Chapter 1.33

Chapter 1.33-Interested

            For the third time that week, and on the third day of school, Layla had been approached by one of Galen’s friends. Every day had been the same. Either they wanted to go home with her to ‘work on homework,’ or they’d invite her to their house for the same reason. Both days prior, the visit had ended when she’d been asked to go steady. Both days, Layla had laughed.

            Today’s unfortunate victim made Layla extra angry. Travis and Galen were good friends. But at least she could tell for sure what was going on now.

            “You’re so good in science! I knew I’d invited the right person over to help me,” Travis was a little too jovial. “Whaddaya say I take you out for dinner as a thank you?”

            Travis is Galen’s best friend.

            “You know,” Layla was having a hard time being nice by now. “You know what? I think I’ll pass this time.”

            The hurt air Travis put on didn’t fool Layla one bit. First of all, he had been flirting heavily with Kimbree Lindon that morning, and according to gossip had asked her to prom twice now. Also, the hurt look didn’t make it anywhere near his eyes. Then there was the small matter of seeing Galen with his head close to Travis’ during lunch.

            “Travis,” Layla’s smile widened. “Travis you don’t have to pretend to be into me. It’s ok, really.”

            Looking up at Layla, he smiled a little, though he looked worried.

            “Really,” Layla repeated. “It’s ok. And I won’t tell Kimbree. She’d be hurt if she knew that you’d asked me out.”

            “Oh, Kimbree is just for fun you know,” he tried to cover.

            “No,” Layla interrupted. “No, she’s not. You’ll get her to say yes sooner rather than later and you’re not interested in me anyhow.”

            Travis fake laughed, making Layla close her eyes and flinch.

            Sighing, Layla decided to just get it out and over with.

            “Alright, Travis,” said Layla. “Let’s go ahead and be honest. I know that Galen asked you to do this. You’ve done your part, now I’m doing mine.”

            Travis’ drew in a breath trying to contradict her without knowing what to say and not wanting to lie either.

            “Oh, now-no no no, It’s not-naw.”

            “Jus-Just, please,” Layla interrupted again. “Please. I know Galen is behind this. And you did your part. But cut the crap. You’re not at all interested in me.”

            Travis finally stopped sputtering and looked a little sheepish.

            “He’s done this to me all week, and I’m tired of it. I’m not looking for a relationship with anyone and no one is going to change my mind of that right now. Tell him that for me, please. It’s time that someone else convinced him of that. He’s not listening to me obviously.”

            “Sorry,” Travis told her timidly.

            “Not a problem,” Layla said. “Just tell him something for me? Tell him to expect to be very rudely awakened by a sharp object in a rather uncomfortable place if he tries it again?”

            Travis guffawed.

            “Absolutely not! Now I want to see what you’re going to do to him!”

            “No, no you really don’t.”

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

            The next morning Layla decided to take her problems to the one person who might have some actual advice. Phedra was always up on all the gossip around school and had been teasing Layla about the sudden parade of suitors.

            “That little squirt Galen is behind it all. He even put Travis up to it yesterday,” Layla whined. “But now Travis just thinks it’s funny, and Galen isn’t going to quit because-let’s face it- he’s Galen and he thinks that because we’re twins we’re supposed to be together forever. It’s like he thinks we’re in some weird sibling marriage. PlumbBob, gross.”

            Phedra laughed. She’d managed to navigate the social side of high school by throwing herself into her studies, basically ignoring the social scene. Layla wasn’t dumb and tried to avoid the social chaos of the school hallways, but people were always trying to get close to her.

            “Look,” said Phedra. “I know that you don’t want all this male attention, or a relationship, but you know the old saying. ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!’”

            Layla nodded slowly. This was not the advice she was looking for.

            “I’m not saying you need to fawn over every boy at school, but maybe taking an interest in one of them might send the others packing.”

            Nodding a little more enthusiastically, Layla mulled the idea over.

            “But I still don’t want a relationship,” Layla insisted after a moment of thought. “I don’t want to be tied down to anyone, or even to this town.”

            “Just because you date in high school doesn’t mean you have to get married,” Phedra chuckled a little. “Just because everyone else does it, doesn’t mean you have to.”

            “They do all seem to do that don’t they?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Still doesn’t make me want a relationship.”

            “So, maybe you could pretend.”

