Rising Above *Graveyard*

[Ally3772]

Chapter List:

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One

[Ally3772]

I listened to the buzz of the elevator.

DING!

The doors slid open to reveal an ugly yellow striped wall. On that wall hung a notice board filled with papers tacked to it. I browsed the papers, it was mostly job postings, festivals, and snarky notes between tenants. I gripped the keys nervously in my hand as I reached door number 23, this was mine. I took a deep breath and opened up the door, it was a nice open layout with a black, white, and blue color scheme. All of my things were already here, my parents set everything up for me. The first time I moved away from home I left all my belongings and moved to another city in hopes to find a job. A few months later, here I was, only this time I didn't want to be home. So I got my own apartment and moved back into the city.



I set my bag down next to the shoe rack and walked around the apartment. This was it, I was truly on my own. I grew up in a stable home with a mother and a father who loved me, well most of the time. You see my father wasn't the easiest to get a long with. My mother on the other hand was my best friend. In her eyes I could do no wrong, but in my fathers eyes most of what I did was wrong. I sat down on my bed and slid my shoes off. I thought about the elephant in the room, I believe that is the saying at least. The elephant in the room would be myself however, and that is something I try to keep hidden. I wasn't your normal barbie model, nor was I even skinny, and that is why I disappoint my father. I should mention that my name is Clara, a name that my father picked out ironically. Only I didn't turn out to be the perfect skinny daughter that he had in his imagination.




School was another nightmare. I'll save you from your typical bully story though, but it wasn't pretty. I stood up and walked into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. I grabbed a can of soda before walking to the laptop that my mother bought for me. I needed to find a job, but I needed something I could work from home. I didn't like dealing with people because the first thing they see is my weight and then the whispering starts. I scrolled down the page as I passed several applications, mostly for clerks or food service.

Did you get your present? -M

No? -C

Look under the pillow! <3 -M

I got up from the chair and slipped my hand under the pillow. I pulled out a white box and opened the lid to reveal a tablet. It just wasn't any tablet though, it was the new model of the drawing tablets! You see art has always been my passion, I wasn't the best at it yet, but I was slowly learning.

Oh my god thank you mom! -C

You're welcome sweetie, we're so proud of you. -M

You don't have to lie for him mom. -C

Your father is proud of you C, he loves you. -M

I just looked at the phone and clicked it off.



She means well, but it hurt knowing that she was lying. He probably didn't even know I liked art. I sat back down at the computer and began searching for art jobs, maybe some kind of freelance work was available. Sure enough there was an art job available and it was online! All I had to do was fill out this application with a piece of art to show my talent. I chose one of my better pieces I've done in high school and submitted it with my application. It said that they typically replied within a day so I shut my computer and stood up. I walked outside to check the mail.

"Hey! You must be new!"

I froze in my tracks. This was my nightmare, I knew how this started and ended. I slowly turned around to see a guy standing there.

"Hello, yeah, um, my name is Clara." I stuttered.

"Atticus." He said.

"Unique name." I said, adding an awkward giggle.

"Thanks! Well, it's not the nicest apartment building but for the most part if great. The downstairs neighbors can be a bit loud though." He mentioned.

"Ah, that's fine as long as I can sleep."

"Just bang on the floor, that usually gets them to shut up."

I nodded.

"Well, I'll let you go."



I walked back into my apartment before even checking the mail.

...

It's been about a week since I've moved into the apartment. I ended up getting the job as a freelance artist! Not sure if that is what it was called, but it was close enough. I was still confused at how it paid, but I'm sure it would be fine. Tonight there was a local spice festival and I decided to be brave and venture out of the apartment for once. The weather was nice thankfully as I walked into the court yard. There was tables of food set up neatly with people gathered around. Maybe this wasn't the best idea.

I turned around to go back home.

"Excuse me? Miss?"

Crap.

"Would you like to try some?" A guy with a black hat, brown shirt, and purple gloves asked.

"Uh, well, sure." I nervously said.

I grabbed a small dish and he spooned some food onto my plate. If I hated anything more it was eating in front of anyone. I smiled before taking a bite.

"Oh my!" I gasped.

"Spicy?" He asked.

"Big time." I giggled.

"Here's a glass of milk." He offered.

I took it and smiled.

So maybe spicy food wasn't for me. But that didn't mean that I couldn't enjoy it from a distance!



"Mommy, why is that lady so big?"

"Austin! That isn't nice!"

I watched as the lady escorted her kid away from me, I smiled nervously as I felt the shame sink in a little more. I walked over to the next booth where this guy was playing guitar, he was pretty good at it! I threw a few dollars in the guitar case and clapped when the song ended.



The night ended. I was finally back at the apartment, safe in the four walls.

Mommy why is that lady so big?

Stop it Clara.

But it was hopeless, the words were deposited into the "reasons people hate me" bank. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that they were deposited into the "reasons I hate myself" bank as well. I sighed and crawled into bed, shutting the lights off and laying down. Tomorrow was a new day, and tomorrow I really started working on my art.

Hey guys! So I hope you like the first chapter! I'm breaking out of my comfort zone with this one or at least going to try too! I can't wait to see where this story goes!

[Ally3772]

Dear Clara,

We have a client requesting logos for the upcoming business launch. Down below are the requirements of the clients. Submit the three required for approval to collect payment!

-Llama
-Apple
-Cotton Candy

Pay: $113

Due: Three Days



It wasn't the greatest pay of all but it was at least something. Rent still wasn't due and I wasn't even sure as to when that was due. This apartment only costed about four hundred a month which wasn't that bad for the size of it! I grabbed my tablet and opened up the drawing pad and started getting to work.



How are the paintings going? -M

Great! The pay is not the best yet, but it'll get better! -C

And you're eating your salads? I know you talked about starting that? -M



Yeah! It's been going great! -C

That's awesome sweetie -M

I felt bad for lying to her, and I knew that I should start eating healthier, but I was just struggling with it.

There was a knock on the door.

I stood up from the table and walked over to the door.

"Hi!"

I jumped a little.

"Hello." I said.

"My name is Frankie! I'm your new neighbor!" She introduced.

"Oh, you just moved in?" I asked, walking into the hallway.

"Yeah! Right there!" She said, pointing behind me.

I smiled.

"What's your name?!" She asked.

"C-Clara." I said.

"Nice to meet you!"

She seemed so nice.



The other neighbor Atticus walked out.

"Why are you dressed like that?" He snarled at Frankie.

"Why don't you mind your business?!" Frankie snapped.

I almost laughed. She had spunk.

"Okay, my bad."

He walked right back into his apartment.

I laughed.

"People don't get me." Frankie shrugged.

"Me either." I said sadly.

"Well that's silly of them, you're beautiful."

My eyes widened.

"Uh- Um, would you like to come in?"

"Sure!"



...

"So what's this movie about?" Frankie asked.

We hit it off right away! Normally I did not make friends easily, if at all, but with Frankie it was almost like we knew each other for years.

"Some horror film." I said looking at the case.

The opening scene came onto the screen.

"Always a graveyard!" I giggled.



"Typical everyday horror film." Frankie said.

I nodded.

The movie turned out to be horrible. But we had fun making fun of its horribleness.

"Well, I should get going! I start at the diner tomorrow." Frankie told me.

"The one down the street?" I asked.

"Yeah, not what I'm going for but it's something to start."

"What do you want to be?"

"A cop, my dad was one and I've always looked up to him."

I smiled, "That's nice."

"How about you?"

"I'm a freelance artist." I told her.

"That's awesome! I'd love to see your work sometime!"

I smiled as I closed the door behind her.

My phone rang.

"Hey mom! Yeah, yeah I'm doing okay!" I said.



"I made a friend! Her name is Frankie! She seems great. I'm happy too. Yeah, well goodnight mom!"

She hung up, she missed me and wanted to say goodnight. I sometimes felt bad for leaving her at home with no one but dad to talk too. I picked up my tablet and started working.

"These paintings aren't going to paint themselves." I said, to myself.



Things were slowly starting to pick up pace!

Nothing to do tonight so there will probably be at least one more chapter later!

[Ally3772]

What are you doing tonight? -F

Chilling at the apartment. -C

Wanna hang out? -F

Maybe after my nap, kind of a rough day. -C

What happened? -F

I don't want to talk about it, I'll be fine. -C

C, come on, talk to me. -F

I just looked at my phone before putting it down. I was in no mood to deal with anything at the moment. I laid on the bed and closed my eyes ignoring the pain in my chest.

I decided to go out for a walk. I heard a few snarky comments, but I was able to shake them off and continue on. Until I fell, in front of at least twenty people. I was suddenly back to high school where everyone stood in a circle and laughed at me. Not a single person helped me up, I went into the bathroom of a coffee shop where I called home. Mom was able to calm me down until dad mentioned that if I lost weight maybe it wouldn't be so hard for me. So I hung up and now I was here, in bed, wanting to forget the world.



"Clara?"

I had only been laying down for five minutes.

"Clara?" Frankie said through the door.

"Go away!" I said.

But Frankie being Frankie ignored that and the next thing I knew she was laying in bed across from me.

"Now you've only known me for a short amount of time, but you know that I don't listen very well." She said.

I smiled a little.

"You going to tell me what happened?" She asked.

I looked at her.

She just looked at me back.

"I fell, in front of twenty people who, instead of helping me up, laughed at me." I said, looking down.

"Why didn't you call me?" She asked.

"I didn't want anyone else to see me." I told her.

"Look, I could care less about how you look, you are beautiful either way, but if you are unhappy then maybe you should change it."

"I don't know how."

"Well, thankfully you have me." She smiled and booped my nose.

...

"Are you sure about this?" I asked.

"Come on!" Frankie said, dragging me by the hand.

We were at the local gym.

"There's people here." I groaned.

"Yes, typically there are at a gym." She giggled.

We went over to the machines.

"You start with the treadmill and I'll work on my skinny arms." She told me.




It didn't take long for my body to feel like it was dying.

"Alright, break time." Frankie said.

"Good, I wanna sit down." I said.

"Oh no, we're going to play some basketball." She said.

"But that requires moving and I'd rather just go die on that bench right there."

She snorted and grabbed me by the hand.

"Let's see what you got!"

I grabbed a ball.



"That's how you throw?" She giggled.

"Hey! What's wrong with it?!" I asked.

"You throw like a girl!"

"Because I am?"

She laughed.

"Well then let's see what you got big shot!" I huffed.



"Nothing but net!" She said as the ball swooshed into the net.

"Show off." I rolled my eyes.

...

"REJECTED?!"

I gaped at my phone. It had been the first time anything of mine had been rejected. Apparently all I had to do was edit the picture and resend it in so thankfully I had a second chance. I touched up the picture and sent it back in.



I waited for the email from the client, if they knew that the submission was coming generally it didn't take long for approval. Thankfully this time they were happy with the changes and they approved it with an added bonus to my check. I was able to make rent easily this time, but it took a huge chunk of my money so it would take a bit to catch back up on. Especially since it costed me money each time I wanted to paint something on the tablet. I was just glad though that everything seemed to be going well being on my own. I was a little worried that I would fail again at it, but it helped being back in town. At least this time I was familiar with the surroundings.

Seems like things are going great with Frankie and Clara!

[Ally3772]

"It looks stupid." I said.

"It does not!" Frankie scolded.

I sighed.

We stood there looking at my first ever picture. It was a donkey, or maybe a horse? I wasn't even sure myself and I was the one to paint it.

"I can't believe you made me frame it." I groaned.

"You should be proud of it!"



I needed to work on painting, and by work I meant grind. A lot of the better paying gigs required skill levels way greater than I'm at.

"I need to go check my mail." Frankie said.

Moments later I heard her sputter some cuss words.

"Everything okay?" I called out.



She walked back in and sat at the computer desk and put her head in her hands.

"Frankie, what is it?" I asked.

"I'm so screwed Clara." She said.

"With what?"

I looked up from my tablet, little did she know she was my next experiment.

