Chapter 22-Thumb
Rules
Also known
as Chapter 20-Part 3-if-this-doesn’t-end-here-shoot-me-now-my-Friday-night-is-shot-to-hell.
William
tries to bluff for a second. Maybe those were just delusions. They might not have been real…
“Our
baby,” He has a smirk on his face and his tone is condescending.
Lily
Pad expected this. She was fairly sure that any of the times they had been
lovers he hadn’t really been present. He was drunk past his own recognition and
she took advantage of it. She had tried to convince herself that he had wanted
it too, but she knew that was a lie. He just wanted to forget. Woohoo helped
him forget, it didn’t matter with who.
“Yes,
William,” Lily Pad said. “Sadie is your daughter.”
“No
way,” William said vehemently. The veins popping out on his forehead were
dangerously tight. “No way I have a daughter. Not possible. I’d remember
something like that.”
Lily
Pad had taken in a stock of patience to ride her through this.
“William,
she’s almost 3 weeks old now. The paternity test came back yesterday. You left
a few hairs on one of the pillow cases here once. I used those.”
She
noted him beginning to object and stepped in to cut him off.
“I also
had Helen send me your toothbrush and replace it with a new one,” her voice
started out strong to ring over his. She ended soft, knowing he heard exactly
what she was saying.
“But my
toothbrush was missing like 3 times last week,” he pleaded to her.
“I
don’t know what all that is about,” Lily Pad tried to defend herself. If Helen
wanted to risk pranking him that was her business, not Lily Pad’s. “I asked for
one, I received one. I don’t know about any others that may or may not have
been taken from you. Well… Maybe Heather Red asked Helen for one, but I
couldn’t be positive about that.”
William
was silent. Staring at her too intently. The smile on his lips too fixed.
“She’s
yours William.”
William
watched Lily Pad put little Sadie back into her crib. He said not one word, the
words in his head were screaming and he couldn’t pick out the ones he wanted to
use.
How
could this have happened to him? The bartenders were his friends, and said they
would look out for him. He had worked so hard to banish Lily Pad from his life.
Now she was back and it was his own stupid, drunken fault. And why would
Heather get a toothbrush of his from Helen? Why, unless…
He
turned and walked to the dresser, running a hand across the grainy surface. A
dull ache had started in the back of his head even while his tongue turned to
sand. The dreaded hangover approached.
Lily
Pad came up quietly behind him. She intended to gently put her arms around his
waist. Tell him everything else she knew. Tell him it would be ok. She could
take him back, he would take care of them.
Instead,
he whipped around facing her with eyes and veins popping worse than ever.
“I’ll
fight you for her.” His words were breathy and low. “If she’s mine I should
have her, train her in the Blue tradition. You shouldn’t have her.”
Lily
Pad’s jaw dropped. No way he could even think that. He’d just get laughed out
of court. Even his lawyers wouldn’t be able to perform such a miracle on his character.
Suddenly
he was roaring, waking up Sadie who cried at the sound.
“See
this thumb?” William yelled, shoving it in her face. “This is the thumb I will
keep you under! This thumb has all the power! This thumb rules!”
Just as
quickly as his roar began, he was quiet and mocking.
“One
two three four! I declare a thumb war!” Wagling his thumb back and forth in
front of her. Before spinning on his heel and marching out of the house
giggling madly.
“We should do this again!” William
called out over his shoulder, slamming the front door.
Lily Pad decided to let him hear
the other news from the rest of the world. Surely his lawyers would be dealing
with that soon. And after his display, they would be dealing with her and Sadie
too.
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William
left Lily Pad’s home and headed straight to the small flat his father had
purchased for Heather. He rang the bell, jamming his finger at the button as
hard as he could. Lily Pad had mentioned Heather for a reason. Lily Pad did
nothing by accident, she never had.
He took
up a defensive position, hoping it would show her that he was coming by to make
amends. He’d long wanted to get back together after discovering how Lily Pad
had duped him, but he simply had never had the courage. If he was honest to
himself, he didn’t have it now either.
“William!”
Heather exclaimed. She was smiling, but it wasn’t reaching her eyes. “Did you
really think you needed to shield yourself from me? No chisels today!”
William
forced his mouth into a smile as well. His head was starting to pound.
Heather
stood waiting, expecting him to say something. She wasn’t about to talk to him
for any reason, and William noticed it.
