Generation 2 Bloopers!

This is the bloopers for Generation 2!

Click the pictures to enlarge!

2.11 The end of an era

When our therapy sessions finally ended I was relieved. We had gone over so much in just a year. It had truly taken a long time, but now we were stronger than ever.
Robi turned out to be quite the romantic, bringing home roses and caressing my cheek whenever he could.

I simply melted by his touch. Even sex was better than before.

I still had strange dreams though, Though i wouldn't call them frightening. They merely consisted of Nicolas standing at the end of my bed, looking down upon me. It was like i floated out of my body and watched him from above watching me.
Little did i know that he actually was making frequent visits while i was sleeping.

When i just couldn't take it anymore, i visited his grave stone at the back of the house and tried talking to him. I felt silly doing it. This is silly. He obviously can't hear me, I thought, though i felt tears run down my cheeks as i mourned him. I thought back to when we were children. He had always been kind of geeky and loved computer games, technology and everything logically. He was quite shy and didn't talk to people, he was unpopular in school, getting teased by the other kids. I felt sorry for  him. He definitely hadn't had an easy life. I cried silently as i stood there remembering  him.

I was slowly but steady getting my slim figure back, as i worked out four times a week in our home gym we had set up in Nic's old room.

Beside me Kala would work on some of her moves on the boxing bag.

She had a dream of becoming the best in sports and so she never wanted children, since they could ruin her figure and her workout process. I felt sad for her that she would never experience the joys of having children, but she insisted that she didn't want to carry a child inside of her. I thought that it was a strange comment, and i started feeling there were things i didn't know about her. Like she had some big secret she kept to herself.

I would often get calls from Kylie's teachers saying that she was not focusing in her class and that she met up in school unprepared. I found out that she had not done her homework in a while and when i asked her about it she would just give me some far out story about how the trolls in her room had told her that doing her homework would kill her entire family. I was shocked that this was still going on. She had been to several doctors and they all said the same thing: She was a healthy young girl, but had concentration problems. So there were actually nothing wrong with her, according to them. But i had a feeling that this wasn't just some made up stories she gave me. Something deeper and much darker lay behind it. And i feared that it was something that was too much for me to handle.
I started tutoring her with her homework so she would get better grades, but also to see her reaction.

It went quite smoothly. She did her homework and i was satisfied. That was until i found her outside of the house, burning her homework with matches.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled at her. She stood with tears in her eyes as the burnt homework lay beside her, turned into ashes.
"I'm sorry Mom, but the fairies told me that if i didn't do it, the trolls would burn you." She started crying uncontrollably and I hurried over to hug her. That's it! I thought. We have to get her help. 
I spoke with Robi about it later that night when everybody else had gone to bed. I had sung Kylie to sleep that night, as she was still very upset.
"We have to do something Robi. This can't go on."
"Mhm. Are  you sure it isn't just a phase darling? We don't want to make a bigger deal out of it as it is."
"Do you really think it is a phase to sit in your room singing happy birthday to fairies and burning your homework because fairies and trolls told you to? She truly thinks that those beings are going to hurt us! We have to get her help!" I felt rage boiling up inside of me, but then i used the techniques i had learned at yoga and by the therapist and calmed myself again.
"Okay, if you really want to get her help, i think you should take her to see our former therapist. If something is wrong, i'm absolutely sure that she will find out and help her."
"I'll make an appointment for Wednesday. That's the day after tomorrow." I kissed him on his lips. "I'm so glad you retired. The girls are sure happy too that they get to spend more time with their Dad."
He smiled at me and said: "I'm actually quite happy about it too. I like being home when the kids come home from school. And watch television with them before they go to bed. It means a lot to me."
He pulled me down for a kiss. It heated up and we started ripping our clothes off. I really did enjoy the new and improved version of Robi. He was so energized all the time and was never cranky anymore. He didn't stress about the smallest problems and we were able to just enjoy each other completely in all the ways possible.
We had decided that because he was getting so old now, we didn't want any more children. I was satisfied with having two children and Kala living in my house, and honestly, with the new gym equipment, we didn't have enough rooms for another baby.
I had gotten a promotion at work not long ago to Canvas Creator. I loved my new position as i was now moved to a different section of the art gallery. It was more open and it was where the less important people arrived which meant more people bought paintings as mine weren't that expensive. Not yet anyway. I still needed a lot more training before i could make a name of myself. But it payed well and I always came home with a smile on my face.

We sent Kylie to the therapist and she confirmed our greatest fear. Little Kylie were schizophrenic.  This explained so much.
That's why she had been able to talk to fairies and trolls and thought that they said things to her. They mainly told her bad things and she would act out from it, not knowing they weren't real.
Now that she knew they weren't real, she promised never to act on it again. She was given medicine to dim the symptoms and we all went back to a bit more normal life. She started doing her homework more often, and she went from a D- to a C+ in just two months. I couldn't have been happier.

As Robi was now retired from work, he had started tending to my mother's old garden plants. Most of them had died over the years, and i had thought about getting rid of the rest of the plants as well because i simply didn't have time take care of them, but thankfully Robi did.

It was now time for Skylar's birthday. I baked the famous Chocolate Cake, which i had gotten pretty good at, i might add.
We all gathered around, singing happy birthday to her.

She grew into a beautiful teenager. I felt so proud to have given birth to these two young wonderful girls that i started crying silently.
"Mom, don't cry," Skylar said shyly as she grabbed a piece of cake.
We all sat down together and ate birthday cake. Knowing it wasn't good for my figure, i only took one piece this time.

