Generation 1 Epilogue

     For the next few years, life went on like it should have. The police never found that Vinny was an accessory to the crime, and they didn't find Eli or Ella as part of it either. Within the next few weeks, the two of them went missing and didn't return. It turns out that they ran away from Starlight Shores and went to live life in another part of the country to start a clean slate. They asked Vinny to come with them, but he turned them down. He decided he wanted to finish school at Starlight Shores and decide what he wanted to do from there. A clean slate sounded like a great option, but he didn't want to abandon his family. So, Vinny stayed with his parents and his older brother and sister up until graduation. In the meantime, after Ella and Eli left, he started painting again, like he did when he was a kid. That, and he also started taking up Violin. It was something he always wanted to do, but forgot about after he met Ella and Eli. Now, there was nothing stopping him. His grandmother gave him the lessons and he got quite good at playing.

     A year later, Khloe and Ryder graduated from high school together. Ironically, Khloe was voted 'Most Likely to Save the World,' while Ryder was voted, "Most Likely to Take Over the World." The two of them graduated side by side, each of them earning their diplomas.

      After graduation, the two of them aged up into young adults. Khloe looked exactly like her mother (minus the blue hair) and Ryder turned out to be the spitting image of his father.

     Khloe, however, decided not to go into journalism, as she wanted to before. She decided to avoid college altogether, and took up Alchemy. She decided to undertake Alchemy as a profession and eventually opened the town's first alchemy store.
     Ryder, or "The Boy Wonder," as dubbed by his siblings and friends due to his intelligence and his musical and athletic ability, decided to take up something completely different. In his senior year, he took up an acrobatics class and fell in love with it. When he graduated, he decided to train in gymnastics and become a travelling acrobat. Meredith and Grant were not pleased with either of their childrens' decisions, but they were supportive nonetheless.
     As time passed, Grant's only concern was his family. He spent time with his wife and his children as much as he could. As a result, his dream of successfully becoming the first person to be a creature-robot cross-breeder became just that: A dream. Grant was a little disappointed, but his family was always more important to him than a career. Throughout his life, he never regretted putting his family first.

What happened to Meredith?
     When Meredith decided to become a lifeguard, all she wanted to do was to save lives. When Meredith aged into an elder with her husband, she was completely satisfied with her life. Meredith became the head lifeguard at the Starlight Shores beach, and she eventually became the boss, after she bought the beach.

     As for Vinny, he watched his brother and sister graduate and move out, and by then, it was just him and his parents. Vinny got better and better at painting and the violin, and when it came time for Vinny to graduate, he decided he wanted to go to college to major in architectural design.

What happened to Vinny after Graduation? And what happened to Meredith and Grant after all their kids fled the nest?
     That's a story for the next generation to answer.
But what about all of the other people in the story? What happened to them?

     Josephine Rein never got to meet her daughter. Josephine earned 20 years to life in prison, and she wasn't sure if she was ever going to get out. All Joey wanted was to see her daughter at least one more time. She also wanted to see her husband as well as Meredith and apologize. And, at 25 years, she got to be released from prison. However, learning that her daughter had taken off before she even finished high school, all she could do was visit Meredith and apologize for putting her in a tough situation, so many years ago.

Her husband Gary, however, wasn't in town when Joey got released. After Ella left to live her own life, Gary left for Bridgeport so he could start managing his own bands. Meredith and Gary never talked after Meredith said goodbye to him when the kids were still toddlers.

     Meredith's mother, Shondra, kept a good relationship with Meredith and her family after Grant and Meredith got back together. They stayed close throughout their entire lives, along with George, Shondra's husband and Grant's father.

   

     Selena Miles, Grant's high school sweetheart and former lover, moved away from Starlight Shores not long after Grant ended things between the two of them. She decided to make a go of things someplace new. Where she moved with her daughter, Lucy, wasn't clear.

     Ryder broke up with Lucy not long after the death of Katie. Vinny eventually told Ryder about Lucy and Eli, and Ryder decided he deserved better than that. After he ended things with Lucy, she moved the next week. Ryder, instead of only focusing on relationships, decided to try and focus on himself for a change. Lucy, however, did visit him during his graduation and asked for another chance.

     Every story must end. Yes, this is the ending to Meredith's tale, but Vinny's tale is just beginning.

END

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Alright, the Generation 1 is over!

