Chapter One Summary

Our story centers around a family struggling to stay together despite the problems that seem to follow them everywhere. Originally from Barnacle Bay, the Pesces have relocated their family to Twinbrook in search of a new life and a fresh start. While he was once a doctor with a good salary and excellent prospects for the future, Moe has left that career behind him and intends to embark on life as a fisherman, while his wife Jane has recently been hired as a teacher at the local elementary school. Despite the initial bumps in the road- including Moe's reluctance towards the move- the Pesces settle into a comfortable routine that seems to please everyone, including their rambunctious twins, Sophie and Ethan. They quickly find out, however, that their new life is anything but simple.

Shortly after arriving in Twinbrook, the Pesces discover that part of their past hasn't exactly stayed behind in Barnacle Bay. Jane's brooding and troublesome ex, Chase Cruz, has also moved to Twinbrook to start a new life. When they confront him, he explains that he has moved to pursue a fresh start of his own, and claims that he'd had no idea that Jane and Moe had moved into the neighborhood as well. But is his explanation genuine?

Moe and Jane resolve to not let Chase get in the way of their new start, and for a while it seems like their plan will work. As the twins grow out of their toddler years, the Pesces entertain ideas of expanding their family. While Jane wants a new baby to fill the void that the twins left, Moe is looking forward to the twins growing up and giving them back some of their freedom. After all, twins are a handful to raise, and it's about time they get a break. Before they can come to a decision, however, Jane finds out that she's pregnant, and the Pesces are forced to reevaluate their plans.

Moe decides to go back to work as a doctor, and he and Jane prepare for the baby's arrival. Meanwhile, the younger Pesces have become quite close to Lucy, who- unbeknownst to them- is the daughter of their parents' dreaded enemy, Chase Cruz. When Chase comes to pick up his daughter after a playdate, all three adults are surprised to find out that their children have become friends, and the encounter doesn't go smoothly at all. We find out that Lucy is the daughter of his ex-fiance, Amy Jenkins, who was murdered and left Lucy in Chase's care.

Jane and Moe try to keep their distance from Chase, but he seems to be everywhere, particularly when it comes to Jane. After an unfortunate encounter in the laundromat involving mixed signals and pregnancy hormones running high, Jane returns home to Moe and tells him about Chase's attempted kiss- an admission that doesn't go over well. Moe's jealous nature rears its head, and he never fully trusts Chase or his intentions. Jane assures him that she has no feelings whatsoever for her ex-boyfriend- except perhaps loathing and hatred- but Moe's newfound jealousy and her own muddled-up hormones certainly make for a lot of fighting.

It isn't long before the baby is ready to join the Pesces, and Jane and Moe expect their third- and final- pregnancy to be a breeze. But when Moe forgets to call the babysitter, the twins are left alone in the house- and when Sophie and Ethan are left to their own devices, trouble is sure to ensue! Sure enough, the Pesces return home from the hospital to find that the twins have somehow managed to set their stove on fire, and Jane settles her children in for a nice, long lecture.

The twins begin to mellow a little after the arrival of their little sister- fortunately for Jane and Moe! Izzy Pesce is definitely the spoiled princess of the Pesce clan, and it isn't long before she has the entire family wrapped around her finger- including Jane's parents, Isabel and Phillip Evans, who visit their granddaughter, make Moe feel uncomfortable, and announce their intention of relocating to Twinbrook all within the same evening.

Izzy's arrival and Isabel and Phillip moving to town aren't the only changes invading the Pesces' lives, however. After the pregnancy, Jane finds it exceedingly difficult to go back to work, and winds up quitting to pursue her dream of becoming a reporter. While Moe hopes that the change in career will help his wife settle down, it proves to do the exact opposite when Jane stumbles upon an article regarding Amy Jenkins' death- a death that was never fully investigated. This discovery sets her on an investigation of her own as she begins to question everyone who knew Amy Jenkins prior to her death- including Chase.

Never one to know when she's bitten off more than she can chew, Jane's questioning lands her in hot water with an unknown party who doesn't want her digging around. But it isn't until the unknown culprit throws a rock through the front window that Jane realizes just how dangerous her snooping is. She promises Moe that she'll stop looking into the case, but it's difficult for her to stay away. Fortunately, raising Izzy takes up a lot of time, and when the twins and Lucy begin acting suspicious, there's plenty to take Jane's mind off of Amy Jenkins and her mysterious death.

