Up in a puff of Smoke [Closed to Ani]

Sam Lock stepped off of the boat and onto the damp, wooden docks beside him, the place he found himself in was not very glamorous, large nets full of fresh fish were piled on top of each other in the middle of one of the docks, surrounded by flies and large, bearded men questioning what to do with it all. Sam simply put his head down and continued walking towards civilization, hopping over crates and ducking under swinging masts with a new handle on the way he thinks about things, he was extremely excited to get home for one specific reason, he was also worried about what kind of verbal and/or physical actions Zoe would have towards him for being away without telling her, he seemed to make a habit of doing these things. Sam’s journey was nowhere near finished however, he did not have the money to afford a single flight from where he was to where he needed to go, so he had to distribute the things that he did have in a hope that some lonely truck driver would be happy to pick him up and take him where he needed to go.


Sam was lucky enough to find someone who was willing to take him some distance, his name was Travis, a delivery truck driver who was experienced in long distance travels. Sam ended up losing all of the money he had on him, which was only 150-200 dollars, he gave someone one shoe which inadvertently ruined the spare pair that he had, causing him to be down to only one pair of shoes, he gave away a spare shirt that certainly would not fit the man he was giving it too, he even had to call someone’s ex girlfriend and explain how they should be together, something that Sam was not necessarily good at, but he seemed to do an ok job. He looked at over 10 different family photos and had children explained to him many times, when Sam was rarely asked about his life, he tried to stay as quiet as possible, no one would want a crazy man in their car, especially after picking him up from the side of a road, all he would tell them is that there was a girl that he needed to see as soon as possible and that was it. Sam was hungry, thirsty, his clothes were very dirty and it had been a while since he had a decent nights sleep, but he continued to soldier on.

His final family was a group of four, if It wasn’t for the two sons in the back, the parents would have never stopped to get him, but after hearing about Sam’s travels and where he needed to go and why, they were more than happy to help, the mother was extremely on Sam’s side, sometimes telling the father to drive faster so he could get there before it was dark. He was on the final stretch now, and the precious cargo he had in his pocket was still somehow in one piece.

The apartment was empty; it had been empty for a long time, dark with the curtains drawn. The tenants had vacated it and rumors had been swirling around like mad. Something to do with the guy being kidnapped and the woman vanishing not soon after, most people assumed they had broken up. Others said the man had died and the woman had left. Other ideas were much more dangerous, that the woman was a witch and she had eaten her husband.

Heh, only if they knew. Zoe pulled her hood up and turned away, her dark hair brushing against her face. It had been cut short, not so much dyed but cut short. Her hair was now a dark shade of brown and black, causing her eyes to stand out vividly against her face. Her freckles had vanished as well, making her face seem white.

Amber was back at the house, an actual house instead of an apartment with a back yard and a dog door. Zoe’s house… she had won it in a drinking game. No surprise there. She honestly had no idea why she was back at the apartment. It honestly hurt to be here. Sam had gone and left her again, if he came back… she had no idea what she would do. It was worse than last time, mostly because he had promised to never do it again. No phone call… nothing.

Zoe sighed and tossed back her hood as a car passed her in the street. Her face curiously emotionless as she rounded the corner, glancing at her cell phone, The usual dinner date invite or just her boss needing her to come in. But nothing, there was nothing.

The family van parked where Sam told them to, below the windows to his old apartment, his eyes were trained on them in a hope that he could catch a glimpse of someone inside, letting him know that he would not be stuck outside in the cold. He thanked the family once more for the help before stepping out of the van and slamming the door behind him, his eyes still staring at the windows above him, the curtains seemed to be closed though, this was odd as it was not even that late, there was still some sunlight left in the day. Sam looked very homeless, he had some facial hair growing on him, something that he was questioning whether to keep, his shoes were beginning to tear and his shirt was covered in dirt, he placed his hand into his back pocket and reached past the small box he was carrying with him, that was something he could not lose, he yanked his keys out and cleaned them slightly before entering the apartment complex. He ran up the stairs to his apartment and stared at the door, he slowly placed the key into the lock and pushed it open, "Zoe, I-..." the apartment was dark, damp, dusty and mistreated, all of his things were gone, all of his belongings, including his cat.

