November 22nd at the hospital with Anna as Cat and Tori get updates on their condition
"you've been very quiet since I put you back on the proper medication Anna, trust me your current doctor won't survive this, you've given credit to what his other girl patients went through" says Rebecca worried Anna is now afraid someone will come after her for telling the truth
"this is how I used to be before that doctor took over my care, I'm quiet by nature, but that's not what I'm scared of, Isabelle is in town visiting her brother and dad, I like her and her brother, though neither talk to me because they think I am the one that caused their dad to stop being a doctor, I was THERE when he had the stroke, I ran to get the receptionist because I'm not allowed to have a phone, I saved his life and they're not even grateful" says Anna
"wait Isabelle as in Isabelle Thomas, the model, how do you know her" says Rebecca, surprised Anna knows someone so famous by name
"she was in therapy for a short period of time, by chance we were going to the same therapist and she kept chatting me up, one time she nuzzled me and leaned on me like we were dating, like what Tori and Cat or Ivy and Savannah do, I've never felt loved by someone other than family until she did that, she had more impact on me than the therapist did, when she stopped going I refused to go back" says Anna
"Isabelle actually is supposed to be here in a few hours for a medical photoshoot to help the hospital raise money, I'll talk to her, I'm the one that recommended he retire after that stroke" says Rebecca
"do me a favor and don't bring me up, I don't need her knowing I'm here, she'll probably yell at me for a few hours" says Anna as Cat and Tori walk in having had their health evaluated
"I'm glad to see you're walking again Cat, how are you today Tori" says Rebecca as she nods to Anna as Cat sits down
"the doctor says I can walk for short periods of time but I'll be wheeled out of here, you said Anna can be released today" says Cat
"at noon yes, she's a lot better but she will still need to be monitored, how's Tori, she seems a little out of it" says Rebecca realizing that Tori isn't responding
"she took too many edibles, she didn't believe the doctor when he said the dose is one every twelve hours, she took three, though as a whole, she is doing better, people inside the house are no longer strangers and she remembers conversations she's had with them without being prompted, school still scares her so we're on a permanent online learning program, at least until she gets more memories back" says Cat
"damn it I told him to show her the prescription, that she wouldn't believe him, I'd have done the appointment myself if Anna wasn't my top priority right now" says Rebecca
"so did that doctor rape Ivy, I know that it's probably under medical privacy but those girls more or less live at my house, Anna too for the time being, I need to know" says Cat
"no, just Anna, though he did grope her and put his hands down there on Ivy, he never went as far as to rape her, his intention was to make them fight so much as to make Anna seriously hurt Ivy" says Rebecca
"would she have hurt Ivy" asks Cat
"I'm not violent, sure I get angry but I'd never lay a hand on her, she's the closest thing I have to a girlfriend….. Wait that sounded bad" says Anna as Cat recoils
"wait so you see Ivy as an option, that's not good Anna" says Cat
"she meant in how she handles Anna, not in a literal sense, she pulls Anna out of paranoia and back into the real world better than anyone else, that's what she meant Cat, Anna isn't dangerous, that doctor would have had to go to drastic measures to get Anna to see Ivy as an enemy" says Rebecca
"and you're sure of that" asks Cat suddenly worried about Ivy's safety
"she likes THE Isabelle Thomas, the model that's here today, besides she's not into younger people anyway, she prefers older" says Rebecca
"oh man I have to tell her you're here" says Cat all excited
"no, please don't, her father was my doctor, the one that did things right instead of playing the blame game, she thinks I made him retire, when in reality I saved his life by getting the receptionists attention about it, the last time she spoke to me she said she'd take me out to the middle of the ocean and throw me overboard for ending her dad's career if she ever saw me again, at the time we were both minors, I can't risk the wrath of Isabelle, she may look all innocent and soft but she has a mean side, her brother doesn't even talk to me anymore and he was my best friend, the only one outside of family that understood me and made me feel safe, I can't risk it Cat" says Anna
"fine but I don't have to like lying to her" says Cat
Later that day after the photoshoot
"hey Becca, can we talk" asks Isabelle
"about what" asks Rebecca
"one of the doctors told me Anna was here today, I need to talk to her" says Isabelle
"the last time you talked to her you said that you were going to dump her in the middle of the ocean if you saw her again, that stuck with her all this time, when I told her you were here she went from calm to scared, you should know it was my opinion that he should retire that swayed him to retire, the board of doctors wanted him to stay" says Rebecca
