Remembering You (4 page)

I woke up t
he next morning to two missed texts from Ally and Rachel, demanding to know how my night with Sam went. I got up, dressed, and mustered up enough nerve to join the family for Saturday breakfast. I walked downstairs to the smell of pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

“Smells good in here,” I said.

Harry and Zoey were sitting at the table and Corinne was cooking.

“There’s our girl.”
Harry smiled.

“
Good morning, Claire.” Corinne spoke only because she had to.

I poured a cup of coffee and sat at the
table. Zoey looked up at me and, oh, her nasty little bruise was worse today. I really left my mark. I silently smiled.

“Zoey, I’m really sorry,” I said as I tried so hard not to laugh.

“Save it, sis. I don’t want your apology. You’re a disgrace.”

“Zoey
, that’s enough,” Harry yelled.

I put my hand on his arm.
“It’s okay, Dad. She has every right to hate me. What I did was wrong and I’m sorry, but I know, in time, she’ll forgive me.”

I got up from the table, grabbed my coffee
, and went up to my room. I called Ally and Rachel and asked them to come over so we could talk before I saw Sam. About thirty minutes later, I heard voices coming up the stairs and I knew it was them. My bedroom door flew open and the two of them ran into my room and jumped on the bed.

“Spill, Claire. We need details now,” Rachel said.

I smiled as I got up from the bed and walked to the closet to find the perfect outfit.

“It was amazing and the most beautiful experience of my life. He was so gentle
, so he didn’t hurt me and he kept asking me if I was okay.”

Ally squealed. “He’s perfect. Oh my God, I want a man like him.”

“Claire, what are you going to do?” Rachel asked.

I turned around and looked at her in confusion. “Do about what?”

“Your parents. You know Corinne and Harry won’t approve and Corinne is known to cause problems.”

“I’m not worried about Corinne. I can handle her. All I have to do is make it through these next few months and then I’m out of here and away from her. She will not control my life anymore.”

“Oh, by the way, good job on Zoey. We saw her when we walked in.” Ally smiled. “I knew that would happen one of these days.”

I laughed as I pulled a sundress from the closet and got ready for my day with Sam.

****

I drove out to Sam’s
house this time so I could meet his mom. When I pulled up to his house, she was just getting home from work. She turned to me as she shut the car door.

“Hi, Ms. Snow, I’m Claire.”
I smiled.

She had the same smile as Sam
. “Hi, Claire, it’s so nice to meet you. Please come inside.”

I followed her in the house and
Sam was making a fresh pot of coffee. He walked over to me and he kissed and hugged me like he hadn’t seen me in months.

“I see you two met.”

“Yes
, and she’s a very lovely girl, Sam.”

Sam’s mom was an attrac
tive woman. She stood about five feet, five inches tall with a small frame and blonde hair that was cut into a bob. I was surprised she never married again after Sam’s father passed away. She was on her way to bed and we were heading out the door.

“It was great to meet you, Mrs. Snow.”

“The pleasure was all mine, Claire.” She smiled as she kissed me on the cheek.

Sam and I
had a great day; we bowled, had lunch on a patio outside a small Italian restaurant, took a walk along the beach, and just enjoyed each other’s company. I loved hearing about his childhood and how he grew up. The stories he told about him and his mom after his father passed away were touching. The closeness and the bond he had with his mom was something I wished I could have with Corinne, but she’d always see me as different.

As we continued our walk along the beach, I had something I wanted to ask Sam.
“My sister’s engagement party is next month, and I would like it if you would come.”

“I don’t think your pare
nts would want me there, Claire. We both know what your mom thinks of me.”

“You let me handle Corinne; I want you there by my side so I can show you off to everyone.”

He smiled and gently kissed me on the lips. “If it will make you happy, then fine, I’ll come.”

“Do you own a suit?” I asked with a smile.

Sam laughed and grabbed the tip of my nose. “Yes, I own a suit, smarty pants.”

I went home early that night because Sam
had to be at the garage at the crack of dawn. I walked through the door, only to find Harry, Corinne, Zoey, and Dylan all sitting in the living room having drinks and laughing. That was something I would never have with my family and Sam. Dylan looked my way and gave me the dirtiest of looks for what I did to Zoey. I couldn’t help but smirk at him.

“You’re home early,” Corinne said.

“Sam has to work in the morning. Hey, I invited him to the engagement party.”

Corinne whipped her head around so fast I thou
ght she was going to get whiplash. “You what?” she snapped.

“Corinne
, calm down,” Harry said.

“I will not have that…”

I balled my left fist this time so Zoey could see it. “Whatever, Claire. Invite your boyfriend and embarrass yourself.”

“Claire, we will talk about this later,” Corinne said.

“If Sam is not welcome, then I’m not either,” I snapped and ran up the stairs.

