Black Rose

Song: Here Without You-3 Doors Down Rating: 7

Chapter 37-Look Up When You're Down

I was supposed to stay on my crutches for another two months, giving me the first time away from Sonic to actually use them, and then where this big boot thing for another six weeks afterwards. As for my ribs and back, they had mostly healed, though I had to wear this cast during the day to keep my back straight or whatever for just another three weeks, so I was rendered pretty useless anyway, though I probably wouldn't be able to stop myself from trying to help out.

We got there on a cold day, what else would you expect in December, but at least the sun was out now. Cream took in every word with awe as I showed her around the house. Confessions had been poured out to the others during our first visit and they now knew all about my family, past present and future, and a lot more about my depressing background, though I hadn't specifically explained my little suicide outburst from a few months ago now. That, at least, I wanted to keep secret.

Tony, Timmy, and Samuel started school back the next day, leaving only Michelle, Joseph, Angie, Cream, and me alone at the house. Things would have been much quieter had we not so much work to do. I coordinated very carefully, making sure everything was just right in the packing so that we could fit as much as possible into every box. Once the little kids had been set off packing toys or clothes or whatever else I was sure they could handle, Cream and I would go off to the kitchen and pack all the glass or breakable things in careful newspaper blankets. We talked the whole time every day, catching up on the past three years we had missed out on. Cream eventually pried out all my secrets and was really shocked to find out I was capable of such depression, but I guess that could be expected from her of all people.

I talked to realtors who could help advertise the house on the market, who said it would sell pretty well if we could get enough packed to make it seem less crowded. That also would help it look less cluttered and messy, so we quickened our packing pace to try to get things out of the way before people came to try to see it. Whenever we got a lot of boxes packed and couldn't do much more to make it look less cluttered, we rented a shed to keep everything in until Tails had time to come by and get it all in his ship to move it ahead of time.

I kept busy without doing work that was hard on me by packing things that didn't require much movement to go around and collect, coordinating other packing operations, or going to the realtors' office to make sure all the paperwork was right. Once the house was less full, we were able to rearrange a little to optimize looks for house-showings and when it came time to load all the big things that couldn't be packed. At one point I had to get the others to help me fix up the basement, a task I was sure would be no fun. I had gotten all the water out and patched up where it leaked some time ago in the summer, but there was still mold and dry rot all over it, so we cleaned it up, replacing a few window-sills or boards or whatever, and put in some carpet to cover the smell. By the time we finished, which took about a week, it actually seemed like a nice room and I wished I would have had time to do so years ago.

The weeks passed, packing boxes and rearranging to get everything ready. Cream was a huge help having around, being able to do the big things with little to no help from me or any of the younger kids. Everyone packed while I dug through paperwork to try to get the house sold by the time we left. We kept in contact with the others every night as they told how things were going and changed the deadline almost every night (fluctuating from it'll be done by February to January to March and back to February again). From what I could get, they'd probably finish just after we did, giving us plenty of time to make final checks on everything over here.

I introduced Cream to Nikkie and they got along quite nicely. We kept the little kids over there every now and than if there were people coming to look at the house and they couldn't be in the way, but mostly they were good and got to stay over just fine when others came. Tails had flown over a few times to take boxes, so we had better chances of showing the house, which did help significantly from my perspective, though there were always a few things I wished we had kept out or put in with the loads, never too important either way.

Most of the furniture was gone by now, leaving us with a few mattresses on the bedroom floors, clothes that we wore out of their boxes, and the pantry with only things like soup or cereal that didn't require much to get them cooked for meals. It was late January before the visitors finally started slowing down to only coming every few days or so.

"Hello, my name is Amy and this is Cream. We'll be showing you around the house today and if you have any questions just speak up." I began after Cream had let in a family here to look around. We decided that we could show people around without a realtor, who didn't know nearly as much about the house as me or even any of the kids.

"That's great. Kids, don't wander off now." The father said to three little kids trailing behind him and his wife.

"No, that's fine. They can explore around if they like; I have little siblings who would be happy to show them around if you don't mind that." I suggested.

"That would be nice." The mom said. I called in Timmy, the oldest one here when they had no school, and he took the excited young visitors off and around with the others.

We toured the rooms, making light conversation as we went, and giving the couple statistics and sizes for the house, yard, and rooms, which Cream and I had memorized. I had gotten used to dragging myself around on the crutches, which all the buyers asked about. I would explain that it was just a bad foot and that I was fine to show them around, but now I 'walked' without even noticing the crutches, having come accustomed to there little click and small extra effort following me around everywhere.

"This is the master bedroom here. It has a bathroom branching off that connects to another bedroom right here." I pointed out Brian and Dad's old rooms and let them step in and look around.

"Oh, look at that, honey! What a nice backyard too! And I could grow a wonderful garden just over there when it warms up!" the wife pointed around at such things as we went.

"Is there anything specific you're looking for in a house?" Cream wondered.

"Not that we haven't already seen here. We were looking to find a bigger place since my wife is due to have twins in a few months here, so we needed more space. This house is definitely the best we've seen so far." The man explained.

"Yes!" His wife agreed, "There's plenty of space inside and the backyard would be perfect for the kids! Can you tell me, is it a good neighborhood?"

"Definitely! Almost all the people around here are nice and family friendly, so you wouldn't have to worry about that! Plus, since it isn't a busy street they can play in the front yard without you having to worry about traffic or anything." I explained.

"Well I think you've found some buyers." The man said proudly.

We set a deal and all that was left was signing the paperwork and us moving out. Finally, around February 4th, Tails called and told us that everything was about ready, so I changed the move out/in date up a few days. We had met up with the couple and their kids a few times for dinner or a play date, discussing the house a little more a signing the paperwork that officially entrusted it to them, so that was all covered already. I went by the elementary school and it took about three days on its own to fill out all the paperwork to get the little kids un-enrolled; since I had posed as "Mrs. Rosalyn" for a few years now, it was hard to convince them that I was the legal beneficiary, but they eventually believed me. I was supposed to get off my crutches in a week, so we left the day after that, loading the last few things onto Tails's ship and setting off towards home; permanently.

A/N: Second (maybe third) to last chapter you guys! Let's get in some last reviews and if there's enough support, which I won't determine until after the next (possibly last) chapter, I might do one more. Probably an epilogue or something, just since I always like seeing where everyone ends up and I've always liked stories ending that way. Extra reviews if you want that too! Thanks for all your support and for staying with me all this time! I've really enjoyed writing this story on its own, but you guys are what makes it worth posting, so thanks a million to all who have read and reviewed!