It took me almost four months -_-

BUT MOVING ON

Generation 2 will be posted shortly ^.^

and yes, Vinny's the heir xD

Tbh, I was considering all three kids as heirs, but I decided that Vinny would have been the best one :P

But, a day after i took the shots for the last chapter, It was christmas day :D

So I threw a gift-giving party and invited all the sims from generation 1, and I took some pics xD

ENJOY :P

Joey's back in the series for 30 seconds and she's already gossiping to Meredith's kids -_-

 Eli was at the party for maybe 10 seconds, then he left xD. Then, he sent Vinny a text saying he was having his own gift-giving party xD WHAT A JERK. I'm in love with his eyes though xD

 Ella's never been unhappier to see a salad xD

 Shondra gets here and she just randomly starts dancing xD.
SHONDRA STOP.

 So Meredith calls everyone to open the presents, and the repairman happens to walk in as we're opening them. Then he sits down and acts like he was invited xD.
GET OUT PLEASE.

 Grant is not amused, and Selena's holding an invisible plate -_-

 Now, these three are the unholy trinity of this series xD

 Ryder is not amused. (He got tube socks ;D)

 Uhmm...Awkward.

WHY ARE YOU OPENING PRESENTS YOU WEREN'T EVEN INVITED.

This is probably the happiest I've seen Joey xD

So, I pause the game, and I see this -

But then at the same time, I also see this xD

These two are wayyyyy to alike xD

And thennnnnn everyone starts dancing xD

Selena.

What are you doing.

So...What's up?

And that's about it xD

Again, Generation 2 will start shortly!! :P

1.11 - Loose Ends

     Grant's POV

     I got out of the car into the harsh winter breeze. I sighed to myself as I mustered up the courage to walk inside and get it over with. I didn't want to hurt her, but I knew who I wanted to be with. I had to let her know that it was over. I locked the car and headed for the familiar entrance.
     I gingerly walked up and rang the doorbell. I knew I couldn't just walk in the house anymore, especially not now. I didn't want to drag it out longer than it needed to be, either. I just wanted to get it over with. After a few seconds, she came to the door. She gave a soft smile. "Hey, Grant." Selena said.

     "Hey." I said, scratching my head. For a while, nothing was said between the two of us as I tried to find the words to say.
     "Do you wanna come in?" Selena asked. "I could make some coffee."
     I shook my head. "No, I can't stay."
     Selena nodded. "Okay. What's going on?" she asked.
     I took a deep breath, then I came out with it. "We can't see each other anymore."
     Selena looked at me for a couple seconds, then looked down at her feet. "I know. You're married, it was stupid of me to get involved in the first place."
     I looked to the blinding snow, and turned back to Meredith. "I never should have done that with you. I've always loved Meredith, and I always will." Selena looked back at me. "If you haven't figured it out yet, I left Meredith a while ago. She did something horrible to me and I thought I hated her for it, but I don't. I knew I still loved her even when we slept together. I think I was just using you as a way to get back at her, and that's my fault. I'm sorry."
     Selena nodded and brushed her hair out of her face. "Ok. Thanks for telling me. I hope you two will be happy together again." Selena said with a weak smile.

     I leaned in for a quick hug before turning back to my car. "Grant." she called after me. "If you decide to tell her, tell her I'm sorry."

Meredith's POV

 

    I had finally accepted that there was a chance that Grant wasn't coming back. And I knew that was my fault. I was stupid and didn't listen to what he was telling me. I guess, ultimately, that's what he was afraid of. Since he left, I've come to terms with the fact that he might not come back now. I may have drove him away for good this time. If that's the case, I just needed to move on with my life.

     The kids were going to be leaving for college in a few years, and by then, it would just be me. I decided to start my blog back up again, in the hopes that I didn't lose too many followers. I decided I would continue being a lifeguard, and I would put my energy into my blog, like I did when I was younger. I didn't need to remarry. I don't even know if I could, mostly because of my age, but also because no one could measure up to Grant. He was my first and only love, and I would just have to accept that he was gone for good.

     I finished typing my blog post in the study when I heard the door open. I got up and walked to the living room. Grant stood in the hallway.

     I stared at him, wide-eyed. "Hey." I managed.

     Grant just stood there for a few seconds, before taking a deep breath and saying. "I think I'm ready to come home now, if you'll have me."

     The second he said that, a teardrop clouded my eye. I sniffled, and nodded. "Okay." I said shakily.

     "I have to tell you about Selena, though."

     I stopped, and told him to sit down so we could talk. He sat across from me at the dinner table, and he started his story.

     "A long time ago, when I was in high school, I dated Selena. I thought I was in love with her, to the point where I thought she was the girl I was going to marry. Then, a week before I met you, she cheated on me with some guy named Oliver. I broke it off with Selena, and then I met you a few days later. And, when I met you, I fell in love with you almost instantly. I thought it was maybe because I was so broken up over Selena that i tried replacing her with you, but it wasn't that. I was simply in love with you from the first day I met you. We had kids, and then that whole thing with Joey came up, and you weren't yourself anymore. You were a great mother to our kids regardless, but you weren't Meredith anymore. You were someone completely different, especially after Courtney and Kristy died. When I got upset at you when you tried helping Gary out, it was just because I didn't want to lose you. I had this feeling in my gut that I was going to lose you, and you would go off and marry somebody else and have his kids, and you would just leave me all alone. That was the worst thing that could have possibly happened to me, and that's why I left. I know it happened a long time ago, and I know that you're sorry, it just caught me off guard. I'm sorry I left, and I just want to be your husband again."

