“You forget something, Kelli,” Kayla said, her voice catching as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. “You left for college, started this whole new life, and you know who didn’t fit into any of that? Me. How many times did you call me when you were out with your friends, living it up? How many times did you ask me to come visit you? Not once. I barely got a Sunday afternoon call, and even then, it was while you were too busy with your homework.”
The frustration and hurt that Kayla had kept bottled up was spilling out now, each word landing like a punch. Kelli stood there, stunned by the intensity of her sister’s words. She hadn’t realized how deeply she’d hurt her. She opened her mouth to respond, but the guilt weighed down her words.
“I didn’t know you wanted to…” Kelli said softly, her voice almost pleading. “If I had known, I would’ve invited you, I swear. It’s just… you never seemed interested. I always had to drag you to things when we were younger. I wasn’t trying to leave you out, Kayla. I just thought… I thought you didn’t care about that stuff.”
Kayla let out a small, bitter laugh, shaking her head. “Of course I didn’t seem interested, Kelli. I didn’t fit into your world, the one where you were this larger-than-life person with all your friends and your new life. I was just… your little sister. It felt like I was watching you from the sidelines while you went off and did all these amazing things, and I wasn’t even part of the story.”
Kelli’s heart sank. She hadn’t seen it that way, hadn’t even considered that Kayla felt so distant. She’d been so wrapped up in her own life, her own experiences, that she’d missed the fact that her sister had been feeling left behind. Kelli swallowed hard, her eyes softening as the weight of her actions settled on her.
“I wasn’t trying to leave you behind,” Kelli whispered, her voice thick with regret. “I just… I didn’t realize. I didn’t know you felt like that.”
Kayla met her gaze, her expression a mix of hurt and relief that she was finally being heard. “Maybe if you’d asked, you would’ve known.”
Kelli stood there, words failing her. She realized, far too late, just how much of Kayla’s life she didn’t know, how much she’d missed. The bullying at school, the way Tamara and the basketball team had made Kayla’s life hell. Kayla had been fighting battles of her own, and Kelli hadn’t even noticed. She searched for something to say, anything to make this right, but the words stuck in her throat. Deep down, she wasn’t sure Kayla was wrong.
“Talisa, why don’t you take Kelli for a while?” Kayla’s voice cracked slightly, raw with hurt. “You’re not trained, but you know the basics. If you’re unsure about anything, just message me. I just… I need some space.”
Before Kelli could react, Kayla reached down, her fingers gently but firmly grasping Kelli around the waist. “Kayla!” Kelli yelped in surprise as she was lifted effortlessly into the air. Kayla’s hand wrapped around her, pressing her into her sister’s warm palm. For a brief moment, Kelli felt the weight of their shared history hanging in the air between them—then Kayla extended her arms, depositing her into Talisa’s waiting hands.
“If she’s too much to handle, just let me know. I can make other arrangements. I’ll come get her later,” Kayla added, her voice distant, the hurt still lingering.
“S-sure,” Talisa stammered, caught off guard by the suddenness of it all. “Of course, Kelli can stay with me.”
Kayla didn’t respond, her face unreadable as she stepped onto her skateboard and pushed off, gliding away without looking back. “Carter!” she shouted, her voice carrying across the skatepark.
Carter jogged over, his expression tense. “I’m sorry, Talisa. I’ll try to fix this,” he said, his tone filled with regret.
Talisa shook her head, her eyes fixed on the ground ahead of her. “It was probably inevitable,” she muttered. “I’ve got things covered here. Just… take care of her.”
Talisa, still holding Kelli in her hands, glanced down at the tiny figure in her palms, then back at Kayla as she skated further away. “Kelli can stay with me for a couple of days if needed,” Talisa called out, trying to sound reassuring.
But Kelli wasn’t listening. She could only watch as Kayla disappeared into the distance, the weight of everything unsaid pressing down on her.
Well……..that went …….poorly………I’m sure they’ll be fine but damn that was unexpected turn but damn this story has me invested nice work
Gotta keep you on your toes.
Now everything has come to a head hopefully Kelli and Kayla can work through this.
On the plus side, some one-on-one time between Talisa and Kelli sounds fun to read, so I can’t wat to read that.
The dirty laundry being laid out sometimes is what is needed to move forward.
1) This was hard to read but needed to happen because if hurt like was being held my Kayla goes to long its it like a pressure cooker that keeps building till it explodes and if that would happen when Kelli is so small, who knows if Kayla would kill Kelli by accident. Unfortunately humans can hurt loved ones like moms blowing up at vulnerable baby’s because their mind get into a altered state because of built up frustrations.