Sam's hand started to shake, this was not good for his anger, a lot of different ideas were going through his mind, Zoe could have just straight up left and stolen all of his household objects, the apartment could have been broken into and burgled or simply looted. Sam gestured to the left of him as he was about to toss his keys onto the table as he usually did, but there was no table to support it this time. Sam closed his eyes and counted to ten as he breathed heavily, in and out, in and out. He opened his eyes again to see what had remained, floorboards creaked under his feet, rats danced about in the kitchen, he entered his bedroom to find nothing there, everything was gone. Sam needed to sit down, but there was nowhere to sit, so he had to sit down, cross legged on the fragile boards beneath him. He slipped the small box out of his pocket and placed it down in front of him, all Sam knew was that this time he had messed it up, big time, and that Zoe has probably moved on by now, he was not quite sure how long he was gone, it all seems like one long blur now. Sam's shaky hands moved towards the box, he slowly opened it to see the only shiny thing in his apartment now, the engagement ring that he picked up and was going to use on Zoe right now, but it appeared he missed his opportunity.

Sam closed the box back up and stared into space, he really was homeless now, it was a good thing he already looked the part. The one place he could call home, the one person he loved was gone with his greatest friend too, there didn't seem to be much left for him now. One last check for food came up with nothing, he only had the bag on his back now, he slipped the ring into the back to keep it safer and he walked towards the door, the place seemed so grey as he placed his keys onto the floor before leaving and shutting the door for good, his legacy was gone now, his memories were gone, it was now up to him to make new ones, although taking the picture of the first trash bin he scavenged in did not seem like something he wanted to remember. His grey shirt and jeans were not enough to keep him warm during the nights, darkness had come and Sam was shivering as he crossed the road and sat in a dark alleyway, staring at the place that he once called home. He could hear footsteps behind him, it could have been a single person or a group of people, Sam was just not willing to turn away from what he was looking at.

Zoe stopped briefly as her phone vibrated.
“Hey?” She asked, her voice sounded normal, no matter the amount of pain she was in. “Yeah, I’m coming home. Just had to go on a walk… clear my head. “

Zoe passed the alleyway when Sam was hidden, eyes fixed on the ground. “Look!” She suddenly exploded. “I had to check okay! I know its been months- I-“ She stopped and listened to the voice at the end of the line.

“So what? Amber is not my keeper! What if im hunting again? It makes me happy! Look, Salone, I don’t have time to argue with you. So what if my hunting makes me less human, I was never human to begin with! Look, I have to go before I do something stupid.” Zoe hung up and sighed, wiping away the tears that had fallen… if it had been so long. Why did it still hurt?
Hearing movement behind her she stopped, back stiffening.

“look dude, you going to mug the wrong gal…” Slowly she began to turn.

The street was fairly quiet, no one had been driving or walking by him, it was silent, only the sounds of distant horns filled the air, that was until the foot prints behind him was matched with a voice. Sam eyes shifted forward and his heart began beating quicker than usual, Sam swallowed uncomfortably with his dry mouth, he could use a drink, but he just didn't have the money to buy one. He slowly turned his head to see a glimpse of someone walk by the other end of the alleyway. Sam mustered up enough strength to push himself to his feet, he grabbed his bag without looking and slowly made his way towards the opening of the alley, all he could hear was one side of a conversation, but that was all he needed to figure out who it was that had just passed by him. He poked a head out as he leaned against the wall, mostly to just support himself, he could see the bag of a woman's head, she had short, dark brown hair, that wasn't what Sam's photo of her looked like, whoever it was knew Salone, so it could very well be just one of her friends, he could not hear the entire conversation.