     The tears were falling fast now. I stood up and jumped into a hug with Grant. All the plans I made after Grant had left were disappearing, but for once, I didn't mind. I had my family back.

Vin's POV:

I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I couldn't think.

     The police started investigating the murder of Katie Reynolds. They haven't caught any of us yet, and eyewitnesses said they saw three people back behind the theater, but they don't know it's us. I just have a bad feeling about the whole thing. I feel like Ella might throw either Eli or me under the bus, or maybe they might catch Eli since he's in the police computer already. I just hope to god he didn't touch anything, or else he might just throw the both of us under the bus. In the meantime, Everyone carried on like normal. It made me sick. My mom kept asking me questions about that night, but I just put them off. What made me feel worse is the fact that Khloe's been crying in her room all week. Katie Reynolds was Khloe's best friend since elementary school. I knew that she looked familiar, I just couldn't place it. Now that I know who it was, I wish I just did something more that night. Now, I didn't know what to do.

     I took off my hat and placed it on the dresser, letting my unkempt hair free.

     Ryder walked in the room as I was staring at myself, and came up behind me. "You look good without the hat."

     His compliment was enough to make me smile. "Thanks."

     "Yeah." He turned towards his dresser, digging through his shirt drawer. After I didn't say anything for a while, he turned back to me. "Are you okay? I'm really worried about you, bro."

     I shook my head. "I'm fine." I said, my voice rising a little too high.

     "I know your voice gets high when you're upset. What's going on?"

     "It's nothing." I denied, keeping my voice under control.

     "Vin, just tell me what's going on. whatever it is, I won't tell mom or dad. Even though, Mom's really worried about you in particular." He paused, then kept going. "Did you hook up with that Katie girl that died the other night?" Ryder asked, half-jokingly.

     I sharply exhaled. "No." I scratched my hair, and turned to him. I had to tell someone, I couldn't take it anymore. "I was there. That night. When Katie died."

     Ryder's expression changed almost immediately. "What do you mean?"

     "You've seen the news reports, right? You know how they're saying that three people were involved? That was me, Ella, and Eli."

     Ryder looked at me with shock. "did you-?"

     I shook my head. "It was Ella. She pulled a knife on her and just stabbed her." My voice shaked a lot.

    Ryder closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay. So what now?"

     I started to sob. "I don't know. I don't know what to do. I'm scared and I don't know what to do."

     Ryder walked over to me and wrapped me in his arms. I held on tightly, sobbing into his shirt. "It's gonna be okay, alright? We're gonna figure it out. I won't tell anyone.

"It'll be okay, I promise."

1.10 - Even Miracles Take a Little Time (Part 2)

*AUTHOR'S NOTE*

So this update's taken a LOOONG time xD

I am planning to post more regularly, but school and other things got in the way xD

so whoever's reading this, I ask you NOT to give up on this series xD

Even if i go away for a while, I always come back :P

ANYWAY, this chapter's been designed a little different.

For each generation, I'm going to tell the story in the different perspectives of each of the family members before the heir is chosen.

Which, by the way, will be chosen by me xD

ANYWAY, i have to advise you that there will be some INTENSE cursing and some disturbing scenes, so please DO NOT read if any of that bothers you :D otherwise, read on! :P

Khloe's POV

Day 2

Mom had called us all down before school to talk to us. Ryder and I were both already dressed for school, but Gavin was nowhere near. He had stayed up late last night and slept in his clothes, and wore a hat so he wouldn't have to mess with his hair. I rolled my eyes. Gavin was pretty much the family slacker, the one that every family seems to have. Gavin seems to know this already, but I just think he takes something like that in stride, being the youngest of three kids.

Anyway, after we had all gathered downstairs before school, Mom had us sit on the couch while she told us the news. I could see her tear up, and my heart sank after she told us that Dad had left.

Ryder looked around wildly. "Wait, what?"

"What do you mean he left?" I asked.

"Something bad happened, between your father and I, and your father felt like he needed to get away for a while." Mom said, her voice only slightly shaky as she tried to explain the bad news in the best way possible.

After everyone was silent for a while, I couldn't stand it. "When is he coming back?"