            This statement actually brought Layla up short. Maybe there was something in that.

            “Well, that might work.”

            “It might be a little mean.”

            “I’m not sticking around.”

            “Are you sure about that?”

            “Of course. You’re not.”

            “I’m me.”

            “And I’m not?”

            Both girls laughed. Of course Layla wasn’t Phedra.

            “Well, my hair isn’t pink or anything, but I am my own sim,” Layla said. “And I’m with you. I want to see what else is out there. I don’t want to stay here and do what everyone else does. Surely there’s more to life than married, babies, work and die. And I could pretend to like someone and that’ll make others leave me alone.”

            “I shouldn’t have said that.”

            “But you did and I’m glad. I’ll find someone and pretend to like them. Then Galen will back off and I can move on with my life.”

            Phedra shook her head sadly. “Laydee. Are you sure about this?”

            “One hundred percent.”

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

            Layla’s opportunity to get Galen to back off came sooner than she thought. Well, perhaps it was sooner than she had expected, but Galen was relentless in his campaign to get her to stick around with him. The very next day he pulled his study-buddy stunt again. This time, his patsy was Anthony Lau.

            “Thanks for having me over,” Anthony told Layla. “I’m always a little behind in science.”

            Layla pursed her lips. She would rather have pretended with someone else. Zazzy’s daughter Selena, consequently Layla’s one friend at school, had been soft on Anthony for ages.

            She hated that she would most likely gain a handful of covert enemies at school, but she’d had enough. Forcing a smile she spoke through clenched teeth.

            “I’m so glad you could come over, too.” Under the table she grabbed the table leg, squeezing hard to keep her hands from betraying her discomfort.

            The pair worked in silence for a while, finishing the science questions assigned and moving on to geography without a word between them.

            “So,” Phedra tried to keep her tone light, but this was harder than she thought it might be. “Mrs. Jeffs is a real idiot of a teacher isn’t she?”

            “Yeah,” was Anthony’s cool reply.

            “I’ve read books a century old that are more accurate than she is,” Anthony added as Phedra and Galen arrived home. Both had stayed late for after-school clubs.

            Layla’s smile brightened a little out of relief as her siblings moved to join them in working on homework. She’d really have to push herself, but she needed to fool Galen. And it would be much easier to fool him if he was in the room witnessing it.

            Layla laughed merrily at Anthony’s joke a beat too late. Anthony frowned.

            Phedra sat down heavily next to Layla, her disapprobation visible to Layla.

            Galen however, saw it as a good sign, and looked closely at Layla to make sure this was really working.

            Noticing how much of Galen’s attention she had, Layla decided to turn it up a notch just as Anthony coughed a little.

            “You know we have stuff here on hand I could get you for that cough,” Layla said sweetly. “Even a little vapo-rub I could help you get on. I know how annoying those dry tickly little coughs can be.”

            Galen’s mouth actually dropped. Did he really just hear that?

            Too bad he can’t hear her whispered remark to Phedra.

            “I could sure use a trip to your island right about now. Yeesh.”

            Phedra tucked her chin low, trying to hide her grin from Galen and Anthony.

            Silence slowly stole over the group. Layla dropped the act while Galen was so focused on his own school work, and tried to get her own done.

            She had noticed that Anthony hadn’t said a word since Galen had come in. In fact, he looked a little upset. Maybe this wasn’t something she could go through with. She really didn’t want to hurt anyone. She just wanted Galen to leave her alone.

            “Look, Layla,” Anthony finally said. “Thanks for inviting me over to do school work. Soon as I’m done I’ll head back home.

            Layla frowned. He sounded almost hurt.

            “Well, it’s raining pretty hard out,” Layla said. “Why don’t you stay at least until it clears up? You don’t have an umbrella with you, and wet clothes aren’t very comfy.”

            “Sure, fine.”

            It was the best she could do for now. Well, that and pray that the rain would end quickly so she wouldn’t feel so bad.

            As per usual, Phedra finished her homework before everyone else. Including the two who had been working for almost an hour before she’d even walked back in the house.

            “That bus driver is nuts, like fresh out of the ground peanut nuts” Galen offered completely out of the blue.

            Phedra snorted. Galen tried to keep up with what was going on, but his cluelessness could sometimes lead to some really off the wall remarks.

