Never Say Forever

Kimmi watched Kaleah head up the stairs. Not knowing how Kaleah was truely feeling terrified Kimmi. Kaleah had been through a whole hell of a lot lately and this was not something Kaleah was happy with. Kimmi felt guilty.

"Uhh Sam?" Kimmi said, turning her head towards Sam. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" Sam nodded and walked towards Kimmi. She pulled him to the side, hoping Tyler wouldn't be able to hear them.

"Sam, this isn't going to work. If Kaleah is doing things like this..." Kimmi sighed. "Maybe...I should just go home."

"Kimmi, no. That isn't the solution here. Kaleah is fine! She said so herself." Sam explained, hoping that he sounded more sure than he felt.

"She is not fine, Sam, and you know that. You can see it in her eyes! She's upset about this and I don't want her goin' off and doin' somethin' stupid!" Kimmi explained.

"You're not leaving." Sam said. "Not if I can help it. If Kaleah can't accept you and I being together than that's her problem, Kimmi. You can't babysit her emotions!"

"Um...guys?" Tyler cut in. "You know I can hear everything your saying." Tyler giggled, trying to lighten the mood. Kimmi gave him a narrow glare, and Tyler quickly ceased his laughter. He swallowed hard and slowly headed towards the stairs. "I'm just...uhh...going to go upstairs." 

Tyler headed into the kitchen, as he heard vegetables being maliciously chopped up. When he walked in, Kaleah was there with a giant knife, pounding at the innocent food on the cutting board.

"Are you sure you should be operating a knife right now?" Tyler said, jokingly.

"Not funny." Kaleah responded, slapping down her knife once more.

"You know, K...you have everyone pretty freaked out. Kimmi is telling Sam that she should just go back home! And Sam is frantically trying to convince himself that you are actually okay. You're not fooling anyone...I hope you realize that." Tyler explained.

"Tye...I don't remember saying that any of this was your business." Kaleah said, angrily.

"Come on...there's no need to be that way. If you want to talk, you can talk to me, Kaleah. Just tell me the truth!" Kaleah threw her knife into the kitchen and began to walk away. 

"Where are you going?" Tyler asked, stopping Kaleah in her tracks.

"I don't need this from you, Tye. There is NOTHING wrong with me!" Kaleah approached him with one long finger pointed directly in his face. "And if you are dumb enough to even think for one second that I would ever confide in you, Tye, you are wrong!"

"I'm not asking you to confide in me! Before your cousins even got here, I though you and I were friends." Tyler was getting angry...which meant a lot considering he rarely ever does get mad.

"You are my roommates best friend. That doesn't make us friends." Kaleah said harshly. Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but Kaleah cut him off. "And don't think that sleeping together makes us friends, either, because it doesn't." 

 "You claim that there is nothing wrong with you, Kaleah...but look at you! You've never been this rude to me before. You cut your hair, you're being flat out mean to me...Kimmi even says she can see the sadness in your eyes! I would rather you just talk to me about how you feel than cut me down like this!" Tyler hollered. Kaleah took a step back, and paused...taking in what Tyler had screamed at her. She though for a moment, and then cleared the digusted look off of her face and replaced it with a very forced smile.

"Honestly, Tye. I'm fine." Kaleah said in her most fake, happy tone she could come up with. "I just want Kimmi out of the house. It will be a whole hell of a lot easier for me to deal with without her hounding me all the time for having 'sad eyes'. She seems to forget the very recent, very real incident of my father dying. She hasn't stopped to think maybe that's the sadness she sees?"

"I guess not..." Tyler didn't know what else to say. Kaleah sounded convincing...and he began to believe that she was telling the truth.

"They're just being self centered. It's not like I'm standing here crying about some guy that I never even dated. Me and Sam were just not meant to be...end of story." 

"Don't ever threaten to leave here again." Sam said, sadly. "Do you know how high my heart jumped when you said that?"

"Excuse me for caring too much about my cousin's feelings!" Kimmi said.

"Kimmi..." Sam sighed. "Kaleah is a big girl. You really need to realize that she is an adult and her emotions are her emotions to control...they can't be any of your concern."

"Sam...her died just died! And now her roommate and her cousin are dating? If you ask me, that would be too much emotional stuff for one person to handle all at once." 

"I think that you and me just need to move on. We did all we could to comfort Kaleah with her dad situation. If she's not comfortable with this, we will just do the only thing we can - refrain from doing any kissy-kissy stuff in front of her. Otherwise, it's our life and Kaleah can't control that." Kimmi sighed and nodded her head.

