Haley's Adventure, Part Nine
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
"Erik, I'm having second thoughts...." Tami said softly not daring to look into the eyes of the man she thought she loved.
"It's a little late for that now, Tami. I'm on my way to Haley's funeral. It'll all be done and over with sooner than you think, alright? Just hang in there. You've been great," Erik attempted to persuade her.
"I just....." Tami began.
"I love you Tami more than anything in this world," Erik lied as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Oh Erik," Tami began to cry.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" Erik asked sweetly.
"I just can't........face them. I...." Tami choked up.
"I understand. I'll see you later."
Erik kissed her gently on the lips and headed to Saint Simtist Church. Tami stood there feeling every emotion known to man as her eyes followed Erik. She didn't know how she had gotten involved in all this, and how she had been manipulated into deceiving her best friend. She felt sick. She had to get out of that hospital room.
Carl examined himself in the mirror as he finished getting ready for the ceremony. He was confused. He felt he didn't know who he was anymore. Who was he? What was he still doing in this life without Haley by his side? It wasn't right. How could this have happened? They were so happy together, and now.......he was alone.
Carl knew things would be different from then on. Meaningless. He knew he had no purpose left in the world. He wanted nothing more than to have Haley in his arms again. To kiss her lucious lips...taste her sweet breath......But he knew it was something he would never ever have again.
After the funeral, Haley's family and friends headed back to Carl's place to keep him company and try and cheer him up. But making Carl happy at this point in his life was like seeing Paris Hilton teach a kindergarten class. Impossible.
Even so.....they did the best they could. Under the circumstances.
"Hey," Rayanne said finding it was the only thing she could think of saying at that moment.
Carl said nothing but managed to force out half of a smile.
"Haley was wonderful, Carl," Rayanne said as a single tear fell from her eye, "I couldn't have asked for a better sister. She was.......she was......"
Carl began to cry as he wrapped his arms around Rayanne. They both wept in each other's arms hoping it would make them feel at least an ounze of comfort. It didn't. Not even close.
"Oh Carl.....I just can't believe she's gone," Rayanne cried out.
Carl sobbed on his sister-in-law's shoulder as he thought of how much he and Haley loved each other. The pain he was feeling at that moment was unimaginable. He would do anything to make it go away.
As the day went on, they all attempted to speak of happy things, but the subject always returned to Haley.
"She was my best friend," Amar said forcing the tears to stay in their place, "I mean, Rayanne is obviously my best friend, but Haley.....she was always there for me, you know? She was......my best friend."
Carl wiped the tears from his face, "Yeah. She was mine too."
"Thanks so much for being here today, Amar. It means a lot," Carl said as he hugged him with the little strength he had left.
Amar didn't know what to say. Instead he just hugged him tighter.
Carl glanced to the side and saw Bobbi standing there. He immediately walked over to her and put his arms around her, "I'm so glad you're here, Bobbi."
Bobbi began to cry, but forced herself to stop, "Like I wouldn't be."
At that point, Carl pushed himself away from her and broke down. He knew how close Haley and Bobbi were. How close she was with everyone in that room. It was tearing him apart.
"Oh, Carl," Bobbi cried, "Shhh, don't cry."
"It isn't right, Bobbi! This isn't what was supposed to happen. If anyone were to go, it should have been me!" Carl screamed hysterically.
"Carl, no! Don't say that! Things happen for a reason," Bobbi said not even believing it herself, "Haley was meant to go. She........It was just.....her time. I'm sorry, I have to use the restroom," Bobbi said choking up as she left the room.
Carl pulled himself together when he noticed Sadie approaching him. She looked sad. He realized then it was the first time he had ever seen a frown on that little girl's beautiful face.
"Hi Uncle Carl," Sadie said softly not sounding like her usual self.
"Hi sweetie," Carl replied wiping the tears from his eyes.
Sadie's eyes began to squint, "She said she was fine, Uncle Carl. Last week. We were having lunch, and she said she was fine. She lied to me Uncle Carl. She is not fine. Mommy said she's gone away and she's not coming back. That's not fine!"
Carl bent down and held onto his little neice as she cried in his arms. This was too much. Too much for any of them to handle. It was unbearable.
An hour later.........
"Carl! Would you like to meet my son?" Helayna asked him desperate to bring new conversation. (Yes, she changed her hair)
"I would love to," Carl answered politely.
