[ 40 ] 2014

-

"Everything is ready for you, mate. Good luck."

-

That first day she was with him she was only silent the entire time, which sent a feeling of a thousand little pricks to his chest. He led her into his home, where he lived with his parents and his sister Elenore, who had told him so many stories about Arthur's life growing up. Bobby was more than glad to hear about it, as he died before Arthur was born and never got a chance to meet him. He wondered if Claire would like to hear the stories too, since he'd seen the way she was forced to give up their son to save him from having to grow up around Con. She couldn't see him or talk to him, she couldn't meet him. But she always thought about her son who she had with the one man she truly loved and who truly loved her. 

When they arrived at his house, Bobby noticed his bedroom had been expanded to accommodate two people instead of just one. There was more space in the room and there was an entire wardrobe of women's clothing added. On the nightstand was a beautiful gift basket with fruits, wine, and cheese. 

A note included read: For one of my most beloved sons. I took the liberty of expanding your living space, and getting my daughter a new set of clothes. Please enjoy your present. You have earned it. -God 

Claire was still in such shock from her time in purgatory that she didn't notice anything, didn't comment on anything. She merely clung to Bobby's arm like her life depended on it. He sat her down on the bed gently and walked over to the bathroom to get a hot bath running for her. The moment he got up to walk away, he noticed someone following him. He turned around to see her quietly following behind him, her big blue eyes were wide with terror at the thought of him leaving her. He took both his hands in hers and gave her reassurances. "You're okay now. Nothing will ever hurt you as long as I'm here." He brought her hands to his lips and felt as they trembled in his touch and how cold they were. 

She still said nothing and led her to the bathroom to run her a bath. He then turned around, as he felt it was the more gentlemanly thing to do, and asked her to get undressed. But she stood there motionless, just watching his back as he turned to face the door. He waited several minutes, but when he didn't hear her step into the bath, he heaved a sigh. He slowly turned towards her and offered her a warm smile. Surely, he had seen her undressed before dozens of times. But that had been so long ago that he almost felt like they were starting all over. 

And this was an entirely different version of Claire and he didn't want to feel like he was taking advantage. The Claire he knew before was more confident and even teased when she saw him go red in the face the first time they got intimate. The first time he saw her undressed she asked him if liked what he saw, and he did. Then she told him she definitely liked what she saw when she saw him getting undressed. He was fit and lean with a bit of hard muscle from all his years in the marine academy, and then the police academy. But this seemed like a whole different person. This Claire was quiet and just not at all moving. It was as like she was just waiting for him to do everything because she relied on him that much. He had been the one to save her when everyone else forgot about her.

She was dressed in what he assumed was the last thing she wore the day she died. Bobby remembered some, but not all details of that day. What he remembered most was being at the gates of heaven waiting for her, in hopes that she would be allowed inside. But she never arrived, as her soul had been punished to roam the earth for a couple of years. It was in 1983 and she had been thirty nine when she passed. Bobby, on the other hand, remained twenty five forever.

He helped her get undressed and then helped her into the tub. He even had to help her wash up because she wasn't moving at all. When he finished getting her cleaned up, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her. He wrapped her blonde hair in another and led her to the bedroom where he looked for comfortable clothes to get her dressed into. 

She couldn't do anything if he wasn't there with her. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sleep, she wouldn't talk to anyone. Bobby wondered how much longer she would be trapped in her thoughts like that. All she wanted to do all day was to be in the safety of their bedroom, cuddled up in his arms, hiding away from everyone and everything. 

That went on for about a week until she slowly started talking again. The first word that left her lips after so long had been his name.

-

It took about a month for her to get back to normal. To the Claire he remembered, except she had repented for all the bad things she did and was nicer to people. Anne-Sophie and Ashton had been a bit reluctant to accept her well wishes and her apologies at first. But they finally decided that everyone deserved a second chance, Claire was certainly no exception. 

The thirty nine year old looked at her reflection in the mirror, her hands touching her face as she heaved a sigh. She would remain her current age eternally, but she always felt self conscious now whenever she looked at Bobby. Twenty five, tall, handsome, and absolutely crazy about her. But she couldn't help but feel that she looked more like his mother than his girlfriend. She was a whole fourteen years older than him after all. He walked into the room, and saw her in a nice and flowy white dress that she had picked out. 

Since Ashton had convinced God to give Calum a second chance at life, Bobby thought it would be a good idea for her and Calum to meet up. He had met Anne-Sophie anyway and thet got along splendidly. But Claire was the woman Calum had really known as his grandmother. Bobby knew that despite it all, she cared about her step son Richard, and her step grandson Calum as well. He wanted them to be on good terms before he could go back to the world of the living. A smile formed on his lips as he walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, leaning down to rest his chin on her shoulder. His smile dropped when he saw the frown in her reflection in the mirror.

"What's wrong?" He asked her. When he pulled back, he turned her around to face him and rested his hands on her waist.

Claire bit down on her lip nervously. It had been so difficult to have her change of heart, when she had been a spoiled rich heiress all her life. And she was, quite frankly, a brat too. But being around Bobby had helped her become a better person. He was just so good to her, and the people around him that it made her try to make an effort to be better too. Now most of the negative thoughts that went through her mind were about herself. That she was too old for Bobby, that she wasn't attractive enough, or good enough for him. That he'd leave as soon as he opened his eyes and realized the truth. Claire was convinced in some dark corner of her mind that if he were to see Hayley Reid again, he'd leave and go back to her.

