Never Say Forever

Sam and Kaleah held up to their promise of never speaking to each other again. For weeks, Kaleah continued to see Hank and for weeks, Sam ignored her. They did their own things—Kaleah kept up with her art and started writing a fictional novel called The Perilous Lives of the Rich and Famous. She got the idea from a few history books she read about Sunset Valley and the Landgraab Family. Sam practised his guitar, worked as much as possible, and spent his free time with his friend Tyler, who finally came back from his music gig. 

Hank and Kaleah grew closer and closer as the days went by. Eventually, they would spend every single day with each other once Hank was off his shift. He wouldn’t even go home to change half the time because he was so anxious to see his new friend.

“I just don’t understand,” he said on one of their art gallery dates, “This stuff is hardly art! I mean, there is a toilet on a pedestal upstairs!” He started laughing. “Unless Picasso took a massive poop in that toilet, there is nothing special about it!” Kaleah giggled at his joke.
“That toilet symbolizes a lot in the art history of this town.” Kaleah began, “Do you even know the history of this town?”
“Not at all.” Hank said. Kaleah jokingly gasped.
“Officer Peloin, I am absolutely appalled! You are the protector of this society and you don’t even know its history?” She teased. Hank shook his head. “Well, well, well…looks like this date will be a learning opportunity for you.” She smiled as she got ready to begin her lesson.

“I don’t get it…” Hank said quizzically.
“What don’t you get?” Kaleah asked, not understanding what wasn’t clear.
“If this Arthur dude went back to France, how did the Landgraab’s found the city? All because he picked it’s named?”
“Arthur’s family was so impressed with his painting and how famous he became that they requested to see the place he found his new-found talent in.”
“Oh, so they came here?”
“Yeah, Arthur brought them here. He also brought a few friends along. They travelled by boat, because he couldn’t remember the way by land.” Kaleah said.
“Oh, and let me guess…the boat got ruined and they got stranded?”
“So you’ve heard this part of the story before…” Kaleah grew disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to finish her story.
“No, but I remember hearing that from somewhere.”
“Oh…well good.” Kaleah smiled. “Anyways, they were stranded and did everything they could with the resources in the valley to create shelter and make food.”
“If there was a way to get out of the valley by land, why didn’t they just leave?”
“Because Arthur couldn’t remember the way and he thought it would be a better idea to stay put in case somebody went looking for them. He felt it would be a more dangerous idea to attempt going back and getting lost.” 

Despite the fact that they’re conversations could get a little bore some once in a while, Hank and Kaleah never ran out of anything to do or talk about. They went on many more dates, to dinner and to the movies. They started growing extremely close, but never quite pushed themselves past the ‘just friends’ stage.  

"You’re not being ousted, Tye…” Sam reassured him, “She’s never here when I’m here…she tends to leave to hang out with…” He pursed his lips and crinkled his nose as he spoke the words, “…Hank.”
“Oh my god, Sam! Get over Hank, seriously! It’s been 5 years!”
“5 years of my life that could’ve been totally different if it weren’t for that scum! I hate him! And how he’s messing around with someone that I actually find myself caring about, oddly enough.” Just then, Sam’s cell phone rang. He grabbed the ball and reached in his pocket for his phone.
“Hey! Put the ball back!” Tyler yelled.
“No, you’ll cheat!” Sam giggled. He looked at the caller ID and it said Private Call. He answered.
“Hello?”
“Sam…” Sam paused. His eyes widened. He couldn’t seem to make words come out of his mouth. “Hello?” The woman’s crackling voice spoke softly through the phone. Sam tossed the ball onto the table and walked away from Tyler, finally able to speak. 

“No…it’s none of my business.”
“I thought you cared about me…” Brie accused.
“Yeah, 5 years ago. I’ve finally gotten over you…I could honestly care less what would happen to you, at this point.” Sam didn’t want to get hostile, but he couldn’t help it.
“Screw you, Sam! I have nobody else to call!”
“You’re on your own with this one, Brianne. I’m sorry.” Sam hung up the phone before she could say anything else. He stood, frozen, with his back to his friend. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Who was that?” Tyler asked, interrupting Sam’s moment of silence.

