Chapter 104. What Chance?

Chapter 104. What Chance?
Cypress Creek Community Hospital

Samantha pretends not to notice how Madelyn keeps looking at her. They remain inside Caleb's private room while the boy continues sleeping peacefully under the supervision of the monitors. 

Every now and then a nurse comes in to check his vital signs before leaving just as quietly as she arrives. The room settles into a comfortable silence afterward, but Samantha can practically feel Madelyn's eyes following her every movement. Whether she looks out the window, scrolls through her phone, or simply sits back in the visitor's chair, the younger girl never stops watching her.

She knows exactly why, because Roxanne has accidentally revealed far more during that video call than she ever intends to, and now Madelyn is desperate for answers. Samantha has absolutely no intention of giving her any.

An entire hour passes that way. Madelyn tries to wait patiently, clearly hoping Samantha will eventually bring up the subject herself, but the older woman remains completely unfazed. 

She talks about Caleb's improving condition whenever a nurse comes by, asks if Madelyn wants something from the cafeteria, and even comments on the weather outside the hospital window. She is willing to discuss almost anything except the one topic Madelyn actually wants to hear.

Eventually, the silence defeats her curiosity. "I know you know things," Madelyn says at last.

Samantha lifts her eyes from her phone and smiles knowingly. “I was wonderin’ how long you’d last.”

Madelyn folds her arms across her chest with a small pout. "You've been ignoring me on purpose."

"I have."

"Why?"

" ‘Cause if I started talkin’, you wouldn’t stop askin’." Madelyn can't even deny it.

Samantha slips her phone into her pocket before leaning back comfortably in her chair. Her expression remains warm, but there's a firmness behind it that Madelyn has rarely seen before.

“Look, Maddie,” she says gently, “I ain’t gonna lie to you, and I sure as shootin’ ain’t gonna sell my best friend out. Them’s the only two options you’ve give me, and I ain’t choosin’ neither one.”

“There’s things you just gotta let time decide.” Samantha continues. “Not ever’thing belongs to us just 'cause we’re curious about it. Sometimes the truth comes when the folks involved are ready to tell it, not when ever’body else wants to hear it.”

She pauses briefly before continuing in a gentler voice. “Whatever Roxanne has done over the last four years, she does it because she believes it’s the right thing to do for the two of y’all. At first she does everything for you and your family. Lately…” Samantha smiles faintly. “…she finally starts doin’ a few things for herself.”

There's unmistakable pride in her voice. “She deserves that, Maddie. After everythin’ she’s been through, she deserves to be happy.”

Madelyn stares down at her hands. Samantha's words settle heavily inside her chest, making her realize that perhaps she has been thinking more about satisfying her own curiosity than about what Roxanne actually needs.

"Isn't that a little unfair?" she asks quietly.

Samantha shakes her head. "No."

Her answer comes without hesitation. "It's necessary."

She leans forward slightly, her smile never disappearing even though her tone grows noticeably firmer. "If Roxanne wants you to know somethin’, she’ll tell you herself. ‘Til then, don’t push. Don’t go diggin’. Don’t corner people hopin’ they’ll accidentally tell you somethin’.” She looks directly into Madelyn’s eyes. “If you keep doin’ that, you’re not only gonna upset Roxanne. You’re gonna lose me too.”

Madelyn immediately nods. "I understand." The room falls quiet again for a few moments before curiosity inevitably wins another battle.

"But..." Madelyn says hesitantly, "...is my sister a lesbian?"

Samantha laughs under her breath. “Straight to the point, huh?”

Madelyn shrugs sheepishly, and Samantha thinks for a moment before answering honestly. “Your sister’s always had a thing for women.”

Madelyn blinks several times as though mentally rearranging everything she believes she knows about Roxanne. "So..." she says slowly, "why don't you two date each other?"

That question catches Samantha completely off guard, she laughs outright this time. “Maddie, that ain’t how it works.”

"Why not?"

" 'Cause attraction ain’t enough." She smiles patiently.

“Not ever’one who likes women is automatically compatible with every other woman who likes women. Roxanne and I are different people. We care about each other a whole lot, but we’ve never looked at each other that way. We’re much better as friends than we’d ever be as girlfriends.Madelyn considers that explanation before asking another question.

"And you?" Samantha raises an eyebrow.

“What 'bout me?” She asks.

"Are you... a lesbian too?" Madelyn braced herself to ask.

Samantha shakes her head. "No."

She smiles casually. "I'm bisexual. I still like men."

Madelyn's eyes brighten almost immediately. "Oh."

She then scoots her chair a little closer. "Then I still have a chance."

Samantha turns her head slowly, narrowing her eyes with obvious suspicion. "A chance..."

She pauses, already regretting asking. "...of what, exactly?"

\-

Robert returns to Caleb's room just as the afternoon sun begins filtering through the hospital windows. He has changed into a clean pair of jeans and a fresh flannel shirt from the ranch, though the exhaustion on his face remains. 

