Samantha closed her eyes slightly, she hugged Edward more tightly as if he'd disappeared into thin air, a tear dropped from her eyes but she was quick to wipe it away.
" Sam, where have you been, girl? We have been asking for your whereabouts for the past one week. l thought you got married or something."
Diana rolled her eyes playfully; she was excited to see her friend again. The past days were boring without her around. Samantha chuckled lightly when she pulled from their embrace.
" You're unbelievable Diana, how could you think evil of me? you want me to get married that badly?" Samantha joked, pinching Diana's shoulder gently.
" Ouch! That hurts. I was just speaking out my thoughts aloud." Diana rubbed the itching spot soothingly.
" Your thoughts are weird Diana, she's too young to get married for heaven's sake." Edward's lips curved into a naughty smile, he peeked at Samantha from the corners of his eyes.
" Keep your voice low Edward, I'm not seventeen years old anymore," Samantha uttered through her gritted teeth jokingly, Edwards' face changed subtly into seriousness.
" Why didn't you tell me you were going to visit your mother's friend Sam? don't you trust me anymore? " Edward questioned her a series of questions, there was a trace of anger and bitterness in his voice.
Samantha's heart pounded inside her chest wildly, she took deep breaths to calm her nerves down so that she could explain everything to her friends.
" It's not what you think, Edward. I trust both of you so much." She paused, shifting her eyes from Edward to Diana who was listening to her keenly.
" It's complicated Edward, everything happened so fast. I didn't have the time to call and inform you what was going on, I didn't want you and Diana to get involved."
Samantha ran her slender fingers through her thick black hair, she didn't know how to explain the whole situation to her friends. She saw the confusion on their faces.
"What are you talking about Sam? What's complicated? And why don't you want us to get involved in whatever you're doing?"
Diana asked her endless questions, she wanted to know what the hell was happening. They promised that they would forever support each other.
" Uhm....now I see, so I was right all along? You don't trust us anymore, right?" Edward nodded his head thoughtfully, soothingly massing his chin.
Samantha's lips trembled, she was scared and nervous. She saw the crowd glaring at them with a questioning face.
" Edward, Diana, can we talk outside please? I'll explain to you everything."
She glared at them with pleading eyes, her eyes sparkled with tears but she blinked countless times to hold back tears. She needs to be strong.
" You can do this Sam." She encouraged herself over and over again, taking a few deep breaths to calm her tensed muscles.
They walked away from the crowd, the graduates and their families were scattered all over the university compound, and the only place that was not occupied was the basement.
Sam exhaled deeply when she arrived at the basement, she leaned on the concrete wall because her knees got weaker with each passing second. Edward and Diana glared at her eagerly, waiting for her explanation.
" That rainy evening was the beginning of my nightmares, I found my mother and Skylar terrified. They were hugging each other tightly." Edward creased his eyebrows upon hearing her words, his heart pounded wildly inside his chest.
" Wh- What happened? I thought everything was fine when I drove away." Edward questioned her with a concerned voice, he wanted to know what happened.
" My father was taken away by the powerful mafia leader."Diana's phone rang, she glared at the screen and groaned.
" It's my mother calling, I'll be back okay. " Diana walked away hurriedly, she can't stand her mother's attitude if she arrives late, she's so grumpy.
Edward's eyes were still widened, he couldn't believe what Samantha uttered. He had heard many scary stories about the Mafia.
" He was taken away because he failed to pay their debt, I decided to take the risk, to save my father from the mafia." Samantha's lips curved into a bitter smile, she recalled running and panting heavily.
" I couldn't let my father die, I'm not ready to lose any of my family members. I'm ready to do anything and everything to save them from any trouble. I don't care if I have to sacrifice my life, as long as they're alive, the sacrifice is worth it."
She recalled how terrified she felt when Skylar was grabbed away from her mother's embrace, Samantha thought she would lose him forever.
" So, does this mean you went to face the mafia leader? You could have called me Sam. I'm only one call away. Are you insane or something of the sort?"
Edward snapped at her angrily, what the hell was she thinking? Was she crazy? Edward shivered slightly when he recalled watching a mafia series, the mafia leader was thirsty for blood.
" How many times do l have to tell you I wasn't in my right mind? My father could have died. " She answered him coldly.
" It's over Edward, there's no way I can reverse the whole situation because I already joined the mafia group. I'll work for him to pay my father's debt, and I won't allow them to take Skylar's life."
Samantha tried to blink countless times to hold back tears but it was impossible, the burning sensation of tears was intense. Her eyes shuttered effortlessly, and hot tears flowed from her eyes down her cheeks continuously.
Edward ran his fingers through his jet-black hair.
" You always think about others Sam, what about you? Who will take care of you? Do you have a death wish?" Edwards's stomach swirled, and his heart twisted painfully inside his chest as if someone was squeezing it into a tiny ball.He was finding it hard to breathe.Samantha's lips curved into half a smile.
" I already signed a death contract the day I joined the mafia, l don't need anyone to protect me." She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as if she was not scared of death.
" I'll pay him back the money Sam, so that you can leave the group." Edward tried to reason out.
" You have to stay out of this Edward. I don't want you to get involved." Samantha glanced at him coldly, she isn't ready to lose any of her friends. She loves them so much and there's no way she can take it if anything happens to them.
" Are you going to forget about your dreams? The goals we made and everything we planned? Are you ready to break your promises and oaths?"
Edwards's voice was almost in a whisper. He couldn't believe his friend was giving up without giving it a try. They've many unfinished dreams and goals.Samantha crossed her hand on the chest.
"I don't care about those dreams anymore. All I care about is my family. You need to stay out of this Edward.
Samantha's lips curved into a bitter smile. She was pretending to be strong but the truth was, she was hurting deep down. Her heart was crushed into a million pieces, and it'll take years to mend her broken heart.
Alexander's car pulled into the basement. He wanted to make sure the naive girl would be safe.Alexander heaved a sigh in frustration.
" Damn it." He isn't used to watching over someone, he never knew was this hard.
Alexander leaned his head on the car's seat, closing his eyes slightly but his senses were more alert.
Edward was still dumbstruck and he couldn't believe what Samantha uttered. His eyes welled up but he blinked countless times to push the tears back.
" You're going to break our friendship? Sam. But it's okay if that's what you want. Well, I'm sorry to tell you this but I'm not going to leave you alone." Samantha glared at him with knotted eyebrows.
" Can you just listen to me this once? I said l don't want anything to do with you, is that hard for you to listen? Are you deaf?"
Samantha snapped at him. She knew Edward could be stubborn sometimes. She will do anything to push him away, even if it costs their friendship. It's better that way.
Edwards's lips curved into a bittersweet smile. He couldn't believe she was pushing him away. He's ready to help her friend out. Edward knows it's tough for Samantha to go through all this alone.
" It's hard for me to listen to you Sam, it's really hard." Edward raked his hair roughly,
" Do you know why it's hard for me to listen to you?"