The woman stopped still as she hung up the phone, she put it back into her pockets and as she did so, Sam's back scratched against the brick, causing an annoying scuffling sound. The woman shot upright quickly, clearly hearing his noise, she thought he was going to mug her, something that could have possibly happened to people at this time of the night, one thing that Sam chose to stop on a daily basis, and now he was being accused of doing it himself, oh how the mighty had fallen. It was all just a big misunderstanding, he didn't even know her, he just stepped out of the alleyway so she could see that he had no cruel intentions, "I'm sorry, I was just-" Sam's vision began to become blurry, the fact that he had not eaten or drunk anything substantial for a good few days could have something to do with that, he leaned his back up against the wall and looked to the floor to keep himself upright, "I just thought you was someone I knew, but I guess I was wrong, my apologies" Sam slid down the wall and sat by the corner on the ground, his lips were dry, just like his mouth, he scratched his chin which was a bit more hairy than usual and he covered his eyes in an attempt to help his vision in anyway, he looked up to the woman who was now looking at him, the face looked slightly familiar, but it wasn't what Sam had on his photo. Before she left, he needed one last look, he slipped the scruffy photo of him and Zoe out from his pocket and looked at it for a split second, a rather fast car blew by him, causing the photo to slip from his hand and barrel down the street towards the lady, Sam desperately wanted to jump after that picture, but he just did not have the energy to.

Zoe looked at the man, he looked quite homeless. Scrawny, flurry around the face, and he looked like Sam. Zoe felt her throat tighten.
“My mistake,” She said hoarsely before turning away again. She only made it a few steps before something tickled the back of her neck. Zoe stopped and turned around again, catching the picture. She felt a pang in her stomach, looking at the image. It was herself. It was the stupid contact picture from Sam’s phone it was- “Sam?”

It came out like a whisper, a drawn out whisper. So the man… Sam! Zoe was moving again, looking for him. Spotting him, she moved over.

“I believe this is yours.” She said quietly, holding out the picture. Just before he looked up however she willed her old appearance back. Her hair faded lighter and the freckles returned, wild and messy as ever. “You look horrible…”

Zoe just looked at him before pulling a water bottle out of her pocket and offering it to him. He looked like he was about to pass out.

The picture was gone, the woman was gone, his life was gone, Sam felt like just giving up and staying where he was until enough time had passed for his time to be up. The woman was then back inside his view, but she looked different, and yet she was familiar, Sam had been ruse'd! This woman was Zoe all along, but she had changed her looks and confused Sam greatly. Sam looked up at her, she knew it was him, he knew it was her, all was well in the world again, other than the fact she was probably with someone else by now and he had no home to go to. He did take the photo from her though, he tucked it back in his pocket for safekeeping.

Sam took the bottle of water from Zoe's hand with some urgency, but not quick enough that it seemed like he was snatching it from her. He span the top off and swallowed a large amount of the water, he could swallow again and it wouldn't hurt. "What are you talking about? I've never felt better" he said as he wiped the liquid from his chin. Sam pulled himself up with the walls help before turning back to Zoe, it had been so long since he had seen her face, he wanted to just kiss her there and then, but he needed to know more about what she had done while he had been away before doing something so brash. He was waiting for the inevitable slap around the face and telling off, but with the state he was in, Zoe was probably going wait until he didn't look like a homeless guy to do it, one thing was for sure though, it was coming.

"Look, I know I have a habit of dissapearing for no reason, this one was a lot longer than the last time. It's just that something happened to me that I didn't know how to control, it scared me and all I could think of doing was running, I didn't want to hurt you so I just left, everyday I regretted the decision, but I knew it was always the right one, when I got my head around things and learned some things on my travels, I knew it was ok for me to come back, I know this is probably all too sudden, but I'm sorry...... again...... for leaving you.......... again......" Sam took another sip of the drink before twisting the lid back on, waiting for Zoe's response and he was prepared for the worst because deep down, he knew he deserved it.

Zoe just watched on as her hair darkened once more and the freckles vanished. Her expression so sad, she didn’t say anything she just watched. Zoe could see the expression on Sam’s face, he was truly sorry. But, it didn’t necessarily mean she was ready to forgive him. So instead she waited for him to finish his water before taking a few steps in walking away and turning back to show she was waiting for him.

After he fell in step, they walked quietly together. But the quite was painful, filled with words that could not be said. It was the quite disappointment that Zoe emanated, for anyone facing such a quite it would have been better if she yelled. After walking about twenty or so minutes they came into a neighborhood, kind of like Salone’s but not as nice. Zoe walked up the steps and unlocked the door into her home.
Amber was sleeping in her room and Zoe turned to Sam.
“Amber is sleeping; the bathroom is to the left. There should be a razor in the cupboard as well as some shaving soap and a towel. You can eat when you’re done. Your stuff is in the closet of the spare room.”