2) I think this will help Kelli stop complaining and ask Kayla to bring her with her to all parts of her life so she can experience the highs and lows of her life as sister team they can tackle issues together. Kelli seems like she has the same deadly sin of pride that Cindy has and is having a hard time excepting being a little and using all her time & energy to focus on someone other then herself. At least Kelli has a better soul then Cindy and I think she has the ability to be a good team player.
3) Kelli needs to except that Kayla is her giant sister loving and protecting her little big sister. I think if she can say that Kayla is her giant sister that loves and protects her I think it will help both of them in their lives moving forward because Kayla will have to realize she can no longer be bullied because she is her sisters protector now.
4) I look forward to seeing the Kelli and Kayla love fest moving forward.
1) “How many times did you call me when you were out with your friends, living it up? How many times did you ask me to come visit you? Not once. I barely got a Sunday afternoon call, and even then, it was while you were too busy with your homework.” Kayla missed her sister, that’s a pretty fair enough thing to be upset about, especially if Kelli is mad about not being told something and didn’t make herself available to listen.
1.2) “I always had to drag you to things when we were younger. I wasn’t trying to leave you out, Kayla. I just thought… I thought you didn’t care about that stuff.” And that’s actually a pretty fair rebuttal.
2) “The frustration and hurt that Kayla had kept bottled up was spilling out now, each word landing like a punch. Kelli stood there, stunned by the intensity of her sister’s words. She hadn’t realised how deeply she’d hurt her” it’s good they’re letting their emotions out.
3) “It felt like I was watching you from the sidelines while you went off and did all these amazing things, and I wasn’t even part of the story.” Kelli was very clearly trying to include Kayla, though it seems Kayla never felt included.
4) “Maybe if you’d asked, you would’ve known.” Sometimes people need to speak up without being asked, it didn’t sound like Kelli was ignoring Kayla reaching out, it just sounded like Kayla was waiting for Kelli to reach out to her.
5) “She realized, far too late, just how much of Kayla’s life she didn’t know, how much she’d missed. The bullying at school, the way Tamara and the basketball team had made Kayla’s life hell. Kayla had been fighting battles of her own, and Kelli hadn’t even noticed.” I can understand why Kelli feels guilty, but it could be on either girl to communicate better
6) “Talisa, why don’t you take Kelli for a while? You’re not trained, but you know the basics.” That feels almost mean considering that Talisa was just explaining why she couldn’t take Kelli.
And how is Talisa supposed to “do her chores?”
7) “If she’s too much to handle, just let me know. I can make other arrangements. I’ll come to get her later,” What other arrangements?
8) “Of course, Kelli can stay with me.” Talisa trying her best here.
9) “I’m sorry, Talisa. I’ll try to fix this,” Carter’s just been treated to some awkward sister drama.
10) “It was probably inevitable, I’ve got things covered here. Just… take care of her.” I’m glad their issues are out in the open, but I didn’t want them out like this. Lol.
11) “Kelli can stay with me for a couple of days if needed,” Days? Is that even legal? What would Judy and Greg think?
1) “How many times did you call me when you were out with your friends, living it up? How many times did you ask me to come visit you? Not once. I barely got a Sunday afternoon call, and even then, it was while you were too busy with your homework.” Kayla missed her sister, that’s a pretty fair enough thing to be upset about, especially if Kelli is mad about not being told something and didn’t make herself available to listen.
It is a fair thing to be upset about. Some pent up feelings in regards to things some beyond the scope of Smallara infection that are finally coming to light.
1.2) “I always had to drag you to things when we were younger. I wasn’t trying to leave you out, Kayla. I just thought… I thought you didn’t care about that stuff.” And that’s actually a pretty fair rebuttal.
It is and Kayla gave no sign to Kelli that she was interested. So Kelli wouldn’t in inherently know unless she was told or had some reason to suspect.
2) “The frustration and hurt that Kayla had kept bottled up was spilling out now, each word landing like a punch. Kelli stood there, stunned by the intensity of her sister’s words. She hadn’t realised how deeply she’d hurt her” it’s good they’re letting their emotions out.
Awkward for Carter and Talisa though who are just kind of watching the sister fight. It probably did need to be said and heard in the open.
3) “It felt like I was watching you from the sidelines while you went off and did all these amazing things, and I wasn’t even part of the story.” Kelli was very clearly trying to include Kayla, though it seems Kayla never felt included.
This is one where Kayla’s famous communication skills comes back to bite her as Kelli wouldn’t really know how Kayla is feeling or if the actions weren’t enough or sufficient unless things are communicated to her. First year of college its also a little expected to get wrapped up in your own things.
4) “Maybe if you’d asked, you would’ve known.” Sometimes people need to speak up without being asked, it didn’t sound like Kelli was ignoring Kayla reaching out, it just sounded like Kayla was waiting for Kelli to reach out to her.
