All the Good Girls go to Heaven

[MoonsAreBlue]

Another fantastic update, Apples! I would also appreciate a notice if you ever write a book. I wish I was as talented a writer as you are. Man, you just leave us with the best one liners. "If only I'd been right." "I'm still not sure if my biggest mistake was upholding that promise for so long or breaking it when it mattered most." "And so Cayden and I became inseparable. And that's where the trouble began." I am just fascinated with this story.

[ApplesApplesApples]

Sorry ratchie. We've edited down our ramble. Won't happen again

Guys, unfortunately I won't be able to post my next chapter at the usual time tomorrow. I might be able to post it in the evening, but I might have to skip the chapter tomorrow altogether. Sorry! I'll be posting on Friday for sure though.

[loveSims]

Aesome update! I know I have said this before, but you are a amazing writer. WOW!

[ApplesApplesApples]

Chapter 9

I'll never forget the first time Cayden and I had to say goodbye, even though when we did I had no idea it would be for as long as it was.

The summer passed too quickly, and by the end of it he was ready to go off to college. The day before he left we went up onto one of our favorite hills and talked for a long time, reminding ourselves that it would be better for both of us, and once our college years were over we'd never be separated again. We both cried, and held each other, and promised it would go by as quickly as the summer had.

The next day he came by my house to say goodbye. My father had been considerably more cordial toward him since he'd learned he was leaving, and my mother even hugged him and wished him luck. I could see Cayden's face when she did, and it made me laugh.

Then the taxi came that would take him to the bus station, and we all went outside. My parents hung back to leave us some privacy, although it wasn't much. I was grateful we'd said our real goodbyes the day before.



"I'll see you soon," I said.

"The first chance I have, I'll come back," he said.

"I'll visit you."

He kissed me on the cheek, because my parents were still watching, and got in the taxi. And that was the last time I saw him for two and a half years.

We meant to visit each other, of course. But Cayden found that his grant barely served to cover his tuition, and his job to pay the rent and eat, so he didn't have anything left over to travel back to see me. The first year he was away, when I was still in high school, I planned to go see him over spring break, but my mother had a small remission and I had to stay with her.

And then I started college, and I seemed to be busy all the time. I always had great opportunities that I couldn't pass on, summer courses, extracurricular activities, and coursework to keep me occupied. I had to see my parents and that took up all the vacation time I had. I took a part-time job at a nearby space station, which mostly had me taking coffee to people who sat at desks and never did anything interesting, but I did get to see the space ships every now and then, and talk to a few of the engineers who designed them.

Without meaning to, Cayden and I became almost strangers.

The day I arrived at my new college campus all the buildings seemed huge, the people all seemed much older and more intelligent than me, and I found myself missing Cayden. I wandered around until someone directed me to where I could get directed further. No one wanted to give me a map.

I found my way to an office where a young man sat at a computer. "Hello," I said.

"Where's your student ID?"

I showed him. "I was supposed to get directed to my dorm room..."

"Just a second." He started typing at his computer.



"Are you a student?" I asked.

"Grad student," he said. "You're in Thompson. That's the building right next-door. Aliyah," he added, glancing at my ID tag.

"Thanks," I said. "What's your name?"

"Milo Terrence." He shook my hand. "Pleased to meet you."

I located my dorm room and went inside. My roomie was already there, taping posters to the wall on her side. She looked up when I came in and shook long red hair away from a pretty face decorated with blue stars along one side. "Hi! You're Aliyah?" She hopped down from the bed where she'd been kneeling to get the poster up and went to stand in front of me.



"Yeah. You're Laurie, right?"

"I'm so happy to meet you!" Instead of shaking my hand, she gave me a rib-crushing hug.



"Me too," I gasped when I could draw breath again.

"Oh, no," she said, letting go of me. "I was too enthusiastic, right? Sorry. I told myself I would be the best roomie in the world."

"That's okay."

"So where are you from? And are you allergic to anything, because if you are I'll make sure we don't have any of it in the room. Oh and also, what's your favorite color, because I'm good at sewing and if I have enough time I can make us some nice, thick blankets."

