AN: Sorry for the wait. Hope you enjoy. Please leave feedback.

Chapter 22

Sam's POV

I woke up with a smile on my face. We'd shifted in the night. I was on my side and Carly was spooning me, hugging me from behind. Her arm was wrapped around me and I could feel her sweet breath on the back of my neck as she breathed out her nose. It tickled but in a good way. It was still dark and, glancing at the bedside clock, I could see that it was just a little after 3am. I didn't want to wake Carly but I needed to roll over. I slowly, but surely, rolled onto my back. Carly stirred slightly but didn't wake all the way. She adjusted to me and cuddled up on my side, wrapping her arm around my waist and locking her legs with one of mine.

I felt her love for me shooting out of her and going into me. And even though she had been drained, I could still feel her healing me while she slept. I felt intense happiness. Hers and mine. Our sex from earlier was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. I had felt her love, happiness, desire, pleasure, ecstasy. Emotional and physical. I hadn't been able to feel the sensations of my fingers on her. But I felt what it was creating in her. Right up until the point of orgasm and after. I'd been able to feel her climax and the intense pleasure had caused an orgasm of my own. The closest way I could describe it would be multiple orgasms but all her physical pleasure and emotional ecstasy was added to my own. It was incredible. The buildup, culmination, and aftermath were all so unbelievable. I'd felt high. And then sleep had taken over.

As I laid there with Carly wrapped around me, feeling nothing but extreme happiness and content, I couldn't help but feel like it wouldn't last. Like "something wicked this way comes." But I pushed the feeling of impending doom aside, determined to enjoy this while it lasted. It didn't take long for me to drift back to sleep.

The next time I woke up, it was still dark but it was just a few minutes until Carly's alarm clock was set to go off. We were in the same position from the middle of the night when I'd rolled onto my back. Only this time, Carly had, at some point, slipped her hand down my boxers. I could feel her hand resting on my pelvis. The direct contact from her palm on my skin felt warm and amazing. Carly was still asleep. But I could still feel her healing me and her love for me was intense. I felt better, like my energy was almost back up to 100 percent from the previous day's exhausting events. Well, maybe closer to 80 percent. But it was a lot better.

We had placed the salt bowls back in all the rooms of the apartment so we didn't have to worry about any spirits bothering me while I was here, good or bad. I was relieved the salt seemed to be working. I needed the break. I no longer had to worry about my sleep being disturbed or having to cross any souls over while at Carly's. It was my time off from being a conduit. This was a spirit free zone. I decided it would be a good idea to get more salt and use it in the same way at my own apartment so I could be "off duty" when at either my place or Carly's.

Carly shifted next to me and moaned. I then felt her hand on my pelvis start to rub my lower stomach gently and I looked down at her face. She still had her eyes closed but I knew she was awake because I could feel her love energy intensify and she had a contented smile on her face. She continued to lovingly caress my mound with her fingers and it felt amazing. I sighed in pleasure and Carly must have realized I was awake because she started kissing my neck. I groaned in pleasure. Unfortunately, the alarm clock started blaring loudly and we both jumped. Carly pulled her hand out of my boxers to slap at the off button and shut the alarm up. Then she cuddled back into my side and her hand went back to my stomach but stayed above the waistband of my boxers. It was probably a good thing because we didn't have time to start anything exciting.

Carly slipped her hand up under my shirt and I felt her fingers gently caressing the soft skin between my breasts, right over my heart. It felt amazing. It was definitely enough to keep me from falling back asleep. Then I suddenly felt an intense jab of love energy shoot from her right into me. The wave was intense and it went directly into my chest and head. I could feel the emotion that was just created in her and also what it did to her physically. My whole body felt tingly and my head felt dazed, like I was high.

"Oh, fuck, Carls!" I mumbled out and squeezed my eyes shut.

"You felt that?" Carly asked amazed.

I looked down to her to see her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Of course, I felt that," I replied with a grin.

"Yeah, I know but…I just…keep forgetting you can feel it as intensely as I do," Carly replied with a blush and bit her lower lip. "I mean…I can't help it. I just love you so much and then I feel that love so strongly and…"

I caressed Carly's arm lovingly and kissed the top of her head. "It's alright," I replied, "it's just as enjoyable for me too. I'm just not expecting it sometimes and it hits me by surprise. But it's definitely a good thing. You don't need to feel embarrassed by it and you definitely don't need to hold back."

