Turns out there were plenty of small towns as scenic and pleasant in that area, all of them easily accessible with the same bus line.
I started taking so many pictures of everything in the next two days that I started to get worried about my phone's storage running out. Sam insisted that I appreciated it all so much because I didn't actually live there, which kind of made sense. But I also had my doubts about it.
Everyone we met also seemed to be extremely nice and kind with us, contrary to what Sam told me to expect before we arrived. It felt good to not feel like everyone was hostile towards you, like I did in my own hometown.
Especially when it came to sitting down at the table with my girlfriend, her sister and her parents and not feeling immensely stressed after the meal, like what would happen each time I did the same with my family.
"Are you enjoying being here?" Sam asked as she was getting ready for bed, while I was already in bed basically ready to fall asleep.
"I've been telling you how amazing everything is for the past four days, of course I am" I turned on my side to face her.
"Just making sure" she said, sitting next to me. "I'm glad baby"
"I'm kind of sad we only have one other full day here, actually"
"We'll come back as soon as possible then" she chuckled. "I'm sorry but, am I hearing voices or are they talking much more loudly than usual downstairs?" she added.
"No, I noticed too" I giggled.
"I'll go and tell them to lower their voice volume, it's like eleven o'clock, what are they even talking about? My sister seems to be there too" she said, with frustration in her voice.
"I'm about to fall asleep, it's okay. I don't mind" I said, my eyes actually feeling like they were going to close any second.
"Hm, I kind of want to know what the discussion is about. It's probably something stupid so I'll be quick. You don't worry, sleep if you're tired" she kissed the top of my head and tucked the cover that was only on my legs until then.
"Okay. Goodnight, I love you" I mumbled as she stood up.
"Love you too. So much. Goodnight, love" was the last thing she said before walking out.
I'd noticed the loud talking earlier, but once Sam pointed it out I started to hear it more. I couldn't tell what they were saying but I could sense it wasn't just a normal, calm conversation.
I was too sleepy to pay much attention to it at first, but Sam also seemed to not be coming back to bed. And I was so used to falling asleep with her next to me that my body seemed to be refusing to do so alone.
As I started to become more restless, I clearly recognized my girlfriend's voice from the distance. And it didn't sound very calm. Which was what led me to sit up and try to decipher any words, not successfully. No one would probably notice if I went to the upstairs corridor, just to figure out what they were talking about, and went back to bed right after.
But I still couldn't seem to hear it clearly right outside of the room, so I moved until I got to the top end of the stairs, next to the space between a wall and the end of the railing. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with Sam, nothing more.
"You weren't supposed to hear all of this, darling. But we're really saying this because we want the best for you" I heard her mom say, sounding worried more than angry.
"Why was she not supposed to hear this, since when is talking behind someone's back an okay thing to do?" Lauren asked, also sounding frustrated.
"Because we were just curious about your opinion, not your sister's. Of course she's going to say-"
"Why would you want my opinion on who she's dating just as an excuse to show your disapproval when you could directly confront her about it?" she cut her off.
As soon as I heard those words all of the sleepiness I'd been feeling suddenly vanished. Maybe I didn't hear it right, though. Did she really say "disapproval"?
"Hello, I'd like to remind you I'm in this room too now" Sam said. "And I'd like you to tell me what you were saying to my face. What exactly were you disapproving of?"
"We weren't disapproving of anything, honey. Me and your mom were just wondering if Ellie is the right person for you, from what we've seen at least" her dad intervened.
"Well, you don't know shit. If you think you do after just four days of having a few chats with her, you absolutely, fucking don't"
"Don't talk to us like that"
"You're right, I'm sorry. Sorry" Sam sighed, and it took me a few seconds to realize she wasn't being sarcastic. "But still, whatever you assumed, it's probably not true"
"We didn't assume anything. It's just that...you know. She's, well-"
"No, I don't know, actually"
"They think she's too young to be in a relationship with you and her being so young is unhealthy for you" Lauren blurted before anyone else could say something, which made me feel as if someone had just punched me in the stomach.
