Chapter 26

I'm worried about May...she seems to just gaze at the computer screen with a blank look in her eyes, these days. She seems to be passing with every minute. She'll forget what she's doing in the middle of a task; I can't even leave the babies with her, even if I'm only a room away. I feel a little off...I hope I'm not getting sick. "Alyssa. You need to be more sophisticated." Winthrop walked up to me and curtly said. "How so?" I asked angrily. "Is me being me not enough?" "Alyssa, I'm just saying, you can't walk around in your panties or some little discount shop soccer mother outfit." "Newsflash buster! When I was living without you in my life, or my mother, my discount soccer mom outfit was what I could afford!" I yelled, putting air quotes around soccer mom. "We all aren't spoiled British twits!" "Alyssa, I'm just saying that we have a public image to maintain." "You may be a retired banker or CEO or whatever, who shows up to those snobby cocktail dinners that have cello music and Shakespeare scholars, but my rep isn't great!" "Alyssa, you mother is an elite asset to the society. As her daughter, her legacy continues with you." "That's," then I said a few cuss words that would make my mother cringe and my children cry, "it's known what I do! That I tired to have one hundred babies. Guess what! I'm not about to stop! In Sunset Valley, people know that I sleep around." I was angry with him. It seems the last few weeks, I was always fighting with someone. What I said had partial truth. Citizens didn't exactly think of me as an asset to society, but the worst ever said about me was that I liked to explore my options; excluding a few shady bars I'd grabbed a drink at, or the men who seemed to think that I would sleep with them and was only a little toy, no one called me sl*tty. "What? You're a wh*re?" Winthrop raged. Obviously my mother forgot to mention that tiny fact. Of course, she didn't know about all my children, either. I was going to tell her, but I couldn't break her heart after she'd aged up; she was to fragile. "Winth-uh," "Alyssa?" He suddenly looked concerned. "Uhg, blh-" I sprinted to the bathroom. http://llnw.thesims3.com/sims3_asset/sims3_asset/m...014/00/screenshot_original.jpg Minutes later, I was throwing my lunch up. Gross. The day was wasted after that. My mother and my husband forced me into a lazy day laying in bed. Husband. I hate that word. Husband. More like arranged marriage. After the night of passion, Winthrop turned back into a snobby twit who saw a wife as a trophy, not an emotional being. I drifted off into a silent, deep slumber. Alyssa's Dream Smoke. Burning cedar. Why do I feel like I'm suffocating? "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Popping, crackling sounds. Strange noises. What was happening? "Alysssssssa." I heard a crackling voice hissing my name. "Alyssssssa." It said my name over and over. "Alysssssa." It was nothing. Nothing. I'm sleeping, I reminded myself. Wait. How do I know I'm sleeping? Lucid dreaming...that's what it's called. When you become self aware during dreams. That's all this is. I'm dreaming.......go to sleep....... Real Life I woke up sweaty, with a black haze surrounding me. Smoke. My boys! I hopped out of bed and ran into the living room. I saw flames! I grabbed a phone and dialed 911. "Hello?" An angelic sounding operator said. "Help, flames. Smoke. It's a fire!" I hysterically screeched. "Ms, please calm down. What's your address?" I rattled off my address and then threw the phone down. I rushed upstairs to see if my boys were safe. They both were slumbering. I cradled each one, then put them down. My thoughts were a blur. Winthrop...May! "Mother!" I screamed. I rushed to the guest bedroom across next door and flung open the door. No one. The bed was empty. "Mother!" I shouted, louder. I went downstairs and frantically move around. The firemen showed up, minuted later and doused the flames. "Ms, I'm afraid...I'm afraid two deceased, a man and woman." "What!?" I crumbled; began crying. Neither May, nor Winthrop I was on good terms with, but they didn't deserve to die! "What c-c-caused the fire?" "I believe the stove was left on. The man was positioned as if he was foolishly trying to put the flames out, but the plan backfired." Stove left one? The last one to use it was....Mother! Her forgetfulness....I should have checked. I should have checked. It's all my fault. "M-M-May?" "Heart attack. We assume she woke up, came downstairs, and fainted once she saw the flames." "F-f-fai-nt-ted?" I stuttered. Then, I blacked out. I woke up laying on my back, on my couch. Sunlight streamed through the windows. "What happened?" I looked around and saw a female paramedic sitting on the loveseat. "Ma'am, we have some news. Do you remember last night?" "Y-y-yah." Tears began streaming down my face. "Death." "I'm afraid we have more news. After you fainted, we gave you pain relievers and some meds to knock you out...I'm afraid to tell you, but you're knocked up." "What?" "Pregnant." "NO! It can't be! Can't.....no, no, no. This is all a dream. All a dream." But I knew it wasn't. I was knocked up with a dead man's babies. "Ma'am, here." She handed me a business card. "Mental Health and Well Being Ward. The hospital partners up with local therapists to help people. If you need help, call the number and we'll give you a therapist's information." "Th-thank you." I said. "I'm afraid I have to go. I can only stay once the victim's woken up. The bodies...what are your funeral plans?" "Whatever. I wasn't close to the man and I was estranged from my mother. Bury them in the cemetery. Do whatever the Will says. I don't care." "You have two hundred thousand inheritance. Three fourths from the gentleman; you were his only relative, and fifty thousand from the mum, plus her house." "I'm selling the house. I can't live here...." "Ma'am would you like a real estate agent?" "No. I have enough money. Take the home, do whatever. I no longer want it." "If that's your wishes, we will treat it like we do a case of all being deceased and no Will; fix it up and put it on the market." "Great. I don't care, just please. Donate half the money to a children's charity. Any one will do, just....please." "We can do that. I'll be back tomorrow to take the home. Call if you change your mind." "Thanks." Then, I stood there silently. I didn't have the lady's number, so everything I said was being done. I packed up my clothes and makeup, got the twins and hailed a taxi. I bought a nice home on a cliff over looking the beach. It wasn't exactly a family home, but I would cope. Then, I bought an impractical sports car. I only had twenty thousand left, so I decided to save the money. Kids room, the living room, master bedroom, kitchen/dining room,