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Part Nineteen

Zeke Jacobs was no more: Instead, the name "Skip" took over. And to say he loved it was an understatement.

From the moment he was born, Skip was controlled, and then he adopted a new image and name to prove to himself that he was not the self righteous son of two overbearing parents. The two people that controlled him most were not his parents, no matter how blood controlled the relationship, and Skip held it true to his heart that he never had a mother and father in the first place. He wouldn't know a parent's love if it looked him dead in the eyes and screamed.

Maybe that's why he felt compelled to help Sam in the first place.

Seeing his friend reduced to tears at the story of his parents and how he was stripped from the same love Skip was, caused a twig to snap in his mind. He wouldn't let Sam suffer for even a second longer if he could help it, and the fiery passion that allowed him to change his name was the same passion forcing him to look up the name of Jamie Foster on his phone for the entirety of the stupid horror movie playing out in front of him.

As it turns out, it's not so hard to find the address of a stranger with a few clicks of a button.

It also just so happened that said address was only fourty five minutes away from Leo's house, and with a little determination, Skip could make it there in thirty.

He planned on consulting with Sam first, of course, because it wouldn't be revenge without the victim present. But the night that everyone arrived back home, tired from a long movie (that apparently didn't go so well, but Skip wouldn't know), had everyone ready to turn in for the night. A slim pile of snow began stocking up outside the warm house, forcing Leo to turn on a fire inside the brick-layered chimney. Soon a crackle filled the air, and with Sam now pried away from Elijah's scarf and sitting up in Leo's palms, everyone was content to relax for the rest of the night. Together. There was no time to pull Sam aside without looking suspicious or cause a stir in the atmosphere, and Skip decided it best to wake him later while everyone else had fallen asleep.

His leg shook with anxiety every passing minute at the thought of getting to visit Jamie and let him suffer the consequences in person, but Skip was forced to wait in silence as he watched the fire pop around such an enclosed space. He just needed to get on with the task at hand and ensure Sam's approval along the way. Maybe he would want to come with him, sitting on his shoulder or something while they faced Jamie together. That would be the preferred option...

Skip jolted awake, mind running and he thrashed around in the blanket covering his lap. He took a second to remember where he was, still in the same spot of the living room, the fire dulled down to a simple hiss every now and then. He had fallen asleep by accident, but a quick check outside the windows proved it to still be too early for anyone else to be awake yet. They all must've gone to their own respected bedrooms and put the blanket on him to keep warm with the dying fire. Skip took the fuzzy cloth in his hands and worked on giving it a few gentle tugs before folding it and placing it down where he previously fell asleep. Damn that couch for being so comfortable.

He crossed the living room until he came to a stop outside Leo's bedroom; the door was still ajar and, elated at the luck he had been given, Skip witnessed Sam fast asleep on Leo's chest in the darkness. It was hard to see at first, but a soft purring that rang through the air proved it was him, half covered with a hand and a thumb that stopped mid-stroke down the center of his back.

Skip took a few steps forward, cringing at the creak in the floorboards, continuing with slow movements before reaching the side of the queen sized bed and crouching to his knees before his friends.
He witnessed Leo's chest heaving up and down, the heavy breathing causing Sam to rock but not at all affecting his slumber. In fact, the up and down motions seemed to give Sam a better sleep, because despite any noise Skip made, he didn't wake up.