“For me too.”
“I’m glad you called, Sam and I were just going over it.” o;Krista, this is Karen, my foster mom. Mom, this is Krista.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Krista, thanks for keeping our girl company this past week. My husband and I have been up to our eyeballs in the case we’re handling. I can’t wait until the trial is over. Once it is, we can return the favor and you can stay overnight. Sam has talked about you non-stop and we’re so happy you moved here.”
“I am too,” I said as I settled into the plush leather seats of the BMW. Boy, their car made ours look like a matchbox car, I thought as I inhaled the rich smell of the leather seats. “Otherwise, Sam and I would have never met,” I continued on.
“She’s a special girl and we’re glad you’re friends.”
Sam flushed at Karen’s words. I couldn’t help wondering if compliments about her had been few and far between growing up. Were these foster parents the first to ever show any interest in her?
I felt an unfamiliar feeling of anger well up inside me. Why did parents abandon their children? Did they not care about the life they were condemning their children to? Sure, I had lucked out, but what about poor Sam.
Karen pulled her car up in front of my house. Sam and I piled out while Karen popped the trunk open so Sam could grab her overnight bag. She handed Sam some money and told her to have a good time.
Chapter 7
We stowed Sam’s bags on the floor in my room before we headed back to the sitting room to listen to music. I turned the volume down so I could fill Sam in on what she had missed.
“So, what’s the Dean going to do?” Sam asked after she heard all the details.
“Mark’s not sure, he’s on some kind of probation and if word gets out about what he did to Matt, I’m sure the Dean would discontinue his study. We need to be careful over the next few months. I don’t want to ruin his whole career.”
“That Matt’s a snake,” Sam muttered. “I wish I could have seen the look on his face when Mark grabbed his hand.”
For the first time since it had happened, I could smile and appreciate the fact that Matt had gotten a taste of his own medicine for once.
“You’ve got a point. You should have seen the look on his face. I thought he was going to wet his pants.”
Both of us burst out laughing at the thought of Matt walking through the hall with wet pants. The Lush Trio wouldn’t think he was so hot then.
“I don’t see Matt letting this slide,” Sam said, sobering both of us up.
“I know. He can’t be trusted.”
“So, your foster mom seems nice.” I said, changing the subject.
“Yeah, they’re both nice; I lucked out when they placed me with them. They act like they like me or something.”
“They do like you, you’re easy to like. All your other foster parents were just too stupid to realize it,” I stated.
Embarrassed by the compliment, Sam stood up and started browsing through the books that lined the shelves. I turned up the music and picked up my current book, giving Sam privacy to digest the compliment. Sam selected a book and settled into the chair next to me.
I peeked over at Sam whose cheeks were still slightly flushed; I looked down and began to read my own book. We sat in compatible silence. After a while, Sam looked up. “I’m glad we’re friends,” she said simply.
“I am too.”
We smiled at each other, in what I’m sure others would have called a cheesy kind of way. The time passed swiftly and before we knew it, Mark and Shawn were there with dinner.
Sam and I bounded downstairs to open the front door for them with the same cheesy smiles on our faces from before. It should be sin to be as happy as we were.
“Hi!” we said, greeting them in unison as they stepped over the threshold. I smiled brilliantly at Mark as he closed the door behind him.
“Boy, you seem to be feeling better,” he observed.
“I do! Sam and I have been vegging out all afternoon.”
“I’m glad. I picked up burgers and fries for dinner. I hope that’s okay?” He asked holding up a beautifully greasy brown bag.