𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐲 | robin buckley

(13) ace of hearts

SAM HAD STAYED AT ROBIN'S HOUSE UNTIL THE sky turned a faded lilac and they were assured that her mom was asleep. She walked the two hours back in the dark, telling Robin that she'd call a cab at the pay phone. She didn't want the girl to worry, she needed the time to clear her head and sing Robin's song over and over again until the words blurred and didn't make sense any more.

When she returned home, Sam didn't sleep. She was too alive with memories dancing in her mind like a stage production. She drew patterns around her tattoos and memorised where Robin's hand had been placed over her mouth when she closed her eyes, Moss rested on her chest. For a while she thought of nothing except Robin, just how she felt her mind should be.

However the next day, she didn't go to Scoops. She didn't go the day after either however that particular Saturday she'd had an excuse. Sam had taken Peony to the summer fair, winning her a large stuffed penguin on the stupid games and taking her to the top of the Ferris wheel. She promised her that whenever the Fourth of July celebrations came around, they'd go to those ones too. Peony always seemed happy to spend her time with Sam.

On Sunday she'd planned that she'd go back to the ice cream parlour, maybe take a book and read words instead of scribbling silly pictures. However when she woke up she felt drained of any hope of gaining a smile out of herself. The very idea of getting the bus, striding through the headache inducing mall and then eating the same mint ice cream again made her want to curl up into a ball like her cat and sleep for the rest of her life.

Atop of all that, she didn't know whether Robin was back to work yet or whether her mom was still playing doctor and acting as though she had anything worse than a running nose and scratchy throat. She couldn't call the girl without a number and she couldn't go back round again while her mom was watching like a hawk.

Sam felt the last thing she needed was Steve giving her the bad news of the isolated back room and therefore she stayed in watching Star Wars with blankets wrapped around her and a carton of apple juice on the table. Sam was simply grateful that she didn't have to work as she tickled Moss' head and felt her eyes flutter as she watched Empire strikes back.

Just when Sam had been about to replace her video in the machine to start the third and final Star Wars film, there was a knock on the door. The idea sprang to Sam's head immediately because the only time she'd ever had a visitor before apart from the postman (who wouldn't be calling at nine) was Robin.

She pushed herself over the back of the sofa and practically ran to the door. Pulling it back she saw her standing there. Sam wanted to drop to her knees and thank whatever divine gods decided to send Robin back to her apartment. She was wearing dark wash jeans rolled up at her ankles, black converse and a white tank top, a flannel wrapped around her waist.

"Hi" Sam stated breathlessly, "what are you doing here?"

"Three days" Robin pushed the door open and walked inside without even a hello, "you haven't been to scoops"

"I've been busy" Sam replied pathetically, shutting the door as she turned to the obvious display of blankets, juice cartons and takeaway boxes that littered her coffee table.

"Yeah looks like it" Robin frowned, Moss stretched in a tiresome way before she came and rubbed herself around Robin's legs.

"I was gonna come today" Sam shrugged, "but I'm so tired" she put on a big display of yawning as she fell back onto the sofa with a lopsided smile.

"I've been working all day with Steve, I think if anyone can complain about being tired it's me" Robin huffed.

"Torturous" Sam rolled her eyes, "so what gives me the pleasure of your visit?"