Chain Reaction 1.28: New Home

       My apartment still feels a bit empty. However, I have managed to get a table and chairs, the couch Graham bought me, a bookshelf, blinds for the bathroom, as well as a few books to help me study bartending. I plan on my next major purchase being an actual bed.
       Graham has applied for a few more jobs and been passed by for each of them. He assures me that he'd have been surprised to get one of them because he wasn't as qualified as some of the other applicants. Inside, I hope that that's the real reason and that it's not Alex meddling again.
       Last week when I questioned him about the job hunt, he had a disturbed look on his face, and he told me he would have to interview for a job out of town. When I asked him why he had that expression on his face, he said that they contacted him instead of the other way around. A couple of days ago, they called him back for a second interview. He had it yesterday afternoon. When I called him last night, I couldn't get him to tell me how it went. He told me he had to do a lot of thinking and that he'd see me today. I still don't even know what the job is.

        "Hey," I say when I pull him into my apartment.
        "Hey," he replies when he pulls me into his arms with a sigh.
        Not wanting to wait any longer, I ask, "Do I get to hear how the interview went now?"
        He takes a deep breath. "Let me just hold you for a few minutes first, okay?"
        "Of course," I reply, and his arms tighten around me. Turning his head, he rests his forehead on my neck and shoulder, breathing deeply.
        He kisses my neck quickly before asking, "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"
        I smile a small smile. "I think I do."
        "Good because you are the most important person to me in the entire world. You are my world. I never want to lose you again, and I'd do anything to keep that from happening."
        "Graham, you're not going to lose me."
        He takes in a quick shudder of a breath, and I pull my head back to look at him. Reaching up, I hold his cheek in my hand. He turns his head and kisses my palm. Then, he lets me go and takes a small step back, his eyes showing his worry.


       "Do I get to hear how it went now?" I ask, prompting him to finally tell me and explain the look of worry on his face. If Alex messed with his job opportunities again, I'll find a way to make him regret it.
       "It went surprisingly well." He doesn't sound excited.
       I smile anyway. "Well, that's good, right? What was this one for anyway?"
       "It's with an agency," he says in a guarded way.
       "Like a real estate agency?" I ask, remembering how much he knows about architecture. It was a hobby of his in college even if his major was history. Maybe it's a job dealing with historic buildings.
       He smiles for the first time, but I still detect a note of sadness in it. "No, not really."

      "Well?"
      "Well, it's not so much who it's with as where it's located," he answers evasively, but it works.
      "Where?"
      "The home office is located in Eden, and if I take the job, that's where I'll be placed." He watches me closely for my reaction.
       "Eden..." My voice drifts away. The city is about a ten hour drive from here. Also, it's on the desktop. He'll be moving from the laptop to the desktop. "That's...far away." He's leaving! I think with a sad panic.
       "Brielle, I don't have to take the job. I can find something else," he tells me quickly.
       "Yes, because it's worked so well for you these past couple of months," I reply sarcastically. I look up at him and press my lips closed to keep me from saying more. If I do, I'll run the risk of saying something biting that might bring on tears. If I talk at all, I could start crying. Graham is leaving me. He should take the job. He shouldn't let me hold him back from this opportunity. He was hurting for money before he lost his job. His severance package will be drained out in a few weeks. He's already put his house on the market, planning on moving into an apartment when it sells. But, if he doesn't have a job, how can he afford an apartment? I'd sooner have him move in with me than leave me, but it's not fair to deny him this chance at remaining independent.


        "I don't want to leave you," he tells me quietly and takes my hand.
        I bite my lip hard to try and stop the tears. Life without Graham stretches out before me, and the loneliness of my future strangles my heart, squeezing it until I'm sure it'll burst. He looks like he's about to say that he'll decline the offer, but I have to stop him. "You should...accept their offer." This is what Alex wanted. He wanted Graham to move away.
       "Not if it means leaving you behind," he tells me and reaches up with his free hand to wipe my cheeks.
       "No, Graham. Don't let me hold you back." I have to bite my lip again before my voice gets out of my control and I start bawling like a baby.
       "No, Brielle, you don't understand. I thought from what you'd said before that..."
       "I worried you'd have to take a job that was far away," I cry.
       "Come with me," he whispers, and I see the beginnings of tears in his eyes.


      I take in and let out a shuddering breath. "What?" I ask in a breathy voice.
      "I know this area has always been your home, but... But, when you'd worried my new job might be far away, you said... You said you would...come with me."
      I thought he'd forgotten I'd said that.
      He continues, "I won't take it if you don't. I'd sooner make minimum wage somewhere around here."
      He never intended to leave me at all! He really does want me to go with him!
      I manage a smile now. "It won't take me long to pack."


      He exhales in a rush and quickly pulls me towards him. In a nanosecond, his lips are on mine in a rapturously joyful way. I'm going with him! I'm moving away from this place! I'm sure I won't have any trouble working with the foundation to get another apartment in Eden once I explain to them what I need. If I do, well, I've proven over the last few months that I'm a good tenant and can hold down a job. I'm sure I can get a bartending job anywhere.
      "Thank you," he breathes into me. "I couldn't do this without you, and I know how much this means to you for you to do this for me."
      "What do you mean? I'm happy to move with you," I tell him, still feeling the unbelievable thrill going through me with the prospect of a new home.
      He lovingly kisses me again before replying, "They're providing me with housing. I'll request nothing less than a two bedroom. I know this is a huge step for you, and I never would've imagined I'd be asking it of you so soon."
      My brow creases in confusion. "I guess a two bedroom would be nice for you, but I don't understand. I'm sure it's not as huge a step as you think. The foundation can probably help me if I can't find an apartment. It's just relocating. Finding another bartending job won't be too hard." The longer I speak, the more his face falls. "What is it?"
      "I... I thought you knew that when I asked you to come with me that...that I'm asking you to move in with me, hence the importance of a two bedroom."
      I stand in shocked silence before him. Of course, I always knew that someday I would probably move in with him. I've always hoped that one day we'll be married, maybe have a child or two, but so soon?

