Warning: this chapter contains triggering subjects, such as vomiting, nausea, and violence. Please read only what you feel comfortable with!
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As it turned out, Leo was still fast asleep when they finally made it back to the house and began to recuperate from a successful fast food run. It was to Sam's dismay that he would have to wait it out a while longer before talking to them all at once, but he figured he could take the time to figure out what exactly he wished to tell everyone.
It was against his beliefs to expose who he was, what he was, and especially to a human. Considering there were three eager ones ready to listen at the turn of a hat, Sam was not considerably excited to reveal the secrets that lay hidden within his species.
Though, he figured if he wanted anyone to know, it would be his three friends. His family, no matter how terrified he remained of what they were capable of.
And then came the inevitable expression of his fear towards them, and explaining to them why he was so scared. That would take a load of unmentioned trauma that Sam chose to avoid thinking about during all hours of the day. To open his heart back up and repeat the happenings of his parent's death, would be to open up a box of unease and disruption to an otherwise peaceful air between the four boys.
In short, Sam was not looking forward to telling them the truth, but he knew they deserved it above anything else. Especially considering how gentle and conforming they had been in the unusual atmosphere presented to them.
Skip, most of all, treated Sam like there was nothing different at all. And while it confused him at first, there was now no denying that Skip was very aware of what he was doing, and that he made sure it could remain unmentioned amongst them. Sam appreciated keeping his dignity.
"So, now what?" Skip collapsed onto the couch of the living room, taking up the entire piece of furniture with his body alone. That left Elijah to take over the over couch, and so he sprawled out (not taking up nearly as much space as Skip) with Sam still in tow.
"I'm bored as hell. Leo better wake up soon."
"We could go back to the card games from before?" Eli suggested, situating himself so he was sitting upright and holding Sam on a palm atop his lap like they sat in the car.
"Sam, do you know how to play King's Corners?"
"Um," it took him a minute before he realized Skip and Elijah were oblivious to the major issue surrounding that question. "I can't...I can't exactly hold any cards."
While Skip held in a snicker, Eli simply shooed his question away and sat up a little more.
"That's fine, you can help me out then."
"Hell no," Skip interjected. "Sam's on my team."
"Sam can decide for himself," Sam told the group with a burst of confidence shooting up from his spine.
"I was with Leo and Eli all morning; I can be on Skip's team for this round and then Eli's for the next one."
"Cool with me," Elijah brought his cupped palm over and deposited Sam onto Skip's side of the table in front of them, while Skip himself slid down from the couch and gave a small smile downwards. "Sorry in advance, though. It's not fun losing in the first round."
"Oh, you are just hilarious," Skip sneered and reached to grab the deck of cards previously left behind in their attempt to play away their sorrows from yesterday.
Yesterday.
It hit Sam in the face that everything happened in the span of less than twenty four hours, from the first spotting to settling down and playing cards with little fear in his heart.
That didn't mean it wasn't still there. Sam was still indeed scared of his friends, but that terror promised to shriek out at another time. For now, he could at least try and relax with the soothing sound of cards being dealt before him.
Skip repositioned his arms to enclose Sam, bringing up a barrier of cards in front of him for Sam to see them in clear detail. While he still had to force his neck up to make out what the cards were, Sam felt much better having them right in front to avoid any eye damage. He swung around to face Skip, surprised at first from how close his face was in proportion to Sam's body, before recovering and settling into crossed legs on top of the table.
"What cards make us win?" Sam asked, attentive to learn and hopefully beat Eli with the human on his side.
"It's not really about the cards, it's about how lucky we get with the layout at the start. But typically, higher number cards aren't as useful unless someone can place a king down."
"...okay," said Sam, and Skip snickered Before motioning him to 'just watch and learn.'
As the game played out, it was clear to Sam how a majority of time was spent relying on the luck of whatever card you could draw, as well as the strategy required to notice the stacks that needed to be moved. With only two cards left in Eli's hand, and four left in Skip's, Sam was growing anxious.
"Relax," Skip whispered down to him, his warm breath washing over as if Sam were stepping on top of the heating unit. "We still have a good chance."
Sam could see fire in Skip's eyes, and a ferocity he had never known before played across Elijah's features. It was only a simple card game (despite Sam not being able to play it), but it seemed that winning was important to humans.