Mom looked down at the ground. More tears escaped out of the corner of her eye. "I don't know, sweetie." Mom eventually got a hold of herself, and her voice became stern again. "Alright, you guys need to get ready for school. Come on, get up. Get ready." Mom hurried to the kitchen. She left us on the couch, dazed.

"What the hell...What happened?" Ryder asked, clearly upset.

"My god..." I sighed. What the hell was happening? Was dad leaving? For good?

After the three of us were silent for a while, I looked at Gavin. He looked so...expressionless. Like this wasn't affecting him at all. It pissed me off. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Gavin turned on me, standing up. "What?"

"Look, I know you don't care about a lot of things, but can you please just try to care that our damn parents are splitting up, please?!" I yelled.

"First of all, screw you. Just because I may not care about you assholes, doesn't mean I don't care about anything. Second of all, maybe if everyone wasn't yelling at me for no damn reason, maybe I WOULD care. Third of all, they never said they were splitting up. Mom said Dad LEFT. There are huge differences between the two. Lastly, quit taking your anger out on me, because it isn't as easy as you think it is. So back the hell up, shut the hell up, and get out of my damn face, alright?!" Gavin finished, flicking me off before heading upstairs. I watched him go and crossed my arms. This was normal for Gavin.

Ryder laughed and looked at me. "What's your problem?"

I brushed the hair out of my face. "Mom and Dad are splitting up."

Ryder groaned. "Gavin may be a little out of line, but he was right about at least one thing. They never said they were splitting up. I think this will all blow over, so I wouldn't worry about it too much."

I shook my head. "I've never seen mom cry before."

I had decided to skip school and sneak to my dad's office. I stayed for the first two periods of school, but I couldn't concentrate. The fact that my parents weren't together was seriously screwing with my head. Gavin wasn't talking to me, and Ryder just got frustrated when I tried talking to him about it. I had to at least try and see him. I kept asking myself why, but I just couldn't answer. I wanted some closure.

Dad decided to take me out to breakfast after I snuck out. He obviously wasn't happy I was skipping school, but I don't think he was furious. It didn't take long to get to the diner, and we decided to sit outside. Dad got us a table, and he started talking when we sat down. "Did mom tell you what happened this morning?"

I shrugged. "Sort of, but all she told us is that you left."

Grant chuckled. "Yeah, well, she was right about that."

I looked at him for a few seconds before breaking the silence. "Dad...what happened? Why did you leave?"

Dad looked around before turning back to me. "Look, I don't want you to be mad at me or your mom for what happened, and I feel like telling you what happened won't help anything."

I felt a tear fall down my cheek. "Please, just tell me. I need to know how bad it is, so I know how worried i need to be."

"Khloe, sweetheart...."

"Please?"

Dad took a deep breath. "Your mom cheated."

I stared at him, wide-eyed. My eyes felt cold in the snowfall, freezing my tears. I leaned over the table and put my face in my hands. "God...."

"Listen, I don't want you telling your brothers. Either of them. I also don't want you telling your mother that I told you. It was a mistake that she made a while ago, and I just need time to get over it. I don't want you worrying about the two of us splitting up. We'll be just fine."

I nodded and tried to fake smile, but that didn't make me feel any easier.

Day 5

The next few days went by very slowly. As ashamed as I am to say it, I was avoiding almost my entire family throughout the entire week. After that dinner a few days ago, I haven't even spoken to my dad, and I don't think the rest of us have either. I try to avoid my mom as much as I can. I know my dad told me not to be mad at her, but I just can't help it. I'm pissed at her. I was pissed at how selfish she was. The last thing I need is to say something to her i might regret later.

As for my brothers, Ryder was busy with school and clubs and his new girlfriend, so he didn't really have time for anything else. Gavin, however, was hanging out with those deadbeat friends of his. Mom would usually be fussing over him, but I think she's preoccupied at the moment. Gavin made it clear he didn't want me interfering either.

I found I was writing more and more with each day. Maybe it was just because I wanted to keep myself busy, but ever since I was a kid, I loved writing. I loved constructing my own worlds and my own people that only I could control. At first, I started writing for fun, but one of my friends from school, their dad was a publisher. My friend showed him my work, and he got a couple of my books published. I was eleven when my first book was published, and fourteen when the second one came out. I was currently working on the third one, and I seemed to be getting further and further in the novel as the week went on. I never seemed to have this much concentration before dad left.

When I was halfway through the novel, I got a call on my phone. It was Katie, my best friend from school. "Hey." I answered.

"Hey girl...How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, I'm home alone right now, so I'm just kind of writing more of book 3."

Katie groaned through the phone. "Khlo, I love you, but you gotta get out of the house."

I shook my head. "I don't wanna go anywhere."

"I know you're upset about your parents, but that's THEIR business. You can't let them ruin your life because of their mistakes. Lets have a girls night and go to the movies or something, come on!"