      He lets out an ironic snort and smiles at me reassuringly. "I'm sorry. Don't worry about it. Yes, I'm sure you won't have much trouble finding an apartment and a new job. I should've... I shouldn't have assumed... Your independence is so very important to you. It always has been. We can go as soon as you want to so we can get you a place. They want me to start as soon as I can."
     I watch the forced smile on his face. If I didn't know him as well as I do now, I would've been fooled, but I know him. He's disappointed and hurt and doing everything he can to hide it from me. "Graham..."
      "Maybe there's a place close to the house they'll provide me. Of course, I'd never complain in a million years, but it would be nice not to have to drive half an hour back and forth from my place to yours. Don't you think?" He swallows hard. In a minute, he'll say he needs to use the restroom so he can escape to let out his hurt feelings where I can't see.
      "The only thing I don't like about my apartment is how far away it is from your house," I tell him quietly, and he nods and smiles.
      "Yeah," he says quickly. "Uh, and speaking of long drives, I need to use the restroom."
      "Why didn't you go when you got here?" I ask suspiciously.
      "It was more important to me to tell you about the job and stuff," he tells me just as quickly. He's cracking up, his farcical happiness crumbling away.

      Before I can say anything else, he kisses me on the cheek. "I'm so glad you're moving for me. You have no idea how relieved I am," he tells me, his voice overloaded with emotion. "I'll be right back."
      I get a hard grip of his elbow. "You're not fooling me, Graham."
      "What?" he asks, and his eyes dart to the bathroom door. "How do you think I'm trying to fool you?"
      "You're hiding how you really want me to move in with you," I tell him straightly.
      The truth shows in his eyes. "I shouldn't have expected it. That's my problem. I don't want you to move in with me if you're only doing it just to make me happy. Please, please forgive me for thinking that you might be ready for that. I got carried away for a second."
      I throw my arms around his neck, and he tightly holds me to him. I can't quite figure it out, but I'm so happy that he's backpedaling and deciding to simply be happy I'm moving to Eden, even if it doesn't mean I'm living with him. He was doing everything he could to keep me from seeing the disappointment because he was content that I'd move at all. Still, he couldn't help but feel sad at the same time that he couldn't get the fairytale ending he pictured. That he wants the fairytale ending at all fills me with happiness. Plus, his fairytale ending had us in separate bedrooms. Even with his high hopes, he still understood that I would want space. "I love you," I whisper to him.
       His breathing huffs out of him as he holds me impossibly tighter, unable to hide his feelings anymore. He doesn't exactly cry, more like taking deep breaths and shaking a bit. I let him hold me as long as he needs, and he slowly gets himself under control. "I love you so much, Brielle. Please forgive me for jumping ahead of myself."
      "being willing to turn your life upside-down for another person," I remember him saying, at least something like it, in my memory when he told me what he thinks being in love with someone does to a person. Is it really a big deal to move in with him? I could try it. I would still have my own room...
       "You should ask for a two bedroom," I tell him.
       "Yeah. I'm still going to," he says and pulls back to smile down at me.


       "I could rent the second room..." I let my voice drift as I close my eyes, fear of the unknown hitting me.
       "What?" he asks in disbelief. "No, Brielle. It's fine. We'll find you an apartment." His voice sounds stronger now.
       "For me to live there how long?" I ask and open my eyes.
       He smiles. "As long as you need."

       A week later, we fly to Eden and look at apartments for me. I don't understand what comes over me, but I hate every single one of them. On the drive over to see his new house, Graham finally gets me to talk about what's bothering me, why I didn't like any of the apartments. After much back and forth between us, I tell him that each place felt irritatingly transient, that I wanted a place with a firmer foundation, a more stable feeling of 'home.'
      Graham's new house is an adorable little bungalow at the end of a street in a good neighborhood. He smiles when he sees it, and tears prick my eyes as I watch him. We walk inside to find it fully furnished. There's a nice-sized master bedroom and a smaller room that feels cozy and comfortable. Everywhere I look, I see our future, a happy future.
       When we walk back into the living room, I turn to him, smiling, and say, "I'm home."
       He smiles back at me and says, "I'm glad you like it." I can tell he refuses to reignite the hope that my saying that I'm home means that I want to move in.


      Before we go out to the rental car, I pull him to me in an embrace. "You don't understand," I tell him quietly. "All those apartments we looked at, and I never got that feeling that I get here. If it's still okay with you... Could I move in?"
      He squeezes me tightly, breathing heavily and kissing my neck, before devouring my lips, too filled with happiness to speak.
     "Yes," he rasps out and then laughs at himself. After clearing his throat, he repeats, "Yes. Yes." He kisses me again. "Oh, Brielle! Yes." Then, like in a movie, he picks me up and spins me around, and I squeal before he safely places me back on my own two feet.


      "Yes," he reiterates just in case I didn't hear him the first four times he said it.
      I smile, confident and happy and ready to start the next phase of my life.

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I demolished almost everything from each little neighborhood and uploaded Maxis-recommended houses and lots to fill up "Eden." Their house is The Nook by TheSimSupply.