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blackwolfstabs · 1 year ago

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30 Day Writing Challenge: Day 23

SECRET

Sam has a secret that she won't share... until she's forced to.

WARNING: contains teasing and vomiting (small paragraph - like 2 sentences.)

credits to @silliestgoosever for naming Gale's boyfriend (tysm! ♡)

The temperatures had peaked beyond the average for a summer in New York. It was approaching the beginning of August, and the highs were pushing 90℉ and soon to pass it. It was also close to the preparation for the college fall semester, which had Chad, Mindy, and Tara all experiencing mixed emotions about it. So, in favor of the rare, yet inescapable heat and a last hurrah for the summer, Kirby invited all survivors of the New York Ghostface terrors of 2023 over to her house. Since they had all become quote-unquote, “part of the same fucked-up family,” the FBI agent had moved up to New York to keep in close proximity to the others, in case anything happened. She had gotten a house in the suburbs that had a pool in the backyard, and during her recovery time off of work, she had spent her time fixing up the decking surrounding it to provide a nice place to entertain.

It was perfect for today.

Under the afternoon sun, Mindy, Chad, Tara, and Gale’s recently acquired boyfriend, Joseph Zehrn, spent their time in the water. Joseph was also a journalist that was very good at his job, taking an interest in the Woodsboro murders as well as Gale’s work. He worked in Springville, Utah, working behind the scenes when the real-life Stab situations were active. He was liked by everyone, really, someone always talking of how loyal and family-oriented he was. And he surely blended himself into the survival family quickly, when he and Gale started dating. Most of the time, he acted like he was one of them, joking and interacting like he knew everything about them, and from a journalist standpoint, it was safe to say he did. However, he was heavy on teasing and didn’t know when to stop, which held him liable for crossing boundaries he shouldn’t.

One of the main things he and Gale had in common… crossing boundaries.

He was very playful with the twins and younger Carpenter, already spending hours talking and engaging in various pool activities with them. Gale was in and out of the pool as was Kirby, but Sam had been sitting on the swings off to the far left of the pool the entire time. No swimsuit, no intention of getting near the water, just in a white t-shirt and shorts, spending time by herself unless someone took a break from the water to sit out or dry off. She was waiting for Danny, who was still at work and said he would get there later. No one asked, because they figured she was waiting on him or just wasn’t interested in swimming because of other reasons. At least that’s what the females of the pack insinuated. All except Tara. Tara knew why her sister refused to swim.

But where there was someone who knew the exact reason, there was always someone who didn’t and would push to find it out. And that was Joseph.

“You doing alright, Sam?” Kirby’s voice made Sam open her eyes from the relentless heat. She sat down next to her on the swing. “The heat getting to you?” she asked, on account of the younger’s face flushing red.

But Sam just shook her head. “I’m fine.” She let the other resituate her towel around her shoulders before continuing the gentle rock of the swing.

“Have you heard from Danny yet?”

Once again, she shook her head, then pulled out the water bottle that she kept beside her. “No, not yet,” she replied, before taking a sip. “He said he’d get off around 2 though.”

Kirby overlooked the 3 youngest attendees still swimming and diving beneath the pool’s surface, “Ah, so he should be on his way any minute now.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Before another conversation could start, Joseph’s dripping figure approached them. “What’s going on, Sam? You’re the only one that hasn’t been in the pool yet.” He gave her a friendly smile that didn’t coordinate very well with the notoriously gleam of mischief in his eye as he looked her up and down. “Don’t tell me you’re insecure. I don’t know how you could be with the kind of toned body I know you’ve got,” he teased.

Sam blinked at him, only able to give a subtle shake of her head, before Kirby jumped in.

“She’s waiting for her boyfriend.”

“Oh, is that it?” He was still looking at the younger one.

But this just made her grow hotter than she already was. It’s a good thing her face was already flushed, because if it wasn’t, it would’ve gotten that way no matter how much she wouldn’t want it to. And then that would just become another thing he could point out.

“Why not go swim with your sister?” Joseph pointed out Tara, who was sliding a pair of goggles over her eyes then disappeared beneath the water. “I thought she was the one you were glued to 24/7.”

“No, it’s not that,” she tried to defend herself.

“Is it that time of the month?”

Kirby could see how she grew flustered at that invasive question and stepped in again. “Okay, asshole, that’s a little too personal.” She said this in a lighthearted way though, so it wasn’t very insulting.

