2.10 That Special Someone

It was like the house was build for us to live in. It was wonderful, spacious and it felt like home the minute we stepped inside.
Before long it was time for the twins to grow into toddlers. We held a big family party to celebrate.
First i held Ian to blow out his candles.

Then it was time for Beatrice.

Then we all sat down and ate cake. It was nice to be together with all my family again.

We didn't see each other often enough, and i promised myself that from now on I would spend more time connecting with them again.
James came up to me and said: "What a lovely party. Congratulations on the twins."
"Thank you. I can't believe how fast they grow up. Before long it will be time for their first day at school, and then their first girlfriend, high school and so on."
"I know. I still can't believe Moses and Diego is young adults already. It seemed like yesterday they were little toddlers just playing around with their xylophones and dolls."
"How about we all go out for dinner sometime? To catch up and talk about what ever." I sent him a smile, which he returned. "That's a great idea. I'll talk to Malinda about it and we'll find a day that we all can."
"That sounds great." We kept talking for a while until it was time for the guests to leave. Then i cleaned up while the boys played with the twins.

The twins loved to play together. They would often be found at the doll house, biting the heads off the dolls.

Elle and I had taken it upon ourselves to teach them to walk and talk and potty train them. It went smoothly enough, but Beatrice seemed to have a harder time learning. She easily got distracted and went to do other things in the middle of it.

Elle's Pov

One night i got a call from  Zack Durwood. He asked me to meet him out in nowhere. He was an acquaintance of mine so we weren't exactly what you would call good friends. I agreed and went to the empty spot across town. When i had waited for about ten minutes, i was freezing my butt off. Then suddenly he drove up on the sidewalk in his car and got out. He walked up to me and kissed me on my cheek. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm freezing, but otherwise i'm fine. Why did you want to meet me out here?"

"I have something to tell you, but, well it's hard for me to express in words." He looked down at his feet.

"You can tell me. It's better to just let it all out than go forever with it inside." I felt a bit sorry for him as he stood there, not knowing how i would react to what was about to come.

"Okay here it goes. I like you. I've liked you for a long time, but i didn't know how to tell you, and i was afraid of how you would react. I mean, you barely know me, but i know i could make you happy, if you would just give me the chance to prove it to you."

I did not expect that. 

"I have a boyfriend," was all i could say.

"Oh, i see. Well, i guess you were right about getting it out in the open. I feel much better now, knowing that instead of going on forever being in love with you."

"You're in love with me?" Javon had never said to me he loved me.

"Well yes,"he said, looking into my eyes. He had beautiful eyes. I felt like they were looking deep into my soul where nobody else could see. I suddenly had a strong urge to kiss him. And i did.

"Wha-what was that for?"
"I just felt like it," I shrugged my shoulders.
"Well how do you feel about this?" He raised his arms and placed them on either side of my head.

"Quite good," I said as i melted away. He kissed me with his soft lips. I wanted him more than i had ever wanted anything else.
"Come," he took my hand and i followed him to his car. We drove in silence to his apartment where we made sweet love all night. The following morning as i woke up, i felt a pang of guilt in my heart. I had cheated on Javon! How was he ever going to forgive me. Oh i had really screwed up now.

Camille's Pov

It was 8 o'clock in the morning when suddenly the front door opened and closed. I went out to greet her.
"So, i guess you had a good night, eh?"
She looked down at her feet. "I cheated on Javon last night." Tears appeared in her eyes.
I went over and held her tight in my arms. "Shhh... shhh... it will be okay." I said while rocking her from side to side. "Maybe he will forgive you."
"I don't think so. I'm not sure i want him to forgive something like this." Tears started to stream down her face now as she cried onto my shoulder. "There there. Come into the kitchen and i'll make you some coffee." When i had made it we sat down at the table and drank our coffee while we talked it all over.
"Maybe you should make a list of all the good things and bad things of each of them and then make a decision about who you want to be with." I suggested.
"Well, Javon is very family oriented, but he is also a workaholic. He spends most of his time at work so i don't get to see him that often. Zack on the other hand doesn't work. Other than that i don't know much about him. But they are both sweet and lovingly and very passionate."
We kept on talking for a while, until I heard the twins waking up upstairs.