"I thought that I could afford my own place, and I've been looking for a roommate and there's no one who wants it. I can't afford my rent."

She was upset, and I've only known her a short time but I've never seen her upset at all. She's the kind that can take anything you throw at her and dish it out twice as hard.



She stood up and started pacing.

"I'm so stupid you know?" She screamed.

"You are not!"

"I was always the freak in school. I always got told that I wasn't going anywhere in life! I wanted to finally prove to everyone that they were wrong! But I guess they were right!"

I stood up, setting my tablet on the bed, and I walked over to her.

"Frankie, you are amazing." I said.



"If I was so amazing, then why am I going to be kicked out when I just moved in?" She said, her voice shaking a bit.

I looked at her.

"I know a little about having something to prove. So I tell you what, I have a deal." I told her.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You move in with me, it's a small place but we can fit your bed over here. You move in with me and we both can help each other out with rent. In return you help me work out and lose some weight. That way I can help you with your goals in life, and you can help me with mine." I smiled.

"You would do that?" She asked.

"What are friends for?"



"Best friends." She smiled.

I smiled back.

"I didn't tell you, but I applied to be a cop." She said.

"You did?!" I gasped.

"Yeah, I start tomorrow."

"That's great!"

She smiled.

"To being roommates and best friends!" I said.



...

"This is silly." Frankie said.

"You're worrying too much." I told her.

"Do I look stupid?" She asked.

"Far from it!"

She fussed at her uniform.

"It's just a detective position for right now." She said.

"We all have to start somewhere."



"What are you going to do while I'm gone?" She asked.

"Paint, paint, and more paint." I said.

"Any gigs?"

"A few."

"Good!"

I smiled.

"Well, wish me luck." She said.

"You'll do great!" I smiled.

So, I had a roommate and a best friend. When I moved into the apartment I didn't even want to interact with anyone, but now I am glad that Frankie popped up into my life. We seemed to click right from the start. I knew that it took a lot of worry off of moms shoulders as well because she didn't like me not having anyone to talk too. I just hoped that her first day went okay!

Frankie moved in and took her first steps towards her dream job!

[Ally3772]

A Few Months Later

"I can't believe that you hung it up." Frankie said.

"It fits well there!" I giggled.

"It is amazing." She grinned.

She looked at me and I smiled before looking away.



I walked into the kitchen and sat down. She followed me, because it was Frankie and she didn't enjoy being alone for too long.

"What are you working on now?" She asked.

"A client wants a picture of her sister drawn for her birthday." I told her.

She leaned over and looked at the tablet.

"Clara! Look at that!" She gasped.

"It's not that good." I mumbled.

"Girl please!" She snapped.

I laughed.

"Look, it ain't no donkey looking horse on the wall, that is amazing!"

"Hey! You leave donse alone!"

"Donse?" She questioned.

"Donkey and horse together, donse."

She just shook her head.



Frankie's POV

Living with Clara has been amazing.

I've had plenty of friends in life, but none that got me the way she does. It's like I don't even have to try with her, she just understands. Her art was really progressing as well! She claims otherwise but that was Clara. Another big part of my life was finally taking the steps into being a police officer. It was actually going really well! I was a cadet in training, and I was still in my first few days of training.



Everyone at the station was super nice and patient with showing me the ropes as well.

"Hey, you must be Frankie!"

"I am, who are you?" I asked.

"Sammie, I'm new here too." She said.

"Welcome!" I smiled.

She smiled.

"What is your mission?" She asked, looking at her notepad.

We each got our own notepad to write important clues or notes down.

"I have to go to a crime scene." I told her.

"Lucky!"

...

"Yo! I don't recognize you!" A guy in a green jacket called out.

I walked up to the sidewalk.

"The name is Officer Frankie." I introduced.

"Cadet Frankie." Jameson corrected.

"Cadet, eh?" The guy giggled.

"Okay, I'm still in training, but soon I'll be out here on the streets with you!"

"I'm Julie." A girl in a bright yellow and grey winter gear said.

"Hello, so what seems to be going on?" I asked.



I was there for a few hours at least.

We searched the house for clues about what happened, it looked like a robbery. I took pictures of busted vases and wires hanging from the wall where electronics used to be. Once back at the station I got called into the chiefs office to go over my notes.

"The owners gave me a list here..." I said, trying to find the page.

I scanned the page.

"Ah! Here it is! I got a list of electronics that were missing. It looks like a few televisions, gaming system, a laptop, and a cell phone." I told her.

"Were there any signs of violence or kidnapping?" She asked.

"No ma'am." I said.

She typed something in her computer, and I began to worry.

"Well Frankie, it seems to me that your notes match up with those of Jameson's notes."

"Is that good?" I asked nervously.

"Going over your file it appears that you are doing quite well here and your training appears to be paying off! I have high reviews on your personality and character from a good portion of the staff here!"

I was smiling like a little kid on Christmas.

"I'm glad I am doing well ma'am!"



"Well, you're doing more than well. So well that I am now removing you from training." She said.

My smile fell, "What?"

"Welcome to the team, Officer Frankie!"

I covered my mouth.

"Keep it in your pants rookie." Jameson said, standing behind me.

I shot up from my chair.

"Thank you! Thank you so much ma'am! I won't let you down!" I squealed.

"One thing Officer Frankie." She said.

I nodded.

"If you ever feel over your head you come to me, okay? I know a good one when I see it."

"I will!"

I couldn't wait to get home to tell Clara! I grabbed my gear and rushed out the door and hailed a taxi. Truth be told, I was feeling a little bit more than friendship with Clara. I haven't told anyone, not even family, but I was pretty sure that I was gay. I never felt the way I feel with women that I should with men. But I didn't think that Clara liked me more than a friend, so I was stuck in the friend zone without even having a chance of coming out of it. But that did not stop my excitement.

Clara's POV

"CLARA!"

I shot my head up to see Frankie burst through the door.

"I had the most amazing day!" She said.

"What happened?!" I asked.

"I got promoted!" She squealed.

I gasped, "That's amazing!"

I listened as she paced back and forth energetically telling me every step of her day. I just sat there listening happily as she got excited with every word she said.



I wish I could say that my end was going as well as hers.

"Don't give up hope." She said as we headed out to the gym the next day.

"It's not working." I said.

"You need to give it time."

I sighed as I pushed the doors open.

"Start with the treadmill." Frankie said.

I didn't know why I was doing this, because we worked out a lot and I haven't been losing any weight. I climbed on to the treadmill and started it.



We stayed at the gym for an hour or so until we finally left. It felt so good to just go home, shower, get some work done, and then go to bed.

Frankie is an officer now!

[MarianT]

I hope things continue to go well for Clara and Frankie. They're both very likeable.

[Ally3772]

"Come on! You can do it!" Frankie cheered.

"I wanna stop!" I grunted.

"No! Keep holding it!"

It felt like she put the maximum amount of weights she could on here.

"My arms are going to break."

"They will not."



"And release!" She said.

I gasped for air as I let the machine go.

"Ready to do the treadmill?" She asked.

"Can I just rest?!" I gasped.

"Nope, remember our deal?"

I groaned.

I chose a treadmill, that happened to be right next to the skinniest blonde I've ever seen.

"Look at her." I whispered.

"Ignore her." Frankie said.

"She's so skinny."



I was never going to be that skinny, was I? It was finally time to go home and I hit the shower and changed into my pajamas right away.

"So girl, how do you feel?" Frankie asked.

"It's not working." I groaned.

"You blind then." She said.

I looked at her, "Really?"

"Yeah, you are losing weight!"

I looked in the mirror.

"I am!" I gasped.

"Let's take a picture!" She said, jumping up to get her phone.

"Do we have too?"

"Yes! We have to keep track of your progress!"



"Time to get going on my gig." I said.

"What do you have to do?" Frankie asked.

"I have to make logos for a company." I told her.

"Does it pay okay?"

"Not really, but I'm starting to get the better paying ones available."

I was really enjoying working from home. I got to set my hours and pick the ones that had good pay outs. Mom was glad to hear that we were making our rent and still have a decent savings going on. Having Frankie here helped a lot because I don't think it would be so easy to pay rent without her.

...

"I got you something!" Frankie said.

We were walking up to the apartment after going on a nice walk around the block.

"What? What did you get me?!" I asked.

"Close your eyes!"

I closed my eyes and felt her start to lead me into the apartment.

"Okay, now open them!" She said.

I opened my eyes and gasped.

"Frankie!" I screamed.

"Now, I know it's not the most exciting gift, and I know that our apartment is small but I wanted to get you it!"

"You didn't have too!"

"I'm just proud of you and I want you to feel comfortable enough to keep going."

"I can't wait to try it out!"



She got me my own treadmill!

She was so amazing, and I didn't know if it was the excitement or what but my heart was racing.

"Thank you so much." I told her.

"I'm glad you like it!" She smiled.

"I do." I said looking at her.

I hope you guys are enjoying it =] (I'm horrible at ending chapters and saying things haha)

[Ally3772]

"Stupid. I am so stupid!"

I messed everything up. EVERYTHING.

"How are things going at the station?" I asked.

"Good! Jameson says that I am earning high marks on almost everything!" Frankie said, proudly.

"That's great!"

She was beaming, I was glad that she was having such an amazing time.

"I still have to work on my speed, but that shouldn't be too bad."

"No, it will just take practice."



"So, I was thinking of doing a prank." Frankie said.

"What kind of prank, and on who?" I asked.

"Jameson. He put a whoopie cushion on my chair today and I need to get him back."

"Oh, we'll get him back."

"Partners in crime?" Frankie asked evilly.

"Til the end!"

She threw her head back and mustered up her best evil laugh.



A Few Weeks Later

"He fell for it!" Frankie yelled.

"Well hello to you too." I laughed.

"He never saw it coming! He thought I would get him back right away but the joke is on him!" She said.

I laughed.

"Thank you for helping me." She said.

"Thank you for being amazing." I giggled.

She hugged me out of no where and I had to admit, it was kind of nice.

"I'm so pumped right now!" She said breaking the hug.



"Was he mad?" I asked.

"No! He laughed afterwards!" She said.

"Oh man I wish you got pictures!"

"I wish I did too! Clara you should have seen his face!"

"How did the others react?"

She laughed, "Oh man they were dying of laughter."

I laughed along with her and the next thing that happened shocked us both.



I pulled back.



"Clara! I'm sorry... I-I should go." Frankie said.

She rushed out of the door so fast that I didn't have time to process what had happened and stop her at the same time.

Frankie's POV

"Stupid. I am so stupid!"

I messed everything up. EVERYTHING.

She wasn't going to want me to stay after that. I walked around the park even though it was freezing cold out. Maybe I would find a place to sleep and just move my things out tomorrow, that way I wouldn't make things more awkward. Then she wouldn't have to kick me out and I wouldn't have to face her. Stupid. I don't even know what came over me.

"Hey Frankie."

I turned to see our neighbor.

"Hey." I said.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked.

"Look I just need some time alone? Okay?"

I felt bad for snapping but I was just in a state of panic and stupidity.

"I hope things get better." He said.

I gave him the best smile that I could come up with at the time.

Clara's POV

What just happened?

...and why did I like it?

I finally was able to close my mouth before I decided to think about it while working out. Where did she go? I hoped that she was okay. I wasn't mad at her, I was confused, and excited, and my head was spinning. I didn't even know I liked girls, I didn't even know Frankie liked girls. Did I like girls? Would that explain why I never felt the need to have a boyfriend? I did find girls to be beautiful, but I just chalked it up to be me jealous of how they looked.



My phone rang, my heart skipped a beat hoping that it was her. It was mom.

"Mom?" I asked.

She was just calling to check up.

"Mom, Frankie kissed me."

Silence.

"Are you there?"

She asked how I felt about it.

"I don't know! I don't think she meant to do it, and she left in shock right away. I mean, I didn't hate it. Is that weird?"

