Holisdale: Round Two -- The Bailey Family
Here we have the Bailey family, now a family with an elder, two teens and one child.
15 pictures.
Seeing her mom move out and move on with her life made Zoe realize that she needed to do the same. She'd racked up a decent amount of scholarships during her teenage years and now was the time for her to put them to use. Saying a quick goodbye to everyone, she packed her stuff and called a cab, heading off for college. It was finally her time.
Brooke sometimes felt like she was the only one who wanted to keep her family together. Her grandfather wasn't much of an active participant in family things, Zoe had rushed off to college the minute their mom had moved out and Paisley had been acting weird, bratty and distant ever since their mom had moved out as well. Brooke figured that Paisley had really wanted to move with their mom into the new house, but was too proud to say so. Maybe she wanted to seem like a big girl to everyone in their family. Whatever the reason, Paisley sure was miserable now.
Brooke was trying to find a happy medium--life was going to be different without having her mom around all the time. Still, she did what she could, like calling her mom whenever she had a free moment to keep up relationships. Sometimes she didn't get through, but most of time, her mom called their house and nobody picked up. Brooke felt bad when that happened, but she usually wasn't home, so what could she do?
Still, it just goes to show that time continues to move on, even if you don't.
Only days later, it was time for Paisley's birthday and the birthday girl was a little less than happy. It was true; she had wanted to be a part of the move with her mom and her baby brother. But she really loved her grandfather and he was really nice to her and she thought Doug was kind of weird, even though she'd never really talked to him. And she was scared of moving and she didn't want to leave the new house and she was tired of things changing, so she decided to stay.
But she wasn't happy.
Jason knew Paisley wasn't happy and that she was holding bitter feelings against her mom, which was really why Leslie hadn't been invited over for Paisley's birthday. Jason missed his daughter as much as Paisley did, but he wasn't the least bit sour about it. Leslie had her own life that she had to go about her own way and Paisley had made her choice. It would just be Paisley's first big life lesson.
Still, because Paisley was so down in the dumps, Jason made sure to hoot and holler extra loudly when she blew out the candles. He wasn't going to have any of his granddaughters sulking about the house, especially not on a birthday!
Paisley grew up into a beautiful young girl, looking more and more like her mother with each day.
Paisley Bailey -- Pleasure; Aries (5/8/6/3/3); LTW: Have 50 Dream Dates; turned on by fitness and underwear; turned off by formal wear.
Paisley enjoyed spending time with Brooke, seeing as she was the only person in the house who Paisley could really relate to. Brooke was basically Paisley's idol--they were almost like twins. They both wanted the same things and in general, acted the same way. Paisley was definitely going to miss her older sister when she went off to college without her. Brooke was the one person in the house who Paisley had always been closest to.
Just when they thought the random visits to their house were over, Doug kept popping up at the Bailey's randomly after getting married to Leslie. Perhaps it was an effort to get closer to his "extended family," but the reception was a little less than warm. It wasn't as if the Baileys didn't like Doug (well, maybe Paisley didn't), but his visits were so random and he seemed to be trying so hard to get them to like and accept him, something they'd already done. It was just too weird to be buddy-buddy with him; Jason was getting less and less involved in his daughter's affairs as the days went on and Brooke was too old now to really think of Doug as her stepfather. He was more that guy that her mom had married.
Coincidentally, Paisley was never home when Doug randomly showed up.
Most of the time, it was because Paisley was at work, getting chance cards like this.
Unfortunately, she didn't always make the best decisions at work and some of them, like this one, got her in trouble. This time, she got fired.
To Paisley, it seemed as though she'd hit rock bottom and could sink no lower. She didn't have her mom with her, someone who she did need around, no matter what she said. Her oldest sister had gone to college and Brooke wouldn't be at home for much longer either. And her grandfather... Well, her grandfather...
...was upstairs, dying in the third floor bathroom. He would be dearly missed, but his death was almost too much for Paisley. She felt so small and insignificant and lost. She didn't even have her grandfather's mostly unfunny (but funny because they weren't funny) jokes or his wise advice and silly humor. Pretty soon, she wouldn't have Brooke either. Pretty soon, Paisley was going to be all alone in this house.
And she wasn't sure if she could handle that.
After their grandfather's death, Brooke was weirdly distant to Paisley and seemed almost robotic. Jason's death hadn't shocked her so much, but it reminded her of how short life really could be. She knew it was time for her to start living. Paisley tried to look as strong as she could when Brooke broke the news that she was going to go off to college and that she'd already started packing her things before their grandfather's death.
"Him being gone just cements it, you know?" Brooke said.
Paisley just nodded and smiled pleasantly, as if she really understood and was fine with it. Inside, her blood was boiling and she wanted to scream, cry and tear her hair out all at once.
When Brooke left the next night, Paisley saw her to the door and waved goodbye with a bright, fake smile on her face. Just seeing Brooke walk away made her feel cold and lonely. She could feel the walls of the house closing in on her and it almost made her dizzy. She was so young--there was no way she could live in this house by herself. But she had no choice. She wasn't old enough to go off to college with her sisters and it was too late for her to go begging to her mother to let her move in with the Knoxs. Besides, that was one way Paisley definitely didn't want to go.
It seemed she'd just have to grow up, suck it up and live with it.
Brooke began to close the taxi door and looked back on her old home with a guilty pang. She felt so bad leaving Paisley all alone in their house, but what else could she do? She wasn't going to put a stop on her life for anybody, including her own sister. Now it was Brooke's time and she was going to make the best of it.
A few hours after Brooke left, after Paisley had held back many tears and screams, she came to a bit of a resolve. She jumped on the computer and researched scholarships, planning to get as many as she could. She was going to set herself up for success starting now. Everyone around her was so selfish, leaving her behind to go pursue their own life's dreams--now it was time for her to start doing the same. She'd show them all. She'd be so successful. She was going to make them regret leaving her behind.
Brooke finished up the night by chatting with a couple of people online. She needed new friends, right? Just because she was alone didn't mean she had to be lonely.
That's all for the Baileys this round; coming up next is college, woo!
Thanks for reading! :]