“Don’t freak out or go all rampaged when I ask you this Sam…” Tyler began, “…but …do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Care about her still.”
“Why would you think that?” Sam felt his face going hot. He was getting angry.
“Hey, dude! I said don’t get mad!” Tyler tried to calm him down. “You did still care about her not too long ago…”
“Years ago…” Sam corrected him. Tyler shook his head.
“Sam, don’t lie to me.” Tyler said. “You cared about her still not too long ago. Hell, three nights before Ms. Pretentious moved in upstairs, you were crying over old pictures of the two of you!”
“That was…” Sam felt embarrassed. “That was…not what you thought it was.”
“Either way…do you still care about her?” Sam thought about this question long and hard. 

“No.” He said truthfully. “I don’t. I think I’ve finally moved on.” He smiled. “I don’t feel that heart wrenching pain I usually feel when I think about her. I don’t want to block out my memories of her anymore. I just…remember her…if that makes any sense.” Tyler put his hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“I’m proud of you, man!” He said with a grin. 

“Kaleah?” Sam asked as he approached the gym.
“Sam, just because I’m down here doesn’t mean we’re friends. Go away, I’m busy working out.” She spoke coldly.
“It’s…” Sam looked at his watch. “Kaleah, it is 12:00 in the morning! Why are you working out this late?” Kaleah looked sideways at Sam.
“I couldn’t sleep.” She lied, turning her attention back to the treadmill.
“Kaleah, please listen to me. I have to tell you something. Hank…he’s not a good guy.” Sam tried to say. As he spoke, Kaleah sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, interrupting his train of thought.
“Sam!” She hollered, “Stop it! Leave me alone! I don’t care about what you think of Hank. He’s the closest person I have here and, quite frankly, I just think you’re jealous!” 

The next day, a Saturday, Sam spent the entire day in the basement. He watched TV, played his guitar, invited Tyler over for a traditional game of foosball, and even napped for 4 hours. He did everything in his power to stay away from Kaleah. ‘I wish she would just let me talk to her…’ He thought as he almost burst into tears.

Later that evening, Sam heard the doorbell ring. He paused his movie, and waited to see if Kaleah was home to answer it. He heard her high heels clicking as she bolted down the stairs and ran towards the front door.
“Hey!” Sam heard a man’s voice say through the layer of wood separating the two floors. Even with the muffled voices, he could tell the voice was Hank’s.” Wow, you look beautiful. You ready?”

“Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself. I see you came here straight from work again. Yeah, I think I’m ready. Where are you taking me?” He heard Kaleah ask.
“I already told you…it’s a surprise. Somewhere private. Somewhere where I can prep you so we can come back here later on tonight.” Hank said jokingly. Sam grew aggravated and was ready to go upstairs and pick a fight. He got up off of the chair and stomped towards the bottom of the stairs. Just as he was about to ascend them, he heard the front door slam shut.

“How is this an exception?” She asked.
“You’re here with me…I’m here to protect you.” Hank smiled. Kaleah mirrored his smile and the two looked into each other’s eyes for a long time. Minutes went by before they broke their gaze.
“Hank?” Kaleah asked, breaking the silence.
“Yes, ‘Leah?” Hank replied. ‘There’s that damn nickname again…’ Kaleah thought to herself.
“For future reference, my nickname is K, not ‘Leah.” She said, as lightly as she could. Hank nodded his head.  

“The past few weeks have been wonderful, and I really don’t want it to end anytime soon.” Hank smiled. Kaleah smiled back.
“I don’t want it to end either, Hank.” She said softly. Hank looked down at her small hands lying comfortably and innocently in his. He grazed his thumbs gently over her soft skin. Kaleah felt a tingle go up her spine and couldn’t stop looking in Hank’s eyes.
“I have a secret to tell you.” Hank said.
“What?” Kaleah asked. Hank let go of one of her hands, and placed it behind her head. Slowly, and swiftly, he pulled her ear to his mouth.  

