As Samantha stopped moving around and smiled up towards her, Eve was a little happy and curious at the same time.  The girl was so intent on resisting her grasp and going after Rachel, but after she’d told her about the questions she had for her, it was like her head just flipped a switch that told her to stop everything she was doing.  She wondered why the girl would do this, but she was glad that she had stopped.  Running around in her condition would not do her any good, even if it was to make sure her friend was safe.

She took a deep breath and slowly took her hand off Samantha’s chest.  She set it down on the edge of the bathtub and reached for the cup of water she’d set down next to her.  Bringing it into the tub, she brought the tip to Samantha’s mouth.  She nodded to her and began to ask her to drink it.

“Open your mouth and drink this.  Your breathing is a little raspy and getting some more water in your system can help clear that up.”

Samantha was thirsty at the time, and obliged with her request.  Parting her lips, she allowed Eve to pour some water into her mouth.  She felt the cold liquid coming past her lips and drench her teeth and tongue with it’s soft and smooth texture.  She swished it around in her mouth for a moment before slightly leaning her head up and swallowing.  The water traveled down her throat and her entire body felt a chill was the sensation it gave her.  She licked her lips, out of reaction, and thanked Eve.

After emptying the cup into Samantha’s mouth, Eve set it to the side and let her rest for a few minutes.  Samantha didn’t say a word, but she didn’t need to.  Her eyes were jumping back and forth between looking at the walls of the tub and looking at Eve.  She was being impatient, obviously wanting to hear about the questions Eve had for her.

Feeling that she’d had some time to rest and regain some of her strength, Eve reached down to Samantha, putting an arm under her upper back.  Pulling the girl up, she slowly pulled her from the tub.  Throwing her other arm under the legs, Eve carried Samantha out of the bathroom and set her down on the bed she’d put Rachel on earlier.  Bringing her back to the head of the bed, she put Samantha in a sitting position.

Samantha knew what was going on when Eve picked her up, but she didn’t want to stop it.  The fact that someone was caring for her like this, her new friend’s mother no less, made her feel nice.  She didn’t want to stop it from ending and was too curious as to what these questions were.  ‘What could they be?’ she thought to herself.  ‘Maybe she wants to know how I like Rachel, or maybe she wants to know what I like?  I can’t wait to hear them.’ 

As Eve let go of Samantha, she sat on the bed near her, her sitting place right next to the girl’s knees.  Looking into her eyes, she smiled towards her.  As she watched, she noticed that the girl’s breathing had change drastically.  She was longer wheezing with each breath.  She seemed to be breathing normally, her idea of using water having gotten the job done quite quickly.  The girl just looked at her, and she figured it was as good a time as any to start asking her questions.

“Alright, Samantha…I have a few questions to ask you.  I know you may not be feeling well at the moment, but as someone in the medical field, I know that I can’t figure out everything that happened to you just by examining you.  I’m sure you know this, but you’ve got 4 cut wounds on your stomach.”  She pointed towards the bandages as she finished her statement.

Samantha looked down and noticed the bandages on her stomach.  Her hand ran across them, feeling the rough texture of the bandages themselves and felt a little jolt of pain when the pressure went through and hit the cuts.  She stared down for a moment and then her eyes widened.  She realized that there was nothing covering up her belly.

“My…My blouse!  What happened to-“  Her statement was quickly interrupted by Eve planting her hand on Samantha’s leg.  She squeezed it as she tried to calm Samantha down once again.  “Don’t worry, Samantha.  Your blouse is fine.  A little ripped, but it’s fine.  I had to take it off so I could treat your wounds.  It also had blood stains all over it.  It’s in the bathroom.  We can get it washed later.”

Samantha stopped and nodded towards Eve.  She was surprised to see that her blouse was gone, but even more surprised at how much control Eve was putting towards her in this situation.  She knew exactly what to do to calm her down.  As she pondered what Eve was doing, Eve continued talking.

“Now, Samantha, how did you get those cut wounds?”

Samantha’s mind froze in place.  She wasn’t sure how she could tell this woman how the cut wounds had come into play.  Her memory on her freakout was a little fuzzy but, deep down, she knew exactly what happened.  The image of Rachel’s father had forced her to do it to herself.  He was punishing her for what she did to him so many years ago.  As she collected her thoughts, she tried to think of a lie, but Eve started speaking again before she had the chance.

“Think, Samantha.  I know you can remember what happened.  You were screaming about someone.  Rachel told me about the blood she found on your fingertips.  I want you to be completely honest with me.  Did you make those cuts yourself?  Did you get angry and inflict pain onto your own body?”

Samantha started to sweat as she listened to Eve’s words.  It was as if the woman knew exactly what was going on.  Samantha knew that she’d inflicted those on herself, and Eve knew it too.  She wanted to keep the truth from Eve as long as possible, though.  Were Rachel to find out about this, she might not like her anymore and move away.

“I…uh….” Whimpered Samantha, at a loss for words.  As if she was trying to make Samantha’s situation even worse, Eve nodded her head, got a frown-like smirk on her face, and replied with “Yeah, I thought so.”

Samantha, out of desperation, immediately spoke up.  She wanted to maintain her friendship with Rachel, no matter what.  “P…Please!  Don’t tell Rachel!  I…I want to get to know her and spend time with her.  I want her to love me as a good friend, just like I love her!”

Eve was shocked at what she’d just heard.  Not only was the girl admitting that she’d intentionally stabbed herself with her own fingers, but now she wanted her to keep this kind of information from her own daughter.  It would be downright insane to not tell Rachel about it, no matter who you were.  The fact that Eve was Rachel’s mother made her feel even stronger about the subject.  This girl had to be a nutter butter to even suggest this.

“Are you…serious?  You expect me to come over here, hear you admit that you got upset about something and intentionally stab your own body, and not say anything about it?  Do you honestly believe that I’m going to even let you near my daughter again after this?”

Something flipped in Samantha’s head at that moment.  A tiny flame was burning inside of her.  The fears and worries of never seeing Rachel again destroyed all of the logic in Samantha’s brain at that moment.  She sat there, silent, and threw an icy stare towards Eve.  Pushing her to the side, she got herself out of bed, and stood in front of Eve.  At this point, Eve’s head (while sitting on the bed) was up to Samantha’s shoulders.  Looking down at the woman, her stare continued as the flame slowly grew stronger.

“You…won’t take her from me” she said, in a quick, deep voice.  A chill went through Eve’s body as she heard it.  This girl’s mood had completely changed.  She went from a weak, injured girl to an angry, upset girl. 

Samantha looked down at Eve, realizing what the woman represented.  ‘This woman is a threat to our love’ she thought, still looking down, trying to intimidate Eve…