She told me that I should do whatever makes me happy and that she would love me either way.

Frankie makes me happy.

...

The door opened hours later.

"I was getting worried!" I said, standing up from the couch.

Frankie just awkwardly stood there.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm sorry about what happened Clara, and it will never happen again, but if you want me to move out that's fine. Can I have some time to find a place though?" She asked.

"Frankie! I don't want you to move out!"

"You don't?"

"No! Sure what happened was shocking, and I'm still processing it, but I didn't hate it."

She just looked at me.

"So, what do we do?" She asked.

"See where it goes?" I suggested.

She smiled, "I would like that."

I didn't know what kind of label you would give that. But there was definitely some kind of spark between us now that I think has always been there. I moved closer to her and took one of her hands and played around with it. I could feel the nervous energy bouncing off of each of us as I smiled.

"By the way, you look amazing! You're losing weight by the second now!" Frankie complimented me.

"Right?!" I gasped.



"I like you however you look though." She said.

"Thanks." I said blushing.

"Are you scared?"

"Terrified."

I grabbed her hand.

"But, as long as you are here I'll be fine." I reassured.

"Good because now it's time for a makeover!" She said out of no where.

"What?"

So there I was a few hours later... In a skirt. Me, in a skirt.

"It's a skirt." I groaned.

"You look adorable!" She said.

"My legs are chunky."

"Girl, I'm going to kill you."

I laughed.



Here is to finding out the future and what it held for us. I hope it was good things.

Ooooooo

[Ally3772]

"So, the guys at work are having a get together tonight after work. You should totally come!" Frankie said.

"I don't know." I said nervously.

"It'll be fun." She said.

I looked at her, she seemed to want me there but I don't think I was ready for that.

"Frankie, I- I want to it's just I don't think I'm ready, you know?"

"Oh! Of course, yeah."

"You don't hate me, do you?"

"No! Of course not!" She smiled.

"Good."



"Well, I have to get going." Frankie said.

"I'm sorry, again." I said.

"Clara, it's okay. Really, I want you to be comfortable."

I smiled and grabbed her hands.

"Be careful, okay?"

"Always."



I watched as she walked out the door. I took a deep breath and went to change. After Frankie left for work I usually worked out for about an hour. I was super excited about my progress, I felt better too! I had more energy which let me get more things done in the day. I grabbed my bottle of water before stepping onto the treadmill. I put it on the hill climber setting and got started. I thought about how things were going with Frankie. It was crazy how things work out in life and how someone can just walk into your life. She was the best friend I never even thought I would have and now we were exploring a whole other side of it. She gives me butterflies and made my palms all sweaty, was this normal? Guys never made me feel this way growing up but with her I just couldn't get enough.



I took a shower after working out and sat down at the laptop.

One New Email...

I opened it and it was a client from one of my previous jobs wanting to inquire about another job. They wanted me to make up some logos for one of their new products and then meet up with them to talk prices. They gave me an example of what they wanted and I clicked the link.

We want three logos for our new baby clothing line, we were thinking an elephant, a bear, and a tiger. Have them drawn up and we will talk about pricing.

I opened up the link and looked at rough drawings of what they wanted.



"That seems easy enough." I said to myself.

I grabbed my tablet and began working.

DING!


I grabbed my phone, always at the worst time.

How are things sweetie? -M

Fine, how about you and dad? -C

Same as usual! -M

That's good -C

And Frankie? -M

I stared at the phone. I hadn't told her about us just yet, but I wanted too. I guess this was normal for people to be scared to come out to their parents and loved ones. But it shouldn't, why is this any different than getting a boyfriend?

Going great! Hey, can I call you another day? About to get started on work. -C

I look forward to it! -M

I put the phone down and began drawing.

I must have lost track of time because before I knew it the door opened. I stood up and looked to see Frankie walking in.

"Is the party over already?" I asked.

She closed the door behind her.

"No, I decided not to go." She smiled.

"What?! Frankie, you should go!" I told her.

"Nah, I'd rather be here with you."

"You would?"



"Without a doubt." She grinned.

We looked at each other before she pulled me in.



"I could get used to that." Frankie smiled.

"I'm glad you like it." I giggled.

She noticed my tablet.

"More work?" She asked.

"Yeah! I have to go in a bit to meet with the client."

"That's great, and who knows maybe before we know it we can get into a better apartment."

"That would be amazing."

I smiled.

...

It was late.

The meeting took longer than normal. Frankie would already be asleep by the time I got home. I just hoped that I didn't wake her. The clients approved of the drawings and even gave me an added bonus. I fiddled with the keys and quietly opened up the door to the apartment before shutting it silently. I set everything down and went into the bathroom to change into my pajamas. I went to crawl into bed before stopping in my tracks. There was Frankie, in bed, in my bed. I giggled before covering my mouth, she was so cute.



I climbed into bed carefully and looked at her for a few minutes before closing my eyes.

Sorry for the late chapter! I've been battling a sinus infection that's kicking my butt!

[Ally3772]

"Hey mom, it's me. You must be out and about, um, can you give me a call when you can? I need to tell you and dad something. Thanks, I love you."

I hung up the phone.

"Are you sure about this?" Frankie asked.

"Yes, it's now or never." I told her.



"I'm proud of you." She said.

"Thank you."

She smiled.

"Enough about that though, today is a big day!" I cheered.

"Ugh."

"No ugh! This is exciting! You've made it to Corporal!"

"It's not that big of deal."

"To me, it's huge! You've wanted to be a cop and you are kicking butt at it!"

She smiled, "Thank you."



"I have to go get dressed!" Frankie said.

"Okay but I need a picture!" I said standing up.

"My uniform is the same." She told me.

"I don't care! We need to mark this date!"

I smiled and walked over to the desk to grab my phone. I smiled as the background came to life, it was a picture of Frankie and I kissing. Frankie had tears rolling down her cheeks. You see, her being promoted wasn't the only big thing to happen lately. I asked her to be my girlfriend officially, no more holding back. She said yes and we spent the entire night cuddled on the couch and watching cheesy romantic comedies. I also made her a deal, and that deal was that I would tell my parents that I was a lesbian.

"Okay, here I am. But I am going to be eating so you'll have to deal with it." Frankie said.

I followed her into the kitchen where she grabbed a plate of eggs and toast. I held up the phone and snapped the picture before she could even smile at me, I don't know why but I loved pictures where people weren't ready. To me that is when you got to see the real them, and not the rehearsed version of themselves. Frankie hated it though and most of the time made me delete them.

"I'm keeping it!" I said before she could intercept.

She huffed.



"You look so cute!" I squealed.

She groaned before finishing her breakfast.

...

I decided to go outside and get some fresh air now that summer was here. I hated winter so I stayed inside as much as physically possible which was a good thing that I worked at home. Across the street at the court they were setting up the next festival, I couldn't really tell what the theme was but I'm sure Frankie would want to go. She loved festivals and trying new foods and experiencing new cultures. Frankie didn't open up much about her childhood and I didn't feel it was my place to push it much. If she wanted me to know then she would tell me but the only thing I really knew for sure was that her dad was a cop. I noticed a small child carrying a plate of food from the festival and they walked over to the bench and sat down next to a woman sleeping.

"Hey little man, what's your name?" I asked.

"Lucas." He said.

"Hi Lucas, I'm Clara." I smiled.

He smiled holding his plate of food.

"Are you all alone?"

He shook his head, "No, this is my mom."

I saw him glance at the sleeping woman.

"I see, do you guys live in the apartments?"

"No, well, you see we kind of don't live anywhere." He said quietly.

"You're homeless?"

He nodded.




"Stay right here, okay?" I said.

He nodded.

I hurried to the elevator and pushed the button several times thinking it would go faster. Once I was in the apartment I grabbed my wallet and got fifty dollars out of it before rushing back to the elevator. I ran outside and back to the park bench where Lucas was still sitting there.

"Here, I want you to give this to you mom okay? It's not much but I hope it'll help!" I told him.

He looked at me before taking the money.

"I can't take this." He said.

"Of course you can!"

"Thank you Clara."

"And I live in 2B in that building right there," I said pointing, "If you need anything, please come find me."

He looked at me like I was a ghost.

"Okay, well. Good luck, and be safe okay?" I said.

He smiled and nodded.

Once back inside my phone went off.

Mom.

I took a deep breath.

"Hey mom." I said.

"Hey sweetie, you wanted to talk? Dad is here."

Great.

"Yeah, um, I actually just wanted to tell you guys something."

I bit my thumb.

"What is it?"

I took a deep breath.

"Well, um, mom, dad, um, I just wanted to tell you that I am in love with Frankie, and I'm a lesbian."

Silence.

I heard dad start to get riled up.

"Mom?"

"Wow, if you are happy honey that I am all for you guys! Are you happy?"

"I am beyond happy!"

"So she loses the weight, and then shacks up with some girl she barely knows!" Dad roared.

"I've known her since I moved in dad."

"Don't start with this!" Mom said.

The next twenty minutes I sat in tears listening to the two of them argue. Mom was supporting me, but like I feared, dad wasn't happy. I told them that I would call or text them tomorrow and hung up the phone.



I was happy, so why couldn't everyone be? I should have figured that dad wouldn't be happy though because everything I did or said was wrong in his eyes.

"I'm home."

I looked around to see Frankie standing there.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked.

I hadn't noticed that I had been crying. The second she walked up to me I just lost it and she pulled me into a hug.

"I take it you told them, and they reacted badly?" She asked.

"Mom is fine with it, but dad freaked out." I cried.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, he has always been that way. I guess I shouldn't really be shocked."

...

"Are you going to show me?!" Frankie groaned.

"One second!" I giggled.

I made the decision to buy a new outfit, however this outfit was going to be my work outfit. I know that I didn't have a so called normal job, but I did meet with clients often and I wanted to look professional. My name was being spread around more now which was super exciting! So I wanted to look professional.



"Are you ready?" I asked.

"DUH!" She screamed.

I walked into the kitchen.

"Whoa." Frankie said.

"You like?"

"GIRL. I may need to walk away. WHEW!"

I giggled.

"You look, wow. Just amazing."



I beamed.

I had come so far from where I was when I moved into this apartment building. I was as big as a house, jobless, friendless, and only one supportive parent. While I still have one supportive parent I now was at a weight I was happy with, I had a job that I love, and an amazingly beautiful girlfriend.

"Wow." Frankie said.

"I'm glad you like it!" I told her.

"I do."

I smiled.

"By the way, before I forget. I saw a house the other day.." She hinted.

"A house?"

"Yeah, it's small but cute! I thought maybe it was time for a change?"

"How much is it?" I asked.

"About 65,000."

"Frankie, we don't have that yet."

"I know, but we are close! A little more hard work from both of us and we could be in there in no time!"

I thought about it for a moment.

"Okay, let's go for it!" I smiled.

"YES!" She cheered.

This was my life, and I was going to live it my way, support of my dad or not!

Go Clara!

[Ally3772]

"Do you have to work today?" I asked.

"Nope, off for the next two days!" Frankie told me.

I took a bite of my salad.

"You wanna do something today?"

"Like what?"

I shrugged.

"We could go to that park in the next town over." She suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that!" I smiled.



It was summer now, so we finished eating and got changed into our summer outfits before heading out. The taxi ride was a bit long but we finally arrived and we got out. It was quite popular today, the park, but it wasn't too bad.

"What do you wanna do first?" Frankie asked.

I looked around. There was a nice lake, and I wasn't big on fishing but they had free fishing poles for people to use.

"We could fail at fishing together." I suggested.

"Oh god, let's do it!"

I giggled as she led the way.



"I caught one!" I gasped.

"Hold on!" Frankie said.

She set her pole down and rushed to me.

"I think it's a big one!"

I struggled as I pulled on the pole. The fish finally flew out of the water and I reeled it in, it wasn't big after all. In fact it was quite tiny.

"Oh." I said, disappointed.

"It's cute!" Frankie told me.

I sighed.

