The months that follow Elias's cheating are brutal. Fights are constant. Insults are thrown. Tears are shed.
"Hey, babe, just relax..."
"I told you to stop calling me that! When are you moving out? I served you an eviction notice and everything." Elias has been stubborn about staying. She finally stopped with the pleading and served him a formal eviction notice saying he needs to be out within 30 days. This was nearly 30 days ago.
"I still have time left," Elias sniffs indignantly, "Don't rush me."
Tatum stares at him with open contempt, only tempered by her depressed frustration that he won't just leave her alone.
Elias doesn't feel much more warmly towards her, either. After the shame of being discovered faded, he has only become more open about feeling underappreciated. Why can't she see that she's overreacting? He didn't even really cheat!
The disagreements have become incredibly petty. It's gone from "How could you treat me like garbage!?" to "This is my bed!"
"For the last time- it is mine. I own the furniture here!" Tatum is near tears. She just wants to sleep. "There's a bed in the attic! Use it, or sleep on the couch!"
Although he always relents, Tatum feels like she's going crazy. She hates how much yelling Azuma must be overhearing all the time. Doesn't Elias care?
The repowoman shows up to claim what the household owes for their bills. With all the chaos lately, Tatum has forgotten to pay the bills and Elias simply could not be bothered to check if they had any.
Tatum sighs with relief when a friendly face comes through the door.
Lucky's back!
What all of this has shown Tatum is that she'll need a housemate to help pay bills once Elias leaves. Kaira stubbornly refuses to move back in and Tatum feels like she can trust Lu more than some random stranger...
"How was your trip back here?" she asks conversationally.
"Well..." he's not sure how to explain where he was until a few days ago, "It was alright. Nothing major happened. How're things here?" All he knows is that her now ex-boyfriend is moving out and she needs a flatmate. She didn't have the emotional fortitude to explain the entire mess to him without breaking down, so she didn't.
She shrugs. "Elias is moving out later. I'm glad you're here."
Lucky winces sympathetically. The pain she's in is written all over her face. It's in the heavy, sad looks she gives her son, the annoyed expression when she mentions Elias, the bags under her eyes... whatever happened between them, it must have been bad.
She gives him a more detailed account of Elias's misdeeds over dinner.
"What an asshole," is Lu's automatic response, "...are you alright?"
Tatum raises one of her shoulders in a "could be better" gesture. "Given the circumstances...I'm just glad he's finally leaving."
Tatum gets up to put her dirty dish away.
"Nice shoes," he comments, "They match my hair."
This elicits a quiet chuckle from Tatum, "They'd really bring out your eyes," she agrees.
All light-hearted joking is sucked out of the air once Elias appears.
"Does he know I'm moving in?" Lu asks in a hushed tone.
"Yeah..."
"But he's not happy about it?" he presses.
Tatum shakes her head. "Not really. I hope he doesn't give you any problems..."
"I can't believe you're replacing me with this guy!" Elias explodes.
"Elias. Please. Just spare us today." Tatum's patience is diminishing fast.
She watches, mildly shocked, when he closes his mouth, and walks straight inside.
While Elias packs his things, Tatum and Lucky play a game of catch. Doing anything would have felt uncomfortable, given the tense atmosphere, so Lucky figures to just make the best of it and do something fun.
"I haven't held a ball since high school," Tatum admits.
"My athletic skill isn't even a 1. But I saw families playing this game on television loads of times! I wanted to see what it was like."
She throws the ball back to him. "So? What is it like?"
"Not very interesting," he confesses, "But I can cross it off my list."
His list of things to do now that he's "real" is several hundred items long. He's crossed off about a dozen of them.
As the moon rises in the sky, a car makes it way towards the house. Elias's mother steps out of it.
"I guess you're here for Elias," Tatum says quietly.
"Yes. My idiot son. He never knows when to accept the things he has. He could've had it so good with you, and he threw it all away! I tried to raise him better. Told him winning's just not something our family does, and to make do with what he's got. Silly boy."
Tatum gives her an uncomfortable smile. Is it me? Am I just crazy? She glances back at the house. What is he doing in there??
After what feels like an eternity, Elias comes out, smiling bashfully at his mother.
"Mom! Good to see you."
"Elias! Are you ready to go? Your father wants me to do the laundry, and I told him surely you'd do it. We need to go!"
Tatum looks between the two. What.
"Wait, I want to say goodbye to Azuma..."
"Aw honey. Just accept that you've lost him and let's get a move on."
For the first time in months, Tatum feels bad for Elias.
"Wait here, I'll get him..." Tatum hurries inside. She won't deny her son the last time he'll see Elias until they get a visitation schedule drawn up.
***
Tearful goodbyes were said, but in the end Elias goes back home with his mother.
"Joni, the laundry still isn't done!" Darwin complains when his wife comes home.
She smiles at Elias. "Elias here said he'll do that, isn't that right, sweetie?"
Elias gives her a tired smile. Home sweet home... "...Yes, mom."
"That's my boy."
Once the Drudge-Bayless duo are gone, Tatum recounts the strange encounter to Lucky.
"I've never met his parents before. He went home all the time to visit them, but I never knew..."
"That they were so weird?"
"Yes, exactly! 'Accept that you've lost him'? She talked about Azuma like he's dead or something! It's not like he'll never see him again... And she said all these things about how their family never 'wins' anything..." she shakes her head.
"Do you think that's why Elias was so obsessed with staying here? To 'win' something?"
"Man, I have no clue. That's so messed up, if that's what it is."
Thinking about the dynamics between Elias and his mother make her feel incredibly sad. Tatum tries to distract herself by playing with her son.
"If you have problems, try to face them head on...don't run away..."
"Especially if they're about money..." she's trying to get in all those life lessons in early.
Eventually, she lightens up.
"We should throw you a birthday party when you're older." She has fond memories of Damaris's and later Dot's big parties here.
Azuma smiles, but doesn't quite yet grasp the meaning behind his mother's words.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN:
Joni has these traits;
-Loser
-Slob
-Virtuoso
-Irresistible
-Can't Stand Art
I tried to show some nuance with the loser trait between Joni and Elias... the game's description of it just says that loser sims don't win often. From the Sims Wiki:
The wiki also lists some things about the loser trait, like that they complain a lot, cry if they lose, etc. I'm trying to write Elias more as a sore loser (obsessed with winning, always seeking validation and failing to get it, never seeing things as his fault) and his mother as someone who has come to "accept it" and has given up on even trying. I hope that got through in the chapter!
Lu has actually been living in the house this whole time. I should've moved him out according to the rules, but since I didn't have him earn any money, I shrugged and decided it would be fine. Now that's officially in the household, his occupation is angler! The marital structure is "The Shake Up". Elias was the romantic option, and now I'm switching to the platonic roommate portion of the roll. I was disappointed that only one kid is required for this generation, I would've liked to have Lucky raise a child alongside Azuma, or for Tatum to have a second child with someone else. Ah well.
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