Round 4: Laurent

Oliver Laurent and his wife Kylie Grey are Elders. Oliver’s son Ellis Laurent is a Teen.

* * *

When Oliver was at the doctor getting his back looked at, the doctor gave him a piece of news he hadn’t been prepared for. He was sick, and there was nothing that could be done. At this point, all he could do was wait.

He didn’t tell Ellis or Kylie, just like he hadn’t let either of them know the extent of their financial troubles. He couldn’t bring himself to worry either of them with this. He would have preferred to live long enough to meet his grandchildren, but deep down he had always known that wasn’t going to happen. Right now all he could do was spend time with the people he loved and do the things that he enjoyed, like working in his garden. At least he didn’t feel any different – he could still work outside with no problems.

He worried about leaving Kylie on her own, especially since her mental state still seemed to be deteriorating. He kept trying to convince her to get help, but to no avail.

Oliver had started doing all the household repairs himself, despite the toll it took on his back. Repair services were a luxury they could no longer afford. At least the finances couldn’t get much worse after he was gone – it wasn’t as if he was bringing in any money as it was, aside from his garden, and the garden would still be there for Ellis or Kylie to take care of.

Oliver found himself spending a lot more time talking to Ellis, especially about the importance of carrying on the family name. He might not be around to see his children, but he at least wanted to know they would exist. When Ellis had been born, it had felt as if a part of himself had woken up that he had never known existed; the thought of Ellis spending his life childless and never knowing what he was missing made him immeasurably sad.

Ellis wasn’t sure what to think about this. Yes, he wanted kids someday – probably – but he wasn’t ready to think about that yet. He was still in high school, even if graduation was fast approaching. But because he could see that it was important to his dad, he finally promised that he would have at least one child.

Right now he was more focused on Liss than on any hypothetical future children. She had moved in with Autumn Brennan, like she had suggested to Autumn at her birthday party, and the two of them spent their days painting and helping each other improve their art. She sounded like she was in heaven. But she still made plenty of time for Ellis.

It was strange, dating her when she wasn’t in school anymore. It felt like she was growing up without him. He consoled himself with the thought that he would be graduating soon enough. He remembered how he used to not want to grow up at all, but that felt like a whole other world. That had been his life before Liss. She had changed everything.

He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was that she had chosen him over Dmitri. He felt like he should be doing something to make himself worthy of that – of her. He was trying to keep up his cooking experiments, but it was hard when they only had a few cheap foods in the house. And besides, sometimes he just had to do something fun instead. He tried to remind himself that he didn’t need to make himself into something different – she had chosen him because of who he was, even if that didn’t make any sense.

The Grim Reaper came for Oliver on the morning before Ellis’s birthday. Oliver begged to be able to stay just a little longer, just long enough to see his son grow up, but to no avail. The Grim Reaper’s schedule was not for mortals to trifle with.

Even now, on the verge of adulthood, Ellis still went to his bear for comfort.

His father’s death sucked any possible excitement out of his birthday party. No one quite knew what to say to him, and he wasn’t in the mood to do anything but hole up in his bedroom and cry.

It didn’t help that Dmitri, despite his promises, had decided to hold a grudge against him for what had happened with Liss. Never mind that Ellis and Liss had been together first, or that forcing her to choose had been Dmitri's idea.

But Ellis made an effort. He tried to smile and laugh with the others. He pretended not to notice when he saw Liss flirt with Dmitri in front of him, and pretended not to see the two of them acting embarrassed around each other for the rest of the night.

He blew out the candles, and said goodbye to the last of his childhood.

When he got a quiet moment alone with Liss, he confronted her about what he had seen. She was as contrite as he had ever seen her. she had just fallen into old habits, she said. It didn’t mean anything. Ellis didn’t know whether to believe her – but he wanted to. And from the way Dmitri had been stomping around the house all night, it was clear, at least, that he didn’t consider himself a threat to Liss and Ellis’s relationship.

Kylie felt lost without Oliver. Although at times she had been ambivalent about their marriage, the truth was that he had been keeping her anchored. It was only now that he was gone that she could see it. Now she was all alone with a stepson who barely spoke to her, in a house that had never really felt like hers.