Generation 3: This is goodbye

"Eugene? Is it recording already? Well, why didn't you say so, dammit! Eh hem... Excuse me for saying that. Let's get started, shall we? Video log number twenty two. Personal experiences. I received a letter from NASA about a month ago... Apparently, they have read some of my theoretical Astrophysics papers. They were debating whether or not allowing me to travel up to the space station. I received my answer last week. It's a 'yes'. Finally, I can do what I've been wanting to do all my life. To those that are watching this video and don't understand, perhaps I should explain things a bit better."

"My name is Amelia Jeanette Glover. I was born as a 'Rose', but I hated it, honestly, so I used my father's previous surname. It has a nice ring to it. I want to put the past behind me, including certain things of my family. Ten years ago, I was involved in a horrible accident that left a scar on my face. That isn't the only scar. My sister...Charlotte...she lost her life that night. But before she passed away, she shared some words of wisdom with me. She told me to follow my dreams, and work hard to achieve them. That is exactly what I did in the end. At age 15, I had already passed high school. They were fascinated by me, said I was special. They didn't know what special was. I had to undergo private studies as they didn't want to accept a teenager into their universities. I was fine by that, it didn't stop me at all. At 22, I got my Ph.D in Astrophysics, graduating at the top of my class. My parents weren't really proud... They were freaked out, to be honest. Looked at me as if I was some kind of mad scientist, ready to explode and start creating monsters or something. Didn't they know that that was only science fiction?"

"Now, at the age of 24, I'm more successful than most of my friends or colleagues, even. It'll be hard to say goodbye to them when I have to leave. There's always that slim chance that I might not return...or get there at all. That's about all I have to say, or what else do you think, Eugene?"

"You might wanna include your goodbyes...especially to your parents, I mean."

"Oh, right. Mom, dad. I'm sorry that I'm not following a path that you two like, but it's what I wanna do, okay? This path chose me, in a sense. I love you guys, and I really hope this recording reaches you. To all those other people that might lay their eyes on this, goodbye to you as well, as I may be leaving for space at any given time."

"I guess that's a wrap?"

"It is... Wait! There's still something else I need to say... Um, I really wish you could have been here, sis. I miss you so much... Happy birthday, Charlotte."

~♥~

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter one! 

(This is the introduction post, just so you know)

Generation 2: The conclusion

"Charlotte... Can you hear me?" I softly whispered by her ear, careful to not stir any part of her. I didn't know what the damage was to her interior, but her exterior seemed fine. And yet, there she was, on the ground, as if near death. She had been smart enough to see the oncoming accident, and managed to launch herself out into the night before we hit the truck. But it seemed as if that maneuver cost her. One of the cars must have bumped hit her while it was spinning.

As soon as I heard her weak cough, I started having hope again. "Y-yeah... I can hear you. God, it...it hurts...to talk..." She softly whimpered into my hand.

"I know it must hurt, I'm so sorry. You have to hang on, okay? Just till the ambulances come or something."

"I...don't think I can, Lia," her eyes flickered, and her voice was all but a rasp. "Listen... I have to tell you...something. Important."

"Please, Charlotte, conserve your-"

"Shut up...and let me...talk. I know that...that I haven't been the best sister, or even a saint. Deep down...really really deep down...I do care for you. And...I'm sorry, for not encouraging you or that kind of shit. But...but I see now. You have to follow your dream. No matter how impossible it seems...you have to do it." 

"She's becoming delusional...," I wanted to cry out. She was spiraling away from me, that was for sure. I had to help her.

"Mom! Dad! Anyone?! Please, help me, please. My sister, Charlotte, she's...""Lia? Are you...are you okay?" I heard my mother coughing from afar, and saw her struggling to walk towards us."I'm fine, but Charlotte, she's not, she's..." It dawned on me all of a sudden that I couldn't hear Charlotte breathing, nor did I feel any kind of movement. Even though every part of me screamed against doing it, I glanced down...only to see her laying lifeless. "Oh God, NO! No, no, no. No, it can't be... Mom, she's not breathing, she's... she's dead."

It couldn't be true. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be true...yet it was.

"My baby...Charlotte? H-h-how? No... NO! Sh-she doesn't deserve this! She doesn't have to pay the price for my mother's actions!" My mother sank to her knees, crying out to the moon. I didn't understand her words. At that moment, I didn't care.

She looked beautiful, even in death. So peaceful, completely different to how we looked when we were fighting. All my life, I had despised her for being prettier and popular. I didn't exactly want it for myself, but it would have been nice of her to not rub it in my nose every five minutes.

I hadn't appreciated her enough. Now it was too late. For the first time, I hugged her close to me, drying my tears in her hair. "I'm so sorry, Charlotte..."

~*~

The memory of that night plagued me each day and each night. I couldn't get it out of my head. Even in the middle of doing research, the words kept popping into my head. Perhaps it was a good thing that my mother sometimes disturbed me. It was the only thing that kept me sane. "Amelia... You're not dressed at all," my mother pointed out the obvious fact of my attire. "We're gonna be leaving soon for...for the funeral."