We redecorated Skylar's room from childish to teenage-ish with her favorite colors, pink and white. She insisted on having those lamps that lighted green in the room. She said they inspired her to focus on her computer games and programming, which she had started getting really into.

Then the day arrived that i had dreaded for a while. I woke up at night to the cries from Robi. I slowly opened my eyes and was about to ask what was going on, when i heard a thud against the floor. I raised myself quickly onto my elbows, but i couldn't see him anywhere. I got out of bed and found him lying on the floor motionless next to the bed. I shook him, yelling his name. "Robi! Robi! Wake up. God damn it, don't do this to me!" I started crying and shook him harder.

It was the worst night in my life. I lost the love of my life to old age, and i swore I would never love another man again. The time that followed was tough on everyone.
Kylie's illness took control again and she started talking out into the room, even when she was alone, like someone was there. I later found out she hadn't taken her medication for a while, after which i checked every time i gave her it that she actually swallowed it.
Somehow Skylar managed to become even more introverted than she was before. She could be social in school, but when she came home she went right for the computer. After she started gaining weight from sitting at the computer all the time playing her favorite game of World of Warcraft, which she had played now for years, buying each expansion pack that was released, and eating chips, i dragged her down to our workout equipment and forced her to work out. She complained as she walked mile after mile with me standing next to her, coaching her.
After a while she actually started enjoying herself and would go work out on her own.
Kala had never been very close to Robi, so she wasn't as affected by his death like the rest of us were. But she was still sad, as she had lived with him her whole life, eaten with him every night and watched television together.
I took it hardest of us all. I would start sobbing uncontrollably at work or while cooking dinner for the family, realizing that Robi wouldn't join us for dinner.
It went on for a while, until Kala gathered us all together.
"I have a surprise for you all," she said with a careful smile on her lips. "I have rented a cottage in Granite Falls for all of you to go enjoy this weekend."
Robi had left Kala a good sum of money after his death. Apparently she had spend some of it on us. It touched me very deeply that she cared so much about us.
"But aren't you joining us?" Skylar asked, and i turned to look at Kala. She looked shyly at us all, saying that this was for us and she didn't want to intrude on our grief.
"I really wish you would join us, though," I said to her. "But thanks a lot Kala, this is exactly what we all need." I hugged her tightly, already starting to look forward to a weekend together with my kids.

Kala's Pov

"Is it safe?" Elaina asked over the phone.

"Yes, just come on over." I answered. Thirty minutes later she knocked on the door. 

"That took you long enough," I said slightly reproachful, but then smiled at her. "Come here you," I grabbed her around her waist and kissed her hard.

"Wait," she mouthed while i was kissing her, but i didn't let go. "Wait," she said again, pushing me away.
"What?" I asked a bit annoyed. Couldn't she just kiss without interruption? "I haven't seen you for so long. Can't we just make out?"
She smiled at me playfully. "Just a minute honey, we don't want to rush things. Have you spoken to your family yet?"
"About us? No not yet," I looked down at my feet.
"Would you please do it soon? I can't keep this up. Sneaking into your room every other night, sneaking back out in the morning. I mean it isn't exactly easy. One time i swear your mother saw me going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Thank god you have more than one bathroom. Otherwise things would have turned quite ugly."
"She's not my mother."
"Who?"
"Phoebe. She's not my mother. She's my Aunt."
"Oh, i'm sorry."
"No it's fine." I brushed it off. "I should have told you. Come inside with me and i'll tell you everything you want to know."
We had approximately dated for 4 months. Nobody knew i was gay. I was sure that they would understand, but i just wasn't ready to tell them yet.

"So, why is it again that you are living with your Aunt?" she asked me after we had made love. We lay in my aunt's bed, as it was the only double bed in the house. I made sure to change the sheets before and after, though. Otherwise it would be disgusting.
"Please don't smoke inside the house," I said, wrinkling my nose at the smell.
"Sorry babe, i forgot." She walked over to the window and opened it wide. "Better?" she asked and stuck out her wonderfully sexy butt.
"So, to answer your question." I sat up straight in the bed, enjoying the fresh breeze of wind touching my face. "My mother abandoned me when i was a child. She saw me as an attention seeking little brat that took up all of her time. Even though she never spend any time with me. My Aunt Phoebe and her husband Robi has taken care of me like forever."
"Huh. I've never seen him around."
"Well, he died a few months ago, so that might be why." I said with a slight sneer.
"I'm sorry honey i didn't know." She stubbed out the cigarette against the wall outside the window, closed the window and crept back into bed with me.
We spend the rest of the night making love, and slept all day.
On Sunday afternoon they all came back from their little vacation and they had seemingly enjoyed it.
"Kala! Kala!" Kylie yelled out for me as she ran up the stairs.
"What is it sweety?" I smiled at my little cousin.
"Guess what?" she was clearly very happy about something as she couldn't stand still on her two feet. She hopped up and down, looking earnestly at me.
"Ehm, did you find a bug in the forest?"
"No silly. Guess for real!"
"I honestly don't know what i'm guessing for. Can't you just tell me?"
"Mommy made me heiress!!!" She screamed and jumped around the floor.
So, i guess this means there is going to be a new head of household soon. I sighed as i watched with a smile how she jumped up and down on the floor. There were no controlling this child.