I sighed. I was in one of those moods where i just didn't wanna go anywhere, but Katie did have a point. Maybe if i forced myself to try and have fun, I could take my mind off of it. "Alright, i'll meet you at the movies. See you then." I hung up the phone and placed it on the desk. I sat motionless on the chair, staring at my computer screen. I sighed, grabbed my phone and my wallet, and trudged out of my bedroom door.

     I shivered. I locked my arms as I tried to block out the chilly winds. I looked at each ends of the street, scanning the pavement for Katie. The movie didn't start for fifteen minutes, but I've been waiting at the bench for at least ten. I groaned. I guess i've always been here first. I decided to get up off the bench and walk around to try and regain some of the lost body heat. I paced around the outside of the movie theater maybe four times, before I turned around and noticed someone walk towards me.I thought it may be Katie, until I noticed his height. He walked towards me with one hand in his pocket, the other waving towards me. I stopped in my tracks as I watched him get closer and closer. He's really cute...

     "Hey." The boy said plainly.

     "Hey."

     "You're...Khloe, right?"

     I gave a dry laugh. "Yep, that's me."

     He nodded. "You're that smart girl from high school, you were in my Chemistry class a couple of years ago."

     I racked my brain to think where I might have seen him before. This kid looked vaguely familiar, although I couldn't think of it.

     "Eli Jackson." He said, reintroducing himself.

     In an instant, Khloe remembered who he was. "Oh my god, hi."

     Eli gave a small laugh. "Yeah, you remember me?."

     "Sorry, I just never saw you again after freshman year, so I guess it's been a while." I said, nervously playing with my sleeve behind my back. Eli was the senior boy I was crushing on the entire year. We had maybe two conversations that entire year, and he graduated in the spring. I was so upset, Katie had to put up with me moping about Eli for most of the summer.

     Eli laughed again. "You still going to Starlight High?"

     I nodded. "Yeah. What are you still doing here?"

     "I'm working, saving up money for when I can get out of this hellhole." He said. "I wanna move up to Bridgeport, so I'm saving up money for when I can, ya know?"

     I smiled. "I would love to go to Bridgeport, I heard it's amazing there." I said, wiping my hair out of my face.

     "Well, hey, maybe I could just sneak you on the plane and you could just live in my dresser?" He said, laughing. I knew this was only a joke, but I would go anywhere with him, even if I would have to live in a dresser. I just giggled.

     Eli glanced around for a little before turning back to me. "So, you going to see a movie? I was going to go see Paranormal, did you maybe wanna watch it with me?"

     My heart rose out of my chest. I would have given up almost anything to go see a movie with Eli. My heart suddenly sank when I realized that Katie would kill me if I ditched her for a guy.  I sighed, "I totally would, but I was actually waiting for my friend Katie, and she would kill me if I ditched her." After seeing the look of disappointment in his eyes, I caved in. "But maybe we could do something soon. Can I get your number?" I said quickly. His eyes lit up, and he pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote his number on it. He gave it to me and smiled. "Alright, well, I'm going to go get some stuff from my car and then I'm gonna head in. I guess I'll see you later?" Eli asked, walking backwards towards his car.

     I nodded and giggled. "Definitely."

     Eli nodded and turned around, walking back into the snow.

     Seconds later, Katie walked up to me. "Hey." She said. After seeing the dopey grin on my face, she smiled. "What happened?" she asked.

     "Nothing." wanting desperately to change the subject, I pushed her inside. "The movie's about to start, we need to catch at least some of the previews!" I wanted to tell Katie, but something told me to keep it a secret for now, like it was too good to be true.

When the movie was over, we walked outside finishing off what was left of the popcorn before tossing it in the green garbage can beside the door. We stood inside the theater and talked about school and friends and what we were going to do for the football game next week. I actually felt like a teenager tonight. It felt good to forget about everything else and just have fun.
     We walked outside, bracing ourselves for the cold blast of cold wind that signaled the middle of winter. We walked outside, pulling out our phones to let our parents know that the movie was over.
     "Hey, you wanna spend the night tonight?" Katie asked.
     I nodded. "Sure, let me just ask my mom first." I pulled out my phone and began typing a message.  I typed into the messager and hit 'Send'.
     Katie stretched her arms. "Okay, you do that, i'm gonna go hit the bathroom before we go." Katie turned and headed for the bathrooms on the other side of the theater. I watched her go and pressed send on the message.
 