I blinked away the oncoming assault of tears. "I know. I'm not going."

"Lia...," my mother sighed behind me. "It doesn't help ignoring the fact. Please, come pay your respects. You need to say goodbye. We all do."

"I have to complete this project. It has to be done by Monday and I haven't even started on it," growling under my breath, I kept on working, my fingers jetting over the keyboard with ease.

"It doesn't help to bury yourself under work and projects," she inched closer to my desk, reaching out to lay a comforting hand on my shoulder. I brushed it off with a shrug. "It'll distract you for a while, but sometime, when you're alone, like when you're in bed... Your mind will wander. It'll hit you hard, sweetheart."

"Maybe it will... Maybe it won't. Who knows?" I kept my eyes pinned of the screen. Little did she know that it already hit hard, and it kept hitting harder.

"Fine, then. I'll leave you alone. But if you change your mind, we're leaving in ten. Hope that's enough time for you to get ready..." I heard her footsteps moving away from me, towards the door. They halted, and she turned back. "Oh, I forgot. Charlotte's friend from school sent you some homework, and she included something special as well. I think you should read it." She dropped a notebook next to me on the desk, and left me to be alone.

It was the usual chemistry homework our teacher loaded on us each afternoon. But between the scribbles of page numbers, there was a whole load of text. It didn't make sense to me until...until I noticed it was a poem.

Pain is numbing

It builds up, until

You are swimming

A struggle by struggle

Drowning drowning

Pain is numbing

It builds up, until

You are suffocating

A breath by breath

Choking choking

Pain is numbing

It builds up, until

You are starving

A pain by pain

Falling falling

Pain is numbing

It builds up, until

You are burning

A spark by spark

Dying dying

Pain is numbing

It builds up, until

You break, flying

From what you were

Finally free

The poem was...beautiful. As if the words had caught Charlotte's final moments perfectly. She had experienced pain, felt Death's embrace, yet she broke free from it in the end, moving on to whatever comes after.

It's those words that fueled the idea that I had to follow Charlotte's advice, and live out my dreams.

My parents deserved to know what my plans were, what Charlotte had said to me in her final moments. Without wasting another second pondering my life, I launched myself out of my room and run into the living room.

"Mom... Dad... We need to talk."

"Sounds serious," my father commented. "Have you decided whether or not you're coming with us? I understand if you don't."

"No, nothing like that. It's just... I know what I want to do, as a career I mean, and it's all thanks to Charlotte."

My mother frowned. "Would you mind sitting down for a moment and explaining to us, please?"

I skip around the small armchair, sinking into it quickly and immediately launch into talking. "So, it's pretty obvious to...everyone, I guess...that I have an obsession with space stuff, right?" As my mother and father nod, I continued with my little speech. "Before Charlotte...before she passed away, she talked to me about my future. She told me I had to hang on to these dreams of mine. And no I've decided that, in honor of my twin, I'm going to make these dreams a reality. I'm going to become an astronaut."

"You mean... You want to go up to space?" my mother croaked, looking down at her feet on the floor.

"Sweetie, that's a lot of a hard work, becoming an astronaut. You'll have to study for so many years before you're even qualified for doing anything in space," my father offered his words, a lot more accepting of it than my mother.

"No... NO! I will not lose another daughter, not to the dangers of space."

"Babe...," my father placed his arm around my mother's middle, gently squeezing her into a hug.

Lowering my head, I sighed. "Look, I know I'm throwing this on you guys too quick, especially after Charlotte and Dwayne... But I just thought you should know. Maybe when I'm older I'll realize it's not what I want, but for now, I'm working towards my goal. I just wish you two could see it."

And with that, I left the room, going outside to wait till it was dark enough to see the stars.

Being alone was the time I felt in my element. No one to bother me with idle chit-chat. No one to insult me. Nothing. Just my thoughts and I.

As soon as the sun set behind the mountains, I took a stand behind the telescope, peeking into it every now and then. It all looked so amazing, and big. Humans shriveled when compared to the wonders of outer space.

And to think, I could one day go there.

All thanks to Charlotte.

~♥~

Not a lot of you know this, but...

This is the end of generation 2.

Which is why there's no a chapter number or anything, because it's...the end.

I wish this post could have been better, i.e., it could have included the funeral, Bridget and Cameo's future, etc. But unfortunately, I just got too lazy.

Check back every so often to see the start of Amelia's generation, which will take place ten years after the events of this post.

Oh, and a big thank you to someone I only know as "al", for sharing her beautiful poem with me in the comment section, which I have used in this post as I deemed it incredibly special.

Thanks for reading!

