Sami

 <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

Austin left Sami at the alter for the deeds she has done.  She now has to accept the consequences of her actions and take a step towards a better future. Oh by the way for the purpose of this story there is no stupid tape. I hate tapes!!!

 <o:p></o:p>

First day Back

Sami hated her first day back at work.  She hated Brenda, and she hated the speculation that had gone on since Austin refused to marry her.  Larry had smiled at her when she walked in, but he looked sympathetic.  Larry was a good friend to her.  Brenda had just glared at her, and told her that Sami should not use her recent life changes to miss anymore work.  Brandon had avoided her.  Her stomach still bothered her.  She had thrown up so much before the wedding from nerves and since Austin had left her from pain.  The butterflies were still there, and she was certain that she had lost weight in the last week alone.  She just kept her mind on her paperwork, and answered the phone in the friendliest voice she could muster.  She had to bury herself in her work so that she would not think about Austin.

 <o:p></o:p>

Home Alone

Sami lay on her couch the room was dark.  She was glad that her mother had offered to let Will stay with her for the next few weeks.  Sami knew she needed to be strong for her little boy.  He was the one good thing she had ever done in her life.  She knew he did not fully understand why his mother cried herself to sleep at night, or why she threw up every morning and evening.  The knock on the door startled her from her miserable thoughts.  The world sucked, and it sucked to be her, now who was it this time to gloat, Kate, Lucas, or Nicole.  “GO AWAY!” she shouted.  She heard nothing on the other side.  She jumped up when she heard a key in the door, Austin she thought.  Her face fell when she saw it was him.  “I should have gotten that key back a long time ago,” she said. “Nice to see you too,” he said taking her in his arms and holding her.  She could tell by his demeanor that he was only there to comfort her, not to berate her, or question her, but to comfort her.  She broke down in more miserable tears, and he held her while she cried.

 <o:p></o:p>

Still Here

The morning light hurt her eyes and she lay for a moment looking around the surroundings of her bedroom.  She was still trying to figure out how she got here.  Her ears perked at the sound of the shower running.  She groaned and climbed out of bed and walked to her bedroom just as the shower was cut off.  She could hear him humming some song, not sure which one, at least it was not the wedding march or anything.  God, how she hated her life.  He opened the door and smiled at the sight of her in her flannel pajamas. “Good morning sunshine, what do you want for breakfast?” he asked.  She did not even take the time to look at his well-cut body that was in view except for the towel around his waist.  She just rushed past him to the toilet and threw up the green bile that she had thrown up every day for the last week and a half since before the wedding. He winced, but came up behind her and held back her long blonde hair.  He gave her tissue to wipe her face.  “Man I don’t think I have ever had that reaction from a woman first thing in the morning.”  She just glared at him and sat back against the bathtub.  He flushed the contents of the toilet. 

“You can’t go on like this,” he insisted.  “You need to let him go, he is not worth it.”  She continued to glare at him.  She deep down was relieved that he was there.  “Thank you for staying last night,” she said.  “Well Samantha, I am always here for you,” he insisted.  She laughed, the first smile she had cracked in days.  “I don’t deserve to have a friend like you Brandon,” she said.  “I pushed you away, I even rubbed Austin in your face, but in the end he is gone and you are still here.”  He pulled her into his arms, both were aware how uncomfortably close they were for him to be only clothed in a towel. “That is the difference between me and him Samantha,” he explained.  He wiped the tears that began to fall from her beautiful blue eyes.  “Austin loved what he thought you had become, he loved that he had changed you, or so he though, but he never loved you.”  She started to cry.  How could Brandon hurt her like this?  “Samantha, quit crying tears over a man who did not love you enough to accept you faults and all.  Yes you made mistakes, and yes you can be a real bitch, but Austin knew what you were capable of, and he was a fool to try to change you.  The only person who can change you Samantha is you.  Not Austin, not me, not even Will.  You have to decide if you are tired of losing respect and dignity, and you have to realize that you are beautiful, and when you want to be very charming, and you love your son.” 

“Brandon I can’t change, I have tried,” she shook her head.  She still felt sorry for herself. He held her chin up.  “Samantha you have a little boy who needs his mother.  You need to be there for Will, and you need to make changes for him.  First thing you need to change Samantha is your attitude, your attitude that everyone is out to get you.  I love you Samantha, but you asked for what you got from Austin.  You have insisted for years that he is the man for you, but you never allowed yourself to see that you deserve a man who loves you for what you are, not for what you try to be.”  “You are starting to use that counselor bull on me now,” she insisted.  “I am trying to help you see that not all hope is lost Samantha,” he insisted.  “And if you allow yourself the chance you will see that Austin leaving you at the alter is the best thing that could have happened to you.” 

She sighed deeply, but the tears had stopped.  Brandon stood up and held his hand down to her, he was careful not to let his towel fall.  “Now get up Samantha Brady, because today is the first day of your new life, and you my dear are in control of all the changes you will make.”  “You have way too much faith in me,” she said laughing.  “I know you can do whatever you want if you put your pretty little head to it.”  Sami smiled at him.  “You are the best,” she said giving him a hug.  “Yeah well, I try,” he insisted.  “I’ve got to get dressed and go to work.”  “You’ll have privacy in my room,” she offered.  “It’s a mess though.”  “I saw last night when I carried you to bed,” he explained.  “I am here for you Sami, but you have to take these steps on your own.”  She nodded, “I want to make things right for me and especially for my son, and I think I know where to begin.”  “Well good,” he said going to her room.  “If there is any way I can help just let me know.”  Sami watched him go into her room, and resisted the urge to follow him there.  She picked up her phone and dialed the number she thought she would never again dial.  The other line picked up. “Meet me at Salem Place in an hour,” she said.  “Its time we talk about our son.”

 <o:p></o:p>