"it was stupid of me to react the way I did, mom has context issues, she makes assumptions about things unless you tell her the context, dad told her he was retiring because of the stroke and that Anna was there, mom assumed that Anna did something and told me what she understood about what was happening, I shouldn't have doubted her neither should my brother" says Isabelle
"she likes both of you but only wants one of you, she thinks that now her options are neither, I can give you the address where she's staying but you have to come up with a reason to be there, I'd talk to Jade" says Rebecca
"Jade and I aren't friends, I'm more friends with Tori" says Isabelle
"Tori's more or less incapacitated at the moment, she suffered head trauma as a result of the freak ice storm we had, she lost most of her memories but she's getting them back slowly but at her doctors appointment the doctor told her it's one gummy for every twelve hours and she didn't believe him, she took three, so while Jade isn't the easiest to deal with, she deals with all the people invited to the house, before I give you the address I have to know if you love Anna" says Rebecca
"how could I not love her, people that don't understand her don't even make an effort, they see how easily they can manipulate her and they enjoy it, they enjoy seeing her in pain, everything she's ever done that could be objectionable wasn't started by her, someone else got her mad enough to do it, there was a point where we spent two hours waiting for my therapy appointment because I'd gotten the time wrong, I spent the entire time chatting with her, by the time my appointment came I was literally in love with her" says Isabelle
"why were you in therapy, you don't seem to need it" asks Rebecca
"I was uncomfortable with my sexuality, I hated that I wasn't normal, I thought a therapist could help me either get over the awkwardness or make me normal, I left because I met Anna, I found someone who understood me, who loves me for me, I didn't need therapy anymore, she made me comfortable with who I am" says Isabelle
"it's the house that's never the same color at the beach, don't talk to Anna right away, she'll be nervous that you're even there, show her that other people can trust you, make eye contact a few times" says Rebecca
"how can I be sure she'll even acknowledge I'm even there" asks Isabelle
"trust me she's attuned to the smell of your perfume, she'll know you're there before anyone else" says Rebecca writing the exact address down
"ok, you should know I only stayed in the modelling business for her, she'd mentioned how expensive her meds were and that her prodigy mechanic big brother felt he had to pay for it because their parents couldn't afford it, if I'd never met her I'd have quit, frankly I don't like all the attention I get just because I'm 'hot', honestly I don't even think I'm more than a five at best, what matters is what Anna thinks, or does she go by Iris again" says Isabelle
"what she goes by depends on her mental state, if she's calm Iris is usually fine from people she trusts however if she gets agitated it's Anna without fail until she's calm again, my last word of advice, let her come to you, don't be surprised if her first words are 'are you the girl', until today she refused to say your name out of fear, she'll continue to deny she knows you, her lie is that you're her anonymous pen pal, which people know as ' the girl', please play along" says Rebecca
"honestly it would be funny if it was a joke, I am literally her pen pal Izzy Tomato, it's a nickname a friend used to call me when I was little, I always thought it was funny because I knew everything about tomatoes and would eat them regularly, I chose the name because it was close enough that my mail carrier figured it was a nickname and that Anna wouldn't believe it, I carry the letters everywhere with me, they never leave my side" says Isabelle, tapping her oversized purse
"don't show them off right away, let her get used to you being there in a non aggressive way, I'll text Jade and let her know you're coming to see Anna, she'll have a script for you to read off of, basically letting you in on all that happens in the house so you don't seem like a complete stranger because that will set Anna off" says Rebecca texting Jade and getting an immediate response
"what'd she say" asks Isabelle
"you're cleared to go and Anna is in a very calm mood, probably induced by her getting into her new anxiety reducing medicated gummies, she said that while her old anxiety meds worked, they tended to make her sleepy" says Rebecca
"ok, I guess I'll let you know how it goes" says Isabelle as she heads off
"oh I'm sure you will" says Rebecca
at Cat's an hour later
"you were supposed to be here almost an hour ago Isabelle, Jade moved on to other things, she thought you wouldn't show" says Cat
"sorry I hadn't eaten yet today and I was considering just bailing, I assume you know why I'm here" says Isabelle