“Well,”
William began. “Aren’t you going to invite me into your home?”
Heather’s
smile froze, but her eyes glinted malevolently.
“Of
course,” Heather said. “Won’t you come inside?”
The
door had barely shut behind the two when William heard a low gurgle. Heather’s
face showed her dislike of the situation, but she didn’t move. William stood
staring at her for only a moment before letting his ears tell him where to go.
William
reemerged from the bedroom a moment later carrying a small bundle. Heather hadn’t moved from
where he had left her. Thinking she’d better see exactly what he had discovered
he moved around the couch hoping she would betray herself.
Sure
enough, the moment she turned enough to see him her hand flew to her mouth, her
eyes round and frightened.
“Were
you even planning on telling me his name?”
William thundered at her. “This is my
son, isn’t it? We slept together when I was drunk and didn’t remember it. You
probably set it up. You got pregnant and hoped to hide it, get child support,
make a fool of me, Didn’t You?”
Heather
didn’t answer, but the weary lines on her face betrayed her.
Finally,
Heather stepped back from him. She glared at him the way she had wanted to for
months now. He was weak, and she had tried to take advantage of him. So what.
Life was hard. This wasn’t exactly easy, no matter what he thought. He had it
all, he could spare some for the mother of his child.
“I’ll
never tell you his name,” Heather hissed at him.
“Who
told you?” She shouted at him. “I’ll bet it was that brat Helen. I should have
known she’d end up saying something to you about why I wanted that toothbrush.
But you can’t blame me for that! I gave the idea to Alisa. Lily Pad stole it
from her. I just wanted proof. But I have it now. He’s yours. And you’ll pay
for him!”
“I’ll
get back at Helen, that little slut. She’s been trying to get my boyfriend,
too. I knew she had it out for me. But I’m going to make it so that your son will grow up in a manner fitting for
the blood that runs in his veins. Watch me, William! And watch out too, by
Plumbbob, I’d kill you in a second if I could, fucking bastard.”
Heather’s anger had reached a point
where even William was frightened. He put up an arm to shield the baby and
himself in case she decided to become violent.
“Get
out of my house William. Put my son back in his crib and get-out.” Heathers tone was low and sinister, her clenched teeth
bared at him.
William
glared at her for a second. She had smoothed the emotion off of her face, but
he could still feel the hatred in the air around her.
He spun
away from her quickly, afraid to turn his back to her for too long. As he put
the small boy in the crib he kissed the downy head, promising he would rescue
him somehow.
Glancing
over his shoulder as he exits the house he notices that Heather had been unable
to keep up her passivity. Far from looking angry, she just looks bitter and
sad. But she had said enough to get William out of the door with no intent to
return.
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William
just ran. He didn’t even bother closing the door behind him. Heather had given
him another name to follow and he planned to do just that.
Thankfully,
Alisa and Lacie Pink lived almost next door to Heather and he was there in next
to no time.
William
went to press the doorbell as hard as he had at Heathers and decided instead to
be more gentle. Maybe he had jinxed that.
No
matter though, he decided he’d better shield himself from whatever fury came
out the door.
Instead,
Alisa came out with a gentle smile on her face. She invited him inside with
grace and almost seemed excited that he was there.
William
heaved a sigh of relief and decided to jump straight in. Her calm had given him
courage, Heather had made him bold.
“I’m
over here because I’ve been learning… things…
today that I didn’t know. Along this quest… someone…
mentioned your name. So I came by to see what information you had for me.”
William looked at her intently.
“Oh,”
Alisa thought. “Oh, how cute! He’s trying to fix it discretely.”
Alisa
thought to herself for a second. Her eyes bad become vacant and William grew
nervous during her silence.
“Do you
have information for me?” William asked again.
Alisa’s
head came up and she pulled out a pen and notebook.
“I do,”
she chirped. “But I need you to answer a few questions for me, first. Ok?”
William
stood staring blankly at her.
“Great!
Let’s get started!”
“First
of all,” Alisa began. “How do you feel about violence in popular culture?”
William
was slightly stunned at the turn this conversation took, but he welcomed the
distraction.
“Totally
against it,” William said. “I think it’s excessive and give people bad dreams.
Besides, it might give the loonier amongst us ideas. I also think it gives the
aliens far too much information and ideas as well. We should cut both out
entirely, violence and popular
culture.”
