Everdeen Legacy

It was a bad habit of mine. Making my bed at least three times every morning. I just felt like it had to be perfect before I could leave my room, otherwise I’d have to worry about it all day. Ariella says I’m neurotic, but there isn’t anything wrong with double-checking…or triple-checking.

Turning fifteen meant a few things. For one, I was finally able to reach my easel without a stepping stool. And two, it meant that I had to start high school. I was terrified of the latter. School was my own personal torture chamber. And now that I was in high school, bullies got bigger, classes got harder, and girls got a whole lot meaner.

I was even more terrified of high school because of my family’s own personal experiences. My grandmother, as amazing and smart as she is, was a misfit during her teenage years. She had big glasses and played chess all day. I admire her for her perseverance but wasn’t about to tell any of the other kids that I was her granddaughter.

Even my own dad and mom had problems in high school. They both ended up loosing all of their friends because of what they did. Teen pregnancies were almost unheard of in Riverview and it took Ariella a long time to convince people that she was normal–even though she was the product of our parents’ mistake.

I got to class earlier than I wanted to. Being alone in a classroom with just the teacher meant awkward conversation that I usually avoided. But it was safer to be in class than in the hallways.

I chose a desk closer to the front. If I sat in the back, I would look like a delinquent but if I sat in the front I would more than likely be called on. I quietly took my seat and kept my eyes glued on the clock. The seconds seemed to take hours and slowly, one by one, the other students shuffled into the classroom. I didn’t say hi to anyone and everyone ignored me–but I wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted.

“Alright class,” she said, swiftly flipping through The Great Gatsby, “can we have someone read this passage on page twenty-five. I think it fits in well with our lesson today.”

I looked at the wall, the floor, the desk, the other kids…anything that could get me out of having to read. I thought teacher’s got over reading out loud back in middle school but I guess not.

I looked at the desk next to me, pleading with my eyes to have him volunteer so I wouldn’t have a chance of being called on. One look at him and I knew he wasn’t going to volunteer anytime soon.

“Ahh, Belle Everdeen! It looks like you’re pretty anxious to read!” she said and my heart sank.

I looked down at the book and squinted furiously. The words looked alright on the page, but I knew once I started reading them they would get jumbled together. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

“What foul…err, bust..no, dust…floated in the wake…of h-his b…dreams that temporarily closed, umm, out wy–no, sorry, my–interest in the a-abortive sorrows and, uhh, sh-short winded…elat–elations of, umm, men.”

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. Watching me, judging me. My cheeks burned furiously and I could feel the hot tears starting to well up in my eyes. I read like a stupid second grader!

“S-sorry,” I managed to mutter.

“It’s quite alright, Miss Everdeen,” the teacher said. All of the students simultaneously turned to look at me. I felt as if my whole body was on fire from embarrassment.  I looked away, trying to avoid all of their unspoken harsh words that pierced me just as much as their looks did.

“Please excuse me,” I muttered as I bolted out of the classroom. My teacher silently nodded her head and tried to draw the attention of the class towards her as I rushed away.

I felt as if the sobbing that was soon to come would crush me with its intensity. I was dizzy and embarrassed and downright mortified! Although I didn’t know the school very well, I knew where the nearest bathroom was, and I wasted no time getting there.

The second the bathroom door closed behind me I covered my face with my hands and let out a loud sob. I knew it was cowardly to be crying in the bathroom on your first day of high school, but I couldn’t help it.

Why couldn’t she have picked someone else?! It could have been anyone! Anyone that wasn’t me…anyone that could read like a 15 year old should. Anyone who was smart enough to know the difference between a “b” and a “d” because for whatever reason, I wasn’t.

It just wasn’t fair. I don’t know what I did to deserve the life I got. A mother who died because I was born, a father who left because of me, an inability to make friends, and this stupid dyslexia problem. I know I shouldn’t be feeling sorry for myself, I’m making myself look weak. But the truth was, that sometimes, no matter how strong you appear to be on the outside, you’re falling apart inside.

The lunch bell rang shortly after and I managed to clean myself up enough to go eat. Eating in the bathrooms was prohibited, probably because of illegal past activities, so I had no choice but to go and embrace the other students. After a lot of looking, I finally found a nearly empty table. The boy from English class was sitting there but he didn’t even turn to look at me when I approached.

“Need an invitation to sit down or something?” he asked, swinging his legs over the other side of the picnic bench, still avoiding my gaze.

“N-no,” I answered back shyly. “I was just making sure you weren’t saving it for anyone.”

“Oh, well I’m not. So sit.”

I wasn’t planning on eating anything that day. The stress from English class was sitting in my stomach like a giant knot. It looked like he wasn’t planning on eating, either. So we sat in awkward silence.

“So what’s your name? I’m Belle. Belle Everdeen,” I said, trying to break the silence. I wasn’t much of a conversationalist, but I wanted to be able to tell my family that I at least talked to one person that day.

“Look, I don’t know what I did to make you think that it’s okay to not only sit with me but talk to me too. There’s a reason I don’t sit with anyone at lunch, okay? So, please, just leave me alone. But if you really must know, my name is Christian DaVinci.”

DaVinci… I smiled slightly to myself at the name. I didn’t have anything else to say to him, though, so I continued to sit in silence, praying that the bell would ring soon.

“I’m gonna leave now. Feel free to leave me alone,” Christian said, getting up from the bench and walking away.

He looked like the typical goth kid, or whatever they’re called. Decked out completely in black, with dyed hair and piercings. But I also knew enough that I shouldn’t, wouldn’t, judge a book by its cover.

Ever.

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(A/N: Well that was the first chapter of Belle’s generation!!! I’m really excited to be learning more about dyslexia and how it will play a role in her becoming an author. I’m super stoked for this generation and I hope you all are too! Christian DaVinci, in case you couldn’t guess, has the last name of a famous artist. Art and Music is the naming theme this generation! I hope you enjoyed and I’ll see you next time!)

She never slows down…

Arts. There were a lot of forms of them. Singing, dancing, writing, and most importantly…painting. The art of painting was a beautiful thing, rarely appreciated by anyone under the age of 50. But it was my passion; my calling. Every brushstroke told a story.

It told my story.

She doesn’t know why but she knows that when she’s all alone, it feels like it’s all coming down…

I hated school. I hated it so much that some mornings I would make myself sick in order to make Dad let me stay home. There were no arts at school. Just people. Mean, judgmental people.

To be honest, I didn’t have many friends. Sure, a few kids would sometimes ask me if I wanted to trade animal crackers for Grandma’s amazing pudding, but other than that I ate alone in the bathroom. Where no one could see me or make fun of me. I think it’s because I don’t have a mommy. All of the other kids at school have both parents but I don’t.

School was hard for me, in general. I was taken to the doctor about a year after my Dad came home. The doctor ran some tests on me and I heard him tell my Dad about this big word called “dyslexia” but I don’t know what it is. All I know is that I hate reading out loud in class. I’m so slow and all of the kids laugh at me when I mix up my words.

She won’t turn around…

My bedroom was my safe-haven. It was where I could go to cry, or scream, or sing as loud as I possibly could without being told to stop. It was a place where I could paint my feelings without getting a grade for doing it. It was a place where I could dream outside the box.

It was a place just for me and my thoughts…and no one else.

The shadows are long and she fears if she cries that first tear the tears will not stop raining down…

I do love it when my Dad reads to me, though. I was scared of him for awhile. I didn’t know who he was or why he suddenly wanted to be a part of my life. My sister hated him and I couldn’t remember him, so I fed off of her angry emotions. Sooner or later, though, I learned to trust him. And now he reads me to sleep every night, no matter how late he has to work.

My favorite stories are love stories. Even though I know that there is no such thing as “happily ever after”, especially for a loser like me, it’s fun to dream about the fairytale world. Sometimes, I have dreams I am the princess, waiting to be rescued by the prince. But he never comes, so I have to fend for myself. Which is fine, since Daddy told me that it’s a sign of independence.

