Fic: Boundaries Unknown (3/6)
Title: Boundaries Unknown (3/6)
Pairing: Sam/Mercedes
Rating: PG-13+
Summary: Sam introduces Mercedes to his grandfather, the man who financially rescued his family. It all falls apart from there.
Warnings: Some severely racist language.
Sam returned back home after dropping Mercedes off. Well, he did wait awhile; he knew that if he stalled a bit then his parents would eat dinner and return to their new home. He was not going back to the hotel because he could not stand the idea of being near his grandpa. He could not believe the man had done that. Even worse, he could not believe he’d once admired him.
Once home, neither of his parents said a word to him. Sam was furious and he let it show. “How could you guys let him get away with that?” he yelled. His grandfather had called his girlfriend the n-word and his parents were trying to act like it had never happened. They were trying to brush over it and go on with their lives and Sam was not going to take that. "He hurt Mercedes so bad, Mom. She was ready to fall apart, but didn't because she's a strong girl and wouldn't do that in front of me and...and...it's not fair Mom. He can't just get away with it."
"Sam, your grandfather is from a different generation," she responded tensely. Sam could tell she was uncomfortable, more uncomfortable than she usually was but he continued to press her. They could not let him get away with what he’d done.
“That doesn’t excuse him,” he said firmly. "He absolutely humiliated my girlfriend and said something that hasn't been socially acceptable for like a hundred years. Aren't you guys going to do something?" He hated that he sounded like a scared child who needed his mommy and daddy's help but something had to be done, right? They had to do something.
"Sam," his mother said sharply. "I can't discuss this with you right now."
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because Sam," she said, meeting his eyes, "your grandfather is very angry about what he saw tonight. He's threatening to stop payment on everything. I know as well as you do that he wasn't right in what he said to Mercedes, but right now your father and I have to focus on keeping our family fed and keeping all of us out of that god awful motel."
Sam's heart jumped and his throat tightened. "He's threatening to stop helping us because my girlfriend is black?" he asked bluntly. He knew that his question was stating the obvious but he couldn't believe it. He could not believe it at all. "Mom, are we going to wind up back in the motel?"
"No," she said harshly. "No, Sam. We're going to reason with your grandfather. It would just help if...if Mercedes didn't come around for awhile."
Sam couldn't help himself from staring at his mother like she was from Mars. What the hell was she trying to tell him? It sounded an awful lot like they were going to do whatever it took to placate his grandfather and Sam was not going to stand for that. This was unjust, this was wrong and this had hurt Mercedes. Sam was not going to let his grandfather be a part of his life, nevertheless a huge part of it, yet, he realized what was going on before it happened. His grandfather had saved his family from poverty. They owed him everything.
"You mean, we're just going to listen to everything he said about Mercedes? Mom, what are we supposed to tell him, that I broke up with her because I saw the error of my ways about those horrible black people? I know that he's helped us out of our mess with money but..."
"Sam, we have to put our priorities in order. We're living in a safe place now. You know what the motel was doing to us."
"My priorities are in order," Sam snapped. He couldn't help the dam that burst; he hurt too much. "I've done everything I can to help us, Mom. I took that stupid pizza job and enough hours to kill myself so the kids had food. I...I have given up everything in the past months. I know what it means to be out of the motel but can we really forgive an unrepentant racist? Do we not have dignity left?" Sam was afraid of what the answer to that question really might be.
"I've learned that some things need to be let go, Sam."
"So did I," he snapped. "I gave up everything. Isn't dignity the last thing left?"
His mother looked at him, pity swirling in her eyes. She looked so sad that Sam couldn’t help the guilt that surged, but still, he was in the right here. "Sam, your father and I will always appreciate the sacrifices you made for this family," she said. "I am so proud to call you my son, Sam; you've gone above and so far beyond what any teen would be expected to do. I'm not saying you need to break up with Mercedes..."
"Sure sounds like it," Sam said.
"I'm just asking you go along with what you have to with your grandfather."
Sam groaned and it came out as almost a growl. "Haven't I given up enough yet?" he asked her, pain flaring up. "Do you even care how much he hurt Mercedes? She's the strongest girl I know, but she honestly looked ready to fall apart. My parents, my own parents, didn't even try to comfort her or you know, assure her it'd be okay."
"Sam..."
He closed his eyes. "I'll think about it," he said. "Mom, I'm going to see if I can spend the night with Kurt and Finn, okay? I just don't want to be here right now. I just need to be with someone else.”
To his surprise, she nodded. Sam had been given a lot of freedom in the past couple of months because of the epic strides he took for his family. "I am so sorry Sam," she whispered softly.
"Me too," he said, heading back to his car.