The past twenty-four hours have aged him more than the last several years combined. After making sure Caleb is still sleeping comfortably and exchanging a few words with Madelyn and Samantha.

"You can head on home now, Maddie," Robert says, offering his daughter a weary smile. "Your mother ain't around, and Caleb's gonna be asleep for a while yet. I'll stay here with him tonight."

Madelyn hesitates, glancing from her father to her little brother lying quietly in the hospital bed. "You sure, Dad? I can stay."

Robert shakes his head. "Ain't no sense in both of us sittin' here watchin' him sleep. Besides, somebody's gotta check on the house, make sure the animals got what they need. You get yourself home and get some rest."

Before Madelyn can answer, Samantha pushes herself away from the wall where she has been standing with her arms crossed. "I can go with her," she says. "I don't reckon I'd feel too great leavin' a sixteen-year-old girl by herself in a ranch that size after everythin' that's happened."

Robert lets out a relieved breath. "You'd really do that, Sammy?"

"'Course I would." She shrugs as though it is the most natural thing in the world.

"My folks already know I'm over here. I'll give 'em a call on the drive and let 'em know I'm stayin' the night over at y'all's place."

Robert smiles, gratitude softening the exhaustion etched across his face. "Well... thank you kindly, Sammy. I surely appreciate it."

She waves him off. "Don't mention it, Mr. Stephen. Maddie's family."

She nudges Madelyn lightly with her elbow. "And somebody's gotta make sure this hardheaded girl actually eats somethin' besides crackers."

Madelyn rolls her eyes, though the corner of her mouth lifts into a smile. "I eat."

"You nibble," Samantha corrects. "That's different."

Robert chuckles quietly, a sound that feels strangely unfamiliar after everything that has happened since the morning. "Y'all be careful drivin' back."

"We will," Samantha replies. "I'll lock every door before the sun goes down, and if anybody comes pokin' around that ranch who ain't supposed to be there, they'll wish they'd picked somebody else's property."

"I believe you."

"You better." The easy banter eases some of the tension that has settled over the room all day. For a brief moment, it almost feels normal again.

Robert reaches over and squeezes Madelyn's shoulder gently. "Go on, sweetheart. I'll call if Caleb wakes up."

Madelyn nods before leaning over to brush a kiss against her little brother's forehead. "See you tomorrow, squirt," she whispers.

Just as Robert walks with them toward the hallway, his phone begins vibrating inside his pocket. He glances down at the screen, and the moment he sees Brandon's name appear across the display, his expression turns serious again.

"You girls go ahead," he says, already stepping away toward the quieter end of the corridor as he answers the call. "I'll catch up with y'all later."

By the time the two girls leave the hospital and step into the late afternoon sun, the parking lot has begun to empty. Samantha unlocks her dusty black pickup truck, tossing her overnight bag into the back seat before walking around to the driver's side. Madelyn follows quietly, still carrying everything that has happened over the past day in her mind.

Just before climbing into the passenger seat, she tilts her head and looks at Samantha with genuine curiosity, because she just realize something. "How come Dad only talks like that when you're around?"

Samantha pauses halfway through opening the driver's door. "What d'you mean?"

"The accent," Madelyn says. "He doesn't sound like that with me, Caleb, or... Mom. He talks normal." She furrows her brow, replaying the conversation in her head. "But the moment you started talking, he sounded like he'd lived on a ranch his whole life."

Samantha lets out a laugh before climbing behind the wheel. "Girl, he has lived on a ranch his whole life. Get in!" And Madelyn climb on to the truck.

"I know, but you know what I mean." She buckles her seatbelt while continuing to think aloud.

Samantha starts the engine, the old V8 rumbling to life beneath them. She shifts into reverse and carefully backs out of the parking space before answering. "That's 'cause your daddy's been softenin' it for years."

"He has?"

"Oh, absolutely."

She glances toward Madelyn with an amused smile. "Your mama ain't from Texas, so he naturally starts talkin' a little cleaner around her. Then y'all kids grow up hearin' both of 'em, so he keeps that habit at home."

Madelyn blinks. "So... he changes it without realizing?"

Samantha shrugs as she pulls onto the road leading away from the hospital. "Folks do it all the time. You talk different with family than you do with customers. Different with teachers than your friends. Your daddy ain't thinkin' about it."

Madelyn considers that for a moment. "Then why'd he suddenly sound so... Texan with you?"

Samantha laughs again. "'Cause I sound Texan."

She taps the steering wheel lightly. "Accents rub off on people, especially when they grow up together."

She smiles to herself. "My daddy does the same thing. Put him in a cattle auction and you'll think he swallowed the whole state. Put him in a bank meetin' in Dallas and suddenly he sounds like he's got a business degree."

Madelyn giggles. "I never notice."

"You will now." Samantha flashes her a grin.

"Once your ears catch it, you can't unhear it." Madelyn looks out the window as the familiar Texas roads begin replacing the town around them.