She took a plastic bag, put some water in it, and plopped the fish in, before tying the bag closed.

"What are you doing that for?" I asked.

"We are going to keep it!" She beamed.

I looked at her.

"I love you." I smiled.

"I love you more."

"Not possible."



"I'm going to go to the bathroom." Frankie said.

I nodded.

I decided to head over to the water fountain. Several coins laid at the bottom of the fountain and I dug into my pockets for one. I held it in my palm before closing my eyes, thinking of a wish to make.

I wish Frankie's dream of the house comes true.

I took a deep breath and tossed the coin in.
 


I felt someone grab my hand, I looked up to see Frankie. I smiled as she led me over to a bench by the playground. We sat down and watched the children play pirates as their parents played the sea monsters. I smiled and glanced over at Frankie, she had a huge smile on her face as she looked at the kids. I wondered if she wanted children, I could see her being a mother. The thought about us being parents made my stomach flutter with butterflies. I wanted everything with her and it was like I wanted everything to speed up, but everything to slow down at the same time. I just wish I had the support of my family, I knew mom supported me because she would always support me, but dad was so cynical to everything I did. I know that I shouldn't let it bother me but it did.

"What are you thinking out?" Frankie asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"The future." I smiled.

She looked at me, "Am I in it?"

"If I get my way you are."

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it.



Frankie's POV

Today was wonderful.

I was at the park with my favorite human on the face of the earth. I still to this day couldn't believe that Clara agreed to be my girlfriend. I knew it was a huge step for her and in the beginning I didn't know if she even liked girls that way, but I am glad that she does.

"Hey! No fair!" A girl with blonde hair shouted.

"I was here first!" The girl with dark black hair argued.

"We can all take turns, here I'll even be the sea monster!" Clara said.

I giggled.

I stood up with her and we walked over to the pirate ship. Clara began to wave her arms around like crazy and make all these weird noises yet I couldn't love her more.



"Oh man." Clara laughed a little while later.

"Tired?" I asked.

"A little."

"We could go back to the apartment." I suggested.

"No, I wanna check out the skating rink!" She said.

"Let's do it!"

I grabbed her hand before we headed to the skating rink. This park had a lot to offer and I was sad that it wasn't closer to us.

"I'm going to be horrible." She said.

"Oh I will too." I told her.



...

It was starting to get dark out.

"Should we head home?" Clara asked.

We were now sitting at the beach at a picnic table.

"One more thing." I said.

I looked at her for a few moments before kissing her.



"I had an amazing day." I told her.

She smiled, "I did too."

"Let's head home."

I held my hand out and she took it.

I was so lucky to go home with this woman every night.

I hope you guys are still enjoying the story!

[Ally3772]

Frankie's POV

"This is Frankie, I'm bringing in a young female for obstruction of property." I called over the radio.

Dispatch confirmed and I placed the radio back in it's holder.

"I said I wouldn't do it again." Lacy, the suspect in the back, said.

"You shouldn't have been doing it in the first place." I said, looking at her in the review mirror.

I turned my attention back onto the road. We were so close, and I wasn't talking about the suspect. Clara and I have been working our butts off to scrape together enough money to buy that house. It had become our new dream together and our first thing we would do as a couple. I loved her more than she would ever know, and if I could make her even a little happy then I was going to do that. Sadly that meant working more hours at work which in turn meant less time with her. By the time I got home, if I even went home, I was so tired that I had to sleep. I felt bad for her and I had hoped that she didn't feel left out. I sighed to my self as I pulled into the parking lot before getting out of the car.

"Alright, out." I said as I opened the backdoor.

Lacy groaned and I led her into the station.

"We'll be at the finger scanner first." I told her.

"I'm aware." She said.

"Ah, we have a veteran then."

She snorted as we began the process.



"Alright, up to the board." I told her.

She walked up to the board, placing her hands up and spreading her legs apart a bit.

"Just a quick pat down."

Even if the criminals have been here before I always let them know what I am doing before I do it. That way no one can turn around and say that I mistreated them in anyway.

"You won't find anything."

"I hope you're right."



"Frankie! You eat yet?" The chief asked from her office door.

"Not yet, but I'm fine." I told her.

"Andrews, take over for Frankie! Go eat." She ordered.

Andrews stepped in and finished processing Lacy. I headed upstairs and grabbed a sandwich from the refrigerator. I was tired, but the day wasn't even close to being done. I was required by law to go home after this shift and I could not wait to go home and sleep in a bed instead of a chair. I was excited to see Clara as well, I kept tabs with her throughout the day through text but it was off and on. She was grinding with freelance jobs and trying to get the higher paying ones as much as she could. Higher paying jobs meant a lot more work as the clients were so much pickier so she ended up having to edit them multiple times before they finally accepted them.



Lunch break ended and I was back downstairs.

"Your name?" I asked.

"Sarah." She replied.

"Hold up the sign please."

She raised the sign and I snapped the picture.



"Okay, follow me to the cells."

She put the sign down and I led her to the cells.

"In here."

I closed the door behind her.

I went to walk away but there was loud banging.

"HEY!"

I groaned, "What Lacy?"

"How long am I in here for?!" She snapped.

"Andrews should have gone through all of that." I told her.

"I don't accept that time limit."

"Well, tough luck."



Clara's POV

"Ouch!" I hissed.
 
I shook my hand and stretched my fingers. My hand hurt so bad from constantly drawing. I was getting sick of drawing at this point but I wanted that house for Frankie. She was working so hard and I wanted to pull my weight. I yawned as I took a moment to watch whatever cheesy dating show was on the television. This client wanted a painting of mountains with water for her landscaping magazine project she was doing. I was having a difficult time getting the water right though and I was worried that they would flat out deny it. My phone dinged.

Coming home tonight, I am so tired. -F

I will have the bed ready for you! -C

I can't wait to sleep, but I can't wait to see you either! -F

I miss you bunches. -C

Gotta get back, love you! -F

Love you too! -C

I smiled and put my phone back.



She had shown me pictures of the house that she wanted and it was pretty. Mom loved it as well and pitched in a little money to help even though I told her no. She wouldn't listen though and I loved her for that. Dad still refused to mention Frankie or even that I was on the phone with mom half of the time. I tried not to take it to heart, but it was hard because he was my father. I wasn't going to let him stop me from being happy though. I was going to move into that house with Frankie and hopefully spend the rest of my life with her whether he liked it or not. I had a meeting with a client in about an hour but I was still working on this piece even after I had gotten dressed to leave.

"CRAP!"

I made a mistake, and I had no time to really fix it. I chewed on the end of my pen and thought of a solution impressively fast. I just hoped that they wouldn't notice the mistake.



A Month Later

Things happened so fast!

In fact, so fast that we were able to purchase the house! It had been the craziest month of our lives but we finally pulled it off!




I had my own office! With a painting easel as well as my tablet! Frankie wanted me to have my own space to just focus and be me and I loved her even more for that.

"I cannot believe this kitchen!" I gasped.

"I know, I know we don't cook much but I was super excited about it." Frankie smiled.

"We have our own home!" I squealed.



Frankie walked over to me and grabbed my hand.

"Come here." She said.

She pulled me into a soft kiss. I smiled as we broke apart.

"I have a surprise for you." She told me.

She tugged on my hand and led me to the stairs that led downstairs. I figured we would just use it for storage for now.

"The basement?" I asked, following her down the stairs.

"It's more than that." She told me.

We reached the bottom step and I gasped and covered my mouth.

"Clara, this is your own personal gallery." She smiled.



"I even got you an extra tablet for when you just want to be down here for some inspiration." She told me.

"Baby!" I gasped.

I twirled around, only the back wall had paintings so far but I suddenly couldn't wait to paint for personal fun and fill the walls up.

"It's not the biggest space, but maybe we can somehow expand it when the time comes!" She told me.

"I love it so much, and I love you." I said giving her a kiss.

"I love you too!"

I was beaming with excitement. I had a house, a office, a beautiful girl, and now my own personal gallery for my drawings! What else could I wish for?

God the grind for that house took FOOOREVVERRR. I didn't want to do another chapter before getting the house but I finally was able to do it, no cheats at all.

[Ally3772]

The doorbell rang. I looked up from my laptop and stood up, I walked to the door and opened it.

"Mom?"

Sure enough, mom stood in front of me.

"Hi honey." She said, smiling.

"Uh, wha- come in!" I stammered.

I stepped aside so that she could come in. I led her to the living room where she sat down almost immediately, like it wasn't strange that she was here at all.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Come sit down sweetie."

I looked at her before sitting down on the couch.

"I'm so confused."

"I'm only here for today, but I needed to talk to you in person."

Was this some kind of dream?

"What is going on?" I asked.

She looked at me, and it was only til then I realized that she was crying.

"I'm leaving your father."

My eyes widened.

"Things have not been good, and it's even gotten physical at times."

"What?! When did all of this start?" I asked.

"Shortly after you moved back, and it's gotten worse since."

I covered my mouth.

"Was this my fault?" I asked.

"No sweetie, your father, he's just a different person than I married. I wasn't fond of the way he treated you and then after Frankie came along he just got worse."

"Mom I'm sorry." I cried.

"Oh no, sweetie! No don't cry!" She said scooting closer and pulling me into a hug.

"I didn't mean to ruin anything!"

"You didn't! Your father is a very opinionated man and he needs to know that we're not going to be his punching back for him."

I was blind sided by all of this.

"Are you happy?" I asked.

"Honestly? Yes. I've felt lonely in a marriage but now I feel, free." She said.

I searched her face for signs of her lying, but she seemed like she was at peace with this decision.

"So, where are you going to live?" I asked.

"With a friend for now, but I am searching for an apartment." She told me.

I nodded.

"I just needed to tell you this in person." She told me.

"It's good to see you mom."

She pulled me in a hug.

...

"So that was it, and then she left?" Frankie asked.

"Yeah, it was so sudden I didn't even have time to react." I told her.

"You should have called me! I would have came home!" She told me.

"No, you were busy."

"I would have loved to meet her."

"I know, and I wanted you too."

She smiled and rubbed my arm.

"My parents are getting a divorce and I feel like it's my fault."

"How?"

"Because I was fat."

She looked at me.

"Clara, you lost the weight and it still happened. You did not cause this, okay?"

I wiped a tear away and nodded.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

After that it was back to work for me.



"Do you need anything?" Frankie asked.

"No, but thank you!" I told her.

I continued to type as I searched this company that contacted me. It seemed sketchy to me how much they were offering for how little work they wanted done. So instead of accepting the gig, I researched it. Almost every single review came up with the words: scam, fraud, ripped off, and the list went on and on. So how come the site was still up?

"Babe?" I called.

"Yeah?"

Frankie walked in.

"How would I go about reporting a possible scam artist?" I asked.

She looked over my shoulder and glanced at what people were saying.

"I could ask the chief, she may know. There should be a way to report them to the people that run the free lance agency."

"Can you look into it tomorrow?"

She nodded, "I'm going to go make dinner."

"Sounds good."

I worked for another hour before heading into the kitchen.

"What in the world are you doing?" I giggled.

Frankie was literally scrapping the fish from the pan.



"I don't think you're suppose to scrape the fish off the pan..." I laughed.

"I burnt it!" She laughed and then groaned.

I giggled, "Babe, it's okay!"

"I wanted to make something nice."

"It was the thought that counts! We'll just order a pizza!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Don't be!"

So that night, we spent on the couch with a cheesy romantic comedy eating greasy cheesy pizza.

Who likes fish anyway?

Short chapter with very little pictures, but hopefully you still enjoyed it!

[Ally3772]

"I'm home!"

I heard footsteps and turned around to see Frankie standing at the door in my office.

"Hey honey, how was work?" I asked.

I got up from my desk and kissed her on the cheek.

"It was pretty horrible actually." She said.

"Aw, I'm sorry."



"It's fine."

"Come tell me about it."

I grabbed her by the hand and led her into the living room where we sat down on the couch.

