Bella Bachelor | A Different Path

Bella’s POV

As the bus passed the ‘now leaving Sunset Valley’ sign I smiled. A sense of relief washed over me, no more would I feel like a stranger in my own home. Mum and Dad didn’t even say much when I left. No hugs, no tears, no ‘we’ll miss you’. All I got was a goodbye as they stood by the door together watching me walk away. My only regret is leaving when Michael was out at work. I sent him a text saying I’d left but it’s just not the same. Maybe I would try calling him once I was settled.

Not wanting to think about my family anymore I put my headphones on and started the music player on my phone. The music calmed me, I lent back and closed my eyes.

For now I will be living in a small yet slightly weird town by the name of Strangerville. The weirdness starts with the town sign which has the slogan ‘the only thing stranger than the people is the flora’. Seeing it made me want to get back on the bus and go somewhere else. The only problem with that was I didn’t have any way of paying for more travelling. If I dipped into my savings to pay for that I then wouldn’t have enough to fund a place to live and I was not about to live on the streets.

Even though property was a little cheaper here all I could afford was a small trailer in a trailer park named Slip 42. There is a local story about the guy who used to own it before me. Long story short he disappeared and has never been seen since. Local rumours say he did leave a note apparently saying he wanted to answer the question to life, the universe and everything. In my opinion that is utter nonsense.

The trailer is a lot different from where I’ve come from, what I have been used to. It’s not where I once thought I would end up either but it’s mine. I don’t have to deal with anyone trying to tell me how to live my life and it’s a lot better than sleeping on the streets.

Looking around I knew that despite everything I would be happy here. Still my mind drifted to thoughts of those I had left behind, my family and my friends. One friend in particular really, Mortimer. I started to think about how would my life have turned out if Mortimer and I had married as our families had wanted. What would I have looked like? I began to form an image in my head and was startled when that image seemed to be standing before me. Even though I knew no one else was around it was still unsettling. There I stood in a red dress and straight styled hair. More makeup and expensive jewelry but would I have been happy?

I shook my head slightly making the image vanish. Thinking of this stuff was not healthy. Is was time to leave the past behind. Anyway the last I heard Mortimer was presumed dead and they were probably right.

It was finally time to enter the trailer and see what I had brought. Small with rather dated decor but it’s mine. I was a little excited to be standing in my first home. There was so much I wanted to do with the place but not right now. I was tired from my long journey and hungry too.

After eating the meal I had brought in my way here I got in bed and had the best night’s sleep I had had in a long time.

Painting and decorating is hard work when you have to do it all yourself. The reward at the end of it all is knowing it’s all your own work. Local second hand shops were a godsend when looking for new furniture and decor. Not that everything is new, the bed is the same just with new sheets and the table in the kitchen has just been painted. Still it’s amazing what you can do with a small space and limited budget.

After putting my own stamp on the place it began to feel a bit more like home. I was far from being able to relax and enjoy my work though. If I was to sustain myself here and improve my living situation I needed a job.

The laptop I had brought with me helped with this. It was one of the few luxury items I was able to bring with me. I loaded up the job pages and scrolled through the vacancies. My dream was to be an actress but opportunities for acting work in this small town where pretty much non existent. Looking at the other vacancies there was little choice for a school leaver with no experience so I applied for a barista job in a local coffee shop. Better than nothing I suppose.

Despite there being no opportunities for acting roles in this town I wasn’t about to give up on my dream. Whenever I had time I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom practicing and trying to improve my acting skills. Even I had to admit I wasn’t very good at the moment but I was not about to give up. This was my dream, all I have ever wanted. One day I would have the chance to leave this town and hopefully get closer to reaching my goals.

Right now though I had visitors. My first thought was they were here to welcome me to the town. I’m not really sure why they were here really. I tried to talk to them but they just rambled on about flowers and something called ‘the mother’ whatever that was. They freaked me out a little, that sign was right the people here are strange. After talking with them a little more I was able to persuade them to leave. It leave me wanting to learn more about what was going on here. Maybe I would take a look around.

That would have to wait for another day however. It was getting late by the time those strange visitors left. Since it was a warm evening I sat outside and ate a bowl of my first home cooked meal, a salad. I had a plan now to find out more about the strange goings on in this town and I had a job. Yes I was on my own but honestly I think I prefer it this way. I kind of like the peace it brings. This is probably the happiest I have been in a long time.

Authors Note: This is a not where I originally wanted to go with this family. Loosing Sims 3 however, has forced me to rethink things and make changes to the story. I hope will enjoy reading Bella’s story as much as I am enjoying writing it.

Bella’s POV

This is Mortimer Goth, he was my best friend as a kid. We used to spend so much time together. Mortimer has a very creative nature, he loves to paint and takes piano lessons. The only problem is he comes from an upper class and therefore rich family so his home life varied greatly from myself and the other kids.

“I was supposed to go to the same boarding school father did.” He told me once. “Mother put a stop that unfortunately. She wanted me to go to the local school and mix with the local children.”

Mortimer explained that his mother’s family was of a lower class to his own but since both his grandfathers were close friends his parents marriage was arranged. I can’t imagine my life being decided like that, all laid out and planned for me.