When their lips finally touched, Kaleah felt that tingle again. Her lips fell so comfortably into his and their intimacy felt so right. The scenery was perfect, they were completely alone…nothing could’ve spoiled the moment for Kaleah.

They kissed each other for what felt like forever. They kissed softly, they kissed hard…Hank even managed to squeeze a couple kisses in on the side of Kaleah’s neck. Kaleah liked it, but as she felt Hank’s hand start to slide towards her butt, she had to pull away.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Kaleah asked, confused.
“If you consider us not being exclusive a problem, you’re sadly mistaken.” Hank giggled. “We’re taking our relationship to the next level tonight, K. I can’t hold back anymore. So if a boyfriend is what you want, then a boyfriend is what you got.” Kaleah smiled as Hank pulled on her arm to bring her back closer to him. Quickly, they were right back to where they left off—even with Hank’s hand grazing her tush. 

“Hey, this place isn’t that bad! You can hardly tell that a slob like Sam lives here with you, babe!” Hank said as him and Kaleah walked into the house. “It’s nice to finally get to come inside for once.” They didn’t noticed that Sam had been standing right behind them. Sam cleared his throat.
“Sam!” Kaleah said, clenching her chest. “You scared me!” Her eyebrows lowered. “What are you doing just standing there?”
“Hey, old buddy! How’s it going?” Hank said, sarcastically. “I really missed you bud. How’s the fam doin’?” Sam aggressively approached Hank, causing Hank to try and back up out of his way. “Woah…what are you doing?” Hank asked. 

“Cut the crap, Hank! You know you’re too much of a baby to do anything about it! I’ve been fighting with you for 5 years now and you haven’t done anything about it, besides pick on my 16 year old kid cousin!” Sam called him out. Hank started to retaliate the fight.
“You’re entire family is screwed up Sam! You, your cousin, and that whore of a mother you have!” Sam’s jaw dropped.
“How dare you call my mother a whore?!?”
“She’s in jail, aint she? For being some sort of crack whore?”
“YOU SET HER UP AND YOU KNOW IT! YOU PLANTED THOSE DRUGS ON HER IN ORDER TO GET BACK AT ME!”
“I HAD NO REASON TO GET BACK AT YOU SAM! FACE IT! YOU HAVE A CRACK ADDICTED MOTHER!” Hank and Sam both paused for a breath. “But that’s not what this is about, is it Sam?” Hank asked, diligently. “This is about 5 years ago, isn’t it Sam?” Sam looked at his feet.
“Don’t.” Sam said. “Not in front of her.”
“Why not, Samson? You scared your fantasy girlfriend is going to think of you as a freak?” Hank laughed. 

“Sam!” Kaleah hollered.
“What?!” Sam shrugged. “He pushed me!”
“Those were awful things to say!” Kaleah accused.
“Blame yourself for bringing him over here! You knew I had bad blood with him, Kaleah. How could you bring him over here thinking that all would be well?”
“You’ve spent the past 24 hours down in that cold basement ignoring anyone and everyone, watching stupid movies all day! Excuse me for figuring you’d still be down there, out of my way. Excuse me for not thinking if you were standing and waiting by the front door or not!” Kaleah turned to her date. “Come on, Hank. My room is upstairs.” She pulled on his arm and they started walking away.
“Kaleah! He’s not who he says he is!” Sam called. Kaleah and Hank stopped and turned towards him. “Tell her, Hank. Tell her the real you.” Sam told Hank as he got closer to him.

With that, Sam fed Hank a punch right to the jaw. Hank didn’t expect it, and felt a little dizzy for a second, but once he regained his stability, he started fighting back. 