However, the man couldn’t take it any other way but playfully as he shrugged. “What? I’m just asking,” he chuckled.

Sam cut back in, fully capable of fighting her own fights, if that was what this was… “No, I’m not,” she nearly snapped. Then, she let her hackles fall, merely shifting with a small shrug as she went on, “I just… don’t want to.” And that was the truth.

The short one, at least…

Luckily, he nodded, seeming to finally take that as an answer. “Okay, okay…”

As he turned around to make his way inside, Sam looked over at Kirby. “Is he always like that?”

She nodded, “Pretty much.” She had been around Gale a lot more recently than the rest had been, so she had a good idea on who Joseph was by now. “I told Gale not to bring him, because he’ll likely just start trouble, but clearly…” she gestured her hand out to where the man disappeared, “she brought him anyway.”

A buzzing and vibration from her phone had the younger female glancing over to retrieve it. She observed the message lighting up her screen that made her divert the topic with:

“Danny’s on his way.”

“Good,” Reed nodded, observing the 3 in the pool again, before she invited her own dismissal. “I’m gonna go grab a bite. Do you want anything or wanna come with?”

Sam shook her head, “No, I’m good.” And she was left alone again as the other walked away.

However, 20 minutes later, she was called from her place on the shaded swing, when annoyed shouts from Mindy and Tara snapped her attention away from her phone.

“Way to go, dingus!”

“Come on, Chad, keep it in the pool! Go get it!”

Then Chad argued back, “No, that’s your ball, babe! It touched your fingertips. Remember the rule?”

Tara groaned and turned around to see the foam football sitting across the travertine. She judged retrieving it for a moment, before glancing over towards the swing. “Hey, Sam! Can you get the ball for me?” She pointed to it.

“Yeah,” her sister answered and set her phone down to carry out the task. The water swished, telling her that Tara swam away from the side and towards the waterfall coming over the backing rock wall on the other side. She circled the pillar to the covered decking and found the neon orange ball sitting next to a stack of towels. But the water must’ve outdone the sound of the back door opening and closing, because she didn’t know Joseph had come back out, until his voice was loud in her ears.

“Well, look who finally got off the swing!”

“I’m not chained to it,” she casually retorted as she leaned down to pick the football up. Then, she turned around to toss it back to Tara, who had to jump for it.

Joseph chuckled, “You sure act like it.” Now that he was right next to her, he could really see just how heat-stricken she was, especially with the white shirt she had on that complemented her red face. “Well, since you’re up, why not jump in real quick?” he further suggested with a nod towards the pool.

“I said I didn’t want to,” she answered, immediately getting defensive with him prying again.

He shrugged, “You look really hot—”

“Why are you so insistent on me going in the pool?” She finally challenged him. He wasn’t around any of them enough to act like he was, especially with how invasive he had been and was continuing to be. And if he pushed his luck anymore, she would make sure he didn’t get to be around them at all. “If I’m that hot, I’ll go inside. I don’t need to be in the water.”

At this sudden tension, the journalist pulled off a sarcastically offended look, “Alright, alright, take it easy, Sam. No need to get all worked-up, I just think it wouldn’t hurt for you to have some fun.” He gazed at her as if he knew her inside and out. He had studied all of them, after all, just like Gale had.

She just sighed and looked away, crossing her arms like she was biting her tongue from saying anything more. Damn, did she have a temper. Just like her father. But she didn’t bite as much as Billy did, especially when she was caught off guard. She needed to lighten up and cool off, so what was the harm in messing with her a little bit? Plus, if she wouldn’t say why she was being so resistant, the description of his job told him to find out. So, he went for it. He moved forward swiftly to pick her up bridal-style, which worked well for him.

Samantha’s heart skipped a beat as it jumped into her throat, her instinct having her arms come uncrossed to hold onto him. “What are you doing?” was the first thing her mind made her spit out.

Zehrn just seemed to take delight in his teasing antics as he started carrying her towards the pool’s edge. “Just gonna cool you and that temper off a bit,” he answered.

She didn’t know how she could become hotter than she already was, but somehow, she did. Her fight-or-flight cut deep, but the awkward position he had her in kept her from moving around too much. So, all that was left was to try and talk him out of it. “No, Joseph, put me down,” her growing fear kept her voice from projecting. She wanted to sound more assertive, like she had only seconds ago, but that was gone.