            “I guess you could call him a real blooming idiot then, can’t you?” Layla got Galen. Unfortunately, she was usually a pace or two ahead of him. However, instead of only Phedra getting her joke, Anthony laughed along as well looking her full in the face. His eyes held hers a heartbeat longer than she was comfortable with, making her blush.

            Not noticing what was going on, Phedra offered Anthony dinner in the form of a salad she could pull out of a bag. Phedra was awesome at making those salads.

            “Gah, this is so dumb. I’m never going to finish. Might as well skip tomorrow just to finish it,” Galen whines. “Oh, but then I’d be farther behind! And nothing would ever get accomplished.”

            By this time Layla and Phedra have both eaten. Phedra, even, already has a good start on a new book. (By the looks of it a phone book or index of some sort. Seriously EA?)

            Layla is just enjoying Galen’s struggle. After all he’s put her through at school so far, she’s going to relish every moment of his discomfort. Next to her, Anthony lays his fork carefully on his now empty plate and looks at her.

            “Dance with me.” It isn’t a question or even an offer. It’s stated that she will dance with him.

            Out of a habit of obeying others Layla got up following him closer to the little radio sitting on the floor by the front door.

            Anthony’s dancing was a little wild and uncoordinated, making Layla much more uncomfortable that she was already. It took a lot out of her thighs too keep leaning back to make sure that if Anthony fell she would be able to get out of the way.

            “I’m not so bad you know.”

            Startled, Layla finally looked at Anthony.

            “Really, hanging out with me isn’t that bad,” Anthony repeated.

            “No,” Layla replied. “No you’ve been nice.”

            Layla’s cheeks burned even worse than before. She’d hurt someone. Just like Phedra said she would.

            “Actually, nobody’s danced with me since Cyrus left. He was the dancer,” she added. “This is nice. Thank you.”

            Laughter bubbling over, Anthony stopped and clutched his side. Layla watched warily. Finally, he straightened back up.

            “Alright, alright,” he gasped. “You don’t have to go that far! I’m a lousy dancer at the best of times, so you don’t have to pretend about that.”

            “Look, let’s be honest with each other,” Anthony still smiled. “This guy? This guy asked me to come over. But I have wanted to come over and spend time with you for a while now. I just didn’t have the balls to say anything.”

            Layla’s stomach sinks. Shit.

            “Your best friend, Selena? Scares the holy hell outta me. Her mom, too. I want nothing to do with those two. But Selena doesn’t take hints very well, and you my friend, are the only way she will leave me alone. Exactly the same way that I am the only way your brother will leave you alone.”

            Lips curving into a smile, Layla tilts her head in curiosity. This might work out after all.

            “But I can’t ask you to purposely piss off your best friend,” Anthony continues. “However, I can tell you that though you lose her, you gain me. You’re good at science. I’m not. You’re good at geography. I’m not. I’m good at English. You’re not. I’m also very good at trig. You very much are not. So I think we could work out a pretty beneficial trade if you’re at all interested.”

            It takes only a moment for Layla to decide. Selena would be hurt, but she had lots of other friends and often left Layla to her own devices in favor of other, more popular girls. Also, it would get Galen to leave her alone. As she dove into her thoughts she missed the slightly hungry look in Anthony’s eyes while he watched her.

            “Alright,” she responds. “You’re on.”

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

            And yes, this means that in game they are technically girlfriend/boyfriend. This way Story Progression would quit trying to pair both of them up with someone. Seriously, Layla had a different boy over or asked to go to a different boys house every school night for a week. It was getting SO annoying. But it works, so whatever. Galen has a girlfriend, too. Arden Swanson. We’ll see her later probably. I have no idea why I have no shots of her. Most likely cause she's not such a looker (neither is Anthony). But Galen is all about Arden. To each his own.

This will be the last update for a little while. Though I have a handful of useable photos, I've got to get my game back up and running. Nasty little bug it seems to have.

Chapter 1.32

Chapter 1.32- How to Escape

            Buck will never, ever, EVER get used to anyone growing up. Ever. And today it’s twice the horror. His twins are aging up.

            Both of them are hoping that this birthday will be the beginning of a new chapter for the family. Phedra will be aging up soon and moving on which makes the twins feel that they will have to take care of their parents. Something they want to do well.

