Never Say forever

Sam watched as the police cruiser sped away, Kaleah staring right back out the back window. Sam sighed in disappointment. He knew Kaleah would be furious in the morning with him, even though it was really Kimmi and Tyler who had sent her away in the first place. More importantly, though, he felt bad for her. Spending a night in the drunk tank couldn't be very comfortable and he knew that if he was her position, he would feel betrayed. He knew that tonight would be the worst night of Kaleah's life...or at least, in her life in Sunset Valley.Sam felt his face drop and his lips grew into a deep frown. This is not what he ever wanted...

"Sam....?" Kimmi asked softly, noticing his facial expression. She was still in her sexy little corset, but  Sam couldn't get himself to care. He couldn't look at her. Not after what she had just done. "Sam it was for the best." Kimmi said, apologetically. 

"Sending any hurt, innocent girl to jail, even for one night, is not for the best." Sam managed to say, his voice shaking with sadness and guilt.

"It will do her some good...maybe h=it will screw her head back into place. She's not acting like herself lately, Sam, and you know that. Maybe this will help her see that." Kimmi sounded matter of fact. She didn't seem like she had any remorse for sending her own cousin into the drunk tank.

"There are a million other ways we could've gotten her to see that. This was a little extreme." Sam said. His sadness and guilt began to turn into rage. 

"How do you figure?" Kimmi said hard. "Because it seems to me we've already tried every other way."

"We barely tried. What have we done? Talked to her?" Sam sighed. "That's the only thing we've tried, again and again and it failed over and over."

"Well, Sam, I'm sorry. But this had to be done." Kimmi spoke without any sympathy. "It was either she went into the drunk tank, or I got beat up. Which one would you rather?" Sam looked at Kimmi, anger clearly across his eyes.

"How dare you ask me that!" He hollered. "I have known Kaleah for months! Way longer than I have known you. We've through a lot together...she's the closest thing I have to a friend other than Tye."

"But I'm your girlfriend....someone who you claim to love. You're supposed to want to protect me...and what Kaleah was doing to me in there...she deserves to be in jail tonight. Otherwise, my face would pay the price." Kimmi was hollering just as loudly as Sam. Sam shook his head.

"How could you expect me to choose?" Sam asked, a little calmer. "I care about the both of you...equally...but in different ways." As Sam spoke the last part of what he was saying to Kimmi, a gut wrenching feeling threatened that that wasn't entirely true. Kimmi sighed.

Sam couldn't take it any longer. He looked over at Tyler and began to head his way so they could leave, but Kimmi stopped him. She grabbed both his arms and look directly in his eyes. He hesitated, but stared back, suddenly interested in what she had to say.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this." Kimmi said boldly. "But Kaleah will be better because of this. You may have known her months before you've known me, but I've known her my whole life. Sam, you need to trust my judgement. She is my family...and when it comes down to it, I want what's best for her just like you do. And when it comes down to it, I have more say in what she does or goes through then you do. You just need to trust me." Sam had no idea how to respond.  Kimmi did have a point. Sometimes, he forgets that Kaleah and Kimmi share the same DNA. She did have more say over her than Sam will ever have. But that still doesn't make what she did tonight right. He could've taken care of Kaleah...he knew he could've. Despite the fact that she ran away from them tonight and refused to go home, he had a feeling that if Kimmi would've let the officer give Kaleah to Sam, he would've gotten through to her. At least for the night, anyway. But that didn't matter anymore, and fighting with Kimmi would do nothing. Admitting defeat, he nodded his head and forced a half-smile. He was still very angry with Kimmi and probably would never be able to let this go, but he was exhausted. He just wanted to go home. Just as Sam was about to say something, Tyler cleared his throat.

"I will go get your clothes." Tyler said, addressing Kimmi. "Sam, do you want me to come home with you guys tonight? I can come with you guys to pick up Kaleah in the morning."

"I think that we should just go home alone tonight, Tye." Sam said, without looking at him. "It would be a bad idea to for you to come with us in the morning."

"I feel awful, dude." Tyler said. He sounded as though he was on the verge of tears. "I panicked and I made a snap decision...a decision I had no right to make. I want to tell Kaleah that I'm sorry."

"Maybe another time." Sam said quickly. Without another word, Tyler nodded in understanding and went to retrieve Kimmi's clothes for her. When he returned, he handed the clothes to Kimmi and walked home without saying goodbye.

