101: Go Fish

Bryce

     My life is falling down around my ears! I'm going to lose tomorrow to that slimy little bastard! My old waitress refuses to help me on some selfish reason that she can't have Jesse. My current waitress insists that what probably was harassment wasn't. My best friend pisses off my old waitress to the point that I wouldn't doubt she'd lie to exact her revenge. I yell at my daughter, hurting her and pissing off my girlfriend.

     I park Erin's Barbie-pink scooter in front of my house and walk around to the ocean side. Right where I stand, I remove my shirt and shoes, placing my phone on my shoes. That done, I walk to the water.

     I wade out to my waist before pushing myself forward and start swimming. I want to swim out to the barrier island and watch the bigger waves crash. Still in the shallower area, tiny swells rock me as my hands slice through the salt water, and for a moment, all I am is a swimmer visiting an old friend.

 

     As a child and teen, I swam like a fish. I had a knack for finding the kinds of shells crazy tourists would actually buy from me. I must've looked like a wild urchin, barefoot and very dark from being out in the sun every day, salt and sand constantly in my hair.

     Before I know it, I reach the island, surprised at how weary I feel. I guess I'm not fifteen anymore. I thought I was in better shape than that. I also remember helping to carry my new desk up a flight of stairs. It has a gorgeous marble top--that weighs a ton. That probably contributes to my sore muscles.

     I take a deep breath and carefully pick my way through the foliage to the other shore, not wanting to cut my feet on anything. There are no paths; the authorities don't like anyone coming out here because the tide can sometimes catch people off guard. It doesn't always rise that high, but it does occasionally happen. I don't think I'll get discovered. Most tourists can't swim like I can, and they usually leave a boat or something as evidence of their presence.

     Once I reach the other shore, I take a deep breath and watch the waves break. The moon lights up the water and sand, creating a glow to the scene. From where I stand, I can't see anything on the island behind me, not even in my peripheral vision. If I let myself, I could pretend I exist in my own universe, alone.

     I used to love this feeling, this freedom. I'd forgotten. Sixteen did that to me. All of a sudden, there was Ashley taking up my every thought, sleeping or awake. Then, my childhood vanished when I became a father.

     Too bad. I have responsibilities now. I have a daughter, a girlfriend, a business, a house.

     Erin and Adele's faces swim in my vision, and I worry. I worry what losing this court case will do to me financially. I'll have to take out a loan, maybe, depending on what the judge rules. Simon is insane with his 'emotional distress' bit.

     Desmond looks worried. That, more than anything else, scares me. He usually looks so cocky. I need that cocky attitude to make me feel like I won't lose.

    I'm… going to go broke. I haven't had money troubles since my parents died. Before they died, I didn't worry often then either. Now, I have no funds coming in and too much going out.

     So I'll take out a loan against the bar. That's normal; I'm just not used to having to worry about it.

     What if this new bar is a complete disaster? Yes, it looks good, but it doesn't stand out against other places on the island, Hurricane for example. I'm going to be directly competing with them now when before I had a different atmosphere, being open-air like I was.

      This isn't news, Bryce. You knew this going in.

      It's just now I've got more riding on the bar being a success.

     What will I do if it flops? … I can't let myself think that way.

      I sit and watch the waves, resting my arms and coming to grips with what might happen tomorrow. I'm furious with both Jesse and Marie. Being mad at Jesse is nothing new, but anger directed at Marie is new. If she were just my waitress, I could let it go and simply be a bit of an ass at work, but she's now part of my inner circle of friends. I need her help, and she refuses.

     The moon has risen high in the sky before I decide to head back home. My arms still feel weary as I swim back to the island, so I take it easy. I make it back and pick up my shirt and phone before shoving my feet back into my flip-flops.

     I walk into my dining room and close the sliding glass door. The kitchen light is on, so I walk in there to turn it off when I discover Erin standing in the middle of the room with her arms folded and a furious expression on her face. Even though she's angry, her eyes still look me up and down in an appraising way.

      "I went for a swim," I tell her expression. I guess Jesse didn't tell her. Big surprise.

     "So I see. Now. How the hell was I to know that before? I had no idea where you went! I've been going crazy thinking up horrible possibilities! Don't do that to me!" She walks up and shoves me, her beautiful eyes on fire with her rage.

       I toss my shirt with my phone wrapped inside it on the counter and wrap my arms around her. "I needed to think."

     "Bryce! You're all wet!" she protests as she tries to push me away.

     "That's what happens when you go swimming," I tell her with a smirk.

     "I am so pissed off at you! You need to go apologize for yelling at Adele! She has no idea where that came from!" she quietly yells while continuing to fight me off.

     "I know, and I will. But I need to apologize to you too." 

    "Her first. Get away from me," she snaps, and I sigh and let go of her before walking up the stairs to apologize to my daughter.