“That’s
great,” Alisa commented the moment he paused. “And what is your opinion of your
driving abilities? Are you a safe driver? Seatbelts, 10 and 2, and all that?”
Again,
William was surprised by the direction this and taken but he answered gamely
again and again. The questions seemed to follow no particular pattern and he
had a hard time sometimes coming up with answers to go with the questions
quickly. None of it seemed to faze Alisa in the least. She listened closely and
jotted his answers down, her pen flying across the pages.
“You’ve
done great so far, just one more question. What do you feel about child
abduction?”
This
one completely floored William. He had assumed that Heather had been wrong
mentioning Alisa’s name, now he wasn’t so sure.
“Kids
should be with their parents. Abduction is frightening and wrong. I’d never
want any child of mine to go missing to some lunatic,” William said it his
piece quietly, hoping she would realize that he wasn’t out to kidnap anyone’s
child.
“You
did really great William,” Alisa told him. “I’m really relieved I don’t have to
arrest you.”
William
did a double take. Arrest him? He’d come to question her, not the other way around.
Following
the pattern of the day’s events, once again, he heard an infant’s wail.
turning toward the noise, he tried following it on his own as he had at Heather’s, but
heard Alisa behind him.
“Excuse
me, please,” she said. “You don’t know the way, and she doesn’t know you yet.
Just follow me.”
William
was stunned. It wasn’t exactly open, but she wasn’t really hiding it either as
Lily Pad and Heather had attempted to do when he’d first entered their homes.
She led
him through to the back bedroom where a third crib stood against the wall. In
it was a tiny girl, wailing her head off, fists churning in her anger.
William
was furious. “Another baby. Another mother. Another secret,” William thought.
He’d never particularly wanted
kids. Now he had found three in the space of an hour or two.
He
offered a strained smile when he found Alisa watching him expectantly. She may
have offered for him to follow her but she still hadn’t been forthcoming about
the little girl. A tiny shoot of hope burst up in his brain. Maybe it wasn’t
his.
He took
a few tentative steps, and she neared.
“Her
name is Eliza, just like you wanted,” Alisa told him. “Would you like to hold
her?” Her smile was gentle, her voice calm though she almost seemed shy and
embarrassed.
“Her
name is Eliza,” William repeated. “Who is her father?”
“You
are William. I haven’t been with anyone else,” Alisa was acting very shy indeed
now.
“Heather Red assisted me with a
paternity test though, just to be sure,” she added. “It’s amazing that you
would ever have wanted to be with me. I’ve loved you for so long. I never
thought you’d actually see me; you always seemed to look right through me. I’m
so very excited you’re here now, sober and still wanting to be with me.”
“I said I loved you? And you believed it?” William’s words were cruel, his
voice nasty. “I was drunk! I was out of my head! You’re just trying to see what
you can take me for, trying to see how much money you can get! Wanting to run
away with my child and her inheritance, play me like a fiddle! Tell me the
truth!” William’s words echoed in the bare room. The baby smiled up at him as
though he were some amusing show.
“See
this?” William’s growled at her. “See this thumb? This thumb holds all the
power! And I’m going to put you under
this thumb! Watch me!”
Alisa
was stunned by his behavior. He’d never been anything other than kind and
attentive during their trysts.
“Ah,”
William’s face had crumpled. He was on the verge of tears. “Who cares about
you. You’re just saying that. You don’t mean it. Love…” His voice trailed away
in a frail sob. He had been used cruelly today. He couldn’t handle anymore, he
just wanted to crawl in a hole somewhere and die.
Alisa
was dreadfully hurt. He had taken her love and scorned it. She meant it. She
loved him. She had adored him for years. She didn’t want his money or prestige.
She wanted him.
Alisa
decided to lay it all on the line for him, for their baby.
“William,”
she started. “I’m not lying. I’m not wanting to use you. I only want to love
you. Heather and Lily Pad had used what the tabloids were saying to get in your
good graces hoping for a cut if they had a kid. Lily Pad is actually involved
with my cousin Colin Pink. Heather is very seriously seeing Norris Imaga. Both
of them told their lovers to back off while this was happening and then made sure to
get paparazzi pics of themselves cavorting with you. When they were obviously
pregnant, they announced it to the world. If you’d been paying attention, sober
or no, you would have seen the interviews they gave in the tabloids and on talk
shows. Their boyfriends even came out and said how they had left them each when
they had decided to have a relationship with you. I didn’t do that. You won’t
find my name mentioned anywhere else.