"This is Marley. My youngest. I realized today that you two had never met. Marley is in the top of his class at Sim City High. I'm very proud of him," Helayna introduced them, "Have you seen Bobbi anywhere?"
"Upstairs, I believe," Carl answered.
"I'll be back," Helayna smiled.
"It's nice to meet you," Marley greeted him, noticing the look of depression in his eyes.
"Yes, you too. Thanks for coming."
"I want you to know.....," Marley began.
"Yes?" Carl asked.
"Aunt Haley is special."
"She 'was'," Carl corrected him feeling himself choke up once again.
"Yes, she......was," Marley said nervously, "I could always count on her. She was always there for me."
"I've heard that quite a bit today," Carl said, "She was quite a lady."
"If you'll excuse me, I have some things to tend to," Carl politely excused himself not wanting to sob in front of the young man.
"Sure," Marley said with a sympathetic smile, "No problem."
"Oh Haley!" Bobbi cried out, "Why?? How could you have left us like this? Please!! I...I...I can't take it. You should be here right now. You should have fought it. Too many people love you here, Haley. You belong here! Oh how could you do this to us!!!!!!"
"Bobbi?"
Bobbi looked up, startled by the voice of her sister.
"Bobbi?" Helayna asked again, "Are you alright?"
"No, Helayna. I'm not. I'm not alright. Are you alright?!?" Bobbi snapped noticing herself getting irritated, "I'm sorry."
"You have no reason to be sorry, Bobbi," Helayna attempted to comfort her sister, "No reason at all. We all miss her so very much."
"How could she leave us like this, Helayna? How????" Bobbi cried out confused and upset.
"I don't know," Helayna answered beginning to cry, "Just like you said, it was her time to go."
Bobbi pulled away, "NO! It wasn't her time to go! I just said that to comfort Carl. He's right. None of this feels normal. It almost feels as if she's not gone. We just can't find her, that's all! I don't know. I just......I need her back with us, Helayna. I really do."
Bobbi began to sob, which caused Helayna to break down along with her. The two girls cried to themselves in the empty bedroom where Haley once slept.
"Hello, Carl."
Carl's thought of Haley were interrupted by the sound of Gretchen's voice, "Hello."
"Do you mind if I sit down?" Gretchen asked.
"How are you doing?" she asked already knowing the answer.
"Not so well. How are you doing?"
"I think everyone here is pretty much in the same boat," she replied.
"I remember this one time, when we were little, "Gretchen began, "I was probably about seven, and she was fifteen, she had a boy over...."
"Why are you telling me this?" Carl asked.
"Because I thought you might want to hear it......Anyway, she had a boy over and I kept bothering her over and over again. Knocking on the door as loud as I could. She got soooo mad at me and threatened to beat the crap out of me....."
"That doesn't sound like Haley," Carl interrupted.
"Yeah, well, there's probably a few things you don't know about her. Anywho.....so she threatens me and tells me the next time I knock on that door, I'm gonna get it. Do I knock? Of course I do. All of a sudden, Haley whips the door open, already expecting me to be there, and beats the crap out of me...."
"What?!?" Carl yelled.
"Yeah. She pushed me down on the floor and hit me as hard as you could hit a seven year old without actually bruising anything. For the rest of the day, I wouldn't talk to her at all. Towards the end of the night, Haley came up to me and sat down beside me. I was expecting her to apologize."
"Did she?" Carl asked realizing how stupid it was that he asked."
"Nope! Instead, she leans down so that her face is directly across from me and she says, 'Gretchen, no matter how much it hurts you right now, you need to realize that the pain will go away, and you will know that something will come out of this. So suck it up!' And then she went to her room."
Carl sat there stunned at the story he had just heard, "Why in the world would you tell me this story? Today of all days? That's a horrible story!"
"Because, Carl. It's my turn to take Haley's advice and give it to you! No matter how much you hurt right now, the pain will go away, and something will come out of this. So suck it up!!!!" Gretchen said grinning.
Carl looked away not really knowing why she would say those words to him on that horrible day. Before he could make any sense of it, he heard a voice calling his name.
"Carl?"
He turned around to see Dr. Chase standing there with a concerned look on his face, "Hello Carl. How are you doing?"
"Dr. Chase. Thank you for coming," Carl said forgetting about their coversation about life insurance last week, "Really, thank you. Haley would have appreciated you being here. We know you did everything you could to....."