When I reached my bedroom,
I texted Sam and told him how much I loved him and that I missed him. There was no way Corinne was going to stop me from seeing him.

A few seconds later
, he replied.

“I love you
, Claire. Have sweet dreams and we’ll be together tomorrow.”

I smiled and my heart melted a little more. I was totally in love with this boy and nobo
dy could tell me any different.

Sam and I were inseparable.
We’d been dating for almost two months now and we saw each other every day, even if it was for a couple of hours. Corinne was barely talking to me these days and Zoey wouldn’t even look at me. Not only were they pissed because I gave Dylan’s ticket to Sam for my graduation, she was still pissed about that punch I threw at her. Not to mention the fact that I refused a production of a graduation party Corinne had spent years planning. I only wanted a simple dinner with Sam and his mom. Unfortunately, my family had to join us.

It was around eleven a.m. and
, as I just finished getting dressed, my phone rang and it was Sam.

“Hi
, babe,” I answered.

“I have a surprise for you today. A
re you ready to go?”

“Go where?” I asked.

“Just tell me if you’re dressed.”

“Of course
I’m dressed.”

I heard the doorbell ring.
“Sam, hold on; someone’s at the door.”

I walked down the stairs
and opened the door, only to see Sam standing there holding his phone to his ear. I smiled.

“L
et me call you back. There’s this really hot guy at my door smiling at me. Later, baby.”

He hung up his phone and
wrapped his arms around me, hugging me and making me feel safe.

“What’s this about a surprise?” I asked.

“You’ll see. Let’s get out of here and grab some lunch.”

Corinne was walking by and stopped dead in her tracks.

“Hi, Mrs. Montgomery,” Sam smiled.

“Hello Sam,” she managed and then continued to walk towards the living room.

“Wow, that was awkward,” he said.

“She’s an ice queen
; just ignore her.” I smiled.

Sam and I jumped in
to his car and drove to a little sandwich shop on Bristol Street. He ordered our sandwiches and we ate outside on the patio.

“Sam, the suspense is killing me
. What’s this surprise you were talking about?”

He looked at me and laughed.
“You’re as bad a kid before Christmas.”

He pulled out a white envelope from hi
s pocket and handed it to me. “Read this.”

I took it from his hand and op
ened the letter inside. It read:

“Dear Mr. Snow, on behalf of the staff here at the University of Washington, it is our pleasure to announce the acceptance of your application to our
university this fall.”

I looked at Sam and he was smiling at me.

“Does this mean? I mean are you—?” I couldn’t spit out the words. Excitement took over my entire body and I began to shake.

“Yes, yes!
I’m going with you to the University of Washington.”

I jumped out of my seat and jumped on
to his lap, hugging him tight and kissing his lips.

“When did you do this? How did you do this? W
hy? Oh my God, Sam, we don’t have to say goodbye.”

“I applied a few weeks ago,
and I did it for us, so we can be together. I’ve wanted to go to college, but I felt like I couldn’t because I had to take care of my mom. I sat down and talked to her and she cried and told me how she wanted nothing more than for me to go. Cal said he would keep an eye on her.”

Tears started to fall down my face. Sam took his t
humb and softly wiped them away. “Don’t cry, Claire.”

“I’m so happy
. I can’t help it.”

After hugging and kissing him for a few more moments,
I got off his lap and sat down back in my chair to finish eating my sandwich. There was an older couple sitting at the table next to us. As they got up to leave, the older woman looked at us.

“
Young love is a rarity these days, but I can tell you two have it.” She winked.

We both smiled as they left the patio.
I was so happy and nothing was going to ruin it. I wasn’t going to tell Harry and Corinne that Sam was going to the University of Washington with me. It was none of their business because, once I left home, I wasn’t coming back. Everything I was worried about was now fading away and life seemed perfect. Now all I had to do was get the hell away from my family.

****

Sam dropped me off at home while he and his mom went shopping. He asked me to come with him and, as much as I wanted to, I felt it was important for him to spend some time alone with her since they didn’t see each other very much, especially now that he was going away to college. I walked into the kitchen and found Corinne sitting at the table with Dylan and Zoey. She glanced my way and asked me to please sit down. There was something she needed to talk to me about. My stomach tied itself in knots; when Corinne tells you to sit down it was never good news. I didn’t feel comfortable sitting at the table by Dylan, and whatever Corinne had to say, it was not going to be in front of him.

“Whatever you need to say
, Mom, can we please do it in private and not in front of an audience?”

“Claire, plea
se. Can you for once in your life listen to me?”

I rolled my eyes and glared over at Zoey and
Dylan, who were staring at me with excitement in their eyes. Whatever Corinne had to tell me, I got the feeling those two were behind it. I leaned my elbows on the island and crossed my legs. “Spit it out, Mom. I’m listening.”

