Genre: Paranormal romance, drama
Type: Series
Characters: Leigh, Eloise
Characters: Leigh, Eloise
Prompt: 74. Home
Word Count: 1370+
Warning: wordy, unimaginative shots, and very long phone conversation
Rating: M- (coarse language, adult situations, nudity. N.B-Applies to the whole series)
Summary: Leigh is homesick and she calls home...
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Barnacle Bay, present day...
The bedside clock on the end table told her it was just after 12am when she finally decided to get out of bed. She couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t eat. And she couldn’t think straight. And she was exhausted.
She sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about the past few weeks, her actions, and all the decisions she’d taken leading up to this moment…Could she have done anything differently? Could she have said no to Jesse? Could she afford not to help him? But more importantly could she keep up with the lie?
The lies were giving her stomach ulcers; the terrible deception weighed heavily on her mind. She wished the charade was over and done with already! In three days she was marrying a man who had no intention of staying faithful to her, a man she didn’t love. Not in that sense at least.
She took her new cell phone from the vanity station and slipped out of the house quietly, careful not to disturb Ruth and Jesse’s sleep.
This was the third time in a row she was out and about in the middle of the night… Back in Bridgeport she wouldn’t pull such a stunt, but here, with a virtually non-existent crime rate, she felt safe, she could walk anywhere, at any time without a care. That’s another reason she loved Barnacle Bay so much…Feeling safe all the time.
Before she could change her mind, she quickly dialed Eloise’s number. It was time she assured them she was fine and would be home soon. The call was long overdue. She knew she would get a barrage of questions. Questions she didn’t have answers to, but she’d been putting off this call for way too long. It was now or never.
She began her leisurely along the shoreline as she waited for Eloise to pick up. She stopped once or twice to stare at the ocean, and listen to the sound of the waves, burying her feet deeper into the soft, wet earth. She found this simple act soothing, almost. She could do this forever, frolic in the water, build sand castles, and leave her footprints on the sand. She so wanted to act like a child again, without a care in the world.
“Are you asleep?” She asked when Eloise finally picked up. “Is Devon home?”
“I was asleep. What’s going on? Are you okay? Where are you? Devon’s working late. Promoting one of his artists…”
“I’m great. Better than the last time we spoke. I’m in Barnacle Bay, with friends. But I’ll be returning to Champs Les Sims on Sunday.” Leigh was relieved when her friend didn’t push for more details.
They made small talk for a while, avoiding mentioning Krisis or the Frosts. Leigh was thrilled to learn Devon was okay; apparently her friend was doing a great job taking care of him.
“Leigh, there’s something you should know. We’re pregnant. Four months along,” Eloise announced, and Leigh burst into tears. She was going to be an aunt, and she was so far away, missing out on seeing Eloise blossom from her pregnancy. Suddenly she couldn’t wait for the six weeks to be over so she could head back home, and be with her family.
“When are you coming home?” Eloise asked when Leigh finally stopped crying. “Don’t you think this drama has gone on for too long?”
“I can’t, Eloise. I can’t come back. Not right now,” she cried thinking about her commitment to Jesse, wishing she could explain everything to her other best friend. But somehow she knew telling Eloise about her role in Jesse and Shaun’s scheme would not go well.
“Why not? Why can’t you come home now? Leigh, I’m having a baby. If that doesn’t bring you home, I don’t know what else will. I don’t know what Krisis did, but I think it’s pretty shitty the way you left. The poor guy is a mess because of you. He’s stretching himself thin, trying his damndest to find you. You just upped and left without letting anyone know what was on your mind. That was a selfish thing to do. We all love you Leigh. Krisis loves you more than anyone in this world and you…” Eloise kept shouting at her, and Leigh kept wishing she could block her out.
“Krisis doesn’t love me!” She repeated over and over. It was like a mantra now, but the weird part was even when she chanted it, the words sounded false, like someone was forcing them down on her.
“Stop saying that. Why do you keep saying that? He loves you!” Eloise shouted back. “Krisis hasn’t slept since you left. He’s been looking for you. He was in Champs Les Sims just a few days ago, and he was so heartbroken when he didn’t find you. Get you shit together and come home!”
Leigh kept quiet then, processing everything Eloise had said. Krisis is looking for me. Why would he look for me if he doesn’t love me? So, he must love me, right? A weak flame of hope roared in her heart then, but it was quickly extinguished by the faceless voice.
