3 Chapter Three

"Sammy?"

Sammy grunted in his half asleep daze. He knew it was Ashli, but he had no idea why she would be calling to him this late at night. Taking a deep breath, Sammy rolled over toward his wall, figuring he was dreaming, and drifted back toward sleep.

"Are you awake?"

"Yeah," Sammy slurred, not even bothering to open his eyes. He was warm, and his entire body felt heavy. He rolled onto his back as he heard Ashli close his bedroom door. "What are you doing," he asked, finally opening his eyes, but his room was dark, and Sammy wasn't able to see much through the haze of sleep anyway.

"I just got a drunk call from my ex. He said he misses me, and wants me back, but I told him no." Ashli's voice was quiet, and small. Sammy tried to blink the sleep from his eyes, but he was finding it was rather difficult to do. Ashli sniffled from where she was still standing by the door. "Can I stay with you?"

Sammy picked his head up, realizing that Ashli was crying. He sighed heavily. Normally, he wouldn't have let Ashli sleep in his bed with him, but it didn't feel right to just turn her away right now. "Yeah," he said quietly as he closed his eyes. It took him a moment to realize that Ashli had crawled under his blankets with him once she had settled into the bed. "Try and get some sleep."

Next to him, Sammy heard Ashli inhale a shaky breath. "I just don't want to be alone right now," she whispered. Sammy hummed in response, only half paying attention as he started to fall back to sleep. Ashli shifted in the bed next to Sammy, and he felt her foot brush against his calf. Instinctively he pulled away. "Sammy?" Ashli's voice was quiet, but loud enough to jolt Sammy back into consciousness. "Please stay awake with me." Sammy felt her fingers brush against his side.

Sammy took a deep breath, feeling his lungs expand in his chest before he exhaled. "I'm tired, Ashli. Forget that jerk, you did the right thing. Get some sleep."

"I can't sleep," she murmured. "Our conversation keeps running through my mind, and I just —" she cut herself off as she tried to hold back a sob.

Sammy opened his eyes, staring up at his dark ceiling. Ashli's ex-boyfriend had been a real jerk, but they had been together for a couple years before she finally broke it off with him. Since then he'd called and harassed Ashli saying he wanted to get back together. At one point Sammy and him had even gotten into a fight. He'd left her alone after that until just the last couple days or so, it seemed.

"I just feel so alone." Ashli's voice sounded broken and in pain, and Sammy felt his heart ache. He knew what that was like, had felt it himself with the whole incident with Colby earlier in the day. Sammy bit his lip, trying to think of what he could say to Ashli to help make her feel better. "Can I have a hug," Ashli asked before he could decide on anything.

Sammy took a deep breath, raising his arm. "Yeah. Sure." He felt Ashli slide closer to him, and Sammy wrapped his arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder, and rested her arm across Sammy's chest. Her cheek was wet against Sammy's skin. He frowned as he closed his eyes, and squeezed her shoulders a little tighter. "It will all be okay, Ashli. You'll see. Maybe this time he will listen."

"I just want to find a good guy…" Ashli trailed off, and Sammy felt her shift against him. She buried her face into Sammy's neck as she threw one leg over him, and Sammy felt her hand slide down his stomach headed for his groin. "Like you," she murmured against his neck before she pressed a kiss to his skin.

Sammy panicked, jumping away from Ashli. His back hit the wall as he pushed her off, and with the force of her hitting the empty side of the bed, Ashli bounced and landed on the floor with a heavy thump. "What are you doing," she yelled as she sat up.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Sammy was sitting up against the wall now, heart racing in his chest. "Ashli, you know how I feel —"

"I don't understand you, Sammy!" Ashli interrupted. "You said just today that you didn't want to be alone. I know I'm not a guy, but why not me? Am I not good enough for you?"

