FTB

Audrey jumped into Griffin's arms when she saw him. She was excited. It had been three months since she saw him. He made jokes about her being cheesy and she smacked his shoulder. They grabbed her luggage and walked to his car. Max was sitting in the driver's seat with Mojo in the back. She hugged him. She sat in the back and Mojo hopped on her. She hugged the dog and let her lick her face.

"Alright, so what happened with you and Sam?" Griffin spun around to talk to her

"This conversation is gonna get weird." She exhaled.

"So it involves sex." Max stated.

"Basically, he was distant because he found out about your mom so every time I tried to talk to him, he just wanted to fuck." She shrugged. "And then I got fed up and told him to stop and tell me and he broke down and broke up with me."

"And then?" Max waved his hand to tell her to go on.

She rolled her eyes. "Then he moved in with Dal Colle and kept hanging out with ugly, little, sophomore girls."

"But you're good now?" Griffin cocked a brow.

"I think so." She nodded. "I can get over this. I get he had shit going on. I just don't know where his mind is."

"He loves you." Max stated.

"Yeah, he'll make it right." Griffin reassured her. "And if he doesn't, one of us can marry you to keep you in the family."

She laughed, rubbing Mojo's ears. She was nervous. What if Sam didn't want her there? Was he gonna make her sleep on the couch? She knew there was only four rooms in their house. Max clearly noticed. He whistled and both Mojo and Audrey looked. He shook his head at her in the rearview mirror. She smiled. She loved this family.

They got to the house. Audrey took Mojo in. Griffin offered to grab her bag. Max tossed Audrey the key to get inside. It was only early there. They weren't even sure if their parents noticed they were gone. Audrey unlocked the door and walked inside. Theresa turned and her jaw dropped. Audrey ran over and hugged her. She had lost so much weight. Paul came out of the kitchen with a smile. He gave Audrey a hug as well.

"Samson!" Theresa hollered.

Sam came running downstairs. He slowed as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He spotted Audrey staring at him wide-eyed. He pushed off the last step and walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding his face into her chest. She saw in his eyes that he was about to break down. They just held each other. Sam pulled back, staring at her. Her eyes were glossy the same way his were. She wiped his eyes, holding his face. She gave him a smile. He was so in love.

He took her suitcase upstairs. She followed him up to his room. It was basically the same as his one before they moved back. He had pictures of them hung up. She smiled when she saw them. Sam flushed. He had told his mom how to place things in here. He let out a long breath, sitting on the edge of his bed. Audrey sat on his lap, facing him. Her legs wrapped around his waist. He held onto her waist.

"You're unbelievable." He told her, rubbing her back.

"I could tell you needed me here." She told him, brushing his hair out of his face.

"It's not even just me. My family needs you." He shook his head, looking down.

"Sam?" She spoke quietly. He looked up at her. "You can be vulnerable with me. I can be strong for you every now and then."

That's when he lost it. Sam broke down. Audrey just hugged him. He cried his heart out. He needed a good cry. A really good cry. Everything around him was falling apart. His best friend in the world was sick and he nearly lost the love of his life. Audrey cried while she held him. She cried for him. She couldn't even imagine going through what he was going through.

They eventually laid down. She continued holding him. She didn't want to let go. He started talking a bit. He was telling her about his mom's treatment and how they were lucky it was found so quickly. It had barely spread and was very easily treatable. That's what he was trying to stay hopeful on.

The week went by quickly. Audrey just stayed at the house while the family went for treatments together. Until her second last day there. Theresa requested that Audrey take her. And only Audrey. Of course Audrey did. She would do anything for that women. They went for lunch before going for her treatment. They laughed a lot while they were together. As they pulled up to the hospital, Theresa's demeanour changed.

"I need you to promise me something." She took a deep breath.

"Yeah, of course. Anything." Audrey smiled at her.

"If I die,"

Audrey felt her throat tighten. "Theresa,"

"Hear me out." Theresa stopped Audrey. "If treatment doesn't work, I need you to promise you'll take care of my boys. Not just my Sam, but my Max, and Paul, and especially Griffin. He puts up a tough front but he's not strong enough to hold the family." She was crying.

Audrey nodded, crying. "I would. I promise. All four of them, and Mojo." She wiped her face. "But the treatment is working and you're going to be able to take care of them yourself."

"You're such a sweet girl. Such a lovely girl. Sam is so lucky to have you." Theresa held Audrey's hand. "We're all lucky he found you. I'm gonna make it through this just to see you and Sam get married."

Audrey laughed. Then Theresa did. They started laughing together. Theresa leaned over and hugged her. They got out of the car and walked to where they needed to go in the hospital.

The next two days passed and it was time for Audrey to leave. She gave Theresa a hug, as well as Max and Griffin. She said goodbye to Mojo as well. Paul and Sam took her to the airport. Sam sat in the back with her. She laid with her head in his lap the entire drive. She was sad to leave, but Sam would be home soon.

When they got to the airport, he carried her bag for her. He and Paul both went through security with her. Her flight was called and it was like Sam leaving all over again. She gave Paul a hug and thanked him for letting her stay with them. He walked off to give Sam and Audrey privacy. Sam waited until his dad was out of sight to give Audrey a long kiss. She smiled when they broke apart. He thanked her for coming and she told him to shut up. He walked over to his dad and they watched her board.

"You know, that's the girl for you." Paul stated. "A girl that cares this much and is willing to go through all this to show she cares. That's your soulmate, Sam."

Sam just nodded. She waved back to them before she disappeared. His dad was right. She was his soulmate. And he nearly blew it with her. Sam gave his head a shake. He needed to fix them when he got home.

It had been three days since Audrey came home. She jumped at the knock on her door. Not her bedroom door, her balcony door. She slowly walked over and moved the curtain. It was Sam. She knew he'd be home today, but he only just got back. Why was he at her door? She opened it, still confused. He walked in and sat on her bed. She closed the door and walked over. She sat beside him.

"How's your mom?" Audrey broke the silence. Sam nodded.

"She's doing well. She's responding really well to her treatment but you can really see it's starting to affect her." He sighed. "She wants us to FaceTime her more."

She smiled. "Of course. I love her."

He looked at his hands that were wrapped around each other. "And she loves you." He took a deep breath. "And I do too."

He looked up at her. He opened his hands and her necklace was sitting there. She felt her heart speed up. He extended it to her, it dangling off his fingers. She took it in her hand, laying it across one of her palms. She just stared at it. She didn't know what to say. He watched her. He didn't know what he expected her to say.

"I thought my mom getting sick meant everything needed to change." He stated. "So I figured I had to do some bullshit to reinvent myself, because clearly the universe was trying to show me that what I thought was the perfect life wasn't that perfect. So that's why I ended things with you."

"I get i,"

"But I don't. I love the person I am with you because you make me the best person I can be. This shit that's been happening to me was only happening to show me just how good you are to me. How many other girlfriends would've flown out to be there for me and my family?" He told her. She shrugged, looking down. "None of them. And that's why I know this all happened to test me."

"Test you on what?" She looked up at him.

"On if I really am in love with you." He said. Her face turned pale. "And I am. After all you've put up with and done for me, I'm certain you're my soulmate."

A smile broke across her face. She grabbed his face and kissed him. The necklace was pressed against his face he grabbed her hands and slowly pulled away. He took the necklace out of her hands and clasped it around her neck. She smiled and leaned into him.

"Please come home, Sammy." She sighed as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Only if you'll be mine again." He said, his lips against her head.

"I never wasn't yours." She breathed, cuddling into him.

Notes