"You're right." She explained. "I have to quit carin' so much."

"No, you don't have to quit caring...just...don't be so mindful of her feelings." Sam said as he put his arm around her and brought Kimmi close to his body. He sighed. "It's nice having my own bed again."

"Sloane wasn't THAT bad, now, was she?" Kimmi asked, sarcastically.

"No, no no!" Sam joked back. "She was the perfect guest.  

Sam and Kaleah laid together, cuddling in silence. They snuggled into each other and caressed each other and just spent time together like a normal couple would. Sam couldn't help feeling guilty, though. Even though he had just convinced Kimmi that they shouldn't care how Kaleah reacts, he did care. He didn't want to upset her any more than Kimmi did. But he also knew that Kaleah doesn't want to be with him, and if he can't be with one of the girls that he wants to be with, then he wanted to be with the other.

"Sam?" Kimmi asked, breaking Sam's thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. For coming to the airport today. To be honest, I was secretly hoping you would." Kimmi blushed. "It was like a picture perfect movie moment." Kimmi giggled.

"Good." Sam smiled. "That's what I was going for." Kimmi and Sam looked into each other's eyes in silence again.

"Sam?" Kimmi asked again, breaking the silence once more.

"Hmm?"

"We need to go shopping tomorrow. I don't even have an extra pair of underwear." 

"You mean to tell me you're going to be wearing those some underwear tomorrow?" Sam asked, jokingly. Kimmi nodded. Sam pushed Kimmi away in fake disgust. "Ewww! Get away from me!" Kimmi couldn't help but to laugh. Sam could be cheesy at times, and cheesy was exactly Kimmi's type. She couldn't help but to feel like they were perfect for each other. And somehow, all thoughts of upsetting Kaleah left Kimmi's mind and suddenly, she was in the moment with Sam and Sam only. It was where she wanted to be. 

Later that evening, as Kaleah was painting on the balcony, her phone began to ring. She fished for her cell in her pocket and was shocked to see it was her mother calling. She hadn't talked to her mom since she found out the news about her father and was excited to finally get a chance to talk to her.

"Mama!" Kaleah answered the phone. 

"Hi, baby girl." Kaleah's mom said. The second Kaleah heard her mother's voice she burst into tears. "Sweetheart...nooo. Don't cry. Please? Don't cry. It's okay. He's in a better place now."

"I know." Kaleah said through sobs. "I just miss you, is all."

"You won't have to miss me for much longer, honey. You're coming home in a few months!" 

"I know, I know. But I want you now!" Kaleah cried.

"What's going on, honey? Didn't Kimmi and Sloane comfort you?"

"It's just not about dad, mom. You wouldn't believe the amount of heartbreak I've had to deal with lately." Kaleah sighed and held back from sobbing even harder. "Kimmi is dating Sam."

"Yes, I heard from your aunt that Kimmi decided to stay there." Kaleah's mom sounded more concerned than sympathetic. "You know, honey, to be completely honest, I don't think they are going to last very long. I've met Sam, and God knows I know your cousin. They aren't meant to be together, sweetheart. I can tell you that right now." 

"You think?" Kaleah asked, hopeful.

"I know." Kaleah's mom responded. She could feel her mother smiling comfortingly through the phone. She didn't have to see it to feel the warmth her mother presented. "Tell me, Kaykay...how come you're so heartbroken by Sam being with Kimmi?"

"I don't know..." Kaleah hesitated...not sure what she was ready to openly admit or not. "I guess...Sam and I have become to be such close friends and now that he has Kimmi...I'm sort of forgotten."

"Kaleah, you're not forgotten. That boy cares about you! You have to believe that." 

"Sometimes, I can't believe it. It hurts too much."

"Baby, this too shall pass. You will get used to them dating and eventually, you will be okay with it. You just have to try to be okay with it."

"And what happens if I can't be okay with it?" 

"You raise a little hell." Kaleahs mom started laughing, Kaleah quickly followed behind. 

"You always know the perfect thing to say." Kaleah giggled. It seemed as though everything Kaleah had felt only moments ago disappeared the moment her mother called. Her mother was her rock and even just the sound of her voice made Kaleah felt much more at ease. She only hoped that it would last.