Third Person Pov

One afternoon Aidan's cousin Alysia, Rie and Jerry's daughter, came with him home after school. Alysia had been somewhat cautious about going home with him. She had heard rumors that he was a bit insane and extreme, so she wanted to see it for herself. Aidan was excited about bringing home a friend. He didn't have many friends at school so this was big for him. She stroke up a conversation with Aidan and it was going fine until she asked him what his future plans were, considering he was about to graduate in a couple of years. He then started talking nonsense about how it didn't matter since gnomes were about to take over the world and that they were planning on human extinction. 

She looked at him in disbelief before saying "I can't believe you would say that. What's wrong with you?" and she walked out. He just stood there like he had been slapped in the face, looking at her leaving. Wasn't family supposed to accept you no matter what? He knew that his views of the world was different than others and that he himself was different. But he still thought that family should stick together no matter what. 

The next day at school he was mocked by the other students. Alysia, who was rather popular, had apparently spread word about Aidan being insane and about the gnomes he had talked about. He was called insane and stupid and gnome lover all day. He had never felt worse. As he was about to leave class at the end of the day, a girl came up to him and said: "I don't think you are insane, i think you are cute," and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. That definitely brightened up his day. He was floating on a pink cloud for the rest of his day. 

The next couple of days he didn't mind the bullying. He was spending most of his time with the girl who's name was Wilhemina Wolff. He had heard rumors about the Wolff family being different, but he thought about how other people thought he was different too, so it didn't bother him. 

He invited her home with him one day and she accepted. When they got home she said she had a terrible secret she wanted to share with him. "What is it?" he said very curious. He loved secrets and he thought of himself as a great secret keeper. "I'm actually a werewolf. Everybody in my family are." She looked at him carefully. "You're a werewolf? That is so... cool!" He exclaimed. "You really think so?" she said looking happy. And then he kissed her.

"I do," he said. After that, their love blossomed for each day they were together. They spend every waking moment together either in school, at her place or at his place.
One night they were lying in his bed exploring new things with each other. "I love you," Aidan told her. "I love you truly with all my heart. I'm so glad you can accept me for who i am,  as everybody else see me as different and strange."
"I love you too," she told him, looking at him with both kindness and lust in her eyes. They moved under the covers and had their first time with each other. It was both awkward and romantic, as neither of them really knew what they were doing. They just followed what they had learned in sex education class in school.
Afterwards they lay there holding hands and complimenting each other. 

It seemed like time stood still for the young couple, but in truth time went fast and soon they had been together for three years. Camille had gotten a lot of promotions during that time and the twins kept learning new things every day.
Elle had taken a job at the local hospital and had also gained a few promotions.
Then finally it was time for the twins to grow into kids and they did so on a Monday night while everyone was busy with their own things.
First it was Beatrice.

 And then Ian.

Camille decorated both the twins bedrooms herself as a birthday present.
Here is Beatrice's bedroom.

Here is Ian's bedroom.

They loved it instantly and thanked their mother over and over again for their cool new rooms. As they tried out their new outfits their mother had bought for them, she took pictures of them both for memories.

The two of them were very close, just as twins often are. They almost knew what each other was thinking before saying it and they had their own special language.

2.9 Part Two: Grieving and Birthdays

From this chapter and forward i will be using more adult language. I do not recommend this blog and post for anyone under the age of 13!

"AARGH! Leave me alone!"
I had tried to console Terrance on the loss of his father, but he just screamed at me!

"Honey you have to talk to me. I'm only here to help you," I tried to sweet talk to him.
"Get. out. of. my. room!" He started holding his breath, slowly growing red in his face. Apparently he was going to hold his breath until i left the room, so i quickly got out and closed the door. I heard the lock click as i stood in the hallway chocked.
I didn't know what to do. So i sought help in the only person who could help: Elle.

"I just don't know what to do," I confessed to Elle one afternoon. "What can i do to  help you guys?" I looked desperately at my oldest child and only daughter.
"Well we all handle grief differently. Terrance just want to be by himself with his thoughts. Aidan, well i'm actually not sure exactly he deals with it, but he's changed so much since dad's death." Even though Marwan wasn't Elle's father by blood, she still called him dad. It was a touching moment for me the first time she had used that word about him. "And I for one have talked to my friends and mostly Aunt Rie. I've been to her house a couple of times and had long talks. I found out it really helps to talk about your losses. Something that the boys should learn and understand. I think the only way you can really help all of us is by finding a new house, a fresh start. We can bring the tombstones with  us, but it is hard to handle all this death. First it was our grandmother and now our father. I know we never knew our grandmother since she died when I was very little, but this house is just full of death. Aidan has even claimed to have seen the ghosts of dad and granny!"

