strangetomato | Strangetown: Chapter Five

Warning: language

Chapter Five

After the fight at Johnny's house, the relationship between Ripp and Tank had reached an all-time low. Mostly, they avoided interacting with each other at all except to scowl at each other across the room, but there were other things too.

Tank had made a point to tear down all of Ripp's posters in his bedroom, and had left the scraps of shredded paper all over the floor. He'd scrubbed the toilet with Ripp's favourite shirt, and also poured vinegar into his glass of milk when he wasn't looking. Still, they said nothing to each other.

Then Tank finally had his first kiss.

The girl, Kendall Lawson, had been hanging around with Ripp, but had been taken by Tank's quiet demeanor.

One afternoon, she had told him so, and they shared a kiss in his father's room. Tank didn't know it, but Ripp had heard them go in there and listened at the door.

Then, that very same evening, he put the moves on Kendall himself, and made out with her behind the bar in the dining room. Tank blamed Kendall just as much as Ripp, of course, but there was absolutely no doubt that he wanted to murder Ripp for it.

Ripp should have been satisfied with that, but he wasn't. He added a short-sheeting for good measure, and that really put Tank over the edge. Still, Tank said nothing. Their fight was happening completely beneath the surface, and it continued that way.

One evening, while Ripp was still at work, Tank was storming around the house, looking for something of Ripp's to destroy, when his eye caught a glimpse of something inside Buck's room. Something blue and dollhouse-shaped. It all became very clear to him what had occured, and it made him furious. Ripp was trying to suck up to Buck and turn him against Tank, and was also blatantly going against their father's wishes. Ripp thought he was completely above the law, and Tank was sick of it.

Before he even gave it another thought, he was stomping the dollhouse to pieces. The happy little wooden family fell out of the rooms to their deaths, and the mother doll even rolled under the bed into the dust.

When he was done, it made him a little sad to look at it, but he just turned and went into the spare room to work out. He pounded the punching bag like it was Ripp's stupid face.

Nobody was around to see Buck's reaction when he found it. It was even sadder for his simple acceptance of it. Buck hadn't done anything after he found what was left of the dollhouse. He didn't say anything.

He just turned off his light and went to bed.

Ripp noticed that Buck was nowhere to be seen when he came home from the Weiner Wagon, which was unusual. Buck didn't usually go to bed so early. He decided that he should check on him to be sure he wasn't sick or something. The next few things happened really fast.

Ripp opened Buck's door, saw the dollhouse, saw Buck asleep in his bed, filled with a rage more powerful than he'd ever known, and tore through the house to where he could hear Tank still punching.

"Tank! What the fuck did you do?!" Tank didn't answer him. "Speak to me when I'm talking to you, you piece of shit!"

"Fuck you, Ripp! You know you shouldn't have done it! Did you want Dad to find it instead?"

It was one thing for Johnny to attack Tank, but a different thing entirely for Ripp to do so. If anyone had suggested to him that he would do that, even one day before, he would have laughed, but there he was. He was attempting to kill his older brother, who was much stronger than he was. Tank was just about as shocked as he was.

When the dust settled, they were both in a crumpled heap on the floor. Ripp didn't remember anything about the fight, because he had completely blacked out. The pain wouldn't even register for another ten minutes. Tank was still reeling from the shock of it, but found that his anger had finally been released.

Then they noticed that Buck had been watching the whole thing. Buck was crying, not over the dollhouse, but because of the fight.

"Why can't you two just get along?" He said between sobs. "It's bad enough with everything else. Why do you have to hate each other too?"

"Oh, Buck, please don't cry." Ripp tried to comfort him.

"It's terrible." He sobbed. "Just watching you both, and waiting for something bad to happen. Why can't it just be like it was before?"

It was certainly something they had all asked themselves at one point or another.

"Tank," Ripp said, "You apologize to Buck right now. I might deserve this shit, but Buck didn't do anything."

"What do you want me to do? Buy him another one? No... He should never have had it to begin with."

"Just say that you're sorry!"

"I..."

"Just say it!"

Tank looked at Ripp, looked at Buck, and finally apologized. "I'm really sorry, Buck."

"It's okay. Just, please don't fight anymore."

"I'll try," Tank said, "and, I'll make it up to you someday, okay?" Buck nodded.

After Tank left, Ripp apologized himself. "I'm sorry I did that, Buck, but how could I let him get away with doing that to you? You're my little brother... and I love you."

Buck just hugged him. There wasn't much more that needed to be said.

After that, things more or less went back to normal, or what passed for normal in the Grunt household.