"Ashli, it's not that." Sammy was suddenly wide awake, more alert than he had felt in what seemed like a long time. He could hear the pain in Ashli's voice, and wasn't sure how to respond to her. "You're my best friend," he started, trying to keep calm. He knew Ashli was just in a rough place right now, but this also wasn't the first time Ashli had commented about wanting to find a boyfriend that was friendly and considerate like Sammy was. "Besides, I want to get a boyfriend."

"But you're bi." Ashli sobbed, raising her hands to cover her face as she began crying harder.

Sammy sighed heavily. "Ashli, that has nothing to do with it. Just because I'm bi doesn't mean I actually want a girlfriend." Untangling himself from the covers, he climbed to the edge of the bed. "I think you should go back to your room, Ashli. Sleep this off, and we can talk about this in the morning."

Sammy reached out to rest a hand on Ashli's shoulder, but she pulled away from him as she got to her feet. Stomping across the room, Ashli threw open the door, and slammed it behind her as she left without another word. With a groan, Sammy fell back onto his bed, and rubbed his hands over his face. He thought about following Ashli to make sure she was all right, but the rest of him felt it was just better to leave her alone.

He felt a bit violated anyway, and he didn't want to put himself in another place where Ashli might get the wrong impression. Sammy really did consider Ashli his best friend, and while he knew she wanted to find a nice boyfriend, Sammy had never thought that Ashli would be so bold as to actually ask him. He had never thought of Ashli in that way before, and he wasn't sure he would ever be able to see her in any other light than just a friend. She meant too much to him to want to take a chance that their friendship could be ruined by dating. Sammy knew that it was possible that adding another layer to their relationship could make them stronger, but Sammy also knew himself. And as much as he loved Ashli as a friend, he knew he ultimately wanted to find a male partner, and he would probably grow to eventually hate that he hadn't pursued that want in the end.

That wasn't fair to Ashli either. Sammy sighed, rolling over on the bed and fumbling around until he was back under the covers. He couldn't believe he was even entertaining the idea of dating Ashli. It had never crossed his mind before, not even when Ashli had made what Sammy now knew to be side comments about that very thing. With a groan, Sammy pulled the blankets up over his head. He needed to get some sleep. He could deal with this in the morning.

***

Sammy drowsily made his way into the kitchen to find that Ashli had already gone. Her school books had been cleaned up, and her backpack and keys were missing. With a sigh, Sammy ran a hand through his hair, and went about getting ready to start his day.

He hadn't been able to get much sleep after the incident with Ashli last night, and Sammy yawned as he opened the fridge to get a couple eggs, setting them in a pan with water to boil while he took a quick shower and gathered his things for work.

It was going to be a long day, Sammy knew. Ashli was obviously avoiding him right now, and Sammy wasn't sure how to feel about it. A part of him was very worried about her, and he hoped that his rejection of her advances last night didn't drive her back into the arms of her idiot ex-boyfriend, but another part of him, a part he hated himself for, was glad she was gone. Sammy needed some time to think, and it would be easier to do so while he was alone.

Closing the bathroom door behind him, Sammy started the water and undressed, taking a moment to look at himself in the mirror. His reflection stared back calmly, somehow looking more alert than Sammy felt. He blinked slowly, could feel the heaviness of his eyelids as he did, watching as his reflection blinked back, but somehow Sammy could have sworn it was delayed. Closing his eyes, the silliness of the idea making Sammy huff a humorless laugh, he turned and stepped into the shower.

The water was warm against his shoulders, running down his back, and relaxing muscles he didn't even realize were tense. Turning his back to the shower spray, Sammy tipped his head forward and just let the water run over him, enjoying the relaxation that swept over him. He could feel the water soaking into his hair and he closed his eyes, wanting to rest for just a moment before he started washing the night, and hopefully the sleep, from his skin. His alarm going off, letting him know his eggs were done, woke Sammy with a start, and he swore under his breath as he shut off the water and climbed out of the shower.

