Harper swallowed against the bile that was rising in the back of her throat. Jesus, calm down! She scolded herself as she made her way up the familiar front steps of her parents’ house. She was letting herself get so worked up already. This is why I told myself I wouldn’t try this shit again. It’s just gonna turn into a giant fight…

But maybe things wouldn’t be so bad? Maybe they’d actually be willing to listen this time…

When she finally reached the front door, she was not surprised to find it unlocked. And, as always, Harper let herself in without knocking. She’d already texted her mother earlier to let her know she’d be stopping by anyway. Her parents and grandmother were expecting her.

But there was someone else who wasn’t.

No sooner had she walked through the door than the entry hall echoed with the sound of deep, booming barks.

Harper’s lips curled into a smile at the sight of the shaggy red dog running toward her. “Hey, boy!” She knelt down for a moment, scratching him behind the ears as he finally reached her. “It’s just me.” So much for a subtle entrance… She thought, half-annoyed, half-amused.

Still, Harper couldn’t help feeling a rush of warmth at the sight of Tomato’s sweet face. Back when her parents had first adopted him, she’d felt a strange sort of resentment toward the little puppy. It had been less than three months after she’d moved out to live with Erik, and she just couldn’t shake the feeling that her parents were trying to replace her. With a dog, of all things!

But the little guy had grown on her quickly (and grown up so quickly too). And eventually, she came to envy her parents instead. She’d love to have a dog with Erik… And she knew he’d love one too. But there was simply no room in their cramped little apartment. Not to mention all the money involved. We’ve still gotta figure out how the hell we can afford a BABY, let alone a dog…

“Harper?” Tomato’s booming barks had finally begun to die away, but it was still very difficult to make out her father’s voice as he crossed into the entryway. Luckily, his lips were easy enough to read. “Hey, honey.”

“Hi, Papa.”

Zayne paused to scratch Tomato behind the ears as he walked by. It was almost amusing to see the two of them together. The years had faded Zayne’s once-vibrant hair to an almost perfect match with Tomato’s light, rust colored fur. Harper smiled softly at the sight of them. Two peas in a pod…

The dog looked up happily at his owner for a moment before finally scampering away. Zayne watched, smiling as Tomato disappeared down the hall, then turned his attention back to his daughter.

“Your mom told me you’d be stopping by… Do you want some lunch?” He offered kindly, his voice audible at last. “We’re gonna have plenty to go around.”

Harper noticed the vague smell of garlic and butter wafting in from the kitchen. It was almost enough to make her mouth water. That was another thing she secretly missed — her father’s cooking. But as tempting as it was, Harper didn’t intend for this to be a long visit. She shook her head. “Thanks, but I just wanted to stop by for a few minutes. To, um… ask you and mom about something.”

Her father’s expression darkened immediately. “Harper…”

“Can I just talk to you guys? Please?” She asked. Fuck. He’s probably already figured out what I want.

Before he had a chance to reply, another familiar figure crossed over the threshold and into the entry hall. “Hi, Pumpkin.” Hope smiled warmly at her daughter. “Good thing our welcoming committee let us know you were here.” She teased. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

She shrugged. “Got lucky with traffic downtown, I guess. I know you guys are eating soon. I won’t be long… I was just telling Papa that I wanna talk to you guys for a minute?”

Unlike her husband, Hope kept a much better poker face. Though Harper did not miss the glimmer of concern in her mother’s eyes. “Of course.”

“Just give me a second.” Zayne glanced back toward the kitchen for a moment. “I’ve gotta –”

“I’ve got it, sweetie. Don’t worry.” Jocelyne slowly made her way down the stairs as she spoke, smiling at her nephew. “I may not have your skill in the kitchen, but I can at least make sure the food doesn’t burn.”

Zayne laughed softly. “Thanks, Tante Joce.” He stepped forward quickly then, taking her by the hand and helping her down the last few steps. The stairs were getting more and more difficult for Jocelyne to navigate lately, but she was often too stubborn to ask for help.

The old woman’s gaze flicked for a moment toward her granddaughter as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She gave Harper a small nod of greeting, and a warm smile.

The young girl returned the gesture. “Hey, Oma.” She said softly.

“Hi, sweetheart. I’m not sure if your Papa told you, but we found some more of your mail mixed up with mine… Make sure you take it with you before you go, okay?”

If it had been anyone but her grandmother, Harper probably would have rolled her eyes. The only mail that still ended up at her parents’ house was always useless junk.