“Heather only knows because she
figured it out. She knew I had a crush on you in high school, and when I
refused to name the father of Eliza she came over here and demanded the truth.
I told her that I was in love with you and you had said you loved me in return.
She just laughed in my face when I told her that. She said it was your ‘special
line.’ The one you pulled out when a girl played hard to get and you were
getting desperate.”
“I
wanted to tell you the moment I found out I was having a girl. You had gushed
about wanting a girl you could name Eliza Jane Blue, how you would put pink
ribbons in her hair, give her a pony, and show her that a Daddy is the greatest
person in the world. But then you started to change how the town was run.
“People
have been terrified that you’ve changed for the worst and my sister, Lacie,
convinced me to not tell you for the safety of myself and the baby. Sim Nation
has become involved and things are about to get a lot worse according to the
news. She thinks that anyone involved with you will possibly be targeted.
“I was hurt. I didn’t want to
believe it, but Lacie has kept an eagle eye on me to make sure I didn’t go near
you. I was thrilled when you showed up. I’ve been just sick thinking that it’s
all my fault we’re not a family.
“You can believe me or not,” Alisa
began to sound weary. “I need to go and check on the pie I have in the oven.
I’m going to put Eliza in her crib. If you’d like to get to know her, you can.”
William
positively beamed as Alisa turned to put the baby into her crib. He finally had
the truth. Alisa was known for her sincerity, and he didn’t want to doubt a
thing she had said. He had known for years that Lily Pad and Heather were out
for whatever they thought they could get. He had not known that Alisa’s high
school tailing of him and Heather was because of a crush. And he had indeed
always wanted a little girl he could spoil, pamper and pet. Most importantly to
him, a little girl he could sing Eliza Jane to.
He felt
like his heart would burst right out of his chest, but Alisa had just walked
out of the room without even looking his way. Instead, he took his turn at
getting to know his daughter.
Slowly,
gently, he lifted Eliza up into his arms. Tears prickled his eyes at the little
miracle he had long dreamed of.
Tenderly,
he cuddled little Eliza Jane close to him, feeling her softness, smelling the
best smell he had ever encountered. Eliza didn’t protest his caress. Instead,
she nuzzled her tiny head into his neck breaking his emotional wall at last.
Tears poured down his cheeks. It
was all his fault. All his fault. How
could he have let himself slip up so badly? He was missing out on his own
children; he was missing out on an amazing woman who wanted to be with him. He
was missing out on his own life.
A
gentle snoring in his ear let him know that his baby was asleep in his arms. He
never wanted to let her go, but he needed to find Alisa. He needed to know
more. There would be years ahead for him to hold this precious bundle. And so
he placed her back in her crib, watching her sleep for a moment.
He
turned to find Alisa back in the room, watching them together. He strode to
her, pulling her close.
“I’m so
sorry,” he sobbed. At that moment, he knew that he should be the one comforting
her, but right now he needed her more than anything else.
Alisa
reached up to stroke his hair, let him get the emotion out, let him break. Shushing
gently, she waited for the flood to subside. She could help him pick of the
pieces later. For now, all that mattered was he was here with her, with their
daughter.
But the
report she had just seen on the tv didn’t allow an overlong time for the two to
try to figure it all out.
When
his sobs had finally subsided, Alisa gently pulled away from him. She let her
hand linger on his shoulder unwilling to let him go too far from her. She never
wanted to not touch him, but it seemed their time was destined short.
“William,”
Alisa began. “There was a report on the news just now.”
“Who
cares,” William interrupted. He didn’t want to hear about the tv, he wanted to
learn more about her.
“Look,”
she said with a sigh. “Let’s go into another room. I don’t want Eliza to wake.”
She took his hand and pulled him out of the room, softly shutting the door.
He
looked deep into her eyes as soon as she turned back to him.
“Can
you ever forgive me?” William asked her.