:D

Generation 2, Chapter 20: Things can never be the same again

Everything in this reality was just wrong. How could it be that I hardly had a scratch on my body, while the rest of my family suffered a lot more. Amelia had a deep scar on her left cheek that would probably never disappear, Aaron had a concussion plus broken ribs, and Charlotte... It was too painful too even think about it. My little girl, dead. She didn't deserve it. She had hardly started living at all. If the car accident had to kill someone, it should have been me. I've seen and felt enough for one lifetime.

"It's funny to think that more than fourteen years ago I saw Aaron standing in the exact same stance, worrying about the health of you and the baby... I guess it's not good news now, as it was all those many years ago."

Her. I knew her, just by her voice. It was a tad bit different, older, more mature, but it was still her.

"Janelle," I almost hissed. Yes, she was once my best friend. Yes, I had always thought that we reconcile one day and forget about the past and the pain that it contained. But the fact that we hadn't spoken for eight years diminished chances for that. Perhaps I had forgiven her for those words she had shared, but all of that didn't mean that I wanted to speak to her again.

It was time I accept that our friendship was something of the past.

"Hi, Kaylin," she whispered, reaching out to take my hand. I stood still, not moving an inch, not even acknowledging her gesture of kindness. Good. She got the message. "I'm...sorry, for what happened, and...and for all the things I said to you. I wasn't myself. Thinking back, I wish I could have kicked myself for doing that. The awful thing is, I can't change the past, but I can try to make things better in the future. We could talk things out, laugh again, do silly-"

"LAUGH?! How the hell do you wanna laugh after all that's happened?" screaming, I gave an exasperated laugh, showing just how pathetic her proposal was. "Charlotte's dead, for crying out loud! I almost lost my husband as well! And now you wanna be friends? Wow, Janelle, I never thought I'd be saying this, but you're a horrible human being."

"You can't mean that, you're not that kind of a person!" the woman before me protested. God, how she irritated me just by existing and breathing in the same air.

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up, okay. You know what this whole thing is about? You think we're even. After I had kids, you were jealous. And when you lost the one you were expecting, you couldn't handle the fact that I still had mine, and  that I was living happily with my family. And now, now after I have also lost a child, now you think you can waltz in and make amends, thinking we'll be closer than ever. I got news for you. It ain't gonna happen."

The word "harsh" could definitely be used to describe my speech. To my surprise, it felt...uplifting, to have gotten that off of my chest. It was all true, though. I could see the truth in my eyes.

"I know now what's wrong... You're feeling like how I did after losing my baby. I'll give you time, so you can think things out and decide what you wanna do. Time truly is a good healer. It made me see the truth," Janelle replied calmly, not showing a hint that she might have gotten hurt. Did she care at all? Was that why she didn't show her feelings then, because there were none?

"I doubt it, bitch," I spat, using the same word she used on me eight years ago. "If I could order you to leave this room, I would, but seeing as this is a hospital, I'll leave."

Oh, it felt good saying that, and being able to get away from her. I hated her, I truly did.

The hospital felt so small, if you were to try running and hiding away from them, of course. The cafeteria was quiet, almost deserted were it not for one person that was resting by one table. Something felt familiar about her. That faint feeling pushed me forward to strike up a conversation with her.

"Is this seat taken?" I try to sound polite, under the circumstances. I doubt if I had succeeded.

"Yeah, it is. I was planning that my daughter sit down and talk to me about her accident, but I'm unsure whether she wants to open up or not. If I were her, I probably wouldn't be so talkative." She spoke so confidently, but she sounded kind, like my own mother. My mother.

"Mom?" moving around the table to get a frontal view, the air escaped my lungs, getting out in the form of a gasp. "MOM?! But, you, I... What? You look the same. You've looked like this all your life! WHY don't you have wrinkles, why don't you have gray hair like all the other people of your age, or the age you would be?"

"Sit down, please," she requested, gesturing to the empty chair. "I knew one day I would have to explain this to you, and that day is now. So please, sit."

Without putting up a fight, I pull the chair back, hesitantly lowering myself onto the chair. This person had to be an impostor. It was impossible that this could be my mother.

"Around the time you became a teenager, your father and I... Well, we were becoming scared," my mom stated cryptically.

"Scared...of what?" I frowned.

"Of growing old, getting wrinkles and gray hair as you would put it. And most of all, dying. We didn't want to leave our children behind. We wanted to take part in their lives."

"Yet you've been living in seclusion all along, not even taking the time to come to our weddings, nor the birth of some of your grandchildren," I growled.

"It's not like we received an invite or anything in the first place," my mother pointed out, taking on a more offensive approach in her speech.

"So... What did you use to make yourself...um...stay like this?" Yeah, I was an expert at changing topics and avoiding conflict. Most of the time, of course.

"We used science," my mother grinned, "and money, that's always needed. The glass in front of you contains elements of that substance, and if you want to, you could also become like us, continuing this new family tradition."

So that simple glass was the reason my mother had pretty much abandoned us, yet received eternal life in return? Did I want that? Living for ever, having to carry around the pain in my heart? Nope. Not ready for that.

"Mom... Thanks for the offer, but, I don't think I can take this. I mean, after everything...it wouldn't be right."