Zoe then moved down to the kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out leftovers. The stew in question was going into a pot to be reheated slowly. Zoe then walked over to the pantry and pulled out homemade bread. Salone’s handiwork. She cut off a few slices and put them on a plate before she realized she had begun to cry again. Her entire form was shaking as her sobs were suppressed, quietly she collected herself.

The house was small, three rooms. One next to Zoe’s master bed room plus bath, then Amber’s room across the hall, a spare bedroom next door to zoe’s, and a bathroom right next to Amber’s room. That attached to a hall and traveled down to the dining/front room/kitchen with an island in the center. Not much bigger than the apartment but still an upgrade. The dog door jiggled and a tired looking schnauzer poked his silvery head in before climbing through.
“Hello, Darcy,” Zoe murmured, rubbing his head.

Sam was waiting for some kind of answer, but Zoe was playing the silent game, she took some steps forward, it took Sam a moment to realize that she wanted him to follow her, and he gladly did so, where they were going was a whole new question, maybe a dark alleyway where Zoe could bludgeon him to death with the empty water bottle in his hand. Sam cringed at each step that the pair took in unison, he needed Zoe to say something, so he could know if everything was ok or if there was something that he needed to do, because he would have done it without thinking, but there was no order, or forgiveness, it was just plain, cold silence all the way up to a house that Zoe seemed to own, where she found the money to afford ths house on her own baffled Sam, but if she was willing to give him a roof over his head, he would gratefully accept it without any hesitation.

The doorway was blocked by Zoe was began talking to him again, she explained that Amber was asleep, Sam's conscious grew slightly clearer knowing that she was safe, she was probably ready to gouge his eyes out with her claws at the first sight of him. She then explained that she had a razor, shaving soap and a towel for him, disappointment crept across his mind as he ran his hand threw his facial hair, he didn't really want to get rid of it, but it looked like he didn't have choice, at this point he would do anything to get onto Zoe's good side. He veered left as Zoe moved somewhere else, he slipped into the kitchen and decided the first thing he needed was a shower, a towel was already in there so he decided to use it, he took off his clothes and placed them in a pile in the corner before jumping into the shower, it was nice to feel fresh water against his skin again and it felt even better to be clean. Now came the hard part, all of the equipment was there for him, all he needed to do was execute, "It's ok Sam, it'll be quick and painless, you may look good with the facial hair, but you will look even better with out it" Sam knew he was wrong, but he didn't have any other choice, all signs of facial hair was gone from his face, he now looked younger than his actual age to his sadness.

Sam left his clothes in a laundry basket he found in the bathroom, but took his engagement ring with him, the shirt on top of the pile read "Real men wear pink" he laughed as he placed his clothes on top of it. He exited the bathroom with just the towel as he casually walked through the corridor to his room not so far away. The doors of the wardrobe swung open to reveal all of the clothes he could remember having, looking clean, ironed and hung up, Sam could feel a lump in his throat, Zoe must have still missed him if she had kept his clothing like this, she may act like she does not miss him too much when he is in front of her, but it is clear she did. His lucky pendant was still here too, tucked away in the pocket of his favourite red and black hoodie, he lifted it over his neck as he threw on the rest of his clothing, sliding the engagement ring into his jeans pocket.

Sam quietly shut his door, he stared at Amber's door, questioning whether to just peak inside to see her one more time, but he decided it would be a bad idea, instead he walking into the kitchen where he was met by Zoe and a new face, a schnauzer called Darcy. "Darcy huh... I like that name" Sam said as Zoe placed a warm stew down in front of him with several pieces of bread. "Thanks very much" he said as he steamed in, it was a great meal, better than anything that he had eaten for a while "This bread is amazing, I feel like I've eaten this before" he said as he dunked the bread into the stew to get some of the lasting tastes. The schnauzer seemed interested in him, perhaps seeing a new face around made him excited, Sam petted him after he had finished his meal, he quickly picked up his plate though and placed it into the sink before running the tap as he was quite prepared to wash up. Sam was now where he was 6 months ago, except that now he was in a smaller house with a brand new dog and a woman that still hadn't forgiven him, he was not prepared to initiate anything with her, he was more than happy to let Zoe move at her own pace... but she really needed to say something soon!!