Alisa
sighed. “Of course I can. But you’ve got to pay attention to me right now. The
reporter said Sim Nation has finally decided to respond to the allegations of
corruption and monopolism in Pipersville. They are mobilizing troops and the president is preparing to travel here.” She stopped trying to see if his
face betrayed understanding. “There was more to the report, but I left before
it could finish. Something about ‘decolorization’…”
Seeing
nothing but puppy in his eyes, Alisa tried again.
“William,”
Alisa said. “William, they are coming for you.
You’ve got to get out of town, you need to run. You need to run now.”
William
tilted his head to one side like a curious child.
“Why?”
he asked petulantly.
“Because
they are going to try you on corruption! The government is saying you are an
incompetent, oppressive dictator and that you have possibly committed crimes
against simanity. They are going to put you in jail and tear down the Blue
Empire! They’ll sell off the businesses and the estate and-”
William
was finally listening.
“Run
away with me then,” William interrupted her. “So long as you’re with me, I win.
You and Eliza are all I’ll ever need.”
Alisa
gave an exasperated smile.
“William,”
Alisa said. “That’s wonderful, but this is happening now. We don’t have time
for all of us to go. Eliza needs lots of things. She’s just a baby.”
“Where
on Sim Planet would we even go?” Alisa knew that their hair was the reason they
were here, because they stood out so much. How would they ever effectively
disguise themselves? William’s face had been all over the news and tabloids. He
was a minor celebrity. No one would not recognize him, even with a different
hair color.
“It
doesn’t matter,” William told her. “If we’re running out of time, we’ll figure
it out when we get there. Pack up some things for you and Eliza. I’m going to go
home and get some cash. When I return, we’ll leave. Okay?”
Alisa
continued to look worried. William gave her his best smile.
“I
won’t be long,” He said reassuringly. “When I come back, we’ll leave.”
Alisa
wasn’t so sure, but she let him go anyway.
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William
had raced home, changed into his suit, grabbed as much cash as his underwear
could hold without making him feel weird and went downstairs to catch a final
report on the large tv there.
Helen
and Peter were both doing homework in the kitchen and he couldn’t be bothered
with the pair right now. There was no time for goodbyes and Kristine would be
able to take care of them once he had disappeared. He had been checking the
front doors every few minutes, just in case. This, however, he had missed.
The man
was scowling as he strode up to the door. His limo waited in the seemingly
empty dead end street.
He felt no fear knowing of the
trained hit-sims surrounding the house, hidden, giving him confidence and
power. This little boy was no match for the man elected to run Sim Nation. And
with such power, why knock?
To say
he was surprised wouldn’t be at all true. William had taken too much time, a
new bubble gum commercial made him giggle and he stuck around hoping to see it
again. Now, he was face to face with his own unknown.
“Mr.
Blue?” The man standing in William’s
home asked.
“President
Chavezo.” William returned the greeting in kind.
“Good,”
President Chavezo didn’t smile but there was pleasure behind his words. “I’m so
glad to see that I am not unexpected. It’s time to go.”
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How it felt to write
this chapter:
Start it at 2:22. Gives you a pretty good
idea. Don’t worry, it’s G rated.
In the
first part of the chapter, William was glitching pretty badly. He’s been
glitched for a long time, since he was a toddler actually. A weekly reset
usually does him the most good, though several times I’ve had to go back to
previous saves to get him working again. (I usually tell him it’s time for his
weekly dose of fiber) His particular glitch at the beginning of this chapter was
his face wasn’t working. He wouldn’t open his mouth and his eyes were set all
bug eyed. But he’s insane and you were supposed to be witnessing both his
descent into madness and his personal salvation through redemptive love, so I
did my best to get the expression to work in the writing. I hope it
worked… I had to reset him and send him
back several times to get the shots I wanted/needed for this. I can’t wait for
my RL to start so I can send glitched William on and get my wonderfully
expressive non-glitchy heir started.
Sorry also about the length. With
it being 52 pictures long, I suppose I could have broken it up a little but
this effectively ended it. Look for my new blog beginning soon showcasing my
Random Legacy! While one of William’s children will NOT be the heir, it will be
a continuation of this particular family. And just to spoil it, William also
had a girl with Heather. She was pregnant but not showing when he went to
confront her. In the bloopers and outtakes I’ll post pictures of all of his
kids in various life stages. Maybe a few of them will pop up in my next venture…
Oh… his name was Titus. The game named him. His final daughter was Persephone.I decided to follow the theme of the first name.
Fin.
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