2. Samara

"What the hell are you doing here?" said Shawn loudly. "Answer me!"

Instead of answering, Samara looked around, looking for something. Her eyes were full of worried. Shawn frowned, but before Shawn could ask, Samara had already said, "No, you can't be here. You have to get out of here. Go, Brother," as she tried to push Shawn away.

Of course, Shawn refused. Samara couldn't even move Shawn, not for a second. "I'll go if you come," said Shawn making Samara glare.

"Sammy can't do that. Sammy has to work."

"Working on what at this late, Sam?" Shawn snapped. "And in the hotel?" he asked.

Shawn slightly pulled Samara's coat, causing Samara to get rid of Shawn's hand quickly.

"With clothes like that?" added Shawn.

"Sammy's just...."

"Don't try to fool me!" Shawn snapped to silence Samara. "I know what you're doing, and don't force me to go upstairs to kill the person in that room!" Shawn said, and before Samara could argue, Shawn had pulled her hand away. "Come on, come with me."

However, when they took a step forward, they were blocked by three men dressed in all black. "Want to take our Samara where to?" asked one of them.

The man's statement that seemed to show his ownership over Samara literally made Shawn furious. Samara knew that. He could sense Shawn's grip on her hand suddenly tightening until Samara was in pain. So, before Shawn came forward to attack the man before him, Samara had already passed between Shawn and the three men.

"I just need a moment, Sir. I left something in the car I had to pick up. I promise by the time I finish, I'll be right back," Samara consented to the men.

"Sam," Shawn hissed as he pulled Samara beside him and gave her a cranky look.

Instead of obeying, Samara just looked at Shawn with a pleading look. "Please, Brother, let Sammy handle it, okay?" Samara asked, and after making sure that Shawn could hold himself back, Samara looked back at the man in front of her. "Sir, I need to talk...."

"Make a real work and go home as soon as it has done. You know the rules, don't you? No excuses or buts! Who do you think you are to be allowed to leave so arbitrarily?" said Yugo, the man in the middle.

"You talk politely to my sister!" Shawn snapped as he stepped forward to approach Yugo, but Samara held Shawn back again for the umpteenth time.

Indra, who was next to Yugo, sneered, "Oh, you're her brother? No wonder."

Hearing and seeing how Indra underestimated him, Shawn's hands clenched into fists. "What you mean?" he asked in a muffled voice from his clenched jaw.

Indra shrugged. "Just curious. What kind of brother lets his sister practice different styles with mashers on the bed? Or... could it be you, huh, who taught her?" said Indra, which was immediately followed by the laughter of his two friends.

Before they could finish their laughter, Shawn had already gotten rid of Samara, and without warning, he charged forward to attack the three men all at once with Indra as his first target. In a split second, in front of Samara now were young men fighting in a way too horrific for her to witness that she was slowly taking steps back.

Samara was about to cry until she saw Shawn was getting more and more in control. And in a few minutes that seemed like a short time, Shawn had managed to bring down the men one by one by rewarding them with bloodstains on each of their faces. Two of them had fainted, and the other seemed too weak to be able to stand up. He also didn't seem like he intended to fight anymore, seeing how damaged his face was from Shawn hitting his face against the hood of the car. Rarely seeing her brother makes Samara forget that Shawn can be so brutal when it comes to fighting.

"Brother, what are you doing?!" Samara whispered while covering her mouth.

"What do you think?" Shawn said, annoyed.

Samara observed Shawn's face. Not a single wound was scratched on his face. Then, Samara turned her attention to Shawn's three victims. "Now I'm dead," said Samara.

"Dead?" Shawn asked in disbelief. "Over this scumbags?"

"You don't understand. Sammy's over if they make a report, Brother. As soon as Sammy's boss finds out what you did to them, Sammy will be the one to get the consequent!"

"Not even an inch of his hand can touch you because from now on, you come with me!"

Samara sighed tiredly. "Sammy can't do it, Brother. Please understand."

"Understand what, Sam? What do you expect from a job like this? You're still in high school! You should study seriously, not working dirty like this!"

"School? Do you know how much the module costs? Not to mention there are charitable donations, organizational activities, also extracurricular activities. Not enough to just pay school fees."

"Well, you can just tell me, right? Let me find the money, Sam. Doesn't have to be this way!"

"How about you then? What do you want to eat?" Samara asked, making Shawn fall silent. "Brother, Sammy has already burdened you enough for Sammy's tuition fees, which are not cheap. Beside that? Sammy is old enough to be able to work on my own without bothering you anymore."

"Not this kind of work, Sam!" said Shawn in frustration. "For real. Aren't you even ashamed?" Shawn asked in disbelief.

Shawn rubbed his face, then lost his breath. "Never mind. Don't think too hard. It's not time for you to carry a burden this heavy. About your needs, I can still work it out to fund them, as long as you don't ask for a luxurious life. Done? What else?"

Samara looked down. Her eyes reddened as she whispered, "A lot."

Shawn chuckled. "Yeah, what else?" he asked impatiently.

Samara took a deep breath before saying, "M-m-mo… mommy."

"Fucking hell!" Shawn cursed. He looked up to the sky as if he wanted to scream and protest at The Ones Above. When he looked back at Samara, his face looked tired. "What now?"

"Mommy is in debt."

"She's always in debt!"

"But now... it's different. That man doesn't want to let go of mommy. And Sammy can't just sit still, especially now, when mommy is ready for rehab," said Samara.

Shawn smirked. "She always said she wanted rehab, but then what? Every time we manage to get the money for her to rehab, where does the money go? Back to drugs again, right?" Shawn then looked at Samara in disbelief. "How can you still believe what she says?"

"Because she is our mother. What about when parents beg to be brought to the right path?"

Shawn felt like squeezing Samara's innocent face just to make her realize the cruelty of the world, even the cruelty of her own mother. Didn't she understand that that's why Sania was always pressuring her? Because Samara could not and never refused. And stupidly, Samara always believed that woman's bullshit.

"What else can Sammy do? Sammy can't be so ignorant to the parent."

"Yes, if the parent is right and loves their children, no problem," said Shawn.

"That's exactly it. Sammy thought… maybe there will come a time when mommy can love Sammy."

Shawn looked at Samara and could see, even feel Samara's sadness. But still, Shawn resisted Samara's meekness.

And although Shawn felt like Samara needed to be slapped so that she realized how stupid she was, Shawn turned out chosen to say, "Well, what about me, huh? I care about you. Is that even important to you?"

Samara looked at Shawn in disbelief. "Of course, it's important, Brother," she answered immediately. "But, you don't want to know about mommy anymore. So, who else cares about mommy, if not Sammy? And this is the only way Sammy can help mommy."

"Helping how Sam? This doesn't help. There are even new problems. Do you think joining with people like this, they'll just let you go when you've managed to collect the money and want to leave? No way, Sam."

"It can be. It was part of their agreement when mommy borrowed the money."

"What agreement?" Shawn asked in surprise. Oh, God, hope this isn't what Shawn had in mind because after hearing that, Shawn's skin suddenly cooled.

Samara bitted her lip before finally saying, "Mommy borrowed 500 million IDR from Mr. Kevin, and in return, Sammy had to work for Mr. Kevin until mommy could pay back the debt. And… this is part of the job Sammy has to do."

Shawn opened his mouth, but he couldn't throw words for a few seconds.

"Fuck! She sold you out?" asked Shawn indignant.