"yeah, Jade filled me, luckily your girl is sleeping, she underestimated the strength of the gummies, you're the girl she says is her pen pal aren't you, judging by your purse I assume you have them with you" says Cat
"well yeah but I don't want her to know that, I love her, like really love her, I stayed as a model for her, she gave me the drive to keep going, I don't want to make her think I'm manipulating her, the last conversation I had with her was after my dad retired, my mom lacks contextual understanding, like if you told her something that had implied context, it would go right over her head, dad told her he was retiring and that Anna was there, she made assumptions and told me and my brother about it, thinking she had all the facts I went after Anna, telling her that my dad retiring was all her fault and that if I saw her again I'd drop her into the middle of the ocean for sharks to eat, I made that comment in a flurry of emotion, I'd fell in love with her by then, I felt betrayed, I don't even feel like I deserve her because Tori's aunt Becca said Anna was still reliving that moment, I don't want to hurt her by being here, it took every fiber of my body to push the anxiety away and walk in to this house knowing she's here" says Isabelle
"I spun a story about a hypothetical situation where you came here and wanted to be with her, her response was 'I would want her on the couch with me, I would want the world to know that she loves me', lay the letters on the table by the couch and go nap with her, it's what she wants" says Cat
"but she's afraid that I want to kill her" says Isabelle
"that's the anxiety talking, she's convinced herself that she didn't defend herself enough, that she didn't explain what actually happened, that you'd have understood, she relives that moment, not out of fear but anxiety that she didn't do enough to change your mind, she had no idea what went on behind the scenes with you on that, trust me it won't go as bad as you think, it won't go bad at all, I quoted her to the letter Izzy, trust me for once in your life, you may be my cousin but I have zero reason to lie to you" says Cat
I'm trusting you Catarina, brother doesn't trust you" says Isabelle
"of course he doesn't, I got him a bad Christmas present at the family Christmas party when I was seven and he thinks I surround myself with criminals, he doesn't think Jade is a nice person and he thinks Andre is a rapist, he delved into conspiracy theories about hair dye and tiny young women like me and how the hair dye somehow makes us braindead because the dye somehow leeches into our brains" says Cat
"I never said I believed him Cat, I haven't seen you in almost nine years, you used to be so gullible, granted people change over time but it still concerned me" says Isabelle
"oh I'm still very gullible, I haven't changed that much but I have people in my life now that stop me from doing stupid things, now go snuggle her" says Cat as Isabelle slowly makes her way over to Anna
"ok but her not being of legal age concerns me" says Isabelle
"she'll be eighteen next month, the twentieth I believe, just nap, it'll be fine" says Cat as Isabelle gives up fighting her feelings and snuggles Anna
2 hours later as Anna wakes up
"wait Cat is this real, like is she actually snuggling me" asks Anna
"yep, and she's fast asleep, enjoy this, she loves you more than you know" says Cat
"but the fight, those words, they hurt, did she not mean them" asks Anna
"her mom is context oblivious, unless someone makes the context very clear to her, she makes assumptions about the context, her dad explained the situation poorly, accidentally making it seem like it was your fault, her mom then made that assumption and went on to tell Isabelle and her brother the story from her perspective, which obviously was missing information, Isabelle was well in love with you by that point and felt betrayed, as if you'd targeted her father on purpose, that has been corrected by her father, Rebecca and me, Izzy is my cousin by the way, she was very hesitant to nap with you, she was quite confident that she wasn't welcome here by you, once I got her to snuggle with you she'd wrapped her legs around you, as if she didn't want to let you go, it was cute actually, I've never seen her so vulnerable or insecure" says Cat
"so like this is forever, her and I" asks Anna
"only if you want it to be" says Cat
"this has to be a dream, there is no way this is real, I've wanted this for so long, I don't know if I'll ever believe it's real life" says Anna hugging Isabelle tight
"oh it gets better, look at all the letters on the table" says Cat as Anna glances over
"wait those are pen pal letters, they use a special paper so they can't get lost in the mail but my pen pal is someone names Izzy Tomato, there is no way its her" says Anna unwilling to believe she's not dreaming
"she's a garden nerd, she can tell you about every plant in a garden but her favourite are tomatoes, so much so that her childhood friends called her Izzy Tomato, she used to eat tomatoes like apples" says Cat
