The Goth Legacy - Chapter Four
Content warning: This story contains mature themes and is not suitable for minors. For this chapter, references to infertility and miscarriage.
Alexander and Tosha would have liked to have been able to say that confronting their infertility was the biggest struggle but it just wasn’t true. That conversation had been emotionally draining, definitely, but as they were quick to discover so was the roller coaster of reproductive technology.
More than once they found themselves having to assure the other that this was really what they wanted, and that it was worth the emotional, physical, and financial, strain.
It seemed that their lives, and specifically their calendar, began to revolve around their attempts to conceive. So much so that they realised all too late that they hadn’t made any plans for Izzy’s birthday.
Upon realising that they wouldn’t be able to organise a party in time for her, Alexander apologised over lunch, explaining that both he and Tosha were sorry they had been so preoccupied lately, but that they would make it up to her.
When Izzy realised that her dad was telling her that she wasn’t going to have a birthday party, her whole face fell.
“It’s because you were too busy trying to have a baby isn’t?” she asked sadly.
“We never said that! Why would you think that?” Tosha asked defensively
The truth was although they hadn’t actually spoken to her about what they were going through, Alexander knew from experience that children often knew more about what was going on than adults gave them credit for.
Before he had a chance to speak though, Izzy threw her hands up in irritation. “You didn’t have to say it,” she cried before running to her room.
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Alexander decided to let Izzy cool down before he spoke with her. He knocked on her door and entered, and although she didn’t look or speak to him, he wordlessly sat down beside her as she furiously played with her doll house.
“You were right Izzy,” Alexander conceded to his daughter. “The reason we have been preoccupied is because we’re trying for a baby brother or sister for you.”
Izzy still didn’t speak, but Alexander could tell she was listening. “Maybe we should have spoken to you about it first, but even adults make mistakes. Just like not planning you a birthday party in time was a mistake,” he continued.
“The question now though is can you forgive us?” he asked.
There was a moments silence before Izzy nodded in reply muttering an affirmative answer.
“Thank you,” he replied sincerely.
He watched her play for a few more minutes before picking up a discarded third doll and moving it towards the two Isabella was currently moving around the doll house. “What do you think Izzy? Can another one can join in?” he asked.
“But they’re happy as they are. What can’t it just stay the two of them forever?” she asked.
“They might also be happy with someone else to play with,” Alexander suggested, recognising Izzy was actually talking about having a sibling rather than the game in front of her.
“And no matter what happens, they will always have times when it’s just the two of them,” he assured her.
Izzy looked thoughtful before replying. “I guess that would be okay then,” she said.
Alexander smiled as his daughter then happily continued with her game; confident that soon they would be the happy family he and Tosha had imagined for themselves from the start.
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So although she still wished she could have had a birthday party, Izzy was very happy to be the centre of attention on her birthday.
Being older certainly didn’t put a dampener on her enthusiasm, and if anything, it seemed she was now even more determined to have fun and make the most out of each day. This quickly endeared her to her classmates and soon she was well and truly making up for not having a party of her own by being invited to all the parties being thrown by her fellow students.
And while it may not have been traditional in the popular crowd at school; she never lost her love of learning. And as a bonus, her top grades ensured her parents never had a reason not to let her attend whatever party was on that weekend.
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She still had yet to have a party of her own though, and while the family’s modest home may have been underwhelming compared to the more established homes of Pleasantview, Izzy still wanted to have her friends over to indulge in her favourite hobby.
As such she was upset when Tosha had said no and had been arguing with her for more than twenty minutes.
“I’m sorry but I’m just not feeling well enough to handle a house full of teenagers yelling at a sports match,” Tosha tried to explain for the umpteenth time.
“You don’t even have to do anything, just let a me and a few friends watch TV for a couple of hours. Why is that so much to ask?” Izzy whined.
“Stop asking Isabella. The answer is no,” Tosha crossed her arms signalling the conversation was over.
“I hope you’re not going to be this much of a bitch for the whole nine months,” Izzy snarled before stalking to her room and slamming the door.
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Alexander returned home to find loud music blasting from his daughter’s room and his wife having retreated to their bedroom. It wasn’t the first time since Tosha’s pregnancy had been confirmed.
“What was it this time?” he asked tiredly.
Tosha hated that Alex seemed to have to be constantly mediating between her and Izzy, but it seemed that since they’d told her that Tosha was pregnant, their teenage daughter had become more, and more, demanding.
Alex had explained to his wife that he thought Izzy might be feeling left out with their excitement over the pregnancy, and Tosha was trying to be mindful of that. But Tosha was also very mindful of how volatile this pregnancy was, and just how dangerous any unnecessary stress could be.
“She wanted to have a sports party. Maybe I was being unfair, but I’m just feeling so run down,” she told him, “I feel like I can’t do anything without vomiting first.”
“I’ll speak to her,” he assured her.
She was silent for a moment, “do you think I was being unfair?” she asked cautiously.
Alexander sighed, “not at all,” he replied truthfully. “I just don’t think she’s dealing with the idea of having to share us very well.”
He looked at Tosha for a response and was taken aback to see tears in her eyes, “Tosh, what’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry, I just, I’m so scared if this goes on she won’t be sharing us Alex,” she whimpered.
“What are you talking about?”
Succumbing to tears, Tosha told Alexander about her miscarriage all those years ago. She confided that her doctor had told her that she was, due to her age, more susceptible to another one, and that stress was on the long list of things she should avoid.
Alexander found his mind racing as he listened to Tosha apologise for not telling him and how she hadn’t told him because she didn’t want him to go through the same pain she had. He kept coming back to the same question, how could he not have known?
“It’s going to be okay,” he said quietly as he held her, not sure what else he could possibly say and hoping with all his being he was right.
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“I’m so glad you’re home, Mum is being completely unreasonable,” Izzy told Alexander when he came into her room.
“Your mother isn’t the one being unreasonable Isabella,” he told her firmly.
“Oh, of course. She blames me and you believe her,” Izzy cried defensively. Ever since her mum had fallen pregnant it seemed her dad always took her side.
“This isn’t about blame,” Alexander replied. “Your mother is really struggling with morning sickness and I can’t understand why you seem so determined to make it more difficult for her.”
“All I wanted was a few friends over,” Izzy snarled, folding her arms in front of her, “this wasn’t even about her!”
In that moment all Alexander could think about was the pain in Tosha’s voice when she told him about their lost baby. “For the time being Isabella it is about her,” he told her solemnly, “so I suggest you get used to the idea.”
Izzy was speechless as her father left the room. Her only thought being how much better everything was before the stupid baby had come in to it.
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I can’t believe it’s been over six months since the last update! It’s been in the works for a while, although the game decided to choose a different end to this chapter than I had originally planned :(
Here are Izzy’s statistics:
Isabella (Izzy) Goth
Personality: 1/9/8/5/4 (Gemini)
Aspiration: Pleasure/Knowledge
LTW: Have fifty first dates
OTH: Sports