“It’s so weird, Eloise. The night I left, I got the sense that he didn’t love me anymore. I know I wrote those letters, but I don’t remember why or how I got on the plane to Champs Les Sims. I keep hearing this voice. I hear it all the time. It tells me I can’t come home. You probably think I’m crazy,” Leigh finished off, gripping the phone tightly in her hand.
“It does sound weird, but whatever it is, we can figure it out. Krisis will figure it out. Please come home.” Eloise tried to convince her on her end, but Leigh wasn’t budging. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she’d made a promise to Jesse, and she had to keep her word.
“I’m sorry. I can’t Eloise. Not right now at least. Give me time…Six weeks. That’s all I ask,” Leigh cried, praying her friend wouldn’t push further than she was willing to go. She was so tempted to tell her about the wedding, but she knew it would raise more questions she couldn’t answer, and Devon would jump on the next plane to Barnacle Bay…
They talked for a while. Everyone was okay. Except Krisis. Again, Leigh ignored Eloise when she said this. As much as she loved him, and she had just found a glimmer of hope about his true feelings for her, she couldn’t start entertaining the endless possibilities. If she did, Jesse would get hurt. Jesse needed her to make their plan work. She couldn’t leave him on the lurch. She was neck deep in the scheme, and it was way too late to change her mind. Ruth expected a happy ending…
Before long the conversation moved back to Eloise’ pregnancy. Leigh could hear the excitement in her voice, and she wished she was there with her and Devon, watching their family grow.
“So is this your new number? You left your phone, and we couldn’t reach you. Can we call you on this line?” Eloise asked.
Leigh hesitated. Her friend would definitely give her number to Krisis. If what Eloise said about Krisis looking for her was true, she knew it was only matter of time before he found her, their meeting was inevitable, but she wasn’t ready to talk to him just yet. She wouldn’t know what to say to him, she had a lot on her mind, a lot she had to sort through before they met.
“Leigh, are you still there?” Eloise prodded, noting her silence.
“Yeah, I’m still here. And you can reach me on this line. But please Eloise, you can’t give it to Krisis. Promise me you won’t!”
Eloise reluctantly agreed, but Leigh knew her friend. Eloise would do exactly what she’d asked her not to do…
After a while, Eloise yawned on her end, and Leigh remembered it was early hours of the morning, and her friend, in her condition, needed a lot of rest. After promises to call again soon, she hung up, quickly walked back to Ruth's house and crawled into bed with Jesse. She wished it was Krisis sleeping beside her.
Leigh now knows Krisis loves her, so hopefully even though she promised, she won't go through with the wedding, or Krisis will stop her.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but that knowledge may have come a little too late. She's made a promise to Jesse, and she always keeps her word. Unless of course Krisis stops her.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading Kim.
My heart is beating so fast! Why? I guess because Leigh just gave up so much information for Krisis to find her! She told Eloise where she is and gave a number that can be tracked through GPS! Most of all, that glimmer of hope! She needed to hear that he does love and the condition he has been in since she left!
ReplyDeleteEloise is a great friend for letting her have it like that!
Oh and let's not forget the "voice".
I feel like you're building us up for a HUGE blow out! Can't wait!
As always you're shots and description of Barnacle Bay makes me feel like I'm there! I was staring at the background thinking I wish I could sit on that cliff and watch the waves...and think.
WONDERFUL!
LOL. You caught on to that Qui? Leigh's quite a crafty one. She wouldn't be breaking her promise if Krisis found her or Devon for that matter, so giving her number away and her location was her way of asking for help, for someone to come stop the madness without her hurting Jesse. Now that it's out there, let's see if she'll get a saviour in the form of Krisis or Devon, either one will work out fine with her.
ReplyDeleteEloise sure is a great friend, she loves Leigh with Krisis, and she's seen him go to hell and back for her, and she knows how much Leigh loves him, so if either of them were planning to give up on the other, she wouldn't let them.
Oh dear, HUGE blowout...hardly, that's not the expectation I wanted to create *quickly hides under the chair*
Thank you for the compliment on the shots.
That may not be what you're going for but to us, Jackie dying and Leigh seeing Krisis is like Christmas day! We're all waiting for that day with excitement!
ReplyDelete- Finally the light bulb goes off in her head!I am glad that she revealed so much information as to where she is and where she will be heading, will make it that much easier to find her, and save her from the mess that she had gotten herself into. But now that she has revealed where she is and for how long...I can almost picture a wedding being crashed... *does happy dance* -or at least I hope.
ReplyDelete- I love that Eloise wasn't so comforting of her friend like most people would be...she said what was on her mind and told her like it is...though of course unknown to Eloise, Leigh was't being selfish at all.