So stand in the rain, stand your ground. Stand up when it’s all crashing down…

Ariella is everything I wish I could be and more. She’s outgoing, smart, funny, and charming. Almost all of the boys at school have asked her out at least twice and every time she says yes. Nothing bad ever happens to her either–like when it happened to mommy and daddy–so I guess that means she plays it safe, whatever that means.

She looks out for me at school. Sometimes she can get her friends’ siblings to play with me for a little while. It’s pathetic, having your big sister try to find friends for you.

But honestly, I don’t mind, as long as there is an easel with fresh paints waiting for me when I get home I’m happy.

Stand through the pain, you won’t drown…

The morning of my 15th birthday I was less than excited for. I started high school tomorrow and high school meant that there would be a larger amount of kids to bully me. Sure, Ariella was a senior and everything, but it wasn’t like she could save me from getting dumped in the trashcan on the first day or getting my head stuck in the toilet.

And one day what’s lost can be found if you stand in the rain…

High school here I come.

He’s gone! He’s gone and I can’t get him to come back no matter what I do! Pets expansion pack why do you hate me so?! For whatever reason, the disk uninstalled itself when I took it out of my computer! And it WON’T REINSTALL no matter what I do!
Michelangelo was the newest member of the Everdeen family…and while I miss him dearly the show must go on, with or without pets. So that means I need to rework Belle’s storyline. Yep, Belle Everdeen is the newest heiress and I think she’s quite beautiful if I do say so myself!

Anyway, I’m pretty peeved at the Sims right now so I’m just going to go turn off the computer and scream at workers at Disneyland. (not really, but I am pretty mad)

Wasn’t he a cutie, though?! I even adopted him from the Shelter!!!

My knees were trembling and it wasn’t just from the cold. She had given me a new address and promised she wouldn’t tell Mom and Dad. Through text message, I couldn’t tell whether or not my sister was happy with my decision to come back. But then again, Marley was recently married and nine months pregnant, so I guess she was just tired.

The door opened to reveal an older looking man. If it weren’t for his bright blue eyes I never would’ve known it was Dad. He had more wrinkles than the last time that I saw him, but he looked happy.

Guilt ate away at my insides. My decisions flashed in my mind, like a giant flip book of my biggest mistakes–teen pregnancy, womanizing, leaving…all of it. And it hurt.

“Err, hi Mom, hi Dad,” I said sheepishly, looking away from their faces. I didn’t need to see their judgmental glares or the tears that would well up in my mom’s eyes.

“Landon?” Dad said, his voice gentle but I knew it was laced with years of pent up anger and aggression.

When i finally looked up, Mom was….smiling. She was actually smiling! “Oh Landon, my boy! My baby boy! You came home! Oh, Jack, can you believe this? I spent every night praying for you to come back, Landon! And now you’re here! Oh, wow. I’m so happy! Are you hungry or tired from your trip? We just had supper so there are leftovers in the fridge. Oh, and the house is decorated for Christmas and everything already! I’m sure you want to see it!”

“Mom,” I said, cutting her off. “I know I owe everyone an extreme amount of apologies…but I’d really just love to see my daughters.”

My daughters… The two beautiful girls I left behind. How much of their lives had I missed out on? How many career days, nightmares, graduations, and triumphs had I not been there for? Probably too many to count. And while I knew I owed them the biggest apology of them all, a small feeling deep inside me told me that they would never accept it.

As I side-stepped my parents to walk in the front door, I saw my Mom rush into Dad’s arms. They were both crying and holding each other like they had been reunited again after twenty years. And while it made me feel a little bit better that they accepted me back into their lives after years of absence, it also made me feel guiltier for leaving in the first place.

Good. It was what I deserved.

When I walked inside, a girl…no, a woman, was standing in the entryway. Her facial features looked familiar, even though they were caked with makeup. Her hair, although it looked as if it had been run through a lawnmower, was that same piercing auburn color. Emma’s hair.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Ariella was already a teenager. She was close to the age that Emma and I were when we conceived her. And she was a beautiful combination of the two of us.

Beside her was a younger girl with a scared expression on her face. Her eyes darted away from mine the second I tried to make eye contact. Her brown hair, which resembled mine and her grandfather’s, was neatly braided to the side. Her facial features reflected Emma’s, though, and there was no mistaking whose daughter she was.

Belle.

My precious baby girl…terrified of her own father. I knew in that heart-breaking instant that she didn’t recognize me. She was too young when I left to remember who her own father was. And judging by the way Ariella was glaring at me, I’m sure she hadn’t told Belle anything about their father.

“Hey,” I said, extending my hand towards my youngest daughter. “You don’t need to be afraid…I know you probably don’t remember me, but  I’m your daddy. And I’m here to stay!”

She took off like a jet before I even got to say anything more. I stood there, my hand grasping nothing except the air. Ariella scowled at me before taking off after her little sister.

“Way to go…dad,” Ariella yelled behind her as she took off up the stairs.

There were no words to describe how awful I felt in that moment. All of those years I was gone…all of those precious moments, all of the laughter I didn’t hear and all of the tears I didn’t wipe away. Everything. I left raising my own children up to my parents! My children trusted them. My children loved them.

Belle didn’t even remember me! My own daughter was terrified of me! And it was all my fault….

“Don’t worry, son,” Dad said. He and Mom had obviously witnessed the whole ordeal.

“She’ll come around. I promise,” Mom said. “Belle is a bit…skittish around new people. She doesn’t have many friends at school and she doesn’t say much when she’s at home, either. I’m sure meeting you just spooked her a bit, don’t take it too harshly.”

My own daughter was becoming a social outcast and I wasn’t even there to help her through it! What kind of a father does that? I’ll tell you what kind…the worst kind. My kind.

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(Ariella’s POV)

How dare he come back right now! How could he think, after years without a single note or card or phone call, that he can just walk back into my life and expect everything to be just the way it was before he left?! I don’t even freaking remember anything I liked about my Dad in the first place! He was weak. He still is weak.

Grandma and Grandpa told me about what he was doing. They told me it was just for his “job” and that he’d be back soon. I believed it. I believed every word of it. Then, after a few years, on my thirteenth birthday I finally gave up. I finally stopped caring about him. If he didn’t want to be a part of my life then I sure as hell wasn’t going to want him in it. Now, only about a year and a half later, he finally decided my sister and I were worth it?

Yeah, right…he probably just ran out of women in Bridgeport.

He knocked on my door shortly after I ran upstairs to calm down Belle. Ever since Dad left, she had regressed socially. It was a gradual process and no one even realized it until she had to start all-day 1st grade a few years ago. She screamed and cried to Grandma, complaining about how “the other kids think I’m weird” or “no one wants to be my friend because I’m too quiet in class”. Grandpa swore it was just a phase…but it got worse over time. Nowadays, she gets to school as late as she possibly can and leaves school the second the bell rings.

I blame him for that, too.

“What do you want, Landon?” I asked, putting emphasis on his name so he knew that I wasn’t going to call him ‘dad’ anymore. Nope, he had lost that title when he left.

He looked at me with sad eyes but I just scowled back. I can’t believe my mother fell in love with that scumbag…

“I’m here to say hello to my two beautiful princesses! I know I owe you guys huge apologies, but can I at least hug my girls first?”

He reached down to hug Belle and her eyes grew wide with terror. She flailed her arms and stumbled backwards out of his grasp.

The look of hurt in Landon’s eyes made my stomach flip-flop with joy. Good. He deserves to hurt.

“She really doesn’t remember me, does she?” he said, more to himself than to me. Then, turning to me, he said, “I know I don’t deserve any of your love. But tonight I want you to know two things: the first is that I love you and your sister more than my own life. I know actions speak louder than words, and right now, I have years to catch up on. But you need to know that I never stopped thinking about you two. And secondly, I’m going to make it up to you both. I don’t know how or when, but I will. I promise.”

“Want to make it up to me?” I asked, sighing and acting as bored as possible. “Then leave. Go back to Bridgeport and get all of the STD’s in the book, if you haven’t already! Belle and I don’t want you here. We were doing just fine on our own.”