She sighed as she began to speak, voicing her insecurities. "I just keep thinking that maybe this isn't going to work out in the end. And it scares me."

"What do you mean?" He eyed her with confusion. 

He had done everything to get her back by his side. He could not understand why she thought their relationship would not last. Bobby Vega was convinced that he wanted to spend every moment of the afterlife with Claire Feeney.

"The thought of losing you scares me because I know you could do so much better. I mean, look at you." She gestured to him and his physical appearance. He had been twenty five when he passed away, in the prime of his life. She was long past that prime, nearly forty. The lines on her skin had already started showing more prominence when she passed away. She was only glad she hadn't really gained any weight or gotten too many wrinkles. Otherwise she was afraid she'd look more like his grandmother. "You're young, and handsome, and absolutely fucking perfect. And I'm just some old lady that for some reason was lucky enough to get you in the end. And I can't help but feel like maybe you're here because you feel bad for me or something? You know, you can tell me if this is true." Her blue eyes started brimming with tears but she took a deep breath and willed them away. She lowered her head in embarrassment, not able to look him in the eyes after what she just said.

He quickly gave a shake of his head. Cupping her face in his hands, he pulled her head up to face him. "I'm not here because I feel pity for you. I love you, mi amor." My love, he called her, and she just about felt like her heart melted. "I couldn't leave you behind because I knew you deserved a second chance. And God thought so too."

-

Bobby helped her calm down and they went downstairs and out of the house. They would meet up at Anne-Sophie's. Ashton would come back after delivering the message with instructions to Harley and that would be Calum's signal to get going. Claire felt a lump in her throat at the thought of seeing Calum again, and also at the thought of being invited into Anne-Sophie's home. Richard was there with his wife, and his daughter Mali. Though Richard wasn't her son, she had tried to treat him with at least a neutral attitude, since he was just a little boy when his mother died. She had always been surprised that he turned out a good person in the end. But she attributed that to Anne-Sophie who had been a good person.

They walked across the street and Bobby rang the doorbell to the house. It was Anne-Sophie herself who answered the door. A friendly smile formed on her lips and she greeted Bobby, and then pulled Claire in for a hug, taking her by surprise.

"Its so nice to see you!" She told Claire, her happiness genuine. Many times, she and Ashton had tried to invite Claire over whenever they had gatherings. But Claire usually refused to go and either sent Bobby along on his own, or convinced him not to go altogether. Not because she didn't like them or didn't want to see them, but because she still felt a heavy sense of shame in her heart from all the horrible things she did to them.

Claire nodded with a smile and Anne led them into the house. They were all gathered in the living room--Richard, his wife Joy, and his daughter Mali. Claire was not surprised that her son Cole hadn't made it to heaven, and doubted her daughter Clarissa would make it either. Then there was Con who had easily earned himself a spot in the fires of Hell. Everyone smiled a bit awkwardly and Claire instantly wanted to turn and run away. This had been exactly what she wanted to avoid. Even at Bobby's house. She got along pretty well with Elenore now. But at first, Bobby's sister absolutely despised Claire. She didn't even want to be around her. His parents were the same. They calmed down when Bobby sat down and had a talk with them, asking them to respect her as his girlfriend.

His parents were still reluctant to having her around, but Elenore now adored Claire like they were sisters. 

At the sight of Calum, Claire's lips formed into a smile. "My grandson." 

He smiled at her a small smile, but at least it had been a genuine one. By now, spending all this time around people who cared about him, he had learned to properly interact with people instead of treating them like crap. He rose from his place on the couch by his sister and went to greet her with a light side hug. He then turned to Bobby and offered him a hand shake. Trying to lighten the mood, he asked jokingly. "I suppose I should call you grand dad now, huh?"

But he felt like that would be strange because in reality, Claire was Harley's biological grandmother, and Bobby was her biological grandfather. Things would get pretty confusing for everyone. Bobby laughed at his joke as he shook his hand, taking him off guard when he pulled him in for a hug, patting him on the back as he did. "You can call me anything you want, son. I honestly don't mind at all."

Claire stood by, playing with her hands nervously while Bobby and Calum interacted. As they pulled away, she offered him some parting words. "When you get back to the world of the living, please tell Harley that I'm sorry for being a horrible grandmother, and just a horrible person in general. And also tell my beloved Arthur that I can't wait to meet him." When she realized that what she said hadn't been worded too well, she added. "I mean I can't wait to meet him a long time from now."

Calum gave a nod of his head, promising he would pass on the message. They were in the living room having light conversation for a little while until they heard the doorbell ring again. This time, Anne went to answer it again and they saw that it was Ashton.

He looked to Calum with a look of determination. "Everything is ready for you, mate. Good luck."

-

another chapter for you all. the count down continues. i was going to stop at fifty chapters. but since all the other books in the series ended at fifty two chapters, i think i will go to fifty two chapters in this book too. just to keep it all even in the end. then i will full on start with the new series that i hope you all enjoy as well.

thank you all loads for reading and supporting this series. it means the whole world to me. have a wonderful night. and i will try real hard to write another update in the next two hours.

it is almost six, and i do my nightly skin care routine at eight and then get into bed at nine. so i have two hours to get to writing. if i dont complete it by tonight, i will finish up and post it tomorrow morning. alsoo, i know its kind of weird to see claire with a change of heart, but having a psychological trauma like the one she had can change a person drastically. in her case, her change was for the better because she's not a terrible person anymore.

-clary