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I gave up on trying to find a swim pose that matched what I was needing, so I made one. a_mypalsim_swim_1 (not pose list compatible, you have to type it in)
I warn anyone downloading this that it's difficult to use. I used the largest lot and only put a small corner of it on land. Then I posed him. Then I got OMSP set up on the land. Then I raised it by 1cm. Then I put Bryce on it. Then I moved him where I wanted. I lowered him by 1 cm until I couldn't anymore. Once OMSP is in the water, I couldn't do anything with it except delete and get a new one.

Also, boo on the no waves in game thing. I needed some waves! Thank goodness for the picture I found.

100: Help

     My normally-peaceful spot isn't peaceful right now as I alternate between pacing back and forth and sitting to brood over what just happened.

     I left no doubt in Bernadette's mind as to what she should do tomorrow during the trial.

     All that time, I really did think she was nothing but crazy! Now, I feel every bit like the asshole she accused me to be. She's not any crazier than the next person, maybe a little odd, but her only problem is not knowing how to deal with what life throws at her and choosing the wrong way to do it when it does.

     And now, she's going to claim Simon screwing her was consensual and she wasn't pressured at all.

     Why couldn't I just get her to listen to me? Why couldn't she see that she didn't have to let him do that? Why can't she see that she didn't deserve to be treated that way?

     Why did I have to 'fess up and tell her that Marie and I never broke up? Sure, I didn't say we had, but I also didn't give her any indication that we hadn't. Why couldn't I get the job done without giving her that false hope? Why couldn't I walk out of there with her still thinking that Marie and I had broken up? I'd made her think that all I needed was time to get over her. Why couldn't I just let her think that for the next twenty-four hours?

     I sit down again.

     Because that would be wrong.

     I look to my left and see the sun setting. I hadn't realized it was this late in the afternoon, so I quickly get up and make my way back to Martha before it gets too dark to see properly. I don't want to miss a step and fall off the narrow trail on the cliff.

     Marie's probably called wondering where I am… and of course I didn't answer because my phone is busted into a million pieces. I quicken my pace when I think how she might be worried I haven't shown up yet. I'd promised to meet her at the bar, which is almost finished.

     "Jesse!" Marie breathes like a loud sigh of relief when I show up at Bryce's bar. Her little arms fly around my neck, and I circle mine around her while guilt rips me to shreds.

     Let me just… hold you for a while before you want to wring the neck you're hugging right now. I know I won't stop from telling her, telling all three of them, what I just did.

     "Why didn't you answer your phone or call me back?" my beautiful girlfriend asks me.

     "Because my phone is nothing but dust now," I answer and breathe in the apple cinnamon scent of her hair.

     "Why? What happened?"

      A romantically-thwarted woman smashed it down onto the tiles and then ground it under her foot.

     "I did something I thought would help but turns out to be something that was incredibly stupid," I answer verbally.

     "Close the door; this isn't a barn," Bryce says gruffly, passing me and closing the door.

     Normally, I might tease him about sounding like an old man, but circumstances being what they are, I don't. "I need to talk to you," I tell him, my voice starting out raspy. I clear my throat.

     "What's up?" he asks, his hands on his hips.

     Marie looks down at the floor and mumbles about going to go talk to Erin about something. I suspect she wants to get away from Bryce, and I wonder if something went on while I was off being a dumbass.

     "No, wait," I tell her. "You need to hear this too." Her gorgeous eyes look up at me with a cross between surprise and worry. "And where's Erin for that matter?"

     "She's upstairs helping Adele with her homework," Bryce answers, his hands still resting on the sides of his hips.

     "I'll go get her if you want," Marie offers quickly. Bryce ever so slightly glares at her. Uh oh.

     "Okay," I tell her and let her escape like she looks like she's desperate to do.

     The second she disappears, Bryce turns to me to harshly whisper, "Desmond was just here. Marie still refuses to acknowledge what really happened."

     I groan and put my head in my hand. He's already in a bad mood about this.

     Erin doesn't take long coming down the stairs, but Marie takes her time. Finally, we all go sit at the couches to talk. Marie sits at the bar, getting as far away from Bryce as she can yet still remain in the room.

     "So what is it?" Bryce asks to get the ball rolling.

     "I just did…something that's probably very stupid." To the agitated, deep breath that Bryce takes, I continue, "I went to Bernadette's house to try to convince her not to side with Simon."

     "What did you do?" he asks with something between a gasp and a growl.

     "Well, I got her to admit that Simon did harass her all that time, but then she caught on that I wasn't over there for what she wanted and discovered my phone recording everything she said. I need to buy a new phone. She's, um, pissed."

     A huff escapes Bryce as he puts his hand up to shade his eyes. He can't remain still where he sits, so he gets up and starts pacing.

     Marie speaks carefully as she asks, "Wasn't there for what she wanted?"

     I debate groveling at Marie's feet to beg her not to get angry. "She thought we'd broken up and that I was over there to-" I see Adele standing in the hallway.

