Rebel 3.13

Nathaniel came over the following weekend, and spent all day Saturday at the house.  On one hand it was nice having him back, on the other, we both had changed so much that we were virtually strangers to each other. He spent equal time with the kids, listening to their stories of growing up, though when Berlin told how we didn't have much when they were little, you could almost see tears in his eyes. He played basketball with Tanner, who I'm sure was glad to have someone to play against that was actually a challenge. Where Tanner welcomed his father with open arms, Berlin was more reserved  preferring to keep to her self while Nathaniel was over.

When Nathaniel decided it was time to leave, I walked him out. "You've got great kids Izzy. You should be proud of them." I didn't want him to go, but I knew we needed to take things slow. He turned to look at the house and grounds before turning back to me and smiling "You did it, this is what you always dreamed of. I'm proud of you too." "Thanks" I squeaked out, barely having a voice. He leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek before getting in the car and leaving. I headed back in to find Berlin watching me from the doorway. "You can talk to him you know." I said as I came inside. "Yea, I know." She said as she went upstairs. I followed soon after.

Nathaniel called almost every night, and he and I stayed up long into the night talking. I told him all about raising the kids and he would tell me about his life as Philip, at time I felt so sorry for him, being Philip was the only life he had known for so long and to have it ripped away..I just couldn't imagine. He would also spent a considerable amount of time talking with the kids. Seeing how great he was with them made me even sadder that he didn't get to be there for them from the beginning, but he was definitely making up for it.

We also started "dating", going out one a week, just the two of us. I would tell him stories of our time in college, and the trips we took after graduation, he remembered bits and pieces of his past, but not much, so I would help him fill in the blanks.

Nathaniel had been back almost a year, the kids were getting ready to graduate, and one night Nathaniel took me to the beach, where we walked in silence for a while. "Isabella," Nathaniel said breaking the silence "I love you, I hate that I ever forgot you, and that I missed out on so much of our life together, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me again?" he said as he got down on one knee and produced the most beautiful ring. I stood there for a minute staring at Nathaniel's perfect face, and finally I said " yes, with all of my heart, yes I will marry you. For good this time" He couldn't help but laugh at that last part. He pulled me in for a kiss and said "I love you."

When we got back to the house I told the kids, both of whom were thrilled, Berlin started making plans for the wedding, which was fine with me, I wasn't much of a planner.

Graduation came and with it my little ones were all grown up and ready to make their way in the world. Neither one planned to go to college, instead Berlin planned to become a composer, Tanner had no real plans yet, but I had hopes that he'd figure it out soon. Nathaniel and I got married, a small wedding with just us and the kids in attendance. We planned to travel the world, and just enjoy our time together. Berlin wanted to move to Bridgeport, but I was hesitant to let her move by herself, so Tanner decided to move with her. Both of my kids were off to start the next chapter of their lives. 

Rebel 3.12

The very next day I headed over to the hotel. My mind was racing, I had a million questions that needed answers, and I needed to make sure he was real.  I pulled into the parking space and got out of the car, I stood there for a moment trying to calm myself. It wasn't working. I headed up to Nathaniel's room, knocked on the door and waited. When he opened the door, we just stood there staring at each other. All the questions I had planned to ask, now seemed silly, all that mattered was Nathaniel was here, alive. "Come in, I'm sure you have a million questions for me." He said moving out of the doorway. I walked in and sat on the couch, he took a seat next to me. "I don't even know where to begin." I said "What happened, where have you been?" "I had amnesia, I still don't remember everything, but I remembered you, so I came to find you."

 I was more confused than before, "Why don't you start at the beginning." He nodded before continuing. "I remember being at home with you, heading home from the store with your ice cream, I was hit by a car that ran the light, both of us went over the edge of the road into the trees. Then I remember walking along the highway, and someone stopping to give me a ride to the hospital. Next thing I know it's two months later and I'm in the hospital two states over, I was told I had a broken arm, several broken ribs, and a severe concussion. Apparently I was close enough in appearance to be mistaken for someone else who had gone missing years before, since I had no memories, who was I to argue. I became Philip Green, lived as him and with his family up until three years ago, when  they found the real Philip Green. At that point was more lost than ever, having lost a second identity. They were good people and offered to let me stay, but I needed to figure out who I really was. Driving in the car one day I heard this song on the radio, the voice was so familiar, yet I couldn't place it, once they said your name it's like these flood gates opened and all these memories came rushing out. I remembered my name, my family, you." I was speechless, he had been through so much.