It was a while before Laurie was satisfied she knew enough about me, and after that she started telling me all about her. I learned she wanted to study either drama or clothing design, she wasn't sure, and that she grew up in a big city, and that she had five brothers and sisters, all younger than her, and that her parents were separated and they spent half their time with their father in his little bohemian cabin in the woods and half their time with their mother in one of her three beach homes.

Laurie turned out to be an asset, and I eventually learned that I didn't need to listen to every single thing she said, because she always got around to telling me again anyway when she ran out of subjects to discuss. Laurie was much less shy about approaching strangers and getting directions and advice from them. The downside of her was that she made friends at lightning speed, and I soon found myself external to her group. For several days I ate my meals on my own, trying not to let them see me.

At lunch one day, though, I accidentally ran into Laurie.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "Sit down with us!"



"I don't know, I don't want to intrude..." I said.

"Sit down!" said a girl with short black hair, indicating the chair across from her. "There's room!"

I did, finally, and Laurie introduced me to everyone. "Pippa, Darren, Francis, and Milo," she said.

I recognized Milo. "I know you," I said, smiling. "I thought you were a grad student. Why are you hanging out with freshmen?"

"Milo and I are going steady," said Pippa in a loud voice. Several passersby turned to stare. Milo seemed uncomfortable.

"We've got bets going as to how long it'll last," said Darren, a handsome blond who wore his hair in his eyes. "I said two weeks total."

"He's just jealous," said Pippa.

"So, any significant others you've left back home?" asked Darren, wiggling his eyebrows.

I smiled. "Yes."

"Oh well," he said, but he didn't seem too disappointed. It certainly didn't stop him from flirting with me all though lunch. But I enjoyed eating with Laurie's friends much more than I had sitting alone.



Soon I adapted to my new life. My mother called me every day to tell me about all the fundraisers she'd gone to, the toy poodle they'd bought, and her job at the restaurant. I joined the girls' soccer team, studied with Laurie's friends in the evening, and gradually lost my fear of the new. Milo and Pippa lasted longer together than anyone had anticipated, but their breakup was friendly and Milo stuck around afterward, helping us all with our coursework and giving us tips about the different professors.

My favorite one was Mandy Hutchinson, who taught world history, with Milo as her TA. I'd never liked history, but Laurie and her friends convinced me to try it, and it quickly became my favorite subject. Mandy had a special way of explaining things and an affinity for every historical figure we studied that almost made it seem like she'd been there.



But with each passing day, I missed Cayden more and more. It became like a constant toothache that I couldn't get taken care of. I called him whenever I could, and we talked for hours, but it was never the same as seeing him. Milo taught me how to do emails and I wrote to Cayden sometimes, too.

Before I knew it I was going home for the summer again. And before I'd finished unpacking the offer came in for the job at the space station and I had to turn around and go back.

My sophomore college year started up and I fell back into the same routine. Laurie had finally picked her major, and it didn't have anything to do with either clothing design or drama. It changed quickly, though, and changed a second time before the end of the end of the semester.

Laurie's group and I frequently studied together in the library, even though none of us took any of the same classes. One night I stayed up later than usual as I had an exam the following day. One by one everyone left, except for Darren. The library had gone silent. We'd been alone for quite a while before I noticed he was looking at me.

"What?" I said.

"I've never heard anything more about that boyfriend you left behind. Are you two still together?"

"Um... see, Darren, this is kind of..." How to explain? Cayden and I weren't "together" in the strictest sense of the word. It wasn't that I couldn't date anyone else because I was "with" him. It was just that anyone other than Cayden for me was unthinkable.

But Darren didn't wait for me to put my thoughts together and scooted over next to me, putting an arm around my shoulder. "For real?"

"I didn't say anyth--" I began, but he interrupted me by leaning in for a kiss.



I was pretty strong, between soccer training and my constant exercising to get the jitters out of my limbs, which protested when too long had gone by since I'd had a nice long run or swim, so I managed to hold him back.

"Darren, I didn't say you could do that."

"You didn't say I couldn't."

I took his hand off my shoulder. "I'm sorry, I should have been clearer. I'm not available."

"Aliyah, I waited over a year for you. Now you just turn me down?"

