Strangetown, Here We Come: Chapter 31.5

[strangetomato]

 

 
 

Somehow, I knew it was going to be a bad day as soon as I woke up. Sometimes you can just feel it.

I've always had pretty good intuition that way. I could usually tell, within five or ten minutes, whether Ripp was going to get into it with Dad or there was going to be a blowup between him and Tank, or some combination of the two. Brother, father, fighting. Lather, rinse, repeat. What difference did it really make?

I guess I would have been safe in assuming that on any day, but anyway... I always knew.




When I think back to that morning, I remember looking at Jill while she was still asleep and thinking how peaceful and happy she seemed, and how I didn't want to do anything to break her out of that, so I was as quiet as I could be. Not that I ever make much noise. I didn't inherit the stomping gene that Tank and Ripp both seem to have.

Jill seemed so serene, and I couldn't bear to wake her. It was like I knew she needed it. The peace would be broken all too soon.




Thankfully, the bathroom is on the other end of the apartment. It's hard to puke your guts up quietly.

It was the dinner with Lucy and Beau and Frances, most likely. It was a potluck. Lucy's casserole was best described as "interesting" - something from her mother's quick and easy brand name recipe book. Something made from canned cream of something soup. I must admit I had to lie a little to make her feel better when she asked me what I thought of it.

Then there was the concoction that Frances and Beau put together. I don't even know what to call that.

Regretable, maybe.

Unfortunate.




Whatever it was, it seemed very likely to have given me food poisoning. It was like I couldn't throw up enough. My stomach was turning and turning. I just couldn't catch a break. I was there for the better part of an hour, still thinking I might throw up again.

I couldn't even get to the phone when it rang. Luckily, Jill was stirring by that time and she answered it. I could tell by the sound of her voice that it was Jenny.




I tried my best to clean myself up. I've read that brushing your teeth after you vomit isn't good for your enamel, but it always made me feel better, and less nauseated. I can remember my mother cleaning me up and brushing my teeth for me when I had the stomach flu.

Maybe that's why it seems soothing to me now. It would make sense.




When Jill went quiet, I knew something was wrong, but I didn't go out right away, because I still felt like I was going to be sick. I wouldn't have been much help to her if I had thrown up all over her, I figured. I drank some water, and washed my face. Slowly, I managed to put myself back together. By that time, I could hear her crying.

Looking back, I can say that I did sort of know that PT No. 9's death was going to set off a chain of events that would change us all in many, many ways. It was hard not to see that. I just didn't know the extent of it. One day, many years later, we'd come to understand it more fully. How it was that moment, the events behind it, and what came after that changed so many things for us.




For my part, there were many dark clouds, some which began on that very day, but there were silver linings, as is often the case with these things. Ripp was hit really hard, unsurprisingly, but he also came out of it pretty well too. Well, eventually he did. He went pretty low before he bounced back, but I think he was much better for it, in the end.

And then there was Tank.




At the time, I didn't think it had affected him much at all. I thought maybe he felt some guilt, our father's guilt more than his own, for having quarreled with Mr. Smith, and for holding onto our father's hatred. He attended the funeral, but he kept to the back. He didn't draw attention to himself. I thought he was just going through the motions for our sake, honestly.

No, it didn't seem like it at the time, but Tank was probably the most affected by that day, and what came after it. We just didn't know anything about it until years later.

As it was with many things, the weight on Tank's shoulders was a private weight.




There is one thing I had always suspected, but has only now become completely clear to me, many years later: The Grunts and the Smiths have always shared a destiny. PT's death was just another piece of that puzzle. By that point, we had already become so entangled that we could never fully free ourselves from those bonds, even if we wanted to. No matter what, all roads would lead back to Strangetown, and to each other.

Our lives became irrevocably linked the day the Grunt family moved to Strangetown.







  (Continue to Chapter 32)

Comments

[missgan.livejournal.com]

Noooo why did you stop! :O

Oh the suspense is killing me. I'm hoping for a lot more elaboration on what went on at the funeral in the next update!
Will miss PT No. 9! :(

[muslemura.livejournal.com]

*sound of jaw dropping*

The suspense!!!!! D:

[petchy-14.livejournal.com]

*Sniffs*

[simsinthecity.livejournal.com]

Poor Buck. I can't to see Tank's take on this turn of events, if you're showing it.