For Sam and his parents, winning only meant being able to share whatever new gains that came to them. It was a scary change of pace, especially knowing that humans had the tendency to become greedy over losses. Regardless, Sam stayed calm and watched the game play on, tensing only slightly when it came to a close and Skip slammed his final card on the table with a smirk.
"And here I thought you were supposed to win?" He continued to torture Eli, who only focused on reshuffling the deck before them.
"Oh, no worries. Sam's on my team now, which means I have a good luck charm," Elijah stuck his nose in the air and waited patiently for Sam to walk back over to his side of the table.
Sam, for his part, wasn't sure how comfortable he felt witnessing another game. Especially not when he took into consideration the fact that Eli might actually get upset if he lost another round, no matter how nice he was. A mad human was a dangerous human, and Sam wanted nothing to do with one expressing that anger.
As it turned out, Sam dealt with it.
He didn't once complain, only shifting back and forth on his heels as the games played on throughout the day. Not to mention the horrible feeling in his stomach, or the pains that followed anytime he writhed in discomfort. Sam didn't know where his newfound insecurity came from; he normally considered himself a relatively confident guy for his stature, but being stuck in a room with two predators for that amount of time did something to his spirits. It wasn't as though Elijah and Skip did anything to make him uncomfortable on purpose, they truly only tried to include him, but passing him back and forth as if he were a rabbit's foot gave him a fleeting sense of self doubt that brought Sam in the verge of crumbling.
Still, he held it in. Sam refused to break in front of his friends, especially when all they were trying to do was make him feel better considering the scenario. If he were to fall apart out, it would be on his terms only.
So, when a creaking door rang out through the living room, and sluggish footsteps brought a tired but refreshed Leo into the room, Sam let out the biggest sigh of his life.
"Leo!" He cried, and ran from Elijah's arms to the edge of the coffee table to escape his friends. Sticking with Leo somehow made him feel so much more safe, even if he received questionable looks from Skip and Elijah.
Leo, for his part, only held out his hands to scoop Sam up and hold him against his chest while he took a seat on the couch, watching as the others continued their game and trying to decide who had the upper hand.
"Look who decided to join us," Skip muttered with a playful tone.
"I think I went into a baby coma," Leo admitted. The rest of the group laughed, and Leo's thumb trailed down Sam's back without a second thought.
Shit.
With his eyes closed, Sam melted into the touch and curled his tail into a loop behind his back at the simple action. It wasn't even like he had no control this time; Sam just simply forgot about the others in the room and went on to let out one of the loudest purrs of his life, only to realize afterwards that the room went silent. And when his eyes fluttered back open, he found three pairs of wide eyes on him at once.
"God, Sam I'm sorry-"
"Did you-"
"Was that a purr?"
"Shut up, Elijah!"
"I didn't do anything!"
"Dude, since when do you purr?"
"Are you, like, part cat?"
"Knock it off, guys, he's not comfortable-"
"It's fine," Sam put on a fake smile and unlooped his tail. "It just...happens sometimes."
"That is so cute-"
"Uh, why?" Skip interrupted with squinted eyes. He set down his stack of cards, and Sam knew it wasn't a conversation he could escape.
"I haven't...um...okay, so it's been a while since anyone has actually touched me, like physical affection at all, and I forgot it happened, but we can...do that. Sometimes. I don't know," Sam trailed off, only to realize what he said.
"We?"
"No, um...I meant-"
"Wait," Elijah put the evidence to a concrete halt, noticing Sam's lack of comfort at the subject, and decided to do something to switch topics. "So, basically you're touch starved?"
"I guess?"
"Oh my god, Sam!"
"Eli, relax," Skip sighed. "Sam, you mentioned 'we'. There's more of you?"
"No, hang on, I'm still getting over this. Sam is touch starved. We have to hold him from now on-"
"Stop changing the subject," Skip overlapped and faced Leo completely. "Sam-"
"Okay, both of you, seriously!" Like his knight in shining armor, Leo battled his way into the conversation (though it was less of a conversation and more of a bombardment of words) as soon as he noticed Sam's eyes unfocused. "He's obviously uncomfortable, leave him alone."
