Completely unrelated to this legacy, but quite important...

Lately, I've developed an interest into making poses for The Sims 3. I'll probably never create poses like the professionals out there, but I will scrap some things together for my legacy.

Above is a picture of a pose I've already completed. It still needs a lot of work (the fingers, mostly *facepalm*), of course, but I'm happy with the test results.

So why on Earth would I post it here on this blog?

I need help.

I can only go so far on my own imagination, so... I was wondering if any of you would care to supplies shots of poses/couple poses that you'd like to see in Sims. It really would help me with perfecting this art, and maybe, just maybe, I could one day share them.

The odds are small, but I'm hopeful!

PS: I know I could just Google something, but the thing is, I don't really know what I should go search for. There are so many places to start. >.<

Generation 3, Chapter 12: Each day is a gift and not a given right

I had never figured the ride to Starlight Shores to be so long.

Where others had the luxury to travel by airplane, I was afforded none of those. God, I hardly had any money left, not having gone to work in months, and of course, the pig-headed bosses at the university thought I didn't deserve to sap anymore of their limited funds for paid vacation.

So, in retrospect, it was truly a good idea to head back to my parents' home.

It was the only place I had fit in. True, I had never really felt too comfortable there, with Charlotte's constant nagging in my ears and my parents who regularly fought during my childhood over the fact that my dad might be leaving us, but in the end, it was the only place I could turn to.

Of course, there was always the small possibility that my parents no longer lived in Starlight Shores. After the death of Charlotte and all the memories that remained in that house, who could blame them? I certainly wouldn't have, but at the current moment, I hoped with all that I had that they were still there.

The rental car came to a quiet standstill on the opposite side of my childhood home. The lights were on already, even though it was barely 6 AM. Someone lived there. Now the question was: Who?

With feet slowly and hesitantly trudging towards the front door, it gave me time to observe the inside of the house. The furniture was still the same. There were two possible explanations for that. One, they rented/sold the house with the same furniture in it. Or two...they still lived there.

The hair, possibly that of a man, poked over the back of a couch. The color was identical to that of my father's.

So they still resided there. And they were awake.

Time came to a eerie standstill as my finger hovered over the doorbell. What would they say about the fact that I just appeared at their doorstep, or the fact that I hardly contacted them at all through the past few years?

I had no idea whether or not my mother and I were on better terms, but if it were up to Richard, he would have forced me to communicate with her again. However, with fifteen years of memories gone, I had no way to know for sure.

My index finger jabbed the button, and I quickly pulled it back. The melodious sound of the doorbell actually made me jump. What had happened to me? I had all of a sudden become someone that was afraid of every little crack and thud. I was a true coward, running away from my problems and seeking refuge with my parents.

All of my doubts receded as the door slowly opened, and my mother's head poked through. "Hello, can I help you?" she asked, one eyebrow raised questioningly. Her eyes scanned me from head to toe. Inside of her mind, it must have clicked. "A-Amelia?" she stuttered.

"Mom...," I croaked, barely able to contain the tears that were close to brimming over my eyelids. Eventually, I couldn't keep them under guard, and they started flowing in full force. I felt like a true idiot, crying in front of my mother. To save any dignity that I had left, I covered my face with my hands. "I messed up real bad, mom."

"The last time I heard anything of you was when Richard called and told us about the coma...," she breathed. "What happened, Lia?"

"I...don't know," I whimpered helplessly. I knew what had happened, of course, but at that moment, the thoughts I kept in my head jumbled together, not making any sense. "I...it's...The coma... When I woke up, I seemed to have lost fifteen years of memories. And then I went crazy."

"Amelia!" my mother gasped. "Sweetheart, you still remember us, right? Then why return? You always said you weren't happy here."

"It's all that I have...," I cast my gaze to the ground.

"Oh, sweetie, please, come in. You can unload all your burdens here. You're father is on the couch, you can start by talking to him a little," my mother beckoned me forward, wrapping a arm around my shaking shoulders. She gave them a small squeeze before steering me towards the living room. "Welcome home," she whispered with a smile.

How my parents found it in their hearts to forgive me was beyond my comprehension. After all the things that I had said to them at one point, completely pushing them out of my life... How could they be so nice about it all?

I didn't let that trouble me for long. At the moment, I had someone who cared about my problems, and who would actually listen to me. I was going to take full advantage of it while I had the chance.

"I always thought you deserved someone nicer than that Richard-boy...," my dad muttered, keeping one eye on the football score.

"That's because you thought that no man was good enough for your daughter!" my mother called from the kitchen. "But you did say that Liam seemed like a nice person."

Fantastic. My parents seemed to have thought that Liam and I would have made the perfect couple. If only they knew.

"Yeah, but he told me he was too focused on his career. I wanted grandchildren, so a career fanatic was out of the question."

"Could you two stop your incessant complaining about the man I chose in the end," I hollered, switching my gaze between the two. "Actually, can anyone tell me why I chose Richard?"

