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When Sam woke up a few hours later, the room was dark and the chair by her bed was empty. She switched on the bedside lamp and noticed a phone and piece of paper propped up against her books. Opening the note, she read the two words “Call me”.

She opened the phone and went directly to the contacts, finding that AJ had done what he said. Listed in order of importance, he had plugged in his, Nick, Lauren, Drew and Sarah’s phone numbers linking them all to speed dial numbers. Letting herself relax against the bed, she pushed speed dial one and AJ answered on the second ring.

“Hey sleepyhead.”

“Hey.”

“I’m taking it you found my note.” AJ said over the din of something clattering on his end.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. How do you like your new phone?”

“It’s great and thank you for picking the blue one.”

“No problem. I figured you needed one is case of an emergency.”

He didn’t add that she should have gotten one sooner so that she could have called him when Ryan showed up that morning. She was thinking the same thing when a warning bell went off.

“What if someone gets ahold of your phone? They’ll have my number…”

“Calm down.” AJ said gently. “You’re listed in my phone as Eddie the plumber. I think you’re safe.”

Sam burst out in laughter. “A plumber huh?”

“Yup.” AJ said with a chuckle. “By the way, I got you the phone for another reason too. Whenever you want to come down, just call me and I’ll make sure the blinds are closed. It’s probably safer than both of us yelling up and down to each other.”

She was so grateful that he had been so considerate and protective and she felt awful for doubting his intentions. The assumption that he didn’t care was completely wrong and she hoped that he would be able to overlook her poor judgment.

“Can I come down now?”

“Can you wait a half hour? I ordered salad and pizza for us and it should be here soon.” Sam heard some clanking. “Plus, I want to finish something.”

Sam was intrigued by AJ’s mission but agreed to do as he asked. She showered, changed and decided to braid her hair while she waited. Her mother had done it all the time when she was younger and the memory made her smile. Whenever she had a tough night with Ryan, she’d retreat into her memories in order to distance herself from what was being done to her.

About twenty minutes later, AJ called her on her new phone to say that it was safe to come down. Just to make sure, she crept into the hallway and saw that the blinds were blocking the outside view. She headed down and into the kitchen where AJ was filling two bowls with salad. He looked up when he heard her and his hands stopped moving.

“You’re beautiful.” he blurted out and instantly wanted to take back. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

He felt awful for telling her she was attractive but it was hard to keep the thoughts to himself. With everything she’d been through, he wanted her to know that she was still a beautiful woman and that he cared about her.

Sam blushed at the compliment but didn’t say anything. Instead, she took a seat at the island as he finished putting out their dinner.

“I wanted to make something but I forgot about the groceries in the car.”

“I guess they’re no good huh.” she added quietly.

“Nope.” he replied. “I’m going to have to go get…”

“You’re leaving?” she asked as she jumped off the stool in panic.

AJ reached out and touched her arm. “Relax Sam, Lauren and Drew are coming to stay with you…”

“But what about you?” she asked, concerned for his safety now.

“Nick is coming with me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. I promise to be careful and after this morning, I am never leaving you alone again.”

Sam believed him and started to settle down. They finished dinner quickly and AJ suggested that she stay out of her room for a little longer and he offered to watch some reruns of The Big Bang Theory. He remembered how hard she’d laugh when they used to watch it together; thankfully, her humor rose to the surface as she loosened up some more.

After a few episodes, she yawned and told him she was heading to bed. He got up and stopped her before she could go very far.

“Do you trust me?”

Sam gave him a strange look but nodded.

“Good.” he said as he dragged her towards the basement. “There’s something I want you to see.”

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Ryan sat there staring at his phone and was annoyed that she was calling again. He told her what happened this afternoon and gave her fair warning that he did not want to be disturbed that night. This is what he got when he found another senseless woman to get involved with.

All women are ridiculous he thought as his anger started to build. They didn’t understand their place, they didn’t get that he was in control and they couldn’t understand why he had to punish them until they learned their lesson. He thought he’d beaten Samantha enough times that she was starting to get it but then she made her unwise move and tried to run. What on Earth made her think that she was smart enough to con him and get away? He couldn’t wait to get a hold of her and explain how foolish she was in detail.

The phone kept ringing and he finally grabbed it. His anger was starting to boil over at this point and he thought if he could release some of this pressure by disciplining her, he’d start to feel better.

“Come over right now!” he bellowed into the phone and quickly disconnected the call.