"I understand, sweetie," my mom nodded. "I heard that Charlotte was a wonderful person. Strong, stubborn like her mother. I wish I could have met her, but alas..."

"And what about Aaron? I don't want to live for ever, knowing that he'll die," my hand reached out to grasp the glass, and I abruptly get up from my chair, walking towards the window.

"Oh, he's gonna be joining you. In fact, your father is probably with him now, offering him the deal. He'd take it, Kaylin, because he loves you and wants to spend his entire life with you, and also because it'll speed up the recovery of his injuries."

I chuckled softly to myself. My mother and father were smart. They knew if Aaron could be convinced to take it, I would immediately agree. I had no choice in the matter, not if I wanted to remain with Aaron.

"You two, you're smart, I'll give you that much," I smirked at the reflection in the window, thinking how my mother must have had it all planned out for so long. Deep breaths, I told myself. It won't hurt at all. Then why was I afraid?

Whatever. I was beyond pain now. If I had to take another hit, it wouldn't hurt as much as what I was currently feeling. In one quick motion, I swallowed the contents of the entire glass.

"It's been nice seeing you, mom," I smiled at her, walking to the bar to put the glass away, "but I have to go now... There's something I have to do, and it involves a certain someone. You know him all to well."

For a moment, fear crossed my mother's eyes, but she nodded all the same. "Go, do what you must... But Kaylin. Don't let that man change who you are."

"He already has," I sighed under my breath, walking out of the room.

His room wasn't too far away from the cafeteria, and not hard to find. All I had to do was ask for the man that had severe burns across most of his body.

He looked peaceful, lying there unconscious on the bed. No more conniving thoughts running through his mind, no more thoughts of how he could hurt my family.

But he would wake up, and even though he was scarred from the whole ordeal, he would come back and strike again. Not if I stopped him first. Quietly, like a cougar stalking its prey, I opened the door and tiptoed in, making sure no one saw me.

The monitors beeped every so often. His heart rate wasn't normal at all, nor was his breathing. His lungs had been damaged by the smoke. I found it strange how the hospital hadn't hooked him up to a breathing apparatus already. It was just my luck to find him in this condition.

"You're a horrible human being, Dwayne. No matter how much my mother may have hurt your feelings, my family did not deserve to be hurt as you hurt them. How could you take a life? You're not a god, you can't decide. What's worse is that you won't land in prison, because no one suspects it to have been arranged, and that you could have been the mastermind behind it."

No response. Of course not. He couldn't speak at all, being in a coma. But I hoped he heard my words. He looked awful, having burns all over his face and some spreading across the right side of his body. For revenge, he had to pay a very high price, losing his good looks.

"But no more, Dwayne," I huffed, getting up from my chair with a lot of trouble, my body shaking from nerves. "Your treachery ends today, with me at your side."

Not taking my eyes off of his miserable face, I tenderly removed the pillow from under his head. It was now or never. Slowly, the pillow was moving toward his face, over his mouth. I pushed down with all force, waiting till I could be sure. Sure that he wasn't breathing anymore.

~*~

"A-Aaron!" I yelped out in shock as soon as I left the room, bumping right into him. Beside him stood a wheelchair, something he should probably be seated in, but he was too stubborn to admit that he also could be weakened at times. "I wanted to come visit you, but my mother told me that my father was occupying your company."

"Yeah, he was. Quite charismatic, I have to admit. He talked me into something I normally wouldn't have accepted."

"My family is like that," I shrugged.

"I see that now. Speaking of family... How's my uncle?" he asked, gesturing to the room behind me. Why? Why did he have to appear at this very unfortunate time? Now I had to lie to his face. But more so, why had he not brought up the fact about Charlotte? Was he just going to ignore what had transpired?

"Uh, Aaron...," I choked on the words, trying to keep the truth contained. "I...had to say goodbye. He didn't make it, Aaron."

His mouth slowly formed a circle, and his eyes shadowed his shock. As if he wasn't believing me, he stormed into the room.

"NURSE! NURSE! Nurse, please, help him, he's not breathing..." Aaron's call for help echoed through the empty corridor. Seconds later, I heard footsteps approaching the room with haste, yelling orders to each other.

I, on the other hand, walked away, satisfied.

The evil that had plagued us was finally gone. But in defeating it, I had become a monster.

Generation 2, Chapter 19: Pain is a fickle thing

The subject of "pain" had been on my mind a lot for the past 8 years. Sure, Amelia and Charlotte hated each other’s guts and refused to be in the same room at the same time. Sure, they didn’t want to speak to a psychologist to sort things out. Seeing them that way hurt, but not as much as when I last spoke to Janelle.

"How about you drop dead, bitch? The world would be a much happier place," she had spat down the phone line.

"Janelle, please, we need to talk! What’s wr-"

She had disconnected the call already.