"How could we ever complain about Richard? He's just like your father, in many ways, just...nicer," my mom put the emphasis on the last word. "It's like they say: Opposites attract. He was intrigued by you, you hated him. Simple as that."

"Sounds like a recipe for disaster," I grumbled.

"In many ways, yes. But you two...you were so good together. He made you smile when you were depressed, he was there for you through hard times. I may not like the fact that my little girl got married, but at least I know the guy she's with isn't someone that would abandon her." My father chuckled lightly. "Plus, he's a hell of a football fan."

"Oh, daddy, you're so obsessed."

"I've told him that multiple times, but does he listen? Nope. So stubborn," my mother shook her head, starting to set out the plates on the dining room table. 

"Fine, I have an obsession with football and betting on it. But what about your fanaticism with shoes? You have an eternity to do anything that you love, and you start collecting shoes?"

"..." My mother fell silent, squared her shoulders and turned back to the stove. The smell that lingered in the air told me she was making French Toast, her specialty. It was the one thing she could cook and not burn to cinders.

"That's what I thought," my dad accepted his victory graciously, and turned his full attention back to me. "So, what exactly happened? You seemed quite distressed when you came in."

"Uh...," I hesitated. Truth be told, I wasn't exactly comfortable with talking to my father about my problems. That's what mothers were for. I knew she would never judge me, or poke fun at it sometime. My father, on the other hand, would. "It might be awkward if I started talking about it..."

"Trust me, throughout the past few years, I've had a lot of those."

"Like the incident in the men's bathroom," my mother called from the kitchen.

"Ooh, what happened?" I sat forward in my chair, intrigued by this topic. It sounded like many jokes were made over it.

"Nothing," my father quickly dismissed our words. "We're not here to talk about me, young missy. We're here to talk about you." The fact that he used "missy" in a sentence meant that he was done with joking around.

"Yes, sir," I answered immediately. "So, I, uh... You know how I don't have any recollection of my feelings towards Richard? Well, uh, because of that... I, uh, sort of had a fling with Liam." There. Finally, someone knew about it.

"Lunch is on the table," my mother called, providing an escape from an awkward situation. My dad definitely seemed to be dumbstruck, his face frozen in surprise.

"So that's the reason why you fled, huh?" my mother whispered as she placed the toast in front of me. "Did Richard find out?"

"No... It's more like I'm caught between the two of them. I thought I had feelings for Liam, but they proved to dissipate. And there's just something that's different when I'm with Richard. Maybe it's because I now know of the past we shared. I didn't really want to betray him like that, you know..."

"I don't know," she frowned, "but I'll try to understand to the best of my capability."

The delicacy in front of me smelled wonderful, and I started digging away at it immediately. The taste of Golden syrup was enough to make me shudder in delight. The combination of the two proved to be exquisite. "Do you think I could crash here for the night? Or maybe for a week, even? Just till I know what I should do."

The question seemed to unsettle her. "Actually... Your room has some, uh, occupants. We have guests over."

"Really? Who, exactly?"

"Just some old, nearly forgotten family members," a male voice chuckled, appearing from around a corner. "I'm Alex," he introduced himself.

"Oh..." I blinked, observing his facial structure. Something seemed extremely familiar about him.

"Yeah... Keep using that sarcasm, dad," my mother replied tersely. "Just look how many people in this room give a damn. Oh wait, no one does."

The man named Alex sighed. "You have your mother's wit, and of course, her uncanny talent to bear grudges."

Something my mother said was bothering me. She called him dad, as in...

"Woah. You're my grandfather?" I nearly yelled.

"Huh. That sounds strange. But yes, I am. Please, call me Alex. You must be Amelia, then."

"That would be me...," I chuckled, the atmosphere turning more awkward by each passing second. "So where's my grandmother?"

"Sightseeing, as she always does. The artist in her is in love with Starlight Shores. I'm actually on my way to go join her, so, see ya soon." He waved, and quickly slipped through the front door.

"We should also be going. I have something to show you," reaching for her keys, my mother stopped mid-reach to look at me. "Eh, I never did ask, but did you want a change of clothing? I'm guessing you've been wearing that for quite some time."

I almost hugged her out of gratefulness. "You have no idea."

As I stood in front of the mirror, something seemed wrong. The clothes that belonged to my mom fit snugly, and it didn't bother me to much. Perhaps it was the small comment my mom had made when she observed the image in the mirror: "You look a lot like your grandmother..."

It was no secret that I was the lucky one, inheriting the famous deep blue eyes that belonged to the Rose family. I had received compliments upon compliments. Where in the past I had accepted them graciously, now, I had a feeling I would be disturbed.

I never liked being compared to anyone.

"You ready to go?" I felt her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, just a minute. Where are we going, exactly?"

"Oh, that's not too important. But I can tell you this...we're walking all the way."

Switching out high heels for boots ended up being a fantastic idea.

Being out in the outdoors, where everything seemed familiar, felt great. Starlight Shores was beautiful in every way possible. Even the broken down buildings looked as if it had a strong sense of character, rather than being neglected.