I couldn't keep back a laugh, even though he seemed genuinely crestfallen. "You dated practically every other girl in school in the past year. In what way were you waiting for me?"

"You were always who I thought about."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not available," I said more firmly. "I didn't mean to make you think I would be someday. I'll never be available."

He shook his head and sighed. "You kill me, Aliyah. You spin me around and then put a knife through my heart."

His disappointment didn't last very long, though. The next day I found my path to the calculus textbook blocked by Darren and Pippa wrapped around each other, smooching passionately.



I tried to back away so they wouldn't see me but I bumped into Laurie. "You'll never guess who's making out in the other aisle," I said.

"Francis and Pippa," said Laurie.

"Close. Darren and Pippa."

Her eyes widened. "Darren and Pippa? I thought she and Francis were together."

"They broke up while you were in your marketing class. Too bad you missed it; it was a big public event. She's not the only one on rebound, though. Darren tried to kiss me last night."

"Finally! Although it didn't go well, did it?"

"I turned him down. He got over it, apparently."

We giggled.



My cell phone rang, interrupting our bet-placing as to how long the Darren/Pippa relationship would last. I went outside so I wouldn't bother the people studying, but there was a big party in one of the fraternities and I couldn't hear over the noise. I found the peace of my dorm room.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Aliyah. This is Irma, remember me?"

"Oh, sure I do. How are you?" Irma was one of my mother's closest friends. She'd been almost like an aunt to me.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." I noticed that her voice shook. "I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell you."

"What?" I said anxiously, wondering if something had happened to her husband or her kids.

"Your parents are dead."



"What?" I said again, but I wasn't looking for an answer this time.

"They were in a car crash. Your father was driving them to one of their fundraiser dinners. When the police showed up they were both gone."

"Gone? So they disappeared? They didn't find the bodies?"

"No, honey. They were dead. They found the bodies. I went to identify them at the morgue, although the police officer who found them knew who they were. I was their emergency contact."

"But..."

"I'm sorry, Aliyah. The funeral's on Sunday. All of your parents' friends will be there to pay their respects. They had their spots reserved in the cemetery, both of them together. I've been doing all the paperwork so that you won't have to do anything..."

I hung up on her without saying goodbye and automatically dialed Cayden's number.

"Aliyah," he said, and I knew by his voice that he knew.

"My parents are dead."

"I know. I'm back in town."

"They died in a car crash."

"Yes, I know." His voice was so tender I could almost feel his arms around me. He didn't say he was sorry. He didn't say "you'll be okay" or "your parents were great people" or any of the things everyone else said when they found out. I'm not entirely sure what he said, but it was the sound of his voice that soothed me and kept me from crumbling.

"I need to get a plane ticket..." I said after we'd talked a while, me mumbling incoherently and he holding me up with his voice.

"I'll get it for you. When do you want to come?"

"As soon as possible. Tonight, if there's anything."

"Tomorrow at six am is the earliest flight."

"Okay, that's good." I wiped away my tears and sat down, finally able to keep myself still.

The door opened and Laurie walked in. She stopped as soon as she saw my face. "Aliyah?"

"I'll call you back, Cayden."

"I'll wait for you."

I hung up and looked up at Laurie. "I just got a call," I said. "My parents are dead."


I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter up. Thank you for reading.

[MoonsAreBlue]

Oh my goodness! This update was just a kick to my heart strings. I do hope you'll update soon, because now I'm dying to know what happens. That's just so awful that her parents died, but at least Cayden was there for her.

[alex51299]

This chapter was so well written, but it still made me sad.  At least her mom didn't die slowly and  painfully from the tumor.

[loveSims]

It's so sad about her parents. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[Teacup Chihuahua]

Oh Apples  What another brilliant update Thanks

[ratchie]

I was hoping that eventually she had a little happiness but with the hints you have provided  I don't think she will.

Rachel

[thesimslover828]

OK I need a update hehe, I love this story. I hung on every word, I have to read more it's just so good. It was a shock that her parents died, I hope she can go on.

[ApplesApplesApples]

Chapter 10

I was old enough by the time my parents died to know logically how it happened. But the little girl in me has remained convinced for fifty years that my parents simply stood together in a beautiful spot, watching the sun rise, their arms around each other, until the sunlight bathed them and they faded little by little into nothing.