"so she didn't want me to know it was her, why keep the secret" asks Anna
"the day she matched with you for the pen pal thing was the day she got the full truth from her father because he couldn't let her internally erase her feelings for you, her name on the service was originally Isabelle Thomas but the moment she was matched with you she quickly had it changed, she didn't think you'd send her any letters if you knew it was actually her, the guilt weighs pretty heavy on her" says Cat
"she hasn't woken up yet, isn't it almost dinner time" asks Anna
"she's a pretty heavy sleeper, though you can wake her up in time for dinner, enjoy your snuggles" says Cat as she turns around to head to the kitchen thinking Anna's questions are done
"wait, will she think of me as her girlfriend because I'd really like that" asks Anna
"not unless you ask her out, when it comes to feelings this intense she's very skittish, she made the first move by going out of her comfort zone and coming here, if you want to make you guys official, you have to make that ask, I can guarantee she'll say yes or something like that, she definitely won't say no, she might not even say anything and might just kiss you as a response" says Cat
"but will she be open with her fans that she's dating me, people tend to hate me because they misunderstand my mental health stuff, they tend to take the whole 'paranoia' thing the worst, as if paranoia means completely detached from reality, while in reality it means I misunderstand things or make assumptions if I'm not given enough information, most of the time leading me to go down a path of conspiracy theories but I always come out of it, whether I get help with it or not, I always come out of it, it's just a matter of how quickly I do so" says Anna
"she's likely to refer to you as Iris, is that ok, I know you tend to prefer Anna" asks Cat
"I've always been Iris to her, I don't know why but no matter how she's said it, it's never affected me like it does when other people say it, maybe it's the undertone other people use, I honestly don't know, I've tried to keep my mind off of it because it tends to make me angry when I think about it, back to snuggling my boo" says Anna, cuddling Isabelle once more
At dinner 1 hour later
"man Izzy, we weren't sure you were going to come, making ones mistakes right isn't easy, I know it wasn't easy for me" says Trina
"it wasn't an easy decision for me, coming back to Los Angeles in general isn't easy, my brother and I used to be really close, the misunderstanding about the whole situation with my dad retiring and our understanding of what happened split us apart, we used to be able to talk to each other openly about anything and everything, now I even say a word to him and he swears at me because I chose to believe our dad's full explanation of what happened and he chose to believe mom's version, even after she admitted that she misunderstood what dad had said, his girlfriend of almost six years broke up with him because of the misunderstanding and the hatred of Iris and I that followed, he then immediately began to blame me for his girlfriend breaking up with him as well as all his other problems, coming here was stressful but I'd figured it was time for me to try and actively seek Iris out, though I never expected it to go this well, I guess I have Cat to thank for that" says Isabelle
"was seeking out Anna the reason you agreed to do that photoshoot for the hospital, you don't usually come to Venice Beach because of that feud with your brother" asks Tori having made some more progress with her memory recall
"I was hoping to run into her there this time yes but the hospital's half of the proceeds from the photoshoot go to making the cancer wing better, specifically the child cancer area, that's why I do these shoots, I've done shoots at orphanages and community centres as well, even a mental health care facility or two, I'm doing another hospital photoshoot here in LA to help the same hospital with their ICU wing and their NICU wing, the floors are beginning to crack excessively, especially after that last earthquake, as minor as it was, it caused damage" says Isabelle
"doesn't the state cover earthquake damage prevention repairs to places like hospitals" asks Jade
"it hasn't spread enough to be considered linked to earthquake damage, while they are on the same physical side of the hospital, they're far enough apart that the government won't automatically consider the damage as having a common cause like an earthquake or other natural disaster, I gave them the number of a structural engineer that could have the damage evaluated, partially because I want to know how much I'd have to raise but also because if the state or feds can cover it then it's better they get it that way because they can get it all at once, my fundraising photoshoots take at least two months to raise enough money to reach the goal, anything extra gets split evenly between us, usually as bonuses for the employees of whatever business I'm working with, though I do regular photoshoots as well" says Isabelle
