Barricades

 Optional Soundtrack: Starstrukk - 3OH!3 and Barricades - Fyfe Dangerfield
Content warning: Strong language
Every sim starts out with a story. Sometimes these stories are published onto a blurb, blog, or forum. Sometimes, these stories stay within the creator's game. The story that is rarely told, however, is how the sim's story affects another sim's story. A butterfly effect, if you will. You place one little thing where it doesn't belong and it sets off a catalyst of unexpected events.

Let's meet our butterfly.
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 "Ella Cartez is back in business!" the blonde yelled over the music. The crowd whooped and cheered as everyone's favorite heiress drunkenly proclaimed her new found freedom. Her 18th birthday party was going splendidly, it was bound to be an event that would land in the papers. She smiled widely at the thought of it. Finally, she'd be something other than "the late Matthew Hamming's daughter". She could come out of the shadow of her father's legacy.

As everyone began to dance, she surveyed the crowd for her mother. Yes, Selima said that she was stuck in Egypt with a cold, but maybe, just maybe, she came anyway to welcome her daughter back from that Plumbbob-awful prep school.

No such luck.

"Ella!! Ohmigod, are you okay? What did they do to you?" Deila said with concern. Ella quickly silenced her thoughts and brushed off her concern.

"Yeah Del, I'm fine. Prep school wasn't that bad, but I missed you guys sooo much!" she whined. All the girls started complaining about how much they missed each other and how unfair parents were, when Asiah noticed a handsome friend staring at Ella.

"Um, sweetie...I think someone wants to speak to you."


"Well well well, if it isn't little miss Blondie, fresh from her castle." he teased.

"Eric, you really shouldn't stare at me like that...you're scaring my friends."

"I scare everyone, babe. That's what I'm good at."

"Good point", she winked.

Eric Cromic was the lead guitarist of the indie band Chromic Acid Panic!, which was currently on tour. Ella hadn't seen him in ages, and didn't expect him to come to Bridgeport for another two months. Apparently, he changed the band's touring schedule so he wouldn't miss her big bash. If only her mother were so considerate.

 "So are you a goody goody now, or do you still have that rebel streak in you?" he teased once more, this time showing teeth. Why oh why did he have to grin like that?

"I'm still a rebel, no amount of prep schooling will change that."

 "I dunno, you seem kinda wimpy to me."

"Not possible. Besides, the prep school wasn't as clean as you would think. I even learned a few things while I was there."

"Oh really, like what?"

"Let me take you home, and I'll show you."

---------------------------NEXT DAY---------------------------

 Ella woke up with a pounding headache and a temporary cluelessness as to where she was. Did she really drink that much juice? She turned to her right and saw Eric. She quietly congratulated herself on not drunkenly picking out a stranger from the crowd.

"Eric, wake up", she whispered as she attempted to nudge him awake.

"Eric?"


"...ERIC!!"

 "Hmm? What's going on? What'd I miss?" he drowsily mumbled as he jolted out of bed.

"It's not about what you missed, it's about what you will miss if you don't wake the freak up."

Ella pulled him close to her and kissed him lightly on the lips. As he began to wake up, the kisses grew more and more intense.

Soon, they were all over each other.

 "You know, you're not so bad for a snobby rich girl", he said breathlessly.

"I don't know what your bandmates teach you in that tour bus, but that's not exactly what you say to a girl you're about to woohoo." Ella joked.

"No I mean it. You're not like the other girls, you're not like your friends. You're not all about cars and money or status, you're a lot...you're a lot easier."

 "What's that supposed to mean, Eric?"
"Nothing, I just-I just meant-"

Ella's phone began to ring, and Eric let out a huge sigh of relief. "Feel free to take your time answering that, babe."

"I could say the same for you." she chuckled. "Don't think you're off the hook yet."

"Yes ma'am."

 "Phillip? Why the hell are you calling me so early?" Phillip Jones was the family attorney who rarely ever called unless her mother had a legal "issue" involving illegal crime rings and scams. She was never a criminal, but always desperate for money..even when she had plenty of it.
"Please tell me that Mom didn't do something stupid while she was in Egypt."

"Ella, this is not a joke."

"Um, Phillip? I'm not joking."

