Plum Blossom | Completed

Chapter Nineteen

"Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Emily asked Mellisa as she came back to the room.

"I have something to tell you."

"What is it? Is everything alright?"

"I saw my brothers."

"What? Where?"

"At the hospital."

"How come? Are they okay?"

"Not quite." Mellisa then went on to tell her about Kyle's admission, seeing her brothers with their mates, and even her run in with Trey.

"What this what the phone call was about? Is something wrong with Kyle?"

"I don't know."

"Mel, you're scaring me. Just tell me what happened. Who called?"

"My grandmother?"

"You're not sure?"

"All I know is that her last name is Adams, like mine, and she kept calling Kyle has grandson. I think she's my father's mother."

"You couldn't tell?"

"I wasn't paying attention. I think my dad looked more like his father, but I'm not sure."

"So, you've seen him as well?"

"Yeah. They were at the hospital when Kyle was admitted. They're still there."

"Talk about a blast from the past. So, what did this so-called grandmother of yours want?"

"She wants to meet. She said we had to talk."

"Okay. That doesn't mean anything. When are you meeting her? Where?"

"I don't know. I sort of hung up on her," Mellisa sheepishly confessed.

"That was wise!"

"I panicked, okay? I didn't know how to react."

"Well, do you want to talk to her?"

"I don't know."

"Well, it's up to you. I think you should talk to her, but it's ultimately your decision. Just think about it okay?" Mellisa loved that Em never pushed her. She was always around to offer her opinion without forcing it onto her. It made Mellisa feel like she could always have an honest conversation with Em, without feeling judged. So, Mellisa decided that she would definitely think about it.

"Do you think she knows about Amanda?"

"I'm not sure. How could she? No one here knows. Wait, did you tell Dr. Perez?"

"I don't think my colleagues got around to it. He went into shock before that. It was already a lot of information to digest. You were so overwhelmed yourself. He didn't know half the things you knew."

"But he knew the other half."

"I guess you're just more resilient," Emily smiled, nudging Mellisa's shoulders.

"Anyway. I think it's time we go check on our kids. They've been awfully quiet for too long. That's worrying."

The two mothers immediately made their way towards Amanda's bedroom. The conversation they heard broke their hearts.

"Connor, where is your daddy?" Amanda asked.

"He died," came Connor's distracted response.

"Mine too," Amanda offered in a whisper.

"You knew your dad?" Connor said in surprise. Mellisa and Emily looked at each other, their eyes going wide.

"Yeah. It was Alex. The man who lived here with mommy and me."

'How do you know?' Mellisa wanted to ask her daughter. Connor did so for her instead.

"The other day, there were policemen in the house. They woke me from my sleep and took me outside. Then they sat with me till mommy came home. They were nice, they gave me a juice box. I could hear them talking about Alex."

"I'm going to kill those idiots," Emily hissed beside Mellisa.

"They were saying a lot of bad words. They sounded angry. I think my daddy was a bad man. He scared me. Mommy says he's never coming back. That's how I know he died," Amanda concluded.

"Your daughter is too smart for her own good," Emily whispered. Mellisa solemnly nodded.

"We're never talking about any of this in front of them. Let's just forget what we heard," Mellisa suggested.

"Put on your happy face, and let's go inside," Emily agreed.

"What are you two troublemakers up to?" Mellisa asked as she entered her daughter's room. Amanda instantly had a bright smile on her face.

"We're talking about all the fun things we're going to do at Disneyland," Amanda said as she gave her mother a toothy grin. It bewildered Mellisa how easily her daughter could lie. She wasn't supposed to be able to do that. Emily's worried look only frightened Mellisa more.

"Amanda, can I talk to you for a minute?" Emily led Connor out of the room.

"Why did you just lie to mommy?"

"I didn't lie. We were talking about Disneyland."

"I was standing outside your door. I heard you."

"I swear, mommy. I didn't lie. We were talking about Disneyland. And then Connor told me how he wished his mommy would say that he come go. He wanted his friends to come with us as well. Then I asked him about his friends, and he said that they lived with their daddy close to Connor's house and they play together all the time. That's when I asked him about his daddy," Amanda whispered, her head hung down.

"Why didn't you tell me that part?"

"Because I didn't want to make you sad. You cried when you came home that day. I didn't want to make you cry again." Mellisa's heart broke.

"Amanda, you listen to me carefully, because this is the only time that I am going to say this," Mellisa said, firmly gripping her daughter's shoulders. Amanda nodded.

"You will never lie to me ever again. Got it? Not even a white lie. Not even leave information out. You will always tell me the whole truth, no matter what. Do you understand?" Mellisa's voice came out sharper than she wanted to.

"I'm sorry mommy," Amanda bawled. It took Mellisa a while before she was able to calm her daughter down and let her know that she wasn't in trouble and that Mellisa wasn't mad. Eventually, Amanda cried herself to sleep, and Mellisa let her nap till it was time for lunch.

"Everything okay?" Emily has asked later that day.

"Yeah! It just got really scary. I'm worried about Amanda, Em. Do you think I should get her tested? Could Alex's illness be genetic?"

"The research is inconclusive. But family members of a person with bipolar have an increased risk of developing it themselves; And, as much as you may not like it, Amanda is his child." This put Mellisa into a spiral of thoughts.

"Talk to your therapist about it Mel. See what she has to say about it. In the meanwhile, just keep an eye on Amanda for any familiar signs."

By the time that Emily and Connor left that evening, Mellisa's brain felt like it was going to explode. She had Amanda to think about on one side, and Mrs. Adam's plagued the rest of her brained. Tired of all the challenges and secrets, Mellisa decided that she was going to change her circumstance and take back control of her life.

She immediately made an appointment with her therapist for the next day. She just had one thing left to do now.

"Hello?" came a familiar voice at the other end.

"When would you like to meet?"