Extra - Homecoming




Melissa Green is 16

March 2026



For the first time in weeks, Melissa took a long look in the mirror.


She ran a hand through her hair. She'd cut most of it off, figuring that it would make it less likely that someone would recognise her. Well, now she barely recognised herself. A nurse had tried to tidy up the cut a bit, but there wasn't much to work with, and the dye had grown out, too.

Then, there were her clothes. She didn't have any of her own stuff. Sam had sent her some things, but Melissa had been smaller than her sister even before she lost weight. She didn't look anything like herself, and she didn't even care.


Melissa was past caring about much of anything. Maybe it'd be better if she wasn't still so damned tired, but it was more than just fatigue that made her want everyone to just leave her alone. Just let her curl up somewhere and sleep, like she'd been trying to do before some misguided stranger had her hauled off to the hospital.

She was never meant to be born. Sixteen years later, she still didn't have a place in the world. The only people willing to give her a home was her half-sister's family, and she didn't even understand why they were doing it. Maybe it was because of Sam, but then Sam would be leaving for college herself in a few months, and Melissa had no idea what would happen to her after that.


But for now, today, she was leaving the hospital. Cory and Rose would be here soon, having driven all the way up here to get her. She checked that she had her things together. There wasn't much, just some pajamas (Sam's, again), and some toiletries the hospital had given her. And a stuffed rabbit.


The rabbit was from Sam, too. Melissa didn't know why people gave you baby toys when you were in hospital. Maybe it was supposed to make you feel better, but it didn't work. It only made Melissa feel worse. It made her think of Shane.


There was a moment, when she was preparing to leave, that she'd actually considered taking her baby brother with her. But she knew it would be a bad idea for many reasons, not in the least being the fact that her mother and Joshua would try a lot harder to find her, if she had their baby. It wasn't like she was worried about him there, anyway - he was a boy, he was Joshua's son, and he was wanted. He'd be safe.

She wondered if he missed her. She had no idea how long babies remembered things, but she doubted his parents would talk about her much. Probably, he'd grow up not even knowing she existed. But, he'd be safe, that was the important thing.

She pretended to sleep for most of the drive back to Richmond. Cory and Rose were friendly enough to her, but she didn't really know what to say to them, and she didn't have the energy for small talk anyway.

Back at their home, they showed her into a surprisingly large bedroom.


Not as large as the one at her mother's house, but certainly bigger than Sam's. "I know it's not what you're used to," Cory said. "It used to be my parents' room. We can decorate it any way you want, when you're settled in."
Melissa nodded, not trusting herself to reply.

"Sam's put some more clothes in the drawers," Rose said. "They should last you out until the social worker gets your things from your mother's house. We're having dinner in about an hour."
"I... I don't want any dinner," she said. "I'm not hungry."


"Melissa, you need to eat." Cory said.
"I will," she said. "Just, not now. I'm just really tired and I - I feel a little sick from the drive." She struggled to keep her voice even.
"Ok," Cory said. "We'll be downstairs if you need anything."

Finally alone, Melissa dropped down on the bed. She hated that no one wanted her, she hated that she wasn't even capable of taking care of herself for a few months, and she hated that been hauled back here to Richmond when she never wanted to see the place again. But most of all, she hated being the object of pity.


She looked up.  The rabbit grinned back at her from the dresser where she'd put it. She jumped up and threw it hard against the wall. "Just leave me alone... everyone, just leave me alone!"

The rabbit fell to the ground. Lying in a crumpled heap, it continued to smile back obliviously.


 "I'm sorry..." Melissa started to sob, scrambling to pick up the toy. She held it tightly as she cried. "I'm so sorry..."

----

In-game, Melissa ran away, I guess because she had really low relationships with both Sharla and Joshua. The first sim I had run away came back the next day in a police car, but she didn't, and I started to get worried. Then I read somewhere than sims who run away arrive back the day they transition to adult. Melissa was only a couple of sim-days off adulthood, so I played the days with the household and sure enough, she came back and transitioned. Then I aged her back down to teen as I'd planned.

The thing that didn't go according to plan, was that she had the flu when she left, and apparently health continues to deteriorate while the teen is missing (her needs were really low on return, too). She was at the think-about-gravestones stage and I was worried, as neither of the adults had a strong enough relationship with her to successfully beg the reaper should it come to that. In a bid to not completely break my self-created rules by curing her, I instead teleported her into Cory's household, as her strongest relationship is with Sam. Fortunately the reaper never came, and she eventually recovered in-game. Now that she was in Cory's house, I decided she was staying there, and came up with the story in the previous posts. 

Not only were her needs really low, her aspiration level had bottomed out and she was rolling next-to-impossible wants (during her brief time as an adult, she wanted a baby!! No, we have enough pregnancy in this household right now!). So its going to take some time to make her happy again, but I guess that's realistic too.

I gave her that hairstyle because I doubt she could keep perfect hair through being homeless and so on, so she chopped it off.  I already have the story of where Melissa's been and what she did while she was missing, but it will take a lot of posed pictures and the like to tell it, and I want to keep the momentum going here... I am going to work on it in spare moments, I imagine someday she'll tell someone about it and then I can post it as a flashback.

Comments

  1. Sam and Melissla look so much alike! At least in that first picture, for some strange reason I thought it was Sam standing in front of that mirror.

    I feel so sad for Melissa, I know she doesn't want any pity, but I really feel sad for her. Her mother never wanted her, and unfortunatly it showed in everything that happened to her since she was born.
    I really hope she gets what she deserves now that she's living with Cory, and that she can finally be happy.

    I really do like your stories a lot!

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    1. Thanks... and, yes, you are right, they do look alike - so much so that, when I first noticed it, I checked again that Cory definitely wasn't Melissa's biological father after all!

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  2. Wow! That was a gripping read, very atmospheric. And you took the perfect pictures to match the story.

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    1. Thanks! It's harder writing things that focus mostly on someone's feelings rather than a story moving forward, but I also enjoy doing it from time to time.

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  3. I continue to be in awe at how you weave game events into your story! So clever!

    I'm glad Melissa is safe now. What a rough time she has been through. It's going to take some time for her to adjust to living with Cory and Rose but I'm hoping it will be a good experience for all of them.

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    1. Thanks, turning game events into story is a challenge I enjoy - along with trying to stick to my self-imposed and sometimes-very-stretched play rules :)

      Melissa will have a hard time adjusting, I think, as will the rest of the household to having her there. There have already been a couple of gameplay twists in the household that will be fun to work in...

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  4. Huggle for Melissa, I hope she is able to feel the love her father has for her. I am really intrigued any where she's been all this time, I hope you're able to do the story soon :)

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    1. I will get to Melissa's story eventually! :)

      I think realizing that she has a parent now who cares about her so much is going to be the hardest part for Melissa, because sadly that's something she's never really had before.

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