She smiled up at me and kissed my lips. When she pulled back, she said, "Well, now I know I can help put you at ease during the day if you look stressed out. And even if we aren't physically touching."

"Just don't do it while I'm trying to take a test or something. It would be way too distracting," I replied with a grin and Carly drew my lips back in for another smoldering kiss. A few minutes later, we decided to get up and get ready for school.

Later, on the walk to Ridgeway High, I was deep in thought about multiple things. I felt Carly squeeze my hand and I looked over to her. "What's got you so distracted?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh, uh…I was just thinking how I need to practice my abilities some time," I replied. "Maybe after school. I need to figure out if they work at a distance and I need to learn how to shield myself from unwanted feelings; emotional and physical."

"That's probably a good idea," Carly said with a smile.

"I might need your help too, Fred-wich," I said, looking over to him on Carly's other side. "I was thinking, in order for me to test it without the help of a phone, Freddie, you could maybe go somewhere in Bushwell Plaza and be on a call with Carly. She could be in the same room with me and we could relay info back and forth that way. And then we can try it at different locations and distances."

"Why can't I just be on the phone with you?" Freddie asked.

"Because I already know it works at a distance if I'm on the phone with someone. I was able to do it with Carly," I answered.

"Really?" Carly asked surprised.

"Yeah," I replied, "I could sense your emotions through the phone but the second we hung up, the connection was lost. I want to see if I can read people's emotions from a distance without the help of a phone. And maybe even pick up on their physical wellbeing. So far, I think the furthest I've been able to do it is when you two were in your room and I was up in the studio. It might just take focusing on a particular person."

"I think it would be a good idea to focus on shielding unwanted feelings first," Carly input. "I feel like that is most important. I don't like the idea of you being in pain on a regular basis and not have a way to soothe it. I mean, I can help if I'm in the same room as you but what happens when we have different classes?"

"Yeah, you're right," I replied. "Maybe we should work on that first thing after school."

As we continued to walk to school, I once again saw that ghost girl that I had seen last week standing in the middle of the road with nothing on but a nightgown. This time, I decided to approach her before another car could rush through her and cause her to disappear.

"I'll be right back," I said to Carly and Freddie. Then I left them on the sidewalk and looked both ways to make sure no cars were coming before crossing the road. As I walked over to the girl, I could feel her sadness and despair. I could also feel her physical pain as I drew closer. I wasn't sure what had caused her physical pain but it manifested as a strong headache in my own body.

"Hi," I said quietly to her. She just looked at me with a serious expression. "Will you allow me to help you?" I asked and she nodded. "Okay, why don't we go over to the sidewalk first?" I didn't want to take the chance of getting hit by a car while I was trying to cross her over. And I wanted to try to calm her and take away her pain first.

We walked over to the closest sidewalk, across the street from Carls and Freddie. I could see them watching me out of the corner of my eye. I wasn't sure what to do to take her pain away but I figured it might work the same way it had on Spencer. I took a deep breath and made sure I was calm first, hoping that would help her also. Then I placed my hands on her head and the pain in mine immediately went away. So, I assumed it was also taking the girl's pain away as well. Her facial expression instantly turned to one of relief.

She sighed, "Thank you!" I smiled at her and then I lowered my hands. As soon as I'd taken my hands away from her forehead, the pain came back slightly but it was a lot less than before.

"Are you ready?" I asked. And she nodded again. I reached out my hands, palms up, and she took them. She closed her eyes and then faded out of this plane of existence. I felt her go, and along with her, all the pain and distress she had been in. But it hadn't been much since I had been able to take most of it away beforehand.

I lowered my hands and then relaxed. When I turned back to the street, I could see Carly and Fredbag looking at me with concern. I smiled and then walked back over to them.

"How'd it go?" Carly asked as soon as I rejoined them.

"Pretty well," I replied. "It was that ghost girl who got hit by a car that I told you about. I was able to take most of her pain away before crossing her over. So, it went pretty smoothly."

Carly nodded and then took my hand as we resumed walking. I felt her love energy replenishing me. Freddie had a thoughtful look on his face. "That's good," Carly said, "maybe now I won't have to worry about you so much." I smiled at her and then pecked her on the lips. I felt my energy being restored even more when our lips were connected.