"how do you plan on telling your many fans that you've found your forever girl" asks Tori
"well I don't announce it like Cat did, what I do is I go to the beach or public pool in whatever city I'm in and we wear matching bikinis, though my relationships never seemed to last very long and I seemed to always be their first girlfriend, I was honored, however it always made me feel like a stepping stone, not this time though, I've never felt more connected to another person than I am with Iris right now, she's my forever and ever girl" says Isabelle
"people don't take pictures though right, because I don't want pictures of me taken" asks Iris
"I've already made a post directed at the paparazzi, unfortunately they follow me to every city, the post says 'I'll be at the beach tomorrow with my forever and ever girlfriend, she's camera shy so paparazzi please ask permission first before snapping a picture of us', I've had to sue them before so they in general know I mean business" says Isabelle
"and you're sure they're going to honor your request, from my experience they tend to ignore requests like that" asks Cat
"they were like that until I sued them and won, now if I tell them to jump they jump, basically my lawsuit ended up nearly bankrupting two magazine companies so now they're afraid they're next, I can have a word with them if you'd like" says Isabelle
"I thought being famous meant we had no privacy" asks Cat confused as to how Isabelle can break that 'rule'
"usually yes but sometimes they go too far, the pictures I sued them over were taken on a nudist friendly beach in a gated community that openly and regularly sues all media companies for invading their privacy without first making the entire community aware they'll be there way ahead of time, the community wasn't warned and I was mostly naked, I was undressing, a friend had invited me there because I'd shown interest in the whole nudist lifestyle and the community tends to keep media, including paparazzi out, flouting the state law about said community, the paparazzi followed me in there, thinking they had a valid reason to be there since I was there, a jury said no, they had no legal reason to be there, every penny I received when I won my case went into that community to pay for security and signage, now media knows they have to register with the city saying they'd like to visit the community" says Isabelle
"what's special about that community that they get special rules, I mean I get maybe it's privacy because of the nudist beach but it doesn't make sense" asks Tori, her memory improving more and more
"the same thing that makes you, Cat, Cally, Selena and those kids special" says Isabelle
"wait so they have a whole community of people with the condition" asks Jade surprised Cally didn't know about it
"yep, mothers, daughters, fathers and sons, though there are fewer men in the community, few of them actually make it to adulthood but there are more adult men in the community with the condition than the state average, on a few occasions men from outside the community were brought in by women in the community for love which has made the community not a whole community of people with the condition but still the vast majority, they treat it like a town, they have their own mayor that gets elected each year, this year an eight year old girl is mayor, she's actually the one that informed me about the state law forbidding media companies from just walking in the gates unannounced" says Isabelle
"is it a nudist community, how does that work" asks Iris
"it's nudity blind, they define it as allowing nudity to an extent, boys still have to wear underwear and girls still have to have some form of covering for their lower parts but no bras are required, only at the beach is this rule not observed, it's a real body positivity community, for a condition that revolves around advanced sexual and emotional maturity that often leads to suicides at a certain age, they felt it was important enough to create laws that only require lower body part covering, the community as a whole has the lowest suicide rate in all of America for people with the condition as well as those who are 'normal', it's honestly an amazing community, I've never seen so many kids smiling in my life" says Isabelle
"what's their view on sexuality and dating" asks Selena, curious to see if the whole kids dating is frowned upon
"they don't allow dating below your age, the lowest anyone can start dating is eight, anything below that between kids who obviously have feelings for one another can only cheek kiss, nothing on the lips is allowed until eight years old, even then there are limits on what can be done, they can sleep in the same room but it has to be in pyjamas, the pyjama rule is lifted at twelve where the new limit is underwear, nudity is allowed after both people turn fifteen" says Isabelle
"is it considered a nudist community, like could I walk around with only underwear on without looking over my shoulder" asks Selena realizing people might not consider wearing underwear as being naked