This is the end of Generation 2. There will be a chapter full of Bloopers Photos that just didn't make it in the other chapters ;)

Generation 2 Character Overview

Phoebe Bloom

Age: Adult
Traits: Romantic, Foodie, Creative
Bonus Traits: Creatively Gifted, Frugal
Aspiration Trait: Alluring
Aspiration: Soulmate

Phoebe has always love music and painting on her easel that her mother bought for her so many years ago. She liked to strum on her violin, much to her children's pleasure. When she turned a young adult she followed in her fathers footsteps and started working out at the gym together with her twin Kaylin and their brother Nicolas. That's where she met her present husband, Robi. Robi was kind and sweet to Phoebe, showing her for the first time love and support that she hadn't experienced before. Not long after they married, she had their first child Skylar. A few years later while she was pregnant with their second child Kylie, Kaylin and Phoebe fell out and Kaylin moved in with her current husband.
After two pregnancies and being together for many years, Phoebe and Robi were met with struggles as a married couple often does. Phoebe learned a new and less attractive side of herself. She grew angry with time, and any little thing could tick her off into a rage, often letting it out on Robi. It wasn't before they went to couples therapy that she learned to control her anger problems. She was referred to yoga classes at the local spa and there she found a true inner peace she had never experienced before. It helped her relationship with Robi to become healthy again and they were now able to be proper parents for their kids again.

Robi Bruner Bloom

Age: Elder

Traits: Neat, Good, Bookworm

Bonus Traits: Great Storyteller, Speed Cleaner

Aspiration Trait: Domestic

Aspiration: Big Happy Family

He was once married to an unknown woman, that perished in a fire in their home. We don't know her name as he didn't want to talk about it or think about it. He repressed the memory of her and focused on the present.

He is about twenty years older than Phoebe. He has two daughters with her, Skylar and Kylie, and he is an Uncle to his niece Kala, daughter of Kaylin.

After years of marriage with Phoebe they started having problems, which took hard on him. He felt he did a lot and felt unappreciated. When they started taking therapy sessions things lightened up between them and their relationship is now stronger than ever.

Kaylin Bloom Souza

Age: Adult

Traits: Romantic, Outgoing, Loves Outdoors

Bonus Traits: Socially Gifted

Aspiration Trait: Gregarious

Aspiration: Party Animal

Kaylin is the twin of Phoebe and the daughter of Veronica and Mitchell Bloom.

She had a good upbringing with loving parents and a nice, innocent sister. 

Kaylin always loved having people around her, were it her family or her friends. She would always seek the company of others. She was never lonely or alone.

When she grew up she met Moses Storey with whom she had a one-night stand. Afterwards she fell pregnant with her first and only daughter. After giving birth she started showing her true colors. She wasn't much interested in her daughter and saw her more of a hindrance and an attention seeking "brat" than anything else. It ended with a fight between her and Phoebe where Phoebe complained about Kaylin's lack of responsibility for her daughter. She ended up leaving without her daughter to go live with her boyfriend, whom she later married. She fell pregnant with twin boys soon after getting married. She named them Johnnie and Tyler. The Bloom family never saw her again as they kept to themselves.

Nicolas Bloom

Nicolas, sometimes called "Nic", has always been geeky. He enjoyed playing World Of Warcraft on the computer and various other games. He was never very social and was quite awkward in socially situations. He handles rejections poorly and ended up killing himself after being rejected a proposal to his girlfriend, and after experiencing humiliation often at work. He never married and never had any kids.

 

Jase Souza

Age: Adult

Traits: Neat, Childish, Active

Aspiration trait: Business Savvy

We really doesn't know much about Jase. He came into Kaylin's life late in her Young Adult years. He came from SimCity where he was known as a criminal who would rob rich old people while they slept, but after a police investigation started, he decided to move to Oasis Springs to have a quiet life. 

He ended up marrying Kaylin and she moved in with him. They had twin boys together, Johnnie and Tyler.

Kala Bloom

Age: Teen

Traits: Goofball, Active

Bonus Traits: Physically Gifted

Aspiration Trait: High Metabolism

Aspiration: Body Builder

Abandoned by her mother at a young age and bullied in school for being a "big girl", she became introverted, only accepted by her Aunt Phoebe and her family. At one point she got so sick of being bullied she started losing weight by eating healthy and working out on the monkey bars, practicing her arm strength. She grew very close to her cousins Skylar and Kylie. 

When she became a teenager, and were able to buy the clothes she wanted, she turned to the subculture of Pop-punk. 

And now to the possible heiresses!

Skylar Bloom

Age: Child

Traits: Geek

Child Aspiration: Whiz Kid

Skylar loves everything that has to do with logic and the computer. She enjoys playing games such as The Sims and the famous World Of Warcraft. She was told by her mother that her late Uncle Nicolas, whom she had always admired, WoW himself. She loved the way she could escape into a fantasy world full of other people from all around the world. She was close with her sister Kylie and her cousin Kala. Despite being a bit geeky, she is actually a real girly girl. She loves dolls and the color pink. She's not very outgoing but not a loner or shy either. She likes to socialize with her friends and is good at it too. She dreams of a career as a Tech Guru as her Uncle Nic was.

Kylie Bloom

Age: Child

Traits: Insane

Child Aspiration: Social Butterfly

Kylie is a very social child. She loves being with her friends and they adore her company. 