My voice choked up at those last words and I mentally cursed myself for it. The truth was, we weren’t doing fine on our own. We miss our Dad like crazy! I tried to remind Belle of who he is…or I guess, who he was, everyday since he left. But I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

“Well, I suppose I’ll be getting to bed, then,” He said, stretching and yawning like he was actually tired. “Goodnight, girls. I love you both.”

I nodded curtly towards the door. He wasn’t going to get a “goodnight” or an “I love you” from me anytime soon. Besides, I now had the almost impossible duty of calming Belle down.

After he left, I bent down to hug Belle. I whispered softly in her ear and she hugged me tightly.

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked. “Why am I always so afraid?”

“It’s because you’re special, sweetheart. You need to get to know someone before you can like them. It’s actually a good thing–I think you’re a very good judge of character!”

“Really?”

“Mhmm.”

_____________________________________________________________________

(Belle’s POV)

I didn’t want to be shy or afraid of people I didn’t know. The kids at school call me a “scardy-cat”. Grandma told me that I shouldn’t listen to the way they talk, because sometimes kids can be mean, but I can’t help it.

I’ve seen this man before. Grandma and Grandpa have pictures of him around the house. I guess he’s my Daddy, but I don’t know for sure. Ariella would never tell me about our parents. Except my Mom, but she isn’t alive anymore.

People always ask me why I’m so quiet but I never have an answer for them. I guess it’s because I’m not as pretty as my sister. Ariella is the most gorgeous girl I have ever met. I don’t look like her at all… Everyone says I look like my Mom but I don’t see it. My mom had beautiful hair, just like my sister, and I was stuck with brown.

The one time I’m completely at peace is when I’m painting. I love the way the brush strokes across the canvas in beautiful, colorful lines. Grandpa tells me that I get it from his side of the family. Grandma begs to differ, though.  She told me about how my Great-Uncle Jem used to paint when he was my age. Ariella used to paint, too, but I guess she lost interest when she started liking boys.

Painting is like my relief…my escape when things get too hard. Paints never judge, never criticize, or talk behind your back. They are always there when you need them and are never upset if you use them.

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(Landon’s POV)

The room was quiet and dreary. I’m not sure how long it’s been prepared for me. My parents gave me the master bedroom before I even moved back. It was like they knew I was coming back. But it didn’t matter. Not anymore.

Ariella hated me and Belle was downright terrified of me. I couldn’t live with them like that. I didn’t want to ruin their lives…but I had nowhere else to go. I couldn’t move back with Kim, she had made it clear that her career was more important than a relationship. And I couldn’t go back to my heartbreaking ways…not after the dream with Emma and my relationship with Kim.

I couldn’t sleep that night. The sheets were too cold, too foreign. They lacked the faint smell of Emma’s perfume and Ariella’s shampoo when she came to sleep with me at night after her nightmares.

So I wandered the halls.

A small door was located at the end of the hallway upstairs. The door was locked but the key was on top of the door frame. I unlocked it and stepped inside but I never would have guessed the room’s contents.

Small tables lined up had artifacts from my family’s accomplishments. I was sad to see that Grandma Annabeth’s table was empty, but Mom’s and mine was filled with flowers and pictures. Emma’s face was smiling in each of my pictures and I realized that no matter how much I wanted to love someone else, I couldn’t. And even though she couldn’t be here to love me, too, her love was left inside the two precious hearts of my children.

Except the love in their hearts didn’t beat for me anymore.

Let’s go back… Back to the beginning…

But I was determined, no matter how long it would take, to get them to love me again. Even though I didn’t deserve it. Even though I may never have it again. It would be my dying wish…for them to love me until my heart stops beating.

Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars, were all aligned… I’m coming clean.

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(A/N: So this generation didn’t really end on a happy note…but honestly, it would be too unrealistic if it did. Landon needs to deal with the consequences of his actions and it seems that is what he’ll be doing for the remainder of his life-bar (and we’ve got a long ways to go since he had Ariella as a teen). This is the last “official” chapter of Generation 3! I’m going to post a Christmas mini-chapter but after that our Generation 4 Heiress will take the reigns! And I’m excited to tell you all who it is going to be!!! Thanks for sticking with me thus far! I’m so thankful for each and every one of my readers!!!)

She stood up and for a split second I felt whatever was left of my heart break. She couldn’t leave me! Not now. Not when I was finally going to move back home!

But I couldn’t find the words to tell her that.

“Please, Kim,” I begged, rushing over to her and grabbing her hands. They were cold and the sensation of holding them was so odd that I almost let go. “Please. Meet my daughters, my family… I’m not trying to make you a wife or anything–at least not right away–but could you consider moving in with me?”

“I’m thrilled that you asked me, Landon, but…” she trailed off and looked away from my gaze.

“But what?” I pushed. Waiting for her answer was like having a thousand needles stuck in your body and having someone take one needle out every minute.

“It’s just that…. I’ve never left Bridgeport before. My home, what’s left of my family, my career.”

“Baby,” I said, pulling her into a hug. “Don’t worry. You’ll have me! There are plenty of jobs for beautiful women like you in Riverview. A writing job, even. Please Kim?”

She pulled away from the hug and I knew she was going to say no.

“Yes.”

“Well, okay, but– Wait, yes?”

She nodded. “Yes. I’ll go back to Riverview with you.”

My face probably looked like a child on Christmas. “Oh my God, Kim! Thank you so much! I’ll call you about all the moving details later, alright?”

She merely nodded and I rushed home to start packing.

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Even if you think you don’t have a lot of stuff, trust me when I say that you do have a lot more stuff than you think. Packing took up most of mine and Kim’s time to spend together. We knew that moving back into a house with children meant we couldn’t be as…intimate…as we were before.

“Hey Miss Riverview,” I said, pulling her close after a long day. “Wanna go take a shower? And to, you know, save money we should probably take one together.”

“Well Mr. Bad-Boy-Turned-Daddy, I guess it couldn’t hurt,” she said, smiling back at me.

“I wasn’t that bad,” I joked.

“You were terrible,” she said back.

And I guess in those next few moments, I was pretty terrible.

After she stepped out of the shower, Kim was less than thrilled. She looked almost…scared. And it alarmed me. Did I hurt her? Is she okay?

“Love, what’s wrong?” I asked, and I couldn’t keep the fear in my voice from surfacing.

“Oh, nothing,” she said but I could tell that something was definitely going on. “It’s just that I’ve got somewhere I need to be. For my job… And I totally forgot about it!”

“Oh,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Well, in that case, go ahead. Just make sure you’re ready to leave in two days!”

She got dressed faster than I ever thought possible for a woman and she ran out the door. Something was bothering her. I could tell. And although I wanted to sit her down and ask, I felt as if the answer would tear us apart. So I decided to keep my mouth shut about it.

She didn’t come back that night. I called and texted but there was never an answer. I didn’t know if she was avoiding me or if she was just busy. But the move was tomorrow morning and if I didn’t hear from her…well, I guess I would have to consider myself dumped.

That night, for the first time since I arrived in Bridgeport, I went to sleep alone. She wasn’t calling and she wasn’t going to ever call again. It was over. She left. I knew she probably had her reasons–reasons I wouldn’t be able to understand. And I didn’t hate her for it. I still loved her, and I always would love her.

___________________________________________________________________

I sat down that morning with a heavy heart. This was it. I was moving today…alone. The paper was personally delivered to my doorstep, which hardly ever happened. Reluctantly, I picked it up and walked back to the couch to skim through it. However, I was surprised to find a familiar picture on the front page. The heading read: “Don’t Judge a Book By It’s Cover: the REAL Landon Everdeen” written by: Kimberly Sue.

My heart pounded violently inside of my chest. An article written about me…from my ex-girlfriend? It couldn’t be good…but I still loved her, so I flipped to the article.

Most people say athletes are stuck up and only care about themselves and materialistic things. If you asked me that today, I’d probably still say it were true. But like all stories, there is always a dark horse. Landon Everdeen, a former Riverview resident, came to Bridgeport with big dreams. And I can be honest when I say that those dreams didn’t have to do with baseball. He was a womanizer, a drunk, and had a downright awful sailor’s mouth. When I had to write about him for my blog, I was less than thrilled.

