4.21 Breaking Point

Sunday, late afternoon, Jake, Rose and Taylor came to the house to talk about the past. Winter and Shaena were upstairs keeping the younger members of the family occupied.

They sat around the dining table, and caught up a little. Reminiscing about the days when they all lived in this house, when where they were sitting was Taylors bed, and teasing Kaity on her overly pink interior design.

Time had changed a lot. Taylor was head of the police force, taking over her boss when he'd retired just a week earlier. Jake was a travelling acrobat, something that had shocked them all, but he really enjoyed life on the road. Rose was expecting her second child with her husband, and working part-time at the fast food joint in town. And although Kaity was still in the house she'd grown up in, she didn't mind. Her life was rich, she owned her own business, had three and a half beautiful children, and a sort-of-boyfriend-thing. It felt like this was the last piece of the puzzle she needed.

Soon, the conversation started to dry up, and Taylor knew the time had come. She'd tossed and turned the night before, wondering what to say, and hoping her children didn't hate her. She'd always meant to have this conversation when they were a lot younger, but she'd never got the courage before, and if she was honest, she didn't want to think about it even now.

"So, Mummy-dearest-darling. Who's our deadbeat dad?" Kaity asked, expecting the name of some high-class businessman who'd come to town and swept her mother off her feet for one night only.

Taylor took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Of all her children, Kaity was the one she worried about telling the most. She was well known all over town, thanks to the papers, for her short temper and screaming fits. She hoped she could avoid that today. "This is going to be a shock, and I'm not sure you'll even believe me." She began, looking at the expectant faces of her children and remembering when they were all tiny and they'd look at her like this when she'd read them to sleep. "Your father was a woman."

"A wo-" Rose gasped. The other two were slackjawed and silent.
"Yes. She was a witch, that's where you and Kaity get those powers from. She was called Trisha, and she followed your grandfather here from Riverview when I was just a baby. They'd dated for a while when he lived there, but she'd broken up with him when the long distance got too hard, and then he started dating your grandmother. She made an appearance at some point, I'm not sure when, but she started following me around and trying to control me. I can only assume it was to break my parents up."

Jake looked appropiately shocked and confused, and Kaity was uncharacteristically quiet. Taylor decided not to look to her daughter, she could almost feel Kaity's death-glare on her. "Anyway, so then some how at some point, she cast a spell or something. And nine months later you three arrived. I'd been tested at the hospital throughout the pregnancy, and nobody could work out how you all got in there, and the magic powers you were giving off blocked the ultra-sounds so I didn't even know I would have triplets. It wasn't until your first birthday that she made an appearance and casually hinted that she was your other biological parent."

"I don't believe you." Kaity broke her silence. "You expect us to believe that you were stalked by a wicked witch, who cast a spell, creating three babies. There's one huge flaw to your plan, mother. Female sims only have two X chromosomes, so where did the Y chromosome to create Jake come from?" She had a point, and unfortunately Taylor didn't know the answer. She turned away, not wanting her children to see her pain and hurt.

"Kaity." Jake had decided to take on the task of calming Kaity before things got out of hand. "Clearly she doesn't know. She doesn't know how any of it works. And why would anyone make that up? You couldn't make it up! It's so ridiculous and far-fetched that it must be true."

"No. Stop. Shut up." Kaity shouted, standing from her seat.
"Kaity, sit down. The whole point of this is that we can talk about it and have it all explained, so why jump up and storm off?"
"Jake would you just shut up?! If what she says is true you either don't exist or your a woman. Do you want that?"

"Kaity-" Jake started, but it was too late. Kaity had marched around him, causing Taylor to stand, and Rose to follow.
"Why can't you just tell us the truth? What kind of mother lies to her kids about something like this?"

"Kaity, please. I'm not lying." Taylor didn't know what else to say, or how else to defend herself. "Just sit down and we can talk about this some more."

"Why is it so hard for you to admit that you made a mistake? We know we weren't planned, we've known that all along, so why can't you just tell us you had a one night stand? How do you think I feel about that? You all know how many mistakes I've made, yet you can't even admit to one?!"

"Kaity, please, the doctor said-"
"Rose, I don't care what the doctor said. If you don't need stressing out then just leave. But I don't see how this is anymore stressful than working, and you've not started maternity leave yet."

"Kaity, that's enough now. You've had your outburst now just sit down." Jake said. He wished his mother and sister hadn't reacted to her, this would probably all be over by now if they hadn't.
"Kaity, Kaity, Kaity! Really? Just stop saying my name and start calling me 'slut'. It's what you're all thinking." Jake jumped up from his seat and started pushing Kaity towards the bathroom, hoping to take her in there and calm her down for a few minutes.

"Get off me!" She screamed in his face. "Would you all just stop patronising me?! I can handle myself and I don't need people trying to calm me down! I'm not a child!" She turned and stormed towards the stairs. "Oh, you can all get out now, incase you were wondering." She stamped up the stairs like a four-year-old sent to bed without dessert, and slammed her bedroom door behind her.

She threw herself to her knees, crying her eyes out and hating herself. Why do I always do this? Why can't I just react like everyone else? Why do I have to scream and shout and act like a child who didn't get their own way? No wonder nobody likes me anymore.
She continued sobbing in a ball on the floor until a gentle knock at the door sounded. "Go away." She muttered into her hands, too quiet to be heard by her visitor.
"Kaity? Can I come in?" Winters voice called through the door.
"No. I'm naked. You wouldn't like that." She shouted back.

She didn't even hear the door open or close, she just felt his hands grab her wrists and try to pull her up. "What are you doing? Get off!" He didn't reply, but continued to pull her from the floor to a standing position.

When he finally succeeded, he spoke. "What happened? Why were you shouting and screaming? Where've your family gone? Why are you crying?" She felt a little bombarded by questions, but when she raised her face and saw the look in his eyes, she realised he was genuinely worried about her.

"Oh, Winter..." She threw her arms around him and he returned her hug, "I'm just an awful, horrible person! I've just called my own mother a liar just because I couldn't handle the truth. She said my father was a witch who cast a spell... Oh, did I mention the witch was female, and stalked both my grandad and my mum? Yeah, my family is just that messed up."

He didn't know what to say, who would? So he pulled her to his chest and kissed her hair. He stood there, holding her while she cried some more, and looked in the mirror. She shouldn't stress so much. Why does she want everything to be perfect? He thought to himself, before kissing her hair again and pulling her into a tight hug.

"It's ok. They're your family, they know you best. They'll forgive you if you apologise." He still wasn't sure what to say about her 'father'. He wasn't sure he understood. "Do you want to talk about it?" He felt her shake her head, and instead stood in silence, cherishing the feel of her warm body in his arms.

 "I think Jaydean wanted you to help her do her homework. Shall we go do that?" He offered after a while. She shook her head again.
"It's not due til Wednesday, I'll help her tomorrow." She squeezed him a little tighter. "Please don't leave." She whispered as she kissed his shoulder. "I need you here right now."
"Ok. I'll stay for a bit." He replied, rubbing a comforting hand over her back, and pushing her towards the bed so they could sit down. She said she needed me. She's never said anything like that before.

They sat in silence for a while, just holding each other while Kaity would occasionally cry.

Until she finally fell asleep in his arms.