Over the last couple of years she has started to show streaks of insanity in her personality. She would sometimes draw on the walls in her room. When she got yelled at by her mother because of it, she would yell nonsense back at her about how her dragon told her to do it and that she should blame that. She enjoys playing with the doll house together with her sister Skylar. During her parents problematic phase, she felt abandoned and started cutting herself on her arm. She was discovered during doing this by her father, whom blamed her mother Phoebe. After that she was being watched closely by everyone in the household. She wishes she could just be normal like everybody else.

2.10 Therapy

"Do you still think this is a good idea?" Robi asked me as we sat in the waiting room a the therapists office for our first meeting.
"What do you mean? You said you were up for this!" I felt my anger start again.
"Yes and i am! I just,.. I'm not comfortable talking to a complete stranger about our problems. We should be able to deal with them ourselves."
"Well if we are to deal with them ourselves we are talking about a divorce. Do you want one?" I asked very defensively.
"No of course not. I just.. never mind," he said, now sulking.
A young girl stuck her head through the door. "The Bloom's?"
"That's us," I answered her.
"Follow me," she said and we got up and walked with her through a long allway. There were a lot of doors, leading to various rooms, probably to different offices.
"Right, here you are." She led us through a door and into an office. "You just sit and she will be with you in a second." The young girl left again and we were met with dead silence. We sat down in an armchair each and waited for approximately half a minute before someone arrived at the door.
"The Blooms i presume," An elderly lady asked. "I'm Mila Bow, your therapist." She sent us a warming smile that you just couldn't help reciprocate.
We introduced ourselves with a handshake and we all sat down in a circle around a small table.
"Does people often cry in here?" Robi asked, clearly noticing the box of tissues on the table. "Not that there is anything wrong with that," he quickly added seeing the look on my face.
"It's completely fine," Mila said, still with a smile. "It happens that people get emotional and they need to dry their tears. Now, i understand this is your first time at a therapist?"
"That's correct," I said.
"Okay and why do you want help from a therapist?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, a bit confused.
"Well what made you decide you needed a therapist?"
"Oh it was actually because of a dream i had a few nights back." I told her about the dream and she said: "I see. That was quite intense. That must not have been nice to experience. Well, let's just get started, shall we." She grabbed a notepad and a pen and started asking us questions about us, our personality, our background, our family. We didn't touch our problems at all.
"Ehm, when are we going to talk about our problems?" Robi asked.
"Hm you seem quite interested in asking questions. How come that is?" She looked at him like she was studying him. He became very nervous and said sorry for interrupting and didn't answer more than that.
The rest of the meeting, which lasted a good 4 hours, went not without bumps. Robi couldn't help himself correcting me sometimes and every time the therapist would ask him why he was doing that, and then he would say sorry and we would just continue the conversation. I wish she would have done more to help us there, but she said she had to get to know us before she could help us and right now she was just observing us.

We went to therapy three times a week. It was a good way to get your frustrations out. She seemed to understand it, as she had seen and heard a lot of things during her time as a therapist.
Sometimes at home i felt like i was losing it. Sometimes i was even scared that i was going crazy. I couldn't focus on my work, i kept painting the same thing over and over again because it just wasn't perfect enough!
At the moment Robi slept on the couch in the living room and i had the bed. It was easier that way to deal with our problems.

He said he didn't mind it, but i knew he missed the times where we would curl up in bed together, kissing and caressing each others cheeks. Sex had never been a major part of our relationship, but even I had started to miss it. Being intimate turned out to actually be a big deal. I had never seen myself as a sexual being. That quickly changed though. I couldn't get used to being alone in bed. Even when we had our fights, I would seek comfort in his presence next to me. Though i knew we weren't ready yet to share a bed. I just had to wait.

As time went by we opened more and more up to our therapist. She helped us see other sides of our problems. I realized why i had been so angry for so long. I had been neglecting myself in a lot of ways and then let it out on Robi. I had to find inner peace, and not with cookies and chips, or workout machines.  No, the therapist wanted me to take yoga lessons. She had had a lot of patients take yoga lessons and apparently they had come far just with that. I asked if that meant the end of our conversations, because that would make me sad. I didn't feel we were quite there yet where we could handle everything ourselves. It was like my mother was guiding me again, though in the form of my therapist. But she agreed with me that we weren't ready for her to let go just yet, but it was a start for me to take yoga lessons. She said, and i agreed with her, that i needed to take care of myself and my needs. And for that to happen i needed inner peace.

The next day i called in sick to work, and headed down to the spa for my first yoga lesson. I found it difficult with all the movements and positions we had to make. I wasn't as bendy as i had been once.

It made me happy to sweat my problems away. At the end of the class we would lie down on our mat with relaxing music to make us relax in our mind. It was a beautiful thing.

Yoga seemed to give me a peace of mind i had never experienced before. I was so glad to be free of all my negativity and anger that i felt like i could take on the world!

Often, while i was at yoga or work and Robi was at work, the kids would go to the park to play together on the jungle gym.

Even though Kala was with them she would rather spend time alone on the monkey bars. She had learned that, except her cousins, the other kids didn't want to play with her. It made me sad all the way into my heart, but there wasn't much i could do about it. She was slowly getting old enough to make her own decisions and didn't listen to me much anymore. I knew she missed her own Mom. It was clear that she felt alone at times and was jealous that her cousins had their mother around when she didn't. I saw Kala as my own daughter and i disciplined her as i did my own kids, but nothing seemed to get through that tough exterior she had put up.

My relationship with Robi was slowly improving. He had now been allowed back into bed and we had even started being intimate with each other again.

Soon it was time for Kala's birthday.