- The shots of the beach at night...just beautiful, nothing like a moonlit stroll on the beach!
AWESOME!!! She said everything that they'll need to find her. Poor Leigh fighting a fight she doesn't understand, but she still found a way to beat "the voice". Clever girl!
ReplyDeleteEloise, call that red-headed heart throb vamp, give him the location, and send him on his way!
Woot! Now I'm in an excellent mood to gt thru the rest of my work day!
Jessie, Make out a will, son...
Damn that Voice.
ReplyDeleteYes she knows Krisis loves her *Dances like a drunk leprechaun*
I wish they were still together, can you believe I have run out of ideas to kill Jacqueline and put it away now. A part of me has died. :(
P.S. I'm still having that argument, HELP ME!!!
P.P.S. 'Daijahv' Crazy, huh?!?!?!!?!
I take crazy to a new level, not murderous crazy, crazy in which everyone thinks you are the 'class clown'. Other words Funny crazy. :).
The reason is too much caffeine, 8)
OMG please let Krisis HUNT HER DOWN and remove all of doctor BITCH-FACES evil mind squibbling traces PLEASE! I wanna cry for her! How can she be so irresistant to the creepr voice?! It makes me sad, but she IS only human....For now.
ReplyDeleteThe beach was utterly gorgeous though! I so hope Eloise gives the number to K!
I cannot WAIT for Jackie to die...Aah that'll be a good GOOD day!
I can't wait for the day Leigh's smartie inner voice finally manages to quench the evil nastiness of The Bitch.
She must give the number to Krisis! :( I hate I that she is going to wait so long before she decides to go home... Hopefully Krisis finds her before then and hopefully he won't be too late. Lets hope that wedding never happens.
ReplyDeleteWarning: wordy, unimaginative shots, and very long phone conversation
ReplyDelete~ Val,can you stop putting this^at the top,it is so totally inaccurate!lol!;)
~ Poor Leigh,she knows what Eloise says is the truth,but the voice in her head won't let her believe it,I have a feeling that,the love is stronger than anything Jackie could suggest & it would eventually wear off!
~ We all know Eloise will give that number to Krisis as soon as she can!
~ Val,loved it!(",)
- I am with Karima on this one, either you are being extremely modest, or you just don't realize the amazing talent for writing you have, I enjoy all of your screens, and your written words. The shots are always beautiful, yes even the simple ones! Sometimes simplicity is best, and you really pulled it off here!
ReplyDelete- If I see this message (or anything simliar again) I am going to have to seriously online face palm you! ;)
Qui, lol. That day is coming. Each prompt brings us closer.
ReplyDeleteNy Girl,that's a good way of putting it, the light bulb going off. It will def make it easy for Dev or Krisis to find her.
ReplyDeleteYou're nasty, how can you wish something so awful, a crashed wedding will blow up Jesse and Shaun's plans :(
-Eloise tells it the way she sees it, but it's not necessarily correct/right as we know. Leigh didn't leave out of choice, but Eloise doesn't know this.
-Thank you for the compliments on the shots. Barnacle Bay makes me wish I stay close to the beach.
Jill, now it's up to Eloise to send out the GPS coordinates to the right people so they can bring Leigh home.
ReplyDeleteLove the "red-headed heart throb vamp". I'm glad this prompt put you in a great mood.
Poor Jesse, he might need that will soon.
Eni, yep she is only human, and there's only so much her human mind can handle. But it seems Jackie's compulsion may not have worked that well. She didn't bank on Leigh calling home, or certain information coming to light, like Krisis looking for her, etc. So she's pretty much screwed when Krisis finds Leigh.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see in the next prompt if Eloise does give out the number and if Krisis does something about it.
You're bad, wishing for someone's death. LOL.
Kristen, the wedding is in three days, there's a 50/50 chance it will happen.
ReplyDeleteKarima, LOL. Okay, I'll stop
ReplyDelete-There's a lot Jackie didn't bank on, like Leigh's love for Krisis, her reaching out to her family, and Krisis persisting on looking for her, so her compulsion may not be as powerful as she'd thought.
-True, true. Eloise would love nothing more than to put Krisis out of his misery.
-Glad you loved it.
NyGirl, aw, thanks, I wasn't being modest at all. The prompts on table 2 are a bit wordier and long, and I get nervous when something is longer than 800 words, I feel it will be too much for people to read through. And with the lack of poseboxes in sims 3 I feel my shots lack that extra something to make the sims look more natural and realistic. Still finding my way with the debug enabler and phonix.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm anxious again, what will Eloise do?
ReplyDelete