Corinne shifted in her chair.
“Did you know that Sam has an arrest record?”

I twisted my face at her. “Okay,
and?”

“Did you k
now, Claire?” she asked with persistence.

“No
, Mom, I didn’t,” I snapped.

“This boy
, you claim to know so well, had an arrest record for dealing drugs.”

“
That was the past; he doesn’t do or deal drugs. What the hell is this about, anyway, and how do you know this?” I looked over at Dylan, who instantly looked away.

I pointed my finger at him. “Y
ou, you had something to do with this, didn’t you?” I yelled as I started walking towards him. He put both hands up.

“Claire, stop!
” Corinne yelled.

“I asked
Dylan if he could do some checking for me because I wanted to know what kind of boy you were seeing.”

My face turned
red and my heart started racing.
How dare she,
was all I thought.

“The boy has a criminal record
, Claire, and he didn’t even tell you.”

I put both hands over my ears and turned for the stairs.

“You are not to see that boy anymore!” Corrine yelled as she followed me up the stairs.

“Mom
, stop! You don’t even know him!”

“I know enough not to like him
.” She chased after me.

I stepped in my bedroom
and turned towards the door. “You don’t like him because he’s not rich and he doesn’t live in a big fancy house,” I snapped.

Corrine followed
me into my room. “He’s not good enough for you and I don’t want you seeing him.”

“Really
, Mother? Are you worried that I’ll tarnish your reputation, give your friends something to talk about, or better yet, that I’ll disgrace the Montgomery name?”

“Claire, that’s not fair.”

“Not fair?” I yelled. “What’s not fair is you judging Sam for where he comes from instead of getting to know him as a person.”

“This discussion is ov
er and so is your relationship,” she said as she turned on her heels and stomped out of my room.

Tears started to sting my eyes as I
lay on my bed, looking at the picture of us on my phone. Sam was perfect to me and I loved him. I just wished I could make my mother and father see that. The tears rolled down my face like someone opened the floodgates. I wasn’t crying for what Corinne told me about Sam; I was crying because of what she did, and how she did it. I needed a plan. I couldn’t stay here anymore, and I would never look at Corinne or Zoey the same way again. And then there was Dylan, stupid boy. I hoped he realized he just dug his own grave. I grabbed my suitcase from my closet and started throwing some clothes in it. I reached for a shoebox that was hidden in the corner on the top shelf and grabbed the money I had been saving and shoved it in my purse. I dialed Sam.

“Hey
, babe, what’s up?” The sound of his voice calmed me.

“
Sam, I need you to come get me. I’m leaving home, and I need you, please.” I started crying again.

“Claire,
what happened?” he asked with worry.

“I’ll explain everything when you get here
, but don’t come up the drive. I’ll meet you at the end. Just text me when you’re here.”

“I’m on my way
, sweetheart. I love you.”

“I love you to
o. Please hurry.” I hung up and packed a few more items.

I grabbed a pink duffel bag from under my bed and filled it with all my girly things
, such as makeup and hair products. Before long, my phone chimed with a text from Sam.

“H
ere, baby.”

I quietly opened my door and peeked from side to side
, making sure no one was there. I quietly tiptoed down the stairs, being careful not to make a sound. When I reached the bottom, I could hear Corinne talking from the kitchen. I slowly opened the front door and stepped outside. Mission accomplished; I was out and no one had heard me. I ran down the drive to Sam’s car. He got out immediately, grabbed my bags, and threw them in the trunk. I got into the car and told him to go and get out of here before someone saw us. As Sam pulled away, a feeling of exhilaration came over me. I threw my head back and let out a deep breath.

“Are you ok
ay? What happened in there?” Sam asked as he grabbed my hand and held it tight.

I couldn’t bring myself
to tell him what Corinne had said. It didn’t matter to me anyway, so I had to come up with something quickly. This was going to be the first lie I ever told him.

“It was just the last straw
, Sam. Corinne started in on me in front of Zoey and Dylan about the engagement party, and I just couldn’t take anymore.”

He let go of my hand and gently wiped away a tear that fell from my eye.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m out of there and that’s all that matters.”

“
It’s okay, baby, you don’t have to talk about it. You’re going to stay at my house.” He smiled.

I looked over at his sweet face and smile
d. “Are you sure your mom won’t mind?”

“No. I already talked to her about it. M
y mom loves you and said you can move in. Besides, she would love to have another female around the house.”

He stopped at the red light
, and I leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Thank you,” I whispered.

S
am kissed the top of my head and the light turned green. He stepped on the gas pedal and, halfway through the light, I saw two sets of headlights coming at us. I screamed for Sam to stop as I heard a loud crash and everything went black.