Now that she was a teenager she was able to buy the clothes she wanted to dress in. She went for a Pop Punk style. (will be shown in Generation 2 Character Overview!)
She started listening to punk-pop music, which i didn't approve of but i thought that she was now old enough to decide it on her own.

Since starting taking yoga classes i had cut down on my cake and chips consuming. I ate a bit more healthy now. I wanted to lose my baby fat and the extra i had gained since, again. I began working out at the gym as well. I would love to say that i was doing better at my job, that a promotion was nearing. Sadly i was actually close to being fired. I had taken too much time off work because of stress and they were talking about letting me go. Now that i had found new strength i wanted to work extra hard. The girls were also growing up fast and were able to take more care of themselves.
Yes, i'm sure with the therapy we've gotten and the yoga classes, everything would now be okay.

2.9 Dreams and Meanings

Being pregnant was definitely tough on my mood. The only time i felt at ease was when i was cooking.

At this point i was huge! I were 8½ months pregnant and ready to burst. My hormones were all over the place and i was sick of it. I got into fights with Robi every day over petty little things. I would scream, then he would scream and one of us, usually I, would leave the house for an hour or two to cool off. I couldn't wait to get this baby out of me.

Then on a cool Wednesday morning i gave birth to a healthy baby girl we named Kylie. she was adorable and i loved her so much!
Robi would again feed the baby the last bottle of infant formula of the day.

And I would do it the rest of the day.

We had redecorated Kaylin's old room to fit for the newborn.
I thought that everything would be alright once i had the baby, but i was wrong. We still fought. About how he was never home and when he was he was absent to his new daughter.
I had completely lost self control in the food department. I would bake brownies and binge on them eating one plate after another.

My hips had become more noticeably after giving birth two times, but i didn't care about that. What i did care about however, was that i was gaining weight rapidly. I was so sad about my weight gain, fighting with Robi, having no energy and constantly had to deal with sick-up and diapers. My life had become one big roller coaster of misery. I missed my Mom and Dad, Nic was gone, Kaylin weren't speaking to me. I needed change. But i didn't know how to do it. What needed to be changed?

Then it was time for Robi's birthday. We was going to be an elder and i hoped that that would calm things a bit.
I baked the famous chocolate cake, the recipe that had been passed on from my Mother down to me.
He had come home from work to my chocolate surprise. He seemed to like it as he went to blow out the candles right away.

We sat down and enjoyed the cake together.
"So, what did you wish for?" I said winking at him.
"Don't be like that," he sneered at me.
"Wha-what did i do?" I said surprised.
"You're trying to flirt with me, that's what. Don't think it will work."
"What the hell are you talking about?! I'm just being nice to you. I baked the cake, bought candles..." Tears started showing in my eyes.
"I never asked  you to bake a cake or buy candles, which i think is kind of childish honey," he said with a superior glance at me.
I burst out crying, running from the room.
"Mom?" Skylar said frightened, as i passed her on the stairs.
"Dad what's wrong with Mom?" She asked as she descended the stairs.
"Your mother is just overemotional. I think she's on her period." He said to his oldest daughter.
"Kala there's cake! Come down!" Skylar called to her cousin.

"Did you hear? Mom's on her period, and it's making her cranky and overemotional. I hope i never get a period." Skylar said as the two girls sat down to enjoy the cake together, that I had made for Robi.
"Do you even know what a period is?" Kala asked Skylar.
"Well, no but it must be horrible because Mom were crying a lot!"
Kala shook her head. She knew exactly what was going on.

Third Person Pov

Phoebe were walking down the street a Sunday evening, looking around for other simmers. But the streets were barren. Nobody were within miles of her. 

The bar towered in front of her as she made her way over there. No, i can't, she thought and turned away, once again walking down the street. 

Then suddenly a figure appeared at the end of the street. Who was that?

She neared it with caution, thinking about how many different beings that person could be inside. It could have taken the form of a great dragon or a mall ant, but no, it had to be a sim. Why? What was the being trying to say? 

When she was up close she could see who it was. It was Nicolas, her lost brother! Suddenly she was in his old bedroom. She was lying on his bed while he stood at the end of the bed, looking down at her.

"Wake up, Phoebe! A voice said. She knew she was awake but Nicolas didn't know that. He kept saying "wake up, Phoebe! Wake up, Phoebe! You're children needs you. Help them before it is to late! Help them Phoebe!" She looked up and now Nicolas was Robi. He was standing with a whip in his hands, his eyes very dark and mysterious.

"Do you need a spank Phoebe?" He grinned horribly at her as his face suddenly changed and he was now the picture of Satan that Skylar had once drawn. He said in a hoarse, horrible voice: "Do you need spanking Phoebe? My dear you look pale. I bet you would like some spanking!" And he whipped the whip at her leg. He did it again and again, every time she screamed with pain. She now realized she was tied up on the bed, in only her bra and panties. 

"I think you've been a bad girl, Phoebe," It said with Robi's voice. Phoebe screamed and screamed. Someone was pulling at her arm...

"God damn it Phoebe! Wake up!" Robi screamed at her. She sat up with a start. It took her a minute to realize where she was. She was in her bed in her and Robi's shared bedroom. Robi was standing next to her, his grip on her arm. She looked up at him. Was she scared? She wasn't sure of the feeling she had, but that dream had definitely scared the living hell out of her.

"What happened?" She said calmly like nothing had happened. 