Sam and Kimmi headed home as well. They managed to walk the entire half an hour home without saying an single word to each other.

"Goodness, am I ever tired." Kimmi said, yawning, as she walked inside. She looked up at the clock. It was nearly 3 AM. "I say we go straight to bed." She pulled on Sam's arm and starting heading towards the stairs. But Sam stopped following and pulled his arm back. Kimmi turned to face him.

"What are you doing?" She asked, confused. Sam wasn't tired...and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep knowing what they did to Kaleah tonight. Besides, the last place he wanted to be right now was in a bed next to Kimmi. 

"I think I'm just going to hang out up here tonight. Maybe catch up on my reading or play the guitar." Sam said. Kimmi glared at him.

"You're kidding me, right? It's 3 in the mornin', and you don't want to go to bed?" 

"I'm not tired." Sam shrugged. Kimmi rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Night, then." Without so much as a hug, Kimmi stomped off down the stairs to the bedroom. She knew exactly why Sam wouldn't go to sleep. She sensed everything that he felt. And she was not happy with it.

Sam walked out onto the balcony, taking in the cool air of the early morning. With the August heat they experience during the day, the light breeze was more than satisfactory. Sam closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, watching the events of the night play over and over in his head. This side of Kaleah that he was seeing wasn't something he liked, but he couldn't feel mad about it. Only guilty. He wanted nothing more than his Kaleah back, but he knew that wasn't going to happen unless he changed something. He let his head fall into his hands and he let out a slight sob. Everything Kaleah was doing had started after she found out about Sam and Kimmi. Now he had to choose - a girl he hardly knows, but believes he's in love with, or Kaleah's sanity.  

 Sam wiped the tear that rolled down his cheek with his sleeve. Kaleah getting better really was up to him, he could feel it. And maybe him and Kimmi just weren't meant to be. One little thing goes wrong, and they are at eachother's throats and blaming one another. That's not healthy...and that certainly is not love. But at the same time, Sam couldn't help but get that gut-wrenching feeling that made him sick when he thought about ending things with Kimmi. He knew what would happen if he did...he would be hurt and so would she. And was that really a price he was willing to pay? 

These thoughts consumed Sam for the entire night. He was fighting for the right thing to do...arguing with himself. 'Why can't it just be a simple yes or no answer?' Sam thought. 'Why can't it just be obvious?'

Sam went inside and sat down on the couch, with the phone right next to him so he would be ready the minute the station called saying Kaleah would be released. His eyes started to get heavy, but he tried with everything he had to fight it. Staring out the window, he saw a drunk couple stumbling across the street. They were walking home from the sports bar just up the street, Sam figured. Even drunk and out of their minds, the couple looked so in love and without a care in the world. The guy, tall and lanky with long, dark brown hair had his arm around the girl's shoulder. The girl. who was significantly shorter and a tad stoutier than the guy, had long blonde hair that reached close to her hips. She had her arm closest to the guy around his back and her other arm wrapped around his stomach, like she was holding on tight. He kissed her on the head from time to time and Sam couldn't help but feel jealous. Why couldn't he have that? A simple relationship with the girl he loved. Someone who he can just simply walk down the street with, holding each other, and feel all the love in the world. Sam would give anything for that.

There was exactly three phone calls early the next morning. The first one was for Kaleah from the Modern Art Exhibit at the local gallery. Sam had answered it and told the man on the other end that Kaleah would call him back once she got the message. The second phone call was a telemarketer. She has a slight English accent and tried selling Sam toner. Without even saying anything, Sam hung up. He was too exhausted and frantic to deal with any telemarketer. The third phone call, Sam had missed. He had finally fallen asleep, just as the birds began singing and the sun began rising. Kimmi was the one who answered it. Sure enough, it was the station and Kaleah was sober enough to be picked up.

"Sam?" Kimmi said softly when she saw him sleeping on the couch. The fact that he didn't come to bed last night made Kimmi furious. 

Sam slowly and lazily opened his eyes. Kimmi rested a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. 

"Decided against coming to bed last night, I see." Kimmi sighed. "Would rather spend the night sleeping on some stiff love seat than lay next to me." Sam rolled his eyes and painfully sat up. She was right about the couch being stiff...his whole body ached. 

"I didn't plan on sleeping here last night..." Sam said, cringing as he stretched his stiff back. "I just kind of..fell asleep. Not intentional."

