Hey! Thank you so much for your reviews, your favorites, and alerts.

Thank you, also, to the silent readers!

I wanted to let you know that I'm working on the last chapter of "An unexpected change of events", there might be some outtakes down the line, but I want to re-read what I wrote for the last chapter and decide if it's worthy or not.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. I think it's the longest one until now.

I enjoy writing this chapter very much.

As promised. Sam's reaction to the news!

THE GHOSTS OF MY LIFE

Chapter 8: Is it too soon?

Sam's face was priceless, but I still manage not to laugh. Laughing would be rude and then he would indeed get mad at me. I wouldn't want that.

Harry snorted and reprimanded me on my subtleness. I only shrugged, he was the one who was always causing mischief, and yet I am the one scolded. He was indeed much like my dad. No wonder they got along so well in the past.

Alison, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention to my silent conversation with her peer. She was much more concerned with Sam's well being. I was concerned about it as well, but I knew he would survive the shock.

"Did you just say Alison Uley?" I nodded. I knew she was Sam's grandmother. I didn't remember her saying how long has she been dead, and certainly, Sam never spoke of her. Maybe this would eradicate any possible lingering doubt.

"She's your grandmother, right?"

"Yes. She is my father's mother". Oh! touchy subject. The absentee father.

"Well, she is here with us." I added, not knowing what else to say.

He seemed angry, sad, confused, happy. I wanted to hug him and not let him go. "Why?" he whispered.

Alison had tears on her eyes. Since she appeared in my life, she always seemed to love her grandchildren, she even looked after Chelsea from afar. I never questioned the reasons as to why she wanted to stay away. I never liked this part of the deal. To communicate one's wishes to the living. The few times I did it, it wasn't pretty. The dead are best left that. Dead. No questions for them, no pain for the living relatives. But even I didn't believe in that cynical point of view.

"I never approved of my son leaving his family. I fought a lot with him. He was always so proud, never willing to see the mistakes he made. But he wasn't always like that. I thought he had changed when Emily was born. She was such a sweet child, but with a character that could rival her father's. She made herself heard when she wanted something. Her mother did such a good job raising her to be this amazing young woman."

I conveyed the message to Sam and he nodded. "That's nothing new, baby. I might have been a little kid when Ems was born but I remember our childhood. What I want to know is why she never stopped my father." I didn't exactly understand what he meant but I didn't want to pry. He would tell me when he was ready.

"Stop him from leaving?"

"She wants to know if you're wondering why she didn't stop him from leaving"

Sam stood up. He was trembling badly. He opened and closed his fists and seemed to be talking to himself. I stood up and started to walk to him but he pleaded me not to get closer.

"What's going on?" I was beginning to worry.

"Please, stay back" He whispered. The trembles seemed to be lessening and he was no longer opening and closing his fists. I did as I was told and sat back down, never looking away from him.

He took five more minutes to calm down and sat back next to me. "Are you alright?"

He shook his head no. "Promise me that when I'm trembling like that or worse, you won't come near me." He seemed desperate so I promised, though I wasn't really sure what I was promising. "I'm serious, Bella. I was close to phasing. Close to losing control. If you are too close, I can hurt you badly. I don't want to do that. Please, baby, promise me." I hugged him and let him clung to me, he was shaking a little, but I knew this was a different shake than before.

I looked at Alison, and she seemed to have come to a realization because her eyes were so wide and her hands were covering her mouth. She mumbled something, but I manage to understand it.

"Your grandma wants to know if your father ever hit any of you." I whispered in his ear.

He sat up. "He never hit me or Emily, but he hit my mom a few times before leaving."

"Please tell him I didn't know. He never told me, and his mother never told me either. I would have stepped in sooner."

"She says, she never knew. Neither your mom nor your dad ever told her anything. She says she would have stepped in sooner." He nodded and we remained silent for a few minutes. "Did you not get along with her or something?" That was prying but it would make me understand what was happening.

"No, it's not like that. Ems and I always enjoyed spending time with her growing up. But once mom told us everything I wondered if she knew and why she didn't do anything. We...I loved her very much. She was the only grandparent I knew. I guess I began resenting her, and not having answers was worse." I understood that.

"If it helps you. She is always looking after you and Emily. She has never gotten close to Chelsea, but she looks after her from afar. She is a woman of few words, but she always looks at you with such adoration." It seemed a little fair to give the old woman some credit.

I laughed at what Alison told me to tell him next. "She says that you were always burying your car toys and then you would throw a tantrum because you kept saying Taha-Aki kept stealing them" He laughed. This was a good laugh. One that came from the bottom of his soul and shook him entirely.