"depends on who you ask, the community doesn't require underwear be worn by anyone, regardless of age, all that is required is a person's lower parts be covered securely, they couldn't care less how its secured so long as it is in fact secure and can't be pulled off by kids" says Isabelle
"what does your friend do" asks Robbie
"she makes what we'd call body pillows, regular people put them on those long pillows that are appropriately as long as the person is tall, she took the wording literally, it's relatively thin pillowcase material but it's long enough to wrap around ones waist several times and it can be secured with a belt, though depending on someone's waist, it doesn't have to be secured with a belt, you only need the belt if it can be pulled down, some of the teens have waists that look like they barely exist so the eight year old mayor requested that she add a belt option for extra security" says Isabelle
"as someone who is a dabbling seamstress, I can't imagine someone requesting I alter my design without a long conversation" says Cat
"her and her girlfriend are some of the poorest in the community, her sewing machine was donated to her as is all her fabric, sure she takes pride in her designs but she also understands that catering to more people means more sales, besides she stylized the belt loops, they don't look out of place at all, she's mainly looking for any chance to make a little extra cash, she doesn't care about certain lines of clothing she makes having someone request it be altered, especially if it means more people are likely to buy it" says Isabelle
"what's your opinion on their nudist like lifestyle" asks Cat
"Jade might think it's a little extreme given that all people in the community can practice it, even children but it's very tasteful, the kids are quite modest, the girls wear dresses, though nothing underneath them, I only know because I was complimenting one of them on their dress and a wind gust lifted it past her waist, I didn't intend to see that but I can't say I didn't see it, that would be lying" says Isabelle
"wherever this community is I'm sure it's quite windy, did she mention how they avoided clothing from lifting" asks Tori
"most girls sew things around the bottom seam, things that have a weight to them to weigh the dress or skirts down, sometimes literal weighted items, one girl sewed in heavy copper wire onto it, though she doesn't like fabric touching her legs so it was more about keeping the fabric away, adding weight was an after thought, the boys don't seem to care if their fabric is lifted by the wind" says Isabelle
"where is this community, I'd like to commission your friend to make a dress for Tori and I for my Christmas music live stream next month" asks Cat
"it's in New York, built from an abandoned town after the last hurricane in the area destroyed homes and almost all the buildings to the extent that nobody returned, believing it to be cursed, the previous New York Governor put money into the community after learning that they'd moved in after being thrown out of their previous homes when they couldn't afford rent because their boss fired them when he learned about the condition they had, it started as a group of ten families, after that governor put money into rebuilding it became a magnet for people with the condition, a place they knew they'd be accepted, the official gates went up the next year, it's been seven years since the walls went up, people call it the 'perv magnet town', which is true on its face but they forget that more registered sex offenders are arrested trying to get in to the community than actually get in, you'd think that people would appreciate getting sex offenders and criminals off the streets but they don't see it that way" says Isabelle
"any perverts in the community" asks Jade
"very few, none make it past the public knowledge stage, they're all arrested, officially the community doesn't have a police force, unofficially three state troopers live in the community to protect it and they've done an amazing job, only one creep since they arrived and only because he lied to them about why he was there, he said he lived west of the community and was visiting because of the nudist friendly beach, turns out he skipped bail in Jersey for raping his friends daughter and there was a manhunt looking for him, he'd figured the community is the last place the feds would look, unfortunately he was right, they assumed the community was protected by the state because three state troopers live in it, however new Jersey FBI failed to notify any other state, the community is rather open to outsiders because the beach was a registered nudist beach before the city was abandoned so it was maintained as such as the next nudist beach is at least ten miles away in either direction, so long as you register with security you're allowed in, they can't stop people from entering if they don't know who to stop" says Isabelle
"wait so nobody knew he was on the loose" asks Tori horrified