"What???" Sam said, which was exactly what I was thinking too. I only then noticed my hands were violently shaking and my heart had started to race.
"We did not say that, Lauren dear" her mom was quick to say. "We just...we were just wondering if it's a good idea to be with someone who's in such a different phase of their life. She seems like a great person, she's really sweet. We really like her. But I'm sure her needs are very different from yours. She's barely even an adult. And we're not sure she can give you what I need"
"And what exactly do I need, mom?"
"Stability. A secure relationship"
"So just because she's twenty she can't give me stability? Are you saying she gave you the impression of someone who's with me just for fun or what? Because if you did-"
"No, it's not that! She just...well, she just seems very...I don't know, insecure, shy, scared, you could say?"
"What the fuck, mom? What's that supposed to mean?"
"It seems as if she's always on edge about something. Scared of judgment. And I'm sure she has her reasons, and that's valid, but maybe that's not good for you" she continued.
If I'd been holding in tears up 'til that moment, I completely failed to do so then.
"Are you being serious???? You have no idea about what's going on in her life. How is that even correlated to whatever you're insinuating?"
"We...we know you've had your problems in the past years. And now that you seem better, maybe someone else's life problems suddenly becoming your problems too isn't good for you. That's all"
"And who do you think helped me get better? Definitely not myself. I'd still be drunk all day if it hadn't been for her. You don't know anything about us"
"Yes, but in the long-run, it might not be ideal. Maybe you just got better because you left Maya. How long even passed before you got with Ellie after you broke up? Are you sure that's healthy?"
"Don't you dare, don't you fucking dare. Sorry, but please don't. You have no idea how incredibly horrible my life was the month after I broke up with...her" Sam started to sound as if she was about to cry herself. "And not because I was sad about it. Because she made me believe things about me that weren't true and I was convinced I was a terrible person. I thought I was never going to be able to feel anything for anyone ever again"
"Okay, then. If you say she's been good for you, we're happy. But we can't help but wonder if that will keep being true. Maybe you need someone more mature, not that she doesn't seem like a mature person, but someone who's in your same phase of life"
"You know dad is six years older than you, right?"
"Yes, honey, but we met when I was 35 and she was 29. That's different" her dad said.
"And he wasn't my professor" her mom added.
"What?" Sam said with an even more shaky voice.
"Did you not think we'd gather it from the information you gave us?"
"I...that's not-" she started to say, but I could tell she couldn't get herself to lie. "Did you tell them, Lauren?"
"I...no, of course not. I didn't even know they knew" her sister said, as shocked as Sam.
"You knew?" her mom asked.
"I...well, yeah. But-"
"That doesn't have anything to do with me being happy with her. Once again, you don't know anything. It...it all started before we knew. And she won't be my student anymore" Sam interrupted her.
"We're just worried about your wellbeing, honey. We don't want you to be as unhealthy and sad as when you last saw us"
"I promise you I know what's good for me and what's not. And Ellie is definitely in the first category. Now, I hate fighting with you so I'm going back to my bedroom before I start crying, hopefully you'll use the rest of your night to think about what I said. And I appreciate your concern for me, I really do. I get why you might have thought some of these things, but maybe next time just tell me to my face so I can directly explain why they're all wrong. Goodnight" was the last thing I heard her say before I also heard footsteps approaching the stairs.
I quickly walked back to the bedroom door, wiping all of my tears as fast as I could. I was about to go inside until I heard more talking.
"Sam, wait" Lauren said. "I'm sorry about...that"
"No, it's okay...it's okay, really" she said with a voice that sounded everything but okay.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine"
"I didn't tell them... anything"
"I know you didn't"
"And, uhm, I know you probably won't let their opinion get to you, but I want you to know... I like Ellie, I can tell she's good for you. She makes you happy and that's what counts in a relationship"
"Thanks, Laur" Sam said before a pause, during which I assumed they hugged. "I'm gonna go to bed, you should too. Goodnight"
"Goodnight sis" Lauren said, and that was my cue to run into the room and into bed as fast as possible, making sure I didn't have any tears on my face.