[will-o-whisper.livejournal.com]

Why did you do that?? See, now I want to know so much more and there isn't any! ;^;

I love love love the flashback here. It really sets the tone for what's coming next, and that with the little clues we've been getting scattered about earlier, it feels very sinister. I have a feeling like whatever's coming is going to be big, really big. I'm really scared for Johnny right now, though. Whatever happened hit Ripp really hard, and Tank harder? Oh dear. :( Maybe the war the sim military is preparing for is closer than they think...especially if the virus has gotten more aggressive, it wouldn't surprise me if the aliens get more aggressive with their breeding and that would not go well. So many things could happen right now, and none of them are good, though.

Jill. :(

It amuses me so that Lucy would take recipes from Jennifer; John's always struck me as the one to be imitating on domestic things. :P And poor Buck is paying the price for this mistake, I guess.

But...but...questions. D: There are so many!

Buck's jammies are love, btw.

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Gah! The suspense!! D:

Poor PT. *sniff* Rest in peace, old friend.

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

Cries! I'm leaving on a plane, and won't be able to read this til TONIGHT! :(

I'm saving a spot though.

At least I'll have a good bed time story to look forward to. :)

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

I really loved this. Buck was adorable and I love seeing things from his POV. I also really love getting peeks into Buck and Jill's home. It's my favorite one. :3

I can't wait to see where all of this is going.

I loved the ending bit. I agree that the Grunts destinies are entwined with the Smiths. :3

[angy182.livejournal.com]

wow. I loved this too much.

Could Buck be

[(Anonymous)]

DUNDUNDUNDUN prego? With Jill's baby? THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME.


btw, it's LovelyThingsDie...I'm too lazy to sign in right now xD

[speedspin-88.livejournal.com]

Wow...I just got caught up after being gone for so long. I missed S,HWC and I missed reading sim stories so much. Nice to see you're still continuing the story! I honestly can't wait to see more.

[cappacitation.livejournal.com]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Okay, I removed some 'A's to make it look shorter.
But you get what I'm saying, eh?
I need Chapter 32.

This chapter is the perfect instance to prove the fact that it's your writing that brings me here, not the pictures.

[showercapfrog.livejournal.com]

I love hearing from Buck's POV. It's a nice kind of change in pace, and he's such an interesting character.

Woo! Thanks for the (unexpected) mini update!

[a-gates.livejournal.com]

O_O omfg. Just stunned me and woo me and then get me into it and stop. O_O WOW. Even the miniupdates carry a powerful punch! :D

[simultaneities.livejournal.com]

Buck hasn't been abducted, has he? :o

[xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com]

Jill has a PROBE!!! Come on, she must! She's not green but she has that super speshul extremity that a pure alien has- and Buck LIKES it. XD

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

Aww, poor Buck. And poor Jill! PT's death makes me so sad.

And I do wonder what Tank has to do with it...

[docnerd.livejournal.com]

I really am interested to see the repercussions of PT9's death. It seems almost like a bomb-blast, with how it affects everyone.

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

This was refreshing. Really refreshing. First person narrative and (I know you'll roll your eyes at this) none of The Three.

Buck will make a wonderful father (cream of whatever sickness, I think not, He of the Cute PJ Bottoms).

PTs death makes me wish he'd been featured more in the story from the start (yeah, I'm a shameless PT fan).

(edited to add) I like the brevity, too.

[ikichi.livejournal.com]

I would be lying if I said I wasn't singing, "You're pregnant, Buck, you're pregnant!" from the 2nd pic.

And by the time I got to the end, I felt horrible for it. :(

[x-whirl.livejournal.com]

hello! C:
i've just read through all of strangetown, here we come, and i have to say that it was worth every minute. you have wonderful storytelling skills, and i just love how carefully composed each shot is and how well they complement the writing. the characters are all developed so well; i fell in love with basically every single one of them (i especially love ripp and tank). i'm also very, very curious as to what is going to happen next! would you mind if i friend you to keep up with future updates?

[pixelcurious]

Still re-reading and this has the wheels turning in my mind.