He wasn’t exactly sure why he chose to go to Finn and Kurt’s place, but it was probably because they were living in the same house and Kurt was one of the most understanding guys he knew. Finn was, well, he had a history with Finn but he was sure that they were back to being sort of decent at least. They also lived pretty close by.
He stood at the door and then knocked, once he realized there was nothing else he could do. He looked around him. It was late. He was probably going to freak out Kurt and Finn’s parents, but there was nothing else that he could do. He couldn’t be at home.
Finn’s mom answered the door. Sam had only really met her once but she seemed to recognize him. “Hey there,” she said with a bright smile on her face that was mixed with a confused expression in her eyes. “You’re Sam, from glee, right? What are you doing here so late?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah,” he said awkwardly. “I was wondering if I could um, see Kurt and Finn for a minute.” He would ask to stay there if it came to it but right now, the immediate crisis was that he needed someone to talk to. It was an emergency of sorts.
“Boys!” she called up the stairs.
Moments later, Kurt appeared. “Sam?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow. He came the rest of the way down the stairs and approached Sam, a look of concern on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk,” he whispered. “I didn’t know who else to go to.”
Kurt nodded. “Come in,” he said, looking suddenly protective. It was funny, the way that everyone thought Kurt needed protecting when he was one of the toughest guys Sam knew. Sam quietly thanked Mrs. Hudson and followed Kurt upstairs to where Finn was starting to come down. Kurt knew how to handle a crisis well.
“Dude, what’s up?” Finn asked.
“I just…” Sam mumbled, but before he could explain he looked to Kurt. “Can we go somewhere private? Finn, you can come too.”
The three boys hurried into Kurt’s bedroom, where Kurt gestured for Sam to sit down. “What happened to you Sam?” Kurt asked a look of concern on his face. Kurt was positively mothering sometimes but it was really nice right now. Sam knew he needed it. “It’s late. I think you totally startled Carole.”
Sam looked at the two boys and groaned. “Something really bad happened on my date with Mercedes tonight,” he said softly.
That immediately sprung Kurt to action. “Where is she? Is she okay Sam? What happened?” he asked.
“She’s fine,” Sam mumbled. “I took her to see my grandfather tonight. He said he wanted to meet my girlfriend and everything, so I figured it would be nice. We got dressed up and went to the hotel he’s staying at. He…he took one look at her and called her the n-word.”
“WHAT?” Kurt asked, his eyes going wide. He had been about to sit down next to Finn on the bed, but jolted up into a standing position. “What did you say that man called my girl?”
“You heard me,” Sam said dejectedly, avoiding Kurt’s eyes. He knew that Kurt wasn’t angry at him but he couldn’t help feel that it was his fault. He had taken Mercedes there and had no idea what kind of man his grandfather was. “He said that no grandson of his was going to be dating a…you know what.”
“I don’t get why he’d say that,” Finn mumbled.
“Me neither,” Sam said. “I don’t think there’s really a logical or nice way to explain why racist people are racist.”
“Wait, isn’t your grandfather the man who…” Kurt began and Sam finished the sentence for him.
“Yeah,” he said. “He’s the man who saved my family. I really care about Mercedes, Kurt. I’m starting to fall for her fast. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I don’t want to lose her.”
“Are you family members telling you to dump her?” Kurt asked.
Once again, Finn looked confused. “Why would they ask Sam to dump her?” he asked, turning his head to look at Kurt.
“Because, Sam’s grandfather helped his family out financially,” Kurt told Finn, looking back to Sam with the same question lingering in his eyes. “Are they Sam?”
Sam shook his head. “Not really, but sort of,” he said softly. “I left home tonight because I had a fight with my mom. She pretty much implied that I should play along and not have Mercedes come by for awhile. She basically told me that I have to shove my dignity aside and play into a racist’s hands because he’s giving us money.”
“That’s messed,” Finn whispered.
“Haven’t I given up enough for my family?” Sam asked.
“You have, Sam,” Kurt said. “Can I ask Carole if you can spend the night? I know that you probably don’t want to go back there with all that’s going on. Finn can give you some pajamas and we can just play some video games or something.”
“That’d be…great, Kurt.”
Carole, of course, said yes to Kurt’s request. According to Kurt, she could tell Sam was distressed and she was always like that when kids were upset or in a bad situation. The three boys played video games and talked a little and it was a nice day. Sam actually slept pretty well despite the thoughts that were bothering him so deeply.
When he woke up, around ten then next morning, he heard Kurt on the phone. “Yeah, ‘cedes,” Kurt said into the receiver, tenderly. “He’s in a bad situation with his grandfather financially supporting his family. His parents are…well being stubborn about playing into the grandfather’s hands. I’m sure it’ll be okay sweetheart. No, you and Sam are not going to break up. He loves you Mercedes and he’ll find a way.”