“Salone made it dropped it off yesterday morning after she picked up Hanna. She had to work the night shift.” Zoe said quietly as he ate. Gingerly, she sat down on the counter as he ate in silence, picking at her nails. She wanted to say so many things but she couldn’t. Zoe just wanted to cry at this point, which she wouldn’t let herself do. However if Sam touched her she might just break down, that’s how close to the breaking point she was.

“Did you find what you where looking for? While you where… gone?” Zoe finally asked, her blue eyes looking back up at his face. Darcy sat on the floor wiggling all over before Zoe pet him behind the ears and placing him on his chair. The chair in question was a lay-z-boy covered in a foofy blanket. He had claimed that chair on day one and the girls had been perfectly okay with that.

"Of course Salone made it, I can't get enough... Hanna, who is Ha- Oh her kid?! I'd love to see her sometime" Sam said as he came to the end of his meal, Zoe looked quite nervous, she was probably thinking too heavily about what she wanted to say to him. Sam took the bowl to the sink and waited for the water to rise, that was when Zoe broke her silence some-what by asking him if he found whatever he was looking for. "Well... I wasn't exactly looking for anything, I was just trying to get away from you to keep you safe from me, when I got to Thailand though, I met with these monks who taught me to not be angry, because that's when something takes over me and I don't know what I'm doing, they taught me several techniques on how to keep calm and how to calm myself down so hopefully it never happens again, I especially don't want it to happen around you, I'd never want to harm you in any way." Sam's hand had been under the running water for a while now, he hadn't been concentrating, but his hand had been under some high temperature water, he pulled his hand away to see it glowing red, there was no serious damage, but it would be a pain for a short while. Sam was ready to reach into his back pocket and pull out the engagement ring and get it over with, but he still wasn't so sure that Zoe had completely forgiven him.

Sam's hands were now washing dishes and bowls and cutlery inside the sink, most of it not being his, he was watching his hands and doing his best as he tried to continue speaking. "I thought about you every day you know... I couldn't stand leaving you again, but I knew it was the right decision for your own safety... whatever is inside me and trying to get out is not human, I come to realize along my travels that you are the last thing keeping me human, you are that one ray of light in a world full of darkness, I don't want anything to hurt you, including myself... But now my head is set on straight, I feel better than before and now I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you." By the time he had ended his speech, the washing was done and was drying off by the side, he dried his hands with the towel beside him and turn back around to Zoe who was still seated by the island in the kitchen. With a small smile on his face, Sam deemed it time, he pulled the ring box out of his pocket and slumped down to one knee, he extended his arms out with the box in his hand and dried his best to not burst into giggles, "Zoe, will you marry me?" he asked as he slowly lifted the lid on his 9ct Gold, Two Colour Illusion Diamond, Solitaire Ring, Sam was taking a leap of faith and he was hoping it would pay off.

Unwittingly Zoe smiled at Sam fretting over the bread or rather Zoe’s lacking ability to make the stuff. She still hurt, quite a bit actually but the pain lessened as she saw Sam be himself.

“It takes a lot to hurt me Sam,” She stated, but she had a feeling she knew where this little speech was going. She had heard it once before and her fingers dropped to the silver ring on her finger, suddenly feeling anxious and prayed quietly that he was not doing what she thought he was doing.
Then he got down on one knee and Zoe began to twist the ring even faster. At least he had done the dishes before hand, points to him.

Zoe looked slightly panicked at the question before voice cracked and she asked, “Can I think about this? This is all a ton to digest in one night.”

Then she stood and began to pace back and forth, her brain bringing forward evidence and disclaimers. Well, her last marriage had ended in death and bloodshed. Sam had an issue with leaving, making rash decisions, and threatening her with tickle torture. Not to mention he had a horrible taste in girlfriends. One had been out to eat him; one was involved with another guy, and then Zoe. Who in turn was not remotely human, drank like a fish, and couldn’t have chocolate.