But it isn't long before those distractions wear off, and with the arrival of Jebediah Kane, a private investigator who recently moved into the neighborhood with his extensive family, Jane can't help but start digging once more. She hires Jeb to follow Jenni Baker (née Jones-Brown), but his findings come up empty. She continues enlisting the help of two of Amy's former friends, Angie Morris and Matt Schtick, but the investigation is slow and frustrating.

Unfortunately for Jane, the plot thickens when someone attempts to blackmail her with pictures of her and Chase, and Moe's jealousy begins to get worse. But Jane can tell him the truth- that she was simply questioning Chase about Amy's death- their house catches fire, burning to the ground and destroying the majority of their belongings, leaving the Pesces to move into Jane's parents' house. Things between Jane and Moe only get worse, and it starts to become noticeable even to the twins, who believe that the tension between their parents derives from their fight with Lucy's father.

Having inherited their mother's nosiness in droves, the twins set up a fake picnic intended to drive their parents together and force them to make up. And to everybody's surprise, it does seem to work. Moe and Chase reach a tenuous truce, with Chase apologizing for continuing to harass Jane and Moe realizing that Chase isn't always a major douche. While at the picnic, Jane receives a call from Angie telling her to meet her so that she can give her a book she found that might shed some light on Amy's death. But by the time Jane arrives, Angie has been attacked by an unknown assailant.

While Angie recovers from her attack, Jane and Moe struggle to communicate, but he does manage to give her the book Angie had brought with her to their meeting. Jane realizes that the book is Amy's diary, and that it contains several pieces of incriminating information- namely that Amy was being blackmailed about some forgeries she had unknowingly created, and that her blackmailer was none other than Jenni Jones-Brown (now Jenni Baker). Jane heads to Jenni's house to confront her, without telling anyone where she's going or what she's up to. Jenni admits to blackmailing Amy, but has a solid alibi for the day of her death and claims that she never actually received any money from her.

Jane goes to the cemetery to visit Amy's grave and think about the information she's uncovered, but someone follows her, having received a phone call from Jenni regarding Jane's suspicions. Now that she's getting close to the truth, it seems someone has decided that her snooping simply can't be tolerated anymore. Jane is attacked from behind and kidnapped, and it turns out that her kidnapper- and Amy's murderer- is none other than Matt Schtick, Amy's former friend and a local firefighter. As he starts to explain his motives to Jane, she begins to realize that he is far more dangerous than she originally thought.

He and Amy had grown up together, but their friendship had always been rather one-sided. Amy was selfish, manipulative, and blind to the damage she inflicted on those around her, particularly Matt. He had always been in love with her, but she constantly chose men like Chase, and Matt could only stand by helplessly while she made bad decisions- including the ones that led to her being pregnant and heartbroken when Chase cheated on her and left town. She and Matt had gotten into a fight that resulted in neither of them talking to each other until they were much older.

But when he admitted his feelings to her, she seemed repulsed by the very idea. For Matt, that had been the final straw. He had been involved with Jenni's blackmailing plans, hoping that by allowing Jenni to ruin her life, he'd be able to swoop in and be her knight and shining armor. When he realized that she had never felt about him the way he felt about her, he became blinded by rage and stabbed her.

By the time Matt is done recounting his story to her, Angie has informed Moe and Chase of the information she read in Amy's diary, and the two rush over to Matt's house to save Jane. While they attempt to use stealth to steal the element of surprise, Matt is waiting for them, and a standoff ensues. When Jane startles Matt, the bullet he intends for Chase misses and hits Moe. Matt is initially shocked at his actions, but recovers quickly enough to catch Chase off guard and knock his gun out of his hands. The two fight, but Matt loses his balance and falls over the balcony, crashing on the ground below.

Moe recovers in the hospital, and Jane briefly leaves his side to attend Matt's funeral. She and Chase are the only visitors, and she reflects on the sad picture this paints of Matt's life. Coincidentally, this is also the day of the twins' birthday party and official entrance into their teen years, but Jane is delaying her attendance as much as possible. Seeing Moe in the hospital has hit her hard, and she has a hard time celebrating when he is stuck in a hospital bed. Chase tells her that he can no longer stay in Twinbrook, as the guilt over Matt's death and the grief over Amy's have been weighing heavily on him. The twins celebrate becoming teenagers with their friend Lucy, not knowing that it will be the last time they see her for a while. 