Sam groaned and put a pillow over his head, hoping that Kurt was right.
Pairing: Sam/Mercedes
Rating: PG-13+
Summary: Sam introduces Mercedes to his grandfather, the man who financially rescued his family. It all falls apart from there.
Warnings: Some severely racist language.
Sam returned back home after dropping Mercedes off. Well, he did wait awhile; he knew that if he stalled a bit then his parents would eat dinner and return to their new home. He was not going back to the hotel because he could not stand the idea of being near his grandpa. He could not believe the man had done that. Even worse, he could not believe he’d once admired him.
Once home, neither of his parents said a word to him. Sam was furious and he let it show. “How could you guys let him get away with that?” he yelled. His grandfather had called his girlfriend the n-word and his parents were trying to act like it had never happened. They were trying to brush over it and go on with their lives and Sam was not going to take that. "He hurt Mercedes so bad, Mom. She was ready to fall apart, but didn't because she's a strong girl and wouldn't do that in front of me and...and...it's not fair Mom. He can't just get away with it."
"Sam, your grandfather is from a different generation," she responded tensely. Sam could tell she was uncomfortable, more uncomfortable than she usually was but he continued to press her. They could not let him get away with what he’d done.
“That doesn’t excuse him,” he said firmly. "He absolutely humiliated my girlfriend and said something that hasn't been socially acceptable for like a hundred years. Aren't you guys going to do something?" He hated that he sounded like a scared child who needed his mommy and daddy's help but something had to be done, right? They had to do something.
"Sam," his mother said sharply. "I can't discuss this with you right now."
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because Sam," she said, meeting his eyes, "your grandfather is very angry about what he saw tonight. He's threatening to stop payment on everything. I know as well as you do that he wasn't right in what he said to Mercedes, but right now your father and I have to focus on keeping our family fed and keeping all of us out of that god awful motel."
Sam's heart jumped and his throat tightened. "He's threatening to stop helping us because my girlfriend is black?" he asked bluntly. He knew that his question was stating the obvious but he couldn't believe it. He could not believe it at all. "Mom, are we going to wind up back in the motel?"
"No," she said harshly. "No, Sam. We're going to reason with your grandfather. It would just help if...if Mercedes didn't come around for awhile."
Sam couldn't help himself from staring at his mother like she was from Mars. What the hell was she trying to tell him? It sounded an awful lot like they were going to do whatever it took to placate his grandfather and Sam was not going to stand for that. This was unjust, this was wrong and this had hurt Mercedes. Sam was not going to let his grandfather be a part of his life, nevertheless a huge part of it, yet, he realized what was going on before it happened. His grandfather had saved his family from poverty. They owed him everything.
"You mean, we're just going to listen to everything he said about Mercedes? Mom, what are we supposed to tell him, that I broke up with her because I saw the error of my ways about those horrible black people? I know that he's helped us out of our mess with money but..."
"Sam, we have to put our priorities in order. We're living in a safe place now. You know what the motel was doing to us."
"My priorities are in order," Sam snapped. He couldn't help the dam that burst; he hurt too much. "I've done everything I can to help us, Mom. I took that stupid pizza job and enough hours to kill myself so the kids had food. I...I have given up everything in the past months. I know what it means to be out of the motel but can we really forgive an unrepentant racist? Do we not have dignity left?" Sam was afraid of what the answer to that question really might be.
"I've learned that some things need to be let go, Sam."
"So did I," he snapped. "I gave up everything. Isn't dignity the last thing left?"
His mother looked at him, pity swirling in her eyes. She looked so sad that Sam couldn’t help the guilt that surged, but still, he was in the right here. "Sam, your father and I will always appreciate the sacrifices you made for this family," she said. "I am so proud to call you my son, Sam; you've gone above and so far beyond what any teen would be expected to do. I'm not saying you need to break up with Mercedes..."
"Sure sounds like it," Sam said.
"I'm just asking you go along with what you have to with your grandfather."
Sam groaned and it came out as almost a growl. "Haven't I given up enough yet?" he asked her, pain flaring up. "Do you even care how much he hurt Mercedes? She's the strongest girl I know, but she honestly looked ready to fall apart. My parents, my own parents, didn't even try to comfort her or you know, assure her it'd be okay."
"Sam..."
He closed his eyes. "I'll think about it," he said. "Mom, I'm going to see if I can spend the night with Kurt and Finn, okay? I just don't want to be here right now. I just need to be with someone else.”
To his surprise, she nodded. Sam had been given a lot of freedom in the past couple of months because of the epic strides he took for his family. "I am so sorry Sam," she whispered softly.
"Me too," he said, heading back to his car.
He wasn’t exactly sure why he chose to go to Finn and Kurt’s place, but it was probably because they were living in the same house and Kurt was one of the most understanding guys he knew. Finn was, well, he had a history with Finn but he was sure that they were back to being sort of decent at least. They also lived pretty close by.
