If Only

Sam’s POV

I gently dabbed at my face and winced. I looked like BP fricking polluted it in several spots on my face and tummy! Even though it was two days later I still looked like shit. I slowly inched off my shirt muttering, “Ow ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…OW!” Most of my body was scraped up and my nose was most defiantly, without a doubt – broken. It was crooked and sickly shade of purple and red surrounding it. I wanted to just grab it and pull it back into place but every time I touched it my eyes would water so I gave up.

“Sam, honey?” my mom’s sweet voice was outside of my room. “Are you alright?” MY mom had come home 3 hours ago from a mothers retreat. Don’t ask, cause I most likely won’t know the answer. Let’s just say I have the “perfect” family. Lots of money, loving mother, supporting father, adorable little sister…I hated it.

“Yea mom, I’m fine. I just uh…fell out of the back of a truck.” I lied; more like got run over by a truck.

I heard her gasp,” Are you okay, pumpkin? Do you need me to come in?”

“NO!” I yelled, frustrated. I felt kinda bad when there was no sound for awhile. After a bit there were quiet footsteps that faded away.

I rolled my eyes and lay on my bed. I still couldn’t believe that I lost to Shawn. It was bad enough that Piper likes him. It was just like a fairytale and I was the Wicked Witch, to Shawn. Just then, the door burst open and I quickly pulled the blankets over me.

“Samuel Noah Hampton!” she yelled. My friend Marie burst into the room, her brown scene hair stuck out in certain areas. “Why didn’t you tell me you fell out of a car?!” her eyes widened when she saw my face and body, “Dear Goodness!” she ran and jumped on my bed. I was pinned under her weight as she tended to me. Marie the nurse…yep, that sounded pretty accurate to me.

“Hey Marie, nice to see you too?” my voice made it a question.

“What happened exactly?” her hazel eyes analyzed me closely. Marie was an old family friend and my parents absolutely adored her; with her crazy mind, I couldn’t see why. But we were still besties and we couldn’t deny it...she wouldn’t let me if I tried. Even if she was a sophomore and I was a senior, she didn’t understand the concept of underclassmen and upperclassmen being total enemies.

“Piper.” I sighed, she nodded understandingly. I hadn’t talked to her in a while so I quickly filled her in on what has happened in my life lately, “I thought I could take him, you know?”

“Well, he is swimmer. You have to give his biceps…and rock hard abs…credit,” she slipped into a dreamy state, “Shawn Johnson…in spandex.”

“Alright! Before I start seeing unwelcomed images in my brain, can you shut it, please?” Marie may not want to admit it, but she is undeniably in love with my best friend. Scratch that. Ex-Bestfriend. She shook her head and blinked before nodding. Marie got to business and started patching me up. She got a first aid kit and went straight to work. I know I should have gone to doctor but, when it came to my broken nose which had been bleeding on and off for awhile and was swollen to beyond recognition, I kept a bro face on and didn’t even yell.

“You scream like a girl,” she muttered, I rolled my eyes. One day, I swear, Marie is going to be a nurse. She knew anything and everything about fights and how to heal stuff in a heartbeat. I guess with her dad being a boxer, she had to keep up with the program. Marie’s mom and mine were buddy buddy. In fact, they both went on the same retreat during the weekend. So Marie’s mom didn’t really support her husband’s job. I should have picked up some fighting lessons from him but I was too afraid of him. The man was a towering 6’8 and looked like the Brawny guy on those paper towels. But it was no surprise that Shawn hung out with Marie’s dad. Probably, without a doubt, no argument is the reason why I lost to Shawn. Marie was kind of like her dad’s doctor after his fights and after years of practice, she could easily fix any broken bones and sanitize the biggest gashes in a matter of minutes. By the time that she was finished, I almost looked presentable.

“There,” she patted the area of my face that was in padding, “Now you don’t look like a turd!” I rolled my eyes.

“Why don’t you say shit…or crap for that matter?” I asked a bit irritated.

“I. Don’t. Cuss. Mr. eff-this-eff-that.” She wagged her finger back and forth for each word and glared at me.

“Honestly, you are like a five year old,” I scoffed, she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh now I’m the five year old? You’re the one who can’t even learn how to tell a girl you like her!” We had an intense glaring/staring contest before she blinked.

“I win!” I put my hands up in victory.

“DANGIT!” she yelled. We laughed for a long time before she said, “So you’re the one that beat up Shawn? Cause his beautiful face had some battle wounds that I would have gladly put some ointment on for him…” she bit her lip.

“Ha-ha, wow. Yea, that was me.” It felt incredibly good to know I’d left him some kind of pain.

“Well, you have to make amends!” she smacked me.

“WHAT?!”

“I know you too well to know that you’ll never talk to him again.” She stated.

“Marie, he’s being a total dick! He’s in love with the girl I want, and he fought me.”

“I don’t care! You’re going to apologize.”

“For what?”

“Fighting. Kissing Piper. And being incredibly dumb.” She counted each fact on her fingers.

“You’re being ridiculous!”

“Sam, you’re not getting out of this, don’t make me tell your mother,” she threatened.

I pouted and she flicked my bottom lip, making it retract, “Fine…but I can’t apologize for kissing Piper.”

“And why not?” she crossed her arms.

I hesitated, “I might have made a retarded agreement with Piper…”

She looked at me weirdly for a second then she covered her mouth, “You didn’t!” Her voice was muffled.

“If by ‘didn’t’ you mean that I complied to pretend to date Piper…then yes.”

“You’re setting yourself up for a poop load of hurt trouble!” I rolled my eyes.

“I know, but Marie, you just don’t get it!” I got up from the bed and got a shirt because I was still half-naked, “The way I feel it just…there’s no way to describe it!” I ran my hands threw my curly hair. Whenever I saw Piper or at the very least think about her, my breath would catch and my hands would pulse to hold her. I thought about the storage room. Even if it was staged, I still was on cloud nine holding her in that way. She just read my mind and placed them exactly where I’ve wanted to be for the past five years.

“Sam! Sam?!” Marie’s voice cut through my daydream and I realized why it sounded so panicked. My body had her pinned under my weight. My hands were where they were in my dream; one of them on Marie’s butt and the other on the side of her breast, my face was inches away from hers and we were both breathing heavily. “Sam, I swear, if you don’t get off me by the count of three, then you will have more than a broken nose when I’m done with you…One.” I was off her and on the other side of the room. She may be a girl but I certainly wasn’t stupid enough to think that her father hadn’t taught her a thing or fifty about fighting. She had her hand her hand on her chest, which was heaving, “I’m leaving.” She got up and started walking but I grabbed her wrist and spun her around. I felt a sharp pain in my manly area and I fell to the ground.

“Ugh.” I groaned.

“Oh my Sunflowers and Daisies!” she exclaimed, “I’m soooooo sorry!! I just reacted out of reflex!”

“Its okay” I squeaked, my voice an octave higher, “I’m sorry about…you know. I was thinking of Piper and I just got carried away.”

“That’s an understatement,” she muttered, “But I guess I understand why you can’t apologize for kissing Piper.” I nodded vigorously, “Sam,” she took my face in both of her poor circulated hands, making it so I couldn’t look away, “You will say you’re sorry.”

“Marie!” I protested

“Don’t you ‘Marie’ me, do you want another hit like that,” she pointed to my pants, I crossed my legs, “exactly.”

“He’s going to beat me to a pulp!” I pouted.

“Not if I’m there.” She smirked.

“You are brilliant.”

“It happens,” she shrugged.

“But how am I supposed to convince him to meet me?”

She had a devilish look on her face, “You just leave that to me.”