| Hope makes her birthday wish (a huge hug from her father), and takes the leap into becoming a teen. |
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| The birthday party, as expected, is massive. Hope feels pumped to have so many people around her; having fun, dancing, going crazy. It’s almost like this is what she was born to do. Elizabeth seems perfectly content to join in, and they celebrate the night away with friends of all ages. Michael has found his way back to the house too. But this time he only has eyes for Hope, and she is more than happy to soak up the special attention he decides to pay her. Any thought of asking him about the wine missing from Dara’s party is lost in the moment. |
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| By David’s estimation, it has started getting a bit too late, and he goes to bed annoyed. He has given up hinting to Mei that it might be time to have her daughter wrap up the party. But Mei just can’t bring herself to break the bad news. After all, a girl only has one teen birthday, and she wants Hope’s to be a special one. Besides, it is still relatively early, and the kids will all have to be gone by curfew, regardless. So Mei continues to work on a few reports for her new job at the police station while the party rages on downstairs. |
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| Life has just kind of stumbled along for the Barimen family. While not completely forgotten, the idea of Mark ever returning seems remote by now. Mei has no interest in meeting other men. Mark is her one-and-only and she will remain his no matter the circumstances. But with both sisters-in-law, and now her own two children attending school, Mei needs something to keep her mind engaged. She remembers the forensics work Mark had done while investigating his mother’s death. He found tiny bits of clues and pieced them together into facts that lead directly to the killers. This kind of work is well suited to her. She is still far from getting any important assignments, but she is determined to learn the ropes. And with the right skills under her belt, she might possibly piece together what happened to her husband. |
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| Mei’s pager goes off midway through the evening. A new tip just came in on a case she is working, and she needs to follow-up immediately. Many of the guests have already cleared out, and Elizabeth has settled down to watch a movie with her friends. Mary had never been a big fan of crowds, and was probably meditating in her bedroom. Although David is asleep upstairs, she knows both Mary and Elizabeth will get him up at the first sign of trouble. Feeling confident that Hope is in good hands, she blows a kiss toward her daughter and wishes her happy birthday as she runs out the door and drives away in her squad car. |
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| Michael is first to notice that they are mostly alone. He goads Hope into going down into the wine cellar with him. Hope explains that it is off-limits, but Michael insists. He takes her hand, with a little more roughness than she prefers, and leads her down to the darkened room. As she feels around for the light switch, he barks at her to keep them off. It sounds a lot more like a command than a request. She does not like the tone he has struck with her, and she suggests they head back upstairs. |
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| Although she cannot see very well, she can hear a bottle of wine being taken from the rack, then the sound of a cork popping. Michael greedily gulps down the liquid, then passes the bottle to her and tells her to drink it. She notices then, that he is not the shy little boy she once knew. There is something wild and untamed about him; it is a magnetism she cannot resist. Their kiss from earlier is still lingering on her lips, and she wants to kiss him again. So she takes small swallow at first, then another big one. The wine acts very quickly. |
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| Hope can only remember bits and pieces of what happens next. The kissing feels like electricity coursing through her body, and the wine feels like a warm blanket draping over her. But she notices that the more they drink, the more irate Michael becomes. It doesn’t much matter, though. Because after consuming so much, there comes a point where his words are just muffled noises, anyway. She does recall her clothes being taken off, and also feeling kind of weird about it; but definitely not weird enough to protest. Whether it is wine, kissing, being explored by Michael, or the combined forces of all three; the excitable young teen soon becomes overloaded with the evening’s stimulation. |
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| Her body decides that it has been pushed far enough for one night. Before anything serious is allowed to happen, her stomach erupts violently all over Michael. Once it starts, her body continues to purge the noxious stuff she has consumed. She heaves through Michael’s angry insults; while she waits, poised on her hands and knees, for the next wave of retching to start. He is cursing at her for not letting him get far enough. She remembers wishing she could stop puking, so she could take away Micheal’s rage. Hope blacks out with the blurred image of Michael’s face, contorted with fury, stuck in her mind. |
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| She sleeps through her mother’s alarmed shriek, as Mei finds her daughter passed out on the cellar floor; drunk, half-naked, and alone. |
Stories by Zoxell 
Ohhhhhhhhh….
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Oh no! Hope, Hope, Hope! What have you done. This isn’t the sweet little girl that was so concerned about being friendly to everyone! And she obviously didn’t think of her mom – poor Mei will probably feel like a failure now. Mark – you need to come home NOW before your little girl is lost forever.
Okay – I’m done now. 🙂
FortA
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Eeps! How horrible! Im really beginning to dislike Micheal and I only hope that someone can steer Hope away from him! She is so innocent and unknowing of what he is and what kinda life he had been bore into. I hope her eyes open to it soon!
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OMG ! The ending was so filled with action and drama. I loved the way you wrote the cliffhanger .. it’s really amazing.
xcin100x
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I think my Sim Ian was stolen from my game and renamed Michael. Really. They look and act exactly the same. But anyways. Why, Hope? D:
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