Chapter 26: Rapid Heartbeats

The next day dawned and, early in the morning, I received a call from Carmen.

"Clark, I need you to sign some papers at the hospital," she explained. "Even though you're paying the bills, they need some documents from you."

A few hours later, he was at the hospital with Carmen, sorting out paperwork and finalizing payment for Miguel's medical expenses.

"Clark... I don't know how to thank you for all of this. Thank you so much!" Carmen said, hugging me tightly.

"Carmen, don't worry about it. It's okay...", I replied, with a smile.

"You're a good boy, Clark," she said, tearing up. "I'm sorry about what happened to your parents, but I'm sure they're very proud of the man you've become up there in heaven."

"Thank you so much for this, Carmen," I thanked, feeling my eyes well up as I remembered my parents in my past life, I would be lying if I said I didn't miss them.

While I was talking to Carmen, I saw Samantha leave Miguel's room.

"Sam," I murmured, surprised and happy to see her, but I looked away as if I hadn't seen her. 

Samantha, who was leaving Miguel's room, saw Clark. Her eyes widened and a blush took over her face.

"Clark..." she whispered, her heart racing. Thoughts: "It's him..."

She put her hand to her chest, feeling her heart race. "What is this?" she asked herself, confused. "Haven't I forgotten about him already?..."

Sam stood still, watching him talk to Miguel's mother.

While I was talking to Carmen, I heard a heart beating fast. I looked to the side and saw Samantha, her face red and her heart racing.

"Thought: Sam, is she looking at me? Does she still feel something? Even after all this time?" I wondered, "Interesting...

"Samantha," I called, approaching her with a smile. "Long time no see…"

"Clark... Si..." "Yes, it's been a long time...", she replied, embarrassed.

"Samantha, have you come to visit Miguel?" Carmen asked.

"Yes, Aunt Carmen...", Sam replied.

"I understand..."

"Clark, what are you doing here?" "I thought you'd never come back from your trip." Sam asked curiously.

"I came back yesterday and came here to sign some papers...", I replied.

"Papers? What for?" she asked.

"Listen, Samantha, Clark came here to pay all of Miguel's hospital bills..." Carmen explained.

"!!! WHAT?", Sam exclaimed, surprised.

"Yes, he came here to pay all the bills. I didn't believe it, but he's Johnny's friend, so he came here to help Miguel...", Carmen confirmed.

"But the hospital is expensive... Isn't that a problem, Clark?...", Sam asked, worried.

"Of course not. It's no problem for me. "Money is no problem...", I replied, with a smile.

Sam looked at me in surprise. "I didn't know you were rich..."

"I have many secrets, beautiful...", I replied, making her blush even more.

Carmen noticed the atmosphere between us and walked away. "Boys, I'm going to visit Miguel..." she said, with a knowing smile. "Thanks again for everything, Clark."

"Thoughts: Miguel, I'm sorry, but I think you lost your girl...", she thought, before entering the room.

"Sure, Carmen. No problem. I have to go too... Bye," I said goodbye.

Carmen left and it was just Sam and I in the hallway.

"Do you want to go for a motorcycle ride?" I invited her.

"!!! A ride?... Okay... But I need to take my car home... How about tonight?", she replied excitedly.

"Okay, give me your number," I asked.

Sam wrote her number down on my phone and told me to call her at 5pm.

"I've never done this here since I got here... I need a cigarette...", I thought, leaving the hospital.

I went to a store and bought cigarettes, the attendant didn't even ask my age, I looked older. Then I got on my motorcycle and went to a cliff, where I smoked in peace. It was 4:40 pm.

"It's good..." I thought, as I took a drag on my cigarette. "Maybe I've been thinking too much about Tory... Even though I didn't want to... This shit hurts, being rejected sucks, it's been almost 2 years and she's still mad at me, I'm not going to keep running after her like a fool if something has to happen...

A few minutes later, I called Sam.

"Riing, riing, riing"

"Clark?" she answered.

"Hi, beautiful. Are you available now?" I asked.

"Yessss...", she replied.

"What's your address? I'll come pick you up," I said.

"The address is..." she replied.

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes."

A few minutes later...

"BIII, BIII, BIII", buzinei em frente à casa de Sam.

"Wow..." she exclaimed, surprised to see me.

"Daughter, where are you going?" Amanda asked, leaving the house.

"Mom, I... I'm going out with a friend...", Sam replied, embarrassed.