"Everything started off fine, but then this criminal escaped during the cell transfer and no one fessed up to it. Somehow it was all blamed on me even though I wasn't at fault." She told me.

"Did you tell that to the chief?" I asked.

"Yeah, and we all had this huge meeting about it. Turns out one of the new kids did it and was too afraid to speak up and let me take the fall."

"That's crappy."

"Yeah, he's benched for a week for it. But it wasn't a good feeling having things blamed on me."     

"Well, you're home now." I smiled.



Frankie's POV

I was nervous.

I stood in the bathroom and looked down at a small square velvet box in my hand. I glanced at myself in the mirror and took a deep breath. I was ready for the next step, but I wasn't sure if she was. We have been dating for a good amount of time and everything just felt natural with her. I was also wary because of her parents getting a divorce and I wasn't sure if she was too upset to even think of getting married. We'd never get divorced though, I would fight like hell for her and make sure she was loved. I never was close to my parents, my dad being the tough guy cop made it hard to relate to him and my mom was never really a mom to me. She would never admit it, but she never wanted me. She loved me sure, I never doubted that, but I think if she had to do it all over again that she wouldn't of had me. That's why I wanted this to work between us because I believe that all love doesn't fall apart.

"Frankie? You've been in there for a while are you okay?" Clara asked.

I looked at the door.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a moment. Meet me in the backyard." I told her.

"The backyard?" She questioned.

"Yeah."

I took a deep breath.

"She'll say yes." I whispered to myself.

I checked myself in the mirror once more before opening the door and heading outside. I walked over to Clara who looked beautiful even from behind.

"What are we doing out here?" She asked.

I smiled and grabbed her hands.

"Well, it's a beautiful day, I have the day off, and there is a beautiful girl standing before me." I smiled.

"That was cheesy." She giggled.

"You'll have to live with it." I grinned.

"For the rest of my life."

My heart leapt.



"Do you mean that?" I asked.

"Mean what?" She questioned.

"The rest of your life?"

She grinned from ear to ear, "I hope so."

I took a deep breath before smiling.

"Well, that's good because I have a question for you." I told her.

She gave me a inquisitive look before I slowly went down on one knee.



"Clara, we started out as friends and roommates. I watched you achieve your weight goal, and even though you were stunning before, you are beautiful. I love watching you paint, and the little smile you get when you finally got something just right. I love you and the though of us spending another minute not married to you, I just can't take it any longer. So Clara, will you marry me and become my wife?" I asked.



"I thought you'd never ask!" She grinned.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes!"

I laughed and stood up before kissing her.



She said yes!

She said yes!

What other adventures lay ahead?

[TheGoat]

I haven't been very active lately, but I have been checking in on this story. I like where you're going with it so far, Ally. Good job.

[Ally3772]

I was sitting at the dining room table with a piece of paper and a pen. I was tasked with the difficult job of writing my mother to tell her that Frankie and I were going to get married alone. Why not call her? Because I don't think I could bare to hear the heartbreak in her voice. I just wasn't all the way over the shock of the divorce, but mostly we just wanted this day to be just us. I tapped my pen against the table and bit my lip. How do you even go about doing this?

"Hey, can I talk to you?"

I looked up to see Frankie nervously standing there.

"Are you pregnant?" I joked.

"Har Har." She said.

She sat down next to me.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Writing my mother to tell her not to come to the wedding." I sighed.

"Oh, that sounds fun."

"It's not."

She giggled nervously.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I want kids." She blurted.

I looked at her for a moment.

"I do too, what brought this up?" I asked.

"I kind of signed us up for Fostering at work yesterday." She blurted again.

"WHAT?!" I gasped.

"I know! I know! It just happened!"

"Frankie, we aren't even married yet!" I told her.

"I know, but it won't happen right away!"

I looked at her, but I couldn't be mad at her face. I sighed and put the pen down and squeezed her hand.

"Well, ready or not." I smiled.

"Really?!" She asked.

I nodded, even though I was scared as hell.

...

It's been an hour.

It has been an hour and I still have not wrote a single letter on this darned piece of paper. Frankie was already at work, but I figured out ways of distracting myself.

"Okay, come on Clara. Just sit down and write." I told myself.

I sat down and picked the pen up.

Dear Mom,

This is Clara. But you already knew that, huh? I don't know how to say this on the phone so I am choosing the chicken way and writing you this letter. First off, I want you to know how much I love you. You have been my rock and my best friend my entire life and you stuck up for me when the world tore me down. Which makes this even harder to tell you. As you know Frankie and I are getting married and we thank you for your blessing. Mom, Frankie and I want the wedding to just be us. I know that is hard to hear, but I hope that you understand. Truth be told I am still a bit confused and shocked over the divorce. I don't want any of those feelings getting in the way or clouding this day up. That may seem harsh or selfish, but I feel like it needs to be this way. I love you mom and please do not be upset about this.

Another bomb shell I got this morning. Frankie apparently signed us up for Fostering children. I'm a little mad that she did it without consulting me first, but we already talked about wanting kids. Life is too short I suppose! I will tell you more on that when I know!

I love you and I hope that you aren't too upset.

Clara

It took me another hour to get up the nerve to even put the letter in the mailbox. But, it was done and I hoped that she understood.

A Week Later

"I can't believe the day is finally here." Frankie giggled.

"I know." I grinned.



"You look beautiful." I told her.

"Not as stunning as you do." She smiled.

"Stop it." I groaned.

"Sorry, I cannot stop complimenting you."

I blushed.



It was a beautiful sunny day out and there was a gentle breeze. We we just outside the house in the side yard, you could see people walking in the park behind us. I couldn't of asked of a more beautiful day for our wedding. We said our vows, shockingly without becoming a blubbering mess of tears. I slid the ring on Frankie's finger gently.

"I love you." I told her.

"I love you too." She said.

With that, we kissed and made the biggest step ever.




We were now married.

We both looked at each other and giggled a bit.

"We did it." I said.

"I'm so happy." Frankie whispered.

"You make me so happy." I told her.



...


"I'm home!" Frankie said.

I stood in the living room anxiously.

"You would not believe the day I ha-"

She stopped mid sentence.

"So this is Ducky." I said.

"Ducky." She said.

"And this is Julie, the, er, social worker in a way?"

"Hi Julie..." Frankie said slowly.

I giggled and smiled nervously.

I looked down at the ground as Frankie stood with her mouth open.



"You got a dog?" Frankie asked.

"We, we have a dog." I told her.

She grinned up at me, "And his name is Ducky?"

"Yep, isn't he cute?!"

"Where did he come from?"

"The shelter! I was bored, and went to look at the animals. He just spoke to me!"



"I suppose we are even now." She giggled.

"Not even close." I laughed.

So, we were married and now the owners of a puppy named Ducky. Life was really taking off now!

Welcome Ducky!

[Ally3772]

"Ducky what are you doing?!" I squealed.

Ducky looked up at me before going back to his ball.

"That thing is bigger than you are!" I giggled.

He let out a little bark.



I grabbed a bottle of water before heading into my office. Frankie was at work, and I had a stack of freelance work to catch up on. Procrastination was hitting me hard this week, but I needed to get it done. We were able to keep up on bills pretty easily but there were times that money was tight. Mom and I talk almost three times a week, she seems to be doing well with the divorce. She has even went out on a few dates but nothing too serious. She still gave me a hard time about missing the wedding and I can understand where she is coming from. I just wish that she would respect our decision in doing it the way that we did. I picked up my tablet and got to work.



Frankie had a scare at work when a criminal pointed a gun at her. She was hesitant to tell me because she knew what my reaction would be. Thankfully her partner was able to talk the person down and no one got hurt. Frankie was required to talk to someone after that to make sure she was okay mentally. She handled it like a champ though, wasn't scared one bit. Me on the other hand reacted the complete opposite and it took all I had not to ask her to leave the force. She had a good crew behind her though and I knew that they were watching her back.

"I'm home!" Frankie called.

"Already?!" I called.

"Yeah, early day. I was going over hours."

I walked out of the office and sat on the couch.

"I missed you."



"I missed you too." She smiled.

"Ducky is the cutest thing!" I told her.

"What did I miss?!"

"He is now starting to play with the purple ball and the thing is bigger than he is!"

She giggled, "You know I love you right?"

"Oh god, this sounds bad." I told her.

"No, I just, I'm feeling lucky. We're married now, have our own puppy, and will be starting a family soon. I just am thankful."

I smiled, "I'm thankful too, every single day."



...

T: You copied my work.

An instant message popped up. Who was T?

Clara: Excuse me?

T: You heard me, your last piece you completed for Tech Works. That was mine.

Clara: I'm pretty sure that they check those things, and I don't copy others. I think you have the wrong person.

T: We'll see what my lawyer thinks. Have a nice day.

T ended chat.



I stared at the screen.

"Frankie!" I called.

"Yeah?"

She walked in the office and up behind me.

"Look at this." I said, moving the laptop so that she could read it.

She read the entire conversation.

"Print that out, along with the piece she is talking about. I will take it to the station tomorrow and see if we can trace it." She told me.

"She's threatening to sue me."

"Don't worry about it babe, nothing will come if it."

I printed everything out.

"Here, should we hire a lawyer too?" I questioned.

"No, not yet." She said.

I looked at her concerned.

"Everything will be fine." She said kissing my forehead.

I nodded.

"I'm going to make dinner."



I decided that going outside was a good idea to clear my head. I needed to get some yard work done anyways because Fall was coming and the leaves were slowly starting to fall. If she really did get a lawyer to sue me, what would that mean for my freelance work? No one would want to hire me anymore because they would lose all trust in my work. I guess that I could try to find another job somewhere, but it would have to be something without painting. I worked so hard to get where I am right now and I have so much farther I want to go with it. I walked back inside and into the room to check on Ducky. He was sleeping in his bed, and it was huge compared to him. He would for sure have to grow into it.



The phone rang, and I heard Frankie answer it. I bent down to put Ducky and he rolled over to his back and fell back asleep. I giggled and stood back up.

"Babe?" Frankie called.

I walked into the living room.

"What? Why do you look like that?!" I gasped.

She stood there with the phone in her hand, and she had this shocked look on her face.

"That was the foster agency, they had a foster child for us... They're bringing them over right now..."

Bum bum bummmm

[Ally3772]

"We're not ready." I told Frankie in panic.

"I know, it's sudden. I wasn't expecting it either!" Frankie agreed.

I looked around the house, where were we going to put the child?!

"Okay, um. Okay so here is what we are going to do... Remember how we had someone come and expand the basement last week?" Frankie asked.

"Yeah?" I said.

"We move your office into that little room, and then he or she will move into that room."

"Oh god, are we getting a baby?! Or a child?!"

Frankie just looked at me.

I was beginning to panic, were we even cut out for this?

There was a knock on the door.

"Frankie." I gasped.

"I got it." She said.

She walked over to the door and I smoothed out my skirt and tried to offer my best welcoming smile as I walked to the door. The foster agent stood there smiling.

"You must be Clara and Frankie. My name is Amy." She greeted.

"Hello." Frankie said.

"I would like to introduce you to Leah." She smiled.

Walking up the walkway was Leah, I breathed a little bit of relief. A child would be easier then a newborn.



"Welcome Leah!" I greeted.

She just kind of smiled.

"Come in!" Frankie offered.

The agent and Leah walked in, the agent set down Leah's belongings on the ground.

"Now first thing is first, let's get Leah set up in her room." Amy told us.

"Of course, right this way!" I told them.

I shot a nervous glance at Frankie. What if the room wasn't big enough, or clean enough?

"Um, we didn't have time to get a bed." I told her.

"That's okay, Leah has a blow up bed." Amy told us.

"We'll get you a proper bed in the morning!" Frankie told Leah.

"No thank you." Leah whispered.

We just looked at each other as Leah began to unpack her things. One of the things included a huge stuffed animal cat, and the other was a small violin.

"Do you play?" I asked.