I never saw their faces after they died, even though they had an open-casket funeral, and maybe that's why I refused to believe that they left their bodies behind instead of taking them with them to a beautiful place of rest. The thing is, I missed the funeral entirely.

That day I received the call I made a decision. For a while at least I wouldn't be able to continue my studies. I needed to be home. So I dropped out. I had to get the professor's signature for each class I'd taken, so I made the rounds. I'd had a six-week course with Mandy Hutchinson that was a week away from completion, and I left her for last because I didn't want to say goodbye to her class.

"Hello, professor Hutchinson," I said, entering the lecture hall. "I need you to sign this."

"I'd heard you were dropping out. Why is that?" She didn't sign.

"My parents died."

"People always die, Peng. It's the way of life." She was the first person who hadn't even pretended to be sad at my news. "The world goes on. If you let their death get in the way of your future, you're sacrificing yourself for the dead."



I stared at her, startled, for a moment. For the first time in several hours I didn't feel a dead weight dragging me down into depression. "They aren't the only reason. I just want to be home now. There are other people I've missed, and I want to spend this time with them."

"But you're going to finish college," she said. "You'll never go to the moon if you don't."

"I can't believe you remember that," I said with my first smile since the news.

"How could I not remember? Most people who tell me they want to be astronauts are either men or children. People who really believe in their ability to do such a thing, who ignore other people's skepticism about such a strange and far-off dream, are a rarity." She signed my paper. "You finish college, Peng. I don't care if it's here or somewhere else. You don't give up on your dreams for the sake of the dead. Or anyone, for that matter."

"Thank you, professor."

I avoided Laurie and her group. I was sure she'd told them all by now, and I didn't want their condolences. There was only one of them I saw again.

I didn't sleep that night. At three in the morning I drove to the airport because I couldn't stand it anymore. I usually drove to and from college in my car, but I didn't want to take the long drive right before the funeral. I didn't know what I'd do with my car. Probably fly back up and get it later, I supposed. Maybe Cayden would come with me.

I went through the airport security and got to the gait, where I waited for my flight. I called Cayden and told him everything was okay. I couldn't believe the intensity with which I missed him, hearing his voice, being so close to seeing him again. We didn't talk long.

At five forty I realized I was at the wrong gate. I ran to the right one, a few gates down, and saw that the flight was delayed an hour because of thunderstorms. I would still get there on time, since the funeral was in the afternoon and the flight barely forty-five minutes long.

But an hour and a half later they still hadn't boarded us. I went to ask what was the matter.

"The thunderstorm still hasn't let up. It's still not safe to fly," said the gate agent. "We'll inform you when we've been given the all-clear."

"I have to be at a funeral this afternoon. My parents' funeral."

He looked at me, seeming to notice how young I was, and a pitying expression came over his face. "I'm sorry, miss. But the weather isn't our fault. We can't change it."

I sat down again and called Cayden. "My flight's delayed."

"You'll still make it."

"I don't know. They don't know when the weather's going to be good enough to fly."

"Can't you drive?"

"It'll take four hours."

"You'd be here on time."

"I guess. I was looking forward to taking a little nap on the plane instead of being on the road by myself for hours. I didn't get any sleep last night."

"Then you shouldn't be driving. Wait for the plane."

"What if it's late?"

"You're going to kill yourself if you drive without sleeping, Aliyah. You wouldn't make it to the funeral if you died anyway. You'd be tied up at your own."

"What happens if I miss the funeral?"

"Nothing. You save yourself the trouble of going through a pointless ceremony."

"But I want to say goodbye." I started to sob.

"There's nothing left to say goodbye to, Aliyah. Trust me; I know. There's nothing on the other side of their face anymore. No one to hear you saying goodbye."

"Could you please stop?"

"I'm sorry." He seemed to realize his words hadn't been comforting. "You'll get here on time."

Half an hour after that they announced another delay. I calculated that driving would get me there at the same time as the plane, and that was if the flight didn't get any further delays. I ignored what Cayden had said and went to get my car.

That was possibly the stupidest thing I ever did. If I'd killed myself it would have trumped even the whole ordeal with Cayden for a life-changing mistake. Since I miraculously didn't have a wreck it was only the second worst decision I ever made.