     I put the phone back in my pocket and wrapped my arms around my shoulders. I shivered as I lost myself in the snow. I could barely see past the road, the snow fell everywhere. I don't know how anyone would drive in this.I thought. I turned around and sat on the bench by the end of the road. For a quick moment, my mind flashed back to my parents. I felt a sharp pain in my heart. My parents. My dad wasn't even living with us anymore. My mom's falling apart at the seams. Ryder's keeping himself busy with Lucy, successfully keeping his mind off of it. Gavin...I'm not sure how Gavin's taking it. I seem to be the only one worried about my own family at times. It's exhausting. I slouched and threw my head in my hands. I don't want to be one of those kids who spends the week with their mom and goes to see their dad on the weekends.

     I heard screaming coming from the bathroom. "GET OFF ME!" ended with a sickening sound and afterwards, complete silence.

     I heard a guy's voice. "What the hell did you do?"

     A girl's voice cut in. "We have to get out of here. Move your ass." She almost yelled. I noticed three silhouettes emerge from the back of the theater and run down the street. Realization set in as my stomach did somersaults. "Oh, no. Please, god, no."

     I dropped my bag and I ran. I stomped on the snow and bolted as fast as I could. I almost tripped as I saw Katie's unconcious body lying in the snow. I covered my hands with my mouth. "Oh, god."

     I dropped to my knees. I gripped her shoulders and was able to pull her up. I shook her as I tried to open her eyes. My eyes clouded as I noticed the stab wound. Blood poured out of Katie's stomach. "Katie. Katie, wake up. Wake up..." Tears clouded my eyes. I let Katie down and pulled out my phone. I dialed as fast as I could. "Hello, this is 911, what is your emergency?"

     I saw Katie to the ambulance. I told the paramedics what happened, and I explained the same thing to the cops later. Katie was taken to the hospital and they were going to tell her parents what happened. I decided to watch her go and head back home. I made a mental note to run to the hospital tomorrow morning. I wiped a tear from my eye. What the hell...

     It was around midnight when I got home. I quietly opened and closed the door before taking my shoes and my jacket off. I hung my purse up on the rack by the door and I shuffled into the living room. My mom was sitting on the couch in the dark watching TV.

     She glanced up at me. "Hey, what are you doing home? I thought you were sleeping at Katie's."

     I sighed. "Well, I'm not anymore." I finished.

     "Sweetheart, come talk to me. What happened?" Mom put down her cup of coffee and turned the volume down on the TV.

     I turned to her. "I don't really wanna talk about it tonight, I just want to go to sleep." I sighed.

     "Did the two of you get in a fight?"

     "Stop, mom." I cut her off and headed back for my room.

     Mom stood up. "Khloe, tell me what happened right now." she said sternly.

     I don't know why that made me so mad. Mom and I never got in fights, and now everything she was saying was making me want to throw something heavy at her. I finally snapped. I spun around. "Katie got mugged tonight. She's in the hospital."

     Mom's expression changed from anger to shock almost instantly. "What?"

     "Yeah, she got mugged by these three guys who took her stuff. They beat the crap out of her and now she's in the hospital."

     Mom sighed. "Khloe-"

     "I'm going to bed." I snapped. I turned away from her and stomped out of the living room. "Khloe." I heard her call, but I wasn't listening anymore. I slammed the door behind me and sat down with my back against the door. I put my hands over my eyes as the tears started falling again. After a while, I moved to the middle of the floor and put a hand behind my head as I stared up at my ceiling fan.

     Everything was hitting me all at once. It was too much. I haven't seen my dad in days, my mom isn't herself anymore, and my brothers are both away from the house to avoid it all. Now my best friend is in the hospital. What was I doing? I'm the one sitting on her bedroom floor crying about it all. I couldn't help it anymore. Everything was falling apart, and all I can do is just hang on and wait it out.

Ryder's POV

Day 5

     Over the past few days, I've just been trying to move forward from my dad leaving. No one's really been talking to either parent anymore. Dad doesn't live here anymore, so of course that would be a little problem if we DID want to see him. I still wasn't sure what was going on, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to be sure. All Khloe and my mom did anymore was mope around the house all day, and Gavin was never home to begin with, so that just leaves me.

     I tried focusing my time on learning new songs on my guitar. It started working, but then I started learning sad songs again and I had to leave it. Now I just put my time into my workouts, and my girlfriend.

     I hopped off the treadmill as I heard my phone vibrate on the table.

     Lucy was calling me. I quickly answered the phone. "Hey, you." I said flirtatiously.

     "Hey." She said. "So, my mom isn't gonna be here at all tonight. Could we maybe hang out later?"

     I laughed. "Sure, that sounds great."

     "Ok, come over around 7, then." She was about to hang up, but added one last comment:

     "Bring your guitar."

     

      The call ended, and I was left smiling. I was so excited for seeing Lucy tonight, I could barely think about anything else the entire day. This is the distraction I need.