That was the crux of it. Kayla never communicated or signaled anything toward Kelli. She was just kind of expecting and waiting for Kelli to do what she normally would do and drag her to something or force her to come down. But she never did and Kayla felt hurt.
5) “She realized, far too late, just how much of Kayla’s life she didn’t know, how much she’d missed. The bullying at school, the way Tamara and the basketball team had made Kayla’s life hell. Kayla had been fighting battles of her own, and Kelli hadn’t even noticed.” I can understand why Kelli feels guilty, but it could be on either girl to communicate better
Well the bullying started after Kelli left for college as she was no longer around to keep people away. Although now Sara and her friends are keeping people away. But Kelli does feel bad about it because she wasn’t told. However, I can undersetand why I perosn wouldn’t talk about it.
6) “Talisa, why don’t you take Kelli for a while? You’re not trained, but you know the basics.” That feels almost mean considering that Talisa was just explaining why she couldn’t take Kelli. And how is Talisa supposed to “do her chores?”
Well its kind of like babysitting an older child there is a point when babysitting you’re just kind of supervising the child more then you are actually entertaining them. Its not like Kelli needs or requires moment to moment care. She can still do things like clean in theory and watch Kelli.
7) “If she’s too much to handle, just let me know. I can make other arrangements. I’ll come to get her later,” What other arrangements?
Sara, Ellie, Chloe, Mal, etc. its not like she doens’t know other people who could step in.
8) “Of course, Kelli can stay with me.” Talisa trying her best here.
Yup, there wasn’t really any other thing she could see.. She was kind of forced into this position. As really where else was Kelli going to go. Granted upset Kayla could have taken her bu that wouldn’t be good for either sister.
9) “I’m sorry, Talisa. I’ll try to fix this,” Carter’s just been treated to some awkward sister drama.
yes but he probbaly should get used to Sister Drama.
10) “It was probably inevitable, I’ve got things covered here. Just… take care of her.” I’m glad their issues are out in the open, but I didn’t want them out like this. Lol.
You should be careful whats you ask for as they say.
11) “Kelli can stay with me for a couple of days if needed,” Days? Is that even legal? What would Judy and Greg think?
Its a grey area. As she is still in Kayla’s ownership. So there is a degree of you have kids and your having someone watch htem for the weekend. They don’t need to be licensed daycare provider. As you’re trusting they can care for another living thing for a short perid of time with out killing it,
1.1) It’s good to see.
1.2) I could argue that by not dragging Kayla into things she obviously didn’t want Kelli was showing growth.
3) I think Kelli was being a good sister, and while I don’t think Kayla is a bad sister, this isn’t her best moment.
4) More of Kayla’s poor communication skills right there.
5) Kelli’s 22, she’s been out of high school for around four years, Kayla may have protection now, but that’s still four years of bullying. Kayla wouldn’t want to talk about it same reason Chloe didn’t intervene in Saddie and Christine, trying to stop bullying usually makes it worse, unless you have sufficiently big guns.
6) I was making a joke about how the chores didn’t exist, they were just an excuse Talisa was using to give the couple privacy.
7) Fair, I wonder how willing Mal would be to Littlesit, Sara and Ellie could be eager depending on their plans. Chloe, I don’t think is an actual option though. In Dayton: JGC 1 Ellie was Littlesitting Jordan at Chloe’s house, if Chloe could little sit I don’t see why Ellie’d be there.
9) Maybe Carter and his little could fight in front of Kayla, make it awkward for her to make it even
11) But you don’t need a licence to be a parent, you do to be a Guardian, little as are both protected more and less then children and I think this is an aspect of when they’d be more protected.
I’m Still curious about Greg and Judy’s reaction
this was tough but needed. i knew it was coming and still felt bad for both of them lol Kelli has a lot to reflect on now. I’m sure Kayla does too, as now Kelli has no choice but to be included with everything.
either way, it’s good that it’s all finally coming out, and Kayla seeing Kelli is being receptive is a huge plus
sister fights have a new meaning when one is dependent on the other.
It was eventually going to come to a fight. Although for Kelli’s sake it would have probably been better at home then out at a skate park.
But you can’t plan for that sort of thing.
true. a lot of this stuff is why I think they are by far the best pair. I just don’t see them keeping secrets or anything like that as time goes forward, at least not a ton of them. I think they’ll just be able to read each other and it’ll almost look like a two-way bond, not that it exists, just that’s how close I see them getting.
not that’ll be perfect harmony, but they should, in theory, be the closest, probably followed by sarah and jordan, Mal and Gavin, the twins and hailey, and Chrissy and Scott (not in order of best guardian, just ones I think will be really close with each other)
Is Kayla failing to his legal duties as gardian when she gave her sister to Talisa. I mean “Basics” fall short, no?
Its like caring for anyone. You can only be so thorough and if they check the boxes you sometimes just have to go with it.
