Book Two: My Life Would Suck Without You

Prologue: 

The Night it Happened

Sam smiled as he and his friends shared a drink after another long day at work. He was an advertising account manager for Evans and Bells Media, a local media corporation that specializes in high end retail and dealerships. He was in the heart of Nashville surrounded by some of his best college buddies who all worked at the same company.

“So Sam, are you going to give any of these women a shot tonight or are you going to go home alone again?” His friend Mack asked and he chuckled.

“We can’t all be man whores. Besides, I don’t always go home alone.” He replied before everyone else laughed.

“Dude, you do. You’re easily the most attractive guy over here and you turn down every single woman that comes your way. Why?” Jared asked.

Sam shrugged. “Guess I’m just not over my high school crush.” He joked, taking another shot. “I’m going to hit the head, next round on me?” 

“Hell yeah!” They shouted and Sam smiled walking towards the bathroom. He was only half kidding about not being over his high school crush, she was the only person that understood his humor and the only person that really made him feel comfortable enough to be himself. 

He wasn’t entirely sure why she’d crossed his mind just now but thinking about her made him smile. He wondered what she was up to and if she was happy. He had a feeling she was married with kids and probably living in California somewhere nice.

He sighed as he washed his hands before rejoining his friends for another round of shots. He hadn’t realized how many shots they’d consumed until they heard the last call for the bar to close. It was officially four in the morning and he had to be back at the office at nine.

“Bro, we’re so fucked!” Jared said slurring his words and Sam nodded but it made everything move too fast.

“I’m gonna walk home.” He replied, thankful he only lived a few short blocks away.

Mack came up with a cute blonde on his arms. “I got a ride, text so we know you made it.” He said before walking out with the giggling blonde, Jared not too far behind.

“I’ll see you in a few hours!” He said with a lazy wave then headed to his place. 

It was a crisp night, the cold air was welcomed, helping cool down his hot flesh from all the whiskey and tequila. He had to keep his mind focused on keeping straight but he could feel himself staggering every so often. The walk back to his place was quiet outside of the occasional car passing, the soft whistle of the wind and the loud sound of his feet reluctantly hitting the pavement. 

He was only a few steps away from his place when he felt something hard crash on top of his head before feeling his body hit the ground and darkness flooding his mind.

“Ow…” Sam muttered, rubbing the sore spot on his head. “OW!’ He said again, this time jerking up and blinking. His vision was blurry and his body felt strange, he felt strange. 

“Sam, sweetheart! It’s time to get up!” 

He turned his head in the direction that the sound came from before shaking his head. He was clearly dreaming, there’s no way he heard…

“Son, don’t forget you’ll need to get there early, since it’s your first day!”

“Dad?” He said confused before getting out of bed and swinging the door open, he ran down the stairs before stopping dead in his tracks. His place didn’t have stairs and his parents didn’t live in Nashville.

“Sam, sweetie I love you but you can not walk around the house like that!” Mary, his mother said, shielding her eyes, making him look down and see that he was naked.

“Holy shit, sorry ma!” He said, placing his hands over his privates.

“Hey watch your mouth young man.” Dwight said, shooting him a confused look. “Are you feeling okay?” 

Sam let out a breath. “I either drank too much or hit my head a little harder than I thought… When did you guys get here? When did I get here? I’m going to be late for work.” He said and both of his parents shared a look.

“Drank too much of what?” His mother asked.

“Whiskey and tequila.” He answered before seeing rage in both of his parents' eyes. “Why are you upset? it’s not the first time I had a drink guys.”

“Oh really! WELL WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME SAMUEL?” Dwight questioned.

“Oh I don’t know on my twenty-first birthday, so for several years now.” 

Mary shook her head before letting out a laugh. “Oh, is this some sort of prank so you don’t have to go to school?”

Sam looked at his mother like she’d lost her mind. “Why would I be going to school? I have work… are you okay mom?”

Dwight moved closer to their son and looked at him. “How old do you think you are?” 

“I’m thirty, you know this… we went fishing, remember?” Sam answered, wondering if his parents were losing their minds. 

“Kiddo, you’re only sixteen and I am very upset you got drunk last night.” Dwight said.

Sam looked at his father, seeing that he wasn’t lying before catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His eyes grew wide as he looked at his younger self.

“No… no, I was at a bar last night with my work buddies. We were celebrating and drinking and I was walking home when…” Sam said before rubbing his head and wincing. 

“You were here last night with us having dinner and went to bed around nine…” Dwight corrected. “So whenever you snuck out and decided to drink is what you must be talking about.”

Sam shook his head, feeling the room starting to spin and his breathing growing heavy. “No… no. I… and ….”

Blackness.

 

“I’m not sure, he was talking about him being thirty and drinking.”

“I think it could be alcohol poisoning.” Mary said worriedly.

“You’ll stay here while we run some tests on him but we will figure out what happened to your son.” 

Mary and Dwight nodded as the doctors wheeled their son off wondering what the hell happened.

Last Night

“Sam, I know you’re not happy with the changes but we both felt like it was time for you to be around new people.” Mary explained.

Sam sat sulking in his seat. “But I like it at my old school and all my friends.”

“We understand that and you’ll still get to see them on the weekends and such but at your new school there’s more opportunity for you to grow and there’s even a football team.” Dwight said, passing the rolls to his wife.

Sam sighed. “Okay, but Tanner’s having a party in a few days, can I still go?”

“Of course you can!” Mary said, happy that he was finally coming around to the school change. “We also have a surprise for you.” She added smirking at her husband.