I wanted to cry. In fact, I’m sure I probably did. She was bashing me in front of everyone in Bridgeport the morning I was leaving it behind. Was it for revenge or just good publicity for her writing? Either way, I wasn’t angry with her.

Just extremely sad.

But when I met him in person, he seemed…off. Like a million things were running through his mind all at once. He was nervous around me and I had to start every conversation. I could tell from the moment he started talking about his past, he had something major to hide. As a blog writer, I should have begged him to tell me so I could tell the public. But I didn’t.

He took me to the beach after we ditched the other people we were double-dating with (sorry Steph and Luke!). It was there that I got the first taste of his real personality. And I didn’t know how or why, but I could find myself falling for him. But it was only a little.

He told me about his past, his hopes and dreams, everything. And those hopes and dreams lied in two wonderful little girls I am never going to have the pleasure of meeting. Yes, that’s right, Landon Everdeen is a father. His daughters, Ariella and Belle, live in Riverview with their grandparents. That’s why he is leaving Bridgeport and let me make that perfectly clear. It isn’t because of too much publicity or a pregnancy scare, it’s because he misses his daughters. And no matter how much I’m in love with him, I couldn’t intrude on his life anymore. His daughters deserve his full attention. I couldn’t be the mother that they lost; I would never measure up to the task.

So next time someone asks me if a baseball player is stuck up or rude before I meet them, I’m going to say no. Because no matter how much he wants to think he’s a ‘player’, I know in my heart that Landon Everdeen is a wonderful man who deserves better than the life that he got. Which is why he needs to leave. Landon, I love you, but please just forget about me. Go back to your daughters and live the life you were always meant to live. Please?

-Kimberly Sue

I closed the article and sighed. So she left me because she didn’t think she could ever be a good mother? I knew the real reason, though. It was her career. She was finally a newspaper columnist, something she had always wanted. I couldn’t take that from her. So I folded up the paper and stuffed it in my last suitcase. I would be going back today, without her.

And it was something I actually wanted to do.

I called the subway station and got a ride to Riverview in three hours. I walked out of the house with three important things: the letter I received from my parents when I first moved, the newspaper article Kim wrote about me, and for the first time ever…I walked out with a need to see my children again.

But what I wasn’t expecting was running into her. We exchanged glances. A look of apology, a look of love, a look of “I’ll see you again someday”.

“You leaving right now?” she asked.

I nodded. “Thanks…for the article. You’re a talented writer.”

“Landon,” she said, pulling me into a hug. “I’m going to miss you! Please understand that this isn’t what I want…but it’s what’s best.”

“I know. I’ll miss you, too,” I said. “And thanks for everything. Really. You’ll never know how you healed me…but you did.”

“Well, I’ve got a subway to catch and you’ve got a job to get to,” I said from inside of the elevator.

“I love you,” she called from the outside.

I simply smiled weakly at her. She shouldn’t love me; I don’t deserve it. “Don’t,” I said back just as the elevator door closed.

I’m going to the place where love and feeling good don’t ever cost a thing… I’m going home.

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(A/N: I don’t have much to say about this chapter. It made me cry… And please don’t hate Kim for what she did. In the end, she still loves him, and only wants what is best for Landon and his children. The next chapter will be the last of this generation! I’m excited but going to miss Landon and his story!)

What? It’s been a little over 2 months since I updated? No! How can this be?! I was on top of things…I-I swear! I actually was cast in a musical, which took up almost all of my time and I just got myself a boyfriend, too. So I want to apologize! I hope you enjoy the chappy!

The sound of her inhaling sharply made me wild. I knew about her morals; I knew if she was selfish enough to care about herself that she wouldn’t be doing this. But the problem was that she wasn’t selfish. She was going to let me have my way with her because I was hurting.

I felt… dirty.

“Kimberly,” I said, letting her name roll of my tongue as I gently set her down on the bed. “This might hurt for a second, okay? Are you sure you want to do this?”

She looked up at me with sparkling eyes and nodded. “I…I love you, Landon.”

I leaned down to kiss her once. “I love you, too.”

_____________________________________________________________

When I woke up, I expected to find myself lying next to Kim, snuggling her beautiful body close to mine. But that wasn’t the case. I found myself in a house with a familiar apple-cinnamon aroma surrounding me. I glanced around, taking in the familiar-yet-distant surroundings. It felt like a dream, but I remembered waking up.

I felt a chill before I saw her. Standing in front of me, like a beautiful goddess, stood my gorgeous Emma. She was smiling at me through her transparent purple glow. Her white eyes lit up like I remembered seeing them so many times. I could hear my name on her lips, softly like a quite whisper in the trees, and my heart longed for her.

“Emma,” I breathed, her presence overwhelming and yet surreal at the same time. She wore what I could only assume to be what would have been her wedding dress. Beautiful and simple, fitting for her once pregnant belly.

“Landon,” she said. “I missed you…”

Ariella stumbled into the family room not long after. No words were exchanged between mother and daughter, just a look of pure adoration passed through them. Ariella wasn’t old enough to remember Emma, but I knew the second that she saw her ghostly mother, she wasn’t afraid.

I snuggled Belle close to me as Emma read Ariella a beautiful story about love and loss–with a happy ending, of course. I felt like a family again. Like how we were meant to be all along. It didn’t matter that she was a ghost or that I could never physically touch her ever again.

And while another face danced beautifully in the back of my mind, I couldn’t bring myself to put her above Emma. I still loved Emma. I always had and I always would.

Emma leaned down to kiss our sleeping daughter. So many memories filled the room at her touch. Our teenage love, the love that created Ariella, blossomed in that tiny kiss. I felt my heart swell with a love that all of the women I’ve had combined couldn’t fill.

“I miss you…so much,” I whispered into her shoulder. I couldn’t physically feel her touch, just cold air surrounding my body. I could see her though, and that was enough for me to know it was real.

“I miss you too, Lan,” she whispered back, her cool breath tickling my ear. “But your children miss you more. Whether we want to admit it or not, it was my time to go. But we made two beautiful babies together and you can’t just give it up! I don’t want you to be unhappy, but you are never going to be truly happy until you let real love into your heart.

“I know banging women pleasures you, but aren’t your children the absolute amount of happiness? I understand if you love Kim, really, I do. But if you do decide that she is worth it, please bring her back to Riverview. Have her meet your–our–children. Have her meet Cosette, Jack, Marley, and Allie. Become a real person again, not an animal humping whatever it sees first… Please?”

I looked her in the eyes, tears blocking my vision. I knew what I had done was wrong. I deserved every punch, smack, scream, everything from the women I treated so horribly. And I knew deep down that Emma was right. But at the same time, was I really ready to give up the life I had in Bridgeport?

I couldn’t speak. My revelation was just too much. I needed to get back to Bridgeport and tell Kim about my plans. I needed to get away from this house.

But I couldn’t leave without giving the love of my life one last kiss. If I had known about her untimely death, I would have kissed her more often. But the cool air where her lips would be was all that would be possible now.

I kissed her and through the coldness I felt the heat. The spark…flaming brighter than it ever had before. Licking me up into the flames and surrounding my body.

Love. True love.

“Landon Everdeen, don’t ever forget how much I love you…” She said as her ghostly image started to fade. I wanted to reach out to grab her but I knew I couldn’t. If this was real, she would be back, and if it wasn’t…well, I would have this memory forever in my heart.

______________________________________________________________

The feeling of waking up felt like plunging into a freezing pool from an airplane. The reality, knowing that seeing my beautiful bride was only a dream, was almost too much for me.

I looked at Kim, pretty and peacefully sleeping. I loved the way her chest rose and fell with every breath. And even though I was still madly in love with Emma, I had room left in my wounded heart for Kim, too. Which is why making a decision was going to be harder than normal.

I didn’t notice the hot tears on my cheeks until they fell onto my chest. I was a complete and utter mess…and it was all over a dream, too! I would have gone and locked myself away if I wasn’t in so much pain.

