the tv off. “Is your heated blanket plugged in?”

I nodded and took off towards my room, practically diving into my mess of blankets and crawling under them. I reached up to my headboard and turned on the switch for my heated blanket, moving it up to level 8 so that it would be super warm for my cramps and back pain that would come later tonight. I grabbed the remote and turned on the tv so that Mike would have something to watch while I fell asleep. I threw it onto his designated side of my bed and waited for him to enter the room.

When he came in, he had my usual coffee mug that I used for tea every night in his hands, Diablo hot on his trail and the bottle of my pills tucked under his arm. I sat up and he set the mug in my hands and then took out a pill for me. I took the pill and swallowed it along with the warm chamomile liquid. Thanking Mike quietly and sinking back into my pillows. Diablo crawled up onto the bed, finding his way under the covers and next to me, turning into a little heating pad himself. Mike shimmied out of his pants and shirt and then turned off the light, getting in bed next to us.

“I’m sorry if I’m a monster the next couple days,” I sighed. “I forgot you only experienced two periods with me prior to this.”

“Yeah, it was kind of nice not having to deal with this for a while,” Mike laughed. “It’ll be fine, Rae. I don’t really care… I know you don’t mean to be so irritable.”

“Remind me to schedule a doctor’s appointment next month so I can get on something before you leave.” I frowned at those last two words, him leaving… He was leaving for warped in just a couple months.

“If you’re not better, I’m not going,” he stated and laid down, pulling the blankets up on his shoulders. “And you’re not fighting me on it.”

I huffed and rolled my eyes, then drank the rest of my tea and laid down. I pushed Diablo out of the way so that I could curl up next to Mike. Diablo ended up sleeping on the other side of me now, practically on my pillow. I laid on my left side since the least amount of damage was there. My ribs were healing fast and nicely, not causing much pain even off the medication. I rested my right leg and knee on top of Mike’s legs, and threw my right arm over him, hugging him close to me. His arm came around and held me, resting his hand on my lower back and rubbing it under my shirt.

I nuzzled my face into his bare chest and kissed it lightly, “I love you. Can you make sure I’m up by eleven?”

He mumbled a mhm and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, “I love you too, go to sleep.”

Notes

Totally impressed with myself for having another update out so fast behind the first.
If you didn't read the chapter before this, you NEED to in order to understand this.

So Rae had a little tiff with her sister and now she's got her period.
Do you guys think Mike's going to put up with her grumpiness?
What about how they can't have sex!!!!!!!!

I still can't believe this story is a few chapters away from over.
So sad so sad so sad.
xoxoxo