“Move out of the way, Kaleah!” Sam said, in a psychotic tone.
“Sam, put the wrench down!” Sam looked at Kaleah. After a couple moments, he dropped the tool. “Now, what is going on here?”
“Want me to tell her, or do you?” Sam asked Hank.
“Tell her whatever you want, Sammy-boy. It’s apparent that you’re crazy, so like she’d even believe you.” Hank laughed.
“Hank! Shut up for a minute!” Kaleah yelled. “Sam?” Sam looked from Hank to Kaleah, and back to Hank again. Eventually, he let out a big sigh and began to explain.
“When I was 17, this girl named Brianne Miar switched to our high school.” He pointed from himself to Hank.
“You guys were in high school together?” Kaleah asked. The boys nodded.
“Anyways, I befriended her and we got really close. So close, in fact, that we started dating and I fell in love with her. We dated for 4 years—two in high school, and two out of high school. I proposed to her, and we had big plans to get married, have children, and take over her father’s construction business. I thought she was the one for me…until this guy became a stupid cop.” Sam pointed at Hank. Kaleah looked at Hank while Sam explained the rest of the story. “Hank stole her from me…he belittled me and swooned her. They’ve been together ever since.”  

“Hank, I want you to leave.” Kaleah said, approaching him.
“No! I came here for a reason and I’m not leaving until I get what I came here for!” Hank obnoxiously said.
“What were you going to do Peloin?” Sam interrupted. “Befriend her for a few weeks, sleep with her, and then disappear?”
“That’s exactly what I was going to do.” Hank slipped up. His eyes widened at his mistake. Sam stared at Kaleah as Kaleah grew infuriated.
“GET OUT!” She yelled at Hank. “GET OUT, AND DON’T YOU DARE COME BACK!” He tried to say something, but she slapped him before anything could come out of his mouth. “I’m serious Hank. Get out. We’re through!” Hank shook his head and grunted as he turned around to leave. As he was walking towards the front door, Kaleah caught Sam’s stare, and stared right back at him.  

She embraced him into a tight hug.
“Sorry…” She whispered into Sam’s ear. “And thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.” Sam said, as he closed his eyes and rubbed her back. They stood in silence, holding each other, for a few moments.
"This isn't like...turning you on or anything right?" Kaleah joked. Sam laughed.
"You know that was total bogus, right?" Sam asked.
"Of course. I now question anything that man has ever said."  

When Sam was at home, Kaleah would leave. When Kaleah came home, Sam would go to work. They only ever saw each other in the mornings when they both would go to the kitchen to get their breakfasts. Other than that, it was almost as if they were living alone.

“Do we have to turn this date into a class?” Hank whined.
“Art is a huge part of my life Hank, and unfortunately for you, Sunset Valley has an astounding art history. This town was built around art! The Landgraab Family started off with art!”
“Seriously?” Hank suddenly became interested. “How?”
“I read about this a couple nights ago.” She cleared her throat. “The Landgraab’s are the founding family of Sunset Valley. It began hundreds of years ago when Arthur Landgraab, a famous sculptor, decided to leave his hometown in France to discover bigger things in the world of art. He travelled everywhere from Egypt to China and even to Canada but couldn’t find what he was looking for.” Hank interrupted her.
“What was he looking for?” He asked.
“He didn’t know. Nobody knew. He just knew that he wanted to expand his art and couldn’t do it without the proper inspiration. They say he was looking for his baby—the one thing in the world he would never be able to live without once he had it. Eventually, his adventures brought him to Sunset Valley.
             “Sunset Valley was nothing when Arthur came here. It was a piece of land looking out over the ocean with beautiful trees and flowers. It was in a valley nobody would ever stepped foot in…except for Arthur. He found his inspiration and started to paint beautiful sceneries. Eventually, he found his baby—the sunset over the ocean. He called it Beauté dans la Simplicité, which is French for beauty in simplicity. He brought the painting back to France to show his family and referred to the valley he found his baby in as Sunset Valley.”  

“I see…” Hank started getting bored.
“Anyways, to make the rest of the story short, by the time any form of rescue came, the Landgraab’s had made it pretty good for themselves in the valley. They decided to make the valley their new home and built a civilization. Ever since then, the Landgraab’s have been living here and practically running the town of Sunset Valley. “ Kaleah quickly said, noticing Hank’s sudden boredom.
“Okay, but what does that have to do with the toilet on the pedestal?” Hank laughed at his own question.
“Arthur was a sculptor before he was a painter and one day, his parents asked him to sculpt a basin using ingredients around the valley in which they could use as a toilet. When he made the basin, they realized that they could make just about anything. That was the point in which they decided they never wanted to leave. The toilet is not his invention or anything. It’s just symbolic to the porcelain basin.”  