Instead, she forced a smile. “Okay, Oma. I will.” Harper replied softly before finally turning away and leading her parents into the living room.

Alright. You can do this. She told herself as she took a seat on the couch. But how would she even begin? These types of conversations always made her feel so awkward and embarrassed…

While she was still considering what to say, her mother’s voice broke the silence. “Honey… We know what this is about.”

Harper’s face fell even further. Shit. “You do?” She asked softly.

Her parents exchanged a look. “We love you, Harper.” It was her father who spoke this time. “But we’ve talked about this before. We can’t give you any money.”

Fuck! “Look, can’t you guys just like, hear me out? You know I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t like, an emergency.” She was practically begging already.

As expected, that was enough to get her mother’s attention. Hope’s brow instantly furrowed in concern. “That bad?”

“Our landlord’s raising our rent.” Harper lied. There was no way she could tell them about the baby. “We just need a little extra. That’s all.”

Her parents did not immediately reply. Harper could not be sure whether that was a good sign, or a bad one.

“Erik doesn’t have anything lined up yet?” Hope asked at last. “What about that interview he had last week? You said it went so well…”

Harper shook her head sadly. “Didn’t work out.”

Like so many other opportunities, it had fallen through. And then Erik had fallen too, into another of his terrible slumps. And that was when Harper realized she had no choice but to ask her parents for help again.

“He shouldn’t be looking at jobs right now anyway.” Zayne finally spoke. “He should be looking at rehab programs.”

Damn it. This again?! “Papa…”

“And you need to be the one telling him that, Harper.” He continued, his voice hard. “Either give him an ultimatum, or walk away. You deserve better than this!”

Harper did all she could to stay calm, but it was hard to ignore the anger she felt slowly bubbling up inside her.”Thing are going to get better.” She insisted. “And once Erik finds a job, you’ll see that, Papa. I promise! We just… We need a little help first.”

“You do… But not this kind of help.” Zayne shook his head as he spoke. “We can’t do this. I’m sorry.”

“Papa, come on!”

“Haven’t you had enough of this, honey?” Tears were already falling down Hope’s cheeks. The sight just made Harper even angrier. “Please, just… come home. Give Erik some space. Let him focus on getting better. And maybe you can take some time to focus on yourself too.” She paused for a moment, glancing toward her husband. “I know it’s not easy letting go. But it worked for your Papa and I all those years ago. And we both –”

“I’m not you, mom!” Harper was suddenly on her feet. They’d had this conversation countless times before, it seemed. And she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it again. “I’m not gonna turn my back on Erik when he needs me! And that’s exactly what you’re both doing right now! To me!”

“Harper! Your mother and I would never turn our backs on you. You know that!”

“Oh yeah, then what do you call this?!”

For a moment, Zayne seemed to struggle to find the right words. In the end, he dodged her question entirely. “We want to help you, honey. You know we do. But not like this. We can’t.”

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do, huh?! We need that money! Should I start stealing shit again?” It was so easy to pretend that she didn’t already have a stack of DVDs in her car that she’d stolen a few hours ago. “Is that what you want?!”

“Of course not!” Hope cried.

“Well it’s not like you’re giving me much of a choice!”

“But we are, Harper.” Her father’s voice was firm. “You do have a choice. And whatever that choice happens to be, well… it’s yours to make. Not ours.”

“Right. Because your choice is to turn your back on your own kid when she needs you.” Harper was embarrassed to feel the stinging of tears in the corner of her eyes. “Un-fucking-believable.”

She turned away from them and left the room without another word.

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Hey guys 🙂 A couple of things to mention today!

First off, this Monday, December 11th, marks TWO YEARS since I started writing Ashes to Ashes! 😮 I almost can’t believe it. I’ll probably try to do something special over on my forum thread at the Sims Forums 🙂 But I just wanted to take a moment to give a huge thank you to everyone for the past two years of support ❤

Secondly, some bad news… For a little while, I am going to have to cut down to one chapter a week. 😥 I’m so upset that it had to come to this, but I just bought a house with my boyfriend and, though super exciting and awesome, it’s also SO much work getting the house ready and moving our stuff… Plus the upcoming holidays on top of everything has made me incredibly busy and stressed lately. I can’t even keep up with a two-a-week schedule at this time 😦

I’d considered a full-on hiatus, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it! So, at least until the new year, we will only have one chapter a week now — on Saturdays.

Thank you for your understanding and I promise I will go back to twice a week as soon as I possibly can ❤

See you next Saturday with the next chapter! 😀