"How far are we gonna go? I mean, I need to use a bathroom..."

"Amelia," the tone of disapproval came through strongly. "You seriously need to work on your stamina."

"I know...," I sighed. "But hey, I've been asleep for two months, and if I was ever fit in my life, I forgot all about it. So it's back to square one for me."

"Not entirely," she chuckled. "We're here."

Her words were puzzling. In front us stood the enormous gate that separated the graveyard from the road. My mind didn't provide an explanation to what her motive could be.

"The graveyard... Why did you bring me here?"

"Closure," she looked me straight in the eyes.

I never wanted to face the reality that my sister was dead, even though I had already experienced hallucinations of her in it. It was comforting, not thinking of it too often. But now, my mom forced me to think of it.

She lead me to a corner of the graveyard that was secluded from the rest. There stood a tall monument, flowers decorated around it. Charlotte's little corner. Her grave mirrored her personality and life: Colorful, and loved by all.

"All of these flowers...?"

"Some are from us, and some are from her friends. People still care about her, Amelia. I just wanted you to see that."

"That doesn't exactly help me in any way," I challenged her opinion.

"I thought it would. In part, you submerged your memories behind a barrier because of Charlotte's death. So many times I found you doodling away at your computer, writing diary entries. I knew they were writing about Charlotte. You never processed her death, Amelia, because you never did say goodbye."

She had a point: It was the first time I had come to the graveyard, and the first time I had come to visit Charlotte's grave. Perhaps that one stupid decision on my part was the cause of everything that went wrong. I never did find closure.

"Kaylin?"

My mother froze, her eyes widening. She apparently knew who was approaching us. "Oh shit," she muttered under her breath.

"Huh?" I was absolutely clueless as the person, who was definitely female, judging by her attire, came closer.

"Whatever you do," she whispered, "don't tell her who I am." She slowly turned her body away from me, hiding her face.

"Kaylin, is that you?" she asked again. From what I could guess of this character, she was going to pester us until she got her answer.

"Uh...," I turned to face her. She seemed to be in her mid-forties, maybe even fifty already. Could she be someone from my mother's past? She never really did reveal any of the dramatic tidbits, or who her friends were. The situation called on me to start lying. I didn't have a problem with that any longer. Deception seemed to be a new talent of mine. "I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. My name is Lydia, and that's my friend Tamara over there. You'll have to excuse her, she's very shy. She's also deaf, so she tends to sneak away from social encounters.

"Oh...," the hope that was in her voice faded. "I could have sworn..."

"That's alright, we all make such mistakes at least once in our life. Is, uh, this Kaylin person a relative of you? Is she buried here?"

She smiled slightly. "Not exactly. We were best friends once, almost thirty years ago. Sadly, when I was going through a hard time, I pushed her away. I have no idea where she is now, whether or not she still lives in Starlight Shores... Oh, where are my manners! My name is Janelle."

"Pleasure to meet you," I shook her hand. "I...know how you feel. I lost a best friend too. Funny thing is, we were never on good terms, yet we cared for each other."

"Ah," she nodded," I see. Is...that her?" she pointed to the grave.

"Yeah, it is... She died in a car accident. I was with her, which made it so much worse. While she didn't have a scratch on her...she died. Too much trauma to the spine, apparently."

"I'm so sorry... How long ago was this?"

"Twenty five years," I answered softly.

"And you still come to visit her? Wow... You're a true friend, then, Lydia."

"I wish I could have been a better one..." my gaze shifted to the clouds above. All of the thinking was taking its toll on me. The pain of the memories were there, battering away at my heart. I knew there was a good reason why I didn't think about it.

"You know," she started, following my gaze," my mother always said to me... 'Janelle, each day is a gift, and not a given right'. I don't know, she must have gotten that piece of advice from that one Nickelback song. I never really did care about what she said, until she died. Her words carried wisdom, and they helped me a lot. Sure, I don't live life to its fullest anymore, but you young people should. You have all the time in the world. It doesn't help looking back on the past, regretting things that you did. Live each day as if it were last and all that. It sounds clichéd, perhaps, but there's a life lesson behind it."

She was right. Not only were her words inspiring, but it gave me hope, and my solution was clear. I couldn't run away anymore. That was what my mom always did.

No. I would face my problems, even if they could lead me into chaos.

I was going to get my memory back, no matter how long it took. 

Update: A small change for this blog

It's so small I hardly care to mention it, but just to avoid confusion, I'm going to supply an explanation.

When you load this page up, at the top of your browser, on the tab that you're working in, you'll notice the name of the blog has changed. I've changed it from "The Rose Family Legacy" to "The Tale of Generations" (which was actually going to be the name of the blog from the beginning, but I didn't go with it in the end).

Two reasons for this change:

One, I saw that there's already another legacy that has the name of "The Rose legacy", and because I absolutely hate being the same as someone else, I had to change it.

And two, I've decided to not have all of the heiresses/heirs have the same last name, which means the surname "Rose" has been lost. Which also means that the legacy name is pretty stupid, then.

So, there you have it!