We continued our walk to school but we didn't even make it another block before I felt the tingling at the back of my neck again. I felt dread build up. I knew there was another spirit close by and this one wasn't calm like the ghost girl had been. Up ahead on the sidewalk, I saw a man staring at me. His clothes were in tatters and he had an angry expression. I could feel anger, impatience, and annoyance emanating from him. I had halted our walking and Carly and Freddie were looking at me confused.

"Another one already?" Carly asked. I just nodded and tried to mentally prepare myself. But there was no time.

The man suddenly started running straight for me. "Oh, shit!" I muttered. The angry ghost looked furious, as if he were insulted that he was dead and I was just out living my life. I braced myself for him but he ran right through me, crossing over and simultaneously knocking me to the ground in the process. The force of the blow was painful.

I hit the sidewalk on my back with a yelp. "Sam!" Carly cried out, looking worried. Freddie looked alarmed as well. I groaned as Carly helped me to stand.

"What was that?" Freddie asked incredulously. "It looked like you got hit by an invisible linebacker."

"It felt like it too," I replied with a grimace. "Wow, that one was angry. And impatient." I brushed my clothes off as I stood up. Carly and Freddie looked worried.

"Are you alright?" Carly asked sympathetically.

I sighed, "I'll live." It had hurt pretty bad when he passed through me and when I had hit the sidewalk but I didn't want to show it to my friends. I took a few steps and felt slightly faint but Carly took my hand and I started to feel better. I smiled at her and her look of concern melted into a smile of her own but she still looked slightly worried.

We continued on and finally made it to the school. First period was, luckily, uneventful. But during second period, an old lady spirit stared at me hatefully from the corner. I tried to ignore her and focus on the lesson but the old woman wasn't having it. I was hoping to cross her over in between classes but she walked right over to my desk and stood in front of me, glaring. It was like she was insisting I cross her over right now. I stared at her, hoping she would go away for the time being but she grabbed both my shoulders and forcefully passed through me. I felt her anger and pain shoot throughout my body.

I had shut my eyes when she crossed over and gritted my teeth in pain. My whole body was tense. I opened my eyes and looked to my left over at Carly to see her looking at me with concern clearly written on her face. I felt her intense worry. I could tell she knew what had happened. Then her expression turned to one of sympathy and I could feel her love energy healing me. We weren't able to touch each other right now but she was sitting at her desk only a few feet from me. So, it was close enough for me to feel her and I sighed in relief. We smiled at each other in understanding and tried to focus back on the teacher writing on the board. Freddie was sitting right behind Carly and he had been watching the exchange between the two of us so I'm pretty sure he knew what just went down.

A few minutes went by and then I gradually started to feel an intense headache. I looked all around but didn't see any other spirits in the classroom. I focused on where the pain was coming from and I concluded that the boy sitting directly in front of me had a headache and I was feeling his pain. I rubbed my forehead in an attempt to soothe it but the pain was strong. I saw the boy shift in his seat. I could tell he was in a lot of pain too. I saw him reach into his backpack and pull out a bottle of ibuprofen and he downed two of them without any water. I knew it would take a long while for the meds to kick in and I sighed and tried to pay attention to the assignment the teacher had just given us.

I knew I needed to learn how to block others' feelings, and soon. This was going to drive me crazy otherwise. No sooner had I thought that than I felt an intense hunger, which was weird because I had eaten a full breakfast at Carly's before we left for school. I surmised that the girl to my right was hungry and I was feeling her hunger pangs. This sucks! I then heard her stomach growl loudly. The headache intensified and I inwardly groaned. This was going to be a long day.

When second period let out, I headed for the bathroom. As I passed kids in the hall, I could feel different emotions and physical sensations. It seemed that I could feel everyone's feelings within several feet, maybe even everyone in this particular hallway. I noted the sensations as I walked. I could feel one girl's menstrual cramps, and another one I passed by was in love and I felt this as well. A boy talking to another girl at her locker was clearly aroused and this just made me feel uncomfortable. How the hell could I feel his erection when I didn't have that particular body part? A phantom erection? I passed by a group of cheerleaders and I could feel their disdain, hatred, arrogance, happiness, worry, annoyance, and pride as I passed by each of them. I sighed as I walked on.