            In reality, though, Galen is the one pushing the whole “Taking care of Mom and Dad” bit. Layla isn’t so sure she wants to stick around here forever. She's imbibed a lot of Phedra lately.

            Galen knows that Layla would like to move on after their next age up.  But, there’s so much that could happen between now and then. The teen stage of life can be tumultuous at the very best of times for any sim. If he gets everything to work right, he hopes Layla will never want to leave.

            Layla just doesn’t know how far Galen's plans go.

            Sparkles!

            Galen gets hair he can flip around.

            Buck gets visions of premature heart attacks on the horizon.

            And don’t think Layla doesn’t know it.

            Gobbling down birthday cake in an effort to get to the computer lab at the library Galen is stopped in his tracks by Layla’s topic of conversation. No one in the house had brought up Buck going fishing in any way since Cyrus had left. Cyrus and Buck had went to fish together at least twice a week. Buck hadn’t been since becoming without a partner, and no one had suggested he find one.

            “Mom,” Layla was a little nervous about this actually. But she had a plan, too. And Galen had no idea. “Mom, you know, you should go fishing with Dad sometime. It’s so peaceful, and the pictures you could get would be really lovely.”

            The collective intake of breath around the table was swift.

            “Come on, Layla,” Buck finally managed to speak. “Your mom doesn’t want to go fishing with me. She’s outside enough as it is with her photography. She doesn’t need more time. It’s your birthday, let’s talk about something else.”

            “Why wouldn’t I like being outside more than I am?” Helen was a little surprised that what she was really put out by is the assumption that she wouldn’t like to go. “I like being out there. And it’s true that I’ve never given much thought to fishing, but shots of fishing are always wanted as souvenirs and momentos.”

            “Come on, it’s the kids’ birthday.”

            In the background, Galen is in shock. Why on Sim Planet would she suggest such a thing? And why is Helen considering it?

            “Maybe he’s just afraid you’ll fall in and he’ll have to swim in to get you,” Phedra chuckled.

            Everyone stopped. The dead silence awful and intimidating. It’s the first time a joke has been attempted at the table in so long, no one remembers if they get to laugh, or if they’re supposed to be offended. Galen actually runs into the bathroom to escape. He’s not going to stick around to see what kind of a mess Layla started.

            What he missed by running away is Helen’s smile, Buck’s low chuckle.

            “That’d sure put me in a quandary, now wouldn’t it?”

            “A dilemma no politician would want to solve, for sure.” Phedra adds.

            As Buck finishes his cake, he realizes that this is the first time in a long time that the family has joked together. That it was light. It also finally hits him that Phedra had smiled and attempted to join in without turning it into something about herself. And it dawns on him that they’ve all moved on.

            Helen has watched the family finally begin to relax again for a while. What she didn’t realize was that Layla was coming out of her shell a little bit, that she had initiated all of that. And honestly, Helen wouldn’t mind a little alone time with Buck. It’s been too long since they’ve had any. The kids are nearly grown now, and they can take care of themselves. Maybe it’s time they took care of each other instead.

            Never one to slack off, Layla heads outside soon after the dishes are washed up. Tomorrow will be the first day of high school and she’s going to need this time alone to prepare for the day. She also wants to reflect on the fact that she successfully managed to get her parents to think about spending more time together again.

            Now, she’s just got to figure out how to escape from Galen’s plans for her life.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

It’s choppy and I hate it, but they had to grow up. Blah. Also, I love the shots of them around the table all together. Silly Galen had to run off and ruin it, but it’s nice to see the family all in one room again. It’s been too long. And for the record- Layla's hair is going to change. That's an unfixed Rose hair and the roots- the roots- are driving me nuts! And yes I know Helen has bad roots, but oh well.
ETA (11:30 AM CMT 2-11-13): Layla is now up for download under the Generational Goals tab at the top. Just scroll down until you see her picture. There is a CC Free version and one that is her as she appears in my game currently. This means her hair is different than the above, but there is a link to this hair there as well. If anyone would like any other family members, please let me know.

Chapter 1.31

Chapter 1.31- Never Die

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.

William Shakespeare

            Days had passed. Weeks. Cyrus’ age-up day had come and long gone. Life had soldiered on despite it all. The world had not stopped. The seasons still changed and with it life had changed in the little house the Sixkillers called home.

