The Hell in Your Eyes Ch. 07

"That was the most graceful dismount ever!" he told her.

Splaying her fingers into the air, Sam bowed to turn her serious blunder into something a little more graceful, then straightened to grin at Clark. "Your turn," she told him.

"Okay," he said grinning back at her. "But you have to do it with me."

When she readily agreed, they both hopped onto a swing, and pumped their legs into the air until they were swinging high. When they could go no higher, Clark turned his blonde head to look at her. "Ready?" he shouted. "On three! One! Two! Three!"

Sam jumped from the swing, while he stayed on his. She landed a little better this time, but Clark still laughed uproariously at the display she made.

"Come on, you big baby! Jump!" she taunted him.

Smiling from ear to ear, Clark nodded. "I can dooo it!" he hollered.

He pumped his legs harder. When Sam started to wonder if he was going to flip round the top to the other side, he leapt into the air like some kind of winged creature, and landed on his feet like a professional gymnast.

"TADA!" he cried out with a flourish of his arms.

"Show off!" Sam accused with a giggle.

"I have the skills to pay the bills, baby." he told her. "Now where's that merry go round? I hope you're not attached to those shoes," he said while glancing down at her feet.

They played like little kids on everything they came across. From the teeter totter, to the monkey bars, to the slide. When he spun Sam on the merry go round until she grew dizzy, she moaned, and laughed, and cried out for him to stop. Taking pity on her, he grabbed one of the rotating bars with his hand to bring it to a halt.

"You're not going to up chuck pie all over me, are ya Sam?" he asked teasingly.

"I might. Just for revenge," she giggled.

"I like these shoes," he said while eyeing his feet. "One more round on the swing, then lets head back!" he announced.

Nodding in agreement, Sam lunged from the merry go round, and nearly fell over. Laughing, Clark caught her before her face hit the ground. He half hazardly swung her arm over his shoulder before he put his arm around her back. "I gotchya," he said with a chuckle.

After a few steps, Sam shook the strangeness out of her mind, and was able to walk somewhat decently. So, instead of holding her arm around his shoulder, he dropped it, and put his arm around her shoulder instead.

"This was fun," he said to her with a smile. "How come we don't do stuff like this anymore?"

"We got too big," she said returning his smile. "Too big, and too serious."

"Never!" Clark announced. "I don't think I've ever been serious," he said with a chuckle.

Sam nodded. "Life's more fun that way."

They were trudging along leaning against one another, and had almost reached the swing set when Sam happened to glance up, and her heart lodged in her throat.

Walking across the grass towards them from his car, was Jack. He had a cigarette in his hand, and he quickly flicked it away from himself as his fists clenched at his sides. He was storming towards her quickly, and she had never seen him look so enraged. His dark eyes were frightening as he approached her.

"Oh my God," she whispered.

She didn't realize until almost the last second that his fierce eyes weren't focused on her. They were focused on Clark. So, when he reached out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt to slam him into the nearby park sign, they both gasped in surprise.

"Jack! Stop!" she yelled.

He was a ball of fury as he clutched onto Clark's slight frame with his large fists. His teeth clenched, and his breath heaved from him in anger.Sam quickly grabbed onto his forearm to try and pull him off. "He's my cousin! Don't hurt him!" she pleaded.

His volatile gaze flicked towards her, but his expression didn't change. Staring into Clark's terrified eyes, Jack's narrowed. After an endlessly tense moment, he released him with a shove, and turned to walk back in the direction that he had come.

Still in shock, Sam took a few halting steps to follow him. His long legs carried him swiftly, but after a moment, he whipped around to charge back in Clark's direction. Sam quickly put her hands on the front of his chest to try to keep him at bay, which had zero effect, but it did slow him a little.

Lifting his hand into the air, he pointed at Clark. "You don't fucking touch her!" he snarled.

Clark's eyes widened dramatically, and Sam peered up into Jack's vicious face in an attempt to reach him. "Stop!" she whispered urgently.

Lowering his arm, he looked down at her. He seemed to calm slightly as he looked into her blue eyes, but the change was minimal.

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly while adrenaline shot through her limbs. "Are you following me again?"

The question made him frown. "No. I've been texting you for the past three hours, and you weren't answering me. I wasn't sure if something had happened to you, or you were just avoiding me."

Sam sighed as she looked up at him. "Neither. My aunt and uncle came over for lunch. My phone was still in my bedroom when I got home. I haven't had time to check it."

His frown deepened."I was worried."

"So, you decided to attack my cousin?" It was a reprimand.

"He was touching you," Jack said as if that was reason enough.