[EDIT]: I forgot to mention that I'm deleting my tumblr. I'm not really using it that much lately, so I'll be moving everything back to Facebook once again. 

;)

Generation 3, Chapter 11: Flames to dust, lovers to friends

"That's just ridiculous...," muttering at the image on the screen, my hand reached out to find the remote lying on the floor, jamming the power button. "Not everyone gets married and live happily ever after. Romance stories are all so predictable and unrealistic."


There was a reason for my bad mood. Not only was I incredibly bored, living by myself and being on leave from work, but I had experienced something that had been predicted.


Jaylynn had told me that if my feelings for Liam were real, they would last forever, and never flame out.


But it did flame out.


It lasted all but a week. Liam and I went on dates, had some more fun in the bedroom, the works. After four days of being together, it started to feel wrong.  I was slowly starting to become disgusted by everything that he is, but also disgusted by what I had done. It was bearable for another three days, but after that, I started avoiding Liam. Whether or not he noticed, I didn't really care at that point. 


I was back to where I started fifteen years ago: I had no one to love, and no one would probably love me. I wasn't sure about my feelings toward anyone, even Richard.

So where I had thought that the amnesia was a good thing, it certainly wasn't.


The proof for that argument increased when I fell ill. 


The feeling was hauntingly familiar. The way I slept for ten hours, but still felt tired. The way my stomach sometimes turned, and how I couldn't keep food down at times.


It screamed "you're pregnant!".


I couldn't believe it.

There was no way in hell that it could be Liam's. Not enough time had passed for that.


The only logical thought was that it had to be Richard's.


"I'm going to kill that bastard when I get my hands on him." Ignoring the sickening feeling in my stomach, I grabbed my house keys from the coffee table and set out at a hastened speed to find my old house.

If only I had the sense of bringing along my phone that had GPS. Being unfamiliar with the town's layout, I struggled to find my way to his house. But somehow, I managed it. Of course, an entire hour had passed, and my feet hurt like hell.


With my feet planted like trees on the front porch, I waited for Ric to open the door. The rat bastard noticed my approach even before I had the sense to knock.


"Oh, hey there, Amelia... Uh, you kinda came at a bad time. We're in the middle of-"


"How dare you just stand there and act like you know nothing?" I interrupted him before he could finish explaining. Whatever he wanted to say, it was probably not as important as the news I had was about to deliver. "You're such a insensitive...such a...ugh. You're so bad I can't even find the words to describe you!"


Truth be told, I was only stalling, trying to figure out the right way to deliver the news. I hadn't planned much on my insults, resulting in a poor argument coming from my side.

"Wait, hold the phone!" he called out, theatrically raising an eyebrow. He probably thought I was insane. "Care to explain this sudden outburst?"


"After I woke, you didn't have the nerve to tell me that I might be pregnant? You don't think that would be a shock to anyone, especially when they have no recollection of their actions of the past?" 


"Oh...," was all he managed.


"Oh, indeed! So there I am, sitting on my ass in the living room, watching this stupid rerun of some stupid romantic crap they show on TV, and when I finally got up because I was fed up for it, I had this weird feeling that was...wait for it...oddly familiar. Most likely because I've been through it before. Twice!"


He stood stunned for a minute, his eyes unfocused. Waving my hand in front of his (quite attractive) face proved unsuccessful.


"Oh, please don't zone out on me now. You're not getting out of this so easily, mister Jackson."


"Come inside," he ordered, urging me to follow him, "now."

Without another word to contradict his request, I followed, immediately heading for the area that I remembered was the living room. Only, it wasn't the same anymore.


It was empty.


"What...happened?" I looked to him for answers.


"I was going to explain before I was so rudely interrupted at the door...," he sighed. "We're in the process of moving, Amelia. I'm thinking of going to Sunset Valley or Appaloosa Plains. Somewhere that's peaceful."


"Why?" I couldn't help but frown. "If this is because of Darcy coming to visit me, you have no right to keep her away from me!"


"It's not that," he shook his head. "I can't stay here anymore. Not with...with you here, constantly reminding me of my own past life that only lives on in my memories. And anyways, you wanted no more reminders of your past life, so I'm just granting your wish."


"I didn't mean you had to go to such drastic measures...," I grumbled, before realizing he had been avoiding my question. "So, why did you want me inside? Are you going to explain? Did I say anything about this before I lapsed into a coma?"


"You did say something. In our room...your old room, I guess, there has got to be a pregnancy test thingy lying around in your cupboard. I'll leave you alone so you can take the test. Call me when you're done, and we'll wait together."


After a quick nod of recognition to me, he quickly left for the kitchen, leaving me to find my way to the bedroom. 

I didn't wait long to call for him as I was waiting for the results. My nerves were getting the best of me, and I wanted someone around that could share that feeling with me. Selfish, indeed, but I couldn't help myself.


"Does it usually take this long?" I muttered, pacing around the room. Richard, on the other hand, calmly took a seat on the bed, staring at his reflection in the mirror.


