Yay! A new generation! I’ve put together a little family tree thing just in case anyone wants to start at this generation:
(note: Brielle is the 1st gen matriarch. I consider Jett and Cali gen zero since the story started with Brielle.)
(d) means deceased. Squiggle and solid line means once married but divorced (no solid line means no marriage, as in the next pic). And yes, Alexander Goth is the Alexander Goth. He’s technically the same age as Brielle, and there’s a whole huge deal over that in previous generation stories. For instance, he was married before Emily and has a son Emily’s age (Drake who’s dead now) and a grandson named Valentino. Another side note: Logan has a branch of his own. (Nyla does not.)
Sorry it looks so crude. I do use FamilyEcho to really keep track, but if I post the link to the actual tree, it will contain spoilers galore.
The following tree is the Ethan Taylor branch since currently, it’s the most involved:
For Gen 4, the official heirs are Brylee, Brent, and John, but Benjamin (technically gen 3) will play a role as well. And I say ‘official’ because I’m known for going in different directions, especially when one arc closes. For instance, I can almost guarantee there will be a bit involving Darius Goth.
Now, on with the story!
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John Taylor
My cousin Brent likes to pick on me. He thinks that just because he’s a year older that that makes him automatically smarter than I am. Today, things are made worse because a girl tried to kiss me on the bus coming home from school.
“You like her, don’t you?” he teases.
“No I don’t!” Okay, so Stephanie Carlisle is pretty, but that doesn’t mean I like her.
I decide to fight fire with fire.
“Maybe you like her, and you’re just jealous!” I grin.
He’s not smiling anymore. Uh oh. Did I guess right?
“N-no I don’t.” He shakes his head. “She’s just a stupid girl, and a fourth grader. Why would I like a fourth grader?” He’s in fifth grade with my sister Elle. Brylee’s in seventh, meaning she goes to middle school. My cousin Theo, Brent’s younger brother, is in kindergarten. Right now, we’ve run off from Theo driving me crazy. He’s always wanting me to play with him, but I don’t like kindergarten stuff.
It’s not often that I have the upper hand with Brent. “So?” I ask, meaning so what Stephanie Carlisle’s a fourth grader. “You can still like her.”
He tries to roll his eyes. “Don’t be stupid, Johnny boy.” He gets a superior look. “Besides, she tried to kiss you.”
I can’t let him win.
“And you’re jealous! You like Stephanie!” I laugh. “You should see your face right now!”
“Shut up. I like Annabelle. Because she’s the prettiest girl in my class.” He tries not to pout.
I almost sing it. “But you like Stephanie too!”
He does roll his eyes this time. “Whatever, nerd.”
I crack up laughing, and we both decide to sit in the dirt.
“You know, the next time she tries to kiss you, you should let her,” he tells me sagely.
“I don’t want to kiss girls.”
“You want to kiss boys then?” Uncle Mike and Uncle Darrin are his dads, but they also like his mom Aunt Ivy. I don’t understand any of it.
“No way.” I make a face. “Why do I have to kiss anybody?”
“Because Stephanie is pretty.”
I grin. “And you like her.”
He lets out a huff. “Shut up.”
I lightly kick him with my shoe. “No, you shut up. I don’t want to kiss her. Sure, she’s pretty, but so what?”
“Pretty girls have to be kissed. It’s the law.”
I crack up laughing. “Where the plum did you hear that?” I feel so brave cussing, but Brent and I made a pact we wouldn’t tell on each other.
He’s still serious. “My dad.”
“It’s not the law. That’s just your dad being goofy.”
“Oh.” He sighs and looks far away.
I kick him again. “Earth to Brent.”
“Do you think Stephanie would kiss me?”
“Maker, you’re crazy.” I stand up. “Girl crazy.”
“But do you think she would?”
I shake my head at my cousin even though he’s not looking. He’s nuts. “Why don’t you try asking her? She obviously wants someone to kiss her.” They’re both nuts.
“She’d probably laugh in my face.”
“Well, that’s a risk you have to take.”
He turns his head. “Where are you going?”
“Something’s catching the light over here, and I wanna find out what.” I saw a glint near the water. It’s a white shiny thing that looks out of place. Maybe someone lost a toy. Maybe it’s a fossil, but I hope not. Those things creep me out.