"He's seeing ghosts?!" This was new to me.
"Yes," she said sadly. "I think he needs our help. He sinks lower and lower each day. He has no friends at school. They all pick at him everyday for being different, for talking nonsense about death and ghosts and how the world is out to get him. We need to bring more happiness into his world. And i believe a new house with his very own cool room is what he needs. I really think it would help."
"Well, actually your Aunt Rie and I have already been out looking at houses, but we haven't found anything yet. Maybe you could keep an eye out? We need all the help we can get, and you seem to know what you guys want, so this would be perfect. As long as it doesn't cost more than our budget."
"Can do! I will take on this task with honor!" She raised from her seat and gave me an army greet. She took her word seriously. She started looking through the papers for houses for sale, checking the internet, and even kept an eye out while riding the school bus.
In the meantime something wonderful happened to me. Since his death i had given up having any more children, but one morning i woke up with the worst feeling in my stomach. I hurried to the bathroom and threw all my dinner from the night before, up in the toilet. It was horrible, but i recognized the symptoms. I immediately went down to the drug store and got a pregnancy test. I went home and took it, and yes, i was pregnant.
This pregnancy though really took a toll on me. I was sick most of it and i couldn't keep my food down most of the time. It lasted for a couple of months, until it just stopped. I didn't get morning sickness anymore and things got back to normal. When was seven months pregnant i went on maternity leave.

Now that i was further in my career i got more payed each week. I was payed weekly in my job, so i was always sure to have money for groceries and clothes for the kids. Now we desperately needed a new house to live in. I had gone to several scans at the hospital. It turns out i was carrying twins! A boy and a girl. Marwan was finally going to have his little princess, even though he would never meet her. This cheered me up a bit.

Elle's Pov

"So," i said nervously. "Do you want to watch the stars with me? They are unusually bright tonight."

"Sure," he said, smiling at me. 

I was currently dating Javon Quick. I was in love wtih Javon. I couldn't get enough of him. I wish i could bring him home with me, but i was sure my mom would interrogate him and demand to know if we were having sex. We weren't! Not that i didn't want to, but it just hadn't happened yet. The timing just hadn't been right. 

"You're right. The stars are unusually bright tonight. They are beautiful. Just like you," he kissed me on my lips, sending electricity through my body. I wanted him so bad, but i couldn't have him like that yet. 

As we got up he placed his hands on my head and gave me a heated kiss. I melted under his lips, my knees feeling weak.

I was lucky to be with someone like him. So handsome, so wonderful, so loving. He was my world.
When i got home that night, my pregnant mother was sitting in the living room, waiting for my return just like every other night i was out late.
"So you are finally home," she said, trying to get up. I went over and helped her. She was getting very big. She had difficulty getting up from low places like the couch. "I was just out with a friend," I said innocently. She frowned at me. "And i'm guessing this "friend" of yours is a boy?"
"Ehm..." I looked away not knowing what to say. I couldn't lie, so i just said: "Well, you know it's getting late. I should probably head to bed." I yawned and walked towards the stairs.
"Hold on. I'm not finished." Damn. I stopped in my tracks turning around and facing  her.
Silence filled the room.
"I'm happy for you dear." She said, sending me a little smile.
"You-you are? You're not mad that i have a boyfriend?" I couldn't believe it!
"I am. Sweet heart i'm just glad you are okay and you have someone to care about and who cares about you. But! I want to meet him. Don't you think your mom needs to meet her daughters boyfriend?"
"Oh thank you, thank you!" I threw my arms around her kissing her cheek. "I will invite him for dinner tomorrow night, okay?"
"Sure honey." She kept smiling at me, as i went up to bed. I was very tired from the days events.

The next day, before the school bus arrived, i called Javon and invited him to dinner that night. "My mom wants to meet you. I guess she wants to give us her approval," I laughed at the thought.
"Sure thing hon. I'll be there around six o'clock, okay? Listen i've gotta run. My boss just called a meeting, but i'll be sure to make it. Today i get off early. Okay, bye," he hung up.
That night he arrived just as he promised, at six o'clock. He greeted my mom, said he now could see where i got my beauty from, and kept on sweet talking to her all night. She definitely liked him. I could tell. They talked about everything. How his childhood had been and how much he adored me etc. When it was time to say goodbye, i walked him outside where he gave me a heated goodbye kiss and promised to call me the next day. My mom didn't seem to mind the age difference. He was a little older than me. Actually he was a young adult, but she could see how happy we were about each other, so it didn't matter to her. My mom was the coolest!