She shrugged as she set her backpack down by the bed.



"Leah, Clara and Frankie and I are going to go talk out in the kitchen okay?" Amy told her.

Leah nodded.

We walked out of the room closing the door behind us. All three of us took a seat at the kitchen table and Amy opened up a file folder she had with her.

"So, I know that this was very sudden." Amy told us.

"Is she alright? Was she in any trouble?" Frankie asked.

"No, unfortunately her father passed away and there are no other living relatives that she can go to."

"Does she know?!" I asked.

"We told her, but she seems to be in denial and believes that he will be coming back for her."

"That is so sad!" Frankie gasped.

"It's not the best situation, but I have no doubt that you two will take care of her. Now, a few questions starting with are you fostering with intent to adopt?"

Frankie and I just looked at each other.

"We haven't discussed it fully, but I believe that is the intent." I said.

"I would like too." Frankie said.

I looked at her before nodding, "Then yes, we will foster with the intent to adopt."

"Perfect, and are you available for any other children that we may need homes for in the future?"

"Yes." I said.

Frankie looked at me and smiled before grabbing my hand. It was a sudden answer and I wasn't even sure if Frankie would be okay with that. It just felt right, we had so much love we could share to those who needed it.

"Now Frankie, it says here that you are a police officer, is that correct?" Amy asked.

"Yes ma'am." She replied.

"And what are your hours?"

"Well, before I worked crazy hours, but last week I told the chief that I couldn't do overnights anymore. I wanted to be home for when we did end up getting a child."

"Wonderful, and Clara you paint?"

"Yes, freelance work mostly." I told her.

"Freelance, what is that exactly?"

"Oh! It's pretty much a stay at home job. I basically go online and do jobs for different companies or even regular people and they pay me for it."

"And you make a decent living off of that?" She asked, writing something down.

I began to get nervous.

"Yes, we have been able to pay our bills and have enough left over for savings."

"That's great!"

"Is that an issue, me working at home?"

"Of course not! In fact it'll look wonderful on your record! Having a stay at home parent, while the other one is out working but is home at night as well."

"Good." I said.

"Okay, well I think I have all the follow up information that I need! If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to call me or the office!" Amy said standing up.

"That's it? We take it from here?" Frankie asked.

"I have all the confidence that you guys will do fine!" She smiled.

She handed us a packet of information about fostering and also a file on everything they knew about Leah. Her medical records, allergies, and things like that.

Just like that we were parents.

Frankie's POV

"So how is it going?" Toby asked.

"I don't know, I think it's going okay." I told him.

"You don't know?" He said.

"Well she's still getting used to it, and we are adjusting. We just don't want to be pushy so we are kind of having her take the lead."



"That might be a good way to do it." He told me.

"It's just so overwhelming, but I am excited and Clara seems to be as well."

"You guys will do fine!"

"Thanks."

"Frankie! I need you to book this one!" The chief called.

"Coming!"

I hurried and met the chief at the booking door.

"This way. Come on move it!" I demanded.

"God you guys are pushy!" The girl snapped.

"Hush up!"

I led her to the fingerprint booth.



"Up against the wall and hold this up for me." I told her.

She grabbed the board and did exactly what I said before I led her to the cell.

"Alright, in you go." I told her.

"Can I get out now?!" Another prisoner asked.

"What do you think?" I snapped.



I shut the cell door and locked it.

Clara's POV

"How are you doing in there Leah?" I asked.

"Fine." She said through the door.

I was standing outside of the bathroom. It was the second night of having her and I still wasn't sure what to say to her.



She walked out of bathroom.

"Do you want something to eat?" I asked.

"No thank you." She said.

"You know, maybe tomorrow we could go shopping for some things for your room! How would you like that?" I asked.

Frankie walked through the door. She hung up her things and walked over to us.

"No thank you, my dad will be coming for me soon. My room doesn't need anything else." She told me.

I looked at Frankie before bending down to Leah's level.

"Sweetie, your dad passed away. Do you remember Amy telling you that?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but my dad always told me he would always be with me. So he'll come back, I know he will."

I sighed and stood up, "Okay, how about you go in your room and play with your toys?"

"Can I read instead?" She asked.

"Of course." I told her.



I smiled as she picked a book and headed over to the couch.

Maybe this would be harder than we thought.

Welcome Leah!

[Ally3772]

"May I feed the dog?" Leah asked.

"Of course!" I smiled.

She walked over to the tub and filled up the cup with the dog food before going over and filling up the automatic feeder.



"Did you have any animals?" I asked her.

"No, we didn't really have anywhere to keep them." She said.

"I thought you said you had a room? Did your dad own a house?" I asked.

She looked embarrassed.

I walked over to her and bent down to her level.

"You're safe here, you can tell me anything sweetie." I told her.

"Well, we kind of lived in this big tent. I had a corner of it for myself."

"You were homeless?"

"Yeah, but he says he will get a house soon! With my own room!"

Now the bed made sense. I gave her a soft smile.

"May I go watch some TV?"

"Yeah, go right a head."



I pulled out my phone.

They were homeless. -C

What? -F

Leah just admitted that they lived in a tent, and she only had a corner of it for herself. -C

That's horrible! -F

Yeah, she still thinks he's working on getting them a home. -C

Babe, I have to go. Raincheck? -F

Of course <3 -C

I checked on Leah before going downstairs. I sat down at my desk and instead of doing the mountain of work I had to do I opened up a search site. I grabbed a pad of paper and a pen before researching how to get your child to understand grief and accept death. The general consensus was the best option being therapy. This child has been through so much already and no they wanted me to put her through more? Therapy wasn't bad but I just didn't want her to be uncomfortable. I wrote the number down of a few therapists and I would discuss it with Frankie tonight. I walked back upstairs to find Leah sitting at the table working on something.

"What are you up too?" I asked.

"Homework, I start back at school tomorrow." She told me.

"Do you like school?"

"It's okay, but I don't have many friends."

"I didn't either when I was in school."

"You didn't?"

I sat down at the table across from her.

"No, back then I used to be overweight and no one would talk to me."

"You were overweight? But you're so skinny!" She gasped.

I smiled, "Well thank you, but that took a lot of work to achieve."

She smiled a little.



Frankie walked into the house about an hour later, and it was about time for Leah to go to bed.

"How about you wash up and go to bed?" I asked.

"Okay, hi Frankie!" She said.

"Hi Leah, sleep well." Frankie said.

I watched as Leah headed into the bathroom. Frankie walked over and gave me a kiss before sitting down at the table.

"So, how did today go?" She asked me.

"Alright, she didn't talk much besides of what I told you earlier." I told her.

"Maybe we should speak to Amy about how to make her fully understand that her dad isn't coming back for her."

"What do you mean he isn't coming back?!"

We turned around to see Leah standing there.

"Honey, come here." Frankie said.

She walked over to us.

"Do you remember Amy telling you that your dad got sick?" I began.

"Yeah, but he told me he'd always be with me, so he'll come back." She told me.

"He will always be with you, but just not in the way that any of us hoped he would. You see, your dad died. Do you know what that means?" Frankie asked.

"Is that when people go away, and don't come back?" She said, sadly.

Frankie and I looked at each other. I grabbed onto one of Leah's hand and squeezed it gently.

"Yes, he isn't coming back sweetie." I told her.

"Can I go to my room now?" She said.

"Sure, but we're here if you have any questions." I smiled.

She nodded and went into her room.

"I think she understood." Frankie said.

"Sadly, I think she did." I whispered.

Frankie rubbed my back gently.



With that obstacle hopefully completed maybe we could tackle the next one easier.

Thank you for reading =]

[Ally3772]

One Month Later

It's been a month with Leah and things were getting slightly better. She was still hesitant with things, but learning how to open up with us a bit more. Amy had set up an appointment with a family counselor so that we could work through her grief. She seemed to understand that her dad was gone after it and we were able to move on from there. There was still no progress made on changing her room though or at least getting her a new bed. She was fine with the one she had and I understood that but it couldn't be comfortable.

"Good morning babe." Frankie said.

I was in the kitchen making waffles for Leah before school.

"Good morning." I smiled.

"Have you been up for a while?" She asked.

"Yeah. Thought I would make Leah some breakfast."

"She'll love that."

Frankie sat down at the table.

"Do you think we should take her shopping?" I asked.

"For what?"

"New clothes. The ones she has are ripped."

"We could always bring it up, but she seems keen on the ones she has."

I walked over to the table.

"But, at some point we have to step in right? Maybe a new pair of clothes will help her feel better about herself. I just don't want the past to hold her back."

"I know babe."

"Good morning Ducky!" Leah greeted.

I turned around to see Leah giving Ducky his morning treat.



"I made you waffles." I told her.

"No thanks, I'm going to eat at school." She said.

"Oh, okay then. Have a good day at school!"

She smiled and waved before leaving.

"She's just not hungry right now." Frankie said, trying to make it better.

I smiled and nodded.

"I have to go to work, are you going to be alright?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

She gave me a kiss and headed out. I walked back into the kitchen and got the ingredients out to make a cake.



I hadn't told Frankie this yet, but I made a huge decision. Money was getting tight now that we had Leah and if we were serious about taking in more foster children we would need more money. So, I decided that now would be the right time to quit Freelance. I already talked to Amy about me not being a stay at home parent any longer and she said that would not reflect badly at all. I got too nervous to tell her before she left for work, but I had quit this morning and applied for a normal painters job that was listed in the ads.

"What do you think Ducky, did I make the right choice?" I asked him.

BARK!

I giggled.

"I think I did. It'll be more money and who knows! Maybe I'll even learn more about the trade!" I smiled to myself.

Later That Night

"Oh! I didn't hear you come in!" I told Frankie.

"Where is Leah?" She asked.

"In her room, she is working on a project."

"Can we talk?"

"Yeah! I actually need to talk to you as well."

We sat down at the table.

"You first!" I told her.

"I just got fired." She said, not wasting any time.

"What?!" I gasped.

"Yeah, I made a huge mistake. I even tried talking to the chief about it, but there was nothing she could do."

"Frankie! I am so sorry!"

"It's taking a little to settle in, but I'll be fine. What did you have to tell me?"

"I quit my job today."

"You're joking, right?"

"No, I-I did it this morning."

"Clara! How could you do that without talking to me!" She yelled.

"I didn't think it would be a big deal! I applied to be painter with higher pay!"

She looked at me and took a few breaths.

"Sorry, I'm just stressed. This isn't the time to lose both of our jobs." She sighed.

"I know, but we will figure it out okay?" I told her.

I gave her a kiss.

We talked for an hour about what to do with my office now that I wouldn't be working for home. We decided to get rid of the office all together, and then we decided to sell my paintings to an art gallery for extra cash. I didn't want to do it and make Frankie feel bad because she created the gallery to begin with. She was fine with it as long as I was though. She was always so supportive and I really didn't deserve her. Of course though I kept her painting and one other that I liked, and I would keep painting on the side for my own pleasure. I would just sell them to collectors and art galleries for extra cash. Frankie ended up applying for some Tech Guru position so that she would contribute to the income as well. She seemed fine but it was her dream job, so I know that she was just playing tough.



"Clara?"

I turned around to see Leah standing behind me.

"Oh, Leah! What's up, is something wrong?" I asked.

"No, um, I was just wondering, could you maybe paint me?" She asked, shyly.

"Paint you? Of course I could!"

"Awesome!"

I grinned and told her to stand very still.

"I can't wait!" She squealed.



2:54 A.M.

I jumped awake.

Knock! Knock!

"Frankie!" I whispered.

She jumped awake, "What? What is it?"

"Do you hear that?" I asked.

Knock! Knock!

"What is that?!" Frankie asked sitting up.

I got out of bed and turned the lights on. When I opened up the bedroom door Leah was standing there.

"Leah? Come in!" I said.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Frankie asked, sitting up.

"I had a nightmare." She cried, rubbing her eyes.

"Awww, come up here."