Erik stepped in noticing the uncomfort coming from Carl's voice, "My pleasure, Carl. Haley was a special girl. And I'm just very sorry she had to go so soon."
"I hate to cut this short. I have to be going. I just wanted to pay my respects," Erik said in his most polite voice. "Thank you, Dr, Chase."
Hours later, it was time to say goodbye. Bobbi walked up to Carl before she head out, "Call me if you need anything, ok? I mean it."
Carl smiled, "Thanks Bobbi. I will."
That night, it really sunk in that Haley was gone. He was alone. He wouldn't be crawling into bed with her that night. He wouldn't be kissing her goodnight. He wouldn't be hearing the sweet sounds of her voice coming from the bathtub as she tried to sing her favorite songs. He wouldn't be eating her delicious pancakes in the morning or saying I love you as he headed off to work.
It was all over. Haley was his world, and without her, his life was over as he knew it.
That night, Carl couldn't bring himself to sleep in their bed. Instead, he cried himself to sleep on the living room couch.
Around three in the morning, he awoke with dried tears in his eyes. As he wiped them away, he decided to check his e-mail. Maybe Bobbi had written him something and didn't want to call and wake him up.
As he sat there and waited for his slow ass computer to reboot, he couldn't think of anything else but Haley. She never liked the computer. She always said it was a waste of time and that he should be out doing something and not sitting in front of a screen that would eventually make you fat and blind. He loved her so.
Just then, his computer started up, and he logged into MSIM Explorer. He flinched as he typed in his e-mail address 'CarlandHaley16@msim.com. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get through one minute without something reminding him of her.
YOU'VE GOT MAIL!
Carl saw an e-mail from Bobbi, one from Amar and two from Sadie, but one e-mail particularly stood out. It was anonymous. No return address, with the subject, "Haley"
He sat there staring at the screen, not daring to read it. He had a funny feeling about it. Something didn't feel right. Just then, he got the courage to open the e-mail..........
The words he read before him caused his insides to shrivel up into nothing. His heart began to race. He felt as if he couldn't breathe. He didn't believe it that he forced himself to read those words...again...and again....and again.....'Your wife is alive'.
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
"Erik, I'm having second thoughts...." Tami said softly not daring to look into the eyes of the man she thought she loved.
"It's a little late for that now, Tami. I'm on my way to Haley's funeral. It'll all be done and over with sooner than you think, alright? Just hang in there. You've been great," Erik attempted to persuade her.
"I just....." Tami began.
"I love you Tami more than anything in this world," Erik lied as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Oh Erik," Tami began to cry.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" Erik asked sweetly.
"I just can't........face them. I...." Tami choked up.
"I understand. I'll see you later."
Erik kissed her gently on the lips and headed to Saint Simtist Church. Tami stood there feeling every emotion known to man as her eyes followed Erik. She didn't know how she had gotten involved in all this, and how she had been manipulated into deceiving her best friend. She felt sick. She had to get out of that hospital room.
Carl examined himself in the mirror as he finished getting ready for the ceremony. He was confused. He felt he didn't know who he was anymore. Who was he? What was he still doing in this life without Haley by his side? It wasn't right. How could this have happened? They were so happy together, and now.......he was alone.
Carl knew things would be different from then on. Meaningless. He knew he had no purpose left in the world. He wanted nothing more than to have Haley in his arms again. To kiss her lucious lips...taste her sweet breath......But he knew it was something he would never ever have again.
After the funeral, Haley's family and friends headed back to Carl's place to keep him company and try and cheer him up. But making Carl happy at this point in his life was like seeing Paris Hilton teach a kindergarten class. Impossible.
Even so.....they did the best they could. Under the circumstances.
"Hey," Rayanne said finding it was the only thing she could think of saying at that moment.
Carl said nothing but managed to force out half of a smile.
"Haley was wonderful, Carl," Rayanne said as a single tear fell from her eye, "I couldn't have asked for a better sister. She was.......she was......"
Carl began to cry as he wrapped his arms around Rayanne. They both wept in each other's arms hoping it would make them feel at least an ounze of comfort. It didn't. Not even close.
"Oh Carl.....I just can't believe she's gone," Rayanne cried out.
Carl sobbed on his sister-in-law's shoulder as he thought of how much he and Haley loved each other. The pain he was feeling at that moment was unimaginable. He would do anything to make it go away.
