Chapter 2.13: A Baby Shower, of All Things

Hey, awesome readers! Here I am today with another chapter -yet again- for you. It’s a real short chapter compared to all my other ones, and it kind of sucks too. Don’t worry, though, the next chapter will be very detailed and packed full of action! I am now going to attempt make this post longer with a bit of chatter from me. It mainly includes me talking about Rosanna, the Oliver-Green’s baby girl, and her family. 😊

Here’s Kelsey teaching her daughter how to walk. I have always found this action super adorable because of the mother laughing when the baby fails at walking 😄 It reminds me strongly of Fern and Isla and makes me wonder what Briar would feel like having to do this as well. I’ve said this a million times before but I simply cannot wait for her to have children! 

*still managing to look like a catwalk model when tucking her baby into bed*

Also I totally forgot to put out the fire in Will & Kelsey’s bedroom, so before I knew it, a blaze had caught. Luckily, Will came and saved the day in his red heart boxers 😂 I’ve actually never had any Sims die before (I haven’t tried killing one on purpose either… yet) so I was pretty scared to find the fire had started right next to where they were sleeping. At least nothing but a shelf and basket got damaged! 

Okay, it’s time for me to get on with the story. Yep, it’s short, but enjoy! 

***

Three days before full moon, and here Briar is out of all things… a baby shower. Three days before what she suspects will be Ash’s -or, his bosses- next major move. At least there is pizza. She grabs a piping hot slice and makes her way to the dining table. There aren’t much guests here, but there is music and the atmosphere is cheerful.

Christopher and Fern dance happily to the beat behind her. They look contented, but Briar does see her mother glance at the elderly lady behind her once with wide eyes. The effect of the lunar light. Briar wonders if Fern can actually see the gleaming turquoise and emerald scales in full definition, or if she’s perhaps just seeing a blue hint to the mermaid lady’s legs.

Never mind. Her mother would be too polite to ever say anything. Briar sighs and takes a huge bite of her pepperoni pizza, satisfied with the copious amounts of mozzarella cheese on top. Pizza is good.

Kelsey walks in, her baby girl bouncing on her hip, and the guests crowd around to coo at Rosanna one by one. Briar stays behind with her slice of pizza. Babies are annoying, she had learnt that personally from Isla. Sure, they are cute if they stay quiet, but 99% of the time they demand attention and cry loudly and throw a tantrum if they don’t get any.

Well, at least Fern doesn’t mind all that. Briar can’t really imagine why her mother can stand young children, but Fern absolutely loves looking after them, and she’s sure she would have had more siblings if not for time and money issues. She watches her mother tickle Rosanna in the tummy, making the baby giggle wildly. Briar doesn’t really want children, but maybe it would be okay if her mother is around to help out. That would make Fern super happy.

Briar turns her attention away when she spots Isla sitting on the couch, looking sad. Her little sister hasn’t spoken much since Clayton broke up with her, but while Briar sucks at emotional stuff, she can tell her sister misses her ex-boyfriend a lot. Maybe she can try help cheer her up. “Hey, want to dance?” Isla looks up at her sister with a strained face. “Come on! It will be fun!” “…fine…” She trudges over to the stereo. Briar does her best moves to try make her little sister laugh. Fortunately, it works, and soon Isla is reluctantly dancing along with a begrudging smile on her face.

***

Night has fallen by the time Briar leaves the Oliver-Green loft and begins walking home. Their houses are quite close, with her villa being just up the hill. She walks along the woodland lining the nearby road, trusting the bright moonlight and sparse trees to keep her safe. Okay, so she should have hailed a taxi or something. Too bad she didn’t bring any money and she decided to leave early. Unfortunately… that is now proving to be a stupid desicion.

It’s not too much of a surprise. The vampire woman, the one who attacked Briar, with the werewolf and another blonde man tagging along behind. The man is too far away to recognise, but when they walk closer, she realises that it’s her father, Xander Clavell.

They surround her before Briar has time to get on the road. Xander crosses his arms triumphantly, with an annoying smirk on his face. She has the strong urge to slap it right off his ugly face. Age has not been kind to him. “What do you want, idiot?” Briar sighs, expecting another intimidation. The vampire and the werewolf also cross arms and exchange glances.

“You should hide your precious notes somewhere safer, child.” The vampire says silkily, her crimson eyes glowing eerily. “What notes?” Briar asks bravely, ignoring the chill running through her. Has someone been in her room? The werewolf bares his canines in a grimace. “The notebook a colleague of ours found under your bed, with all your notes about what you found about our plans.”

Xander’s face contorts into an evil expression. “He’s telling the truth. Our boss ordered our colleague to see how much you’ve been interfering. And unfortunately for you, he’s also ordered us to bring you to him. Unfortunately for you, you know too much.”

His smirk is the last thing Briar sees before blacking out.