"Sam..." Judy whispered, not knowing what else to do.

Sam wiped her tears as she said with the same smile:

"It's alright... Hehe, I'm good..." Then she added:

"After dating for a couple of weeks I finally told my family... It... It didn't go well... Especially for my dad... He didn't accept it at all... Tha... That was the last time I saw or talked to him... Sob... I... I miss him, so much..."

"... My mom on the other side, even though she didn't accept it, still called and asked about how I was doing... I was living with Brittney then..."

"I... I was still new to relationships and the like so... So I wasn't that good of a lover... Brittney kept on telling me that I was being way too close to some of my friends... That what I was doing could be considered as being unfaithful for her, and that I was hurting her by doing that..."

"I wasn't... I really wasn't, I loved Brittney I really did... But it was my first relationship so I just didn't know how to behave with friends while in one... I tried to explain it to Brittney many times... She just didn't believe me and... And she even told me that the lovers she had before weren't anything like that... That it was just me, and that she was starting to worry about me cheating on her, but... But I would never do that... I loved her, I would never hurt someone I love... Never... Sob..."

Judy hid her hands under the covers while she clenched them.

Before, even though Dan told her about what Sam was going through, she didn't know for sure if it was true, Dan was someone she never knew, and Sam's reaction to seeing him wasn't a normal one either.

But then, hearing Sam's words and seeing how she was so desperately trying to explain to her that she was a good girlfriend without even thinking that it might not have been her fault, any and all suspicion got destroyed.

She wanted to expose Brittney right then and there, to shout as loud as she could that it wasn't her fault, that Brittney was the one with a problem.

Unfortunately, she couldn't, just talking and shouting blindly wouldn't help at all, she had to take it slowly, by making her feel that she did nothing wrong, that she was doing her best...

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Of course you would never do that... You did nothing wrong at all..."

Sam smiled when she heard Judy's words, she then continued:

"Then I was worried about it, so I started making less and less contact with most of my friends because of that... What's worst is that even my mom and my best friend seemed as if they wanted to separate me from Brittney... I felt betrayed and pained... In the end, I even stopped answering calls from my mom..."

"... Judy, do you think that love is more important or family..." Sam suddenly asked after a while of silence.

"... It depends on you, your feelings and your happiness, no one should feel pain, no matter what's the reason... Everyone deserves to be happy... No matter if it is family or love, without happiness and with only suffering and pain non of them is worth it..." If it was any other person who asked her that, Judy wouldn't have answered like this and she would have probably just said she wasn't sure, but in Sam's situation, she wanted her to understand that she should put her happiness first and that without it, she would be just hurting herself.

"Happiness huh... Hehe... I'm sorry Judy, you're the one who's ill and yet look at me, making a fool out of myself..." Sam was spacing out at first before saying to Judy with an embarrassed expression.

"No, it's alright... That's what friends are for, right?" Judy said with a smile.

"... Yep, that's what they are for... Hey Judy, can... Can I hug you...?"

"... Yes, of course, you can..." Even though Judy was surprised by the sudden request, she still accepted it gladly.

Sam stood up for her chair, and she took a few small steps towards Judy who was still sitting on her bed, once she reached her, she extended her hands and put them around her, bringing her close and hugging her tightly.

Last time, because of the difference in their heights and build, it was Sam who was being hugged by Judy, but this time, because Judy was sitting on the bed and Sam, was still standing, Judy was the one being hugged.

Judy felt Sam holding her tightly and she couldn't calm her heart down, it felt so warm and she felt safe.

While she was lost in the moment and her feeling, she felt Sam's body shake as she sniffed.

"Sam...?" She asked, and the only answer she got was Sam's arms holding her tighter, so she just calmed down and held her tightly too.

After a while she heard a faint voice:

"Judy... I'm really glad and happy that I met you... It... It had been so long since I had someone who I can talk to like this... Someone who I can call a friend... You have no idea how glad I'm and how I'm feeling..."

Her voice was faint gentle and had a hint of peacefulness, it made Judy lose herself in the moment and in it.

Sam released her a while later and took a few steps back, but as she was doing that she felt her hand being caught, looking at it she saw that Judy was holding it and that she was looking at her straight in the eyes.

"Sam... I want you to know that I'm always here for you, no matter what it is, no matter what you need, I'll always be ready to help you... Please understand that..." She said.

Sam stared blankly for a bit before smiling and saying:

"Yeah, I understand..."