I finally made it to the bathroom and I locked myself in one of the stalls. I needed to be alone so I could get some relief from the constant bombardment of emotions and physical feelings but it didn't last long. A couple girls entered the restroom, each taking a stall on either side of me. The girl to my right was filled with worry about something and the girl to my left had a strong pain in her stomach. I should have stayed with Carly. At least she was able to provide me with emotional comfort and was able to heal me from certain things. She was like a shield in a way.

The girls soon left the restroom and I was finally alone. I exited my stall and stood in front of the mirror, leaning against the countertop. The solitude felt nice. I wasn't looking forward to rejoining the crowds. Being able to sense everything was taking a major toll on me and I was feeling stressed and drained. Also, the feeling of the energy in the school was intense. It felt "loud". Just the fact that there were so many people congregated in one place, each with their own energies and emotions, was overwhelming and I felt like I was on sensory overload. I wondered if I would ever be comfortable here at school again or be able to go to the mall or other places with large crowds.

I turned the faucet on and splashed some cold water on my face. It felt soothing. Then the lights flickered and I saw movement behind me in the mirror. I whipped around, scared I would see a dark spirit but instead, there were two little kids standing there holding hands. One boy and one girl about the same age, probably siblings. No older than six years old. They looked scared and I could feel their fear. I sighed in relief. Even some good spirits were still able to cause the lights to flicker if they were afraid, angry, or upset.

"It's okay," I said quietly, "don't be afraid."

They then smiled at me and then laughed as they ran straight at me and crossed over together. I hadn't been expecting that and wasn't able to prepare for them. I gritted my teeth in pain. I had been hoping they would take it slow but kids were unpredictable. Even after death. They had seemed happy when they passed through me but for some reason, it was still painful when they passed. And the two of them channeling me at the same time drained me even more than normally. This day was turning super stressful super fast.

I turned back toward the mirror and when I did, I saw a girl poke her head out from it. I screamed and jumped back, not expecting that. She looked confused and then stepped all the way out from the mirror, her torso walking through the countertop and she stood before me. She looked like she was from the 70s. I sighed, trying to get my wits about me but the spirits weren't giving me a break today. Mel had been right about more and more spirits being drawn to me. It was like they could suddenly find me, now that my abilities had been 'turned on'.

"Could you please give me a minute?" I asked trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. Her blank expression turned to one of understanding and she nodded.

I sighed again and took a deep breath. I tried to calm myself. Luckily, this girl didn't seem to be in any physical pain but she seemed eager to cross over. I could sense it in her. I was glad she was pausing on my account though. I finally reached out my hands to her and she took them, crossing over. This one didn't hurt but it was still draining. Add to the fact that she was the sixth soul for me to channel today and I had been feeling everyone's emotions and feelings, caused me to be overwhelmed and anxious.

Carly's POV

When Sam finally entered our third period class, I saw a noticeable change in her. She looked drained, exhausted. What had happened in the past few minutes to cause this? She'd looked like she was in distress throughout second period but this was even worse. She sighed when she plopped down in the seat next to mine and I tried to give her a sympathetic smile but she looked so worn down when she grinned back and it didn't reach her eyes. She took out her textbook and laid it down on her desk. I made sure to make my love energy extra intense when I projected it to her and she looked back over to me with a genuine smile this time. I knew she could feel it helping her.

Halfway through class, I glanced over to Sam to see a serious expression on her face. She looked like she was in pain. I wondered if she was sensing someone else's pain in the class or if she had just crossed a spirit over. It could have possibly been both. She clenched her eyes shut for several seconds and her jaw appeared to be locked, like something was setting her teeth on edge. Then she seemed to relax a bit and opened her eyes. She must have just crossed a spirit over. My poor Sam. She looked over to me and I realized she could sense my worry. I quickly shifted my emotions to relaxed so she would have something comforting to focus on and she smiled at me. But her facial expression quickly turned back to distressed again. This happened a couple more times throughout class.

By lunchtime, Sam looked spent. She plopped down in her seat next to me at our usual table and gave a weary sigh. She looked like she hadn't slept in days and my heart went out to her. My poor Sam!

"How are you holding up?" Freddie asked in concern, beating me to the question that I was just about to ask. He looked just as worried about her as I was.