"What about the last three years? You said you lived as Philip till three years ago, what happened during that time?" I wanted to know all that I had missed. "Once I remembered who I was I went home, needing to see my family, needing someone to confirm that I was finally me. But to my dismay, both of my parents had passed away. I said my goodbyes and moved on. I have to admit that it took me along time to decide to come here. I have a small house in Riverview, where I've been living for the last two and a half years." He stopped and looked at me. "Why didn't you want to come here, didn't you want to see me, meet your children?"  I asked, not sure I really wanted the answer. "Of course I wanted to see you. It's just, when I saw you on TV you looked so happy, and it's been so long I was afraid that coming back would be a mistake. I figured that after all this time you were probably married again, and I didn't want to interfere. I finally decided that I couldn't live not knowing. I needed to be a part of my children's life, even if it late." I didn't know what to say, so I just sat there for the longest time. "Are you okay? It's a lot to take in, believe me I know." "I never did remarry. It's been just me and the kids this whole time, speaking of which I need to get going, they'll be home soon, and we need to talk." I said as I got up and headed to the door.
Nathaniel caught my hand and pulled me in for a hug. "Thank you for coming, just one last question, what are their names?"

"Tanner and Berlin." I said pulling away. I was out the door and in the car as fast as I could,shaking from the release of anxiety, and needing to get home to process all I had heard today.

Once home I sat the kids down and told them what Nathaniel had said. They were just as shocked as I was, I told them that Nathaniel wanted to get to know them, but it was their choice, they were both almost seventeen. Tanner was much more enthusiastic about it, but both agreed to get to know their father.

Rebel 3.11

We'd been living in the new house a few years, an the twins were turning Fifteen, time really does fly. So for their party I went all out, finally I was able to give them a real party.  They both wanted identical cakes, so that made it easy, all their friends from school came as did dad and mom,  Melina couldn't make it, but she sent along a gift.

 I got them both a makeover as a gift. Tanner definitely took after my side of the family, Berlin on the other hand looked just like her father.

  Mom and dad stayed a while after the party to catch up on everything, though I was starting to wish they lived closer. For the longest time all I wanted was to be free of them, but now I realized how much I missed them. Before they left I made sure to apologize for all the crap I had done when I was younger.

In the days following the party, the kids started high school, and I encouraged them to find their path in life. Berlin took after me, she loved music though her taste leaned towards the classical side. She wanted to become a composer, and spent many hours at the piano. Tanner had so many interests that I had no idea what he was going to do next. He did spend lots of time learning how to mix drinks, all non alcoholic of course.

My music career was better than ever, I had recorded several albums, and one even went platinum. I was a well known celebrity, and had branched out on my tours. I still stayed within the country, though I manager wanted me to tour internationally. I had to turn him down, my kids were more important, I couldn't leave them for months at a time, maybe when they were out of school an international tour might be possible.

Late one night, I heard a knock at the front door, I normally didn't answer the door myself, let alone that late at night, but for some reason I did. "Coming!" I shouted towards the door as walked over to answer it. I didn't even make it to the door, I caught a glimpse of the man at my door,  and I couldn't breathe, the room started spinning, and the floor was getting closer. I fainted.  The kids must have heard me faint, because I woke up and both of them were standing over me. "What happened?" Tanner asked visibly upset. I couldn't even get the words out, I just looked out the door.

Tanner saw him too, so at least I wasn't imagining it, he took off out the door before I could stop him. "Who are you?" He shouted at the stranger. "What did you do to my mom?" The shouting continued. The stranger got defensive, "look kid, I didn't do anything, I didn't even get a chance to say anything to Isabella. Just give her this please,  I'll leave now." He handed Tanner a slip of paper, and walked off.