"Ah, Sorry, Sam!" Elijah apologized first, and elbowed Skip to do the same. Skip only grunted a simple 'sorry' in response.
"Are you okay?" Leo lifted his hand up only a bit, but as soon as he heard a soft whimper, he knew something was very wrong.
It wasn't unlike Sam to get overwhelmed in a situation, especially one with three giants surrounding him at once.
But when he could no longer focus on anything except the pain in his stomach, and the overwhelming urge to curl up into a ball and fall apart, Sam knew something wasn't right. It was as if something threw a wild punch aimed at his insides, and continued up until his throat ached with a feeling he only felt a couple times in his life.
He could hear the humans speaking above him, and he could feel the soft patter of a warm heartbeat below him, but he couldn't direct his attention to either for more than a second of time. Sam heard shouting, or at least That's what he thought he heard, before a cold sweat streamed down his forehead and he clenched the leathery skin of Leo's palm in an effort to make it all stop.
Unfortunately for him, that's when it all started.
"Are you okay?" Sam could barely register the voice as Leo's, before losing all control of his body and lurching forward with a violent thrust and exploding his previously ingested fries right in the center of Leo's hand.
Sam knew he would regret doing that, especially when Leo had been nothing but kind to him, and yet he couldn't stop. His body kept taking control, gagging him on repeat until the vomit encircled his spot on the hand, and even then he continued on. Covered in his own digestion, droplets of cold sweat running down his forehead, Sam finally took into account what was happening.
"He- SHIT!" Leo cried out and did his best not to shake the tiny boy in his palm. It was, to say the least, one of the most disgusting things Leo had ever encountered, but at the moment, Leo only thought to help.
"Grab a washcloth," He directed at Elijah, and carefully stood to make his way to the closest bathroom available. With Sam apparently preoccupied with his projectile vomiting, Leo was able to make it in record timing. Skip followed at only a footstep behind, so when Leo instructed him to turn on the sink and block the drain, it didn't take more than a minute. "Grab two!" Leo shouted back at Elijah, who came rushing in with a single washcloth in his hand. He nodded and ran back out at an incredible speed.
"Relax, Sam, just relax..." Leo lowered his palms into the water-filled sink, taking his time and making sure Sam was finished puking out his guts before completely submerging him up to his chest.
Eli made it back with a second washcloth and thrusted it into Leo's hand at his gesture, only to watch as he filled it to the brim with soap from the dispenser directly beside the sink.
Leo took the cloth, applying as gently as possible and attempted to wash off what he could of the mess Sam had made, all while whispering soft words of comfort.
At that point, it seemed Sam had regained consciousness of his surroundings, and took in everything at once. Tears spilled down his face as he thrashed around the water, pulling away from Leo's fingers, and Leo lifted him to sit on the marble counter. He was still drenched, panting in and out at what he had done, but he was out of the grasp of a human.
Like a montage of everything that had gone wrong in a matter of a day, memories of Sam's mistakes leaked through his brain put his fears on display. He let the humans use him as a good luck charm to play with for god knows how long, and the power they held over him was inconceivable from the minute they laid eyes on him.
The way Elijah kept holding him like a plaything, never letting him go in the car to walk on his own.
The way Skip smirked down at him on more than one occasion, the evidence in his eyes making it obvious that he knew he had all the power.
The way Leo killed that bug on the floor the day he went to watch him from the wardrobe.
With the snap of his fingers, all that mattered to Sam in the heat of the moment was human fingers rubbing a scratchy cloth over his body in scalding hot water, and he knew he had done wrong. Throwing up on a giant, knowing the consequences and yet doing it anyways, stirred the pot until it finally boiled over and Sam's dam broke apart at once.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Leo I'm sorry-"
"Sam, relax! Talk to me, bud, Tell me what's wrong!"
Leo was yelling at Sam, and he knew he was being punished. For doing such a horrible thing, he deserved it, and as if a flip switched, Sam knew what he had to do.
"I'm not human-" he started off, taking in deep breaths without time to let them go. "I live in the walls, I'm...I'm sixteen years old, my parents were killed by a kid when I was twelve and I watched the whole thing because I was too scared to do anything about it-"
"Sam!"