Zoe scrunched up her face and groaned, “Are you sure Sam?” Her voice still sounded a little off, mainly cause she felt like she was under a bit of pressure. .

Sam was hoping that Zoe would say yes, but the fact that she wanted to think about it was better than just saying no and being done with it, at least there was some hope. "I understand, I've been gone for 6 months and then i come back and propose... now I say all of this out loud, it does sound like an extremely stupid thing to do, perhaps the lack of sleep is clouding my judgement, or maybe I just really want it to happen." Zoe stood up and began pacing, Sam's knee was beginning to ache now, he pushed himself up and placed the box down on the table in front of him, if Sam had nothing to do, he would end up going mad and forcing Zoe to answer, but he had some drying to do, when Zoe asked him if he was sure, he turned to her whilst drying a plate and said "I don't think I've ever wanted anything else more."

Sam's heart was still racing and the suspense was killing him, but he was drying the cutlery and finding where everything went to keep his mind busy, Darcy the dog was hanging around his feet with his tail wagging ferociously and staring at the newcomer, Sam dried his hands once more after finishing his job and sat down on the kitchen floor, giving Darcy the opportunity to climb all over him like a new toy. "I hope you've been taking care of her whilst I've been away little guy, but as long as I'm allowed to come back, we can do it together, alright?" he said quietly to the pup, asking the question rhetorically of course, unless there was something else to this dog that he didn't know. Zoe still looked as nervous as she had been as she seemed to be in a deep thought, Sam found it slightly amusing that for his entire journey back, he was worried most about the actual proposal, not what was to come after it.

Zoe’s jaw worked furiously while Sam played with the dog and was all adorable like.
“I’ll think about it,” Zoe said finally before walking over to the freezer and pulling out some vanilla ice cream. It was too soon to make a uniform decision and she knew it would infuriate Sam who she was still mad at.

Pulling a spoon out of the drawer, Zoe sat down on the couch and picked her book up off the side table. Leisurely opening it, she stuck a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. She was attempting to be infuriating as possible on the current situation. It was clear Sam was anxious about it, so Zoe thought she might as well take her time with the decision.

"I'll think about it"

Ok... she really needed to give him a clear yes or no answer now, the tension was killing him, he would prefer to have her just say no and be done with instead of dragging him along like this. Zoe seemed quite tense about the whole situation a few minutes ago, but now she was casually sitting on her couch with a tub of ice cream and a book, as if this wasn't one of the hardest decisions for someone to make. Sam's jaw dropped slightly at the blatant disregard of the question, he nudged Darcy off of his lap and stood upright with a slight shocked look on his face. His eyes were fixed on the back of Zoe's head, the fact that she became so cal in such a short space of time confused Sam greatly, he wanted to crumple into a pile onto the floor as the silence was making him crazy. "Listen here Zoe and listen good! I know you enjoy torturing me like this, it makes you laugh at my expense and I know how much you enjoy that, but you are going to have to give me a clear answer in the next ten seconds, otherwise I will take that ring, pack up the rest of my clothes and get out of your life for good!"

That is what he would have said if he was the craziest and most stupid man on the planet, instead his body went slightly limp due to the fact that Zoe would drag this on for as long as he could to make him this uncomfortable. He slowly strolled to the couch and slumped down beside him, with his posture as worse as ever, he stared blankly at the wall in front of him as Zoe was indulging in ice cream and her book. Sam needed to break the silence somehow, ironically it felt like nails on a chalk board, he peaked over and saw what kind of ice cream Zoe was eating before making a joke, "No chocolate ice cream then?..." The joke seemed to have fallen flat, Sam could feel the fun leaving the room by the second. Sam resorted to mumbling to himself, "Hmm... Comfortable couch" he said as he bounced up and down slightly, his eyes then darted around the room as he continued to mumble, "Nice view from that window...... It's a little bit hot in here, do you mind if i- never mind, it's the perfect temperature..." Sam had never been in a more awkward situation, he just hoped it would all be worth it in the end.