"It’s been three and a half weeks since I’ve been home and I still haven’t gotten to meet the beautiful Kaleah you talk about all the time.” Tyler told Sam as they were playing foosball one night in the basement.
“Me and Kaleah don’t speak, remember?” Sam rolled his eyes as Tyler wrapped his hand tightly around one of Sam’s poles. “Hey! Don’t do that, that’s cheating!” Sam said as he picked up the ball from the table to restart.
“Well just because you two aren’t speaking, doesn’t mean I have to get ousted too!” Tyler complained.  

“Brie…” He said slowly, unable to decipher if it was really her or not. Sam noticed that she’d been crying. “Are you okay?”
“Of…of course I am okay, Sam. Why wouldn’t I be?” She tried to fake an upbeat voice.
“Well, for starters, you haven’t spoken to me in years…” Sam said.
“I wanted to catch up.”
“Right…I find that highly unbelievable. What’s going on? I can tell in your voice…you’re upset about something.” Sam could hear her start to cry again. “Brie?” He asked through the phone.
“Sam! I need your help!” She was finally able to say. “I have a feeling something awful is going on…” She explained the rest of her story to him in as much detail as she possibly could get into through bursts of tears. Sam listened and waited patiently for her to be finished.
“Brie, there’s nothing I can do or say that will make you feel better. You called the wrong person.” He said.
“What do you mean? You’re not going to tell me what you know?” She asked, angrily.

“It was Brie.” He said, walking over to his friend. At the sound of her name, Tyler quickly stopped playing his game and turned to Sam.
“What?” He couldn’t believe it. “Are you sure?”
“Ugh…” Sam rolled his eyes, “Tye…of course I’m sure! How wouldn’t I be sure?”
“Well what did she want?” Tyler asked.
“She wanted me to get involved in her stupid problems again.” Sam said.
“After all of these years, she’s still doing that?” Sam nodded. “But, why you?” Sam shrugged his shoulders.
“How am I supposed to know? She said it was because she thought I cared about her.” Sam grunted. Tyler stared at his friend in the eyes. “What?” Sam asked. 

He thought about every memory they shared and how they dedicated every single Friday night to a movie and a beer night. He thought about when they would lye on the beach for hours on weekends and woke up next to each other in the mornings. He thought about their prom night from high school, and when they first met each other in biology class.  He thought about her beautiful smile and flawless skin.

Later that night, Sam sat alone in the basement, lost in his thoughts. ‘I can’t believe I actually got over her…’ He kept thinking to himself. ‘How did I suddenly just get over her? I haven’t even thought about her for weeks until today! I don’t understand it…’  He heard footsteps creeping down the staircase behind him. He jerked his head quickly to see what it was.
“Calm down. It’s just me.” Kaleah said, breaking the never-ending promise of silence the two agreed upon. “I’m just coming down here to work out. Don’t mind me.” She said as she headed towards the gym. Sam stood, alone once again, in the living room deciding what he should do. He heard the treadmill turn on and Kaleah’s feet start to gain speed.  

Sam walked inside.
“JEALOUS?” He yelled back. “Why in the hell would I be jealous?”
“’Cause I spend more time with him than I do with you maybe? I don’t know…I don’t even know you and you don’t even know me.” Kaleah said aggressively.
“And you also don’t know Hank.” Sam persisted. Kaleah hit the stop button, quickly got off of the treadmill and stormed out of the room.
“Apparently I can’t work out without being harassed.” She called back as she stomped up the stairs. Sam let his head fall in his hands and he let out a heavy sigh. He didn’t understand why Kaleah was so single minded, and wouldn’t even give Sam the chance to explain.