When Tanner came back inside both he and Berlin bombarded me with questions, "who was that, what happened, was I okay, what was on the note".  I told both of them to have a seat at the table and I told them, "That was your father, Nathaniel." They both looked at each other confused before Berlin said, "But you said he was dead, he died before we were born." "That's what I  thought too" I answered. I told them about the phone call I got informing me of his death, how he had been hit by a car while riding his motorcycle, and both had gone off the road over the cliff and by the time help had gotten there the car was on fire, there were no survivors. I told them how we had a funeral, and I had lived every day since missing him. I looked down at the crumpled paper in my hand, reading the words over and over : "I'm not dead, I'm here." Followed by the name of a hotel here in town.

Rebel 3.10

Winter arrived and with it came a pay raise, which was a blessing. We had tons of snow, and the kids had several days off of school due to the snow. On one of their snow days, I decided to take them to the winter festival. "Are you ready?" I called to the kids as I headed to the door. "Ready!" They shouted in unison, running out the door ahead of me. We piled into the car and drove to the fair grounds. I had plenty to spend on them this time around. "What do you want to do first?" I asked as we got out of the car. "I want to ice skate" Berlin said. "Skating is for girls, I want to snowboard" Tanner chimed in. "Well, Berlin and I will skate, and Tanner you can go snowboarding. How's that sound?" "Sounds great" they both said. So Tanner headed off to snowboard, and us girls went skating.

We skated for a while, till we fell down laughing. Getting back up I suggested going to get some hot chocolate, calling to Tanner as we made our was to the food cart. On the way the kids saw the snowball fight zone, and just had to stop for a game. Well one game turned into five and pretty soon it was getting dark. "Come on guys, time to go!" I called. That was met with "aww, mom! One more game!" "No, guys. It's getting late, we need to get home." "Can we get some hot chocolate to go?" Tanner asked. " That's a great idea." I said. I ordered three cocoa's to go, and we piled back into the car headed home. Both Berlin and Tanner were fast asleep before I even reached the house. I pulled up in the drive, got the house open, and carried them to their beds one at a time, kissed them goodnight, and went to bed myself, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

Since I had a bit of extra money for the first time ever, I got the kids to something they had been begging for for the last year at least. I got them a puppy, her name was QT, and she took to Berlin right away. Tanner played with her occasionally, but most of the time she was with Berlin.

My birthday was coming up, though I had no plans other than spending it with my kids. When the day came, Berlin surprised me with a cake she had made herself. "Happy birthday Mom!" Berlin shouted, showing me the cake. "Blow out the candles and make a wish!" Tanner said. "What could I possibly wish for? I have everything I could want in you two!" I said as I blew out the candles.

No sooner had I finished, than my phone started to ring. "Hello?" As I listened to what the voice on the other end of the line said, I could feel my eyes getting bigger and bigger. My shock must have showed, because Berlin and Tanner stopped what they were doing and stared at me waiting for me finish my call. When I finally hung up, I needed to sit down, I made my way to the table and sat as both kids sat down as well. "What's going on, mom?" Berlin asked concerned. "Well" I started "That was my boss at the studio, apparently one one of the songs I had recorded in my free time had made it onto the radio, and the head of the studio heard it, as did thousands of other people. The phones at the studio have been ringing off the hook with requests for them to play my song. The head of the studio offered me a deal, and a rather large sign on bonus." As I talked I could feel myself getting excited, though both kids looked at me not fully understanding what had happened. "Guys, I finally get to make an album of my own, and the money they offered means we don't have to worry about anything again. Basically we're rich!" That got their attention, they started talking excitedly making a list of all the things they wanted me to buy. "Wait, wait, wait. I still have to sign the contract, and I have an idea for the first thing we should buy." I interrupted them. "What's your idea?" Tanner asked. "What if I showed you instead of telling you" I said with a smile. "Come on, let's go" I headed towards the door knowing they would follow me. We all got in the car, Berlin and Tanner trying to guess what I had in mind. I drove across town, and stopped in front of a huge house right on the beach. "Well, what do you think?" I asked. Both kids were speechless for a few minutes, then both started talking excitedly, planning out which rooms would be theirs. "I take it that's a yes?" I inquired. "Yes!" They shouted. "Okay as soon as I get home I'll call the realtor and make an offer. I took the kids back home, and headed over to the studio to sign the contract that would change all our lives. Once the contract was signed, and the check was in my hand, I went to the bank, and deposited a third into my account, one third went into an account for Berlin, and one third into an account for Tanner. Neither one would get their money till they turned twenty-one, but at least they would have a good start to their lives on their own. As soon as that was done, I went to the salon and got a makeover, it was time for the purple hair to go, so I got it all dyed black, and bought some more mature clothes. Next stop was the realtor's office, when I inquired about the house, I was told the price had just dropped that morning, as the couple selling it needed it sold as fast as they could. I put in my offer and told the realtor I want to close as soon as I could. Heading home, I thought about how perfect this birthday had turned out to be.