She sighed heavily again, "I…I'm…really tired." She chose her words carefully. I knew she didn't want to worry us; me in particular. But I could sense her distress. I didn't know if it was just me being her girlfriend and knowing her half of our lives or if my own abilities were developing more and making it so that I could sense when she needed me to heal her. She looked so sad.

I reached over and gripped her hand as it rested on the tabletop. She looked me in the eye and I gave her a sad smile. "You don't have to act strong just for us," I replied. "I know you're hurting."

She sighed again and her face scrunched up in sadness and pain. I quickly pulled her in for a hug as she cried on my shoulder but she kept her sobs quiet so no one else would hear. The cafeteria was loud anyway. And then I wondered how many students she was able to feel right now. Possibly all of them. All their emotions and physical sensations. It had to have been overwhelming. All-consuming. I focused on my love for her as I projected it into her and hoped that she could feel me healing her and feel my intense love. I wanted it to be stronger than any other emotion in the room so that it would "quiet" all the other energy she was sensing, or at least help to dull it. It must have worked because she soon pulled back and looked at me with a sad smile.

"Thanks, Cupcake," she muttered. I smiled at her and brushed her tears away.

She turned back to her lunch tray but didn't seem interested in the food. "How has it been today?" I asked her. "Truthfully."

She looked at Freddie and then me. "It's been utterly atrocious," she replied slowly and tiredly, "I've crossed over 12 spirits today so far." My eyebrows shot up in surprise and Freddie looked just as shocked as she went on. "And I've been able to feel everyone's pain. All their emotions, energies, and physical sensations. I feel…everything!" She looked devastated. I felt so bad for her. "I-I don't know if I can make it through the rest of the day. And I'm already so drained."

I was worried about her. If she didn't take care of herself and learn to shield others' energies this could wear her down and make her sick. And I knew it would be worse for her after lunch since we didn't have afternoon classes together. "I'm so sorry, Sam," I replied with sympathy, "I can't even imagine what that's like."

"Me either," Freddie added, looking at her compassionately.

"You should try to eat," I said, "maybe it will help you feel better."

Sam turned back to her lunch but just stared at it. "I can't eat," she said, "I have all this nervous energy in me. I feel like I'll throw up if I try to eat anything."

"But you said you're drained," I replied in concern, "you need to replenish your energy."

She looked at her lunch tray in disgust. I grabbed her hand. If she couldn't eat, I would replenish her with my love energy at least. A few minutes went by and Freddie tried to talk about other things to take Sam's mind off of her suffering. But I was worried about Sam. Freddie and I had begun to eat our lunch and I had to let go of Sam's hand in order to do so. She just sat there while Freddie talked, taking deep, slow breaths. She looked like she was trying to focus on something in particular, probably my energy so that she wasn't bombarded with anyone else's.

Halfway through lunch, Sam promptly cut Freddie off mid-sentence, "I-I gotta get out of here!" She stood up, leaving her full lunch tray on the table and ran off.

"Sam, wait!" I hollered to her. But she was already exiting the cafeteria. I started to run after her, worry filling me. I heard Freddie call my name but I ignored him. My only concern was Sam. I pushed through the cafeteria doors and looked all around but Sam was gone.

I looked throughout the halls, searching restrooms as I went. I sent her a few texts too but she didn't reply. I assumed she just needed to be alone. My worry was going into overdrive as I headed to my fifth period class. Why am I even here? I should be looking for Sam. But I had that underlying need to finish school for the day. That feeling to follow the rules even though I couldn't give a rat's ass or pay attention in class. I hope Sam is okay in her afternoon classes alone. I had been hoping she would text me back to let me know if she was alright.

At the end of the day, I approached my locker but Sam was nowhere in sight. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and put the items in my locker that I wouldn't need for the evening. Freddie joined me after I closed my locker door and I threw my backpack over my shoulders. I checked my phone again but there were no replies from Sam.

"Do you think maybe she went home?" Freddie asked with concern.

"I don't know, Freddie," I replied with worry.