"Phoebe, holy jesus! Have you any idea what you've done?!" He looked behind him where Skylar and Kala stood holding each other, looking very scared.

She looked up at him again and asked: "What exactly have i done?" In a very innocent voice.

"Phoebe, you've been screaming your head off for a good thirty minutes. You woke up everyone in the house. You were almost impossible to wake. What in god's name were you dreaming?" He was a bit more calm now that she was awake, but he still had a firm grip on her arm.

"Please let go of me Robi." He lifted his grip and ran his hand through his grey hair all the while looking at her with a puzzled glaze. 

She removed the  covers and stood up. 

The girls gasped as they looked down at her legs. 

"Phoebe!" Robi said standing back. They looked at her as if she was a freak. "What?"

"Mommy your legs!" Skylar screamed!

She looked down on what was supposed to be her legs, but looked more like a car accident. There were large whip marks all over them, exactly where she had been whipped in her dream. But how can that be? She thought. 

"Skylar i need to talk to your mother. Kala will you take her out for ice cream, please?" He handed her some money.

"Sure Uncle." And she dragged a scared looking Skylar out of the room. When they heard the front door close, Robi turned to Phoebe and said: "You just couldn't keep your mouth shut." He lowered himself towards the floor at the end of the bed and took out what looked exactly like the whip in her dream. He quietly locked the bedroom door and turned around to face her. 

"Robi, what are you doing with that thing? Why are you locking the door?"

"Why is it so hard to discipline you? It's like you love the pain i'm inflicting upon you."

"What? What the hell are you talking about Robi? We have to do something here. Put that down!" She screamed as he raised his hand and the whip.

She fell to the ground, screaming just like in the dream, but this time she wasn't bound to the bed. This time she could fight against it. When he raised his arm once more, she quickly grabbed his right leg with both hands and pulled. He fell hard right on his butt. He yelled out in pain as she heard a crack from his behind. She jumped over him and unlocked the door, running out into the hall. But wait. Something was wrong here. This wasn't her house! She didn't have that large painting of the Dragon Cave in China, or the other painting of the Tomb of The Burning Sands in Egypt. Where was she? 

Suddenly she heard a thud, and she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. She fell forward down the stairs. She felt as both her legs broke under her, her arm twisted out under her in a strange way and she couldn't move her head.

"You just had to meddle." He said, while he leaned against the railing. "I'm going to enjoy this..."

"Mommy! Wake up!" Her daughter said earnestly, pulling at her mother's arms.

"Mhm?" Phoebe said as she slowly opened her eyes. It had been a crazy dream but here stood her beautiful young daughter. She sat up, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. 

"Mommy Skylar took my doll again!" She whined. 

"Oh dear. Well tell her it is your doll and that your Mommy said she have to give it back."

"Okay Mommy!" she said while running out of the door. "Skylar, Mommy says you have to give it back!" Phoebe heard her youngest daughter yell to her big sister. Kids. She couldn't believe she was fourty years old and a mother of two daughters. She pulled herself out of bed, put on her robe and walked to the bathroom. She tried to wash away the awful dream with a shower, but it stuck there like a mole on your skin. It wouldn't disappear. What could have caused her to have such a dirty, wrong, horrible dream? What did it mean? Usually dreams is a kind of mirror of your unconsciousness. It means something about events in your life. She spend the morning thinking about what it could mean, while she made breakfast for her kids. 

She had a feeling about what it could mean. She had played with the idea for a while now, actually for years. Robi and her had fights weekly now, not daily, but she still thought it would be a good idea both for their sake and for the children's. She just needed the courage to do it. She had no idea how he would react and she was afraid of it. 

Robi's Pov

Another hard day at work and yet again i was coming home to an ungrateful wife who bickered at me for everything and anything. It was like i couldn't do anything right anymore. I might not always have made things easy for her, with being at work all the time and working at home with practicing chess and charisma, but i had to do it so we would have food on the table. At least i still found time for the kids. She couldn't blame me for being absence there! Not that she wouldn't try, but the kids would run to me when i came home, jumping up into my arms. Skylar used to do it all the time, but now she's gotten too big, it's only Kylie that does it. 

"Hi honey," I said as i entered out home. 

"Hi Robi." She looked tired. Had she been crying again?

"Are you okay?" I said suddenly feeling bad for her. Maybe i was too hard on her sometimes. 

"Yes, yes," She sniffled. "Actually no, i have to talk to  you. I sent the kids to the store to get some vegetables so we could talk in private."

"Okaay?" I was getting quite nervous now.

"Come sit down," She took my hand and we sat down at the table. "Listen, i've been thinking that this isn't working out anymore. Us bickering and fighting is bad for our relationship and for the children. I don't want them to grow up hating us for ruining their childhood with fights all the time."

"So what are you thinking we should do?" I asked quietly, dreading the answer.

She breathed in and out heavily before saying: "I think we should either get a divorce," she held her breath, as did i, "or we could give couples therapy a chance. I don't actually want a divorce. I still love you, sort of. I mean i have feelings for you, but we've been through so much and it has kind of torn us apart somehow. Don't you feel the distance between us as well?" The look she sent me was sort of pleading. Or was it simply sadness of the situation we were now in?

"Yes," I replied, "yes i feel it too. I think therapy would be good to try. I want us to stick together. I meant it when i said all those years ago that i would love you no matter what. I want us to be together forever. And i will do whatever it takes for that to happen." We looked sweetly at each other while holding hands over the table.