Frankie patted the bed and Leah climbed up there.

"You know what my mommy used to do when I would have a bad dream?" I asked her.

"What's that?" She said.

"She would make me a nice cup of hot chocolate. Does that sound nice?"

She nodded.

Frankie's POV

"I'm sorry for waking you guys up." Leah said.

"Never apologize for that! Clara and I are here for you whenever you need us!" I told her.

She looked at the floor.

"What is it sweetie?"



"Am I going to stay here, you know, forever?"

The way she asked broke my heart.

"We would love to have you forever, yes. But if you aren't happy here then we would understand that too." I told her.

How do you have this conversation?

"I am happy here, it's just been a lot you know?"

"There isn't a timeline for you to be settled in. But Clara and I would love to be your parents and we just want you safe."

She smiled a bit, "Would I have siblings?"

"We have talked about fostering to adopt more children at one point yes, but we don't want to rush that. Right now we want you to feel welcome."

"What would I call you guys?" She asked.

"Well, whatever you would like! Whenever you are ready! I could be mom and Clara could be mommy, or something like that."

"I'll have to think about that."

"I'm just glad you want too."

I hugged her gently.



I had a feeling that I would love being a mother.

Longer chapter for the shorter one before it! I hope you guys are enjoying it!

[TheGoat]

Great job building tension and throwing curveballs at your characters, Ally! I'm loving it right now.

[Ally3772]

"I think I'm ready." Leah said.

I was sitting in the living room with Frankie.

"Ready for what sweetie?" I asked.

"To go shopping, for clothes. You said you wanted to take me?" She asked.

I tried not to get overly excited. I gave Frankie a fan girl look before turning back to Leah.

"Of course we can go shopping." I told her.

So there we were, shopping for clothes. At first she was shy and didn't know what she may like but finally we ran across this cute dress that had a jean top and a soft yellow skirt. She seemed to really like it and her eyes lit up as soon as she saw it.

"Wow! Look at this!" She said.

"You like that one?" Frankie asked.

She ran her fingers over the skirt and coming across the price tag in the process. She glanced at the price before making a face and letting out a sad sigh.

"Lets go over here and look." She said.

She headed to the clearance section. I took a look at the price tag and realized that it wasn't even that bad, it wasn't even twenty dollars. I took it off the rack and held it up.

"What is wrong with this one? You loved it a second ago." I said.

"It's too much money, I know how to find something cheaper." She told me.

She looked so sad and it honestly broke my heart. How was it at home with her dad? I walked over to her and handed her the dress, she glanced up at me shocked before running her hands across the skirt again.

"I want to buy you this dress." I smiled.

"Thank you." She said softly.

A Week Later

A week had passed after that shopping experience. She loved her new dress and looked great in it!



Another milestone we managed to reach is she let us redo her room and buy her a better bed! She got to pick out everything down to the colors of the walls and she was excited to have her own desk in her room. She planned on doing her homework there every night and it was adorable. I loved this little girl, so very much, and I hoped that one day we could officially adopt her. The thing with fostering children though was that there was a chance they could find another family for them. Frankie told me not to focus on that because Amy told us that there was a high chance of us being able to adopt her for good after some time and if Leah wanted it. At the end of the day all I wanted to do was what was best for Leah.

"I love my new room!" Leah squealed.

"We're so glad!" Frankie told her.

"You even kept my violin!" She said.

"Of course! Do you play it?" I asked.

She hook her head, "Dad found it one day and brought it to the tent. I don't really know how to play."

"We could get you lessons if you would like!" I told her.

"Maybe."



Things at the new jobs were going well. Frankie was struggling a bit to understand some of the extra work she had to do, but she was slowly learning. As for me, being a painter was a lot more fun then just doing freelance work. We even had the opportunity to go to conventions to meet with other painters that were around here. I learned something new almost everyday and it kept me on my toes.

"This is stupid." Frankie said.

"What?" I asked.

"We're suppose to learn this stuff, and this website isn't working!" She growled.



"It might be down babe, give it time."

She sighed.

"Do you like it there?" I asked.

"It's obviously different from being a cop, but I'm enjoying it. It's a nice change of pace."

"That's good."

I walked over and gave her a kiss before heading downstairs. I was working on a painting to sell for some extra cash. Leah was downstairs and looking at it.

"What are you doing sweetie?" I asked.

"Oh, sorry! Sorry, I wasn't touching anything I swear!" She said nervously.

"You are perfectly fine! Do you wanna try to paint?" I asked.

"No thank you, but can I watch you?"

"Of course!"



...

"You're getting better!" I said walking into Leah's bedroom.

She groaned.

"What?" I asked.

"I am not getting better." She sighed.

"You know, if you don't like it then you don't have to play it." I told her.



She put the violin down and sat down on the bed next to me.

"He gave it to me." She whispered.

I looked at her, "You know, just because you don't play it doesn't mean you don't love him or appreciate him giving it to you."

"It doesn't?"

"No, he would want you to do what makes you happy!"

She smiled and nodded.

"How has school been going?" I asked.



"Fine, some kids are bothering me though."

"How so?"

"They found out I'm living with you and Frankie and that you guys might be my parents. They're laughing that you guys are married and calling me an outcast."

"I'm sorry they're doing that, but you are not an outcast. Families all come in their own shape and sizes, some kids have a mom and dad, some two moms, and some two dads. Then some with just a mom, or just a dad, or even no parents."

"Like me?"

I rubbed her back, "Yeah, like you. But not anymore, because Frankie and I really have been enjoying having you here."

She smiled, "I have too."

I kissed her forehead.

Winter was officially here. Ducky loved the snow, like beyond loved it, it was to the point where he hated being inside.

"You are too tiny to stay out there!" I cooed.

He looked at me before licking my nose.

I giggled.



"Can we build a snowman?!" Leah said, coming out of no where.

I laughed, "Sure! Let me go get dressed!"

"Where is Frankie?" She asked.

"I'll drag her out as well!"

So there we were, outside even though it was freezing cold but it was the first snowfall of the year.



"I'm going to go work on shoveling!" Frankie said.

"You sure you don't wanna join?" I asked.

"No, no! You go ahead!"

"I wonder what it's going to look like!" Leah said.

After we finished we giggled at the end result.

"I love the little eye glass!" Leah laughed.

"I can't believe we actually found a blue tie!" I told her.

It was a evil looking snowman if I've ever seen one.



"I'm going to go check on Frankie, are you going to be okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'll be okay!" Leah said.

I walked over to the side of the house.

"I see Ducky is helping you." I giggled.

"He thinks he is." She laughed.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Fine, almost done. Did you guys finish the snowman?"

"Yeah, it looks great!"

She smiled.



"Well I'm going to get Leah inside and make some hot chocolate. Do you want a cup?"

"Sure!"

I smiled and kissed her before heading inside and making some hot chocolate for my family.

That snowman creeps me out, hope you liked it!

[Ally3772]

Four Months Later

Frankie's POV

It's been about five months since we've gotten Leah and what a change it has been! Amy was very happy with our monthly check up and we were thrilled to announce that adoption papers were being worked up and all we had to do was sign them once they were ready. Leah was actually the one to ask us to adopt her and I swear Clara cried the entire night in happiness. We were officially parents to this wonderfully beautiful little girl.

"Hey mama! I have an idea!" Leah said coming out of her room.

"What's that?" I asked.

"How about we surprise mom with a clean house for when she comes home?!"

"That sounds nice!"

"Awesome! I'll go get the stuff from my room!"



"Do you think she'll be surprised?!" Leah asked.

"She will love it!" I smiled.

"Mama?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad I'm here."

I looked at her before walking over to her and kissing her forehead.

"I'm glad you are here too."

I walked back to the sink and grabbed a few more dishes.



...

Ducky grew up to an adult dog!

To celebrate we took Leah out to the pet store to pick up a few new toys and a new collar for him. She picked out a collar that doubled as a red bow tie and it looked so adorable on him.

"You look dashing Ducky!" Clara told him.

I giggled.




"How was school?" Clara asked.

"It was fine." Leah told her.

"Just fine?" I asked her.

"We have this science project and I don't really know how to do it."

"Is there a textbook to help you?"

"There is, but I don't know how to read some of the words."

"Tell you what, go set up and mama and I will help you, sound good?" Clara offered.

"Okay!"



It took a bit to figure out, but at the end of the night her science project turned into a roaring volcano! She was so excited to try it out tomorrow at school and I told her to make sure she got a video so that we could see the final reveal. We sent her off to bed so that we could have some alone time.

...

"Leah! The bus will be here in half an hour! Are you almost done?!" I asked.

"I'm almost at the last question!" She called back.

I sighed and looked at the clock.



Twenty five minutes later she came sprinting out of the room with her backpack slinging off her shoulder.

"Leah we need to get on top of this! You've been so good at getting homework done in the past, what's happened?" I asked.

"Sorry mama, I just got distracted with that project!" She told me.

"That's fine, but tonight is early start, okay?"

"Got it!"

I gave her a hug and a kiss and sent her on her way.

Did she make it?" -C

Barely. -F

We need to work on this -C

Already taken care of, she is going to start early tonight. -F

We're kicking this parenting thing! -C

Hell yeah we are! -F

I smiled at my phone. I was almost ready to take it to the next level and add another foster child to the mix, but I had to talk to Clara before that.

Time for more children?! We shall see!

[Ally3772]

"Leah, we would like to welcome you to your home, forever!" I smiled.

I opened up the door to the house.

It may have been cheesy, but I was excited. We just got back from signing the adoption papers and Leah was officially our child. When we first took her in she was halfway into childhood, so in a few days she would grow up to be a teenager. I was excited though, this little girl was going to go far in the world. Leah walked through the front doors with Frankie and I following her.

"Are you happy this is your home?" I asked.

"Yeah!" She beamed.

"You know, just because you are officially our daughter now," Frankie said bending down to her level, "Doesn't mean we are replacing your dad. You know that right?"

"Yeah, but I think that he would be happy that I'm being taken care of." She smiled.

I smiled down at them, and I swore my heart grew ten more sizes bigger.

"Amy said she sent us an email, I'm going to check." Frankie told me.

I nodded.

"Mom?" Leah asked.

"What's up?"

"I love you." She smiled.

"I love you too."



"I'm going to go tell Ducky the good news!" She beamed.

"You do that!" I chuckled.

I walked into the kitchen to start dinner.

"Is roast okay?" I asked my girls.

"Yeah!"

I smiled as I started gathering everything I needed.



"Babe?" Frankie asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come here?"

I walked over to the laptop where Frankie sat looking focused.

"What's up?"

"Amy just sent us this." She said, turning the laptop towards me.

I read it for a moment.

"Wait, she has another kid for us?" I asked.

"Yeah, and she wants to bring them by tomorrow."

"Wow, okay, um. Well we have to discuss this with Leah, it's no longer just us. She has to be okay with it too."

"Agreed."

We both walked over to the couch and sat down with Leah. Ducky got off the couch and ran into the room where I assumed he laid down on his bed.

"Leah, mama and I need to ask you something." I began.

"What?" She asked.

"What would you think of another person coming into the family?" Frankie asked.

"Like a sibling?"

"Yeah."

"Would they stay forever?" She asked, looking between the two of us.

"Well, that is the plan."

She got really excited, "I would love a sibling!"

I smiled and looked at Frankie.

"Well I think that answers our question." Frankie giggled.

The Next Morning

DING! DONG!

"Clara! They're here!" Frankie called.

I walked out of the bedroom.

"Why am I so nervous?" I asked.

"Because, it's a new person. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I ever will be!"

Leah was at school, so we chose to have Amy come over now so that the new kid could adjust by themselves. Frankie opened up the door and the smiles on our faces quickly dropped when we saw that not only was the kid a toddler, but Amy was also holding a baby in a carrier.

"Uh, um. Hi Amy, come in." Frankie said.

I stared blankly at them as Amy walked in.

"So, not to be rude or anything, but why are there two?" I asked.