I turned on the TV to try and get my mind off of things but all I could see was us. Our family… How it was supposed to be.

I felt her cool hands resting against my neck. Kim was awake… And her touch, though cool, sent a shock-wave through me. I wanted to think of it as guilt, but I knew it wasn’t. I was falling for Kimberly Sue, no doubt.

She was wearing one of my shirts she obviously got from the dresser I never touch anymore. And instead of asking me how my morning was, or why I was awake so early, she immediately kissed me. I groaned, but not from pleasure.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, a worried look flashing in her eyes. “Oh crap…was I really that bad? I’m so sorry, Landon! But you knew..I thought you knew…”

I chuckled halfheartedly. “No, no, babe, don’t worry about it! You were fine. I just…have a headache this morning. That’s all.”

She frowned and I winced. I hated seeing her unhappy. “You sound like you’re my wife,” she retorted. “But then again, I did have that ‘no kissing till your pure’ thing going on, so I suppose I can let you off easily this morning.”

I didn’t say anything; I couldn’t. Every breath I took, every second I was around her, felt like I was betraying the woman I truly loved.

“Look, how about I come back later…or even tomorrow, and you can tell me what’s bothering you, alright?” she offered, an exasperated yet sympathetic look in her eyes.

I still didn’t say anything and I felt bad about it. I didn’t want her to think that I was ignoring her!

I could see the tears forming in her eyes as I remained silent. Kim never cried. Never. So when I saw her tears, I felt like an even bigger monster than I already was.

“You…you could have just told me that I was too much of a virgin for you!” she whispered, sobs choking her words. “You didn’t have to lead me on like this…”

“But I didn’t–” I started, but then trailed off as I realized it was useless.

“Landon Everdeen, don’t even bother coming to look for me,” Kim said, her icy words oozing venom.

It cut me like a knife but I couldn’t feel my legs to run after her. She needed time to cool down and I knew, in time, she would.

I found her a few hours later at the Butterfly Esplanade. It wasn’t hard to tell that she had been crying. If I learned anything from wooing multiple women, I knew that the best way to their hearts is to ask them what they like. Kim liked butterflies so her being at the Esplanade wasn’t too hard to figure out.

“Kimmy,” I said softly and her bottom lip quivered in a mixture of anger and sadness.

“May I sit?” I asked her, an all-too-familiar feeling of de ja vu sweeping over me.

…..

“May I sit?” I asked.

“It’s a free country,” she responded, her green eyes probing me.

“I’m Landon. Landon Everdeen,” I said, trying to make my voice sound light but realizing how much it actually trembled. What was wrong with me? I was never like this when it came to girls!

….

“If you are just going to ignore me again then no,” Kim said, bringing me back to reality.

“I promise I won’t,” I said.

She looked at me with her big brown eyes, irritated and red from crying. She sighed, although I couldn’t tell if it was out of relief or anguish, as I tried to wrap my arm around her.

“So I’m guessing you decided that lame, virgin sex is better than none at all? she asked, bitter humor in her words.

I shook my head but couldn’t find any words to reassure her…nothing felt the same anymore. I loved her and yet I didn’t. I still loved Emma and yet I couldn’t.

“C’mon, baby,” I said, leaning closer to her. “You know you were amazing.”

She exhaled slowly and leaned in to kiss me.

But it was cold.

It was as if neither of us wanted to put any emotion into it. It was as if she knew, all along, that this wasn’t going to work out.

But I wanted it to work out…I needed it to work out. As much as I was scared to admit it, I loved Kim…I just loved Emma, too. My children needed a mother figure in their lives, I needed a beautiful and caring woman. With Kim, it could all work out. She was everything I wanted and more.

Accept she wasn’t.

“We need to talk, though,” I said and her lips immediately drooped into a frown. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad…it’s just something I feel we should resolve right here and right now.”

She looked at me for a split second before she looked away. I could see fresh tears forming in her eyes.”You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you? Well, I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. You never could be tied down, Landon.”

She shook her head and chuckled to herself, as if the joke was on her. As if she was the one who deserved to be hurt.

“No, it’s something much more important than that,” I said, taking a deep breath.

I felt the way my hands became clammy, the way my heart was racing. This was it, now or never. My future–our future–was hanging in the balance. The one simple question I needed answered was arriving.

“Kimberly Sue,” I started, my voice shaking. “I want, no, need, you to move back to Riverview with me. Next week.”

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(A/N: Will she say yes?! Will she say no?! Will I ever get past the 3rd generation?! Find out all of this and more next time with the Everdeen’s! Thanks for reading, if anyone is still out there after my long, totally inexcusable break…)

The beach? Or, I guess it’s more of a lake… It wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when I said we should go somewhere else. I thought Kim was just going to be another notch on my belt, so to speak, but I think she might by different.

Still, it didn’t take away from her beauty as she stood across from the lake, the setting sun illuminating all of her features so gracefully. I shook my head. This was not going to happen.

“Isn’t Bridgeport beautiful?” I asked, feeling the way her warm hand brushed against mine for only a second.

She shrugged. “I suppose, if your a city kind of person. But I think the lazy days in Riverview are actually prettier.”

Riverview. My home.

My family…

She turned to look at me when I didn’t say anything back. She smiled mischievously, and for once in my life I didn’t know what a woman was going to say to me.

“Let’s go swimming!”

The water was beyond freezing but that didn’t stop Kim from splashing it all over my body. The darker it got, however, the colder it was. Soon enough, Kim found herself shivering from the icy water. Being the gentleman that I am, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. Her shivering subsided and her breathing even again–our hearts beating just a bit faster than normal.

One step at a time, there’s no need to rush… It’s like learning to fly…

Or falling in love…

Cooking was not my specialty. Even back at home, when I had a family to provide for, I didn’t cook. Mom cooked everything for me. So, to save myself from embarrassment, I made sure to read the directions three times over.

“You’re burning them, Bobby Flay,” Kim joked, her soft yet rough voice ringing out into the darkness.

I frowned. For whatever reason, whether I wanted her in bed or I just wanted her, impressing her was weighing  heavily on my mind.

Despite the fact that the hot dogs were burned beyond recognition, Kim wolfed them down like she hadn’t eaten in days. I doubt she even tasted them, which I guess is a good thing.

“You know, you don’t have to eat them if you don’t like them,” I muttered, still upset about burning them to a crisp.

She giggled. “It’s the thought that counts right? Besides, they are half bad.”

I’m not sure whether it was the dim city lights, the fact that she ate my cooking, or that tonight was the first of many nights that I didn’t bang someone, but I could feel my heart slowly slipping out of my grasp and floating firmly into Kim’s.

_____________________________________________________________

The more time I spent with Kim, the more I realized that I liked her for more than a one night stand. I had even told her that I liked her, and even though she refused to admit the feelings back, I knew they were there. I could see it in her eyes.

It was on one fateful, rainy day a few months later that she finally asked me the question I was hoping she would never ask. We were cuddling on my bed–cuddling only, never kissing, never touching–when she looked me in the eyes. I knew it couldn’t be good, but I also knew that she didn’t judge me when I satisfied my needs with other women.

“I want to know why you moved here,” she said, her breath tickling my face, making it hard for me to resist her every move.

“I moved here to find you, obviously,” I said, lightly kissing her.

She never allowed me to kiss her lips as long as I was being unfaithful to her. We had never kissed, no matter how much I begged. She wanted to make sure I was ready for commitment before she let her guard down and let me in. I think it’s kind of stupid, but as long as she lets me be with other women, then I don’t argue.

She sighed and nestled closer to me. My heart sped up and I knew the second that she was close to me, I couldn’t control what happened.

“Your sweet but I’m sure your 30 or so other ‘bed mates’, or whatever, would tell me that you said the same thing to them. Tell me the truth, please?”

I took a deep breath and decided to tell my story one final time. “Back in high school, I met a girl named Emma. She was the most beautiful creature to ever walk the earth…” I stopped and noticed the way Kim was smiling at me, like she was hanging on my every word.