"Friend?... Hmmm, so why are you so dressed up? You smell nice too...", Amanda commented, suspicious.

"Mom, he's just a friend, okay?" Sam insisted.

"All is well then..."

Amanda watched her daughter run toward her "friend." He was wearing a helmet, so she didn't recognize him.

"He looks older... I've never seen him anywhere. Who is this boy?" Amanda wondered, curious.

A few minutes later, on the bike...

"Clark, where are you taking me?" Sam asked curiously.

"It's a secret...", I replied, with a mysterious smile.

"Hmmm, okay then..."

We took Sam to several places: the cinema, the restaurant... She told me about what happened between her and Tory, about the fight... Then, I took her to the cliff and we bought some things to eat.

"Wow, that view is beautiful! You can see almost all of Los Angeles from here...", Sam commented, amazed.

"Yes, indeed. I found this place a while ago when I lived here. I would come here every now and then to clear my head..." I said.

"I see..." Sam replied as he looked at the view. 

"You know, a long time ago, I was riding my bike down the street and I saw you and your two friends...", I started to say.

"???...!!! Yasmine and Moon?", Sam asked, surprised.

"Yes. I heard something 'interesting' back then..." I replied, with a smile.

"!!!!!! WHAT DID YOU HEARD?", Sam asked, curious and blushing.

"Hahahah, I heard something 'interesting'," I replied, teasing her.

"Thoughts: Did he hear Moon saying that I liked him?... I pretty much confirmed it back then... But it's been so long..."

"Tell me, do you still feel that way?" I asked, looking into his eyes.

"!!! So you heard everything..." she exclaimed, blushing even more. "I don't know what I feel. It's been so long, I've had two boyfriends since then, but..."

"Mas?", a incentivei a continuar.

"When I saw you at the hospital today, everything I felt came back. "And now, after this meeting, everything is stronger...", she confessed, embarrassed.

I put my hands on her waist and she looked at me with those eyes of hers. I brought my face close to hers and kissed her. It was a slow and sweet kiss. She wrapped her arms around my neck and continued to kiss me, stroking my hair.

Five minutes and many kisses later...

Her face was very red and she snuggled into me. We stood there for a while, just enjoying the view. The sky was full of stars.

"So, do you want to end the night here?" I asked with a smile.

"Actually, I want to stay like this with you forever...", she replied, with a shy smile.

I smiled back. "Thoughts: This isn't bad at all..."

But when we were thinking about it...

"Riing, riing, riing"

"It's my cell phone..." Sam said, answering it. "Hello?... Dad, I'm with a friend... Yeah, it's okay, Dad. I'll be right there..."

"Clark, it was my father. He wants me to go home because it's so late..." she explained sadly.

"Sure, okay. Let's go...", I replied, standing up.

A few minutes later, we arrived at his house.

Sam got off the bike and stood beside me, looking at me fondly.

I got off the bike, took off my helmet and kissed her. "Bye, beautiful. "Talk to you tomorrow..."

"Bye... I loved tonight..." she replied, turning to leave.

Sam was beaming, but he bumped into his parents, who were watching through the door.

"DAD, MOM... WHY ARE YOU SPYING?" she asked, surprised.

"So he was just a friend of yours, huh?" Amanda asked, with a wry smile.

"Samantha... "This guy, he's Johnny's friend...", Daniel commented, surprised.

"Yes, Dad. This is Clark...", Sam replied.

"Yeah, I've met him before... So what's all this? He's been back for what? 24 hours and you're already dating him? What about Miguel? Is that Roby too?" Daniel asked, one hand on his face as he shook his head. 

"Dad... I don't know how to explain this, but I like Clark, like I've never liked another boy before... He makes me feel...", Sam began to explain, but was interrupted by her father.

"HEY, HEY, WAIT! I don't want to hear this... It's embarrassing even for me... I just hope you don't hurt anyone with your actions, Samantha..." "I'm going upstairs...", Daniel said, walking away.

"Amanda..." look at all this laughing at her husband 

"Don't pay attention to your father, Samantha. He's just jealous of seeing his daughter with a boy...", Amanda said, with a smile. "It's quite a boy, huh..."

"Mom..." Sam scolded her.

"Haha, sorry... Come on, have you had dinner yet?" Amanda asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, I already had dinner. He took me to a restaurant...", Sam replied.

"Hmmm, tell me about it, let's..."