            The house felt emptier. There was more room to move about and an empty chair at every meal and less laundry for Helen to do. Leftovers began to appear in the fridge as Helen forgot to adjust her cooking to fit the shrunken size of her family.

            Phedra struggled more than she could ever tell Buck or Helen.

            She had grown dependent on her brother at school for her social life. Without him there, she was adrift; an island in the bustling noisy school halls.

            Gossip touched her ears during lunches taken with unfamiliar faces. Cyrus had had a girlfriend who had vanished the same day he had. She’d never known. It had always been about her. Never him.

            How could she have been so careless? The longer she looked at it, the more she thought about it, the more she blamed herself.

            Buck’s own distance and misery only confirmed it to her. Helen was still functioning, so obviously she was ok. But she hadn’t sat down with Phedra lately either. Maybe they blamed her too…

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

            The twins had likewise felt the despair in the atmosphere at home. The first day Cyrus had gone they had been told by Helen that Cyrus had decided to go somewhere else. They had then watched as she had had a shouting match on the phone with a woman who said Cyrus had a girlfriend. She had left with Cyrus and her mom was really mad.

            They hadn’t seen Buck for two days afterward. During this time, Helen finally sat them down and explained the entire situation to them. When Buck had finally emerged from his bedroom he looked older and there were lines on his face that hadn’t been there before. There was also a new distance between Buck and Helen, a sharpness in how they spoke to the other, cutting words that had never been spoken in the house before. Despite their tender years both kids understood what it meant.

            Eager to escape the depression they watched at home, both twins went outside the house to find some solace. Galen went to the library spending his time on the computers there. Layla turned to nature, discovering that some of the shiny rocks she picked up could be valuable.

            This particular one was a new one for her. It’s blue color appealed to Layla and she hoped she’d find more soon. She had a plan for these valuable rocks, and hoped it would fix something at home. Someone to be more exact. And though she thought she had a nice idea, she was still very unsure of the words to use to explain it.

            The particular Saturday morning she had chosen broke gloomy and dim. There were breaks in the clouds on the horizon, but it was still a little while before the sun would shine again.

            Layla watched as Phedra rose from her bed, slowly, groggily, frowning. Words came so easily to Galen. He could talk to anyone. Maybe she should have talked to him first. But he hadn’t been home and things were only deteriorating. It had to be now. Ready or not.

            Spotting Layla standing stock still staring at her gave pause to Phedra. Literally. She stopped trying to rise from bed, watching Layla in fascination. Layla didn’t approach others very much and neither girl had ever been particularly close to the other.

            Suddenly feeling a little nervous about why she was being stared at, Phedra blinked. The action startled Layla, making her jump and resulting in an even longer stand off.

            Though she was a little afraid of startling her little sister again, she couldn’t stay like this forever.

            “What?” Phedra finally asked.

            Layla’s eyes grew round as coins and she drew in a deep breath.

            Layla’s cheeks burned as she gathered all her courage up to answer.

            “Do you still love me?”

            Phedra let her breath out in a *whoosh* that made her slightly dizzy. Did Layla really think that?

            “Or course,” Phedra frowned. “Why would you even need to ask?”

            “Because Cyrus is gone,” Layla spoke so quietly that though the words were hard to hear this was the first time they didn’t hurt Phedra.

            “But that doesn’t change how I feel about you and Galen.”

            “Then why are you so sad? We’re still here.”

            Phedra sighed again, making herself comfortable on the bed. Layla did the same, still staring at her intently.

            “I’m sad because maybe I was a little mean to Cyrus,” Phedra was finally able to answer Layla frankly. “Maybe I made him go away.”

            “Maybe you didn’t.”

            Phedra looked sharply at Layla as the sun finally started to peek out of the clouds outside.

            “How do you figure that?”

            Layla shrugged.

            “He’d been different for a long time before he left,” Layla said. “He wasn’t the same. And it wasn’t anything in the house. Remember that girl we had the water balloon fight with? I think he’s with her. And I think he was afraid mom wouldn’t like her. That’s why he’s gone.”

            Phedra sighed, looking away again as the sun shone stronger.

            Layla had always been the observant one. The one to see what others missed. And she always seemed to know what everyone else was going to do, or what they thought.

            “And now you’re getting ready to leave for your island and you think that we don’t love you anymore.”