“I will! Right in the water.” If he were honest, he expected her to be heavier, considering her muscle, but he was able to carry her easily.

Sam whimpered, her dark eyes churning color with the blue liquid promising her demise. And as he took her closer to it, she found her voice. “No! Joseph, please! Let me go!” As much as she hated it, her chest started to burn, and it spread into her eyes, threatening to blind her with tears of fear.

Her raised and pitched vocals were enough to draw the attention of the trio in the pool, all not used to hearing her that way but immediately knowing it was the member that completed the Core Four.

“Dude, she doesn’t want to! Put her down,” Mindy called out, while Chad added on.

“Yeah, just leave her alone, man!”

Both of them were aware that Sam appeared to be scared, but it didn’t click that it was due to something other than being caught off guard or embarrassed. But Tara knew. And that’s why her voice came off the strongest and harshest as she barked.

“She told you no! Put her down!” It was like she spat fire, and both twins looked at her because of it.

However, Joseph still didn’t get it, not taking any of them seriously as he just laughed it off. “Oh, come on, Billy Loomis’ daughter isn’t scared of a little water, is she?” And then he let her go, her last attempt at objection completely void as she was released.

“No—!”

“Fuck you!” Tara hollered simultaneously with the joke he’d made, making Mindy finally speak up.

“Easy, T, it’s not that—”

But the sound of her older sister’s body hitting the water and the sight of it disappearing had the youngest there completely deaf to all else, though she knew where those words were headed, and it was up to her to explain her quick judgment. “Sam can’t swim.” She lunged forward to dive beneath the surface.

“Shit!” Was the last thing she heard from Chad as the rushing of water flooded her hearing. She blinked through the chlorine, finding her sibling’s figure stirring up bubbles in her struggle to find air. Above, she could hear Mindy’s muffled shouts, probably directed at Joseph now that she knew what the real problem was.

Tara grabbed hold of Sam and pulled her up, wrapping her arm around her waist to push her to the surface first.

And when her head broke into fresh air, the older Carpenter gasped, immediately thrown into a coughing fit.

“I got you, I got you. It’s okay.” The owner of the arms that held her spoke firmly but softly at the same time.

She didn’t even know who was helping her at the moment—out of the three that had witnessed it all—but whoever they were, she was grateful for them. She could feel the chlorine water she’d gulped down slosh like angry waves inside her. Her eyes, lungs, and muscles burned with the fight to survive. She could hear many people raising their voices, like they were fighting, but it was indistinct amongst the water clogging her ears.

“Joseph!”

That one was clear as day. It was Gale’s voice. Served him right, she hoped Gale tore into him. She wanted to, herself, but she was completely overwhelmed, exposed, and she was sure if she didn’t stop coughing, she was going to throw up.

“Sam, are you okay?” Tara’s worried voice called out to her, but she couldn’t respond. Her instincts were screaming at her to run, get out of sight, to protect herself. So, that’s what she did.

Around her choking, the drowned victim clawed at the travertine and pushed herself up out of the water. By now, she was not only fighting for breath but was fighting back sobs. A thousand thoughts and no time to process or recall any of them had corrupted her into tears all at once, and with the amount of noise around her, she couldn’t seem to control anything.

A secret had just been exposed, but it was never meant to be revealed like that.

“I was only messing with her!” Joseph objected to whatever Gale was saying to him. But then Tara answered.

“She can’t swim, you fucking asshole!”

“Tara! That’s enough, I’ve got it!” Gale warned.

“Calm down, babe,” Chad then tried to soothe.

But Sam didn’t spare anything or anyone a passing glance as she hurried to get to her feet and bolted inside. No towel, no caution, nothing. She ran past Gale and past Kirby as the FBI agent made her way outside to see what was going on, ducking into the now-ice-cold air conditioning and rushing into the bathroom in the hall to lock herself inside.

It was about 10 minutes of her sitting by herself on the rug on the bathroom floor, before she heard a knock at the door.

“Sam?”

Tara.

“Are you okay?”

Sam sniffled, swallowing back the drainage that remained in her throat. “I’m fine,” she croaked, still a little hoarse from her choking that eventually turned into a small vomiting episode. All the water she accidentally took in came back up, and she was still thanking her lucky stars that she made it to the toilet just in time to let it go.

