Generation 1, Chapter 12 - Aftershocks

Before we start: I published three chapters at once today. This is the third one. It's very important that you read them in order! The chapters are listed in order on my chapter list. The first chapter posted today was chapter 10.

Ayla was sleeping over at Carla’s house when it happened. She and Carla were playing princess in the living room when the phone rang. She knew something was wrong almost as soon as Carla’s mom answered the phone.

“Wan household, Pauline speaking.”

“Yes, Leighton, Ayla’s fine. She’s right here if you want to talk to her… no? Alright.”

Pauline (she’d told Ayla that Ms. Wan made her feel old) was silent for a long time. Then she turned white. “Oh my Plumbob. They’re sure?”

“I understand, you didn’t want to call until you were sure, but… I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine.”

There was another long pause. Then - “Do you want me to tell Ayla? Of course, she can stay as long as she wants, but… I will. I’m so sorry.”

Pauline turned around to find both girls staring at her, wide-eyed. “Ayla, there’s something I have to tell you. It’s about your mother…”

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“They’re sure?” Dylan looked over at his father, distress clearly painted on his face.

“I wish they weren’t.” Lee buried his head in his hands, trying to hide the tears that had
begun to form. How could he have missed this? The woman he loved more than anything
in the world had a complete mental breakdown, and he hadn’t caught any of the signs.
“She probably won’t be able to come home for years…” If ever. That was what the doctor
had told him, but he didn’t feel the need to tell his son that. It was better to leave him some
hope.

“What… what do they think happened?”

“They said that she’d become severely paranoid and agoraphobic. The introduction of strangers into her home, which she saw as her only safe space, triggered a complete breakdown. She’s still not back to the way she used to be.” She may never be. He recited the doctor’s words mechanically, but his voice broke at the end. Nyx, his Nyx, was gone, maybe forever.

She’d always lock the door, even when she was home. She always closed the blinds, even during the day, and refused to open windows, even when it was absolutely beautiful outside. She was so pale. She’d always been pale, but he realized now that her skin had been slowly fading from lack of sunlight. The doctors had told him that she probably hadn’t left the house in more than ten years. Ten years, and he’d never noticed. He’d realized that she didn’t like to go out with him, of course, and that she didn’t like strangers in the house, but…

He finally let go and cried. It’s all my fault.

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It’s all my fault. Dylan sat on the same couch as his father, but they might as well have been in two different worlds.

Dylan was the one who had brought strangers into their house. He was the one who’d triggered his mother’s breakdown. He’d known she didn’t like strangers in the house. He’d just thought… well, it didn’t matter what he’d thought. He’d obviously been wrong. As always, he was terrible at understanding people, and this time his mistake had consequences. Devastating consequences.

He shook his head and glanced across the room at his father, who was crying silently, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed. He’d never seen his father cry. Feeling even guiltier, if that was possible, Dylan retreated to his room.

Once he was there, he pulled out his phone and hit the first number on speed dial.

This is Terry Wan. I’m busy right now, but please leave a message after the beep!

“Terry, can you please call me back? I know you’re probably kind of freaked out, but I really need a friend. Now more than ever.”

This was the fourth message he’d left. He sighed and moved on to the second number.

“Hello?”

“Johanna, it’s Dylan.”

“Dylan… I don’t really want to talk to you. Neither does Terry.”

“I’m sorry. Do you just need some time? I can give you time. I just want you to stay my friends.”

“This would be so much easier if you could take a hint, but I guess that’s never been you. Look, what we saw at your house… it was a lot. Honestly, neither of us were really ready for that. Ours… it was always a friendship of convenience, you know? We stuck together so that we weren’t targets. This is… we don’t know how to deal with this. I’m sorry about your mom, but we’re about to be in high school. You can make new friends who can help you with all of this, because Terry and I can’t.”

He held the phone to his ear for a while before he realized that she’d hung up. Then he sat on his bed, feeling numb. Maybe he would have felt better if he’d seen this coming, but he hadn’t. It might have been a friendship of convenience to them, but not to him. They were his best friends, and now he was nothing to them. He would have stuck by either of them if something like this happened to one of them. But it hadn’t, and they apparently didn’t care as much about him as he did about them.

Dylan curled up on his bed. This was a tiny house. He even shared his room, but right now he was alone. All alone.

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Sam was going somewhere he’d never been before. He knew where it was because he’d asked around, but he wasn’t really sure whether this was a good idea. Right now, he didn’t really care. He just wanted to clear his mind, and he only knew one person who could help him do that.

“Hello.”

“Is Kaylynn home?”

“Who’s asking?”

“Tell her it’s Sam. Sam Sekemoto.”

He didn’t have to wait long. It felt like barely a minute passed before Kaylynn was at the door.

“Sam? What’s wrong?”