"I come from a family of evolved borrowers, we borrow things humans won't miss, I took Leo's phone and kept it to talk to him because I was lonely, I'm still terrified of all of you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-"
"Sam, please," Leo begged as loud as he could without hurting Sam's ears, and his rant finally came to a close.
It was silent for a while after that.
Skip and Elijah, both standing in the doorway, locked eyes with a mutual bewilderment attached. Leo kept his gaze trained on Sam, shivering in wet clothes on the counter, and he took a gamble with shaking fingers to wrap the second washcloth over the impossibly tiny shoulders.
Sam grasped his minuscule fingers to pull the cloth over him, and allowed the water to soak up into the towel as he sat with tear-stained cheeks and puffy eyes.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, and Leo bent down until his knees reached the floor to make eye contact with him.
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Leo breathed back.
"I freaked out...and I threw up on your hand..."
"You looked like you were having a panic attack, and then you got sick. It happens to humans, too," Leo said, his voice as soft as Sam's nest.
"I'm sorry I told you everything at once," Sam tried one more time, lifting his head up and making eye contact with the rest of the people in the bathroom. "That was wrong of me-"
"What you said about your...your parents..." Elijah took his time with the delicate subject. "...is that true?"
Sam nodded. "When I was twelve, another family lived here, and they had a boy a little younger than me. He was curious about a lot of things. When he caught my parents one day, I don't think he knew they weren't a type of bug, and he sprayed them..."
"Sprayed them with what, Sam?"
"Bug spray." Sam avoided eye contact.
"What was the kids name?"
Sam lifted his head to meet with Skip's, only to cower back at the flames in his eyes. "Huh?"
"His name. What was it?"
"Um...Jamie, I think. Jamie Fletcher, why?"
"I'm gonna find where he lives now, and I'm gonna-"
"Skip!"
"I'm not kidding, that kid deserves to be put in jail-"
"Relax, Skip, seriously-"
"He killed your parents, Sam-!"
"Zeke!"
Skip stopped in his tracks, lowered his eyes, and let out a breath with clenched fists.
"I'm sorry," he told the group, especially aimed at Sam. "I went too far."
"It's okay," Sam whispered back, obviously on the verge of tears once more. "I don't really want to talk about it, if that's okay?"
"Of course it's okay," Leo sprung up and went back to using careful fingers to dry Sam off. "I think we all just need to calm down right now."
"Um..." Elijah spoke up for the first time in a while, and raised a lame hand in the air for a split second before letting it drop back down at his side. "I think it might've been my fault you threw up, Sam. We sort of forced you to eat the fries even though you never had any food outside this house before. I should've known it might cause an unknown reaction in your stomach. So, I'm sorry."
"That's stupid," Skip brought up. "If that's the case, I'm the one who ordered it, so it's my fault, too."
"Well, then technically it's my fault for falling asleep and not stopping you all in the first place," Leo countered with a small smile playing on his lips.
"T-then I guess it's my fault for being the reason you stayed up all night. And e-eating the fries." Sam finally finished off, catching onto the drift.
"See? I guess everyone is at fault, so pretty much nobody is at the same time. No use in pointing fingers now, huh?" Leo finished drying Sam off, wrapping his long fingers around Sam's frame and lifting him up until he rested against his chest as they did before.
The rest of the group agreed with full hearts, and it was decided (per Sam's request) that they all stick together for the rest of the night. While Elijah cheered on about a sleepover, The four boys made their way back to the living room and set up a fort of blankets and pillows on both couches provided for them.
With Leo on one side, Skip on the other, and Elijah sprawled out in between, it was clear the second couch was not going to be used for the night. The television produced a couple of cheesy movies to play in order, while Sam relaxed atop Elijah's chest so he could lay in the middle of all his friends combined.
With the glowing screen of a comedy playing in front of him, and the warmth of his family surrounding him, Sam was quick to lose consciousness and finally broke down into a relaxing sleep after a day of fear behind him.
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A/N: Fun fact! This was originally two chapters, but I just meshed em' together because the buildup was too boring LOL. I swear, this is the last time Sam has a mental breakdown, and after this we start to see some plot and concentration on each character!
Thank you all for the wonderful support lately, it means a lot to see you all enjoying the story. As always, let me know what to you think of the new chapter (or just tell me how your day was!) in the comments.
Thank you for reading! <3
-D