     I started heading over to Lucy's at around 7:30. I made sure to get my guitar ready for her; I practiced all of my best songs all day just to be ready.
     I passed by the movie theater on the way to Lucy's house, and I found Gavin hanging out with those other two neanderthals.

      Eli and Ella. I never understood why Gavin was friends with these people. Eli was the town drug addict, according to Gavin's stories, and Eli owned this ratty house in the center of Starlight Shores where he just blazed it up all day.
     Ella was probably worse than Gavin. She was the town bitch. She acted like she was better than everybody else wherever she went. She made fun of pretty much anybody, and she hit on pretty much every guy she came in contact with. She was probably the nastiest person on the face of the planet.
     As I was passing by, Ella walked up to me. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the third little pig. What brings you through here?"

      "Back off, Ella. I'm going to go see my girlfriend."

      Ella tilted her head slightly. "Your girlfriend? You must mean Lucy!" Ella's face lightened. "The girl that-"
     Gavin interrupted her. "Shut up, Ella."
     Ella turned to Gavin and made a face. "Well, I guess I better not say. I'll give you some time with your brother." Ella turned around and left with Eli.
     I turned to Gavin. "What are you doing with these assholes?"
     Gavin narrowed his eyes. "My friends. You mean my friends?"

     "Look, you can make better friends than a drug dealer and a whore. You're better than this."

     Gavin scoffed. "Right. Like this town is so full of life that I can just make perfect little cliques like you and Khloe do." Gavin turned back to his 'friends.' "I try not to surround myself with fake, stuck-up jerks like you and Khloe do, sorry if that disappoints you." Gavin walked away from me. I shook my head and shrugged. 'Oh well, I tried.' I thought to myself. 'I guess he has to make some mistakes on his own.'

     I left the theater and headed over to Lucy's house. Her mom was apparently at some hospital thing overnight and Lucy had the house to herself. We watched a movie, ordered a pizza, and she eventually got me to play the guitar for her. She fell in love with the fact that I have a zebra-print guitar.

      Lucy was propped up on the couch while I stood in front of her playing the guitar. After a few songs, she cheered. "That was sooo good!" She yelled. She jumped up from the couch and rushed over to me. She took the guitar and propped in up against the wall.

      One thing led to another, and I was able to have the perfect night with Lucy. No drama, no barriers. Just love, love, love.

Gavin's POV

Day 5

     I woke up on Eli's floor feeling EXTREMELY nauseated. My eyes slowly opened as I scanned the room. Eli was lying a few feet away from me, and Ella was leaning against the dresser. She noticed me and waved with a giggle.

     I rubbed my eyes. "I feel like I'm gonna throw up." I said with a burp. "What time is it?"

     Ella clumsily walked over to her phone to check the time. "4 in the morning?"

     My eyes widened. "Oh, shit." I said a little too loud.

     "Shut the hell up, please." Eli snapped, before rolling over and falling back asleep on the floor.

     I jumped up and ran over to my phone, which was on Eli's bed. 8 missed calls. Seven were from my mother, the other one was from Khloe. I was in deep shit.

     "Oh hell." I swore. Ella looked over at me. "What's wrong?"

     "My mother's gonna kill me." I fidgeted with my phone to send a quick text to my mother. I'm okay, slept over at Eli's, fell asleep early. With that, I pressed send. I put my phone down, and dropped back on the floor, falling back asleep.

     

     Three hours later, Ella shook us both awake. "GET THE HELL UP."

     Eli and I both jumped up, standing where we awoke. I rubbed my eyes, still feeling the effects. "That's some strong shit, E."

     Eli laughed. "Yeah, wanted to try something a little stronger. Can't be too stoned."

     I rolled my eyes. "Actually, yeah, you can."

     Eli ignored me and walked over to the bathroom. The three of us all had changes of clothes, so we washed up and headed out to waste our day.

     We really didn't do anything all day. We bummed around at Ella's house while her dad was gone, and when he got back, we headed to the movies. We figured we could try and sneak in to see a movie. No one was even out because of the weather, so we just waited for a chance for the bouncer to look away so we could run for it. It took us a while; we figured we would go in as they were changing bouncers, but it never happened. In the meantime, Ella and I just talked about school, TV, alcohol, and other stuff like that. Eli, however, was talking to every girl that passed by. Eli was always trying to get a girl's number, but he never had a long-term relationship. He'd go on one date, see how far he could get, then stop talking to her. It honestly made me sick, but I'd never say anything to him. His private life is his private life. That is, until, I recognized one of the girls after I overheard one of his conversations.

At first, I couldn't recognize her. I knew she looked familiar, but I didn't know who she was. Ella caught me staring, and called me out on it. "What? you turned on, or something?" she said, jokingly.

