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Lauren called the next day to check on Sam and run an idea by her. She knew Sam needed people around her and more freedom to move around outside the house before she went crazy being so cooped up. Nick had suggested a cookout the following Saturday with everyone at AJ’s but the minute Lauren mentioned it, Sam freaked.

“No way!” Sam shouted into the phone. “My nightmares got worse after the night swim and Ryan’s already been here; he could come back at any time.”

“It’ll be ok.” Lauren said, trying to reassure her. “We’ll all be there and we’ll keep you safe.”

“No and it’s not my safety I’m concerned about. It’s bad enough that you, Nick and AJ have helped me. I’ll put everyone in danger and I think I’ve caused enough trouble as it is. You guys were arguing because of me last night.”

“Nick and AJ are guys, they argue and then they’re fine. It’s really not a big deal and I don’t think you should use that as an excuse to not do this.”

“No.”

“Please think about it Sam.”

“I already did and the answer is no.”

Lauren didn’t push it any further but she did call AJ later on that night. She told him all about her concerns and reasons for not doing it and he agreed that the time had to come sooner rather than later. He knew that Sam was dead set against it but he invited Nick over the next morning and they broached the subject to Sam again and this time, it was two against one. It took almost two hours but they finally wore her down and she reluctantly agreed to try it. But she swore to them that if anything happened, it would be the last time she’d leave the house.

Saturday morning came and Sam spent the morning pacing the floor while AJ set things up outside. Everyone was coming with food so there wasn’t much that needed to be done. The doorbell startled Sam and when she looked at the clock, she was confused.

“I thought they weren’t coming till one.” she called out to AJ. “It’s only eleven.”

“I thought so too. Let me check.”

He went off to answer the door and she was surprised when he came back with Lauren and Leighanne who were carrying several big bags.

“What are you guys doing here so early?”

Lauren smiled. “We came early to get you ready for the party.”

“Don’t you mean help us get ready?” Sam asked in confusion.

“Nope. We’re here to get YOU ready.” Leighanne said as she grinned and pulled Sam towards the stairs. “We have a plan!”

AJ had greeted everybody by one thirty but he hadn’t seen Leighanne, Lauren or Sam since they dragged her off early. Kevin, Kristen and Leigh were hanging around by the pool while Howie, Brian and Drew were starting up the grill. Everyone decided to leave the kids at home to be on the safe side since no one knew if Ryan would show up. Nick made his way over to AJ and slung his arm around his shoulder.

“I’m surprised Sam is letting us do this.” he said and took a sip of his beer. “She was really against it.”

AJ nodded. “If this doesn’t go right, she may never speak to me again.”

“It’ll be fine J. We can make this work.”

“I know we’ll try.” he replied and made his way over to check the pool pump. “By the way, do you know what your wife is doing to her?”

“Huh?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, she and Leighanne showed up like two hours ago and I haven’t seen her since.”

“That’s weird.” his brother said as he cocked his head. “Lauren said something about doing her hair for her.”

“Dude, it’s more than hair. She and Leighanne must have had like ten bags with them. I don’t think they need that much crap to do her hair.”

Just as AJ and Nick were turning to head back to the house, they heard Kevin mumble something and everyone got quiet. When they looked up, Leighanne and Lauren were flanking a woman who AJ could only assume was Sam; they were right when they told her that they were getting her ready.

Sam stood between the two woman dressed in white denim shorts and a deep emerald short sleeved t-shirt. The outfit was normal enough but gone were Sam’s long brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. In their places, were a massive amount of strawberry blond curls and a set of the greenest eyes he’d ever seen. The whole look was stunning on her but he didn’t understand why they had changed Sam’s real beauty. Lauren saw his eyes cloud over and made her way down to him.

“We had to do this. She was petrified to be outside and exposed in case Ryan came by. We wanted her to have a good time and she would never have been able to if we didn’t help her a little. You understand don’t you?”

AJ shrugged his shoulders and watched Sam as she gave him a small smile and then headed over to the patio table. Everyone was gushing over how good she looked and the thought occurred to him that he had no idea who she was supposed to be if Ryan showed up; Lauren seemed to read his thoughts.

“She’s going to be Drew’s girlfriend Fiona in case you know who comes by.”

He hated everything about the idea but he knew he wanted Sam to enjoy a free day out without any issues so he plastered on a smile and joined everyone else by the pool.

The day flew by with all the conversation and stories and Sam truly looked like she was having a good time. AJ was so glad to see her happy that his earlier talk with Lauren had faded to the back of his mind. Unfortunately, ten minutes later, it would be back.