"I don't have a clue. I wasn't around the last time you took the test."


"Huh... Makes me wonder where you were," I sniffled. "You said that I gave a hint to the fact that I was pregnant before my little coma?"


"Right... You did. A day before you lapsed into your two-month-coma, you came to me with the news that you kept feeling ill. We didn't suspect that you might be pregnant right away. All along, your family lived with the assumption that the anti-aging caused sterility within women. You were planning on going to the doctor the next day, but of course...you never got to do that."


"Seems we're gonna find out right now, at least," taking a deep breath, I inched closer to view the results.

It was negative.


So I wasn't pregnant.


Though I had expected to feel relief, all I felt was sadness, and shock. So shocked I stopped breathing for a few seconds.


For some reason, a small part of me was hoping that I was pregnant. 


It didn't make sense. I despised Richard. Why was I feeling so strongly over the fact that I wasn't carrying his child?


The explanation of it came rather quickly, as old repressed feeling popped up, and quick flashes of memories passed before my eyes.

"Oh God...," the first few tear drops started to find their way over my cheeks. "Why did it have to happen?"


"Amelia?" Ric's worried voice was close to my face. I could feel his hands hesitating over mine.


"I...I had a miscarriage before, didn't I? After Daniel's birth? After that the doctor said that we didn't have a good chance of conceiving another child... It's almost the same as what's going on right now."


"How did you... You remember?" he was obviously shocked.


"No, definitely not. But...the feelings came back, and images. But they were so blurry, it hardly makes sense."

"Focus on the parts that did make sense, Lia," he finally wrapped his arms around me, trying to comfort me. I found it strange how he didn't care that my tears were staining his fleece jacket.


"O-okay...," I nodded quickly.


"Alright. Process them slowly. Focus on every detail that stands out. What do you see?"


"I see...well, recognize...you," I almost took a step backwards to look at his face. "You were there, hugging me, telling me everything would be okay."


"Yes, that's right. Just like how I'm here now, hugging you. And though I wish everything would be okay, I can't promise it. But I can promise you, Amelia, is that I'll always be here to support you."


Things just weren't right. I was playing around with Richard's feelings, even though I didn't feel much for him in return. I was messing with him, and I was messing with Liam. Worse yet, I had committed a deed that I couldn't take back, and if he were to find out about it, it would destroy him.


It was strange how I actually did care whether or not he was happy.


"Amelia...," Richard's lips were close to my ear. "I'm going to let go of you now, because if I hold on to you any longer, I won't be able to let go of you. If you ever decide to come back to me, it should be a free decision, not because I forced you, or begged you. It's all up to you."


Slowly, he unwound his arms, moving away from me. I could see it in his eyes: It was a decision that he didn't want to make, but he did so, anyways.


Without a goodbye, I stormed out of the room, choosing to go through the nearest exit of the house, which ended up being the backdoor.

I was still trapped, with a fence blocking any way of an easy escape.

However, I wasn't alone in this poorly constructed prison. Daniel was sitting on a couch all by himself. When he saw me approaching, his face lit up with a smile. I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at the sight of it. I must have hurt him so much, having abandoned all my duties as his mother.


"Uh, hi there," an awkward chuckle escaped through my lips.


"Hello," the smile remained. "You seem quite uncomfortable. Any way I can help?"


"Yeah. Point me in a direction that serves as a way out of this place."


"Behind you, to the left. There's a gate there. It really blends in with the fence, so you're gonna have to look closely."

"Thanks!" I waved goodbye and turned towards the gate, but i couldn't bring myself to go any further. My son was sitting there, and I was pretty much ignoring him, as if he were a stranger that I had just asked for directions. Why was I such an awful human being?

"You know what? Screw running away from this place...," turning around to face him, I walked towards him. "Mind if I sit here?"


"Not at all," he beckoned. "Feel free."

It became extremely awkward, sitting there next to him, not knowing what to say. My encounter with Darcy had been exactly the same, but I had figured out what to say in the end. Here, I wasn't so sure I would manage a conversation. Daniel was a hard person to read. Was he like his father, or like me?


"I think you made the right decision," he finally started talking, "taking time off and figuring out what you want."


"Seriously?" I was taken aback. "You didn't think I was being overly selfish?"


"Of course not. We're all allowed to be a bit selfish one in awhile. We just have to control ourselves and not be selfish all the time. Judging from your past, you haven't been selfish much. You deserve to freak out and do what you want for once in your life. All along, you kept yourself in check, trying to be the perfect role model. Sometime or another, that image is gonna crack."


I was silent for a long time. "You're definitely your father's kid. So wise, so...moral."


He chuckled in response. "Actually, no. I got those from you. You taught me a lot about the world. It's a cruel place, but you made me see the positive side of things, the positive side of humans. The only thing I got from dad was a manners and a case of weakened eyesight."

"You make me sound like a saint, Daniel," I couldn't help but blush. "I wish I could still be that person for you and Darcy, but... I can't. I can't live up to your expectations anymore."