2.8 How Could He?

In this chapter there is some harsh language and specific details on death, so if you are sensitive,  have just lost someone by their own hand or something else related, or are easily offended due to religious beliefs (there are some religion mentioned) i would not advice you to read on. 

After giving birth i found out that it was true what people said. When you become a mother you experience a whole different love than anything else. It was a love so pure, so tender that it hurt inside of you to be away from your child. I experienced it every time i went to work. I yearned to be with my daughter. To hold her, to feed her. To kiss her little chubby cheeks. She was simply an adorable child.

I loved her baby laughter when i tickled her. She loved being played with.

I would sing her to sleep every night while i held her in my arms. When she fell asleep i would put her in her bassinet and cover her with a blanket. Skylar was the love of my life.
Before i sang her to sleep, it was always Robi that gave her her goodnight bottle. For some reason i hadn't been able to produce breast milk so we had to use infant formula.

Kaylin moved in with her new boyfriend Jase.

After a while i started hearing rumors around town from her friends that she was pregnant again. And apparently her and Jase had married, with her changing her name from Bloom to Souza. She had finally made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with us anymore. She had finally shown her true colors.
Meanwhile i took care of both Kala and Skylar, while Robi worked his butt off to provide for his family.
Slowly, but noticeably, a distance grew between Robi and I. He worked all the time and when he came home he spend his time playing chess or practicing his charisma in front of the mirror. The only person he seemed to have any time for was his daughter. Though i appreciated that he still made time for her, i wish he had more time for me as well. This carried on for four years, until i fell pregnant again. I told him one morning before he went to work. He was very excited to have a little baby again.
"I love you honey," he said as he hugged me.

"I know i don't tell you enough, but i do love you very much. And i can't wait to meet our little child," he said as our eyes met when we let go of each other. He kissed me gently and then went to get ready for work.
As he went to shower, Nicolas didn't know he was in there and so he walked in on Robi embarrassing them both.

Nicolas had been quite unlucky lately. He had been telling bad jokes at work, making him come home embarrassed every day. He even got rejected when proposing to his girlfriend Rosa Bryan.

I was the only one he told this to though, as we were quite close compared to our different personalities. Basically all social interactions lately had failed for him in one way or the other. When he walked in on Robi in the shower, he just couldn't take it anymore.
When i came home from the store later that day, a note was on the kitchen table saying how he loved us all but that he didn't have a place in our world. That he was sorry that he had to put us through this, but that we should remember him as someone who loved us all dearly.
Fear crept through me as i read the last sentence: "I'm sorry, but it is for the best." I dropped the note as i ran through the house calling out his name. Finally i found him in his bedroom. He was lying on the ground with a bloody knife next to him, blood flowing from his neck. He had slit his own throat.
Robi arrived home twenty minutes later to find me crying hard while lying next to Nic's motionless body. He pulled at me. I tried to resist him pulling at my arm, but i was so weak from crying that i couldn't and just accepted that he wanted me to stand. "There is nothing you can do honey. He's gone." He said and hugged me tight. For a long time we just stood there while i cried silently into his chest. After a while he steered me up the stairs and put me into bed.
"I'm gonna take care of this honey. You get some rest," and he kissed me on my forehead and walked downstairs again.
Later he told me that he had called Kala on her cell phone and told her that she should take Skylar out for ice cream after school and then go to the park and he would call her again when they could come home. He then called 911. The police and an ambulance and a doctor had arrived to our house and he had given an explanation that i had found him when i came home and that i was now in bed and was too weak to speak to anybody.
The doctor examined Nic's body and confirmed that he was dead almost instantly.
After Nic had been taken away in the ambulance, Robi had cleaned up in the bedroom, washing the floor and locking the door. He then called the girls to tell them to come home.

"Mommy? Mommy?" Skylar tried to wake me up. "Mommy dinner is ready. Daddy made Franks and Beans." She shook me a little hard and i slowly woke up a little more.
"That sounds great honey," I said sleepily. I had slept almost all day, but i was still tired and weak. I put on my robe and walked downstairs into the kitchen. A slightly burnt smell reached my nostrils, but i didn't complain. I was starving. All i had had that day was eggs and bacon for breakfast six o'clock that morning. It was now 9 Pm. They were all gathered around the table, waiting for me to join them.
"Mmm this smells amazing," I lied. I didn't want to hurt his feelings as i knew he had worked hard all day.
"Mommy is it true that Uncle Nic has died?" Skylar asked, looking at me with her innocent brown eyes.
I looked up at Robi to seek help, but he looked just as helpless as I felt.
I turned to Skylar: "Yes honey, it's true. But your Uncle Nic is at a much more peaceful place now. He has always been a bit troubled but now he has finally found peace. It was wrong what he did, but that's just how the world is sometimes." I secretly wished myself a thousand miles away at that moment. I wish i had never had to explain something like this to my children. I saw Kala as my own daughter as she basically didn't have a mother herself. Kaylin still hadn't made an appearance or an effort to have contact with Kala.
"So Uncle Nic killed himself to find peace? Does that mean Kala should do the same so she doesn't get bullied anymore?"
"NO! God no! That's not what i meant at all! Honey, what Uncle Nic did was a very bad thing. You should never kill yourself for any reason at all. See how much it hurts us now? How do you think you would feel if someone else you cared about did the same thing he did? It's not nice. It's a selfish act that hurts the people who care about you. So don't you ever think about doing it ever again. Or that someone you know should do it!" I knew i had been too tough on her when she started crying, but i needed her to know it was not okay. I would die if one of my kids did what Nic had done.
"I'm sorry sweetheart. I didn't mean to yell at you. I just need you to understand, okay?" I said sweetly, but she just kept crying, cuddling with her dad.
Robi looked at me reproachful, saying to his daughter that it was alright. That Mommy wasn't mad at her.
"Of course i'm not mad at you sweety. Nor at you Kala." I smiled at her.
"Why on earth would you be mad at me? she said defensive and left the table without touching her food. It seemed like i could do nothing right.