Wrapping a towel around his waist, Sammy went into the kitchen, shut off the burner, then went to quickly get dressed so he could eat and head for work. The apartment building was alive with the morning buzz of everyone going about their day, and Sammy was grateful when his neighbors saw him, and held the elevator for him so they could all ride down together. They joked about the broken light, and Sammy bringing them home another abandoned pizza when he got the chance.

Promising to do so and saying goodbye, Sammy hopped on his bike, and started his ride toward his work. It was still early and the bike lanes on the roads weren't that crowded. Here and there would he would pass another person on a bike and he had to yell at some jerk who decided that going for a jog with his dog in the bicycle lane was perfectly acceptable.

Pulling up to the back door of the pizza shop, Sammy made sure his bike was locked into the rack and went inside to change into his work clothes. His boss caught sight of him as he walked by and stepped out of the office. "You okay?"

"Tired," Sammy muttered. He shifted the strap of his backpack on his shoulder.

"Are you getting sick? Is this why you asked for time off?" His boss frowned before taking a deep breath. "You will be happy to know that I have a few interviews today for a second rider. One looks really promising. She used to deliver papers!"

Sammy scrunched his nose. "That's not the same as delivering pizza."

"True, but it does mean that she has the stamina, knows the city, and should be pretty stable on a bike, and that does count! I know when hiring a new rider that I will probably be delivering a few free pizzas until they get used to the system. Sound familiar?" Sammy's boss grinned at him, reminding Sammy of how when he had first started delivering, he'd messed up a couple times, and customers had received free pizzas per the business's own pledge of prompt delivery.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "Can I go change now? Don't we open soon?"

"We do," his boss nodded. "Yeah, I've given you enough crap for one morning. Let me know when you clock in."

"Can do." With a nod, Sammy turned and made his way to the bathroom to change his clothes. He knew he was going to get sweaty and dirty anyway as he rode around for his shift, but Sammy still liked to start the day with a clean and dry shirt, so he wouldn't bother changing into his uniform until he arrived at work. His boss always teased him about it, saying it was a quirky little thing Sammy did, but Sammy had given up trying to explain his reasonings a long time ago. His boss was a good guy, he really was, giving Sammy crap, and honestly treating him like a member of his family. He hadn't needed to give Sammy that job at fifteen, but he had, and Sammy was now one of his oldest employees that wasn't actually blood related.

Opening the bathroom door, Sammy set his backpack on the sink, fishing out his work shirt from the bottom of his bag. Pulling off his shirt, Sammy set it aside and took a deep breath as he looked at himself in the mirror. He still look drained, more so than he had last night, and the bags under his eyes were only getting darker. Sammy sighed heavily as he pulled the shirt on over his head. He was sure he wasn't getting sick, he didn't feel sick, but he knew this wasn't right either.

Deciding that despite what had happened, Sammy should ask Ashli about his symptoms, Sammy dug around for his cell phone to text her. Ashli wasn't a nurse yet, but she was almost done with school, and he knew he could rely on the information she provided to him. Pulling his phone out, he noticed a missed call, and he felt his heart skip a beat as dread settled into his stomach. He recognized the number, even though he no longer had the contact saved in his phone. It was his father. Nausea twisted in his gut. He had no idea why his father would call him, and Sammy wasn't sure he wanted to know why either. He hesitated for a moment before he wiped the call from the screen of his phone, and opened up his text messages.

Ashli number was the top in his list of conversations, and Sammy hovered over her name. He bit his lip, finally deciding that he wouldn't bother her until he saw her that night at home. Holding his phone in his hand, Sammy picked up his backpack, and left the bathroom.

"I'm on the clock," Sammy yelled, receiving an answer from his boss somewhere out front near the phones. He slipped his phone in his work bag, made sure he had his card reader for credit cards, as well as his starting assortment of change. With everything in order, he had nothing to really do until the first order came in. Body already feeling exhausted and sluggish, Sammy took advantage of the small and quiet break room, falling heavily into the one plush chair and hoped that the day wasn't that busy, or if it was, that it went by quickly and smoothly.