"That's where you're wrong," he argued, shaking his head. "You still are. You might have changed a bit, but you're still here for us in a way. You listened to Darcy and her problems. That's more than the rest of us ever did."


"No. I've...made a mistake. A big mistake," the image of Liam in my head made me shudder. "I can't turn back from that, no matter how much I wished to."


"I'm sure it's not that bad that you'd end up running away from it. You taught me that the right way to win a fight is to deny the battle."

"You're right," an idea sparked inside of me, and my objective was clear. "I have to get away from here, from everyone that I hurt. It's the only logical solution."


"Wait a minute!" he got up from his seat. "I didn't say that you have to do that when you have problems. More like when you had to face people."


"No, I know you didn't say it out loud, but it got me thinking... Damn, Daniel, you must have inherited my sharp mind. You're a genius."

"No, I'm an idiot!" he called after me as I started running for the gate. "Where are you going?!"


"Getting the hell away from here! Tell your father that you guys need to stay here, and that I'll move away!" I reached the gate, my hands shaking as I tried to unlock it. I had to disappear, and fast. I didn't want to explain to Liam that I made a mistake, and I didn't want to face Richard with the mistake I had made.


I was such a coward, trying to run away from things, but at that point, all that stood out in me was self-preservation.


"Where would you go?" Daniel tried getting answers out of me one last time.


My hands stopped fiddling with the lock, and I looked up and stared him in the eyes. I knew where I would go, but it wasn't exactly going to be paradise. "To my parents' house."

Generation 3, Chapter 10: "Change" could either be good or bad

Adapting to a new life was proving to be easier than I had expected.

I didn't feel helpless without my memories, without anyone to support me through tough times. In fact, I quickly gained someone that was there for me all the way. And she didn't even care whether or not I had my old memories. She was content with the fact that I was still alive.

"So you're saying you just dropped him on his skinny ass? Nice! I wish I had the guts to do that," Jaylynn laughed as I told her the story of my departure from Richard's house. Jaylynn had been a colleague of mine at the university I was working at, and also acted as a friend. The only friend I had currently. It seemed that almost everyone already knew of my amnesia, including her. However, instead of shying away from me and leaving me live alone, she was the only one to come forward and try to get to know me yet again.

"You could always fake amnesia and dump your own boyfriend," I giggled. "How long have you two been dating, anyways?"

"Four years," she grumbled, throwing her head back against the pillow, a sigh of defeat escaping her fair lips. "And there's no sign that he's thinking of proposing anytime soon. I might as well face the fact that he and I are never getting married. Which suits me fine, I have to say. I mean, he's not drop-dead gorgeous or anything. There's this new guy at work that I would totally go for... Lia, are you still listening?"

"What?" I frowned as she grew silent. I hadn't paid attention to her last sentence. My mind was beginning to wander, specifically to a certain someone. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just...thinking. Of my own love life, you know. I'm not getting any younger!"

"Luckily you're not getting any older, either..." When someone brought up that little fact in a conversation, it always scared me. My age was stuck at 34. All because of some family tradition that at some age, we drink this weird concoction that keeps us young forever. Just because my ancestors were afraid of dying. "What can I say? I've just hit 30, and I don't even have a husband yet. Speaking of which... Are you thinking of hooking up with someone new?"

"How the hell did you know I was thinking that?" I nearly fell off of the bed. It occurred to me that Jay was just poking at my thoughts, trying to see if she could guess what I was thinking. She had guessed right on her first try. "Um...kind of, yeah."

"Damn, I'm good at figuring you out!" she poked at my arm playfully, giving me a quick wink. "Might I inquire if your thoughts are wandering to a certain doctor, say, a very attractive doctor? Whose name begins with an 'L' and ends with 'iam'?"

"Have you I ever mentioned that I hate you...," my hands automatically moved to my face, covering my eyes, almost as if I was ashamed. In a small way, I was. "There's something about him, something that Richard could never have... I can't explain it, but damn, I can't stop thinking about him. We've stayed in contact with each other throughout the last couple of weeks. He calls me at times, I call him... I think I was given a second chance to see the error of my ways, to see that Liam and I...could perhaps have something special together."

"That's...pretty deep. You sound serious about this guy. Are you one hundred percent sure what you're feeling isn't going to pass after one night of intimacy? Romance flames out easily, but real love... Jesus. I'm becoming serious as well, aren't I?"

"You definitely are. You worry me, Jaylynn Oakley. This behavior is highly unlike you."

"What can I say, you've changed me!" It was the second time I had heard those words. The first was when Chambray said goodbye to me. It was hard, having to convince myself that she wasn't real. The friendship had seemed so real. "And by some kind of madness, you've also changed yourself. How are you gonna break the news to Ric and the kids." Jay paused, whipping her head in the door's direction. "Especially now that one has showed up at your door."

I didn't want to believe Jaylynn, but there, right in front of us, stood Darcy, looking completely confused and outside of her comfort zone. "Seems she doesn't know where the front door is... I'll probably have to open it up and tell her that."