     Bryce sees her too and says brusquely, "Adele, go upstairs for a little while."

     "I came down here to get a bottle of water, and why do I have to go upstairs?" she asks, her voice sounding at once innocent and accusatory.

     "Because I said so!" he roars, his temper snapping like a twig under the weight of an elephant.

     "Bryce!" Erin barks at him, and Adele pouts as she turns to head upstairs. Erin glares at Bryce before walking past me to follow Adele.

     A very frustrated noise escapes my best friend while he puts his hands over his face. When he removes them, he looks at Marie and me wildly before stomping over to the bar and grabbing a set of keys. "Tell Erin to take the Audi, that I'm going swimming." He exits the bar. Then, we hear him pounding down the stairs and starting up Erin's scooter.

     "She thought you wanted her and that's why you were there," Marie states in a daze, not looking at me.

     "Nothing happened, Marie," I tell her quickly. I further explain to Marie about when Bernadette had tried to blackmail Bryce to get him to set me up with her and how I wouldn't do it.

     "So, she wants revenge and is getting it via Simon," Marie states.

     "Looks that way. Nothing was going to happen. I just guessed that I might be the only one she'd admit anything to."

     "Because you know she has feelings for you, so you played on those feelings."

     Preyed on, yes, I mentally correct her. "I hated doing it, even to a bitch like her."

     "I need to go home," Marie says quietly and gets up to leave.

     "Baby, no, please. Please don't be upset with me," I beg as I hop up to stand in her path.

     "I don't know if I am; I only know I need to get away from here. Bryce is mad at me. You… you acted to another woman like you were going to betray me."

     "She thought we'd broken up."

     "You let her believe it!" She snarls through clenched teeth.

     "I didn't walk out of there before telling her I'm in love with you. That's what pissed her off." I might be hyperventilating. I don't know.

     "Oh?! So it's my fault she's pissed off?!" Her voice raises.

     "No! It's mine!" I cry out and wrap my arms around her. She angrily breaks my hold and walks closer to the door. So, I try again. She throws my arms off her. I try another tactic: I wrap one arm around her waist and use the other one behind her knees, lifting her into my arms.
     She growls and threatens, "I could poke out your eyes since your hands and arms are busy!"

     "But you won't," I state knowingly before carrying her out of the bar.

     "I could rip your ears from your head with my teeth!" she snarls and struggles against my hold of her.

      "Creative." Sand shuffles under my feet as I carry her to my car.

      "I could punch your throat so that you'd have to fight to breathe, and you'd drop me to clutch at it."

     "I'll keep that in mind," I say with false calm, hoping she doesn't mean to do anything she threatens.

     "Let go of me, Jesse!"

     "Not gonna happen."

     "I don't want to hurt you, but I want you to let me go home!" Her hands ball into fists.

     "I don't want you to hurt me either, but I'm not putting you down until I put you in the car."

     "You think you can manage me?" she asks what feels like out of the blue. "Hell no! If I say I want to leave, I leave, dammit!" Her voice mimics my accent as she says the swear word.

     We've arrived at Martha, so I put her on her feet and hurriedly kiss her. She punches my rib, but I do my best to ignore the mild pain. She growls when she discovers that punching me didn't make me let go.

     I move to her neck so I can beg while I kiss her, "Don't leave, ma chéri Marie. Je t'aime. Je t'adore. I'll miss you too badly."

     "You could always go to Bernadette," she says, sounding like she's fighting tears.

     "Bernadette has a major problem, though. She's not you," I tell her and kiss her sweet mouth again.

     I love this woman, every bit of her, even the part that wants to beat the shit outta me. Damn, she's so fucking perfect. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and I feel like it'll be years instead of a few weeks when I can finally talk to her father. It may be old-fashioned, but I'm sure he'd appreciate it…if he doesn't kill me first.

     She pulls back to ask in a hurt voice, "Why did you have to do that, Jesse?" I assume she means go and talk to Bernadette.

     "Because I thought I could help my best friend. Turns out I was wrong." I reach up to pet her face. "Come over to my house."

     "You know I have problems with trust, and you did that," she says, continuing with her accusations and ignoring my request.

     "I absolutely had no intention of ever letting anything happen with her except talking, and I didn't actually lie, and I never betrayed you. I wish I had the recording to prove it."

     I gently kiss her forehead. "Don't go back to your place yet," I plead once again.

     "You could come with me…" she offers very quietly.

     I take in a happy breath. "You had me at come," I tell her with a smile, and she groans out a laugh while resting her head on my chest.

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I'm trying to get the updates closer together. I keep getting distracted by my legacies. Speaking of which, I started a wishacy staring my 3 favorite sims. It's just commentary-style.

The next update will take a little work. I'm digging myself out of the hole I created unknowingly in the plot. I have a few poses to make (story of my life) unless someone can tell me where to find good swimming poses? Like, the breaststroke kinda stuff, skilled swimmer not the crap the game does.