At night Skylar would crawl up in her bed and cry herself to sleep.

I would stand outside her door not knowing what to do. She refused to have me cuddle her and wouldn't even let me into her room. Only her Dad was able to get through to her and he informed me that Skylar blamed herself because she had made fun of her Uncle Nic one day and he had gotten mad at her. She was absolutely sure, despite that Robi had tried to convince her otherwise, that it was her fault and that she was now going to burn in hell when she died.
"We have to tell her," I said one night as Robi and I laid in bed together. He put down his book he had been reading and looked at me.
"I think you're right. The school is teaching her all sorts of things these days, we can't have her brain filled with this nonsense."
"We'll do it tomorrow morning, before she goes to school."
"Oh i forgot to tell you, i have an important meeting at work tomorrow morning. I have to leave at 6 AM.
"Already? Can't you get out of it?"
"I'm sorry but there is nothing i can do. You know how important work is to me." He said firmly.
"More important than your family?" I was starting to raise my voice again, but he just calmly replied.
"Of course not sweetheart. But you do want food on our table, right? Which means i have to work. You can do this yourself. It's not that difficult."
"But she should hear it from both of us. It would make the statement stronger if we did it together. Then she could see that it isn't just my opinion but yours too!"
"Then maybe you should wait until i get back from work. What does a couple hours mean anyway?"
"It's not the hours, but school. I don't want the school to teach her nonsense. Do you really want to raise your child to be a Christian? She's obviously scared out of her mind! Her teacher even said that she has been drawing pictures of what she thinks Satan looks like. Is that normal to you?" I was really starting to anger up. I was now standing next to the bed, ready to storm out.
"He really said that? Hm, you should just talk to him about what they are teaching these kids. Maybe they could take her out of religion class so she isn't taught this stuff."
"That's not the point!" I yelled at him. "She has to learn about religions to be well educated, i just don't want our little child to think she will burn in hell! She needs to know that Atheism is the right path to go!"
"You have to stop!" He stood up as well. "I am getting so sick of you yelling at me every time we have a discussion. Why can't we just sit down and talk about this?"
"Because you obviously care more about your job than about your family! You have a responsibility here!"
"I am taking responsibility! Open your eyes! I'm working my butt off to support this family, while you are at home eating chips and watching television all day!"
I opened my mouth in horror of what he were saying.
"I happen to paint most of my day and when you get home i'm all done and then i will sit in front of the television to relax! I'm preparing pieces to bring in to work when my maternity leave is over! How dare you accuse me of just laying around all the time? I'm no couch potato!" I stormed out of the bedroom as fast as i could with my swollen belly, grabbed my shoes and jacket and went for an angry walk.
I needed to cool off. I walked through the park, down to the water. I sat on a bench watching the fountain out in the water spew water out in a circle. I looked back, expecting to see Robi following me, but it was completely quiet. I didn't know if i should be happy that he respected my need to be alone, or angry for him not wanting to make up immediately.
My thoughts turned to my Mother. I still missed her a lot. I wish i could have her back. When she was alive she was my rock. The one thing keeping me calm at difficult times and she just had a loving demeanor.
I thought about how wonderful it would feel to be a child again and walk in the park without my shoes on.
Hmm... maybe... well it couldn't hurt.
I promptly took off my shoes and felt the grass in between my toes. Ahh that was nice. 
The water was so beautiful to watch here late at night. The moonlight shone on the surface like it was silver and the coolness of the air felt good on my skin. A wind blew through my hair as i bent down to tie my shoes again.

I had tried contacting Kaylin to tell her about Nic, but as i didn't have her phone number nor her address, it wasn't easy. I decided to take a different approach. I contacted one of her friends, whom we had went to school with. I still had her number and so i told her what had happened and she promised to tell Kaylin.

We had finally told Skylar about how we believed that God did not exist and nor did Satan as we did not believe there were heaven nor hell.
She was a bit confused because we had buried her Uncle Nic and there God and heaven had been mentioned. I explained that that was just how you did a funeral and that it didn't mean anything to us. We still believed that Nic had found peace as he didn't feel anything anymore. We told her that she should not fear hell or the anger of God because it simply did not exist, in our beliefs.
We taught her to be open to people with any religion. She didn't have to shun them just because they didn't believe the same as her.
She seemed to understand it a bit more and said she was glad she now knew the truth. She seemed a lot happier as well and started playing with her friends again. She also accepted my approaches again and didn't mind me reading her goodnight stories anymore.
Kala had been told about the beliefs of Atheism a long time ago by Kaylin so she already knew these things. She believed them as well, so there were no convincing her otherwise when she heard about various religions in school.

Soon life went back to normal again. Everyone was happy and content with the exception for me. It seemed that the slightest comment from Robi would send me into rage. I didn't understand it and i always felt bad after yelling at him. It created a gap between us. I just hoped it would disappear as soon as i had given birth. I was sure it was just those damn hormones again. It had to be. What else could it possibly be?