April 2nd, 2013

~~~~~~~~~
Joshy💩
1:45 am

J: Hey Sammy, you up?

S: Yeah, I just
finished a Chemistry assignment.

S: What's up?

J: I kinda need your advice on something.

S: I'll try my best to help:)

J: My dad's been on my grill about stuff. It's kinda getting overwhelming...

S: What stuff?

J: Uh...nothing important

J: it's just things he notices about me and wants me to get "a handle of"

J: I'm a little fed up :|

S: Man, I'm sorry you've been feeling like that. My parents are nagging me about college things so I totally get it.

J: Yeah, I guess.

S: Maybe talk to your
dad about how you're feeling?

J: I don't think my dad would care to listen...

S: It wouldn't hurt to try

J: My dad doesn't act as laid back as he seems

S: Yeah...I remember
you telling me before.

J: mhm

S: Are you feeling any
better from the other day?

J: Kinda.

S: I'm guessing no?

J: Pretty much.

S: Well, if you ever need
to talk or vent,
you know I'm always here :)

J: Thanks, Sam.

J: I mean really, THANK YOU for always being willing to help me. I may know a lot of people, but no one has been so genuine to me. I've never will have a friend like you <3

S: Haha, wow thanks, Josh.

S: It's honestly not a big deal.
I didn't do anything.

J: Believe me, you ar

J: I'd be a mess withuut yoo

S: You're either on something
or emotional XD

J: I might be one of those thinfs XD

J: But I meanf what I said

S: thanks, I'm here for you :)

S: now dude go to bed XD

J: no yoo

S: we're not doing this!

~~~~~~

Samantha smirked at the text messages Josh sent. He can be a real nincompoop sometimes, but at the end of the day...she really cared about him.

Josh never used to have such a grudge against his dad. When they were younger, Sam and the Washingtons would go camping in the summer. The girls would swim in the lake while Josh and his dad threw a baseball back and forth in a field. Sam thought they had a great relationship.

But recently, sometime around Josh's junior year, there was a shift between the two men...

*****

October 23rd, 2011

"I'm dying!!" Hannah yelled as Beth and Sam fell to the floor, attempting to do a handstand. The girls were at the Washington household in Hannah's bedroom. They were all pretty bored until Hannah made a bet with the girls to do a 30-second long handstand for 5 dollars. Let's just say it did not go as planned.

"I knew you two couldn't do it!"

"Hey, I had a good 15 seconds over there," Beth said with a laugh.

"Okay okay," Sam laughed, standing to her feet, "I'm going to stretch out my legs and get a drink."

Sam walked out of the bedroom and began to head downstairs. She decided to grab a coke from the fridge in the kitchen. Coming from the staircase, you had to walk past Mr. Washington's office and the living room to get to the kitchen.

As Sam reached the bottom of the steps, she heard aggravated voices in Mr. Washington's office. Quietly, Sam stood near the doorway, overhearing the conversation;

"Grade point average is important. You should have that drilled into your head by now."

"...I know, dad, I know. I'm just....tired all the time. I'm really struggling in AP Calculus—,"

"That's life. Get used to it because it won't get any easier."

There was a slam on the table.

"It doesn't help when you're always pressuring me to be everything you were! Why does it matter that I have the best honor roll? I need to be able to breathe somewhere in this schedule—,"

SMACK.

Sam held in her yelp. It caught her by surprise how loud it was and the groan that followed.

There was silence after a moment, the air filling with stillness.

"You know better than to raise your voice. You have a lot of growing up to do, Joshua. A Washington is held to high standards," a pause, "Now, get the hell out of my office."

No response was given other than footsteps coming towards her direction. Without hesitation, Sam hid behind a closet door. Slowly, she poked her head out to see Josh come out of the office.

Josh closed the office doors shut with a gloomy look on his face. After a moment, he let out an exasperated sigh. For as long as she'd known Josh, Sam had never seen him this way. He looked sick to his stomach and his face was pale.

The young man walked towards the living room at a slow pace. The girl noticed that Josh's hands were fiercely shaking. He held his right hand on his cheek, a red mark on his skin.

Mr. Washington must have slapped him. Sam had a sudden pain in her stomach.

Has he done this before?

Josh continued to pace the living room walkway, clearly fighting back tears. Then, he puts a hand towards his forehead, cursing under his breath.

Suddenly, the boy let out a quiet cry. He quickly walked towards the back door and disappeared from Sam's sight.

Samantha felt her heart tug to Josh. She didn't like to see any of her friends upset, but something made her feel so much worse. His own father hit him. Why would he think that was okay?

Witnessing this situation made Sam not as thirsty as she once was. She quietly walked towards the staircase, climbing up them to Hannah's room.

As Sam headed inside the door, Hannah and Beth had gotten out a nail polish set.

Hannah saw her come in first, "Hey, you were down there for a while," she froze, "Wait, where's your pop?"

Sam placed a fake smile on her face, "I drank it downstairs..."

"Are you okay, Sam?" Beth looked worried. They both did.

"Yeah, everything's great," she let out a breath, "So, who's gonna do my nails first?"

******

Sam never spoke to anyone about what she had discovered that day. She didn't want Josh to get embarrassed or cause any tension in the family. She didn't know if Mr. Washington was just acting this way towards Josh because he was the oldest or if that was his real character.

All in all, this was the first time Sam would have seen her friends' dad in a whole new way. Aggressive. Intolerable. Selfish. Insensitive.

Sam never believed that violence was ever the answer and this incident strengthened her claim. But from then on, she decided she would speak up and reach out to her friends more when she witnesses something. It's hard feeling like you are all alone in this cruel world. She wanted to be that light for her friends.

She was glad that Josh later confined in her through some of his darker times involving his family. Lately, it's become frequent that the two would talk about his issues for hours. Sam believes that Mr. Washington's behavior has gotten worse and Josh has become even more depressed.

In public, when Josh looked to be discouraged, he would do his best to hide it. When asked on the spot, his normal response would be; "I'm tired" or "I'm fine".

But to Sam, especially over text, he would rant to her about everything. He would sometimes talk to Chris about his issues, but it was difficult to have a guy understand some of his feelings.

During this time, Sam and Josh grew closer than they had ever been. They would text, talk on the phone, and sometimes get together without Hannah and Beth around.

They were only friends. Sam saw him as a big brother. But sometimes...she would forget.

She would forget that was how she decided to view him.

She would ask herself what it would be like to date Josh Washington.

Fantasize what it would be like.

What they would do.

Where they would go.

Only for a moment.

Then she'd realize it would never happen.

Sam was like a little sister to Josh.

Just friends.

And that's all they would ever be.