The miscarriage had changed her. She became isolated, unwilling to talk to anyone, even her own family. What’s stranger was the fact that Charlie also became like that. Aaron would pace around the bedroom, sometimes punching at the walls in agony. He missed his best friend, just like I did.

We had both lost people we cared about, and what’s worse, it wasn’t even our fault. There was no way of rectifying it. We could do nothing but sit around and wait.

Perhaps the only thing that was of a more happy tone was the fact that Bridget and Cameo were finally tying the knot. Of course, they had gotten married 6 years ago, but they were interested in renewing their vows, especially after Bridget had a change of heart, reverting back to the way she had always looked. The way she had looked before Keegan had made his arrival.

Between darkness, there’s always a shred of light, it seemed. It might not be clear at first, but it’s there, trying to find a way out.

"MOM! Are you even listening to what I'm saying?!" Charlotte's shrill tone of voice interrupted my day dream, quickly snapping me back to reality. I couldn't believe I had zoned out like that.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying, honey?" quickly apologizing, I distracted her, hoping that she won't yell at me for being a bad mother or something.

"You're zoning out a lot these days... Must be old age...," my daughter quietly snorted. "Like I was clearly saying, you guys have to do something with Amelia. She's totally freakin' nuts. I mean, she's 14, and her entire room is full of science stuff and space wallpapers. What teenager is crazy enough to have that in their rooms? Oh, and don't get me started on her astronaut dream, where she-"

I cut her off abruptly. "Please, Charlotte, not this again. Your sister is NOT insane. You are, to be honest, if you're judging her. Amelia is nice enough to not judge you, even though you've made a hell of a lot mistakes in the past. Remember Renaldo, your Italian boyfriend who dumped you after one day? Everyone laughed at you, even Amelia yes, but after a day or so she moved on, where the rest of the school still remembers that, seeing as the hottest guy in school dumped you. Keep that in mind next time you start an argument with her over her lifestyle."

That put her in her place, at least for a little while. With a satisfied grin on my face, I rushed through the bedroom door, towards where Amelia's room was located. Before Charlotte came to me, I was sure that she must have probably had insulted Amelia. It was a typical action of her.

My hand reached out to the door, softly rapping on it three times. With one ear close to the door, I waited for a response.

"Go away, Charlotte!" the screech came almost immediately.

"It's not Charlotte occupying the space behind this door, Amelia, and also, you know we have a 'no yelling in the house' rule."

"Oh," her voice audibly faltered. "Okay, well, uh, you can come in, mom."

The door creaked open, just like the doors would in a horror movie. There was an eerie feeling, coming into her room. I was completely out of my element between the space-themed wallpapers. Still, it wasn't going to stop be from comforting my daughter, who was sprawled out on her bed, looking depressed. "Honey, what did Charlotte say to you this time?"

"The usual, mom," she sighed, not bothering to move an inch to look me in the eye. "But this time she added a bit more, saying I look hideous in a dress with floral patterns, and that I should stick to the space stuff. I think Jemma agrees with her, seeing as the little bugger tried to eat my dress."

"Nonsense! You look beautiful, my girl," I smiled. "Just ignore Jemma, she's getting old, so she's getting a kick out of anything she sees while she can, including the clothes we're wearing.

"Yeah, well, whatever. No one notices, so why do I even go through all the trouble?"


"I notice, sweetheart," I murmured softly. I so wished to edge closer to her, to comfort her, but she never had been a person to accept hugs. "Well, we're gonna be leaving in a few minutes. Bridget's little ceremony is gonna start, and it'd be best of us to get there early, you know, to avoid the wrath of your aunt."


"That much I can believe," chuckling, she lithely jumped from her bed, grabbing her cellphone and leading me out of her room, locking it behind us. She had a strong belief that people wanted to break into our house, just to get the secrets hidden in her room. She might not be the most sane person on this earth, but I still loved her the same.

Cameo and Bridget's ceremony was indeed not traditional - when did they ever do anything the traditional way? - but it was special to them and in a way, to us.

Even though they wore the formal attire, it wasn't a real wedding. There were no rings to be exchanged. They had a...a "spiritual bond", if I had to use their own words. Rings didn't bind them, but love did.

I never thought my sister could come up with such a deep philosophy.

Almost identical to my wedding in size, there were only five of us attending: My family, and then Dwayne. Though her appearance might have changed, Bridget still didn't want to invite our parents. At least she didn't outright hate them anymore.

"So when does the wedding start?" Charlotte quietly whispered to me, impatience hidden in her voice.

"Whenever they want it to start, I guess," I answered, hiding my words with a fake cough.

With each of their hands holding on hand of their partner, Cam slowly started speaking, first for Bridget's ears, and then for ours. "My sweet Bridget, people don't fully appreciate your presence and your actions. But you should know that... I do. I appreciate your smile, your eyes, everything about you. The way you laugh when gas accidentally comes down your nose... It's all of those things that make me love you. We don't need a ring to show that we love each other, and that we belong together. Our love is enough to show that."

