My Heart is Yours (2 page)

A young policeman shot out of his squad car and saw
Sam scurry out of the corner of his eye. This was one of his first
times being called—he had only recently graduated from the police
academy. He had never seen such devastation.
Sure
, he
thought,
compared to a war zone this is nothing. But I’ve never
seen a husband murder his wife before. With a little girl hiding in
the bushes.
He shook his head. All of this went through his
mind before he crossed to the bush where Sam was hiding.

She tried to run but he gently caught her arm. “It’s
okay, sweetie.” He said. “We’re here to help.” Her big, sad eyes
stared up at him. He tried to offer her a reassuring smile, but he
was rather sure that it came out more like a grimace. He picked her
up and walked her over to the other policemen.

Sam was taken to an orphanage about an hour and a
half away. Six months later she was adopted by Mr. and Mrs.
Ramsden. They had three sons. Craig was ten, John was seven and
Matt was four.

Craig, John and Matt were good friends with three
other boys in town. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsden were friends with one or
both of these boys’ parents and they had all grown up together.
Chris, Shawn and Jason. It was new to have a little girl introduced
into the mix.

Their town wasn’t the best town to be living in.
Nearly everyone between the ages of thirteen and twenty-five either
carried a gun or a blade. With the thought that it was for
protection; though it didn’t always turn out that way. The town
wasn’t exactly poor; they had enough money for their bills and
groceries. Although there was little to no disposable income.

Sam grew up with these boys and they all kept an eye
on her. Besides Matt, she and Jason were the youngest, so everyone
looked out for them, even more so than Matt. They felt that Matt
could more or less take care of himself. They looked out for Jason
more because he was very shy and as he got older could be a nervous
wreck. They looked out for Sam more because she’s a girl. Simple as
that; that’s what they all said.

In February 1964 tragedy hit the Ramsden family.
Four months before Sam turned sixteen her adoptive parents were
killed in a car wreck by a drunk driver. Craig refused to have
their family split up. He became John, Sam and Matt’s legal
guardian.

By 1964 Sam had lost two sets of parents. She hoped
with all of her heart to not lose anyone else.

***

***

S
am felt someone pull on
her hair. “What?” She asked impatiently, pushing their hand
away.

“Nothing.” She heard the familiar voice say back to
her.

“Chris?” She asked as she attempted to do her
homework. “Why are you playing with my hair?”

“I’m not. I’m pulling your hair.”

“Okay, why?”

“’Cuz your older brother needs your help with
dinner.”

“You could’ve just told me that, Chris,” Sam said as
she got up.

“Awww, but that’s no fun.” Chris grinned in
reply.

“I swear, you act like you’re eight instead of
eighteen.” Shawn and Jason laughed.

“You’re such a little smart ass.” Chris told
her.

“I know I am.” Sam replied proudly, smiling at
Chris. “I learned from the best.” Sam’s gaze shifted to Jason.

Jason looked back at Sam and smiled his crooked
smile. His smile went up just a little more on the right than on
the left. Sam smiled back at him; her smile did the opposite.

They held each other’s gaze for a moment, smiling
shyly. Shawn cleared his throat loudly, and Sam and Jason turned in
his direction.

Sam pulled her bleach blonde hair back into a
ponytail, reaching down a little past her shoulders. Sam’s skin was
slightly tanned from the Missouri sun.

Shawn had dark brown hair, with bangs that almost
reached his deep blue eyes. He usually didn’t have bangs; he just
needed a haircut very badly.

Chris’s hair was light brown. He had long sideburns
and olive skin. His eyes were a light brown, almost tan color, and
he had a toothy grin.

Sam’s oldest brother, Craig, had dark hair as well.
Though not quite as dark as Shawn’s hair. Craig’s hair was
generally straight, but the front and back were always slightly
curly. His eyes were a sharp silver-blue. One moment they could be
gentle and understanding but if you said the wrong thing they
turned vicious in an instant.

Out of all the boys she’d grown up with, Sam was
closest to Jason. Besides Juliana (a girl that Sam had met in first
grade), Jason was Sam’s best friend. He had dark tan skin. His hair
was jet black (a huge contrast to Sam, with her bleach blonde
hair). His eyes were a dark, deep brown, and they were shy and
sensitive. But when he was with Sam there was something else in his
eyes as well.