“A surprise? What is it?” Sam asked, noticing the shared glances between his parents.

Dwight tossed him a set of keys. “I’m giving you my truck, figured since you can drive to school now you’d need a car.” 

Sam’s face beamed with excitement. “Wow! Thanks and it’s mine?”

“Yes but you have to keep your grades up and be home by curfew.” Mary said before Sam hugged her then his father.

“Thank you, I will, I promise!”

They ate dinner talking about their new place and Dwight’s new job before agreeing to watch a movie together. Around nine Sam went to his room bidding his parents goodnight since he had to get up early the next day to check in to his new school.

Present

“Mr. and Mrs. Evans?”

“Yes!” They said in unison to the doctor.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Jones.” She said introducing herself. ”Your son is awake and you can go back to see him.” She added and they started to walk towards his room but she stopped them. “Wait, I want to discuss his tests with you first.”

“Is he okay? Is something wrong?” Mary asked.

The doctor let out a sigh. “That’s the thing… There was no alcohol in his system. We found no traces of any type of drugs, we checked for everything… Are you certain he consumed alcohol?”

“He kept saying he had shots of whiskey and tequila… which was odd because why would he admit to it so casually.” Dwight replied and the doctor nodded.

“We did find a sizable bruise and bump to the top of his head, so we had an MRI done to see if there was any type of swelling but there was none.”

“Bruise? He did say he hit his head but we weren’t aware of when or how… maybe he fell?” Mary asked.

“No this was a blow to the head, he couldn’t have fallen and hit himself that way. Come with me and I’ll show you where he was hit.” The doctor said, guiding them to Sam’s room.

“Oh honey, how are you feeling?” Mary asked, going over to him.

“I’m fine but Mrs. Jones is acting strange, she’s acting like she doesn’t know me.” Sam replied, looking at the woman.

“Sweetheart she doesn’t know you… you don’t know her.”

“Yes I do! I went to school with her daughter! We went to prom together! You two took pictures of us and cried, dad help me out here!”

“Wait, which daughter?” Dr. Jones asked and Sam shot her a confused look.

“Mercedes.” He answered, rubbing his head. “My head hurts.”

Mrs. Jones moved closer. “You met my daughter?” She asked, needing to clarify.

“Yes, we were in the Glee club together.” Sam replied and she looked at his parents who shook their heads.

“Son, we just moved here… you’ve only had a tour of the school.” Dwight said, getting worried.

“What? No! That would mean…” 

Blackness.

“Who is he?’

“He says he knows you… I’m not entirely sure this is going to help him but it might take him out of whatever fog that he is in…” Mrs. Jones said to her daughter.

After Sam passed out, she asked if it was okay to have her daughter come so that he could see that they don’t know each other and hopefully jog his memory. When they agreed she called her youngest daughter to meet her here.

Mercedes looked at the boy laying on the bed and shook her head. “I don’t know him… at least I’ve never seen him at school.” She said looking at her mother then to his parents.

“He knew your name and that you were in the glee club.” Her mother said.

Mercedes shrugged. “He’s not in the glee club mommy, you would’ve met him last week when everyone came over…” 

“So you don’t know him, right?” Mary asked and Mercedes nodded.

“Has he come to the movies? I work there on the weekends” She asked and Dwight sighed.

“Are you sure there was no alcohol or drugs in his system?” He asked because Sam went to the movies the weekend before.

“I can test again but there was nothing in his system.”

“Maybe he did a detox.” Mercedes said softly and her mother gave her a look.

“A what?” Mrs. Jones asked.

“They sell stuff to erase alcohol and drugs from your system… I’ve never used it because I haven’t had either but maybe he took it and it’s causing a negative reaction?”

“Is that a thing?” Mary asked and Mrs. Jones nodded.

“It is but it’s very hard to detect. I’ll take another sample and search for that.”

“Thank you.” Mary said right as Sam started to stir. When he opened his eyes, he looked around before landing on a familiar face.

He smiled at her before frowning. “What is happening to me?” He asked before looking her over again. Mercedes shifted under his gaze before looking at her mother who shrugged.

“Son, do you know her?” Dwight asked and Sam let out an annoyed sigh.

“Yes! You know her too, she’s Mercedes! You met her because… I snuck her in and then-”

“EXCUSE ME?” Mrs. Jones said, looking at the both of them and Mercedes shook her head.

“No… no.. I- ahh.” Mercedes stammered looking at Sam confused. “I don’t know you… I don’t know what you’re playing at but I’ve never… and I don’t…”

“We didn’t have sex, I would’ve remembered that… we just made out and then my dad caught us and drove you home.” Sam said, wondering why she was acting that way.

“Mercedes Denise, you better start explaining now.”

Mercedes’ eyes grew wide. “Mommy, I’m telling the truth! I’ve never met him before!”

Sam tilted his head before pulling at her blouse. “You have a birthmark… it’s right here.” He said, poking just under her rib cage. “It looks like a flower.”

Mercedes shook her head, looking at him dumbfounded. “I… no one knows that…”

Dr. Jones grabbed her daughter’s arm and pulled her away from Sam. “I do, I was there when you were born and the only way this boy would know it is if you showed him.”

“Mommy… I swear-”

Sam sat up, shaking his head. “She didn’t show me on purpose… bathing suit… water park… what day is it?” Sam asked and everyone looked at him.

Mary grew teary-eyed. “It’s Sept 15.” She said and Sam shook his head.

“What year?”

“2007, see.” Dwight said holding up his phone’s calendar to show him the date and Sam just stared at it.

“Oh shit… I’m in high school again?” He asked before fainting again.