"Are you alone?"

Ella paused for a second, looked back at Eric, and swiftly moved to the bathroom.

 "Whatever this is, it's life-changing, isn't it?" she sighed

"I'm afraid so. Your mother caught the Simius Fluvarian virus while exploring tombs in Al Simhara, and was hospitalized four days ago."

"The Simiflua-whata?"

"The 'mummy's curse'. It's a life-threatening, rare disease that usually appears asymptomatic in the beginning stages and only shows its symptoms when it's too late in the disease to cure it. Your mother died last night."

 "...oh."
 
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Ms. Cartez. If you can, please come by my office sometime today. When I found out your mother was sick, I flew out to Egypt to collect the personal possessions she wanted me to hand down to you."

"Right. Okay." Ella hung up the phone and stared blankly at the wall. She and her mother never had the best relationship, but she had no clue how to react. She loved her mom with all her heart, even if she never acted like it. Did her mom ever love her? In her final days, she didn't even make the effort to fly down to Bridgeport to see her daughter become a woman, so why should she care if she died?

 She turned around and looked in the mirror, but all she saw was her mother. Her dead mother. Her selfish, snooty, uptight mother. She was so much like the woman that put her in that hellhole, that it hurt to even look at herself.

Then the tears began to pour out.

 "Baby? You okay in there?" he questioned, concerned for his friend. Girlfriend. Whatever the hell she  wanted to call herself.

"No, I'm not okay. Go away."

"...sweetheart?"

 "I said I'm not okay! I also told you to go away. What's wrong with you, do you not understand Simlish anymore? You fucking toad."

"Look, I don't know what happened, but you don't have to call me names. I'm sick of you acting like a spoiled bitch. I should have known better than to come here last night."

"Oh, so I'm a spoiled bitch now? But just a few seconds ago, you talked about how 'wonderfully different' I was! Make up your damn mind!"

 "You know what? I have made up my mind. We're over."

"We were never together, dimwit!" she yelled angrily.

"Oh don't give me that bull, you were in love with me! You were obsessed with me! When you were fifteen, you'd camp outside of my fucking house for Pete's sake!"

"Yeah, and I'll never forget the night I first got drunk with you, pervert! Didn't anyone ever tell you that impressionable teenage girls were off-limits?!"

"Ella, what is this really about? 'Cause the last time I remember, I just turned eighteen when that happened."

 "I don't even know why I have to explain shit like this? You don't deserve an explanation. You don't deserve anything!"

"Ella, answer me! What is going on?! Why are you you so intent on pushing me away all of a sudden?"

"My mother died, Eric! That's what's going on. Happy now?"

"Ella, I'm so sorry..."

"I don't need your apology, actually, I just need you to get the fuck out!" she screamed.

"You don't actually mean this..." Eric said, almost pleadingly

"I do.""

"Fine! Just push me out. Perfect, Ella! Now you're all alone. Good luck with that."

Eric stormed out and slammed the front door as Ella washed her face and reapplied he makeup. "Stupid girl," she muttered to herself. "Stupid, stupid girl..."

Ella arrived about an hour after Phillip's call, taking extra care to make sure she didn't look like she had been crying. She hates it when people cry, they look so weak and defenseless. Maybe that's why she screamed at Eric, she didn't trust him. She didn't trust that he wouldn't hurt her in such a vulnerable position. That dumb bastard, does he know nothing about psychology? And why did she always go running back to him, anyway? 

"Ella!" Phillip's voice screamed on the intercom.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want?! You've been pressing that damn button nonstop for the past five minutes. I already buzzed you in the first time!"

"Oh...I'm sorry Phil." Ella quickly removed her finger from the intercom and stepped into the elevator.  

"Once again, way to go self."

"So, I'm sure you see the stack of notebooks I have for you, right?"

"Yes Phil, I'm not blind. My question is, why the hell did my mother leave me with a stack of notebooks? Was it revenge for not studying in school?" she smirked.

"These aren't just any notebooks," Phil explained, "They are filled with writing and include a handwritten note from your mother to you. She wanted you to have them."

"So, she left me with notebooks, and no money, because...?"

"I'm not sure, Ms. Cartez. I do know that this is what she gave me. You do have some property, however."

