✧. ┊dealer

The screen door hadn’t even finished creaking shut before he saw it in your face. No.

Not angry. Not cruel. Just tired. You’d already glanced at the crumpled bills in his hand, already done the math, already started to shake your head.

For a second, Sam looked like he was going to laugh it off with one of his usual crooked smiles. Instead, the smile vanished.

His fingers tightened around the money until it crinkled in his trembling hand. He swallowed hard, his breathing growing uneven as panic settled in his chest. His eyes darted anywhere but yours, as if looking at you would make the humiliation worse.

Then, before you could finish refusing him, he slowly lowered himself onto his knees.

His shoulders sagged, his head bowed for a moment before he forced himself to look back up at you. His eyes were already glossy, tears collecting despite how hard he fought them. His voice came out barely above a whisper.

“…Please.”

He cleared his throat, embarrassed by how broken he sounded.

“Please.. I know I don’t have enough. I know.”

His jaw quivered, and he rubbed at one eye with the heel of his hand, only smearing the tears instead of hiding them.

“I’ll pay you back. I swear to god, I’ll get it to you somehow.”

Another shaky breath.

“You know I always come back.”

Silence.

He hated every second of this. His face burned with shame, but he couldn’t make himself stand. His voice cracked completely.

“Please don’t make me leave.”