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.