"Property? Now we're talking! How much is it worth? Where is it?" Ella asked excitedly.

"I bet it's some beach house on the coast of Simwaii, she talked about buying some property there the last time we visited."

"...I'm afraid your property is nowhere near Simwaii, Ms. Cartez."

"Then where the hell is it?"

"It's in Sunset Cove, or as you probably know it, Sunset Valley."

"Sunset Valley? Sunset fucking Valley?! That stupid country full of uncultured morons? They have no nightlife there, no proper city buildings, nothing! It's like one huge suburban nightmare! Why on Plumbbob would my mother buy property there?"

"I'm afraid it gets worse, Ella."

"...she wants me to move there, doesn't she?" Phil's silence was enough to answer her question, and Ella's fury was enough to chill the air. "That horrible witch! First, she decides to send me to a boarding school, then she decides to die on the day I come back home, and now this? Why does she hate me so much, Phil?"

"I can't tell you why she wants you to move to Sunset Valley, but it's for a very good reason, as you'll read in the letter she wrote for you. Just read it, okay?"

"Sigh, all right Phil." Ella got up from her chair and exited his office while carrying the heavy stack of notebooks. 

"Mom, this had better be good." she muttered as she looked towards the sky.

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Ella sighed as she plunked down the stack of notebooks onto her desk. She searched for a letter to start with, so she could figure out why the hell she had to move to a country full of spoilsports on her whim. She could tell by the way Selima started off the letter that she wasn't kidding around. Damnit.

"Dearest Ella,

If you are reading this, I have died. Let me begin this letter by saying this; I know I was not the best mother, but I did the best I could for both of us. And now that I have said this, I need to tell you that Matthew Hamming was never your father. Not by blood, anyway. Your real father is named Jack Pinciotti, a man of a...'questionable' profession."

"You see, I worked for Daddy Bigbucks in his woohoo-house during my late teens, which Jack was a frequent visitor of. His wife was so devoted to her career as a stylist that she completely neglected him, and on top of that, he had the added stress of needing an heir to his family's fortune. He had only one son, one incompetent son, that screamed every time he saw a TV and refused to leave his room. The rest were girls. They were running out of space quickly, meaning that the last baby his wife delivers must be a boy."

"Anyway, I never loved him, in case you haven't figured that out yet. To him, I was a goddess of some sort, but to me, he was simply a client that got a little too close. It was perfect for me, because he'd spoil me with money and lavish gifts whenever his wife wasn't looking."

"Unfortunately, his wife was a smart woman, and he was a man who thought with the wrong head. When she found out that he had cheated on her with me, she absolutely lost it and threatened to take all of the children, including his unborn son, and move to Twinbrook. Ugh, Twinbrook. I shudder at the thought."

"And to add insult to injury, Daddy Bigbucks screamed at me to leave his brothel as soon as he noticed I fell pregnant with you. I had nowhere to go, and your father needed to prove to his wife that he no longer loved me, so we both thought that it would be best if I simply moved away and started anew with you."

"The penthouse he purchased for us was beautiful and lofty, although as spoiled as you have been, you probably wouldn't appreciate it now. I knew that I couldn't tell him how I honestly felt about him, since he would send thousands of dollars a month to support us purely out of his love. I needed that money, and I refused to woohoo on the streets for a living again. So yes, I used your father. If I hadn't, I would have been poor and panhandling for money. I had gotten used to being taken care of and I refused to have it any other way."

"Jack wrote many letters to me, speaking of how much he missed me, how much he loved me, how rotten his wife was, and how horrible his children were being. I honestly saw him as a little child, a very immature man. I truly doubt his children were all that awful, he just simply complains and whines when things don't go his way. I do believe that his wife was rotten, but only because he was unfaithful not once but twice. They stayed married for the image, and nothing else."

"Sometimes I'd reply back to him, often including a small picture of you, or a funny word you said, anything that involved you. It was the only way I could be...'personal' with him. It was so hard for me to feign interest over paper, although I could easily do so in person. He said that one particular picture of you, a picture of you holding the bear he bought, moved him to tears. I'm sure it killed him inside not to be able to see you grow and flourish into the lovely young woman you are today, for it hurt me deeply not to see it myself."