Hank took Kaleah to the beach where they first met. They walked to the waters edge and stared out onto the black water.
“Hank…” Kaleah said with her back towards him.
“Yes, ‘Leah?” Hank replied. Kaleah paused for a moment when she heard the nickname Hank gave her before continuing.
“I thought you said nobody was allowed down here after sunset. Something about people going missing?” Kaleah said, shakily.
“Yeah, but this is an exception.” Hank said proudly. Kaleah turned to face him.  

The two looked at each other again, for another couple minutes. Eventually, Hank reached out to grab Kaleah’s hand. She watched his big, strong fingers curl around her delicate skin.
“Look…” Hank began. “I like you, Kaleah. A lot. You’re amazingly beautiful, and you’re smart. You can turn any situation into a fun situation, even when it comes to a boring history lesson.” The two laughed in unison. Hank took her other hand in his.

“I’m not going to let this end…”  He whispered. He pulled his head back and wrapped his arms around her neck. They slowly leaned closer to each other. 

“Hank…” She said, embarrassed. Hank grumbled and wiped his mouth.
“What’s the matter? You were really into it…” He said, a little annoyed.
“I just…” Kaleah bit her bottom lip. “I just…thought it would be a good idea to warn you about a very particular moral I have.” Hank grew confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Well…I’m sort of against…one night stands and I thought it was only fair if I warn you that I don’t sleep with men that I’m not exclusive with.” Kaleah felt bad for breaking the news to him. She thought that, as a guy, he would not take this well. He looked at her, and slowly, a grin formed across his mouth. 

They were passionately in the moment, when all of a sudden, Kaleah felt something hard rub up against her leg. She looked down, and noticed that her leg was in-between Hank’s.
“Hank…” She said, looking back to his face. He was smiling sweetly.
“I guess it’s time to get going…” He said slyly. Kaleah smiled seductively.
“Your place or mine?” She asked, as she started to walk towards the promenade. Hank stopped her.  “What’s wrong?” She asked, stunned. “Isn’t that what you meant by ‘get going’?”
“Yeah, but…we can’t go back to my place.” Hank said. “It will have to be yours.”
“How come?” Kaleah grew curious.
“My house is an absolute mess…” Hank laughed. “Embarrassing, I know.” Kaleah smiled and grabbed his hand to guide him back to Hank’s cruiser. The two of them quickly got inside and sped away to Kaleah’s house. 

“You know exactly what I’m doing!” Sam yelled.
“Sam!” Kaleah tried to intervene.
“No, ‘Leah. I want to see what he has to say…” Hank crossed him arms and smiled.
“You mean K…not ‘Leah”. Kaleah said defensively.
“Whatever.”
“I’ve watched you for years acting like you own this town and everybody in it and I’ve had enough! I will not let you hurt somebody else I care about, Hank! Not this time.” Sam yelled. His face went red from fury.
“You see this, Sam?” Hank pointed to his badge.
“Oh…here we go!” Sam said, throwing his hands up dramatically.
“This is a badge. Do you know what this badge stands for?”
“Well it couldn’t be ‘dumbass’ or ‘cheater’ or ‘liar’, because those traits don’t deserve a badge too shiny. You of all people should know that.” Sam said sarcastically.
“This is a badge indicating that I am police officer. You just remember that before another word comes out of your mouth, Sam!” Hank yelled. Sam shook his head.  

Sam looked at Kaleah, who was staring at him, puzzled.
“Sammy? Sam-Sam?” Hank teased. Sam turned his attention back to his enemy. “You gonna try, Sammy-boy?” Hank made a sad face to mock Sam.
“Shut up, Hank! Seriously. You’re a prick.” Sam hollered. “You’re a fricken scumbag and you don’t deserve Kaleah! You don’t deserve anyone!” Sam stepped closer to Hank—so close, in fact, that he was merely inches away from Hank’s face. “You deserve to die alone…I hope you rot in hell, you son of a bitch!” Hank pushed Sam from his face.