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Finale: Part 2

All right... six months later, here it is, ladies and gents! The long-awaited finale of Chapter 1 of A Simple Life. Thank you so much to those of you who stuck by me through the ups and downs, and to all of you who supported me. You can find a soundtrack for this post here- I strongly suggest you listen to it while reading! Thank you once again, and I hope you enjoy the conclusion. 

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This is it, Jane thought, an odd sense of calm taking root in her bones. This is how I'm going to die. She couldn't claim part of her didn't deserve it; after all, if she'd just taken Moe's advice and left well enough alone, she wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. Moe. She would likely never see him again, but the knowledge of the pain her actions would cause him filled her with a sharp pang of regret.

"What... what happens next?" she ventured finally, willing her voice to stop shaking. She had to at least appear to be strong. If there was any chance of talking him down, she had to take it. But to her surprise, his composure was crumbling even worse than her own.

"I... don't know," Matt admitted finally, sinking to the floor with a sigh of despair. "Things just spun so far out of my control... It was so much easier in the beginning. But then you had to go and unravel everything. Now..." He paused, glancing at her for a second before his gaze flitted back to the floor. "I don't know what I'm going to do." The hopelessness in his eyes reflected what both he and Jane already knew. Matt was a man out of choices, and when someone with no options left was cornered...

Well, it wasn't looking good for Jane. But she still seized his sudden change in attitude as if it were a lifeline, refusing to let go of the only chance she had to leave this shack alive. The self-assured and maniacal killer was gone; in his place was a scared, upset man who clearly had no idea how things had gotten so out of control. For a brief moment, Jane felt something like sympathy stirring within her, but she was quick to squash it. He's holding you here at gunpoint, she reminded herself. Don't you dare start to feel bad for him. It would only complicate things more if she started to believe that her captor felt any kind of remorse for what he had done.

Outside, unbeknownst to Jane or Matt,  things were already starting to become more complicated.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Moe whispered, panting slightly as he tried to keep up with Chase.

Chase simply nodded and waved for him to be quiet and follow him. Not for the first time since leaving the hospital, Moe found himself wondering where the hell Chase had gotten a Glock so quickly. The thought would certainly have been a disturbing one on a normal day, but tonight, Moe was just grateful for the protection. The idea of being indebted to Chase Cruz for anything at all ruffled his feathers, however, and it was not sitting well with him.

The two made their way up the rickety stairs, wincing as their footsteps creaked on the rotting wood. As much as Moe tried, he couldn't prevent his steps from causing a loud creaaak, and Chase shot him a dirty look. "Shut up and try not to get in the way!" Chase hissed, waving at him again. Moe mouthed a silent apology at him and tried very hard not to return the look.

"Wait... what was that?" Matt sat up, craning his neck to listen to his surroundings. The sounds of the Simissouri swamp were always present in Twinbrook, but even moreso out here in the middle of nowhere. It was difficult for him to make out precisely what he'd heard, but his senses were on guard for anything out of the ordinary.

Jane knew exactly what he thought he'd heard, and she fought furiously to keep the wave of joy from bubbling up inside her. She'd never had a good poker face, but it was vital to hide her emotions now. If Matt suspected what she thought... Well, she could only hope that Moe hadn't come alone.

Surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to do that... right?

"Stay here," Matt ordered, grabbing his gun and advancing slowly towards the door. As much as he loved this shack and the protection it had afforded over the past few months, it wasn't exactly easy to defend, especially if there was more than one intruder. The only way for him to gain the advantage was to have the element of surprise- if that was even possible at this point.

Meanwhile, Moe was struggling to get past Chase and look through the window. He had to know if Jane was okay, even if Chase thought it was foolhardy to rush in with guns blazing. It was easy for him to be patient, Moe reflected bitterly. It wasn't his wife being held at gunpoint, after all. He opened his mouth to voice this complaint, but Chase shoved him back before he had a chance. "Moe, I'm only going to say this one more time. Stay. Back. And don't get in my way. Do you want to be responsible for your wife getting shot because you couldn't keep your mouth shut?"

Moe glared at him in resentment, but heeded his advice. He hated to admit that Chase was right, but he had to admit that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something went wrong because of him.

Moe burst through the door, aiming his gun at the two of them. Jane stifled a gasp as she saw Chase and Moe. They were certainly a strange team, but Jane was so grateful that she hardly cared. She sprang to her feet and started to the door, but Matt's voice rang out before she'd taken five steps.