"When I became engaged to Matthew Hamming, I developed the courage to cut off my steady supply of simoleans by telling your father. As I expected, he was furious, and refused to send us anything else. No money, no letters, nothing. I'm sure he half expected me to die in Bridgeport as an old spinster for a man I never loved! Although to be fair, I never loved Matthew either. Love does not truly exist dear, or at least, not for the Cartez women. For us, love is simply a means to a fiscal end."

"And this, sweetheart, brings me to why I want you to move to Sunset Valley. My one regret in life is that I never had the strength to admit to you that you were a mistake. You were something that wasn't supposed to happen, and probably would not have happened if I listened to Bigbucks and got an abortion. Over the years, you have proven yourself untrustworthy of being out on your own. You are only eighteen, Ella. I refuse to throw you out into the wolves so early in life, as my parents did to me. I refuse to let you have a little mistake of your own. You will stay in Sunset Valley, over the close watch of your father's family, no arguments allowed. I already contacted him as I sit on my deathbed, and he's very excited to meet you. The property I purchased in Sunset Valley is a very classy abode, so I expect you won't complain.

I never told you that I loved you while I was alive, but I do. I love you very much, Ella. I trust that you love me as well. I hope you learned some life skills at that boarding school of yours, because you will need them.

Sincerely,

Mother."

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 "So, you're really leaving us, aren't you Blondie?"

"Yeah, I think I am Eric. I want to meet my 'dad', and his family. My family. I think I deserve the closure, and my mom..."

"Oh, who cares about the old battie anyway, she never cared about you."

"Everything she did was for me! Don't you see?! If she hadn't moved here, if she didn't have me..." Ella trailed off as she stared at the wall, fighting back tears.

"Oh, hey now...I'm sorry. It's just, you always told me-"

"I know what I always told you. How I always told you she hated me, and everything I stood for. I was wrong, Eric...I was so wrong. She never hated me, she just had a different perspective of love."

 "I'm also sorry for what I said to you earlier, I should have realized that something was extremely wrong for you to be acting that way." he said apologetically, while grabbing her hand.

"Well, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I've just-"

"You had a rough day, I know."

 "Babe, stay with me. Please?" Eric begged. Even after all these years he was never sure of Ella was a lover or a friend, but he was definitely sure of one thing; he didn't want her to leave.

"I can't, Eric. There's a whole world out there for me to explore! I've been holed up in my city slicker ways for too long. Plus, my mom doesn't 'trust' me here alone." They both laughed together, remembering the nights when Ella would sneak away and hide in Eric's backyard, where he'd let her in and they'd spend the night together.

 "She really hated you, you know. You were the reason I was banished to prep school."

"Yeah, I figured. What was it that drove her off? The long hair, the dingy jeans...the hipster boots?" Ella laughed hysterically. "You know, now that you've said that, you really haven't changed your style much. You should work on that while I'm away."

"I will, but before you leave, I want you to have these..."

Eric whipped out a bouquet of red roses, with a special note just for Ella. She gasped loudly and snatched the flowers from his hands. "Ohmigod, they're gorgeous!"

"Yeah, just like you Blondie. Promise me you'll put them somewhere special when you get to your new place."

"I pinky swear, ohmigod Eric!!! I just, ohmi-"

"Yeah I get it, 'ohmigod'." he smirked. "Now, let's move out these boxes, kid."

She looked at him with a huge grin on her face, and simply said "thank you". And with smiles on their faces, they began preparing Ella for her new life, with her new family.

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- Author's notes - 

I know this is starting out as a legacy usually would, suddenly moving to a new world/country with nothing but the skin on your back and all that jazz, but this won't be a legacy...or at least, not that kind of legacy. ;) I'm trying the "six degree" thing again, where six main sims are connected to each other somehow (not romantically, that's cheating), allowing us to see how one sim's actions can affect another sim's life. This chapter introduces our first main character, Ella.


I'm actually going to create "bonus content" at some point, which are basically just extra blog posts that have little fun facts about the characters. And gosh darnit, I will finish this story this time. My stubborn game can't stop me. I've backed up the sims and everything.


As always, thank you for reading, and happy simming! :)

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