He stood at the door and then knocked, once he realized there was nothing else he could do. He looked around him. It was late. He was probably going to freak out Kurt and Finn’s parents, but there was nothing else that he could do. He couldn’t be at home.
Finn’s mom answered the door. Sam had only really met her once but she seemed to recognize him. “Hey there,” she said with a bright smile on her face that was mixed with a confused expression in her eyes. “You’re Sam, from glee, right? What are you doing here so late?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah,” he said awkwardly. “I was wondering if I could um, see Kurt and Finn for a minute.” He would ask to stay there if it came to it but right now, the immediate crisis was that he needed someone to talk to. It was an emergency of sorts.
“Boys!” she called up the stairs.
Moments later, Kurt appeared. “Sam?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow. He came the rest of the way down the stairs and approached Sam, a look of concern on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk,” he whispered. “I didn’t know who else to go to.”
Kurt nodded. “Come in,” he said, looking suddenly protective. It was funny, the way that everyone thought Kurt needed protecting when he was one of the toughest guys Sam knew. Sam quietly thanked Mrs. Hudson and followed Kurt upstairs to where Finn was starting to come down. Kurt knew how to handle a crisis well.
“Dude, what’s up?” Finn asked.
“I just…” Sam mumbled, but before he could explain he looked to Kurt. “Can we go somewhere private? Finn, you can come too.”
The three boys hurried into Kurt’s bedroom, where Kurt gestured for Sam to sit down. “What happened to you Sam?” Kurt asked a look of concern on his face. Kurt was positively mothering sometimes but it was really nice right now. Sam knew he needed it. “It’s late. I think you totally startled Carole.”
Sam looked at the two boys and groaned. “Something really bad happened on my date with Mercedes tonight,” he said softly.
That immediately sprung Kurt to action. “Where is she? Is she okay Sam? What happened?” he asked.
“She’s fine,” Sam mumbled. “I took her to see my grandfather tonight. He said he wanted to meet my girlfriend and everything, so I figured it would be nice. We got dressed up and went to the hotel he’s staying at. He…he took one look at her and called her the n-word.”
“WHAT?” Kurt asked, his eyes going wide. He had been about to sit down next to Finn on the bed, but jolted up into a standing position. “What did you say that man called my girl?”
“You heard me,” Sam said dejectedly, avoiding Kurt’s eyes. He knew that Kurt wasn’t angry at him but he couldn’t help feel that it was his fault. He had taken Mercedes there and had no idea what kind of man his grandfather was. “He said that no grandson of his was going to be dating a…you know what.”
“I don’t get why he’d say that,” Finn mumbled.
“Me neither,” Sam said. “I don’t think there’s really a logical or nice way to explain why racist people are racist.”
“Wait, isn’t your grandfather the man who…” Kurt began and Sam finished the sentence for him.
“Yeah,” he said. “He’s the man who saved my family. I really care about Mercedes, Kurt. I’m starting to fall for her fast. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I don’t want to lose her.”
“Are you family members telling you to dump her?” Kurt asked.
Once again, Finn looked confused. “Why would they ask Sam to dump her?” he asked, turning his head to look at Kurt.
“Because, Sam’s grandfather helped his family out financially,” Kurt told Finn, looking back to Sam with the same question lingering in his eyes. “Are they Sam?”
Sam shook his head. “Not really, but sort of,” he said softly. “I left home tonight because I had a fight with my mom. She pretty much implied that I should play along and not have Mercedes come by for awhile. She basically told me that I have to shove my dignity aside and play into a racist’s hands because he’s giving us money.”
“That’s messed,” Finn whispered.
“Haven’t I given up enough for my family?” Sam asked.
“You have, Sam,” Kurt said. “Can I ask Carole if you can spend the night? I know that you probably don’t want to go back there with all that’s going on. Finn can give you some pajamas and we can just play some video games or something.”
“That’d be…great, Kurt.”
Carole, of course, said yes to Kurt’s request. According to Kurt, she could tell Sam was distressed and she was always like that when kids were upset or in a bad situation. The three boys played video games and talked a little and it was a nice day. Sam actually slept pretty well despite the thoughts that were bothering him so deeply.
When he woke up, around ten then next morning, he heard Kurt on the phone. “Yeah, ‘cedes,” Kurt said into the receiver, tenderly. “He’s in a bad situation with his grandfather financially supporting his family. His parents are…well being stubborn about playing into the grandfather’s hands. I’m sure it’ll be okay sweetheart. No, you and Sam are not going to break up. He loves you Mercedes and he’ll find a way.”
Sam groaned and put a pillow over his head, hoping that Kurt was right.