We waited a few more minutes to see if Sam would show up but she never did. So, we finally started the walk home. The sky was dark gray as we strolled in silence and a cold breeze made me shiver. It seemed Seattle had more dark, cloudy days than actual rainy days. When we made it to my door, I said goodbye to Freddie and entered my apartment. I hollered out to Spencer but the apartment was quiet. He must have gone out. I was filled with a deep sadness and disappointment. I had been hoping to find Sam on the couch when I came home but the first floor was quiet and empty. I sighed and trudged up the stairs to my room.

I dropped my backpack on the floor next to the door and gave another disappointed sigh. No Sam on my bed either. She must have gone home. My sadness and worry grew even more. I was about to head to my bathroom when I heard a sniffle. I froze and glanced around the bedroom. Then I saw the top of a blonde head on the other side of the bed and I was filled with relief.

"Sam?" I called out. I walked over to the far side of the bed, near the window. There was Sam sitting on the floor, her back resting against the side of the bed. She had her legs drawn up and her arms were resting on her knees. She didn't look up at me. She just stared straight ahead. I heard her sniffle again and she wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Oh, Sam!" I moved to sit next to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. I leaned my head on hers and felt tears sting my eyes. Sam hardly ever cried but when she did, it was for a good reason.

I reached my free hand over and rubbed her arm as she continued to quietly sob. I was so glad she was here. This was the only place she could be safe, away from spirits and away from crowds and people in general. I wondered if she was okay with my presence, knowing how hard it had been for her to be around people all day.

"Do you want to be alone?" I quietly asked her.

"No, please stay," Sam muttered sadly. "You…you make everything okay."

My heart swelled at that. We sat in silence for a while, Sam crying, and me just trying to comfort her. After several minutes, her sobs finally died down.

"Sam…what happened earlier? Are you okay?"

"I…I just had to get out of that place. It was too much. I was so drained from crossing over so many and it was like everyone in the whole cafeteria was…taking something from me. It's hard to explain. I just had to get away before I was all used up. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, I think I understand," I replied.

"It was so overwhelming that I started to feel hopeless. Like so many of the souls I cross over. I can feel what they feel and so much of the time, it's hopelessness. Or despair. Sometimes it's relief but so many of them are filled with negative emotions. Because it's all they know. And when I was in the cafeteria, I…I couldn't feel the good anymore. Even though I was with you. I couldn't focus on you. Normally, I can concentrate on just your energy and it's comforting. But there was too much going on all at once. And everything hurt."

I sat in silence with her for a beat and then she continued. "I left school when I ran out of the cafeteria. I ran all the way here. I sensed a few spirits along the way but I ran from them. There are so many of them, Carls. All over the place. They're everywhere. And some are so negative. I knew this was the only place I could get away from them. And when I finally made it here, everything was quiet. And peaceful. But I felt so bad for ignoring all of them."

"Sam, you can only take on so much at once," I comforted her. "You can't be expected to save everyone all the time. You're not a superhero. Even though Freddie pretty much said so. And I'd be worried if you did try to save everyone. Twelve spirits in the span of just a few hours seems like too much as it is. I don't blame you for ignoring the rest. You gotta put your needs first. Speaking of which, have you eaten anything since breakfast?"

She shook her head and I sighed, "Well, come on. Let's go raid the fridge. I'll make you something." This seemed to bring her back. She smiled at me and we got up. As we were headed to the bedroom doorway, I grabbed her arm, pausing her. I looked into her eyes and pulled her in for a kiss. She sunk into my embrace and kissed back with fervor. Caressing her cheek, I deepened the kiss, putting all my love and passion into it to try to comfort and heal her. I had missed her lips all day. I was relieved that she finally seemed relieved. She wrapped her arms around me and then dropped her face into the crook of my neck.

She gave a sigh; a sound of relief and I just held her and rubbed her back soothingly. I felt her kiss the side of my neck and I smiled. We stayed that way for several moments, just savoring each other. When she finally pulled back, I was confused to see sadness in her eyes. I caressed her cheek with my thumb.

"What is it?" I asked in concern. She shook her head. "No, tell me," I insisted.

"I…I just felt like…soon, I'll be missing this. Missing you," she replied. "I know it doesn't make sense. But I just miss you."

"I'm right here, Sam," I reassured her and hugged her again. "I'm not going anywhere." I felt her relax again. After a few moments, I pulled back to smile at her and said, "Come on. Let's get some food in your stomach." I took her hand and led her downstairs.