As the day went on, they all attempted to speak of happy things, but the subject always returned to Haley.
"She was my best friend," Amar said forcing the tears to stay in their place, "I mean, Rayanne is obviously my best friend, but Haley.....she was always there for me, you know? She was......my best friend."
Carl wiped the tears from his face, "Yeah. She was mine too."
"Thanks so much for being here today, Amar. It means a lot," Carl said as he hugged him with the little strength he had left.
Amar didn't know what to say. Instead he just hugged him tighter.
Carl glanced to the side and saw Bobbi standing there. He immediately walked over to her and put his arms around her, "I'm so glad you're here, Bobbi."
Bobbi began to cry, but forced herself to stop, "Like I wouldn't be."
At that point, Carl pushed himself away from her and broke down. He knew how close Haley and Bobbi were. How close she was with everyone in that room. It was tearing him apart.
"Oh, Carl," Bobbi cried, "Shhh, don't cry."
"It isn't right, Bobbi! This isn't what was supposed to happen. If anyone were to go, it should have been me!" Carl screamed hysterically.
"Carl, no! Don't say that! Things happen for a reason," Bobbi said not even believing it herself, "Haley was meant to go. She........It was just.....her time. I'm sorry, I have to use the restroom," Bobbi said choking up as she left the room.
Carl pulled himself together when he noticed Sadie approaching him. She looked sad. He realized then it was the first time he had ever seen a frown on that little girl's beautiful face.
"Hi Uncle Carl," Sadie said softly not sounding like her usual self.
"Hi sweetie," Carl replied wiping the tears from his eyes.
Sadie's eyes began to squint, "She said she was fine, Uncle Carl. Last week. We were having lunch, and she said she was fine. She lied to me Uncle Carl. She is not fine. Mommy said she's gone away and she's not coming back. That's not fine!"
Carl bent down and held onto his little neice as she cried in his arms. This was too much. Too much for any of them to handle. It was unbearable.
An hour later.........
"Carl! Would you like to meet my son?" Helayna asked him desperate to bring new conversation. (Yes, she changed her hair)
"I would love to," Carl answered politely.
"This is Marley. My youngest. I realized today that you two had never met. Marley is in the top of his class at Sim City High. I'm very proud of him," Helayna introduced them, "Have you seen Bobbi anywhere?"
"Upstairs, I believe," Carl answered.
"I'll be back," Helayna smiled.
"It's nice to meet you," Marley greeted him, noticing the look of depression in his eyes.
"Yes, you too. Thanks for coming."
"I want you to know.....," Marley began.
"Yes?" Carl asked.
"Aunt Haley is special."
"She 'was'," Carl corrected him feeling himself choke up once again.
"Yes, she......was," Marley said nervously, "I could always count on her. She was always there for me."
"I've heard that quite a bit today," Carl said, "She was quite a lady."
"If you'll excuse me, I have some things to tend to," Carl politely excused himself not wanting to sob in front of the young man.
"Sure," Marley said with a sympathetic smile, "No problem."
"Oh Haley!" Bobbi cried out, "Why?? How could you have left us like this? Please!! I...I...I can't take it. You should be here right now. You should have fought it. Too many people love you here, Haley. You belong here! Oh how could you do this to us!!!!!!"
"Bobbi?"
Bobbi looked up, startled by the voice of her sister.
"Bobbi?" Helayna asked again, "Are you alright?"
"No, Helayna. I'm not. I'm not alright. Are you alright?!?" Bobbi snapped noticing herself getting irritated, "I'm sorry."
"You have no reason to be sorry, Bobbi," Helayna attempted to comfort her sister, "No reason at all. We all miss her so very much."
"How could she leave us like this, Helayna? How????" Bobbi cried out confused and upset.
"I don't know," Helayna answered beginning to cry, "Just like you said, it was her time to go."
Bobbi pulled away, "NO! It wasn't her time to go! I just said that to comfort Carl. He's right. None of this feels normal. It almost feels as if she's not gone. We just can't find her, that's all! I don't know. I just......I need her back with us, Helayna. I really do."
Bobbi began to sob, which caused Helayna to break down along with her. The two girls cried to themselves in the empty bedroom where Haley once slept.
"Hello, Carl."
Carl's thought of Haley were interrupted by the sound of Gretchen's voice, "Hello."