"If I were you, I'd stop right there, Mrs. Pesce," Matt remarked calmly, still pointing his gun at her erstwhile saviors. "If you make any sudden movements, your darling husband will be the first person I shoot." The cool and collected killer was back, and Jane felt a ripple of fear run down her spine. Suddenly, she had no doubt that he would do exactly what he threatened.

Moe could hardly contain himself anymore. He wanted to body tackle Chase, to rush past him and save his wife, to disarm Matt somehow. But he wasn't in control of the situation, and Matt's threat had put him at even more of a disadvantage. Without the kidnapper saying it, Moe knew that the opposite would hold true as well; if Moe were to do anything even remotely stupid, Matt would have no problem turning his gun on Jane and pulling the trigger.

So he bit his lip and kept quiet, despite all of his instincts. He had to trust that Chase could take care of the situation somehow... though the how was something that eluded Moe, no matter how hard he thought.

"Listen to me, Matt," Chase began, his voice calm and reassuring. It didn't surprise Moe that Chase's grand plan involved talking; it was the one thing he'd ever been good at. "No one has to get hurt here," he suggested, layers of persuasion coating his words. "You haven't hurt Jane, and we don't really have any proof that you've done anything else... For all we know, you could be completely innocent. So just put your gun down, and we'll talk this out like rational people, okay?"

"Of course, Cruz. I'll just lower my gun like this," Matt demonstrated with a smirk. "And then I'm sure you'll keep your word and we'll all talk like the gentlemen we are." The word was pronounced with a smug emphasis, as if he was suggesting that Chase was anything but. It stung, but he was far more focused on maintaining his air of calm authority. Just take the bait, Matt, he thought, teeth gritted in determination.

But Matt would have had to be an idiot to take him up on the offer, and everyone knew it. It had been a weak attempt at best, and Matt knew enough to call Chase's bluff.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he replied, swinging his gun back up again. "I think I'll start by shooting you instead. You seem to be much more annoying than your cowering partner over there. We'll see how these negotiations go without you trying to smooth talk everyone, shall we?"

Jane gasped, her eyes widening in horror. She didn't want Moe to be injured, but she didn't like the thought of Chase being shot, either. No matter what had happened in their past, she didn't want anyone to get hurt because of her. But as soon as she started to move forward, time seemed to slow down and everything began to happen at once.

She could only watch as the gun discharged, the bullet traveling towards the two men- one she loved, and one she had used to love. Fear paralyzed her as Chase ducked and the bullet hit flesh, a bright red splash of blood blossoming out from Moe's stomach.

"NO!"

---

---

Matt's body hit the ground with a hard thud, and Chase was filled with a sickening mix of dread and relief. It's over, he thought, his body sagging against the rotting balcony railing. He closed his eyes, trying not to take in the gruesome image of Matt's lifeless body. There was no use regretting his role in the final outcome of this morbid drama; he had been fighting for his life, and those of Jane and Moe. He had been a cop once; that subconscious drive to protect others had never really left, and in the weeks to come, it would certainly help assuage his guilt.

But that didn't make it any easier for him to come to terms with the situation.

He glanced around for Moe, breathing a quiet sigh of relief when he saw that Moe's eyes were open. It was absurd for him to even care; the two of them were barely on speaking terms, and even that was by necessity. But saving someone's life- and having them take a bullet intended for you- tended to change how you felt about them. Whether he liked it or not, Chase could feel a tiny shred of guilt twisting inside him as he contemplated the fact that he should be the one bleeding on the ground right now. 

Would she look at me that way, if I had? The thought came unbidden to his mind, and he fervently tried to ignore it. But it stuck, like a splinter he couldn't quite grasp. He would always feel jealous when he looked at the two of them, but how much of it stemmed from residual feelings for Jane and how much of it was from the knowledge that he had no one who cared about him like that, he couldn't say. That was too complicated a thread to unravel at the moment, and everything hurt too much to think about. 

Memories of Jane, of Amy, of Matt's fall... all of them tumbled through Chase's mind, mixing into one large picture of pain and loss. As he lay there, hunched over and exhausted, Chase did the only thing he could do. 

He began to cry.

---

The day of the funeral was one of the foggiest and dreariest days Twinbrook had seen in a long time- a fitting atmosphere for such a dismal event, Jane thought. She hadn't made an effort to dress up for the occasion, as she didn't quite feel that she belonged there at all. Still, she felt an odd sense of obligation to both Matt and Amy, a need to find closure in both their deaths and shut the door on the events of the past few months.