"Yeah, not likely." Kimmi said. Sam ignored her, not wanting to fight with her already. "Anyways, I just got off the phone with the constable who had taken Kaleah away last night. She's sobered up, but they won't release her unless someone is there to pick her up. I'm going to go get dressed and take her SUV to go get her. You're welcome to come if you like." Kimmi was about to turn and walk away, but Sam stopped her.

"Sit down." He said, patting the spot next to him., Confused, Kimmi agreed.

"You're probably going to be pissed at me for this, but quite frankly, I don't really care right now." Sam said. Kimmi narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I'm going to get Kaleah...by myself. Meaning, without you."

"Why in the world would you do that?" Kimmi asked, astonished. "That doesn't even make any sense. I'm the one who allowed the officer to take her away...I think it's only fair of me to endure the chore of picking her up and dealing with her crap." This time, Sam was the one to narrow his eyes.

"Chore? Dealing with her crap?" Sam grunted. "I want to pick her up because I want to, not because I have to. That's absurd that you would even think like that!"

"Oh, come on, Sam! She's going to pick a fight and you know it." Kimmi hollered.

"I don't care. I think we deserve to be yelled at after sending her off like that." Sam stood up. "That settles it then. Since I'm apparently the only one who gives a damn about Kaleah and her feelings, then I'm going to go get her. End of discussion." WIthout another word, Sam grabbed Kaleah's car keys off the table next to the front door and left. 

When Sam signed for Kaleah's release, Kaleah was a little more than surprised to find Sam waiting for her...without Kimmi. 

"Where's Kimmi?" Kaleah asked, instead of saying hello. 

"At home." Sam said, smiling. "How are you doing?"

"Let's go." Kaleah said, grabbing her shoes and heading to the door, completely ignoring Sam's question. Sam sighed before slowly following Kaleah out to the car. Kaleah hopped into the passenger seat and let Sam take the wheel. They drove the long way home, so Sam could have a chance to talk with Kaleah.

"Are you hungry?" Sam asked, breaking the silence. "We could get some breakfast...my treat."

"Not in the mood for food." Kaleah said, bluntly. She looked out her window, avoiding Sam's glare.

"Well can we talk, please?" Sam asked, almost begging.

"I don't have anything to say." Kaleah said, still not facing Sam.

"Good, then you can listen." Sam insisted. 

"No offense, Sam...but that;s the last thing I want to do right now." Kaleah practically shouted.

"Why?" Sam shouted back. 

"Excuse me for wanting some piece and quiet after spending a night alone in a cold, concrete jail cell with nothing but I disgusting rotted toilet and a naked crack addict three cells down from me to keep me company." Kaleah started tearing up. "That was the worst night I have ever had in my entire life, Sam! It was terrible! I never ever want to go through that again!"

"Good, so then you will never ever pull a stunt like that again?" Sam asked. Kaleah looked at Sam for the first time since they got in the car. She was wide eyed and looked surprised. "What?" Sam asked, noticing her expression.

Kaleah looked straight ahead and wiped her tears, taking a deep breath in as she did.

"Sam..." She asked...her voice shaky. "Did you call the police on me last night?"

"How could you ask me that?" Sam snapped back.

"I thought for sure that it was Kimmi who got me put away, but by the sounds of it, you were either involved in helping with it or else supported it." Kaleah could feel tears swelling up again. "I thought that out of anybody I knew, you would be the last person to ever do something like this to me."

"Kaleah, I swear on my life that I had nothing to do with sending you to jail last night." Sam said, softly. "In fact, I was the one freaking out trying to convince the officer to let you come home with me. He was going to, too...until..." Sam paused before finishing what he was saying. He knew Kaleah would be mad enough already knowing that Kimmi had sent her away, but he wasn't sure how she would react to Kimmi actually rallying against letting her go home when Sam was so sure he could handle her. She obviously didn't remember anything from last night.

"Until what?" Kaleah asked.

"I don't want to say." Sam gulped. "It will only add fuel to the fire and what's done is done. You're safe now....sober. Everything is okay now."

"Everything is not okay, Sam. Things don't just go away."

"To set things straight, Tyler was the one who called the police in the first place. He panicked when he saw you and Kimmi fist fighting in the club. Kimmi was the one who....pushed it along, i guess." Kaleah nodded her head slightly and went back to looking out the window without saying another word to Sam.   