Ripp was pleased to discover that Genesis was impressed by the very idea of rock stars. Soon, my darling, soon.

Tank continued to succeed at his job, and was very likely to receive a military scholarship for college.

And Buck began to put his imagination to other uses.

Everything fell back into the old routine, and Ripp and Tank were each preparing for college in their own way. Ripp had been meeting with Ophelia a little more often, in an attempt to cram for the finals, so he heard from her a lot. He was trying to be less difficult to deal with, since he was also afraid that she was on the verge of getting fed up with him. She seemed really different lately, and he was afraid it was his fault somehow. It usually was.

Ripp had fallen asleep watching TV, but he woke up when the phone rang. He stumbled to it quickly enough that nobody else in the house woke up. It was Ophelia.

"Ripp, I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"Ummm, no." He lied. "Well, yes, but it's okay. What is it, Phi?"

"Can you come over here?"

"Now? Shit, Ophelia. Do you even realize what time it is?"

"Yes, I know. I'm really sorry, but I need you to come over. Right now." Ripp finally woke up fully, and realized that this was serious. When did Ophelia ever make a request like that? Never.

"I'll be there in five minutes, okay? Meet me at the gate."

Ripp didn't run very often, but he was true to his word, and he made it all the way across Strangetown in no more than five minutes. Ophelia was also true to her word. She was waiting for him at the gate.

In the darkness, Ophelia's beauty really shone. Her eyes were piercing and seemed almost to glow, but the fear in them was all that Ripp could see.

She embraced him, hard. Ripp was taken aback by the intensity of the greeting, as she gripped his arms tightly and pressed her face to his. His hands hovered awkwardly before settling on her hips.

"Thank god you're here."

Sensing her fear, and feeling a rush of concern for his friend, he instinctively planted a kiss on her cheek.

"It's okay, Phi. What's wrong?" His cheek burned. She held him there for a moment longer than felt natural to him.

"Thanks for coming. We have to be quiet. Come inside."

Inside her room, Ophelia was noticably unhinged. "Ripp... do I look okay to you?"

"Ummm, yeah... in what way?"

"Do I look pale? Sickly?"

"Ummm, no. Not really."

"I don't look ill to you?"

"Not that I can tell, no. What's going on, Ophelia? You're really scaring me."

"Ripp, I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm just going to be direct about it." She took a deep breath.

"I think Olive is planning to kill me."

This was not what Ripp had expected her to say. He wasn't sure what he had expected. Something bad, but not quite that.

"What?!"

"Shhhh! You'll wake her up!"

"Holy shit! You can't be serious..."

"Does it look like this is a joke?"

"No, god, I believe you, but how can that be possible?"

"I've just noticed some things."

"Like?"

"She's growing these plants. It's really weird.

And there are these strange herbs, and pots of weird powder, all over the place. I think she's going to use them to poison me or something."

"Well, what about that portrait she's painting of you? Why would she do that if she planned to kill you?"

"Oh, to record me for posterity?" Ripp looked slightly confused, so she elaborated. "As a record? For future generations? We studied that very word just last week, Ripp."

"Oh yeah, right." He didn't remember it in the slightest. "But why would she even bother to do that?"

"I don't know... maybe it's a cover up."

"Maybe those plants are for something else..."

"It's not just that. Ripp, I've lived here for a while, and I see things. I hear things. It doesn't all add up with Olive."

"Do you think there's actually some truth to those rumours?"

"I don't know, not really, but I have this feeling. I..." She paused and her gaze went distant. "When my parents died, she was the first person to show up. I didn't call her. I didn't tell anyone. It was the very same day, and she showed up before I even pulled myself off the ground. She wasn't expected to visit us there that day. Why did she show up, Ripp? It's like she knew that they were dead."

"That's... I'm really sorry, Phi." He tried not to let his tears have any room to move. "You're right. That does sound weird."

"So, you believe me?"

"Why the hell wouldn't I?"

"I just thought I would sound crazy. Do you think I'm crazy?"

"No, I know you're not crazy, Phi. God. You're the least crazy person I know."

Something had been bothering Ripp that whole time, and it moved from the back of his mind out to where he could examine it better. Ophelia had called him instead of Johnny. This seemed to go against reason and common sense. Why had she chosen to call him instead? If Ripp had to choose between himself and Johnny in a time of crisis, he'd definitely pick Johnny. Every time.

"Have you told Johnny about this?"

"Well, no... I... " Ophelia was trying to find the right way to say it. "I didn't think Johnny would be able to understand as well as you would." Ripp said nothing. "He'd think I was crazy. Could Johnny even imagine, in his wildest dreams, that a member of his own family would want him dead?"