The next day, the house was nearly empty. Everyone was off doing their own things. Nobody spoke to each other. It was dead. Kimmi and Sam spent the day clothes shopping for Kimmi and Tyler finally went back to his own place to get some rest. As much as the kid loved being around Sam, the drama got to him. Tyler was an easy-going guy who is just looking to have fun. The thing is, with people like that, their emotions run a whole lot deeper and when anger gets triggered, it sticks. Tyler was destroyed after the conversation he had with Kaleah. He didn't mean to upset her and he didn't want her to get angry with him. But he did, and she did and Tyler wanted nothing more but to keep his distance. 

Sam knew the crap he was putting Tyler through, and wanted to make it up to him. He wanted to have a carefree Saturday night and just go to the movies. Him and Kimmi invited Tyler and his first reaction was,

"Is Kaleah going to be there?" The seriousness in his tone made Sam feel eerie. 

"I'm going to invite her. I can't say if she's likely to come or not." Sam responded, trying to keep the mood light.

"I don't want any drama, Sam. If I come out tonight, Kaleah can't be there." Sam grew frustrated and had Kimmi talk to Tyler. Kimmi had a knack for convincing people. She offered to cook dinner and in her sweet, Okie twang, managed to persuade him into going out with them that night. Kimmi was looking for peace just as much as Tyler was, and she was determined to keep everything happy.

"I just want everyone to get along!" Kimmi explained once they got home that afternoon from shopping. "Why is that so much to ask?"

"We do get along, Kimmi. You and Kaleah are really close...you said it yourself when you first got here! Kaleah and I were close before this whole thing with her dad...and she never used to have a problem with Tyler." Sam said. "She'll come around, I'm sure of it."

"Maybe inviting her to the movies tonight isn't such a good idea." Kimmi said, shyly...unsure if what she was saying was okay.

"We're inviting her." Sam said abruptly. He sighed. "I doubt she will even come though, to be honest."

"So what the heck is the point of inviting her?" Kimmi nearly screamed.

"I want to invite her just to show her that she won't be left out...that we still all care and want her to be apart of our lives."

"Do you really think she will take it that way?" Kimmi asked in a sassy tone. "I can just see her response now...she'll assume she's the third wheel or that we want to rub our relationship in!"

"I don't think she would think that way." Sam paused. "But if she does, that's her problem. Not ours. Like I already said, we can't make her problems our problems anymore. There's just no room for that kind of drama anymore."

"I just want things to go back to the way they were."

Sam closed the gap between Kimmi and him and pulled her into a tight embrace. Without letting go, he pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"Things will never be the same again, Kimmi. Things have changed...they always change. Her dad is gone and he won't be coming back. You live in the same house as Kaleah and aren't planning on leaving anytime soon. I'm not longer single and not planning on changing that. Things won't go back to the way they were."

"I think it's time I find a place of my own. An apartment or a condo down by the water, would be nice." Kimmi sighed. "Although, I would have to get a job...there's no way I could afford rent with what I have left in my savings."

"Don't be stupid. You're not moving into an apartment or a condo." Sam smiled. "You're staying here with me."

"Sam...I can't do that. We've only been dating for like...two weeks! Don't you think it's a little soon to be living together?" Kimmi asked.

"We've been dating for only two weeks, but we've been living together the entire time, too! And nothing bad has come from it. Honestly, Kimmi, I can't see myself living in this big ol' house without you in it anymore. I like having you here...you're like my escape from the craziness." Kimmi kissed Sam softly on the lips.

"Me livin' here qualifies for that craziness, ya know." She giggled.Sam gave her one more kiss before letting go of Kimmi.

"Come on." Sam said, taking his shirt off. "Lets swim."

"Okay...but lets wait an hour. My bikini is in the wash." Kimmi said, sweetly. Sam took his pants and his underwear off.

"No need for a bikini." He said as he jumped in the pool. Kimmi laughed hysterically.

"Sam!" She said between breaths. "You understand that you are in a pool....naked!"

"Don't be a whimp! Come on!" Sam called from the water. Kimmi laughed for a few more seconds before tearing her dress off and cannon balling into the pool next to Sam.

"Oh my gosh, this is crazy!" She said, still giggling. 

"This is the good kind of crazy though!" Sam laughed back. "This what a little something we like to call Fun. Something you and I haven't experienced in a while." Kimmi giggled again and splashed Sam right in the face. Sam splashed back. The two of them were having the time of their lives! They held breathing contests and wrestled each other to see who can get who's head submerged first. They were having fun... genuine, innocent (sort of) fun. It wasn't long, though, before that fun came into an abrupt halt.