My sister chuckled softly between some parts of his speech, especially about the gas part. "Oh, Cam, you can't keep anything a secret," she sighed under her breath. "And you, you're the idiot who accidentally stole my cat without knowing about it. You're a weird little man, with your blue hair and your pink skin. But you know what? None of it matters. We understand each other, and that's why we belong together. So, let's hope that lasts."

Yup, definitely not a traditional wedding. They didn't really share vows, more like reasons why they loved each other and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. It was...special. To them, it was perfect (and with the sunset setting in, how could it not be perfect?).

And of course, there was dancing.

"Since when can you dance?" Bridget accused me as Aaron and I strutted past them with some fancy moves.

"Since three weeks ago. We've been taking Waltz lessons every Tuesday and Thursday, and of course, we're the best students the dance instructor has ever had."

"Of course," she smirked.

Everyone of us had a dance partner...except for Amelia.

Naturally, I couldn't help but worry letting Charlotte be so close to that man. Even though he had apologized and set things straight, I didn't trust them at all. If my mother was going to be cautious of him for the rest of her life, I should be as well.

Amelia seemed to feel the same way. I hadn't told her about Dwayne's past, or what he did to my mother, but she seemed scared to be close to him. And though she hated Charlotte, she was afraid for her sister's life.

All good things always come to an end. Near 10 PM, Bridget started motioning that we had to start leaving. I pulled her into a hug, wishing her luck (yet again) in her future with Cameo.

"Along time ago I told you something. Do you remember what it is?"

"Keep my fingers off of your chocolates?" she smiled cheekily.

"No," I chortled, my palm connecting with my forehead to rub away the headache forming. She was such a joker at times. "The other one. The rare piece of wisdom I shared with you."

"Oh. You mean the part where you said 'there's always someone out there for everyone'?"

"Yes, that's the one... I was right."

"You were," she smiled slightly, peeking over my shoulder at the two men talking with each other. "You never gave up hope for me, did you?"

"How could I?" shrugging, I waved goodbye, hooking my arm in with Aaron's and dragging him to the car with me.

"Drive safely!" Cameo called behind us.

When we met the turn in the path to the car, I stopped. Dwayne was standing there. "What's he doing there?" I hissed under my breath.

"Oh, he's getting a ride with us, seeing as he left his car at our house... I don't really know how the hell he got here in the first place, but he got here."

The backseat of our car was full of activity, as Charlotte kept quizzing Dwayne about his occupation and the town he grew up in. Amelia, well, she looked happy to not be sitting next to Charlotte for the ride back home.

As Aaron parked the car in the garage, the girls ran outside to observe Dwayne's  car. I could see why they were so excited.

"A Ferrari?!? You own a Ferrari? Seriously? How are you able to afford it?" Amelia squealed as she laid her eyes on it.

"I come from a wealthy family, and I work hard," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Please, you have to take us for a spin! It'll be like, the greatest day of my life!"

"Our lives!" Amelia chanted in.

Dwayne sighed like a man who knew he had been defeated. "Alright, but on one condition: Only if your mother agrees to entrust you two with me."

The two girls immediately turned to me, their eyes shining with hope.

"Fine. But eh, Aaron and I are gonna follow in our car. We were thinking of going to see a movie, so maybe you can drop the girls off?"

"It's a deal!" Dwayne smiled, and at that moment I wanted to slap it off of his face. There was something hidden in there, something like mischief. He had a plan, but I didn't know what it was.

The Ferrari pulled away with tremendous speed, causing me to jump with fright. I had to protect my girls. Rushing into the garage, I motioned to Aaron that he has to start the car.

"Why? What's up?"

"We're going to the movies...," I cleared my throat. "And we're gonna be following your uncle's car."

"Huh?" Aaron frowned, mystified, but obeyed nonetheless.

I had been right to fear for their lives.

~*~

A car came out of nowhere, colliding with the driver door. Both of the cars spun onto the car, and kept spinning until they reached another road. It looked as if...as if it had all been planned. What had probably not been planned was the fact that the car that caused the entire accident went up in flames.

My girls... What had happened to them? Although Dwayne's door was the one that had been hit, they could still have been hurt.

It never occurred to me that we could also be hurt.

"AARON! The brakes!" I started screaming as I noticed we were getting closer and closer to the white car, and closer to the unforgiving flames.

"They're not working!" he yelled back.

I sank into my seat, bracing for the impact that I knew was about to hit us.

~*~

Our car joined the party, starting to burn as well. Aaron was unconscious, his head having collided with the steering wheel.

It was up to me to save him, seeing as, somehow, I had hardly been scarred.

In the movies, the doors were always stuck, but miraculously, I forced the doors open with little struggle, pulling Aaron out into the night and onto the pavement.

His breathing turned shallow, almost to a point that I couldn't hear him breathe anymore. "Aaron?! No, no, stay with me, dammit!" With shaking hands, I reached out to touch his scarred face. He couldn't die, not now, not because of a car accident.