One week later I went to the realtor's office again to sign the papers and get the keys to my new house. As soon as I got home, I got the kids and we went to the new house to have a look around. The house was huge! It has two bathrooms, three bedrooms, a double living room, a huge office. It was perfect! The kids immediately ran upstairs to pick out their rooms. I just stood there looking around thinking I've finally made it, I've got everything I wanted.

Rebel 3.9

Saturday came and we headed off to the Fall Festival bright and early. "I want to get my face painted like a skeleton!" Tanner said pulling me towards the face painting booth, "well I want a Rainbow!" Berlin said. I gave each of them twenty dollars and told them to go have fun. The both took off to get their faces painted. "C'mon Tanner! Let's enter the pie eating contest, I bet you can't beat me!" Berlin exclaimed grabbing her brother by the hand and pulling him towards the pie table. I watched as they took their places behind the pies, and waited. On the word go, both of them dove face first into the berry pies, eating as fast as they could. Berlin finished her pie just a few seconds before Tanner, making her the winner.

We played a few games and cashed in our tickets, but it was getting dark and it was time to get home. "Guys! Time to go!" I called. Both of the kids talked all the way home about the food, and games, with Tanner swearing he was going to beat Berlin in the pie eating contest the following year. When we got back home I told them of the surprise I had planned for two weeks from now. "Gram and Grandpa are coming to visit for thanksgiving!" the were so excited, jumping up and down, making plans for all the things that they wanted to show them when they got here. Dad and Shirley lived clear across the country, so they hadn't been back for a visit since before the twins were born. They talked all the time on the phone with the kids though, so at least the had some sort of relationship. As the kids got ready for bed they were still talking about the upcoming visit.

The next two weeks went by in a blur, I was busy as work, finally having landed a decent gig with a local band. I dreamed of traveling around with the band, but with no one here to watch the kids, I had no choice, but to stay local. My band understood, but I still felt like I was letting them down. 

We had a great visit with everyone, Dad and Shirley got the kids a costume chest, which they dove into right away. Tanner played as a T-Rex and Berlin was a princess, of course I'd expect nothing less from them. 

Winter arrived and with it came a pay raise, which was a blessing. We had tons of snow, and the kids had several days off of school due to the snow. On one of their snow days, I decided to take them to the winter festival. "Are you ready?" I called to the kids as I headed to the door. "Ready!" They shouted in unison, running out the door ahead of me. We piled into the car and drove to the fair grounds. I had plenty to spend on them this time around. "What do you want to do first?" I asked as we got out of the car. "I want to ice skate" Berlin said. "Skating is for girls, I want to snowboard" Tanner chimed in. "Well, Berlin and I will skate, and Tanner you can go snowboarding. How's that sound?" "Sounds great" they both said. So Tanner headed off to snowboard, and us girls went skating. We skated for a while, till we fell down laughing. Getting back up I suggested going to get some hot chocolate, calling to Tanner as we made our was to the food cart. On the way the kids saw the snowball fight zone, and just had to stop for a game. Well one game turned into five and pretty soon it was getting dark. "Come on guys, time to go!" I called. That was met with "aww, mom! One more game!" "No, guys. It's getting late, we need to get home." "Can we get some hot chocolate to go?" Tanner asked. " That's a great idea." I said. I ordered three cocoa's to go, and we piled back into the car headed home. Both Berlin and Tanner were fast asleep before I even reached the house. I pulled up in the drive, got the house open, and carried them to their beds one at a time, kissed them goodnight, and went to bed myself, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