They heard Kaleah's Audi pull up onto the drive way. Not soon after, the door slammed shut and they heard the pattering of Kaleah's boots as she ran towards them.

"You guys!" She said, all too excitedly. Kimmi gave Sam an "uh-oh" glare, as though they were two little kids doing something they weren't supposed to do and their mom was fast approaching. "You guys!" She called again. "I have some amazing....news. Oh my god!" 

Kaleah looked from naked Sam to naked Kimmi and back at naked Sam, who quickly put his hands in front of his 'parts'. Kaleah stuck her arms out.

"Oh my god!" She repeated. "Are you guys seriously skinny dipping in our pool?"

"What's your amazing news?" Kimmi asked, veering away from the question. She didn't even bother to cover up her 'parts'. Kaleah found that a little strange, since they were family and all.

"Well..." Kaleah cleared her throat and shook her head, as if if she could shake it hard enough, the image she was seeing would evaporate. "Um...well since you're living here now, I thought you would want to get out of this dump, no offense to you Sam." Sam didn't say anything. He just stared at Kimmi, as he knew that they were going to have to break the news to Kaleah that Kimmi was staying with them. "Anyways, I went to meet with our landlord and it just so happens that she evicted a tenant in her beach front property down by the lagoon! They're moving out in a week and, with a little sweet talking, Jocasta agreed to let you rent on a three month term!" Kaleah was smiling, proud of her accomplishment. Kimmi didn't know what to say.

"Um...wow, Kaleah. You went through all of that trouble for me?" She asked.

"Yup! Nothing less for my favorite cousin." Kaleah smiled. "I'm actually enjoying the fact that you're going to be so close to me now. It's going to be nice having some family down here."

"Kaleah..." Sam said, but Kimmi quickly interjected.

"Kaykay, I'm going to be living here..with you and Sam." She said quickly. Kaleah stared blankly at her cousin, like a child finding out there was no Santa Claus for the first time. "Sam said it would be alright. I won't be any hassle at all! I will stay in Sam's room with him and I will even cook homemade meals." Kimmi tried desparately to make the situation sound delightful. By the look on Kaleah's face, she wasn't very successful.

"But...Kimmi..." Kaleah said slowly. She couldn't decide if she was about to get furious or about to start bawling. She wasn't sure of how she thought of the idea of Kimmi living with them. "I went through all this trouble with Jocasta..and the place is beautiful! You'll love it."

"Kaykay, I'm sorry. Thank you for doin' such a nice gesture, but I'm staying here. It's decided." Kimmi said, softly. Kaleah nodded her head once before turning around to walk away.

"Kaleah!" Sam called after her. She stopped to listen to what he had to say, but left her back facing him. "Kimmi, Tye and I are going to a movie tonight. Kimmi's making dinner before we go...we'd love it if you could come with us." Without responding, Kaleah kept walking. The last thing she wanted to do was spend more time with the 'happy couple'. 

"Wow it smells great in here!" Tyler said as he walked in the front door. Kimmi was in the kitchen, cooking up a chef's salad while Sam was setting the table.

"You don't knock now, Tye?" Sam said, jokingly.

"Nah. I practically live here, anyways." Tyler said back. "Wow, Kimmi. Nice outfit. Your body is actually covered! That is one true housewife over there." Sam couldn't help but to laugh.

"For your information..." Kimmi said as she chopped up lettuce. "...I'm trying to be more conservative. If I'm living here now, I can't walk around in the clothes I could back home. In case you didn't notice, women around here don't dress that way."

"Yeah, which is exactly why I liked you. Now that less skin is showing...well...I think I'm going to have to rethink this entire friendship."

"Pffft. Shut up, or else you don't get to eat my delicious dinner!" Kimmi tossed a baby tomato at Tye's chest. She missed and got Sam right in the ear instead.

"Hey, now!" Sam said, picking up the tomato off the floor. "Don't drag me into this." He tossed the tomato back at Kimmi.

"Can someone please call Kaleah down? It's nearly ready." Kimmi said between giggles. 

"I am starving!" Tyler said as they sat down for their meal.

"Did anyone called Kaleah, like i asked?" Kimmi asked before digging into her food.

"KALEAH!" Sam hollered with a mouth full of lettuce. "COME EAT!"

"So what movie are we seeing tonight, anyways?" Tyler asked. 

"I want to see Tangled in 3D...but Sam keeps laughing at me." Kimmi giggled.

"Isn't that a kids movie?" Tyler asked. "I am NOT going to be caught dead at some Disney show."