"pretty much, new Jersey State troopers claims they weren't informed he had skipped his bail hearing, meaning New York's state troopers had no idea until the new Jersey supreme court called the community directly, the state troopers there went nuts, called the FBI, located him and shot his feet twice, let's just say he won't be walking or standing on his own any time soon, he was apprehended in September, he'd been coming and going since May" says Isabelle
"so will you tell your friend I want two dresses made, I have the patterns, instructions and all the fabric, the instructions don't make any sense to me, I followed the instructions on shrinking the waist and I measured my waist, based on the instructions it should have fit but it was a fair bit smaller, I have no idea why" says Cat
"depends on how much you're paying her, she plays your music for the kids, they all love it, the last 'rich' person that asked her to do sewing or embroidery work stiffed her on payment, gave her five percent of what they promised her work was worth, trust me my friend over delivered on her promise, they discriminated against her, they expected her to let them take the clothing she made for free, mind you she'd love to get a commission from you, she'd be wary to accept based on her prior experience" says Isabelle
"I would never take advantage of any seamstresses work, or anyone for that matter" says Cat offended that Izzy would imply she takes advantage of people
"you stiffed Andre until you were convinced to pay him by Liv and Mo did you not" says Isabelle
"now don't go putting words in her mouth Izzy, as mad as I was at the time about it, she had every right to hold back on paying me, her music style is quite demanding, tons of high notes and the rhythm is hard to get perfect, had Trina not helped me I wouldn't be able to write music for Cat, she had every right to know what she was paying for, besides had she handed me the check herself and I saw how much she was giving me, I'd have handed it right back, I didn't think my attempts at writing songs for her were worth ten grand, now had I found a pattern Cat had liked and the label accepted, that would have been a different story, I'd have accepted the check then, however that's not how things happened, we can't change that, Cat how much will you pay Izzy's friend" says Andre changing the subject
"six grand up front and anywhere from five grand to fifteen when the job is done, depending on how amazing she does" says Cat
"that's a ton of money, especially for that community, you'd make her look like a millionaire, also the community might think she did something other than sewing to get that much money" says Isabelle
"there won't be any conditions where she has to keep it all to herself, she could spread it among the community for all I care, if she does well enough I might make her my official label seamstress, as I'm smaller than most people my age I tend to wear kid sizes as opposed to even teenager sized clothes, I've been looking for someone who could make me clothes, it makes me sad seeing all my clothes have kid brand names on them, doesn't make me feel like an adult" says Cat
"you should know it's your enemy Sabrína Stolks" says Isabelle
"she's not my enemy" says Cat
"she seems to think you see her as one, something about 'stealing' your childhood crush" says Isabelle
"Andrea was more than that to me Izzy, I saw us living together forever and so did she, then she hit her head, lost her memories and Sabrína took advantage of it, I don't blame her, I was pretty entitled back then, my parents gave me anything I ever wanted, Sabrína was a down to earth nature nut and she treated Andrea better than I did, the bad memories may make me hate her for that but her sewing talent was always leagues ahead of everyone in our sewing class, if she can make these dresses as designed and add flair then my offer to make her my personal seamstress stands, her talent raises her above our past, besides while I was all negative about my singing abilities and how I believed it wouldn't get me anywhere, she was always telling me that if there was a God I'd be on a pedestal when I'm older, a role model for people like us to show that we aren't defined by our condition, that we can live extremely successful lives, it's because of her that I kept trying and singing in public, it's time I repay that favor" says Cat
"fair enough, I'm visiting her tomorrow for work I asked her to do, I'll let her know you have work for her, I'll explain everything, however you might need to explain to the community the reason for the high pay" says Isabelle
"Izzy the negotiator, that's what we used to call you, you know if you hadn't decided on modelling, you'd have been a great lawyer" says Cat
"we both know I'd be taken advantage of because I'm a woman, I may not have the condition officially but my doctor believes I might have something close to it, he calls it the 'perky' condition" says Isabelle
"what's that mean" asks Iris
"like what Ivy has but attraction specific, it's really hard for me not to rip your clothes off right now and make love with you, it's taking everything I have to resist" says Isabelle
"does Cat feel like that" asks Iris