“Well, besides you, of course,” I quickly corrected myself but she just waved it away. “Anyway, I promised myself that I would make her mine. She was the women who took my virginity, just like I took hers. Then, as most of these stories go, she got pregnant. But I didn’t run away. I couldn’t. Knowing that my child was inside of her made her all the more beautiful…

“And then, when my baby Ariella was born, everything was perfect.”

“I don’t really understand,” Kim said gently. I could feel the barrier I had put between me and my family slowly starting to crumble. I could feel emotions seep through the cracks of my healing heart.

“I know,” I answered. “Everything was seemingly perfect. But life can’t always be like that, huh?”

“She was my fiancee,” I said and heard Kim’s breath catch in her throat. “I proposed the same day she told me that she was pregnant with our second daughter. I was in heaven… It was our wedding day. I had separated myself from her like all wedding days. I got to the church early to teach my oldest daughter how to walk down the aisle.

“It got later and darker and the wedding was supposed to have taken place an hour ago. I was worried that Emma had gotten cold feet and left. But now I wish that that was the case. She…she died that night, in a car accident.”

“And your unborn daughter?” Kim asked, her voice quivering slightly.

“Born prematurely. I didn’t ask about the details… So, now you know why I had to leave. Everywhere I went, I saw her face. I couldn’t even look at my own daughters without thinking of her.”

She gasped, the dark story of my past finally clicking in her mind. “So you used women to heal your open wounds…” she trailed off, both of us knowing that it was true.

“Yes, but I swear to God that I would never, ever try to take advantage of you the way I do other women.” My voice broke and I looked away. This wasn’t how I wanted her to see me. Landon Everdeen did not cry.

I looked her in the eyes, desperately grabbing at her hand, trying to prove to her somehow that I wasn’t lying. She looked as though she was ready to walk out of my life forever. The final edges of my barrier melted away, exposing my wounded heart.

I couldn’t lose her now.

“I know,” she whispered softly, pressing her sweet lips to mine for the first time. They were full and perfect, just like her. My newly exposed heart was beating loudly, protesting my every move yet urging me on at the same time.

She left shortly after, a pink hue dancing wildly on her cheeks. I watched her as she went, wondering if she was even worth it. She was a blogger; it was her job. What if she decided to go tell the world my back story for money? What if she is just using me for her own personal gain?

I suppose I deserved it. I took advantage of so many women and then left them on the streets when I was finished. I wanted pleasure. It was the only thing I had ever known. To love a women who I actually loved would be greater pleasure than any other.

Later that night, I called her. “Kim,” I said, my voice thick with need. “I need you.”

I pinned her against the wall the moment she got there. She knew what I wanted and she didn’t care this time. Hungrily, she let me trail kisses up her exposed skin, telling me that everything was going to be okay.

But this time, “okay” wasn’t good enough.

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(A/N: Okay, let’s get one thing straight. Landon is NOT a rapist, no matter how much he seems to be in this chapter. Kim LET him do that to her because she loves him and knows that he is hurting. Alright… Anyway, we are almost done with Generation 3!!! I know, it took me long enough, huh? I already have generation 4 planned out and I’m super excited! Thanks for reading!)

Dear Landon,

I know that hearing from us is probably the last thing on your mind, but I thought it might be nice for you to have a letter from home with you out there in the big city. Your father just retired from his job as a CEO. I know you were never all that interested in your father’s and mine work, but I wanted to let you know that he is very happy. Me? No, I’m not planning on retiring any time soon. Not working would probably send me to an early grave!

And since I am sure that you are wondering about your daughters, I have enclosed a few pictures of them. Ariella is loving school! She has many play dates with her friends, although she never invites them over to our house. She is also very much into baking and drawing. Marley and Jack have been teaching her the basics of sketching and I’d say we’ve got quite the little artist on our hands! She also bakes the most delicious muffins–and I’m not just saying that because I am her grandma.

Ariella isn’t too fond of homework, though. She struggles with Math and English, but then again, a lot of kids do so I don’t think it is anything to worry about. I help her as best as I can and she gets mostly B’s with some A’s so I think she is doing alright.

Belle is also doing very well. Jack and I have been teaching her how to walk and she is picking it up rather well! I remember when you were that little. Belle reminds me of you so much, but she also reminds me of her mother–a very beautiful baby through and through. She says small words like “gamma” and “poppy” but her favorite word is “Awwy”–for Ariella. Your daughters are very close, Landon, I’m sure you would be proud.

I read Belle to sleep every night. She loves her “stowies” and I can see what a bright imagination she already has! Her favorites are about heroic princes sweeping the beautiful maidens off of their feet and into the sunset. I can tell you are going to have a hopeless romantic on your hands someday.

Allie is still as odd as ever. She has taken up protesting against something I couldn’t even begin to explain to you about. She is very independent, though, and I am so proud of how smart she is. She doesn’t have many female friends at school and she prefers the company of the new twin boys at her school, Taylor and Jacob. Jacob seems smitten with her, although I’m not sure if Taylor is into her…or girls for that matter.

And last but not least, Marley. She recently graduated at the top of her class and is going to go into the Arts/Writing career. While her endeavors seem a bit impossible, she also has something more important to worry about at the moment.

If you were thinking she was pregnant, think again. She actually just got married! We would have sent you an invitation, but we weren’t sure if you could get away from your job–or females, if the tabloids are correct. Todd proposed to her and while 19 years old is a bit young for couples nowadays, I can see the love that radiates between them and I know it is going to work out.

This is just one of the many weddings photos taken. The photographer actually said she knew you, dear! Isn’t that amazing? She said her name was Giselle. Does that ring a bell? Anyway, the wedding was gorgeous and both of your daughters participated in it. I feel so old now that my two of my babies are grown up…

To close this letter, I was wondering when you are planning on coming home? I know the girls miss you terribly. Ariella talks about you a lot and she told me to tell you, “Hi Daddy! I love you and miss you! I hope you are having fun in Bridgeport! We learned about it in History class and I said ‘my daddy lives there’! The other kids laughed at me and asked why my Daddy didn’t live with me, but I told them it was because you were going to be a professional sports player. All of the kids think I’m pretty cool now.”

See what I mean? She needs her father, Landon. But this is your life and we are perfectly content looking after your two beautiful daughters. We miss you, sweetheart. Please come home soon!

Love,

Cosette (mom), Jack (dad), Marley, Allie, Ariella, and Belle

_______________________________________________________________

I didn’t know what to say, do, or even think. My children were fine, which was a plus, but it was so blatantly obvious that my mother was trying to guilt me into coming home. No matter what she said, it wasn’t going to work. I folded the letter and stuffed it inside my dresser with no intentions of writing back. She could guilt me as much as she wanted but the fact of the matter was that I just wasn’t coming home.

Stephanie and Luke insisted that they pay for the meal, even though I had more than enough to pay for 10 lobster and steak dinners. That being said, they were both on a college kid’s salary and so eating out at the cheapest Bistro on the block was the only option.

I didn’t know what to expect when I got there. I didn’t know who the girl I would be blind dating was or anything about her. I hoped, for my sake, that she was at least a tiny bit attractive.

And even if she wasn’t, it was only for one night.

I met Stephanie and Luke and quickly began making conversation with them so I could take my mind off of the letter and the mystery girl.

“So, where is she?” I asked, knowing that talking about the girl was inevitable.

“I’m not sure. She texted Stephanie about thirty minutes ago and told her that she wasn’t sure about doing this anymore,” Luke answered and I felt slightly insulted.

Surely they had told her who I was, right?

“Hello,” she said, her voice assertive but not seductive like so many other girls I know. “I’m Kimberly, but you can–and will–call me Kim.”

I stared at her for a moment, wondering why my smooth introduction refused to come out of my mouth. I felt a familiar twinge of pain in my chest and I realized that her all-too-familiar personality was what was causing it.

Assertive but not seductive…Emma.

She flashed me a smile and I felt my heart stop momentarily. No, no, no! This wasn’t good!!! Women were for one thing and one thing only…pleasure. Not love, not feelings, just a one night stand.