"That's exactly what I said!" Sam exclaimed. "I say we see that Tourist movie...you know...with Angelina Jolie."

"You only want to see that movie because you think Angelina Jolie is hot." Kimmi accused.

"Um..yeah." Sam laughed. "I think any guy thinks that she's smokin' hot. If they don't, their either on a short leash or gay."

"Gay, for sure." Tyler chimed in. "Is Kaleah coming?" Tyler asked, reluctantly.

"I think so...she never she wasn't coming." Sam explained.

"She never said she was comin' either..." Kimmi said.

When Kaleah walked into the dining room, nobody said a word. They all stared in silence. 

"I'm not very hungry." Kaleah said, ignoring their glares as she sat at the head of the table. She was dressed in...well...barely anything. Her top was a ripped tank top that barely sufficed as a shirt. Her shorts were waayy too short and she was wearing fishnets with high heeled hooker boots. 

"Umm...." Tyler said. "Awkward..."

"Kaleah...what the heck are you wearing?" Kimmi finally asked.

"It's almost like Kimmi and Kaleah switched wardrobes. Kaleah skanked down and Kimmi dressed up." Tyler laughed before shoving another forkful of food into his mouth.

"Hey now...I didn't dress that bad!" Kimmi said. 

"Hello!? Sitting right here!" Kaleah rolled her eyes.

"No offense, Kaykay, but you are dressed pretty skanky." Kimmi explained. Sam just sat there, not saying a word. He was a little turned on by the way Kaleah was dressed, but he didn't want anyone to know. At the same time, though, he was completely turned off. She looked like a hooker...straight up. "I mean, what kind of attention do you think you're going to attract if you show up to the theater like that?" Kimmi asked.

"Oh, I'm not going to the movie tonight." Kaleah said, bluntly.

"Then what are you doing...?" Kimmi asked, hesitantly.

"I'm going out and doing my own thing. I need to let loose...just have fun for once." Kaleah picked a piece of lettuce out of the salad and stuck it in her mouth.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked, finally speaking up.

"The Grind." Kaleah said back.

"Are you sure you want to go dressed like that? It looks like you are seriously asking for it." Tyler explained.

"Maybe I am asking for it, Tye!" Kaleah snapped. She stood up from the table.

"I really don't need to sit here and get the 'mom' lecture from you people. I'm a big girl and I can do whatever I want. I deserve to have a little fun." Kaleah said before stalking away.

"Kaleah! Where are you going?" Kimmi called after her.

"I just told you! I'm going out! Have fun at your movie." Kaleah left the dining room and headed out the front door. Kimmi put her fork down and stared at Sam, who was looking right back at her. Kimmi could feel tears filling her eyes. She couldn't help but to feel like this was all her fault. Tyler sat there, looking from Kimmi to Sam and back to Kimmi. Eventually, he let out a long sigh and stood up.

"I'll take one for the team." He said, grabbing his plate.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused.

"I'll go with her and keep an eye on her." Tyler explained, as he walked into the kitchen.

"Tye, you don't have to do that. You and Kaleah are fighting!" Sam said.

"Plus, you hate all that drama stuff." Kimmi chimed in.

"I know, but you guys were looking forward to a fun evening, so you two go ahead and have a date. I will keep an eye on Kaleah and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Before Sam or Kimmi could argue anymore, Tyler left, chasing after Kaleah. 

"Kaleah! Hold up a second. Lets talk about this!" Tyler screamed once he finally caught up to her at the club.

"Nobody asked you to come, Tye." Kaleah said, angrily as she sped up. 

"I know, but come on. Lets go home and get you dressed and you and I can chill out and have a beer. Maybe play a round of foosball? Anything! Lets just go home." Tyler was practically begging Kaleah.

"Wow that sounds incredibly lame. Spend the entire night with a guy I don't even like." Kaleah rolled her eyes, still heading towards the door of the club. "How about you go home, and you can have a beer by yourself? I'm here to have fun. Not to be babysat."

"I'm no babysitting you." Tyler growled. "Fine, if you won't come home then I'm just going to have to hang out with you here and have fun with you."

"No thank you." Kaleah and Tyler entered the club together.

"This place smells weird." Tyler said as they entered the foggy dance floor.

"Then leave!" Kaleah snapped.

"No, come on. Lets go to the bar." Tyler called after her. She began to walk away, completely ignoring Tyler's suggestion. "Kaleah! Where are you going?"

"To raise a little hell." Kaleah said before she entered the foggy floor and was out of sight.