"most of the time, though because it's a near constant feeling it doesn't affect me as much, think about desire and attraction like candy, I'm eating candy most of the time, if I'm not eating real food I'm snacking on candy or ice-cream, the sugar rush isn't as bad because it's near constant, every time Izzy spent time with you, it was like she was eating an entire bag of candy, then she has to leave and it's like people are telling her 'no candy' over and over so she makes an excuse to visit you again so she can have candy, 'people' in this case means her brain, earlier this year her brain stopped saying 'no candy' and started saying 'find the candy', she's been doing photoshoots at the hospital where Doctor Rebecca Vega works specifically in hopes of running into you so she can make things right, now that she's found you, it's just a matter of impulse control around you" says Cat
"it's not impulse control I have a problem with or Iris and I wouldn't have any clothes on right now, it's willpower that I lack, once she kisses me there is no telling how quickly things will go, I could be making love with her by tomorrow night if I'm not careful" says Isabelle
"that sounds a lot like an impulse issue to me Izzy" says Cat
"it can't be or my doctor would diagnose me with the same thing you and Cally have, he tested me for the genetic marker years ago, I don't have it, I'm like the only girl in our family not to have it or a variation of it like Cally does" says Isabelle
"Cally, is she lying to us" asks Cat wanting Cally's expertise on genetics in this scenario
"she's not dumb enough nor sneaky enough to lie to you, there are three disorders, two are genetic, one isn't, they're known as Pest, Perv and Perky, Pest and Perv share a general desire drive that rarely drops below ninety percent, Perky is emotionally driven, it requires sexual attraction and people with it lack willpower, once visual or vocal cues are given for kisses, people who have the Perky variant lack the ability to stop at kisses, Pest is generally audio driven, Perv is generally visually driven, it's rare but possible for sisters and cousins to have different variants" says Cally
"so I have Perv, you and Selena have Pest and Izzy had Perky, what does Tori have" asks Cat
"also Perv, You and Tori are for the most part visual driven, ugh I hate those terms though, it makes me feel like I'm calling them bad names, doctors need to come up with a better short name for these sexual age conditions" says Cally as Iris changes the subject
"so Izzy, will we be going to your place in San Francisco, I think Doctor Vega wants to keep me in LA a few more days, though I don't like the idea of leaving Ivy in LA all by herself, I don't think Jeremy successfully convinced Moss to take more time off to spend here, Ivy needs a sibling role model" says Iris
"I actually have a house between here and Malibu, I bought it with my first big modelling check I got six years ago, my uncle's been fixing it up, it's a really nice house, gated so the paparazzi have to ask me to get onto the property, so far I've denied them, however I don't know if you're allowed, Doctor Becca said you were to be monitored, I assume that responsibility is tied to this house" says Isabelle
"all my aunt requires is updates on Anna eating and sleeping, with her meds she needs to eat and sleep or nap regularly, even if she's not particularly hungry or tired, the meds she's on tend to distort her reaction time in regards to hunger and sleep needs, she said they can lag behind by an hour or two but eating on a regular schedule is important" says Tori
"so I can take her to my house tonight then" asks Isabelle
"yes, you just have to let my aunt know before you leave so she knows to ask you for updates" says Tori
"ok, Cat you need to confront Andrea" says Isabelle as Iris hugs her
"what's she done this time, she's always making bad decisions, especially lately" asks Cat
"she's blaming Sabrína for their financial situation, she's threatening to leave Sabrína" says Isabelle as Cat shakes her head
"of all the bone headed things Andy could do, she had to insult Sabrína, Andy's the reason they have no money, her parents said she developed a gambling addiction, betting her entire check on known losing sports teams, teams that have a clear track record of well not winning ninety percent of their games, Tori and I are on online learning till the new year just to be safe, we can fly out tomorrow and I'll deal with Andrea" says Cat
"you'll have to notify New York city first, it's usually a week lead time so the community has time to prepare" says Isabelle
"I don't intend for Andy to prepare, if she has time to prepare, she has time to make excuses, something she used to rarely do but now does often to get out of trouble, besides I have family in that area, I tell them I'm visiting the community and they'll notify, I hate dealing with governments, even on the local level, too many excuse makers making excuses to validate their spending choices, enough is never spent on mental health programs, I'm not discussing it" says Cat ending the conversation as dinner comes to an end