We finally made it to the kitchen, where I made Sam a sandwich with three different kinds of meats, veggies and cheese. I sat with her and watched her eat. What she had said earlier about missing me, made me wonder what was going on inside her head. Everything she was going through was so complicated. We chatted about a few things then after she was done, we sat on the couch and watched TV. I cuddled into her and sighed in happiness, just glad to be with Sam.

"You're planning to stay the night, right?" I asked her as she flipped through the channels and landed on a movie we'd both already seen. I was hoping she would stay so I could heal her and so that she would have a break from the spirits. I knew she hadn't had a chance to spirit-proof her apartment yet. Not to mention, I loved my "Sam time".

"I'd like to, Cupcake, but I haven't seen my mom in a few days," Sam replied. "She's really been trying to be a better mom and I want to support her in her efforts to stay sober. I don't want to be absent in her life. She gets depressed when she's alone for too long and that usually leads her to drink more."

"You're such a good daughter to her," I said supportively and she smiled back at me. "Even when she hasn't been a good mom to you." Then my worry came back.

I looked her in the eye with concern but I understood. I felt disappointed that I wouldn't be spending the night with Sam but I tried not to be selfish. I wanted Sam all to myself but I knew she needed to be there for her mother too. I always worried about Sam when she went home. I knew Mrs. Puckett had been making an effort to get sober but what if she had a slip and decided to get drunk? What if her mood turned bad and she started hitting Sam again?

Sam pecked me on the lips and caressed my cheek. I realized she had been picking up on my concern and disappointment and was trying to put me at ease. I smiled at her and kissed her back. After several sweet moments, I pulled back from the kiss and rested my head on her shoulder. We focused back on the TV and I tried not be worried about Sam. Easier said than done.

A commercial came on and I was about to suggest to Sam that we practice her shielding lesson but I looked over and noticed her head was drooping. Her eyes were closed and she was nodding off. She looked so tired. Poor Sam. There was a knock on the front door and Sam opened her eyes and straightened her neck.

"It's open!" I hollered out and Freddie came through the door.

"Oh, hey, Sam," he greeted, "glad to see you're back. We were worried about you." He took a seat on my other side. "Did you still want to practice your abilities at a distance?"

"Well, we agreed that she needs to focus on shielding first," I replied. "Are you ready?" I asked as I turned back to Sam.

"Sure," she replied sounding fatigued. "The sooner I learn, the better."

We spent the next hour helping Sam practice shielding. Freddie and I took turns standing in front of Sam, projecting different emotions at her. But I could tell she was growing even more exhausted than she already had been. And frustrated.

"This is ridiculous!" Sam exclaimed in frustration. "I don't even know what I'm doing!"

She and Freddie were standing facing each other on the other side of the coffee table while I sat on the couch watching them. I had my laptop in front of me open to the page about blocking unwanted emotions.

"That's because you're not concentrating," Freddie berated her.

Sam glared angrily at him and I interceded before she could take out her frustrations on him. "Sam, look at me," I said gently and she turned to look me in the eye. I projected my love to her and it seemed to do the trick. She calmed a bit. "Let's just try it one more time. Just do what the internet says. Just relax."

Sam turned back to Freddie and closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths in and out and she then opened her eyes. "Okay," I went on, "now picture a wall between you and Freddie. Or if that's not working, imagine that you're in a protective bubble and nothing can penetrate it."

Sam had an intense look on her face as if she were focusing intently. "Are you picturing it?" I asked her and she nodded in reply. "Okay, Freddie, begin," I instructed. I stopped projecting my own energy at Sam. I knew she would need to practice doing this without my help because she wouldn't have me around her all the time and I wanted her to be prepared.

Freddie focused on Sam's face. He looked like he was giving her the stink eye. He must be projecting some strong negative emotions at Sam because she just continued to stare daggers right back into his eyes. It was like they were having a mental battle of wits. After a few silent moments, Sam groaned in frustration and grabbed her forehead in pain.

"Damn it, Freddie! Enough!" Sam yelled angrily.

"Come on, Sam, you need to learn how to do this if you're ever going to have any sort of normal life," Freddie reprimanded.

"Thanks for the reminder, Fred-pus!" Sam growled out. "But you're not the one being constantly bombarded with hate, fear, anxiety, and every other negative emotion all day long! Not to mention all the physical pain from others too! You're enjoying this a little too much, if you ask me!"