Darcy turned around, as if she heard my words. For one small moment, she smiled timidly at me. It all faded as soon as she saw Jaylynn in the room, though she recovered well, slightly waving at my best friend.

Jaylynn sighed. "Teenagers these days. They're not the best communicators, especially when it comes to adults. I'll leave you two alone. Something tells me you have a lot of catching up to do."

"Thanks, Jay," I smiled as she grudgingly got off of the bed. "I'll repay this favor someday."

"Along with the other dozen favors you still owe me...," she muttered as she walked to the front door of the house. As soon as I heard the door close, I motioned for Darcy to enter.

She hesitated coming through the door, and stood stiff in front of me, as if waiting for me to say something. The only response I had was folding my legs in under me. To tell the truth, even I felt out of my comfort zone.

Two awkward people, alone in a room together. That only meant bad things would follow.

The "new" me, the person that I had become, wasn't usually awkward, but as soon as I was reminded of my old life, I seemed to clam up like a shell.

What was the point of a new personality when it was faulty around things that was a part of my old life?

Mustering every ounce of courage that I still contained, I forced myself to be confident, to start a conversation with my daughter. "I had thought that Daniel would be the first to come visit me. That was in the message Richard forwarded me. Did you guys swap or something?" The coolness of my voice shocked me, but it shouldn't have.

"No, we didn't... Daniel is still, technically, going to come by first... I came here of my own accord, mom...I mean, Amelia. Dad, nor Daniel, knows where I am. I asked Liam to drop me off here," Darcy explained, her eyes observing the room, never looking me straight in the face.

Hearing Liam's name made my stomach flutter, but I tried to ignore it. Something wasn't right with Darcy, and I was going to find out what.

"Tell you what," I stretched out of my sitting position, sliding off of the bed. "There's an extra bikini in my cupboard. Put it on and meet me outside."

"Why?" she frowned. "It's pretty chilly today. I think we could catch a cold by swimming."

"No, silly. You might not know this, but I have a hot tub, installed especially for weather that we're experiencing today."

Eleven minutes later, Darcy tiptoes outside, her arms the top part of her body. "This is ridiculous. I like bikinis, but this one shows a bit too much. And it's in a color that I particularly despise. Red or green suits me much better."

"You sound like a very artistic person...," I admitted as we walked towards the hot tub. "I like artistic people. They're extremely interesting to look at."

"You really think so?" she raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side.

"Of course. What, you don't think you're an artistic person?"

"No, it's not that. I do believe that I'm somewhat of an artist. It's just...you never said that to me before. Everyone always said I was...weird. Including you. It's nice hearing something positive for once."

Before climbing in, or jumping in like many other crazy people would do, Darcy tested out the water, dipping a toe into the water. "Yeouch. It's really hot. Hotter than the water I tap into the bathtub."

"There's a reason people call it a 'hot tub', Darcy! Now climb in before I throw you in myself," I ushered her down the steps. Her face contorted into a wince each time she took a step to lower herself into the water. But after a few minutes, we both got settled, used to the heat of the tub.

"So, why did you decide to run away from home and come crash at my place? Don't take this the wrong way, but I hadn't expected you'd want to hide out here, with me."

"It's pretty complicated," she shook her head. "Okay, that's a lie. It's really not. Simply put, Daniel and dad were criticizing my choice of style. They told me my outfits weren't made for wearing to school, or in the general public, for that matter. They're keeping me from being my true self. I hate them for doing that."

"Oh, I agree. I would have thought those moral bastards would know by know that you don't judge other people by their appearance alone. You judge them by their sense of character, by their actions. Honestly, it's why I moved away from the in the first place. They wanted to turn me into someone that I used to be. It never occurred to them that I might have wanted to stay like this."

"You're kind of saying I'm a moral bastard, mom," Darcy chuckled. "I also wanted you to become your old self...but not anymore."

"Oh?" my curiosity peaked. "What changed your mind?"

"The new you, I guess. You're great. You're easy to talk to, open minded... You act so casual about everything, not afraid to speak your mind. You're a lot more confident now than you used to be. You've changed into the mom I always wanted, but the sad part is...now you don't want to be a mother."

"I never said that...," it was a lame defense, but true, nonetheless. "And if you must know, I have no quarrel with you staying here, or coming to hide out here when things turn bad. So in a way, I'm still your mom, and I can boss you around all I want to."

"Oh dear God, I've created a monster," she threw her head back and laughed, almost sinking down into the water after accidentally slipping. That small accident made us both erupt into laughter. "Thanks for that, though. It's great knowing that I have someone to turn to, especially if that person is the awesomest adult I've ever met in my life."

Her words stunned me. I had previously deduced that Darcy and I were never on good terms, and here we were, casually spouting nonsense and laughing together, and most of all, becoming good friends.

Perhaps this amnesia was a blessing in disguise. The more I looked at it, the more it transformed into the idea.

So far, things were only becoming better.

Amnesia didn't give me the time to stop time, unfortunately, and soon the sun was setting behind the mountains of Lucky Palms. With a sigh, Darcy recognized it as the time she had to skedaddle. That thought was fueled as we heard the horn sound from a car parked outside.