“Can I come in?”

She hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to see anyone right now. Even Tara… Tara was the only one who knew about her not being able to swim. Neither of them had learned as kids, because they didn’t have a pool, nor did they ever go anywhere that required swimming. The younger of the two had been taught by Judy, Wes, and Amber—sometime after Sam had already left for good—when she had been invited to their house during the summer. Lack of that skill led Sam to be deathly afraid of drowning, which was why she never let herself be taught, even after all this time. “I…” She tugged the towel she had gotten for herself tighter around her shoulders and pulled her knees up closer to her chest, having removed her soaking shirt, shorts, shoes, and socks to leave her in nothing but her bra and underwear. “I’m sorry, Tara… I’d just rather be alone right now…” She wasn’t shivering anymore, but she was still cold, nonetheless.

“Danny’s here…”

Sam then bit her lip. Maybe she didn’t want to be alone after all…

She got up from the floor and unlocked the door, opening it to find Tara raising her eyes to meet her own. Then, she glanced to her left, where she found Danny’s gaze.

“Gale laid heavy into Joseph, so you don’t have to worry about him,” Tara informed. “He didn’t know you didn’t know how to swim.”

Of course, he didn’t. Nobody but Tara knew. However, the older Carpenter couldn’t take her eyes off of her boyfriend. Had he been there, none of that would’ve happened.

But she could tell that he wanted to have strong words with Joseph himself.

She must have been making a face that told him something, because he stepped forward as she did and met her with one arm around her back and the other guarding her head to hug her. It was only one-sided, for she was still holding the towel around her, but he knew she just needed that security from him right now.

“I’m sorry, baby,” he spoke softly, while his hand caressed her wet hair. “Are you okay?”

Sam nodded without lifting her head from leaning against his shoulder. “Yeah…” Again, she started to fight back tears, the fear and humiliation still prominent in her emotions. “It was just a lot…” She felt him nod.

“I know.”

After another moment, she pulled away and glanced over to Tara, who held her phone out.

“I got your phone off the swing. I don’t know if you wanna go back out or…” She lowered her hand, when it was taken, then stood quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry I didn’t do more to stop him…”

Her big sister shook her head, “You did fine. It’s not your fault. Thank you for helping me.”

She nodded, but she wasn’t convinced. “He’s waiting to apologize to you,” she moved on, knowing that dwelling on what she could’ve done wouldn’t fix anything. “So, whenever you’re ready, he’s outside.”

Sam sighed. She didn’t care about getting an apology. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to talk to him for the rest of the day, but she guessed that would be rather immature and petty of her. It just wasn’t her style to show weakness like she had. It felt out-of-character, even though there weren't any guidelines when it came to being human. “Okay…” she eventually nodded.

Danny brushed a thick strand of hair over her shoulder and tugged the hem of the towel a little farther over her chest. “I think we should get you in some dry clothes first,” he suggested.

“Kirby probably has some that you can borrow,” Tara then mentioned. She didn’t wait for a response before she already started to leave. “I’ll go ask.”

Once she disappeared out of the shadowed hallway, Danny pulled Samantha in to place a kiss on her forehead, which was still cool from the water. “Why didn’t you tell him you couldn’t swim?” he whispered.

“Because… it wasn’t his business,” she replied.

“He might’ve not done it, if you told him.”

“It’s not easy for me to let go of a secret.”

Sam seemed to be the queen of secrets. Hell, she even kept their relationship a secret for months. And that made him pull a small smile.

“Yeah, that’s not a secret.”

i'm not really happy with this one tbh. it would've been better to have this for a personal story i think. I had a different way of this scenario being handled that i could've done but oh well… i hope y'all still like it and if not then i know what NOT to do next time lolol

p.s if you're reading my story "The Wolves of Woodsboro", there will be a part in an upcoming chapter about how Sam overcomes not being able to swim. it's a little similar but not in the same way it's done and how it ends. idk how to say it but the point is that if u read that chapter when i post it and u think "uhh wtf why are u writing something like this again", i speak my peace here ;)

All my best! ♡ - parker

#scream #scream v #scream vi #sam carpenter #tara carpenter #carpenter sisters #chad meeks martin #mindy meeks martin #gale weathers #kirby reed #danny brackett #original character #ao3 #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic #ao3 author #30 day writing challenge #secret #AU: All My Heart

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