"Mom! Dad! Anyone?! Please, help me, please. My sister, Charlotte, she's..."

Amelia's voice. So she was still alive, thank goodness. Forcing myself to my knees, I stood up, walking to where I heard her voice. I couldn't walk to steps without almost faltering and falling back onto my knees.

"Lia? Are you...are you okay?" I coughed, trying to get my voice to sound normal and not as husky as it was.

"I'm fine, but Charlotte, she's not, she's..." Amelia abruptly stopped talking and crying at the same time, glancing down at her sister's face. "Oh God, NO! No, no, no. No, it can't be... Mom, she's not breathing, she's... she's dead."

Pain is a fickle thing. I thought what Janelle had said to had been the worst kind of pain anyone could inflict on me. For once, sadly, I was wrong.

There's no pain greater than that of losing a daughter.

Generation 2, Chapter 18: Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose

Receiving comfort from my sister and her new fiancé didn't really help me. While they were upbeat and smiling, I felt myself slowly sinking into depression. Sure, I had my family and friends to help take care of my girls, but that didn't fill the father figure the girls might need, or the fact that every night I go to bed, I'm all alone with no one to cuddle with.

"Honestly, sis," Bridget tried one last time to bring me back from the deep, dark pit I was slowly sinking into, "things aren't that bad. At least he's not dead or anything, or going off to the military where there's a big chance he could die. All he's doing is just flying around the world. You know, he hasn't even stepped on the plane yet..."

"There's always the possibility the plane could fall and he could die from, say, drowning?" Cameo suggested.

"Not helping," my sister forced out between gritted teeth.

"I know all of that, Bridget," I sighed, kneading my forehead with the tip of my fingers for comfort. A slight headache was forming, and I was definitely not inthe mood for it. "But here I am, still feeling down in the dumps. I don't know why I'm feeling like this. I don't want to, yet, I do."

Cameo chuckled for a moment. "I believe that's what we call true love. A connection so deep that-"

"-That no one in this room wants to hear about, m'kay? Cam, I love you, but if you continue on like this, I think I might have to break the engagement." That shut him up for now. "Kay, think about it like this. At least you're not facing such dire problems as Janelle."

"What do you mean 'dire problems'? Is Janelle in trouble? She would have called me if she were..." If Janelle was in trouble, why wouldn't she have called me? We were best friends. No secrets were ever kept between us.

"Huh... That's strange. Is your phone turned on? With all that's happened, I'm pretty sure you'd have turned it off." Bridget was right: I did have it turned off, seeing as I had to deal with the twins' situation and didn't need any more disturbances. "Well, hold on to your horses, 'cause this is gonna be rough for you to take in. She and Charlie finalized their divorce today."

It was a shock. Charlie and Janelle had gotten married approximately a year after our own little ceremony. They were madly in love, just like us. One would never have thought that they would split up. "Why?" I asked, dumbfounded. "Why would they break up?"

"It was bound to happen, Kay," Bridget shrugged. "Charlie has been in charge of his football team, and of course they fly all over the world to play against other countries. Their relationship was deteriorating."

"And let's not forget the miscarriage," Cameo added quietly. The sentence brought back so many awful memories. At five months pregnant, Janelle was experiencing problems after a nasty stumble in the kitchen. Nobody would have thought that it would lead to a miscarriage. After that, Janelle nearly sank into deep depression had we not been around.

Was this what was bound to happen between Aaron and I? Could a divorce happen as a result of him jetting all around the world? "I need to think," muttering to myself, I rushed towards my room, locking the door behind me. The clothes I had on... It reminded me too much of him. So I tore it off.

Sneaking out of my own house was a new experience to me, but Bridget and Cameo wouldn't have let me walk out the front door. They did more than that: They actually locked my car up so I couldn't use it to drive off somewhere. No matter. My feet were transportation enough. Where I was going, I had no clue. 

Darkness hung in the air that afternoon. I was never attracted by darkness. In fact, all my life I had been repulsed by it, having seen the damage it had wreaked on my sister's lifestyle. But this time, it beckoned to me. And I couldn't resist it. My feet had a mind of its own, steering me towards a large building. Something that resembled a church, on the lands of the town's graveyard.

I must have been insane to enter that place.

The building was empty, perhaps the entire graveyard was, except for the animals that roamed the night. As the minutes passed by quickly, my mind was becoming clear. I had no idea why I was here, and what was worse, I definitely didn't want to be there.

"You came. I was wondering when you'd show up after I called you," a dark, gruff voice chuckled from behind me.

Bravery was never really my thing, and yet I found myself in a situation where bravery would have been perfect.

The analytical part of me wondered what the meaning was behind his strange words. The other part of me yelled that I had to run. Of course, my feet were too numb to be able to do anything.

"Turn around and face me, Kaylin."

Like a marionette doll's strings that were being pulled, I was pulled out of my seat, forced to face the strange man that stood by me in the room. How he knew my name, I didn't know, because I certainly didn't have a clue who he could be.

