The Best Revenge Chapter 9

A/N: Hello, my dearest Sammiacs! I just finished The Kiss Goodbye recently (I know, late, but I just got my hands on a copy) and it CHANGED MY LIFE. After I finished it around midnight, I just had to lie there in the dark, contemplating the entire series and what it means to me. To spare those of you who want to get on with this chapter, my full rant will be at the Author's Note in the bottom.

Anyway, this chapter will incorporate some of the plotline from The Kiss Goodbye (like Sammy being in the hospital), so I can continue off of where Wendelin ended the series, except with my own twist. This will contain spoilers, so BACK AWAY if you don't want it to be ruined. I digress; hope you like it!


The drive back to UCLA was all too familiar. I remember Casey and I sat in silence nearly the entire ride back, but it wasn't exactly awkward nothingness. We both were thinking extremely hard.

Twenty minutes later, we were back at his dorm building. We walked up the two flights of stairs to the third floor, and Casey grabbed my hand and turned to me before we went inside.

"Sammy, I'm really sorry about - "

I didn't want to hear him apologize. None of this was his fault, so I lifted myself up on my tiptoes and kissed him gently, slipping one hand around his neck and the other in his pocket. I extracted the key from it, and fumbled blindly for the lock, as my eyes were closed. Finally, I had to look down and open the door to our room. Heat radiated from it, contrasting with the sharp coldness of the air outside. I turned back to Casey.

"You go ahead," I told him, "I want to take a quick walk around."

He stared at me with his forehead in a slight crease, like he didn't like the idea of me walking around by myself, but he swallowed any objections and finally nodded.

I turned around and walked down the corridor. My phone began to buzz in my sweater, and I took it out to see four missed calls from my mother and seven texts. I was going to have to face her sometime, and maybe even along with Casey. He wouldn't let me be fooled my her mind games. He would be able to tell when she genuinely wanted to make amends, or just make me an audience for her theatrics. I put my phone away. The campus was perfectly calm. It was chilly, but it was a windless night and the sky was a clear black, punctuated by white gleams. I took a deep breath in. This was home.

My stomach grumbled and it occurred to me that Lady Lana didn't offer me anything to eat during my brief return to her mansion. Slightly offended, I opted to head over to the cafeteria, which provided 24-hour food to students. Rationalizing for half a second, I finally decided that I was basically a student here and was perfectly qualified for a free midnight snack. I was about to head down the stairs when I felt a prickly sensation at the back of my neck. Call it fight or flight, but I had the creepy perception that I was being watched. I looked over my shoulder.

A rough, veiny hand seized my arm, and my heart was thrown into hammering beats. I began to resist the grip, and tried with all my might to thrash away.

I tried desperately to shout. I had read constantly, in many police testimonies in Sergeant Borsch's office, how victims lose their ability to scream once they're in danger. I had always thought that it was extremely convenient and even ridiculous how people forget to use their voices.

But now, in the moment, I realized what a fool I was for criticizing people whose situations I had never been in. With all my energy devoted to figuring out a way to get away from the assailant, I could not muster a scream that would be head by Casey. If only Casey would just leave his dorm! He has no idea that I'm in danger right now, even though our apartment was just a maddening few short feet away!

I managed to turn around in the scuffle, but didn't escape the clench of my assaulter. I wanted to see his face. If anything happened to me, I wanted to have full knowledge of it. I faced him and looked directly into his face.

My skin turned a sickly white as my brain matched him to someone that I'd encountered before. Well, we had exchanged an impromptu greeting, specifically a wave while he was doing illegal things.

And here he was again. Out of jail. The hotel thief.

A raspy, "You!" escaped from my throat as I stood petrified. It seemed that my recognition had kickstarted my vocal chords, so I uttered a scream along the corridor, even though it came off as more of a yelp. Please tell me that Casey heard that! I prayed.

The man clamped his free hand over my mouth, and shuffled me precariously close to the edge of the balcony. I looked down into the dark ground, dimly lit by street lamps. The third floor was no place for such a skirmish.

He pushed me up against the barrier, and it dawned on me: he was going to hurl me over the edge.

No way. I used my legs to kick furiously behind me. An "oomph!" assured me that I hit a sentimental area in the man's anatomy, but his clench still somehow remained strong. With a burst of passion, he lifted me onto the fringe of the ledge, just as I heard the door of our dorm room opening quickly.

I vaguely heard Casey bellowing "YOU BASTARD!" as his footsteps raced nearer, but it was too late. I had slipped over the side.

Falling was the easy part.

It was the landing that didn't work out in my favor so much.


A/N: Yo. So Sammy'll end up in the hospital like she does in the book, but little things will be different, to fit in with The Best Revenge plot.

Guys. The last book though. I assume you all read it, because if you haven't and ignored my spoiler warning, then you brought this upon yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The ending was so poignant and touching and my emotions overflowed so much that I could water the Sahara with my tears. The books, as an arc, have had such an effect on me. It all started back when I picked out a random book in the library for a third grade mystery fiction report. Under the immediate impression that this was going to be a so-so book about some dude named Sam Keyes solving crimes about nuns (Sisters of Mercy, anyone?), I had no idea how this series would affect my writing. Around last year, I caught up with Sammy's age, and so I'm at eye level with her as she ended the series. I literally grew up with her. Sammy has taught us to not punch someone for its own sake, but to stand up to people when they wrong you. It's super hard to couple sass with her genuine compassion, but somehow Wendelin nailed it.

Now, having all the characters from her adventures come together and fuss over her is just the most heartfelt thing. I wish that Sammy could have been around a bit longer in the final, but thank goodness that Wendelin took pity on us and didn't do anything drastic in the book, because let me tell you, I don't know how much more my poor heart could have taken! Ha. Ha. Withdrawals and other minor issues.

What did you guys think of the book?

X,

DKMV