“What, you don’t have a name?” she asked, laughing although there was a slight edge to her words.

“Oh, sorry, yeah…” I cleared my throat and looked away from her piercing chocolate brown eyes so I could talk. “I’m Landon. Landon Everdeen.”

She smiled and nodded. “I know who you are. It’s good publicity for a writer, you know? Going out with a baseball player.”

So that was her ulterior motive to agreeing to date me?

Kim and I stood awkwardly side by side and it reminded me of being in 4th grade with your first crush. You like them and they like you, but you are both too shy to do anything except stand four feet away from each other.

Luke had taken Steph to go sit down and I stared at them like I was a desperately lost puppy. I didn’t know what to say to her! And that was definitely a first!

We sat down and I stupidly forgot to pull out her chair, but it wasn’t like it mattered anyway. This was a one time thing.

“So, tell me about yourself,” Kim urged after a long awkward silence. “I’m going to need details about your life if I want to write about our date on my blog.”

“Well,” I said, knowing that there was no way in hell that I was going to tell her about Ariella and Belle. Especially if she was planning on writing it all down on some stupid blog. “I like women.”

“I mean something that isn’t totally Neanderthal,” she said, crinkling her cute, pale nose in disgust.

More pain.

More guilt.

“Like, tell me about your hobbies and what you do in your spare time.”

I pondered it for a moment, knowing that between work and bar-hopping and girls, I didn’t have much free-time. So I flipped the conversation. “You know, professional baseball players don’t have hobbies or free-time besides baseball. But I do want to know about you.”

“Okay, well in that case… I think dinner this dinner is overrated. Steph and Luke may like all of this romantic, one-on-one time because they are so hopelessly in love, but I’d rather get to know someone through their actions and not words–I don’t mean that sexually at all, either. I’m a writer, as you know, and I love what I do. I’m also a singer, but it never really gets any farther than the shower.”

I stared at her for a moment, taking in everything she told me. I don’t know whether it was the atmosphere, or the fact that my heart was beating so rapidly in my chest, but I said, “Then why don’t we go somewhere more exciting?”

And for once in my life, I didn’t mean it sexually, either.

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(A/N: Well, well, well… Look what we have here, eh? Landon and Kimberly??? How did this happen so fast?! Now, don’t jump to conclusions because I still have a few tricks up my sleeve! And we have to get to the next generation soon… But, we will still have more chapters for Landon! Anyway, I don’t really have anything relevant to say this time, so thanks for reading!)

As always, for Landon’s chapters, some themes may be inapropriate for some readers! Thank you 🙂   To say that I stopped after Fallow would be a horrible understatement. I pretty much laid anything that walked–female, of course. She didn’t have to be a supermodel or even average, she just had to have the ‘goods’. Fallow didn’t mind that I had other girls over at night. A lot of the time, she would join in, too. She and I knew the rules we established about our relationship. It was one of the things I liked best about her. Most girls would complain about not being asked ‘officially’ to be their girlfriend, but Fallow is different. She lets me use her when I want and doesn’t get hurt when I don’t want her. Besides women, I still had other hobbies as well. Mixology was just one of the things I liked to delve into. It helped ease the mood of the virgins, anyway. I also kept up my athletic career as well. I hadn’t been promoted in awhile; I missed work a lot due to hangovers and…well, other things. But it didn’t bother me, honestly. I was living the life I was finally meant to live! No ball and chain to tie me down, no children constantly begging at my feet, no parents to tell me what to do, and no sisters that I had to set a good example for. I could just be Landon. It was one particular trip to the bar–Plasma 101, that I had two of the best babes in the same night. I frequented all of the bars in Bridgeport and met a lot of willing women, but these two were something different. The girls–whom I later knew as Giselle and Jasmine–looked as though they had walked right out of a strip club. I knew they locked me as a target the moment they both walked out of the elevator. And it felt good to know that I didn’t have to make the first move for once. “So,” Jasmine purred, her hand placed seductively on her hip. “I hear there are around fifty floors in this building. Wanna see how long it takes to ride them up and down?” Giselle asked, blowing me a kiss. “Let’s hope it gets stuck on the way down,” I replied, flashing them my award-winning smile. However, it didn’t phase them and make them melt into a pile of jello like most girls. That was a good thing, too. I knew they meant business. I had Jasmine first. She jumped on me as fast as a jack rabbit and we immediately began to make out. She led me into the elevator without fumbling and we began. Giselle was next. She wasn’t one for mindless foreplay, though. And I am proud to say that we did manage to stop the elevator…twice. Unlike all of the other times I had ridden this elevator, we almost didn’t make it out fully clothed. And unlike all of the other women I laid, I actually felt compelled to thank Giselle. It had been far too long since the women was the leader. On my way out, with Jasmine and Giselle in tow, brilliant ruby red eyes caught my gaze. A vampire? I had only heard myths about these denizens of the night, but I was definitely going to look into it. I heard a small, almost non-existent knock on the door later that night. While normal people would be embarrassed to have three girls in their underwear standing along side them as they answered the door, I felt nothing of the sort. And–although I wasn’t surprised–I found a woman standing at my door. “Well, hello there,” I said, smiling at her. “Did you hear all of the fun and want to join in?” Jasmine, Giselle, and Fallow walked back to the dresser and perched themselves on top of it, obviously waiting for the virgin to respond. “Wow, I’m sorry,” she said, covering her eyes slightly. “I didn’t realize that you had, err, company. I just figured since you are my neighbor, I should introduce myself.” I leaned against the doorway and narrowed my eyes at her. “Well there are plenty of ways to introduce yourself here!”

“Oh really?” she said, batting her eyelashes at me. “Thanks but no thanks. I have a boyfriend, actually. But I’m sure you don’t know anything about commitment. I came up here to welcome you to Bridgeport, not to let you make me look like one of your stupid friends-with-benefits or whatever!”

“Stephanie?! Stephanie?!” A voice called from down the hall, but I turned around and focused on my girls once more. They were all waiting for what seemed to be the obvious arrival of a fourth person. My dresser was as knew to them as it was to me.

“Up here, Luke!” the girl in the doorway called.

When the man calling Stephanie’s name reached the doorway, he peaked inside and then back at his girlfriend with a confused expression. It seemed almost as though they were talking in some sort of code. They stared at each other for a long time, although neither made a sound.

I felt a fresh pain in my chest. It bubbled up from where I had thought I permanently locked it away so many months ago. Although my attention was supposed to be on Jasmine at the moment, I felt myself slipping away from reality.

Instead, I turned to look back at the couple and was amazed at what I saw.

Her beautiful face flashed before my eyes. It started with the day that I met her, almost six years ago. It went from when I first kissed her, to when we made love for the first time, to her teenage pregnancy, all the way up to the day I proposed. We could have been happy together… If she hadn’t have died then–

I didn’t want to think about it. I forced myself back to reality and looked at the future in front of me. Even though I knew these girls wouldn’t be here tomorrow, new girls would, and that was enough for me.

I probably looked like I was confused. I even felt confused, for a moment. Stephanie and Luke exchanged glances and then smiled at me.

“Obviously, we intruded on a little bit more than the playboy bunny house,” Stephanie said, her smile sympathetic as if she knew what was going on in my head.

“We’ll be back tomorrow, though,” Luke added. “That is…if you want us to?”

I nodded slowly, numbly, and I don’t know if they saw it. “Yeah,” I mumbled and then closed the door.

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The next morning, while Fallow was working, Stephanie and Luke came over just like they said they would. While I was used to hosting parties, I wasn’t used to having acquaintances (much less one male acquaintance) visiting my apartment to “chat”. The awkward feeling in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

“Sooo….” I said, wiping my hands on my jeans and trying to think of something to say.

“About last night,” Stephanie said, cutting me off. I was both relieved and slightly annoyed at the same time. “I don’t mean to be a bother, but I couldn’t but notice how…confused you looked after you saw Luke and I together.”

I sighed and mentally began to curse her for bringing it up again. “Honestly? I was just kind of annoyed that you two stopped by when you did. Jasmine and Giselle aren’t from Bridgeport and they left this morning so I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.” I lied as swiftly and smoothly as I had been doing for years.