When she looked at him with concern in her gaze, he suddenly felt like crying. “Can we go somewhere? Please?” He managed to speak around the lump in his throat.

She studied him, then nodded. “I know the perfect place.”

It was a little bit of a hike, but it was beautiful here. Isolated. Staring at his reflection in the water, Sam felt a little bit calmer. He was still in turmoil, though. He was sad and angry and horrified and a little bit embarrassed, all swirling around with a dozen other emotions he didn’t know how to name.

Kaylynn was still looking at him. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

He did. That was why he had sought her out. She was the only one he felt like he could tell anything.

“My stepmother’s been hospitalized. She had a mental breakdown when my little brother brought home a couple of friends for his birthday. She can’t come home, not for years at the least, and even when she does, they’re saying she might never be the same again.”

Kaylynn took his hand. It should have startled him, but instead he relaxed. “How are you feeling?”

He laughed bitterly. “I have no idea. I’m a mess right now, but all I could think was that I needed to talk to you. If I talked to you everything would be okay.” He turned toward her, seeking reassurance in her dark eyes.

She smiled sadly. “I’m not a miracle worker, Sam. I can’t make everything better with a wave of my hand.”

He was already shaking his head. “That’s not what I meant. What I meant is… I feel better when I talk to you. I feel like I can tell you anything, and you’ll give me honest advice without judging me.”

“You can tell me anything.”

“And you can tell me anything. I hope you know that. I feel like I take advantage of you sometimes.”

She snorted, seeming to have returned to her usual cheerful temperament. “You don’t take advantage of me. We share the burden of each others’ problems. It’s easier that way.”

Sam looked Kaylynn in the eyes once again and took both of her hands in his, which seemed to startle her. He loosened his grip, but she grabbed his hands, smiling at him. He smiled back. “Kaylynn, I know this is probably the worst possible time for this, but… I really like you. I don’t mind if you don’t feel the same way, but I thought maybe…”

She cut him off. “I definitely feel the same way. But you should make sure that you’re absolutely positive you want to be with me, because once you’re with me, you’re stuck with me.”

Sam laughed. “I told you that the timing was bad, but I’ve felt this way for a while. I’m sure about this.”

“Absolutely positively?”

He smiled at her. “Absolutely positively.”

As terrible as the timing was, Sam couldn’t help but think that at least one good thing came from this awful situation. He was still a mess of emotion, but he knew Kaylynn would help him get through it.

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“Are you sure you’re okay?” Carla asked Ayla.

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You just seem awfully cheerful for someone who just found out they might never see their mother again.”

“I feel like I should be able to be happy no matter what other people do.”

“That seems like a good philosophy, but I think this is taking it to an extreme.”

Ayla sighed. “Maybe it hasn’t hit me yet.”

Carla raised her eyebrows. “I guess that’s possible, but I’m pretty sure you’re lying.”

Ayla laughed. “That’s why you’re my best friend, I guess. I know everyone else in my family will be falling apart. That’s just how they are. One of us has to be okay, and it might as well be me. After all, I’m awesome!”

“I never realized you were so noble. Here I thought we were both selfish.”

Ayla grinned at her best friend. “Also, I just prefer being happy. Why would anyone choose to be sad when they could be happy?”

Carla had to laugh. “I don’t think they usually have much of a choice in the matter. Most people can’t control their emotions the way you apparently can.”

“Well, most people just aren’t as awesome as I am.”

That was the end of the conversation, but Carla was still sure her friend was more affected than she let on. As it turned out, she was right.

Author's Note: Where do I even start? Chapter 10 was meant to be a fun little interlude to show a little more of Dylan's character and his interactions with his friends. There was also a little bit of ominous foreshadowing at the end that I added after I wrote the next two chapters. 

I really hope chapter 11 didn't make you hate me. I said that we'd get back to Nyx eventually, I just didn't say how. I tried to write it a different way. I rewrote it about three times, but this was the only way I could make the kids' stories work. I love happy endings, but I apparently love childhood trauma more. The next generation will probably have a happy ending, though. I haven't plotted it all out yet, but it definitely won't be completely tragic, no matter who you vote in as heir.

Chapter 12 was a beast. It probably took me something like 12 hours in total to write, take pictures for, and post the whole thing. That said, I really wanted to get everyone into this chapter and show you how what happened to Nyx affected her whole family. You'll definitely continue to see the repercussions in the future, but this chapter really set it all up. 

For the record: for story purposes, Nyx is in a mental hospital for the forseeable future. For gameplay purposes, she's locked in a two-room compound at the back of the home lot.

Also, here's a CAS photo of teenage Dylan. His new trait is socially awkward, which will become very obvious in the next few chapters.

He looks a lot like Nyx, but I think he's a decent mix of his parents. Next time... will probably be about Dylan? I haven't even started writing it yet, but I think it'll be about Dylan.