"I remember saying that. In my defense, I was five and had a terrible short-time memory"

After the conversation continued on much lighter tones, I was able to relax and to enjoy the evening with my wonderful boyfriend. He shared childhood stories about him picking on Emily, or Emily making him play tea-time with her. He talked some more about his mom and it was clear the loved, adoration and gratefulness he held towards her. It made me anxious, in a good way, to meet her tomorrow. I hoped she liked me.

He was also able to relax and to ask more questions about my gift. I didn't actually consider it a gift, but it was easier to put that name to it. Easier and shorter. Sam also asked a few questions about Harry, but I wasn't able to answer them because Harry chose to wander the earth while we talked with Alison. I actually didn't see him for a few hours.

…

…

…

The hour to meet Sam's mother was moved from late afternoon to noon. She claimed she had a book meeting that came up last minute. I didn't mind at all. That would mean I would still make it to my dad's weekly family dinner. This time, Sam could come with me. I was looking forward to it. I knew my dad knew Sam a little, but it would give them both the opportunity to bond on a different level. I really wanted Charlie to like Sam.

He picked me up at ten-thirty and we arrived at his mom's house at eleven. I was ashamed for arriving empty-handed, but Sam left late last night and I was too tired to make anything. I planned on baking some cookies but the meeting was moved. Sam told me not to worry.

My boyfriend knocked on the door with his right hand, his left was intertwined with my right. As I once thought, most of our interactions seemed to be instinctual. I loved it.

The door opened and in it stood a woman, clearly native. She wasn't fat, but she wasn't skinny either. She had black hair with a bit of white over a few places, some wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Gray eyes that seem to see right into your soul. The woman was easily my height, which made her at least two heads shorter than Sam. She engulfed her son on a tight hug, whispering something on his ear making him chuckle and nod. I smiled, they were clearly having a moment.

The introductions were made once the moment was finished.

"Mom. This is Bella. My girlfriend and my imprint"

I smiled at the woman, suddenly realizing Sam never told me her name. Would she consider it an insult if I greet her a 'Mrs. Uley?' Considering everything she went through with him. How do I greet her? 'Hello, Mrs. Mother of Sam?'. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Sam speaks with such love about you." This would have to do. Right?. I held out my hand, still uncertain as what was the protocol here.

She cast a glance at her son and the next thing I knew, I was being hugged tightly. It was such a warm embrace. I returned it suddenly missing my mom's exuberant hugs. "He speaks of you every chance he gets." She whispered to me making me laugh. "He clearly loves you" I froze. Love. It seemed a little too soon to be talking about love, right? I mean, I knew I was his forever mate, and with each day that passed, I liked that more and more...but love...that was huge.

She let me go and let us in. Her house was small. It had two bedrooms, a living room that also served as a dining room, a kitchen and two bathrooms. I loved it immediately. It was very...welcoming. Like a home should be. She had a lot of pictures of her children in various states of age. She also had a lot of pictures of Chelsea. And she had a magnet holding a drawing on her fridge. I recognized the drawing as Chelsea's.

Clara, as she introduced herself, later on, had made her famous spinach soup. It was heavenly and I actually found myself repeating and asking for the recipe. For dessert, she had made lemon pie, my favorite. When she stood up to retrieve it from the kitchen -refusing any help from any of us- I asked Sam if he had told her my favorite dessert. "Of course." He smiled showing all his teeth. I always found that smile amusing and giggled shaking my head.

Lunch with Clara was everything I dreamed about. She was such a warm person, a happy presence as she scolded Sam a few times for not picking up his phone and not coming for any food. Apparently, she loved to cook, especially for her children. She just didn't get the fact that the Bistro Sam owned actually provided him with food as well. And Sam liked to experiment on the kitchen...at least that's what he has told me a few times.

When we got ready to say goodbye she made Sam promise he would visit soon. "I don't care that that restaurant of yours has food. There's nothing like a mom's food." Sam didn't even correct her- again- on the fact that it wasn't a restaurant.

"Yes, mom. I promise to visit more often" I giggled at the tone of his voice. She shook her head and turned to me, turning her back on her son in the process. Said son was making signs with his hands that her mom was a bit crazy. I stifle a laugh. He was such a terrible person for wanting me to laugh at her mom's expenses.

"And you young lady, I love that you can handle him." Her mom seemed to think that Sam was a rascal. He was, but not like she thought.

"He makes it easy sometimes."I said smiling.

"I love how you two look together. You make an exceptional couple. Taha Aki chose very well." It made me proud that she thought that.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me that you think that." She hugged me one last time before Sam and I parted to my dad's house.

Once in the car, I let him know that I loved his mom. "She is just… I don't know...unique."

"I actually think she has a few loose screws in her head, but yes, she is unique." I hit his arm.

