Chapter 87 - Sam's Fury

'An errand which takes more than two-and-a-half hours?!'

After he had defeated the Bradwield Terror, Brendan had managed to use his heightened speed to return his costume under the bed, put on a wool hat to hide the scar the Bradwield Terror had embossed on the side of his head, and now here he stood in front of Samantha who was infuriated by his long absence.

'Sam, I'm sorry,' he apologized, 'It took longer than I thought.'

'And what's with this..?' She tried to remove his wool hat from his head, 'It's hot outside!' Her voice was concern. She was still in her nightgown since she had not brought any clothes to wear.

'This house is a little chilly, brrr…' he rubbed his hands on his shoulders, trying to convince her of a nonexistent chilly breeze.

She sighed heavily, 'you know you can tell me anything now, right?'

'Of course, I mean…we're friends now, right?'

Her eyeballs were frozen and her look very much intimidating, as if to say, "Really?"

'Good friends..?' He was now practically guessing.

Her look remained unimpeded.

'Very good friends..?'

Her look continued.

'Best friends..?' he kept guessing.

Her look kept giving him the same answer which was basically a question too; "Really?"

He shrugged in defeat, 'Okay, okay..,' he stared at the carpet in embarrassment, 'I guess last night decided we're more than friends.'

'Yes!' She now looked relieved, now that he was cooperating. 'We shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other, Brendan.'

'What secrets? I am telling you the truth,' he protested.

'Swear.'

'What? I can't swear,' he shook his head quickly in a way of absolute disagreement.

'Why can't you?' She folded her arms and gave him an inquisitive look.

If they were a married couple, Brendan thought, she would have thrown divorce papers in his face already. 'Because this whole accusation is ridiculous,' he answered her.

'A relationship is based on honesty, Brendan.'

'And trust. Why don't you believe me?'

'What was the errand?'

'The what?' The question caught him off-guard.

'The errand; what was it about?'

'I, uh…' He cleared his throat. His mind was racing with possible excuses he could use. 'I went to see Simon's dad to talk about the garage windows,' this was the best excuse he could put on the table since the only thing left for the garage was the windows to be put in place.

Her folded arms engaged deeper, making her breasts press firmly against each other, 'What about the windows?' she asked him suspiciously.

'We were…uh…talking about the..,' he placed his right forefinger at the side of his head to make her think that he had forgotten and he was trying hard to remember, 'The design!' he blurted the answer as if he was on a TV quiz show.

'There's only one way to prove that.' She walked over to the telephone, her pace short but sharp and quick.

'You don't have to do that…when I left, he was very busy anyway.' He followed her at a distance behind.

She snatched the telephone without responding to his words. She began dialing numbers; her method was more like stabbing than dialing. There was a familiar frown on her face; a frown of irritation and mistrust for the world. This was the same frown she wore when she was still his enemy. She waited, the receiver in her ear for someone at the Drewmorphins to pick up the phone. 'Hello…'

His heart pounded with fright.

'Good morning, Mr. Drewmorphin. I just wanted to know if Brendan ever came to your house this morning. Uh-huh…Oh, Okay…'

Brendan could not even begin to think what Samantha would say when she got off the phone. All he heard were "uh-huhs", "I sees" and "Okays".

Finally, she put the receiver down. Her hands were placed at the edges of the table which held the telephone, her eyes locked tight on it, fixated with a perpetual gaze of infinite hypnotism. She stood up straight and looked at him. Her expression was still the same. 'Brendan..,' she began, mumbling.

'Sam, I'm sorry, okay?' he interrupted. 'It's just that…'

'I didn't stop to listen to your story and I jumped to the wrong conclusion.'

He was confused. 'What did Simon's dad say?' he asked her still puzzled.

'He told me about your visit and discussion on the number, size and type of windows you wanted for your garage.'

'I told you I wasn't lying!' He could hardly believe it. Mr. Drewmorphin had obviously realized his situation and decided to back him up. Samantha's tone must have sold her out. 'So..,' he raised his hands and brought them down to smack his thighs, '…now what?' he asked her, his expression now calm like an undisturbed stream flowing calmly with knowledge of immortal survival.

'I'm really sorry, Brendan,' she put her hands on her head, 'It's just that I'm not in my right mind these days.'

He moved closer to her and embraced her, patting her gently on the back. 'You just need to lie down. Too much stress could kill you, remember?'

'You're right…By the way..,' she removed herself from his friendly grasp, 'why don't you get another house? A big and fancy mansion; this one's a little old, don't you think?'

'I would, I could and I should but…this house reminds me of Howard,' he viewed the house reminiscently.

'Brendan, you need to let him go and move on.'

'I did let him go and I have moved on but this house isn't just a house; it's one of the oldest houses in this neighborhood, all I have left from Howard and besides, it's not like I have a family so this house is just the right size for me.'

'But if we do get married and have children, we're getting a bigger, better house,' she poked him in his chest with her forefinger as she spoke.

'Bigger isn't always best you know.'

She gave him a warm smile as she placed her arms around his neck, 'No it's not. But it is comfortable.'

They both laughed.

'How many children do you want?' he asked her as her arms clung around his neck, her eyes blinking dreamily at him.

'One would be enough, I guess.'

'I thought when you mentioned having kids you used the plural of "child",' he reminded her.

'Of course I did, silly! I just wanted to scare you. If you ask me, one kid is enough responsibility.' She released her hold on him. 'I have to go. My parents are obviously worried about me. I'm surprised my dad hasn't come here after what he asserted was going on between us.'

'Maybe he's on his way right now.'

She kissed him softly on the lips and went for the door.

'Why don't you stay a little longer then leave at least…after lunch?' he beseeched her.

'As tempting as it is, I've already taken advantage of too much of your hospitality.' She opened the door and stepped out.

Seconds later her car had already started and as he stood by the doorstep, he waved her goodbye as she drove off.