“Hey!” John’s voice echoed through the house. “Damn
it!” Sam grinned to herself; John did the same thing every time he
got home from work. He’d swing open the door, scream “Hey!” then
stub his toe on the dark brown wooden coffee table and curse under
his breathe. He’d done the same thing every weekend since Sam was
fourteen. That’s when he got his part time job at the deli about
four blocks away from their house. He kept half of his pay; the
other half went to paying the bills.

“What are you doin’?” Matt asked as he walked into
their small kitchen/dining room.

“Craig and I are making dinner. Which means you and
John get to do the dishes.”

Matt’s face fell into a frown, doing dishes was his
least favorite chore. His baby fat hadn’t all gone away yet, so his
face still had that slightly round shape. Matt was a little more
pale than the rest of them. His eyes were sky blue and thoughtful.
The eyes of a dreamer. He had light brown hair with dirty blonde
highlights; it was a little long. When their mom was still alive
she would always beg him to get it cut. (He rarely did).

“Hey, baby sis!” John said as his slightly tan hand
messed up Sam’s hair. Sam grinned an amused and frustrated grin.
“Baby sis”, that’s what John always called her. Even though she
constantly reminded him he’s only about a year older than her.

Sam turned around and looked into John’s deep green
eyes, shaking her head. John tilted his head to the side and his
hair, which hovered between light brown and honey blonde, fell into
his eyes. He had a smile on his face, as usual, and Sam couldn’t
help but smile back at him.

Sam turned back to the counter too quickly and the
room around her began to spin. She grabbed her head with one hand,
the counter with the other. She stood there for a moment, eyes
closed, until John noticed something was wrong.

“Hey, hey…” John said softly, putting his hands on
Sam’s delicate waist and leading her to the couch.

She sat down next to Jason, eyes still closed. “Sam,
are you okay?” Jason sounded worried, and Sam smiled, even though
her head was throbbing.

“Yeah, I’m…whoa.”

“Sam?”

“I’m just a little dizzy, that’s all.” She said, and
tried to get up, but immediately lost her balance and fell back
down on the off-white couch.

“I think you should probably stay where you are.”
Jason said, and Sam sensed a smile in his voice.

“Yeah, probably.” She said smiling, responding to
the tone of his voice.

No one was too worried. This happened once in a
while. Sam had been getting bad headaches and dizzy spells since
she was a little girl. Her doctor said it was the result of too
much stress.

Taking a deep breath, Sam leaned back and put her
head on Jason’s shoulder.

Jason grinned and his tan cheeks got a slight
flush.

Jason was quite shy, especially if he was around
girls. Being around girls made him nervous. And although Sam was
one of his best friends, and he could talk to her about almost
anything, he became more nervous around Sam than any other girl he
knew.

***

S
am opened her eyes
slowly and looked around. She was lying in her bed, with the blue
cotton sheets pulled securely around her. She sat up slowly, to
make sure her headache was gone. There was still a dull
throbbing.

The last thing Sam remembered was sitting on the
couch, and leaning her head on Jason’s shoulder. Sam figured she
must have fallen asleep and someone carried her into her room.

“Hello.” Sam yawned as she walked into the kitchen.
The white cabinets, table and chairs greeted her cheerfully. The
color always did seem cheery to her.

“Good mornin’, Sleeping Beauty!” Chris said
gleefully.

Sam smiled. “What time is it?” She asked.

“It is…11:30.” Chris answered after he looked up at
the wall clock.

“What?” Sam said jumping up from the seat she’d just
taken. “I’m late for school!”

“Sam.” John said. “Sam!”

She didn’t hear him; she was packing everything back
into her book bag that she always kept on the kitchen floor.

“Sam!” John said again. “Samantha Marie
Ramsden!”

“What?” Sam asked impatiently, still packing.

“It’s Saturday.”

“Oh.” Sam said with an embarrassed smile, walking
over to an empty chair and collapsing onto it. “Good.” She yawned
one more time and then put her head down on the kitchen table and
closed her eyes.

“HEY!” A deep voice carried to the kitchen from the
screen door. Sam opened her eyes reluctantly.

“Juliana and Derek are here.” John mumbled with a
smile and glance at Jason. Derek had been in Sam and Juliana’s
class one year. They weren’t fast friends but eventually the three
of them began to hang out often at school.

Sam started to get up and as she did, she caught
Jason’s eye. He averted his eyes; there was something almost like
anger in them.

When she was out of earshot, Chris, John and Shawn
all turned to look at Jason.

“What?” He asked. They just shook their heads.
“What?”