The way Mortimer talked and acted put a lot of people off. So much so that most of the other children gave him and me by association a wide birth. This never bothered me when I was a kid but as I got older I started to long for other friends. Friends I could talk about stuff I felt uncomfortable talking to Mortimer about. Mortimer was a good friend but not someone I could share certain things with. Besides it became clear as we got older that Mortimer had a huge crush on me. I was dreading the day he told me how he felt knowing what I would have to tell him. It would break his heart and our friendship would be changed forever.

Time passed as it tends to do and Mortimer remained silent about how he felt about me. Talk of high school was the main topic of conversation at school and I allowed myself to get drawn into it, when Mortimer wasn’t around of course. The upside to this was that I started to make friends with some of the girls at school. Hanging out with my new friends meant spending less time with Mortimer which he was not pleased about. Personally I thought it was a good thing. Variety is a good thing, right?

It wasn’t like we didn’t spend any time together because we did. When we were together however, he always made a point of mentioning how much he hated my new friends. He wanted things to go back to how they were when we were younger, when he had me all to himself. The more I thought about it the more I realised I preferred this new setup, I felt free.

Shortly before starting high school and both our birthdays Mortimer asked me to meet him at the stone circle on the hill behind Goth manor. It’s a place I know he loves and spends a lot of time there alone. This was going to be the moment I had been dreading for so long. Whatever happened, whatever was said one thing was certain. Nothing would be the same again. We were standing at a crossroads and this was the moment we both chose which path to take.

Mortimer was already there when I arrived. I could see him standing alone near the stone circle. He seemed quieter than usual and was fiddling with the buttons on his jacket.

“Hi Mortimer,” I said trying to be cheerful and hide the dread I was feeling about what was going to be said. “So what was it you wanted to say.”

“We’ve been friends for a long time right?” Mortimer said quietly. He cleared his throat then continued with more confidence “You enjoy our time together don’t you?”

“Of course I do, you’re a good friend,” I said wishing he wasn’t going to say what I felt was coming. “I like you, we have fun together.”

“The thing is now that we are getting older I was hoping we could be more than friends.” Mortimer explained stepping closer to me. He paused, took a deep breath then finished with, “I like you a lot Bella”

I sighed, it had been said and there was no going back now. He would want an answer and I was not about to lie to him. However he reacted to it he deserved the truth,pretending to feel the same way would only bring heartache later on.

“Oh Mortimer. That is nice of you to say and I wish I could say I felt the same way” I started, trying to tread lightly. “I won’t lie to you though. The thing is I like you, but only as a friend. I’m sorry Mortimer”

Those were clearly not the words Mortimer had wanted to hear, not the answer he had been expecting. Clearly he had imagined a different outcome. After a period of silence during which he looked upset and on the verge of tears his face changed to one of anger.

“You ungrateful girl” He spat. “Don’t you realise how lucky you are to be given this opportunity?”

I had not been expecting him to react with such anger. What was he expecting from me? We were only young after all. Surely he wasn’t expecting a promise of marriage already? I know the Goth’s are an old fashioned family in some respects but I didn’t think this was one of them.

This anger that was coming from Mortimer, the way reacts like this when things don’t go the way he wants. I am relived now that I turned him down. My shocked silence while I was considering all this gave him chance to continue with his rant.

“How could be possibly turn me down? I am the heir to the Goth estate, all that is my father’s will one day be mine. You could have anything you desire. How could you say no to all that?”

“I don’t think we should hang out any more” I said when he paused for breath. If he really thought I was going to agree to this when I didn’t feel the same way about him he really didn’t know me at all.

“Bella.” He started trying to remain calm.

“I think I should go.” I said with some finality and before he could say anything else I turned my back on him and walked away. That was the last time I spoke to Mortimer. There was a voicemail I received soon after this incident in which he apologised for the way he acted. He spoke about how he hoped we could put all this behind us and remain friends. While I appreciated the apology the damage to our friendship had already been done. If he could get like this once how can I trust he wont in the future. I can’t walk on egg shells around someone afraid I am going to say something wrong. The decision to delete the message and have no more contact with him was a hard one but one I felt was right to make.

Loosing a friend who I been so close to for so long was hard but I still think it was the right decision. Arriving at high school for the first time alone instead of together like we had planned felt weird. I was the focus of stares and whispers as I walked up the steps towards the main doors. By the end of the day I had already made some new friends, it felt like my life was heading in a new direction and it was exciting. It’s awful to say this but parting ways with Mortimer was the best thing to have happened to me.

My parents on the other hand were not at all happy when they learnt that I was no longer friends with Mortimer. After talking with Michael, my older brother I learnt the reason why my parents were so unhappy. They as well as Mortimer’s parents had been planning my future for many years, since I was a baby apparently. They had all been hoping that Mortimer and I would be married one day. I hate to upset them but there is no way I can marry someone I don’t love.

Things with my parents remained strained throughout my teen years. I was too young to live on my own and there was no extended family to take me in. Like it or not we were stuck together. My 18th birthday could not get here soon enough. With the money I had saved from my part time job and savings I was leaving Sunset Valley with no plans to ever return.

There was no party, no cake and no celebration. I aged up alone in my bedroom and wasted no time. There was no way I was sticking around longer than I had to. I packed the few things I wanted to take with me into a bag and walked out.

My journey so far has been long and it is far from over. The money I have however is not enough to get me to where I want to go. For now at least I will have to call this trailer my home. It’s time to leave the past behind and focus on the future and a new life.