When they arrived home without Kaleah having opened up to Sam in the slightest bit, Sam decided to try a new tactic.

"Kaleah stop for a second." Sam called as she walking up the porch stairs.

"Sam. please. I'm tired." Kaleah said without turning around.

"Kaleah this is it...this is your last chance to tell me what's going on. After today, if you don't tell me what's going through your head, I'm done with trying. I'm done with caring."

"Like you even cared about me in the first place." Kaleah mumbled. Sam stomped up the stairs and approached Kaleah.

"What did you just say?" He asked, angirly. 

Kaleah turned to face him, anger written all over her face.

"You never even cared about me in the first place!: Kaleah hollered. 

"Kaleah that is far from true, and you know it!" Sam shouted back.

"Do I?" Kaleah asked. "If you cared about me, you wouldn't have been making moves on my cousin while I was grieving the death of my father! If you cared about me, you wouldn't be having sex with Kimmi every night and watching me leave to go to the bars and clubs and bring home strange men. If you cared about me, you would've come after me the first night I left here wearing practically nothing." The truth had finally come out. Sam understood it all now.

"You're jealous." He said, more as a statement then a question.

"I am not jealous, Sam Fairchild! I just don't like being lied to. You say you care about me? That's a lie!" Kaleah was almost in tears now. "Do you think I like watching you hold Kimmi's hand? Kiss her on the forehead? Let your arm wrap around her and keep her warm and safe? Do you think I enjoy knowing that my cousin, once again, gets everything and I'm left with nothing?"

"You made it pretty damn clear that we were nothing but friend, Kaleah! All those times I tried to be with you and something came between us!" Sam's face was red with fury.

Kaleah stared blankly at Sam, unsure of how to respond.

"You were the one who told me that we move on and I can't get jealous if you started dating someone else." Sam continued, a little softer. Kaleah continued to stare. "You were the one who ended things before they even started...wouldn't even give us a chance. Sorry if Kimmi did give me that chance when you wouldn't."

"When I made that rule..." Kaleah said, putting her hands up to stop Sam from talking. "....I did even consider it going the other way. If I would've known I would feel this way seeing you with someone else, I would've never said any of that."

"Last night I did some thinking..." Sam said. "I told myself that I had to choose between my relationship with Kimmi or your sanity." Kaleah looked into Sam's eyes. "I chose your sanity."

"What?" Kaleah was confused.

"I will leave Kimmi if it means you getting better and going back to the person I know you are. A good, heart filled, artistic, selfless person."

"I could never ask you to do that..." Kaleah said quietly.

"You're not asking me. I decided on my own. All you need to do is say that it will make you better." Kaleah thought for a moment before responding.

"I think what will make me better...." Kaleah sighed. "...is going home. My real home." Sam looked at Kaleah, sadness and surprise overwhelming him. "i haven't seen my mother since my dad died. I've gone through a lot lately and I've done things I am definitely not proud of. I think a break from all of this will do me some good."

Sam wrapped his arms around Kaleah's waist and brought her close to his body. He looked deep into her eyes before giving her the most intimate hug he had ever given her since he's known her.

"I'm sorry I put you through all of this." Kaleah said. She pulled back enough so she could see Sam's face, but she kept hanging on.

"It's okay. I'm just glad you finally explained it all...well, I guess, admitted to what I already knew." Sam smiled a cocky smile. Kaleah couldn't help but to smile back.

"I'm going to go call my mom and make arrangements." Kaleah said in practically a whisper. "Just so you know...for what Kimmi did, I don't think I can forgive her. Not now anyways."

"I know." Sam said in understanding. "In time, maybe."

"Yeah." Kaleah sighed. "And please don't break up with her for my sanity. You deserve a chance to be happy. A chance that Kimmi is willing to give you. Only break up with her if it's what you absolutely want." Sam nodded once as Kaleah let go. She gave him one last smile before heading towards the front door. Sam hesitantly followed. 

Kaleah walked inside and paused for only a second when she saw Kimmi standing only a few feet away, organizing the bookshelf. She rolled her eyes and headed towards the stairs.

"Kaleah, hey!" Kimmi said, all too happily. Kaleah ignored her and walk right on by. "Kaykay, please talk to me. i'm sorry!" Kaleah kept walking and Kimmi tried to follow. Kaleah went up a few stairs and paused to glare at Kimmi. When Kimmi noticed the dirty look, she stopped following and let Kaleah walk away without another word. 