The thunderstorm hit me two and a half hours into the trip. Even in my altered state I knew that it was pointless to go on. I stopped at a gas station and had about ten cups of coffee, a few sandwiches, and an enormous stale brownie while I waited for the storm to clear.

When it finally did I knew there was no way I would make it to the funeral on time. I had an hour and a half of road time still left and the funeral started in fifteen minutes. I thought I might be able to make it there for the last part of it.

But I didn't count on my diminished faculties from lack of sleep and excess of coffee. I took several wrong turns, adding another hour onto my trip, and arrived in town a while after it was supposed to have finished. Feeling like my head was going to explode I drove up to my house. Cayden must have seen me coming, because he was waiting at the gate for me.



I stumbled out of the car. "Cayden..." I said.

He caught me before I fell. "You're incredibly stupid, Aliyah."

He'd grown a lot since I'd seen him last, and grown in bulk as well. But his arms around me felt the same as they had nearly three years ago. I put my head on his shoulder and cried until all the energy to cry had gone out of me and he was holding up most of my weight.



"I missed you so much, Cayden. How did we let this happen?"

"It'll never happen again."

"I missed the funeral. I missed it. What am I going to do now?"

"Get in the car. I'll drive you to the cemetery."

I think I must have passed out on the way there, because when I woke it was dark and we had parked next to the cemetery. Cayden sat waiting patiently beside me.

"Where are the graves?" I asked.

He pointed.

"Will you come with me?"

He had to support me on the way there. I was half-crazed with grief and sleep deprivation. When I saw the two rectangles of freshly-laid soil, side-by-side, lying there so peacefully, like flower-beds waiting to be planted, I dropped to my knees and sobbed. Cayden rested his hand on my shoulder, probably to keep me from falling onto my face as much as to comfort me.

"Why aren't there any headstones?" I whispered when I'd run out of energy again, my voice barely disturbing the stillness of the night.

"There will be. They have to make them first."

"What are they going to say?"

"I think you get to decide that."

I closed my eyes and swayed. Cayden steadied me. "I don't know what to say."

"Something simple would probably be okay. Their names and the dates."

I nodded, even though I barely knew what I was agreeing to. He took me back to the car and drove me home. I collapsed into my bed and slept until morning.

When I woke I still felt sad, but something was different. Maybe I was too exhausted for grief. Cayden had slept on my loveseat. I smiled at the sight of his head pillowed against the pink arm rest and went downstairs in search of breakfast.

Cayden came down a little later and we sat at the dining-room table in silence, sipping coffee and munching on toast. Now that I had him in front of me, so changed, me having recovered my sane judgment and feeling less affected by grief, I hardly knew what to say. Every now and then he looked at me with an expression of wonder, as if he couldn't believe I was there.

"So why were you back here? Don't you have school?" I asked after a while.

"Not anymore."

"You dropped out?"

"I finished."

"What? You've only been going for five semesters!"

He shrugged. "I'm a genius, remember?" He gave a little grin.

"Why didn't you tell me? How long have you been back?"

"A few weeks. I was planning on surprising you when you came back for the holidays."

"I wouldn't have been very amused. Didn't we talk last week? You talked about school as though you were still there."

He shrugged. "I didn't want to make you come back before the semester ended." He stood. "I've got to get to work. Maybe I'll visit later, if you want me."

"Stay here." I grabbed his arm before I could stop myself. "Don't go."

Cayden leaned down and kissed the top of my head. "Don't worry, Aliyah. I'm not going to leave your side so long as you want me there. Never, never again. These years have been too long. But unlike some people who have an enormous inheritance that makes work optional, I actually need a way of putting food in my mouth. I'll be back later."

I should have noticed the strangeness in his manner then, but I felt rather out of practice myself, so I thought it was just that we hadn't seen each other in so long. I realize now that he'd never before had any doubt as to whether or not I'd want to be with him. But what difference would it have made if I had noticed? I found out the reason for it soon enough.