     I shook my head. "No, she just looks really familiar. I don't know why."

     "Maybe she's a one night stand of yours." Ella suggested.

     I rolled my eyes. Sometimes her sarcastic comments got a little annoying. I've never-

     That's when I realized who it was. Lucy. Ryder's girlfriend. Making out with Eli.

     A sharp anxiousness filled my stomach. Great. What now? How am I gonna tell Ryder?

     I told Ella who Lucy was, and she died laughing. This made Lucy uncomfortable, and she soon took off, leaving Eli with us. I sighed. Thank god she didn't recognize me.

     I walked up to Eli after I was sure that Lucy was gone. "You do know she has a boyfriend, right?"

     Eli nodded. "Yeah, but it's ok. She told me that she was cool with it."

     About an hour passed, and Eli's disappeared again. I groan when I realize who he's talking to.

     I fight to control my anger. What the hell was Khloe even doing here? Shouldn't she be moping somewhere? Not only that, but I know that she's had a crush on Eli for the longest time. It didn't matter, I was going to make sure that it didn't happen.

     Khloe went inside of the movie theater and I walked up to Eli again. "Making out with my brother's girlfriend is one thing, but my sister is totally different. Back off of her."

     "Whoa, calm down. Sorry, I didn't know she was your sister, I'll back off."

     I groaned. I wanted to just leave at this point, but by then, Ryder came strolling down the street.

     "Well, well, well. If it isn't the third little pig." Ella introduced.

     After Ryder left, I marched over to Ella. "What the hell was that?"

     Ella laughed. "What?"

     "Look, don't say anything to Ryder about Lucy. I'll tell him eventually."

     Ella scoffed. "Eventually..." She mocked.

     "Just don't say anything." I walked back over to the flagpole, but after a couple of hours, I was done with both Eli and Ella at this point. "Look guys-"

     Ella stood up and interrupted me. "Holy shit."

     She stared at this blonde girl that was walking around to the back of the theater. Eli and I looked at each other. "What?" I asked.

     Ella's face twisted. "That's the bitch that was talking shit about me to Zachary. He won't even talk to me because of that bitch."

     I shook my head. "So what? He's a dick anyway."

     "So that bitch needs my foot up her ass." Ella stopped the conversation and ran to catch up with the girl. Eli looked at me, shrugged, and followed Ella. I groaned and walked behind them.

     I start hearing a struggle as I get closer to the back of the movie theater. "Ugly bitch." Ella taunts. She pushes the girl, who backs off.

     "What the hell is your problem?" the girl asked.

     "You think it's just OK to talk about somebody behind their back?" Ella got in the girl's face. "Honor student like you, that's just not very nice."

     The girl just scoffed and pushed Ella out of her face. "Fuck off. Go bother someone else."

     Ella pushed her back, harder. "Put your hands on me, huh?" Ella got in the girl's face and slapped her back and forth.

     Ella pushed the girl over and kept hitting her. I ran up to them and tried to pull Ella off, but she pushed me away and just kept going. "Ella, quit it! she's had enough!"

     Eli jumped in, too. "Seriously, Ella, back the hell off!"

     "Get the hell off me!" the girl yelled.

     The glare of metal shined on my eye. Ella pulled a knife out of her pocket. As soon as I noticed it, I sprinted full speed at Ella. "NO!"

     Before I could reach her, she dug the blade into the girl's abdomen. Ella quickly realized what she had done and withdrew the blade. Red quickly stained the girl's jacket, and she collapsed on the ground. The three of us stared at her, wide-eyed.

     I was the first one to speak up. "Ella, what the hell did you do?"

     Ella quickly got up. "We have to get out of here. Move your ass!" She yelled before taking off. Eli and I weren't far behind; We weren't stupid enough to stay at the crime scene.

     I separated from the group before we could make it back to Eli's. I told them I was heading home. I was going to try and recover from what happened tonight before I tried talking to my mom about why I've been gone. I muttered my goodbyes and headed home, the faint sound of sirens in the distance.

     

     When I walked in the door, my mother was standing by the kitchen counter. "Gavin! I thought you'd never come home." she said.

     I'm not sure why it bothered me so much. Maybe because she said it like it was just normal to be gone for days at a time. Maybe because she doesn't have her priorities completely straight. Either way, I was way too emotional to say anything sarcastic to my mother. What do I say to her? Do I tell her we may have killed someone tonight?

     I felt tears running down my face, and my mom quickly became concerned. "Gavin? what's wrong?"

     I wasn't sure what to say. I stood there, crying, while my mom stood there, clearly not knowing what to do. I never did this before, and she knew that. Finally giving up on trying to tell her, I ran into my mother's arms, crying, "I'm sorry," over, and over, and over.