Just then, Sam walked inside. He saw Kimmi staring at the empty staircase.

"It's no use." Sam said, knowing why Kimmi was standing there. "She's really mad at you."

"Of course she is." Kimmi sighed. "One day she will know I did it for her own good. I'm just going to have to suffer through until then." Sam nodded, even though Kimmi had her back to him. He turned to walk into the kitchen, but Kimmi stopped him. "Sam, I need to ask you something and I need an extremely honest answer." Sam approached Kimmi to let her talk.

Kimmi slowly turned to face Sam, clearly afraid of asking the question that she wasn't even sure she wanted the answer to.

"What is it?" Sam asked, noticing her anxiety.

"How do you feel about Kaykay?" Kimmi asked, finally. Sam looked at Kimmi, puzzled. "I saw you guys hugging out there. It was a bit more than a friendly hug." Sam shrugged.

"I honestly do not know." Sam said, truthfully. Kimmi nodded slightly, tears filling her eyes. "But it doesn't matter anyways."

"Yes it does, it matters to me! Why would I want to be with someone who has feelin's for another girl? My cousin, to be exact."

"It doesn't matter because Kaleah's leaving. She's going home. She said she needs a break from all of this." Sam said. Things grew awkward in the silence that followed. Kimmi didn't know what to say and Sam had said all he needed to. Kimmi nodded once more, and Sam took that as a dismissal. Without hesitating, he walked away.

For the rest of the day, the entire house was silent. Nobody talked to each other and they all did their own things. Sam was relieved when the night came and went and Kaleah hadn't left to go to the bar or the club. Maybe there was some truth in what Kimmi had suggested. Maybe that night in jail set her straight.

Early the next morning, Sam woke up the sounds of wheels rolling across the floor above his room. He heard footsteps and doors opening and closing. He quickly went to investigate. When he got upstairs he saw Kaleah buckling up the last buckle on her boots. Behind her were two suitcases. When she noticed Sam standing over her, eyes wide, her expression became apologetic.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, swallowing back tears. He knew exactly what she was doing. He expected it...just not so soon. 

"I thought I could sneak out before anyone woke up." Kaleah giggled as she recalled the amount of noise she had made. "Sneaking has never been a talent of mine."

"Why are you leaving so soon?" Sam asked.

"I called my mom the minute I got home yesterday. After I told her I spent a night in jail, she got really worried and booked the first available flight home for me. The sooner I do this, the better." Kaleah sighed. "I'm so sorry." Sam approached Kaleah and nodded to indicate that it was okay. He grabbed the piece of paper she was holding. It was a plane ticket printed from the Simcity Airlines website. Sam scanned it. He noticed it was a one way ticket. He blinked back tears as he stared at the ticket. "Sam?" Kaleah asked. 

"You're not coming back." Sam said, lowering his head.

"I don't know if I am or not, yet. I'm seeing how things go." Kaleah started tearing up, too, seeing Sam that way. Sam put the ticket down on Kaleah's luggage and quickly brought her in for another hug.

"I'm going to miss you." Sam whispered in Kaleah's ear. Kaleah closed her eyes tightly and let a tear fall down her cheek and onto Sam's bare shoulder.

"I'll miss you too." She said, trying to to bawl. 

"I really hope you come back." Sam said. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Sam, I will be going home eventually anyways. If anything, this would just be sooner than expected."

"Even still." Sam sighed. "Please try and come back." Just then Kimmi walked in. Sam pulled his arms away from Kaleah, but Kimmi saw.

"What's going on?" Kimmi asked tapping a foot. She noticed the suitcases and turned to Kaleah. "You're leaving? Now?!" Kaleah nodded, but didn't say a word. 

"I'm going to go." Kaleah said, directly to Sam. She hugged him one more time before grabbed her luggage and heading out the door,

Sam watched as Kaleah closed the front door. With one last smile, she disappeared behind the wood. Sam continued to stare at the wooden door, unsure of what to do at that very moment. He wanted to sob, freak out, break things...but he needed to keep himself together.

"Sam..." Kimmi whispered, sensing how he felt. Sam looked and Kimmi and she stared back. For a few minutes, they stood in silence, just staring at each other.

"Kimmi, we need to talk." Sam said, ushering her into the dining room.