LWR Chapter 7: Trauma and the Future

Today’s Cast:
The Wildes: Lauren and her daughter Elodie
The Fellowes: Savita, older sister, Zanna, and friend Elodie Wilde
The Kellers: Raya and her husband, Ben

Author’s Note: I made a family page where you can see who is who and how they’re related. Hopefully, this helps keep the characters straight. You can find that page HERE.

If you would like to refresh your memory, here is the last chapter: LWR Chapter 6: Confessions.

Ten-year-old Elodie had been playing quietly in her room when she first smelled the smoke. She paused, one of her dollhouse people in midair, as what she was smelling wasn’t registering in her brain. It wasn’t until smoke billowed underneath the door that she understood there was a horrible problem.

Suddenly, she came to life, springing into action. The doorknob wasn’t hot yet, but it was warmer than it should have been. She burst into the hallway, coughing, as during that first breath outside her bedroom, her lungs drew in gray smoke. It felt like she’d sucked in broken glass, not air.

Racing as fast as she could to the living room and the front door, she remembered her mother had been napping on the couch. She hesitated as sweat poured down her face, dampening her hair. Flames began encroaching as smoke stung her eyes and lungs.

She couldn’t leave, she decided, until she knew her mom had made it out.

Running as fast as she could to the couch, she fell into the coffee table, hitting it with her face. Stars were all she could see as she sat for a few stunned seconds. Groping for the couch, she felt her mother’s arm.

Then, gagging and coughing, she called for her mommy to wake up.

But she didn’t. She wouldn’t wake up!

Elodie tugged on her mommy’s arm, trying to pull her to the floor so she could drag her to the door.

But Lauren didn’t wake up, and she was too heavy for Elodie to move!

Elodie pulled, tugged, and scratched at her mom’s flesh until Lauren’s arm was bleeding.

Then, the flames and black smoke were all around them! Elodie was beyond panic. She could no longer breathe!

Elodie shot straight up in bed as her alarm sounded! She was sobbing and held her knees as the smoke and flames from her dream ebbed away.

Yet another nightmare. They were coming more often since the Wildes had moved again.

She hugged herself before finally getting out of bed and getting ready for school.

The school day was finally over as the last bell rang. Elodie met Zanna and her sister Savita by Chris Thatcher’s car, but Zanna insisted they move, so they were standing near a sporty car instead. She claimed she loved Chris but in the same breath wished his father, Griffin, had sprung for a better car for his son.

She was embarrassed to be seen in what she called “the old beater.”

“Where are they?” Zanna lamented, shifting her weight to her other foot.

Elodie pushed a few locks of thick hair behind her ear and nervously bit the inside of her mouth as Savita reminded Zanna that Chris and Luke were signing up for baseball tryouts.

“Sports, am I right?” Zanna asked as she rolled her eyes.

Both Savita and Elodie nodded in their agreement, even though Elodie liked baseball. It would be fun to watch Chris and Luke play this season.

“So, you never answered me, Elodie. Where did you get your outfit?”

“Um, uh,” was all Elodie said at first. She had known girls like Zanna before where questions weren’t genuine but meant to embarrass.

“Don’t you remember?”

She hesitated again, as Zanna snickered.

“Well, different places. I got the vest from a vintage shop, and, and the shoes from my mom’s closet.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think anything was of this decade.”

“Zanna, stop it,” Savita said, glaring at her sister.

Elodie wanted to thank her for sticking up for her, but she also didn’t want Zanna’s ire, so she stayed silent.

The truth was, she had been wearing her mom’s hand-me-downs for years, and couldn’t remember the last time she had anything new of her own. But, of course, she didn’t want to tell Zanna that. Not when all they wore was new.

What Elodie wouldn’t have given to have had some of their hand-me-downs instead.

“Hey! I have the best idea!” Zanna exclaimed. “Since you’re going to prom after all, why don’t I help you get ready?”

Elodie swallowed hard. “Oh, I don’t know…”

“Yes! And I even have a dress you can wear!”

“Really?” Elodie could only imagine what the dress looked like.

“Which one?” Savita asked.

“The red one. Don’t you think Elodie would look good in red?”

Savita grinned. “I do! Oh, Elodie, you better say yes!”

Elodie pushed her misgivings aside and tried to smile.

“Okay.”

It had been weeks since Raya decided something had to be done. Ben had been an absolute monster, suddenly not caring if they had a baby or not.

But as the days slipped by, Raya convinced herself she hadn’t meant all the terrible things she’d thought about her husband. Putting having a baby ahead of everything else caused a huge rift between them.

“So, I just want to start again. I’m so sorry about everything.”

Ben smiled and put his hand on her knee. She liked his hand there, the weight of it filling her with a sense of security again.

“It’s not all your fault,” he said, his voice smooth, his smile easy. “I could have been more sensitive about how you feel. It’s just that having a child of our own isn’t as important to me as you are.”

Even though she wanted to begin again, his words stung a little. When had he lost the passion for having a baby? When they first got married, it was all they talked about. Now, it was a little too easy for him to dismiss the whole idea.

Old feelings crept in as she thought about how pretentious he was for wearing his sweater tied around his neck that way. It wasn’t like they belonged to the country club. He only went there on the odd occasion Griffin Thatcher invited him to play tennis.

No! She wasn’t going down that road again! Sure, there were things she found irritating, but that wasn’t the point. The point was, she’d married him, and that was something she took seriously.

Making their relationship work was the most important thing to her, even more important than having a baby.

“Thank you for understanding,” she said.

“Of course, honey. We all have our moments. I knew you’d realize…”

As he droned on about all the mistakes she’d made in their relationship, she felt worse and worse. According to Ben, everything wrong with them was her fault, but he knew she’d come crawling back.

Did she believe that? How did she really feel?

She shook her head, apologizing to him once again, then stroking his ego, telling him there was no one else like him, and she couldn’t live without him.

Old patterns began once again. Didn’t she do what she had to in order to keep him? She loved him and only wanted their lives to be good again.

Special thanks to Bee (Stories by Bee / Poses by Bee) for editing this story and making the poses used in this chapter: Couple Sit, Emotions – Adult, and the set she made for me: Drunk Poses.

Thank you so much for reading, liking, lurking, and commenting! I hope you have a terrific weekend!


Other Credits:
Sims: Sonya Rose (Elodie Wilde) by Bee
Beer Bottles: from the pose set by spladoum, 99 Bottles of Beer
World: Mayfield Springs
Lots: Evansdale County Renovations 2 (The Kellers), Evansdale County Renovation 3 (The Menkins), Gracious Green (The Fellowes), Red Oak Lane (The Wildes), Villa Elisa (The Thatchers), Ranch House from Alpine County (The Whittingtons)