“Don’t lie,” Luke said simply, not bothering to look me in the eyes. “Stephanie will catch it.”

Her lips curved into a small smile but she instantly pushed it aside so she could finish making her point. “I’m not trying to tell you how to run your life but Luke and I came up here to try and make friends with you! So, I’m done interrogating you… Tell me about yourself!”

“Well,” I said, a bit taken back by her question. Why on earth would anyone want me to be their friend? It wasn’t like I was nice or “a good boy”. “Umm, I’m originally from Riverview. I’m sort of the heir to my family’s legacy…I guess.”

“Why did you move here? To knock up a bunch of girls so you can have children to carry on your legacy?” Stephanie asked, her tone only half joking.

“No,” I answered quietly. “I…well, I had my reasons.”

“Well you don’t exactly look like a family man,” Luke said, letting out a soft chuckle.

“You don’t have to tell us why if you don’t want to…”

“I’ll save you the sob story of Landon Everdeen. It’s…well, it’s kind of a downer,” I started. My head began to scream at me to stop now before I lost everything. I didn’t even know these people and here they were inquiring about my life! My personal life! But I couldn’t stop.

“Basically, I’m a dad of two beautiful girls…Ariella and Belle. But I moved away from them because some things happened between me and my fiance. Well, ex-fiance, I guess. I moved here because of my job and because I needed a fresh start.”

“Don’t you love them?” Luke asked, looking me straight in the eyes.

The question catches me off guard and I floundered for a bit.

“Of course I love them,” I said, picturing their smiling faces the way I left them. I hoped that they were still smiling and that they wouldn’t hate me if I didn’t come back. “I love them more than life itself… Being a father is something unlike anything else.”

Stephanie and Luke nodded, even though I knew neither of them understood what I was talking about.

I was so lost in thought that I didn’t realize they were both standing by the door.

“Oh, err, sorry,” I mumbled my apology.

“Don’t worry about it, man,” Luke said. “We may not understand but we’re always here to listen!”

“But we did have an ulterior motive for coming here,” Stephanie said, flashing a devious smile at her boyfriend.

“Oh yeah?” I asked, not really paying attention.

“Mhmm. We were wondering if you’d like to double date with us tomorrow night!”

“Double date? Yeah…sure,” I said.

“Great! We’ll see you tomorrow!”

I vaguely remember agreeing to it, although now I wish I hadn’t.

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(A/N: Well that was a random chapter, eh? I’m really tired of writing all of this raunchy stuff… Which is why I had Stephanie–my simself–and her boyfriend–whose resemblance to anyone dead or alive is purely coincidental… Yeah, I used my simeself… “I haven’t seen this much love in a room since Narcist discovered himself!” No, I’m not that narcissistic, I was just too lazy to create a new sim and my simself was just floating around in the sim bin! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!)

This chapter may contain content that is inappropriate for some readers! You have been warned 😉 And I apologize for any inconveniences this may cause!

Like my boss had said on the phone, the house truly was the perfect bachelor pad! I had a freaking bar inside the kitchen area along with more than enough drinks to get me by.

The bedroom was perfect, too. I didn’t have to worry about stepping on baby toys as I walked to my old bed. This room felt grown up; it felt more like me.

I cracked open a bottle and decided to pour myself a little house-warming gift. I didn’t know anyone in the city, but that was about to change tonight. My boss said she was coming over to see how I was getting adjusted and to tell me about what I needed to do to make a name for myself.

I had never seen my boss before but I was happy she was paying me a visit.

She was hot. Not beautiful, not pretty, but hot. And she was my boss! I honestly couldn’t see how this could get any better–unless my kids were here, of course. She didn’t look like she played a sport, or even knew that much about sports, but she was in my house and I was going to take advantage of it.

“Hello, Mr. Everdeen,” she said, extending her hand to me.

I grabbed it gently but with enough force for her to know I meant business.

“Hello, err…? I’m sorry, I never caught your name. I was too lost in your eyes,” I said, flashing her my once-award-winning smile.

I led her to the couch when she didn’t respond to my flirting.

“Well, I’m glad to see that you are adjusting,” she said, rubbing her hands on her jeans and glancing at the clock every few seconds. I could tell she didn’t want to be here with me. “Tonight you are going to go to one of the bars and schmooze your way into the lives of fellow baseball players.”

“I’m pretty good at schmoozing,” I said, slowly extending my arm around her shoulder. “You know, I was voted most popular back in high school.”

“Oh really?” she said, snuggling closer to me. “Well, I wouldn’t put it past you. You are quite the flirt.”

“Yeah?” I said, lowering my voice and staring at her with an intent expression.

I slowly leaned closer to her, inhaling her sweet perfume as I locked my lips with hers. It was unprofessional and inappropriate in every possible way but I didn’t care. I came here for a new start–to try and relive the teenage years I lost when I became a father.

She pulled away quickly, a confused–yet adorable–expression on her face.

“I’m sorry, Mr., err, Everdeen, but our relationship is completely professional,” she said, her voice soft but laced with authority.

“Yes, yes of course,” I said, smiling brightly at her as if she had enjoyed it just as much as I had.

I didn’t remember what it was like to kiss other women. The different feel and shape of each of their lips. Lipstick, lipgloss, or chapstick used to be the biggest debate in 8th grade! And now I had the chance to start if all over again!

My boss suggested that I go out to one of the bars to get acquainted with some of the residents of Bridgeport. I knew a lot of celebrities hung out at the upper-class venues. Since I was just starting out, I had no money for bribery, so there was no way I was getting into one of those.

Besides, dirty dancing was more accepted at grungy bars like this one. And believe me when I say that I was planning on doing just that.

When my drink arrived, I wasted no time getting the juice in my system. It was like a punch in the gut, but in a good way. I hadn’t been much of a drinker, especially when I had children to take care of, but I suppose that’s another good reason for coming here.

Right as I was about to make my way towards the dance floor, a scantily clad woman sat down next to me. I couldn’t help but feel that familiar feeling rush through me like a tidal wave. I knew she was going to be the one tonight.

I grabbed her from her seat and spun her around to face me. I couldn’t believe how much more gorgeous she was in person. …And how much those straps on her “outfit” looked like they were about to snap at any moment.

“Hello, beautiful,” I said and I heard her let out a soft giggle. “I don’t normally be so blunt about this but…how would you like to have me instead of that drink tonight?”

She leaned closer to me and flashed a devious smile. “I thought you’d never ask.”

I will spare some of the details of what took place that night at the club, but let me just say that Fallow–I later learned her name–was an excellent dancer.

“So, how would you like to come back to my place?” I asked, knowing that it was getting late and what was going to be done…well, it was going to take awhile and I had work in the morning.

“Sure,” she said, as if she had answered the same question a million times. “Let’s go.”

To say I took to it like a duck to water would be an over-estimate. Since Emma, I had never been with anyone else…that way. I felt my hands fumble nervously but Fallow reassured me by kissing me tenderly. I knew from the way she acted that I was not her first–or second, third, and fourth–but it didn’t matter.

There ain’t a reason you and me should be alone tonight, yeah baby, tonight…

No strings attached meant no strings attached…

And I got a reason that you’re who should take me home tonight…

I’m gonna run right to, to the edge with you, where we can both fall over in love…

I’m on the edge of glory and I’m hanging on a moment of truth…

I’m on the edge of glory and I’m hanging on a moment with you… I’m on the edge with you.

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(A/N: Sooo, the second to last picture is NOT as dirty as it looks. I’m just not very skilled with the moveObjects on cheat. And pose player doesn’t work on my computer because my parents won’t let me download WinRar to open RAR files. Anywhooo, Landon is deep in the whole heartbreaker thing now. In all reality, it took him a LONG LONG time to get over Emma. I just didn’t want to depress you all with another depressing chapter. Hopefully this appealed to your…dirty minds, I guess. Thanks for reading!!! Love you guys!!!)

Song used: The Edge of Glory: by LadyGaGa