SAMANTHA | @babezruthless - S4: POST ALL VALLEY
( !!! ) A curse is muttered under his breath as the alarm begins to blare, the bag slung over his shoulder quickly dropped to the ground as fingertips frantically jab at the buttons adjacent to the entrance, members of the family forlornly shuffling past after what seemed to be one of the longest evenings of their lives. Amanda takes care of the exasperating requisite phone call to the security company while Daniel looks towards a shock of dark shaggy hair to elicit some help, his tone providing a feigned means of levity despite an overwhelming ache that resides at the centre of the man’s chest. “Antonio, we still have a few more bags in the trunk. Can you give me a ha—?” The boy’s already on the way to his bedroom before the request is completed, brown eyes narrowing in mild confusion for the sullen attitude that seems to come out of nowhere - he can understand a sense of compassion and solidarity with his sister, but had Daniel missed something? ( alright, one disaster at a time… ).
It’s with a sigh that the brunet heads back outside into the comparable darkness towards the car, his steps slow as he simply goes through the motions, thoughts a little distant as the man contemplates the ramifications of the dōjō’s overall loss at the tournament - in normal circumstances it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but there’s a looming storm cloud that he perceptively envisages in the distance, of trials and tribulations that would only worsen for the kids that innocently found themselves in the heinous clutches of the likes of Silver and Kreese ( extreme situations require extreme measures ). He’s disquietly staring into the cavernous opening of the back of the vehicle, the logo of a bonsai tree reflected back with a deepened shadow cast over it, lips pressing into a thin line with a slow breath drawing out— when he catches something within his periphery, gaze flicking across to a small silhouette standing to one side in isolation. “Sam?” She had been quiet during the ride home, conversation having grown stilted with the exchange of reassurances at the sports arena that did very little to assuage disappointment. “You coming inside?”
The whooping shriek of the house alarm did little to surprise Samantha at this point- she’d almost come to expect it, accept it even. And it didn’t really even matter, as the rest of her family got out of the car first. Dad, then mom, then Anthony. Not a one of them could think of anything worthwhile to say on the drive home from the sports center, and it was just as well. Sam couldn’t find the right words, or any words, inside of her. Well, not her own. Other words echoed in her head like the pounding of blood in her ears.
You’re not getting what you want. They know our moves. I don’t take orders from tiny little bitches. If you want to sit in the backseat your whole life, go ahead. Point! Winner- Nichols.
Sam couldn’t bring herself to stop crying in the car, the silent kind of crying that wracked your whole body and yet you couldn’t move. No sniffling, no sobbing, no trembling shoulders. Frozen. Overcome. The blood in her face throbbed and made her bruised eye ache, every heartbeat feeling like another blow from Tory.
She’d at least brought herself out of the car while the remaining LaRussos shuffled inside, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to go inside. The last thing Sam wanted was empty reassurances from her parents, least of all her dad. They couldn’t pretend like this didn’t matter all of a sudden just because they lost. When her father addressed her, her words were cold, but the hurt wasn’t directed at him exactly.
“We don’t have to give up the house with the dojo, do we?”
It wasn’t an earnest question, more of one with which she hoped to understand the scope of their loss. Everyone else did exactly what they were supposed to- Eli even won his match. It really did come down to her loss. To Tory, the very person she thought she was finally ready to face. To show she couldn’t be bullied. And through it all, Sam couldn’t decide if she was glad or devastated that Miguel hadn’t been there to see it all go down.
“Dad, I... we gave everything we had, and it still wasn’t enough.”