"Do you mind if I sit down?" Gretchen asked.
"How are you doing?" she asked already knowing the answer.
"Not so well. How are you doing?"
"I think everyone here is pretty much in the same boat," she replied.
"I remember this one time, when we were little, "Gretchen began, "I was probably about seven, and she was fifteen, she had a boy over...."
"Why are you telling me this?" Carl asked.
"Because I thought you might want to hear it......Anyway, she had a boy over and I kept bothering her over and over again. Knocking on the door as loud as I could. She got soooo mad at me and threatened to beat the crap out of me....."
"That doesn't sound like Haley," Carl interrupted.
"Yeah, well, there's probably a few things you don't know about her. Anywho.....so she threatens me and tells me the next time I knock on that door, I'm gonna get it. Do I knock? Of course I do. All of a sudden, Haley whips the door open, already expecting me to be there, and beats the crap out of me...."
"What?!?" Carl yelled.
"Yeah. She pushed me down on the floor and hit me as hard as you could hit a seven year old without actually bruising anything. For the rest of the day, I wouldn't talk to her at all. Towards the end of the night, Haley came up to me and sat down beside me. I was expecting her to apologize."
"Did she?" Carl asked realizing how stupid it was that he asked."
"Nope! Instead, she leans down so that her face is directly across from me and she says, 'Gretchen, no matter how much it hurts you right now, you need to realize that the pain will go away, and you will know that something will come out of this. So suck it up!' And then she went to her room."
Carl sat there stunned at the story he had just heard, "Why in the world would you tell me this story? Today of all days? That's a horrible story!"
"Because, Carl. It's my turn to take Haley's advice and give it to you! No matter how much you hurt right now, the pain will go away, and something will come out of this. So suck it up!!!!" Gretchen said grinning.
Carl looked away not really knowing why she would say those words to him on that horrible day. Before he could make any sense of it, he heard a voice calling his name.
"Carl?"
He turned around to see Dr. Chase standing there with a concerned look on his face, "Hello Carl. How are you doing?"
"Dr. Chase. Thank you for coming," Carl said forgetting about their coversation about life insurance last week, "Really, thank you. Haley would have appreciated you being here. We know you did everything you could to....."
Erik stepped in noticing the uncomfort coming from Carl's voice, "My pleasure, Carl. Haley was a special girl. And I'm just very sorry she had to go so soon."
"I hate to cut this short. I have to be going. I just wanted to pay my respects," Erik said in his most polite voice. "Thank you, Dr, Chase."
Hours later, it was time to say goodbye. Bobbi walked up to Carl before she head out, "Call me if you need anything, ok? I mean it."
Carl smiled, "Thanks Bobbi. I will."
That night, it really sunk in that Haley was gone. He was alone. He wouldn't be crawling into bed with her that night. He wouldn't be kissing her goodnight. He wouldn't be hearing the sweet sounds of her voice coming from the bathtub as she tried to sing her favorite songs. He wouldn't be eating her delicious pancakes in the morning or saying I love you as he headed off to work.
It was all over. Haley was his world, and without her, his life was over as he knew it.
That night, Carl couldn't bring himself to sleep in their bed. Instead, he cried himself to sleep on the living room couch.
Around three in the morning, he awoke with dried tears in his eyes. As he wiped them away, he decided to check his e-mail. Maybe Bobbi had written him something and didn't want to call and wake him up.
As he sat there and waited for his slow ass computer to reboot, he couldn't think of anything else but Haley. She never liked the computer. She always said it was a waste of time and that he should be out doing something and not sitting in front of a screen that would eventually make you fat and blind. He loved her so.
Just then, his computer started up, and he logged into MSIM Explorer. He flinched as he typed in his e-mail address 'CarlandHaley16@msim.com. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get through one minute without something reminding him of her.
YOU'VE GOT MAIL!
Carl saw an e-mail from Bobbi, one from Amar and two from Sadie, but one e-mail particularly stood out. It was anonymous. No return address, with the subject, "Haley"
He sat there staring at the screen, not daring to read it. He had a funny feeling about it. Something didn't feel right. Just then, he got the courage to open the e-mail..........
The words he read before him caused his insides to shrivel up into nothing. His heart began to race. He felt as if he couldn't breathe. He didn't believe it that he forced himself to read those words...again...and again....and again.....'Your wife is alive'.