"Liam's here to pick me up again," she bit her lip, deliberating whether or not she should get out. "I'm not sure whether or not I want to go back."

"Go back, if only for tonight. You can talk things over with your dad and decide if you want to come stay with me. Go get dressed as quickly as possible, before your ride leaves without you."

She was a quick dresser, even though the clothing she wore seemed like it could be hard to fit in. In half of the time it took her to get into a bikini, she came outside and stood before me, fully clothed, her sad eyes burrowing holes into mine.

"This isn't goodbye forever, you know...," I pointed out.

"It might be," she sighed. "I don't know if dad will prohibit me from coming here again. It'll suck if he does."

"If he does, I'm going to have a chat with him, and I can assure you that most of the threats made in that conversation will be coming from me."

"You would do that for me?" she asked in a small voice.

"I would," I confirmed. As I was smiling, I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to set up another plan I had in mind. "But in return, I need you to do me a favor. It's nothing, really. Could you just tell Liam to swing by my place again after he's dropped you off? I think I need another talking session. A lot of things are still haunting me."

She nodded, and we parted with a hug. As she skipped away through the gate, I could see that she was happy, just as I was. It looked as if she had been unhappy for a very long time, and my new personality changed that.

Another score for amnesia being a good thing.

There was a slight chance that Liam would not accept my request to come by, but I knew that if he were a true gentleman, and I believed that he was, he would not keep me waiting.

I didn't have to wait long.

After about five minutes, I heard his car pull up in the driveway. I knew it had to be his. The purr of the engine could easily be distinguished as his car.

A bit of anxiousness crept into my stomach as I heard his footsteps approach the house, tying it in knots. Tonight was going to be an important night, though he didn't know it yet.

He knocked precisely four times, before I saw the handle of the door turn, and him peeking inside. "Amelia, you in here? The door was unlocked, and I was getting worried..."

"I'm here," I waved at him, trying my best to act calm. "You got here quickly, I must admit."

"Oh, hi there...," he smiled awkwardly at me, his one hand idly ruffling through his hair. "Darcy told me you wanted to talk again? Have you been experiencing trouble sleeping? I can prescribe you some medicine for that."

"I do have trouble sleeping at night," my lips turned into a smile, "but only because I keep thinking of you at night."

In my mind, I had it all planned out. He would take me into his arms, caress me, tickle me, whatever. But it didn't play out like that.

He was too much of a gentleman.

"Amelia...no. This...everything here is unacceptable. I refuse to get any closer to you. You and I are only friends, Amelia. You're married, you have kids. I'm not going to destroy that."

"It's already been destroyed, Liam!" I nearly cried out. "I'm not who I used to be. I destroyed it all. There's nothing to be saved, so you shouldn't object. Unless...unless you really don't like me."

"I do like you, Amelia," he grumbled, his head lightly resting against his right palm. He was fighting his feelings, that much was clear. "It's just that...you're not the same Amelia anymore, not the same Amelia I fell in love with all those years ago."

"So what if I'm not the same person anymore! I'm still Amelia on the outside... That has to count for something," I started to argue, but the full force of his words hit me hard. "Wait...you said you loved me?"

"Ugh," he turned his face away from me. "I can't keep my mouth shut when I'm around you.

"So it's true!" my face brightened, the feeling of victory pulsing through my body. "Then why deny your feelings, Liam? You and I can be together now, because finally, my eyes have been opened, and I see you for what a fantastic person you are. Someone that I should have married."

"But you didn't marry me," he corrected, "you married my friend, and that's what's stopping me."

"Liam. Screw other people's feelings. All that matters right now is what's going on in this house, between you and me."

"God...," he muttered under his breath, but finally turned his face back to look at me. Those eyes of his were so hypnotizing, it made my knees feel weak. It might be clichéd to feel and think that way, but I couldn't help myself.

"You have no idea how long I was waiting for you... I always hoped you'd choose me one day. That hope was slowly dying, but now..." His hand reached out to my face, caressing my cheek. I couldn't stop my own hand from covering his. "It's been rejuvenated."

One of us became extremely impatient. Which of us exactly, I couldn't figure. At the time it didn't seem important. The next moment that followed, I was caught in the embrace of his arms, my lips strongly pressed again his.

"I have a suggestion...," I said breathless, trying hard to gulp enough air down my windpipe back into my lungs. "It might sound crazy, though."

"I'm open to any suggestions," he replied, his lips finding its way down my neck. The feeling was ticklish, and eerily familiar. As if I've done it before, but...with someone else.

Nope. Definitely not. I couldn't think of him at this very moment.

"If you'll follow me, please," I smiled, catching him by the hand and leading him down the corridor to my bedroom. "

I had a hunch that I had never been good at seduction.

That had definitely changed.

~♥~

...

Fans of Amelia and Richard, please don't kill me.

Like, I swear, there are still a lot of chapters to be written. Stuff can still change. ^_^

So yeah...thanks for reading!