Brent gets up to follow me.
I think the white thing by the water is a rock, but as I get over to it, a bigger rock grabs my attention. It’s inside a log, or I would’ve seen it first.
Brent’s not paying attention, still stuck in girl-crazy land. “Maybe Annabelle will kiss me.”
“Yeah whatever. Come look at this thing.”
He walks towards me as I put my hand in the log. “Besides, Annabelle’s prettier anyway. She’s blonde.”
I roll my eyes and find the rock. Then I pull it out and hold it up to the light.
And I scream like a girl.
It’s not a rock.
I drop it and run away to Brent yelling, “Holy plum!”
It was a skull.
I can barely hear Brent over the rushing sound in my ears. All I can think is I want to get home to Mommy.
Those weren’t rocks. They were bones. I found a dead person at the edge of the pond. Tears stream down my cheeks, and I can’t catch my breath.
It takes ages for Mommy and Daddy to figure out why I’m freaking out. At first, they act scared that something happened to me and Brent, but then Brent comes in finally, huffing and puffing. He tells them what I found by the pond, and Mommy and Daddy call the police.
Then the house is invaded by police officers, and they all try to get me to talk about it. I can barely breathe. I can’t talk! Brent tells them what he knows, and I don’t move from my spot on the floor.
A few hours later, a different kind of cop shows up.
Mommy and Daddy get up from trying to talk to me when he arrives. They act like they know him.
Marco
Chief Foster calls me and tells me some kid found a skeleton. I get the address, and find that it’s Charlotte Taylor’s place.
“Hi, Charlotte, it’s been a while.” Dwight and I became friends with Darrin and Mike, and that rekindled Dwight’s friendship with Charlotte with her being Mike’s sister and all. It’s only a tiny bit awkward since I know she once had a crush on my husband. Honestly, though, it’s hella more awkward with Darrin and me, so this is nothing compared to that.
“Hi, Marco. You’re tired. Do you want some coffee?” Of course, she can see right through anything I try to put out to hide my feelings. Dwight’s fascinated with her psychic, no, empathetic ability.
I smile. “No, but thanks. I’ll muddle through.”
She explains to me her son found the remains, and I look at a little redheaded boy huddled on the floor. Next to him stands the mini-Mike, who proudly walks over to me.
“I can show you where we found it. Well, where John found it. He screamed like a little girl.” The kid laughs.
I stare at him. “Well, finding a skeleton is scary.” He acts unbothered by his cousin’s distress. I go over to the other child and kneel down to be more on his level.
“Hi there,” I tell him. “So your name is John?”
A tiny voice almost whispers, “I didn’t do it.”
Charlotte immediately reacts. “Oh thank the maker.” She plops down next to her son, hugging him and telling him it’ll be okay. Jarvis tells me that’s the first word he’s said since he came running back to the house.
“I know you didn’t do it, kiddo. It happened a long time ago.”
The little voice is a bit louder. “But I found it! And it’s dead!” He starts wailing. Charlotte hugs him tighter.
“It’s not your fault, and we’re glad you found it,” I tell him, hoping I sound reassuring.
He sniffs. “You are?”
“Yeah. We’re going to figure out who it was, and maybe this will answer some old questions.” Eventually, I hear the first-hand account of how he found the remains, and I take notes so that our forensic team can paint a better picture. Then I head down to the location.
After a few weeks, we have a positive ID.
It’s the missing guy I’d been searching for during the time when Dwight was dating Pedro. After rereading the file, I see where I’d noted that Dwight had suspected a drug connection based solely on the man’s actions. Now that we have a body, we know he was murdered and dumped in this pond. And the more I think on it, the more I wonder if the love of my life was on to something.
Brent Taylor
Johnny boy’s been acting weird ever since the skeleton incident. He stays in his room more often, leaving me so bored when I have to come to their house after school. Right now, he’s reading with the covers over his head.
“C’mon, John, you nerd. Join the real world. I’m bored.” I kick his bed.
“Why should I?” he mumbles.
“Because the real world misses you. Please? Theo sucks, and the only other people to play with are your sisters. Save me from girlie land.”