"No, I'm sure that he wouldn't, but he'd still want to know about this."

"Yes, I know he would." She frowned. "But it would just upset him."

"Ummm, this upsets me too, Phi!"

"I didn't mean that. I just thought it would be better to tell you. I can't explain it. Johnny would flip out, and he might do something impulsive and stupid. He'd try to save me or something. He'd have to tell his parents about it too. I don't want that. It's just not safe around here. It's not safe to even talk about this. I just needed to tell someone. That's all."

"It's okay, Phi."

"I don't know, Ripp." She started to cry. "I've never been so afraid in my entire life."

"Don't worry, Phi." He held her. "It's okay. You're not alone."

"I don't want to die, Ripp."

"Shhhhh..." He tried to calm her. It had always helped him when he was crying. "You're not going to die. You're going to live."

Ophelia choked on tears, barely catching her breath, unable to speak.

"We're going to go to college, and Olive won't be able to get you there. We're going to go really soon too. I'll pass if it fucking kills me, I promise. Now, shhhh... You're safe now, okay?"

They stayed that way until the sun was almost up.

Ripp knew that his father would be awake by now, and he'd face a severe punishment when he got home. By now, the General would have realized that he'd snuck out of the house and wasn't back yet. It wasn't the first time he'd snuck out. He knew that it was going to be a really bad scene, but he didn't care.

He wasn't going anywhere until Ophelia brought it up first. She finally realized how early it was getting.

"You'd better go. Olive will be up soon. I'll walk you to the gate."

Once there, they realized that after all that, they couldn't find another word to say. Ripp thought about telling her to cook her own breakfast and about a million of other things, but he was sure Ophelia would have thought of all of that by now.

She hugged him. "Thank you."

"Please, Phi. Just be careful."

"Don't worry... I always am."

Their final exams really were just days away. Ripp had managed to prepare for them thanks to Ophelia and Buck, but now he would have to stand against them alone.

Then it happened. The day came.

It rained on the day that their grades came back, which was rare in Strangetown. It was fitting. Ripp had passed, just barely, and he was pretty sure that Hell had frozen over. As he stepped off of the bus, the rain pelted his happy face. General Buzz heard him coming from inside of the house, and he could tell it was good news.

"Yes! I did it! I passed! I can't fucking believe it."

Buzz was so happy that he decided to let that one slide, but drew his eyebrows anyway. "Sorry," Ripp said, "but hell! I actually passed!"

"That's great, son." Buzz was truly impressed, but more so by that fact that Ripp had rushed in to tell him than with the actual results. For a moment, he could imagine that Ripp wanted his approval and might even seek it out. It was a sentimental hope that would no doubt quickly fade, but for a moment he felt like they were a normal father and son. That all the things that stood between them had vanished.

"See this? You never thought you'd ever see it, did you? Now I'm going to college! I'm going to college. Oh my god! I can't believe it." Buzz just smiled.

Ripp couldn't believe that the day had finally arrived. He was so out of there. Strangetown was going to fade into the distance as he sped away to La Fiesta Tech. From there, who knew? Ripp tripped over his own feet several times as he ran up the stairs to pack.

Johnny was getting ready to leave for college too, when his father took him aside.

"Johnny, this is a really big day for you. Your college transition. I'm really proud of you, son."

"Oh, Dad." Johnny rolled his eyes, "Please don't get all sentimental on me, okay?"

"Well, I am." P.T. continued, "I'm really proud of all your achievements, and of the man that you're growing up to be."

"Thanks, Dad."

"But, it's also time we spoke about your future too."

"You mean, like college?"

"Well, yes, but there are other things too. There's something that we should discuss."

What P.T. said to Johnny next would change his life forever.

(Continue to Chapter Six...)

Current Music: A Widow's Toast by Neko Case

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

indigoleo.livejournal.com

AHHHH! Cliffhanger!
Still great. I'm really liking this.
I really do like the way you work the biographies into the story line. Very cool.
Tank is such a...well, yes, he is. Very mean to break up his youngest brother's dollhouse to get back at Ripp. I bet he never gave it a thought to how it might make Buck feel. And Yay for Ripp beating his ass! He deserves it.
It's nice that The General was actually there to enjoy his son's good grades. When my Ripp came home with an A+ nobody else was home and he put his homework down, then cheered for himself! I've never seen a sim do that before. It's pretty bad when you're the only one to cheer your good grades.
I can't wait to find out what PT is going to tell Johnny. *bounce, bounce, bounce*

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All roads lead back to Strangetown, and to each other.

Strangetown: Chapter Five

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