            Phedra actually laughed out loud. A sarcastic nasal “HA!” that brought the first touch of a smile to her lips for weeks.

            “Oh, sweetie,” she said, moving to lean against the wall.

            “But you are,” Layla insisted. “You just want to find a way to get enough money to leave. But mom won’t let you get a job.”

            Phedra peered at Layla. The things that child knew. It was uncanny.

            “You want to travel the world, to explore everything outside of our town that you’ve never seen.”

            “You said it yourself, kid. No dinero.” Phedra rubbed her fingers together to suggest money.

            Layla ducked her head.

            “If I helped you get money would you love me again? Would you stay for a little longer and be my sister?”

            This time Phedra could hardly hold back tears. “Sweetie, I don’t not love you. Ok? And I’m always going to be your sister.”

            “But you don’t act like it.”

            Phedra shook her head, time to change the subject.

            “Where would you get money kid?”

            “I find these rocks all over,” Layla’s face lit up. “They’re all over! And I took some of them to a man downtown in a little shop who buys them from me. He said some of them are valuable and people like them in jewelry and pay him for them when he cuts them.”

            Phedra was a little taken aback. She’d not heard such an excited speech from Layla ever.

            “If I give you the money, will you stay and be my sister?”

            This time, it was Phedra’s turn to break eye contact. Could she really be making money selling rocks to a jeweler? But if it is true, it would enable her to leave town the moment she graduated. She could be off and exploring the world so much sooner.

            “I’ll always be your sister,” Phedra answered at last. “But the help would be wonderful. You know I’d love to travel the world.”

            Layla smiled, nodding vigorously.

            After this, Phedra slowly began to cheer up around the house. She finally managed to make a friend or two at school and spent a lot of her time at home with Layla. They’d sit on their beds and talk about school and friends.

Phedra would even talk about boys sometimes which never failed to make Layla blush. They talked about clothes and exchanged gossip from the school hallways.

Phedra even helped Layla with her homework which she had been doing alone more and more often since Galen went to the library so much. A few times Phedra would accompany Layla to the jewelers to exchange the rocks her little sister had found. They’d return home to count the growing stash of simoleans hidden beneath Phedra’s mattress and plan dream trips for Phedra to one day take.

            As Phedra’s sunshine returned, Galen started reappearing at home more, Helen’s cutting words lessened, and Buck began to smile again. There were even rare moments when the kids would spot the two adults wrapped in an embrace. It had been too long since the kids had witnessed tender gestures from their parents. It had been too long since anyone in the house had laughed, or ribbed someone at the dinner table. But slowly, it was coming back to them; how to be a family that functioned instead of a broken shell.

            “You know,” Phedra was making Layla take a day off from her rock hunting. “You know maybe one day I could visit you on your island that you’re going to live on.”

            Phedra snorted. Her plans had changed in only one way, now she wanted to find Cyrus. But she couldn’t tell her baby sister that she was going to aim for that in her travels and didn’t want to settle anywhere until she had found him.

            “You’ll have to find a lot more rocks, Laydee,” Phedra chuckled. “Besides, I don’t even know what island I’ll find to live on yet.”

            Layla nodded soberly.

            “Though I’ll make sure that I’ve got lots of rocks on it for you to find when I do, ‘Kay?”

            Layla smiled back at Phedra, nodding happily this time.

            “I might as well take advantage of the money I’m making and travel, too. Right?”

            Phedra didn’t respond, she didn’t look in her sister’s direction either. She still wasn’t sure what it was exactly that Layla wanted out of her life, and knew that Layla didn’t know either. Since Layla was just a kid it was ok, but Phedra didn’t want to be tied to anyone, not even her little sister.

            “Laydee,” Phedra’s tone was patronizing. “Why don’t you wait to see what high school brings for you? Maybe you’ll meet a boy and settle down here.”

            Layla contemplated Phedra silently for a while.

            “What if you die and no one is there?”

            Phedra was shocked this was something that had Layla so concerned.

            “I’ll just never die.”

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Life goes on, but recovering from such a loss is never easy. I know we really only saw Phedra and Layla in this, but I needed to set up a few things so things could move a little more quickly for a bit. Also, they didn't heal overnight and they'll still be healing for a while yet.
So! Next time! Birthdays!