I spent the day going through old pictures of my parents and of me, watching television when I just wanted to burn brain cells and not think, and receiving guests who'd come to offer their condolences. Some of them brought food, some of them brought flowers. I appreciated the food, since I'd found the fridge almost bare. I didn't know what to do with the flowers, so I put them around the house, wherever I could find a place for them.

In searching for a home for the last couple of vases I wandered into my parents' room. I put the flowers on the dresser and looked around. It looked exactly the same as it had the last time I'd seen it. The bed was a little mussed, so I straightened out the covers. Then I broke into tears.



My stomach muscles were starting to ache from the effort of pushing the sobs out. I curled up in my father's favorite armchair and tried to think of something else.

Cayden arrived, thankfully, to provide a distraction. I prodded him into talking about himself. He told me about college and his new job in computer security for an important law firm. He had to commute half an hour to the nearest city when they needed him there physically, but half the time he could work from home. I felt myself swelling with pride.

"See? I told you that you could do it. A few years ago you were hacking into security systems. Now you're protecting them."

"I've been redeemed."

"No. You redeemed yourself. You could have gone right back into crime. Instead you're doing something good for people. I'm so proud of you, Cayden." I hugged him. I didn't even think it was strange that he was a little stiff in hugging me back.

We had a big decision make. Well, I did, and I asked for Cayden's help. The house now belonged to me. I discovered that my parents' finances hadn't been as relaxed as I'd thought. They'd left debts and half a mortgage to pay. The house was old and needed the entire water network replaced. I had money, but I needed a lot of it to keep the house. But real estate values had gone down in the past years, people were moving out of our town instead of into it, and not even selling the house would solve all of my problems.

"I don't think I could sell it anyway," I said. We sat together in the living room, both of us up to our waists in memories, the other half of us trying to think of a solution to the problem.



"What about your parents' life insurance?" asked Cayden.

"Yeah, I'd thought about that. I don't know how much it is, though."

"You should find out. That might be enough to cover most of the debts, and you can pay back the rest little by little. Your parents still have investments, right?"

"Most of them are worthless now. That's part of the reason they ran up so many debts. There might be a few that are still generating money, though. I'll look into it. And I can get a job for now."

"You're not going back to school?"

"Not for a while, I don't think."

We went up to my room after supper that night and lay on the bed, talking some more about meaningless things until our conversation veered in the direction of Cayden's mother.

"She's okay. I went to see her a few days ago. She's doing much better than before, but she doesn't seem that happy."

"Maybe we can both go to visit her every now and then. She probably just needs company."

"Thank you for helping me put her in the clinic, Aliyah. I could have sent her to a state facility; the Social Security people certainly wanted me to. But this clinic is nice. They treat her like a person, not just a patient. She's comfortable, and she's going to be taken care of for the rest of her life."

"There's no chance she'll recover?"

"Not entirely. They suggested electroshock therapy might help her, but I'd never let them do that to her. I think it's best to keep her as happy as possible with her condition."

I turned his head so that he faced me and kissed him. "You're a good son, Cayden."

He leaned over me and smoothed back my hair, looking into my eyes with such burning intensity that I could barely tell what emotion he was feeling--love or hate? But what reason did he have to hate me? I flinched at his touch, imagining for a second that I could read the desire to tear me in half on his face.

"You said we'd be together forever, remember?"

"Of course I do," I said.

"Do you still believe that?"

"Yes."

"You didn't meet anyone when you were off studying, did you?"

"Cayden, that's crazy. Who would I meet that could get between us? You're the only one I could ever possibly want."

"Good." He leaned close, his breath tickling my face. "Because I'd kill anyone who tried to take you from me."



I laughed because I thought he was joking and kissed him again.

[JudesSims]

You're a good storyteller, Apples.

[alex51299]

I agree with judewright, it was a really good chapter. The last line especially gave me the creeps a little bit.

[wednesday21]

This story is so full of emotion it's mind-boggling. Don't get me started on the epic storyline you have going. You should totally take a bow. Huzzah!

[Teacup Chihuahua]

Oh my god Apples You had me hooked from the first paragraph of this update, not just tears in the eyes but rolling down my cheeks 
THEN THE LAST SENTENCE ! .Just when I think you can't possibly top the last cliffhanger YOU DO  Brilliant does not seem adequate but its all I've got