He sighs, and he finally sits on top of his covers. “I thought you liked girlie land.”
I’d rather have him teasing me than disappearing. “I like girls, not girlie land.”
“That’s right,” he says, remembering. “You like Stephanie.”
Thank the Maker, my cousin is back. “Whatever, bro.” Yeah, I’d tried flirting with Stephanie. It wasn’t as easy to do since we’re not in the same class. She acted like I freaked her out that a fifth grader was talking to her, and she ran off to her friends. Guess I can’t count that as ‘flirting’ since I never even got past ‘Hi. You’re pretty. Could I have your number?’ Yep, Dad’s advice sucked. He’d told me to compliment her and get around to asking for her number. Well, it didn’t work.
“So have you told Stephanie you like her?” He’s dying to tease me. I don’t care. I might’ve once before, but I’ve really missed him. I love coming to Aunt Charlotte’s house. They’re regular people. Mom and Dad are both famous, and paparazzi are frequently trying to trick us. One time, someone actually broke into the house, and Papi called the police after tackling the dude to the floor. But here at Aunt Charlotte’s, it’s like my secret hideout. Plus, it’s always crowded here, which is great because I hate being alone more than anything. Well, that and small spaces.
“I did,” I answer my cousin’s question. “Well, sorta. I told her she was pretty, and she ran away.”
His expression goes sideways. “Girls are stupid.”
There’s another voice at the door. “No we’re not.”
John stares at the wall in front of him as he asks, “Elle, will you ever learn to knock?”
She doesn’t answer his question, instead saying, “Mom says supper is ready.”
“We’ll be down in a minute.”
Again, it’s like he didn’t talk. “What are you guys talking about anyway?”
I chuckle as he growls out, “Go away, Elle.”
I decide to answer, “Girls.” I turn to her. “Hey, Elle. You’re a girl.”
She rolls her hazel eyes. “Duh.”
I get up. “Well, maybe you could help with something.
“Am I kissable?” I ask her.
She acts like that’s not what she expected to hear.
John groans. “Ugh, Brent! Give it a rest!”
Elle answers, “I don’t know. You’re my cousin.”
“Well, I mean, what if I weren’t your cousin? Would I be then?” If I can’t get an answer here, I may never know. I just wanna know if Stephanie thought I was weird or if she’s shy or something. And if I can’t succeed with Stephanie, how could I possibly do with Annabelle?
“I don’t know.”
I can’t give up. “C’mon, Elle! Help me out here. If I weren’t your cousin, would you think I was kissable?” I try to put on my cutest smile. I’ve been practicing in front of the mirror in the bathroom at home.
“How would I know? I’ve never thought about stuff like that.”
John pipes up. “See, Brent? You’re weird.”
Elle continues, “And I wouldn’t know where to start since I’ve never kissed a boy anyway.”
I get an idea. “Hey! Maybe we could kiss each other to practice.”
She looks at me like she agrees with her little brother. “I’m going downstairs.”
“Just for practice!” I insist. Yeah, okay, it’s weird. But it wouldn’t mean anything, and it beats practicing on a teddy bear.
She makes a face like she thinks I’m ridiculous. “Why don’t you ask Annabelle? She likes you.”
That totally hit me out of nowhere. “Wait, really?”
Elle rolls her eyes and flounces out of John’s room.
I bound after her. “Wait! Elle, are you joking or are you serious?”
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A/N: To clear up some possible confusion: I’m writing what I know and am familiar with mostly, so education where I live is K5(kindergarten)-5th grade is elementary school, 6th-8th grade is middle school, and 9th-12th is high school. Sometimes, kindergartens can be separate or exist with a pre-k (and daycare), but I’m not going to get that complicated. I think.
But more importantly…
Yay! Generation four has FINALLY started! Not mentioned was that Kenneth Franklin died (Laura’s second husband). He left everything to Laura, who will leave everything to Valentino. Laura is still alive but old. Brielle is also still alive but older than Laura. (Brielle’s like 90 or something.) She’s still cared for by Isabella and Braydon. Ethan has officially aged to elder. BTW, keeping up with who is what age is going to drive me mad, so please forgive me if I start screwing it up.
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