"Who the hell are you, and how the fuzz are you controlling my actions?" I jumped on to accusing him. It had to be him. He looked dark, he sounded dark. He might as well be in charge of something dark that's forcing me to obey his every command.

"You really don't remember me?" That dark chuckle again. "I guess that can be expected, seeing how much I changed my appearances and facial structure. But there's something that always remained constant. See if you can spot it."

Not in the mood for games, I mainly ignore looking at him, trying to keep his influence out of my head. Something was familiar, something about his face... And against my better wishes, I looked at him. Into those deep green eyes that hid away many dark secrets. Only one person ever had such eyes.

Keegan. Not my brother Keegan, but the asshole who made my life hell.

"K-Keegan...?" I hesitated while addressing him directly. He had always been a very unstable person. One wrong word and he could probably kill me.

"Ah, you do remember me. I had been wondering if the black hair and make up would be a little bit too much for you to handle."

"Handle? Honestly, Keegan, you're not making any sense. Why the hell did you come back here, after everything that you've done? You're just like Aaron's uncle, I swear... Never able to let something you..." Rambling off a bit, I could see he was losing patience. Dammit. Said something wrong.

"Kaylin, I'm not making any sense to you because you're not opening yourself up to me and my love. My devotion towards you," he sighed, trying to wrap his arms around me to bring me into a hug. I instantly resisted his touch.

No way on this earth was I going to let him stroll into my life and take control. "YOU! How dare you try and touch me! After what you did to split up my family, after how you ruined Bridget's life... Do you really think anyone would welcome you back? Would be happy to see you? You're a supernatural being that never should have come into this world. So take a hint: Get the hell away from here," yelling, having completely lost my temper, my hand flied out and slapped him through the face, leaving him stunned.

"You...you slapped me?" he almost questioned.

"I did. And there are plenty more where that came from!"

He didn't know how to react exactly, that much I could deduce from looking at his face. As if calculating his next move...

His arms reached out and rested on my waist, pulling me close to his face, forcing me to look up at him and into those eyes. "Now, listen," he commanded. "When I stepped into this world, I had one goal. Your sister was some entertainment, a distraction. She was so easily influenced by my suggestions. But you never were. That turned into my goal, and I never give up once I've decided on something."

"Keegan, no, you're hurting me-"

"You love me, Kay," he whispered, trying to force those words into my mouth. Perhaps it would have worked if he hadn't gone as far as calling me by my pet name. No one called me that except loved ones.

"No," I choked out, wrestling in his grasp. "I don't. I'm married, and I love my husband."

"Where would that husband be right now, huh? He seems to have abandoned you, because you're standing here. I wonder what he'd say if he caught you with me..."

"Her husband is right here, and he'd say that you, Keegan, needs to go to hell and leave my wife alone."

That voice. That sweet, sweet voice belonged to only one person, and I'd be able to recognize it if it were lost between a thousand others.

"Aaron," nearly crying at the joy of seeing him, I finally broke free of Keegan, being able to make sure that my ears and eyes were not deceiving me. "It's really you? You didn't go on the plane?"

"Oh, look, the happy band is all back together again," Keegan mockingly rejoiced along with us, clapping his hands. "Now everything can go back to normal. Though, it can't, not after tonight."

"Shut your freaking mouth before I shut it for you," I muttered, pushing him aside and running towards Aaron's awaiting arms.

"Whoa!" my husband yelped out as he caught me in his arms, surprised by my sudden onslaught. "Someone looks happy to see me!"

"You have no idea," I smiled, staring into those beautiful brown eyes of his. "But, how did you find me? And why did you come back?"

He snorted. "Your sister always knows where you are. She has...contacts, everywhere in the world it seems. And I came back...because apparently my seat on the plane was double booked. I decided that it was a sign that I had to stay. There will be plenty of other opportunities, here in Starlight Shores. So we won't be stinking rich, so what? At least we'll have our family." Aaron quickly peeked over my shoulder. "Where did that fella go to? He was there one moment, and gone the next."

"I don't know," I shrugged, not really caring. "But he won't be bothering us again, ever. I believe he got the message."

"Hmm," he huffed, frowning. "Hope you're right. He looked creepy... But in any case, perhaps we should head home and share the good news with the girls?"

"Absolutely," I grinned.

Entering our front door revealed quite a strange feat of events. Bridget and Cameo were sprawled over the couch, looking completely miserable.

"We tried everything...," Cameo sighed in a desolate tone, cradling Bridget's head in his arms. "We just couldn't get them to stop fighting."

Rounding the corner, Aaron and I saw what they meant. Charlotte and Amelia were at it again.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And today, we were losing our girls, specifically the stability in our house. As if we had any to begin with.

~♥~

Excuse the extremely crappy writing for this post. I think I lost my mojo, and I'm currently looking around my house searching for it. It might be lost at school, seeing as I'm tired from writing all those tests...

Anywho, thanks so much for taking the time to read this post and sticking around! I love you guys. *.*