I wounder how their parents would think about Kelli not being with Kayla? She is a little but still their daughter
Now I had a little time to process what happen and read some comments I think Kayla was acting like a bully and taking advantage of her new position and blaming Kelli for her own inaction and inability communicate. Having done more then my share of college, if your going full time like it sounds Kelli was, there isn’t a lot of time to do what Kayla was asking. She even commented they would talk on Sundays and she was busy doing school work which is normal for a college student. It sounds like Kayla is projecting her own self loathing on Kelli who sounds like she was a good big sister and always tried to get her involved and help her at school before she left for college. I think its a really bad look for Kayla to kick Kelli while she was not just down but lost everything because the world they are in have a twisted way to look at biology to suit their evil slavery type mind set, she has no way to recover any part of her life because like many enslaved people through out history she is not allowed to own anything and not allowed to work for her own money, it goes to her slaver. Kayla really owes Kelli a big apology in my opinion because if you look at Kayla’s life, what really has happen to her for her to play the victim mentality that seems rapid these days. She lives in a affluent area with loving parents, is better then average looking, goes to a private school, is immune to a virus that has destroyed her hard working sisters life and you have a quired all her stuff and now are her slave master for life and can treat her as you wish because she is considered a common animal. Oh and also she has basically all the love and attention of her parents and doesn’t have to share it with her slave sister anymore because slaves are not considered people. I’m not sure if you meant to but your treatment of virus victims is the blue print for how slaves have been treated though out human history, including of course are our countries stain in our history. Reading the comments has twisted my mind now lol. I am bummed my outlook of Kayla has really turned sour and she to me is a ungrateful person that is so narcist that she cant see her sister dying in front of her mentally and if she crush’s her soul she will have nobody but her self to blame when the light in her sisters eyes goes out and she will truly be dead.
Historically speaking if you look throughout all human history and there are many modern day examples as well. Those who are underprivileged, going through a hardship, weren’t born into the best of situations are always taken advantage.
While they may not be called slave in name they are what amounts to it. Look at the current U.S.situation. What is happening in California is horrible and what do you hear one side saying? Well if we help them there will be conditions. they will have to change, morality and rights come into play. Help will only come if we can add on these other things or limits in other area’s.
Its just another way to hold people down and control them. It’s another way to do what humans have always done but its prettied up and the crude words of slavery are not used.
One of the tenants of Smallara from the start has been a grounded reality things are depicted the way they are as while people don’t like to accept it. Its how things would probably be to an extent. As we can’t even provide federal aid without republicans currently wanting to attach strings to the aid and support.
Forced cheap labor happens in so many countries around the world which is basically similar to slavery where they do work for pennies on the dollar.
In the smallara world the victims do get help and support form the government but it comes at cost for that reason. As that’s how it works in America. I will help you but rights or privileges are you willing to give up for that help.
Thats why things are the way they are as its not a utopian outlook. Its more the harsh reality of how things would be. The U.S. government would never help a little if it was a real pandemic unless there was something to gain by the U.S. government doing so. Either in control, authority, or political sway, etc. They would never provide aid because it was the right thing to do. I mean people couldn’t work during covid and were struggling to make ends meet and while other countries gave out thousands dollars America got two 600 dollar checks and called it good.
As there was no benefit to actually help the citizens who were struggling.
I do think Kayla is a good person but she is projecting some of her own issues and things she didn’t like out yeah probably. I do think there is genuine love there and want for things to be better but its also the reality of Kayla is thinking about how her life is affected and her life is changed as that’s what is most important to her. Thats just human nature. A willingness to help only goes so far until a person wants to return to their normal life.
1)thanks for the thoughtful and detailed response
2) I have a similar but different thoughts on the US because my stem OCD mind puts everything in charts with facts and data and don’t like any of our parties lol.
3)I understand why you did the smallara structure the way you did.
4) Based on the thoughtful remarks some of our community had I still think Kayla is being very selfish how she is treating Kelli because Kelli lost everything and was a good hard working big sister that tried to help her. The look your pic was a great view of how The now ungrateful bully Kayla was projecting her own internal demons like many bully’s do on the now much weaker and vulnerable Kelli. When I was young I heard a great quote that always stuck with me as I advanced in life. Your not judged by how you treat people while you have no power its how you treat people when you have power over people. Based on that great quote Kayla is failing badly and I hope she doesn’t act like Cindy and is able to see how she is punching down and try to help Kelli regain a small sense of being able to help herself like maybe giving her a little space to do her own steaming show to let her communicate with people again while Kayla plays her games. It would be a good compromise that I think in Kayla’s frame of mind unfortunately wont happen.
5) As always thanks for making a thoughtful community and stories that make us all think.
6) Because of as you know how I feel Kelli’s pain I will always be on her side now like harry potter in those stories lol.