Sam came in seconds after, sighing the loudest I'd ever hear her sigh and carefully sitting on the bed.
"You awake?" she softly whispered.
"Mhm" I just mumbled, pretending I hadn't just heard a whole conversation about me. We had time to talk about it, but I definitely didn't want to then. "It's difficult to sleep without you"
She just chuckled, getting inside the covers and wrapping her arms around my body. "Better?"
"Definitely" I nodded, snuggling my body against hers and laying my head under her shoulder.
"I love you" she said as she kissed the top of my head, and just left her lips there afterwards.
"Me too" I replied, realizing that once I was with her I didn't even feel sad about what I'd just heard anymore. Maybe all I needed to be happy was to be with her regardless of what people thought about us, and nothing else really mattered.
Just a few months before I would have immediately thought that what I'd heard was true and started to feel guilty about what I was going through negatively affecting Sam's life. But I trusted her enough to know that if that was true, she would have somehow let me know, maybe we wouldn't even be together at that point. Hopefully, at least.
Sam's pov
I did not intend to have my last day of being home ruined by what my parents had said the previous evening. I knew they didn't have bad intentions in the first place, but I really didn't want to start thinking about the conversation instead of enjoying my time.
I did appreciate their concern for me, and while their worries were fair, I just wished they would have told me everything to my face instead of secretly telling my sister. I wouldn't have even known if I hadn't heard them speak so loudly.
And I also didn't like how quick they were to judge Ellie from her behavior. I knew you could tell how nervous she'd been around them, but that didn't mean her problems were this huge weight in my life. They were used to my friends and ex partners all being these outgoing, confident people, I guessed. But that didn't mean anything. I thought that they'd also figure that out after seeing that my mood had been better than in I don't even know how many years.
But once again, I just wanted to enjoy our last full day home without getting paranoid by all of that. We pretty much didn't have plans for the day except from hanging out at my house.
"Is anything on your mind, babe?" Ellie asked as we stepped out to have one last walk through town after lunch.
"What?"
"I don't know, you've been very quiet today" she shrugged.
"Oh" I said, realizing that maybe I hadn't been hiding that something had happened too well. "No, uhm, I'm just kind of sad to be leaving"
"Oh" she also said. "I'm sad too. But we still have, like, half a day"
"Yeah, let's enjoy it as much as we can" I nodded, taking my hand in hers.
"Are you sure that's all that's making you so quiet?" she added after a few minutes of silence.
Did she somehow hear what my parents told me? That couldn't be true. She was in bed, she couldn't have possibly heard it.
"Pretty sure. Why?"
"I...uhm, nothing. Just wondering"
"Ellie" I insisted, not wanting to bring it up just in case I was just imagining it all.
"Okay" she sighed. "I might have heard what you were talking about with your family yesterday evening"
"What? How?" was my instinctive reply.
"I got worried because you all seemed pretty upset so I kind of tiptoed my way to the top of the stairs" she said with a giggle. "I didn't mean to spy on you, it's just that-"
"I'm sorry you had to hear all of that" I stopped walking and grabbed her other hand too. "You know nothing of what they said is true, right?"
"Are you sure it's not? I mean, yeah, I know, but I just want to make sure. Because if anything I've said or done is bothering you, please tell me"
"I'm one hundred percent sure. Like, completely, absolutely sure. Totally sure. Should I go on?"
"No, I believe you" she laughed, a smile appearing on her face. "I get why they might be worried about you. I don't blame them"
"Yeah, I guess so. But they were too quick to judge, and I didn't like that. They really don't have bad intentions, but still. I do not think that anything that has to do with you is a weight for me, okay?"
"Okay" she nodded, pecking my lips before we went on with our walk.
I didn't expect Ellie to be sneaking around to hear conversations, and I really felt bad that she had to hear it all. But what really mattered is that she knew I didn't agree with anything my parents had said.