"Elle! Auuuh! Elle, come quick!"
"What mom?" She ran to me down the stairs.
"My water broke!" I said through gritted teeth while holding my belly.

"Okay let's go!" We hurried to the hospital together, Elle driving as she had just gotten her drivers license. 

After two hours i had give birth to Beatrice and Ian, two lovely little bundles of joy. I was excited about bringing them home. I was allowed to take them home after five hours, which gave the doctors plenty of time to make sure they were healthy. 

I placed them in the cribs i had put in my old bedroom, just for now.

Then the day came for Elle's and Terrance's birthday. We held a big party with friends and family.

Then it was time for Elle to blow out the candles.

She grew into a fine young woman.

Then it was time for Terrance to blow out his candles.

He grew into a handsome teenager.

The party kept going for hours, while talking and dancing together. The birthday boy and girl had the time of their lives.

The next day we went to Elle's graduation. She graduated with highest honor!

We decided to take the twins with us as they should be a part of her big day.

Now that Elle had graduated she didn't have school to take her time. So she teamed up with Rie to find us a new home. And they succeeded quite fast. An elderly couple had just decided to sell their home that was now too big for them. We bought it immediately as it was cute and quite large, though still didn't break our budget.

It had a large living room, a hobby room, a kitchen/dining room, a hall with dining table/chairs, five bathrooms, six bedrooms and two garages. Basically it had everything we were looking for. I fell in love instantly. We moved in a year after the twins were born. It was a glorious day. Everyone went to their bedroom to check it out. Elle and I went to put down the twins in their cribs. They now had their own bedrooms with their own toys.

2.9 Part One: Changes

Third Person View

Spring brought with it a lot of rain and cold to the Holmberg household.

As the snow drifted away, the children started looking forward to warmer weather with lots of fun in the sun. It also welcomed birthdays as Aidan, Elle, Terrance and Camille all grew up together.

Aidan:

Terrance:

Elle:

Camille:

As they were all busy with work, school and after school activities they forgot most of the birthdays so they grew up individually by themselves.

Marwan started fixing all the houses appliances and plumbings, that broke now and then.

He was getting pretty good at it too. Camille called him her handyman. They were still very much in love, and they were planning on having another baby sometime soon.
They hoped it would be a girl this time so it would even out all the boys. Also Marwan really wished for his own little princess. He adored Elle, but he would never be her real father by blood.
By having another baby they would need to rebuild the house, as there just weren't enough rooms. Or, as Marwan had suggested, they could make the basement bigger. But Camille did not like that idea.
We can't have a child living in a basement!, she said.
Well i did that when i was a child, Marwan protested.
It is the end of the discussion, Camille said stubbornly. There will not be more basement talk, and that is final. Now let's focus on bringing home some money for the new house.
Marwan ended up agreeing with Camille, though he wasn't happy about it. But he knew that when it came to the children's safety, she would not budge. Though he couldn't see how living in a basement could be seen as not safe. He lived in a basement as a child and he hadn't taken any damage from it.
He started taking extra shifts at the police station and soon promotion after promotion rolled in along with the money. Camille was also doing fine on her job, though she wasn't moving forward as fast as she would have liked. She didn't want to stay on the same payroll if she was going to be pregnant soon. She wanted a higher maternity leave pay. So she worked her butt off, and soon she got a promotion as well.

Camille's Pov

On love day we all had the day off work and school.We went to the Spring Festival to enjoy ourselves, but was met with heavy rain, so it kind of overshadowed the whole day. But we did get to take a greeting card, though.

And Marwan took home a few prices on the machine with the claw where you gather prices.

He was so lucky to pick up a Star Cut Soulpeace worth 7.036 sim. and a Money Bag worth 6.726 sim! This will definitely give us a boost in our savings when we sell it! I can't wait to rebuild our house! We already had temporary blueprints of it.

It would be something like that. Though we weren't too sure about the large empty rooms, but there could be a home gym and a hobby room and an extra bedroom/nursery. It could still change though so we aren't too focused on this yet.

