Page 7 of A Constant Reminder

Chapter 5 – Tyler

After Sam’s mini meltdown, I was thankful when she finally fell asleep. Hell, I was thankful it was only a mini meltdown.

Most women would have been inconsolable…with good reason. But Sam wasn’t most women.

She was strong and fierce and had fire running through her veins. Despite all the bad she had encountered in her life, she still did her best to make that life and normal and happy one. And I’d make sure one day, we would take that bastard down for all he did to her. I couldn’t wait for the day Sam finally got to tell James to go fuck himself…and believe me, she would.

I tried resting for a bit, but every time I’d close my eyes and begin to doze off, my dreams would play out what happened to her, and I’d jerk myself awake once more.

So, I gave up on the notion of getting any kind of sleep. Instead, I just stared at her. Through all of the trauma that showed, I still saw her beauty. Through her black eye, I still saw her big beautiful green ones that hinted with specks of yellow in the sunlight.

Through her swollen lip, I still saw her beautiful, sultry pink ones which give the best, most sensual kisses.

Through the blue and purple marks on her body, I still saw her creamy complexion that was as smooth as silk.

And through her tiny frail figure, I still saw a strong, fiercely independent woman who took the shitty hand life dealt her and made the most of it.

I saw the woman of my dreams. The woman I loved so damn much. The woman I let down…

She might have said it wasn’t my fault, but it still sure as hell felt like it. I promised I would keep her safe, and I failed. She left my parents house in tears, and I just let her walk out the door…alone.

My beautiful Sam…I could have sat there staring at her all day. She was my shining star…my saving grace…and I loved her so damn much.

Within a few minutes, my phone was buzzing. It was a text from my father saying he and Sam’s family were walking in.

Quickly, I texted back to meet me in the waiting room since Sam had finally gotten to sleep, and I didn’t want to wake her.

Thankfully, the room was only a couple doors down making it easy to still keep an eye on Sam’s door. James would be an idiot trying to get to her in a hospital, but he clearly wasn’t that smart if he didn’t realize the hellfire that was about to rain down on him.

Pacing the room, I waited for them to arrive. When the door finally swung open, my father held the door for the three lumbering Flemming men to enter.

First came John Flemming, their father. He was a large, strong man with the same dirty blonde hair as Sam and a shaggy beard. He had always looked worn from all of his years working outside, but the haggard look on his face now was accentuated by worry for his daughter.

Right behind him were his two sons, Jessie and Luke. Both boys were younger than Sam but only by a couple years. Luke was 20, and Jessie was about to turn 18. They both looked like younger versions of their father, but both stood a couple inches taller.

I held my hand out for John to shake, but the older of the Flemming brothers pushed me so hard I almost fell backwards.

“Where the hell were you?!” Luke screamed. “You promised to protect her! She trusted you!”

John grabbed his son by the shoulder and yanked him down into one of the chairs.

“Damnit Luke, none of that! We talked about this! You know damn good and well that none of this is his fault. And if it wasn’t for him, we’d still be driving here from Kansas because we can’t afford no plane tickets. So, sit down and shut up until the next words out of your mouth are thanking him.”

John turned toward me to offer an apology, but I stopped him.

“No, Luke’s right. I shouldn’t have left her alone like that.”

“Now, stop it, boy. Even if you could look after Sammie 24/7, I doubt she’d let you. She’s got more independence and stubbornness than I don’t even know what,” he said while removing his ball cap and taking a seat.

I let out a slight chuckle knowing he was right. Sam would go crazy if I was hovering over her all hours of the day. She’d probably tell me to piss off and leave her the hell alone.

After tensions in the room had calmed down, we all sat in the otherwise-empty waiting room while I explained to them what happened. Not wanting to intrude, my father went to grab coffee and snacks for all of us.

I made a mental note to tell him how much his presence and kindness meant to me.

As I recounted the story, the tension in the air seemed to grow thicker. A part of me hated talking about Sam like this when she wasn’t around, but I also knew she wouldn’t want to relive the event telling the story over and over. She was traumatized enough, and she hated feeling like a victim.

Jessie scoffed when I mentioned her attacker wore a mask. “Of course he did. That son of a bitch is going to get away with it again.”

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