Rebel 3.8

Life as a single mom was hard, but a single mom of twins was even harder. I was able to take an extended leave of absence from work, to take care of the twins. I was off work for three months, then the money started to run low and I had no choice but to return to work. I was able to hire a local high school girl to babysit for me while I was at work. As soon as I would return home , I rushed into the nursery and snuggled my babies. I worked the minimum amount I could and still keep my job, so my progress was pretty much stalled. Once the kids were older, I planned to work more, but for now they were my priority. I considered moving back home so my family could help me raise the twins, but I knew there was no opportunities there for my career, so I stayed in Starlight Shores and did my best.

Soon it was the twins birthday, we had just a small family party, just the three of us. Berlin was the spitting image of her father, and Tanner took after my side. Seeing so much of Nathaniel in Berlin was hard, I missed him terribly. The twins were the best of friends, always playing together, dad had sent them a play table for their birthday, and they spent most of their time at it. I spent all my free time playing the guitar, I needed to master it in order to get the next promotion at work. I was currently a backup vocalist, working my way up to lead guitar. I didn't have much time to play however, as most of my time off was spent teaching my two rambunctious kiddos how to walk and talk. Berlin caught on much faster than Tanner did, though he was never far behind.

Birthdays came and went and before long the twins were school age, we had a small party, just the three of us again. I ordered pizza, and helped my kiddos blow out their candles one at a time.  I had gotten the promotion to lead guitarist just in time. I wanted my kids to have the best education, so I enrolled them in Chesterworth private school, the most prestigious private school in Starlight Shores. I also remodeled the house a bit, so the kids both had their own rooms, Berlin wanted the most pink and girly decor I've ever seen. Tanner went with a sports theme, perfect for a boy. I had my eye on this new house that was being built right on the beach, but it was way out of my price range.

 I encouraged the kids to pick a hobby, Berlin picked art, in that she took after me, and Tanner chose astronomy, so I got him a telescope. He would have stayed out all night if I let him. "Tanner! Time to come in, bed time!" I hollered out the door. "Awww, mom! Five more minutes, please!" he begged, but I was firm, "Sorry, you have school in the morning, time to come in." "okay.." he sighed as he came in side.  I got up the next morning early to make waffles, I wasn't the best cook, I definitely did not inherit that ability from Granny, but I did my best and the waffles came out perfect. After scarfing down their breakfast, they went and got dressed, private school meant uniforms, which they looked so cute in. Once dressed they hurried out the door to catch the bus. "Bye mom!" the shouted as they ran past me. "Bye guys, have a good day!" I waved at them till they were out of site. Going back in side, I realized how quiet it was. I got out my guitar and started to play. I had an audition for a new band, but wasn't completely confident in my ability to play, I was still having trouble with one section of the song. When it was time for me to head out, I left a note for the kids. Homework first, tv second. Love ya, mom. I wouldn't be home till after they were in bed.

The next morning as we ate breakfast, I had sushi, Tanner had soup, and Berlin had PB&J. Tanner asked me how the audition went, "I played my best, but they chose someone else this time." "Oh" he said "I was..Ouch!, never mind" I looked from Tanner to Berlin, knowing that she had kicked her brother under the table. "What did you want to ask, Tanner?" He looked from Berlin, who was shaking her head no, back to me. " I..we..um..wanted to go to the Fall Festival this weekend, but if didn't get the job, Berlin says we can't afford to go." I looked from Tanner to Berlin, "Actually" I started, " I have been putting money aside just for an occasion such as this, Saturday we will go." Tanner was happy, finishing his food with a smile on his face. Berlin just looked at me skeptically, shrugged and went back to her food. She was mature beyond her years, and knew full well that between the tuition for their school and the house payment, there wasn't much left at all, and didn't want her brother to ask for things she knew I couldn't afford. After they left for school, I sat down and went over the finances, after everything was paid, there was barely any left, I thought being a rock star would have me rolling in money, but I never realized how long and hard you had to work to get there. I was determined to nail the next audition that came my way, for my kids sake. Even though it would use up what little I had, I was taking my kids to the fall festival this weekend, and we would have fun.