"You are so mean with her. She is lovely."

He smiled at me and held my hand the whole way to my dad's house.

…

…

…

My dad had the subtlety of a pink elephant. He kept throwing me glances throughout dinner and tilting his head in Sam's direction. I felt my boyfriend laugh quietly a few times, obviously, he had caught my dad's actions. I rolled my eyes and did the best to ignore my father's childish behavior. I focused on Seth and Leah and everything they were saying.

Leah kept talking about Jacob and Sue and I kept asking her questions about him. She obviously liked him a lot. She smiled hugely every time she told us about her conversations with him, over the phone or by text messages or vía video call or in person. Those two exhausted every possible way of communication that existed. I was really happy for Leah. She always wanted that. True love, a someone she could care for, but that was her equal, and I got the feeling with each day that Jacob was that for her. Well, he was indeed that, she was his imprint. I loved the universe's ways of working.

However, Sam, Dad, and Seth didn't enjoy our boy gossip so after dinner they retired to the living room and we stayed in the kitchen. I told them about the visit to Sam's mother and how I actually liked her despite my fears or nervousness.

"Clara has always been a nice person. She loves her children very much." Sue commented but her expression was a little sad all of the sudden. "I hated all the bad things Liam made them go through." I assumed Liam was Sam's father. "She loved him deeply when they first got together. And we all thought he loved her as well. None of us expected him to be unfaithful to her."She shook her head disapprovingly. "Harry and I were both witnesses to their wedding."

"How was he, when you were young?" Leah asked.

Sue thought about it for a minute. "He was very handsome. He had a great sense of humor that just lured everyone. He had a way with words. You could say he was very charismatic. But he also had a volatile character. He could be extremely happy one moment and the next he'd be completely enraged. I feared him a little but he was one of my and Harry's best friends. He introduced us to Clara, and we were very close. We never knew they had any kind of problems until he left her. We never knew what happened. I still don't know what went wrong. They seemed to be mad about each other. They were very happy at first, that couldn't have been fake. But I imagine something changed." She finished with a shrug.

Sam had a lot of his father's characteristics, but I knew deep in my bones that he would never be like his father.

Harry, finally making his appearance caught the end of the conversation and rolled his eyes. "I hated his cowardly behavior. No real man abandons his family like that. Dead or alive, they are better off without him." I nodded in agreement.

Leah excused herself when her phone rang. Jacob was calling her. I smiled at her and she rolled her eyes at me making Sue laugh.

"Tell me, sweetie. How is everything with Sam?"

I smiled amusedly. "As perfect as it can go."I reassured her. "He is very sweet, though not the most romantic man out there, but I actually liked that. I feel like most of our interactions are instinctual, you know what I mean? Like I don't have to think about what I'm doing, or If it's too fast, or too slow. We get along really well, considering we liked many different things. But he treats me very well. He also has this mischievous side of his that is so funny when directed at the others, but annoying when he teases me…."I interrupted myself, blushing. I haven't realized how many things I have noticed about him. It brought to mind the words Clara said earlier today. Could it be love, so soon? I myself had said that it was instinctual, and I didn't have to think about it being too soon or too late. I shook my head, I was making a mess out of myself.

Sue was looking at me strangely. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm worried about you." She admitted seriously.

"Why?"

"You're feeling so much for him so soon, I worry that…"

I had to stop her. "He is not going to hurt me. In any way. I trust him completely and blindly."

"I trust him too, and I trust you as well. Just promise me you'll be careful, honey."

"I promise. There's nothing to worry about, though." Then I smiled. "You're sounding much like my dad."

Harry snorted. "At least she tries to talk to you alone. The old man is really losing his head." I laughed, I couldn't stop it. "Maybe I can make him lose it for real for a few hours." He was off to the living room instantly.

"Who was it this time?" It was Leah who asked the question, taking me by surprise since I hadn't heard her come back.

I shook my head. "Just a crazy old man. He likes to mess around. Harmless" She accepted my answer because of my smile.

…

…

…

Finally, my dad couldn't stand it much longer and joined us in the kitchen. Leah and Sue excused themselves with poorly made excuses and left us alone.

"It took you forever." I teased.

He rolled his eyes and got a beer from the fridge. "Did you tell him?" What a way to get to the point, Dad.

"I did. Yesterday night." He shook his head mumbling something that sounded a lot like 'I don't wanna know'.

"Since he's here, I assumed it went well."

"It did. He freaked out a little but he believed me immediately. He actually asked a few questions trying to understand. I don't think he did understand anything but he likes to pretend he did."

My dad chuckled and after kissing me on the head and telling me he was happy for me he returned to the living room.

What did you think?

I hope you liked it.

Paty4Hale

1/10/2018.