"I'm just trying to help! You don't have to get so snippy!" Freddie shot back.

"Well excuse me for being a little exhausted from channeling 12 spirits and feeling everyone's everything!" Sam shouted out. "And who says 'snippy' anyway? You're turning more and more into your mother!"

"Okay, why don't we take a break," I tried to interrupt before things got too out of hand.

"Hey!" Freddie yelled at Sam, "I'm just doing you a favor! You don't have to be such an ass!"

"Oh, I'm the ass?!" Sam shouted back, "you're the one shooting hate at me so strongly it could make Gandhi turn to the dark side!"

"Freddie!" I yelled at him in shock.

He turned to look at me, "What? We're supposed to be training her, right? You want me to go easy on her and have the next dark entity that comes along possess her?"

"No, but you know she's had a rough day already," I replied, "you could start off slow. She could learn to block positive and neutral emotions just as well as negative."

"The problem is, is that she's not focusing hard enough," Freddie said turning his gaze back to Sam.

"No, the problem, Fred-bag, is that I'm already drained, exhausted, and in pain and you're not helping things by yelling at me and dropping a bomb of negative emotions on me," Sam growled out.

"Yeah, Freddie," I agreed, "you could be a little more compassionate and understanding. This isn't a game. Can't you see she's frustrated enough as it is?"

Freddie looked slightly regretful and sighed. "I'm sorry, okay?" But he didn't sound all that apologetic and Sam picked up on this. She gritted her teeth. "Let's try this again, okay?" he asked.

"No, you know what?" Sam said in anger. "I'm done! You two can stay here and research and argue if you want but I'm out of here!"

Sam started to make her way over to the front door and my heart dropped in worry and disappointment. "Sam, wait! Where are you going?" I asked in concern.

"Home!" she yelled back angrily as she grabbed her jacket from the coat rack and put in on. "I'm done with this little training session! Freddie's been torturing me and it's fun for him! Neither of you understand the hell that I've been going through!"

I set my laptop on the coffee table and stood up to stop her but Freddie beat me to it.

"Come on, Sam. Don't be like that," Freddie said as he grabbed her shoulder from behind.

In a flash, Sam grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder; his back hitting the floor with a loud thud. Freddie let out a yelp in pain and looked up at her in shock. I stared at her in surprise as well. Sam looked livid. I hadn't seen her this angry in a long time. "Don't you fucking touch me! Got it?!" she yelled.

My worry shot up exponentially and my heart began to race. She looked like a wild, wounded animal ready to strike out at the next possible threat.

"Sam," I said with concern. There was no anger in my voice, only worry and fear. She finally made eye contact with me and her eyes looked dark, not like Sam at all. She glared at me with malice. Sam had never looked at me this way before. Never. I looked back at her and I knew she must have felt my fear and concern because her scowl immediately turned to a look of shock at what she just did, her dark eyes changing and turning back to their brilliant blue. She then looked ashamed. She glanced down at Freddie who was still laying on the floor looking up at her in disbelief. Fear was clearly written all over his face as if he were unsure of Sam's next move.

Sam didn't say anything as she grabbed her backpack and left, slamming the door behind her. I went over and helped Freddie up. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," Freddie replied a bit shaken, "but what was that? Sam didn't even seem like herself there for a few seconds."

"I don't know," I replied with worry. "Did you see her eyes?"

"Yeah," Freddie acknowledged.

"They were dark," I replied, "almost black."

"Probably just a trick of the light," he replied, trying to brush it off.

"Yeah," I agreed, hoping he was right. But something felt so wrong. I wanted to go after her but something made me stop. Sam needed some time to cool off. I was worried. In all my years of friendship with her, I had never felt afraid of Sam before. In that moment, I hadn't been worried about her hurting me. But I had never felt that level of disconnect from her. And that's what scared me the most. The feeling that Sam wasn't Sam for those few seconds and she was wild and unpredictable.

I just continued to stare at the front door, wondering what the hell just happened. Then Freddie spoke, interrupting my thoughts. "She's probably just under a lot of stress. She just needs a good night's sleep and she'll probably feel better in the morning."

"I hope you're right," I said with worry and fear in my heart.