SAMANTHA WAS SENT HOME THE next day, after a great deal of arguing with her doctor. He was wary of sending her home too soon, as Samantha was still suffering from the effects of the drug. But Samantha was insistent she be allowed to go home and finish her recover there. So Kimberly was entrusted with her care, and promised to keep a close eye on her.
As soon as they got home, Kimberly tried to send Samantha straight to bed for a nice long nap. She was dismayed a few minutes later to find her sister sitting on the edge of her bed, looking confused and upset.
“You need to get some sleep. You look exhausted.”
“I’ve slept enough,” Samantha replied. “I don’t understand….”
“What don’t you understand?” Kimberly took a seat next to her sister. The doctors and nurses had told Samantha many times by now what had happened to her, since Samantha had no memory of the previous day. Short term memory loss: another side effect of Scott’s handiwork.
“I don’t understand why Brian didn’t take me home,” Samantha said, her eyes flooding with tears. “You told me he saved me from Scott, that he’s the one who brought me to the hospital. So why wasn’t he there when I woke up? And why hasn’t he shown up?” Her face crumbled.
“I told you, honey, he went to Chicago,” Kimberly said, rubbing her sister’s back. She knew this was painful…but she also believed it was for the best. “I’ll take care of you.”
“I thought he loves me.” Samantha began to cry in earnest. “He told me he loves me, and I believed him. God, I’m so stupid!”
“Don’t cry, Samantha,” Kimberly said, beginning to feel a small dose of guilt mixed with worry. “I’m sure he loves you, as much as a man like him can. But, you know…a man like him–”
Samantha’s crying stopped as she gazed in anger at her sister. “Why do you say it like that, a man like him? A man like what?”
“Well, you know, a man with his past. A man who treats women the way he does.” Kimberly patted her sister’s shoulder.
Samantha shifted away from her, her eyes growing wide. “What do you know about how he treats me?” She whispered. “He treats me like–like I’m the most important thing in the world to him. He treats me better than any man ever has.”
“Sam, I know what kind of man he is. He’s a sadist. He’ll manipulate you into believing whatever he wants you to believe. You just–you just can’t see right now how dangerous he is to you.”
Samantha pulled away further as horror filled her eyes. “No, Kim. Brian was never like that. He saved me at the Hotel Bentmoore from an abuser. That’s the kind of guy he is. He likes to beat me, yes, but only the way I ask him to. Only the way I tell him it’s okay, because I like it. I like what he does to me, Kimberly. I…I need it. Do you understand?”
“No, I don’t understand. How could you need a man to hit you–”
“I knew you would never get it; that’s why I didn’t want to tell you. But I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.” Samantha covered her face with her hands. “I told him I love him, and he leaves me anyway. Why? What did I do that was so bad? Was he angry at me for getting myself into trouble again?” She shook with her sobs. “Maybe he got sick of having to save me all the time from all the stupid situations I get myself into. He was tired of all my insecurities, tired of dealing with my bullshit. He finally decided I’m not worth it. And he’s right. God, he’s right,” she cried.
Kimberly hugged her sister, stricken. “I’m sorry, Sam,” she said. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? You don’t like him, anyway.”
Kimberly wrung her hands. “Brian was with you in the hospital, Sam, before you woke up. And I…I said some things to him that might have given him the impression it was best for him to leave.”
“What?” Samantha glared at her sister. “Kimberly, you better tell me everything that happened. And I mean everything.”