The cemetery was virtually empty, with only one or two stragglers wandering aimlessly near Matt's coffin. Even the priest was in a hurry to leave, and Jane couldn't help but feel a surge of sadness that the poor bastard hadn't had anyone who wanted to be with him at the end.

"What are you doing here, Jane?" Chase's voice cut through her thoughts. She turned and nodded at him in greeting, the corners of her mouth pulling downwards even as she tried to smile. "Isn't it the twins' birthday party today?" 

"My parents will be there," she responded, her voice still subdued and fragile. "I'm supposed to pick up Angie when I go visit Moe, and we'll swing by the party later." She knew that her kids wanted her there, that it looked strange for her to NOT be there when they officially became teenagers, but something didn't feel right about being there without Moe. Any kind of celebration would have felt strange to Jane right now, but birthday parties were Moe's domain. He was the one who cooked all the food, set out all the decorations, planned all the activities. He had always been the life of the party.

But now, with him lying in a hospital room, it just seemed wrong to go on without him. She was resigned to the fact that she would need to show up eventually, but she was also grateful for the delays that her trips to the cemetery and the hospital would afford.

Chase said nothing. Perhaps he understood, though she wouldn't expect him to. But perhaps he simply realized that there was nothing left to say. The past few days had been filled with police interviews, questions, lies... entirely too much talking, as far as Jane was concerned. Silence was nice. Silence was familiar.

After a while, she cleared her throat and looked around the cemetery. "I can't say I'm surprised that no one else showed up... Though if you'd asked me six months ago, I would have expected someone like Matt to have more friends. But..." Her voice trailed off, but she didn't need to finish the thought. Six months ago, she hadn't known the real Matt at all.

"What if we could have done more?" she asked suddenly, turning to face Chase. His startled expression spurred her onward. "I mean... I still can't help but feel as if so much of this was my fault," she added, her eyes downcast. "If I hadn't kept digging... If I'd just left everything alone... Maybe things would have worked out differently."

"How?" Chase demanded, raising his eyebrows. "Jane, the man was a killer. He killed Amy. He tried to kill Angie. If you think that stopping a man like that makes you a bad person... Well, you're wrong." He shook his head firmly. "You did the right thing for everyone. For Amy." His voice wavered as he fought back the emotions her name still brought him.

"Yeah?" Jane looked up at him again, studying his face for several seconds. "I suppose you're right about that... But I don't know. I just feel like I put so many people in danger, including my family. Who knows what our lives would be like right now if I hadn't gotten us in so much trouble?"

Chase laughed sharply, shaking his head again. "Jane, you used to be more optimistic than that. Your family's had its share of hardships over the past few months, that's true. But think about everything that's happened because of it."

"Your parents moving to Twinbrook..."

"New friends..."

"New possibilities for the future."

"And just look at your kids, how smart and brave and wonderful they grew up to be. It seems to me like you could have done worse over the past few months." He paused, trying to figure out the right words to say what he needed to say next.

"Jane... Lucy and I... Well, I got a job offer in Sunset Valley, and I decided to take it. We're leaving next week." His voice dropped off at the end of the sentence, as if he could hardly believe it himself.

Jane looked up at him in surprise, trying to mask the dismay she felt at this news. True, her past with Chase was complicated, but for him to move away... She couldn't help but think about how Sophie and Ethan would take this news. "For how long?"

He shrugged. "A few years? I don't know how permanent it will be... But I just can't be here any longer." He gestured around the cemetery and trees. "Everything about this place reminds me of Amy, and now Matt's..." He couldn't finish saying it. "There's just too much here that I don't need in my life anymore." Like you, he added silently.

Jane nodded slowly. "I understand. But Sophie and Ethan...

"I don't know how they'll take the news. I think both of them were rather fond of Lucy. And with all three of them starting high school soon... I think they'll miss her a lot." It was a lot for her children to get used to, Jane knew. Growing up and losing their best friend all at once... But they would have to adjust, just as Jane and Moe were still having to adjust.

"Sunset Valley's not that far away, you know," she pointed out eventually, breaking the silence. "You and Lucy will come visit us, won't you?"

Chase nodded, trying to hide his surprise- as well as his dismay. "I think Lucy would like that." And who knew? In a few years, Chase might be willing to give Twinbrook- and the Pesces- another try. There was no way of knowing what his future might hold.

What any of their futures might hold. 

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