"I put in the email that it was two children from a previous foster home in the email." Amy said.

I looked at Frankie.

"We must have misread that, because we were only expecting one child. Child being the key word, they are a toddler and baby."

"Is this a problem?" Amy asked.

"It's just, we don't know how to handle small children." I told her.

She smiled, "It takes time to learn, but once you do they are wonderful."

I took a deep breath.

"What do you think?" Frankie asked.

"Well, it's two and not one, and they are little. We'll need a bigger house for sure."

"If you are worried about the housing situation, right now this is fine. All we are looking for is a roof over their heads. However, we would like to see a bigger space down the road." Amy told us.

After an hour of discussion we decided we were up for the challenge.

So, welcome to the house Meredith.



Then, the littlest of them all, Lucas.



Amy left and we were in the house all by ourselves.

"I'm scared." I admitted.

"It'll be an adjustment for sure, but we can handle it!" Frankie said with such confidence.

I looked at her for a moment and just admired her.

"What?" She asked.

"You amaze me, and I love you." I smiled.

"I love you too." She said.

I gave her a kiss.

"Oh, there is Leah!" I said.

We walked outside, Meredith and Lucas were both sleeping.

"Hey sweetie!" I waved.

"Hi mom!" She squealed.

"We have a surprise for you!" Frankie told her.

"You do?!"



"Yup! You remember us talking about siblings last night?" She asked her.

"Yeah?"

"Well turns out, two of them needed homes. So you now have a brother and a sister!"

I was nervous for her reaction.

"Wait, you're telling me I have TWO siblings now?" She asked.

"Yeah, is that okay? Because if that's not okay then we will figure something else out."

"NO! I want them! Can I meet them?!" She yelled.

Frankie laughed and looked at me.

...

"This is my bed, and that over there, that is your bed. We'll be roomies! But don't touch the backpack, or my violin! But that big white cat over there? You can play with her until you get toys!" Leah told Meredith.

I smiled at the door frame.

"You okay with this ladybug?" I asked.

"Yeah! It's going to be awesome having a room mate!" She cheered.

"If she gets up in the middle of the night, come get us okay?"

"Okay!"

I left the room to let them get acquainted some more.

"Are they doing okay?" Frankie asked.

"Yep, Leah is so excited." I laughed.

"That's good."

Lucas started crying.

"I got him." I told her.

I walked into the bedroom where Lucas would be staying.

"Okay, be patient with me. You are really tiny and I may break you." I told him.



I rocked him gently as he quieted down and looked up at me.

"See, this isn't too bad right?" I asked.

I smiled down at him.

"I'm going to be your mom." I told him.

I thought about his experience in this life so far. They didn't know much on his past, and same with Meredith, and that made me sad.

"I promise, you and your sister will know how much you are loved in this world." I whispered to him.

Just like that, three became five, and boy I was interested to see how this roller coaster was going to turn out!

Spice it up!

[Shewolf13]

Ooo! I've been reading along, Ally, just haven't had much time to post. Loving this. Welcome to the little ones!

[Ally3772]

Dear Mom,

This past month has been interesting to say the least. As I've told you, you have two new (hopefully) grandchildren and I've included pictures of them in this letter. I know you don't understand why I say hopefully, but we are just fostering them right now. There is that chance someone could come and claim or take them from us. As you can imagine the house is a bit cramped, Meredith is sharing a room with Leah and Lucas is in with us. However we have some more news!!!

Frankie and I went to the bank and talked about a loan. I know, I know, you don't like loans but mom we had to do something. We were cramped into that house, and we need bigger! After all, Frankie and I have discussed the future as foster parents and we are looking into at some point taking in one more child. It won't be for a while, probably not until Lucas is a child, but we needed to talk about it. This way we can be prepared for that. We found the home mom. We found our forever home and it is absolutely gorgeous! I mean look at these pictures!





I know you are stewing over the fact that we took out a loan mom, but it was only a small one. Because we had the majority of the amount already so we only needed that small push. We have a plan to pay it off don't worry. Things are looking up for us mom, I promise you that. This house if gorgeous and the kids seem to love it. Leah even insisted on sharing a room with Meredith even though we have extra rooms. It's crazy to think about isn't it? That I am a mother of three children and have the worlds hottest wife? It blows my mind still to this day.

I love you mom.

Clara

"So, I know we haven't had much alone time. How are you feeling about all of this?" I asked.

I was helping Leah on her current project for school.

"I love it! This house is so big!" She told me.

"And being a sister? I know we only talked about one child."

She looked at me.

"Mom, I know I'm still a kid but the way I look at it is we have the room. So why not help the children who need it? Like you and mama did for me."

I paused to smile at her.

"How did you get so grown up and sweet?" I asked.

She giggled.



It really did feel like I was living in a dream. I did miss the old house, but this new one held everything I hoped our future would be. Frankie seemed to love it the most and she was almost obsessed with the house staying clean. Even though I told her it was pointless because now we had a dog and three kids. That didn't stop her from trying though and that was one of the many things that I love about her. Both our jobs were going quite well and so far we were not having any issues with paying the bills. My favorite part about the house? The little gazebo thing by the pool had a painting easel so now I could enjoy painting while having a view.



"MOM!" Leah yelled.

"Coming!" I told her.

I walked into the nursery to Lucas screaming his head off.

"I didn't do anything! I was just trying to calm him down!"

"I know you were, you wouldn't hurt him." I reassured her.



"What's the matter little guy?" I cooed.

I scooped him up and rocked him.

"Can I get you anything?" Leah asked.

"Yeah, can you get me one of his bottles?"

"Coming right up!"

She rushed out of the room to go get a bottle from the fridge. I rocked him and hummed while I waited for her to return. Frankie was at work, she picked up some extra hours at work for some extra cash. Leah returned with the bottle already warmed and handed it to me. Lucas immediately stopped crying when I put the bottle in his mouth.

"You're really good at this!" Leah said.

I laughed, "I'm still learning."

"You're a good mom." She smiled.

"Thank you."

I walked into Leah and Meredith's room to find Meredith sitting in bed.

"You're up from your nap! Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Food!" She said stretching her arms up.

I giggled and picked her up.



I walked downstairs just as Frankie was getting home.

"Hey!" I smiled.

"There are two of my girls!" She cheered.

"I was just getting her lunch. How was work?"

"Fine, I am exhausted though.

"I'm sure! Do you wanna nap?"

"Nah, I'll be fine! I'm going to go check on Lucas."



I walked into the kitchen with Meredith.

"Hey, what are you up too?" I asked Leah.

"Playing with Ducky." She said.

I smiled.

"Do you think Ducky needs a friend?" She asked.

"Oh no, no no, this house is full enough. I think Ducky is just fine being the only dog."

"It was worth a try." She laughed.



The last thing this house needed was another animal. But who knows what this crazy life had in store for us next. We knew for sure it would be teen years for Leah though, and that was just scary to think about.

Leah will be a teenager! How crazy is that?!

[Ally3772]

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

SLAM!

"Well, I've enjoyed fostering. Box them all up and lets send them back." Frankie said.

I laughed and groaned at the same time.

"Please tell me that this is just a phase." I told her.

"It is, and I bet you it's those group of girls she hangs out with too." She replied.

"It's just weird, she went from the sweetest little girl to this moody teenager."

"Unfortunately that is normal."

Leah grew up to be a teenager. It was only a week into high school that she started to hang out with these friends who believed in everything black, red and goth. So in turn Leah started to dress the same way and I tried not to be judgmental but her whole attitude changed. I tried bringing it up to her one day and she lost her crap and freaked out. Storming to her room was becoming a regularity around here, but I was believing Frankie when she told me that it was just her being a teenager.



Later that night Leah came out of her bedroom.

"Leah, we need to talk to you." I told her.

She stopped and just looked at us.

"We can't do the slamming doors anymore Leah. It's fine to express your feelings and if we can help you do that in any way we will. However, we have your siblings in this house and they are small. They need quiet and peaceful surroundings." Frankie started.

"I understand, and I am sorry." She apologized.



"We just don't want you to be angry all the time." I told her.

"God, I'm not angry all the time!" She snapped.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry."

She groaned and walked away.

"I don't know who she is anymore." I whispered.

...

Leah's POV

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Mama asked.

"Yes! I'll be fine!" I groaned.

"Okay, we will just be a few hours. Now, you have our numbers. We love you, and please do your homework!" She said.

"Bye!"

I sat down on the couch with my homework. Meredith was napping on the couch with one of her cartoons playing. I smiled at her, so peaceful. I knew that I had changed and I knew that mama and mom could see it, but this was how I wanted to be. This was who I was and I am happy with myself, I just wish that they would accept it.



I was only halfway through my homework when I heard Luke crying from upstairs. I checked Meredith one more time and headed upstairs. He was flailing in the crib and screaming his head off.

"Oooooo I can smell that all the way over here!" I shrieked.

I looked down at him before quickly changing his diaper.

"That was some gross stuff Luke!"

I scooped him up in my arms.

"What's wrong buddy?"

I rocked him but he was still fussing.



"It's going to be okay, I promise you."

I rocked him for a little while longer until he finally managed to fall asleep. I gently placed him back down in the crib and walked out of the nursery. I walked back downstairs to find Meredith sitting on the chair and eating a piece of cake that I had sitting on the counter.

"How on Earth did you get that down?" I asked her.

She giggled and looked at me.

"Well, however you did it do not tell mama or mom I gave it to you."

I sat back down on the couch and picked up my school book again.

"Homework is stupid, you'll see when you are older, but it's just wasting time."

She just looked at me. I couldn't wait until she was older because maybe then we could get closer. I loved her though, it was a cool feeling being an older sister.



Clara's POV

"Frankie! She did it again!" I groaned.

She walked upstairs to see paint everywhere.

"How are we going to get her to stop?!" She asked.

"We've tried everything!" I said.

"I got this, go work on dinner. I'll give her a bath afterwards too."



I walked downstairs.

"Thanks for watching them today Leah." I smiled.

"You're welcome!" She said.

"Homework all done?"

"Yeah, it's in my backpack already."

I looked at her.

"I know I don't understand what this new lifestyle is, but I'm trying sweetie."

"I know mom." She smiled.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

I pulled out a cutting board and started to chop tomatoes.



After dinner was done, and the small children were put to bed, all was quiet in the house.

"Leah is going to bed early. She has an early school detention." Frankie told me.

"Again?!" I asked.

"This time though it was for punching someone." She said.

"You sound happy about that."

"It was for bullying a kid."

I sighed, "I'll let it slide."

She gave me a hug.



"We've got this. I believe that we can survive this teenage phase." Frankie told me.

"You better be right or you are calling Amy back." I laughed.

Jokes aside, I wouldn't trade my kids for the world.

I REALLY want the Island DLC but I can't afford it yetttt. Hopefully soon!

[Ally3772]

So. Unfortunately I am going to have to graveyard this story. I'm legit upset at Sims right now because I had been playing another family outside of this one to just have something else to do. I got Island Living on sale and went to load into this game to give them makeovers only to realize that Clara and Frankie were ghosts somehow and the kids had all grown up. Unplayed Sim Aging is off so I literally do not know what happened. I am so sorry guys, I was truly having a lot of fun with this one! I will have another story going shortly for those who would like to see it! 

[TheGoat]

So. Unfortunately I am going to have to graveyard this story. I'm legit upset at Sims right now because I had been playing another family outside of this one to just have something else to do. I got Island Living on sale and went to load into this game to give them makeovers only to realize that Clara and Frankie were ghosts somehow and the kids had all grown up. Unplayed Sim Aging is off so I literally do not know what happened. I am so sorry guys, I was truly having a lot of fun with this one! I will have another story going shortly for those who would like to see it! 

Oh, that's a bummer! Good luck with your next story, though, whatever it ends up being!

[Shewolf13]

Awww, so sorry to hear that Ally! Truly sorry to hear it. But I'll be here when you bring out your next one ^^