“Tell her, or I will!” Sam poked Hank’s shoulder.
“Tell me what, Sam?” Kaleah grew annoyed.
“Yeah, tell her what Sam?” Hank poked back. “You know, this isn’t even worth it. You are just all kinds of crazy Sam and, no offense sweetie, but I’d rather screw you out on the porch, if it means staying away from this lunatic.” At that point, Sam lost it.
“SHE CALLED ME, YOU IDIOT!” He yelled. “SHE KNOWS WHAT’S GOING ON AND YOU’RE TOO BIG OF AN IDIOT TO REALIZE THAT! HOW OFTEN DO YOU GO HOME TO SEE HER, HANK? HOW OFTEN IS BRIANNE EATING DINNER ALONE, WONDERING WHERE THE HELL HER FIANCE IS?” Hank looked at Kaleah, and then turned his attention back to Sam.
“She called you?” He asked. Sam nodded. “When?”
“Yesterday. I told her nothing.”
“Why? It would’ve been the perfect opportunity for you to get back at me.”
“I didn’t want to stoop down to your level.” Sam said. “However, I have a whole level of my own.” 

“HANK!” Kaleah hollered. “SAM! YOU GUYS! STOP IT!” Kaleah started panicking. “SOMEONE’S GOING TO GET REALLY HURT!”
“YOU CHEATING, LYING, SON OF A BITCH! SHE DOESN’T DESERVE THIS! SHE NEVER DESERVED ANY OF THIS!” Sam hollered as he got on top of Hank and started choking him. Hank flipped Sam over and got him into a head lock.
“WHICH ONE, SAM-SAM? KALEAH? OR BRIANNE…” Hank laughed. Sam ripped his head out of Hank’s grip, grabbed Hank’s hand, and sat on his back with his arm wrapped around him.
“SCREW YOU BUDDY! SCREW YOU!” He yelled.
"YOU’RE JUST JEALOUS THAT I ALWAYS GET YOUR WOMEN!” Hank laughed with his face buried in the carpet. Sam let go and got to his feet, allowing Hank to get to his.
“You got Brie…that was it.” Sam corrected him.
“Get over yourself, Sam! You wouldn’t have cared so much if Kaleah went out with me if you didn’t care about Kaleah!” Hank said.
“Yeah, okay! I care about Kaleah! As a friend…” Sam hollered.
“You love her…” Hank teased. “You have wet dreams about her all the time. Don’t lie Samson!” Hank laughed. Sam grabbed a wrench that was sitting on the book shelf.
“Woah, woah, woah! Hang on here!” Kaleah yelled as she stepped between the two of them.  

Kaleah walked to the other side of the room, shocked at what she just heard. She turned back to face Hank.
“Hank…” She asked him. “Is this true?”
“Pfft! No!” Hank denied. “He’s obviously crazy!”
“Kaleah, they’re getting married in 7 weeks! They’ve been together for 5 years!” Sam said.
“Hank…” Kaleah gave him a disappointed look. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Hank looked at Kaleah angrily.
“Are you seriously taking his side? You believe him over me?” Hank asked. Kaleah nodded. “Screw this! This is bull!” Hank shook his head. 

“I…I don’t know what to say…” Kaleah said softly as she watched Hank close the front door behind him.
“It’s okay…” Sam said. “Really.” He smiled.
“That’s it? I’ve been so rude to you and it’s just ‘okay’?” Kaleah was confused.
“Honestly, Kaleah, I’m just glad that it’s over and you go to see Hank for who he really is—dirt.” Sam laughed, despite his aching jaw and bruised ribs Kaleah stared at Sam for a few moments before getting closer to him.

“Let’s just…start over.” Sam suggested as they pulled apart from their hug. “I don’t want to argue or hate you anymore.”
“Me neither.”
“So much for the never speaking to each other again, rule, huh?” Sam giggled.
“Yeah.” Kaleah snorted. “I’ve never gone back on forever, before.” She said. Sam shook his head and put his arm around his friend. He guided her towards the stairs.
“Come on.” Sam said. “I rented this brutal movie and I am just way too scared to watch it alone down there!” He joked. Kaleah laughed.
“I think a scary movie is exactly what I need right now!” She said as she followed him to the basement, excited to know that she finally has a normal person in her life.