Sam was aggravated, and it showed. Her brows furrowed as she glared up at him. "If you're trying to convince me that you're not crazy, this is definitely not the way to go about it."

Jack's angry gaze lifted to Clark once more where he still stood frozen against the sign. Then his dark eyes dropped to Sam's, and they softened. "I know. I lost control. I'm sorry."

Sighing again, Sam clutched onto the front of his shirt with her fingers. "I think you made Clark wet himself," she said apprehensively.

A hint of a smile touched his lips as he looked at her. "Don't be mad," he entreated.

"I am mad. Can we talk about this later?" Her wary gaze darted towards Clark, but swiftly returned so that she was staring up at Jack's intent face.

"I don't want you to be mad," was his only reply.

Her voice lowered to a whisper as her hands gripped his shirt tighter. "You can't go around attacking every person that touches me, Jack. You're going to hurt someone." Her tone begged him to see reason.

His brows knitted, and he looked away for a moment. Then they lifted as he looked back at her. "His hands were all over you. I didn't know that was your cousin. I lost my temper. You're mine. I'm a man, Sam. I react like one."

Sam closed her eyes, and dropped her forehead to his chest in aggravation. It didn't stop Jack from reaching up to run his fingers through her hair to hold her to him so that he could kiss the top of her head.

Tilting her head back, she shook her head at him. "What am I going to do with you?" When he opened his mouth to respond, she quickly covered it with her hand. "Don't answer that," she said, her eyes widening.

Jack's lips lifted behind her fingers, and she dropped her hand from him. "I have to get Clark home. We'll talk later." she said pointedly.

"Alright," he said. "Kiss me, and I'll go," he told her.

"That's it?" she asked. "I kiss you, and we can talk about this later?"

He nodded, and said nothing more.

Rolling her eyes, Sam relented. "Alright, fine."

Rising onto her toes so that she could reach his lips, she squeaked slightly when he wrapped one strong arm around her back, and lifted her feet off the ground. His head tilted to the side as he pushed her lips wide, and kissed her fully.

When he pulled back, he still held her aloft, and Sam's dazed eyes met his. "Tell dickhead I'm sorry for wrinkling his shirt," Jack said with a small smile.

When she glared at him again, he rolled his eyes. "Or Clark, whatever." Setting her feet back on the ground, he reached up to place his hand on the side of her head before leaning in to kiss her temple. "Call me later," he said simply, and turned to walk back to his car.

Sam watched him until he reached it, and got inside. Letting out a slow breath, she turned around to face her cousin. He seemed to have recovered himself in the space of those few minutes. Stepping towards her, his face was stricken. "Who the hell was that lunatic, Sam?"

"That was Jack," she said with a sigh.

"Are you dating that guy? He's like... thirty!"

"Thirty four, actually." she said quietly.

"Are you insane?" Clark yelled.

Sam turned to him, and frowned. "You can't tell anyone, Clark. Promise me that you won't say anything."

Sam!" he said aghast. "The guy is a freaking cradle robber, and an unstable one. He seems violent. You're not safe with someone like that."

"Please, Clark." she pleaded with him.

His expression was horrified. "Does anyone else know? What are you thinking?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet," she said with a small smile. "I just need you to keep this between us. If you care about me, you won't tell anyone."

His breath left him in a whoosh as he scratched his head. He was completely at a loss. "This is insane," he finally said.

"I know," Sam said. "Please?" she begged softly.

"Will you tell someone if he hurts you?" he demanded.

"Of course," Sam quickly agreed.

"I don't like this," he said as he glared at her. Sam peered up at him unwilling to back down. Wen he saw the sheer determination in her eyes, a sound of disgust escaped his throat. "I won't say anything as long as nothing happens to you. If that psycho does anything to hurt you, I'm telling your father."

"He won't," Sam assured him. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and quickly hugged him. "I'll be fine. I promise," she said.

Clark was still frowning when she pulled away. "I sure the hell hope so," he said in disbelief.

"The only way I won't be fine is if you tell someone, Clark. No one would understand. So, I really need you to."

He shook his head, and sighed. "Are you sure about this?"

Sam nodded quickly. "Yes. I am."

It wasn't the complete truth, but she needed him on her side. She could only imagine the ordeal that would take place if her parents were to find out about Jack. Her father would never allow her to set foot outside of the house again. They couldn't find out, and she would tell Clark anything he needed to hear in order to keep her secret safe.

"Come on," she said. "Don't let this ruin our day. It's been a lot of fun, and that's how I'd like to remember it."

Letting out another sigh, Clark followed behind her as she began walking back towards the house.