Not long after, Terrance grew into a child.

His toddler years were over and i started longing for another child.
"Don't you think we are getting too old for having more babies?" Marwan expressed himself one day when i asked about the matter. "I mean, neither of us are getting any younger, and it feels like the older we get the more it demands of us."
"I am not too old to have a child!" I stormed off in tears.
I could hear him coming after me. "Honey!" he called out to me. He caught up with me in our bedroom. "Honey, listen, i'm not saying we can't have another child, i'm just saying it will be demanding more. Are we really ready for that? I like our life as it is now," he sat down on the bed beside me and held my hand while tears were running down my cheeks. "I'm a little older than you, and i start to feel like i need the quiet and to just relax. A new baby would not give me that. Wouldn't you agree we need some quiet now? Elle is soon going to grow up into a young adult in a couple of years. Then she will be moving out and we have only the boys to think about."
"I still haven't decided who should continue my legacy." I said, trying to stop the tears. Why was i so hormonal? "I just want my children around me. They are all that matter!"
"Don't i matter as well?" Oh no, he sounded sad.
"Of course you matter sweetheart." I raised my head to level with him, looking into his eyes i felt a sharp emotional pain in my heart. "But i need this. I need another baby, hopefully a girl. You always said you wanted a little princess of your own," I tried manipulating him a bit. Did it work?
He was thinking, i could tell because his brows frowned and he did this weird, cute little thing with his mouth.
"Okay, how about this. We make another baby, but if it's a boy he's all your responsibility." He said looking very seriously. I looked at him disbelief, until he started laughing. "I'm sorry," he chuckled. "Of course we can have another child. I don't care if it is a boy or a girl, black or white.... or wait, actually i prefer it to be white," he winked at me. "I would be kind of weird it was a black kid when we are both white, don't you think?" he added when i looked at him like he was mad. We laughed together and started trying immediately when all the kids were asleep.

One day the dishwasher broke. Marwan insisted on fixing it. He was getting pretty handy with these things, so he said "It's no problem" and got right to it. Unfortunately he didn't think it would be a good idea to mop the water beforehand and he was electrocuted. We all heard his screams and ran to the kitchen to find him on the floor with electricity running through him.

We didn't dare touching him. We screamed at him asking him if he was okay. This could not be happening!
But it was. He was gone. Death had taken my beloved Marwan. My true love.

We threw away the dishwasher immediately the next day and I swore to never buy another one. Elle, who was not as close to Marwan as the rest of us, mopped the water off the floor.

Out of the kids, Aidan seemed to take the death of his father the hardest. At night he would wake up from his sleep screaming his head off, convinced he saw The Grim Reaper standing in front of him.
He kept checking under my bed for monsters and would stubbornly insist that he saw them, saying if i kept sleeping in it, the monsters would come out and take me. 
Though one thing all my children agreed on was that we had to move. The sooner the better. They didn't want to live in a house they considered evil. So, instead of rebuilding the house as Marwan and I had first decided, I was now looking at new houses around the neighborhood. I took Rie with me on house hunting, while Elle watched the children. She insisted she could handle it. She was 16 now, so i thought she would be old enough to take on the responsibility.
She took extra care of Aidan, after my order.

Terrance on the other hand kept to himself. He would often be in the tree house, not allowing anyone inside, even Aidan.

When i asked him about it, he said he just wanted to be left alone to his thoughts.

A week after Marwan's death it was Aidan's birthday. None of us wanted a party, so we celebrated just us four.

Afterwards Aidan went to the stylist in town and got a makeover.

That was much more his style. I didn't approve of it because it was all black and depressing, but he insisted on having this so i couldn't say no.
I started seeing streaks of insanity in him. He would ramble on about nonsense. His siblings laughed at him, saying he was crazy, but i knew something wasn't right. I was sure his father's death was the cause of this. I just didn't know what to do. He wouldn't talk to me about his problems. When i asked about it, he would just deny something was wrong and smile an insane smile to me. I knew i needed help, but was the hospital the right way? It seemed so extreme to me, but maybe it was the only way.
Sometimes he rambled on about how the world was out to get him. He had no friends in school. I knew this because Elle would talk about how the other kids teased him about being different than them and him wearing all black clothes. It wasn't normal. Where had my sweet little innocent child gone?