Melissa

 Two years ago

2028, Summer

Melissa Green is 19; Cory Green is 52; Rose Green is 38; Corrine is 11; Noah is 8; (Emily is 2)

Melissa had known that Twiki Island would be different to any place she'd been before, but she hadn't been prepared for how different. The beach here seemed endless, and the water was warm even early in the morning.

And to think she'd almost missed the chance to come. 

Cory and Rose had first mentioned the vacation months ago, which was a good thing as it seemed to take a lot of planning to get five people to the island for a week. Aside from booking the flights and the like, they'd had to arrange for Emily to stay with Rose's parents. 

She was too young for camping and swimming and spending all day out in the heat. 

Then they'd had to arrange for Cory's brother's kids to take care of the dogs.

In the middle of it all, Melissa had offered to stay behind. Care for the animals and for Emily. Cory had told her no, he wanted her to come on a vacation with them before she went to college. 

"If I stayed living here while I was at college, we'd have plenty of time for vacations," she'd said

She noticed the look that passed between Cory and Rose. "What...?!"

"It's just... its not the first time you've suggested staying here," Cory said.  "A few weeks ago, you couldn't stop talking about how you could wait to live in the dorm with Georgia and Garrett and Thomas. 

You haven't had some kind of argument with your friends or something, have you?" Rose added.

"Of course not!" Melissa said. "We don't have to live in the same place to be friends, do we?"

They hadn't mentioned it again. Melissa was glad. 

All they ever talked to her about now was college and dorms and her "future". She just wanted to forget about it for a while, and enjoy the island while she had the chance. 

They were staying in a campground at Sunlit Tides, right near the beach.

They slept in tents and ate outside and used the campground bathrooms.

Melissa's morning swim meant that she was late for breakfast, but no one seemed to mind.  The kids had plenty to do in the campground...

... and Cory and Rose could keep themselves occupied, too.

After a relaxed morning, there was plenty to fill the rest of the day.

The 'pirate ship' restaurant was a short walk from the campground, and Melissa recognised it immediately. Thomas' brother lived on the island with their mother, and it had been his favorite place when he was younger. Thomas had shown Melissa pictures of the place.

There were all kinds of games and activities on the beach nearby. Melissa could see why a kid would love the place.

Another day, they took the water taxi...

... and visited the market on the other side of the island

There was time for just relaxing and doing nothing...

... and even time for trying a new sport

Another day, they walked up to the top of the hill behind town to enjoy the view

Melissa usually had dinner with Cory and Rose after Corrine and Noah went to bed.

One evening, they asked her if she could babysit the kids the next day. They'd pay her for it, they said. They just wanted some time out to themselves while they were here.

She was also given some spending money, so she decided to take the kids to the carnival just out of town...

... leaving Cory and Rose to enjoy their time alone

Melissa had just put the kids to bed when Cory and Rose came back. She changed into long trousers and a few layers of tops, and went for a walk as darkness fell.

She liked the beach at this time of day - it was somehow both peaceful, and mysterious, all at the same time.

It was also warm, far more warm than it was supposed to be after dark. Most of the layers were gone before she even got as far as the beach.

When she got back to the campsite, Cory was sitting by the firepit. 

"Rose is having a shower," he said, gesturing to the washrooms behind him. "There's no lock on the outside door, and its safer after dark if I sit out here."  

Melissa dropped into a chair. "I'm so tired," she said. "The kids are fun but they're a lot."

Cory laughed. "They are a lot," he said. "Thanks for spending the day with them. It was good to just have some time out with Rose. We don't do that often enough."

"You know, if I stayed at your place instead of living in the dorm, I could watch the kids all the time. You and Rose could go out every evening if you wanted..."

"Ok, enough." he said. "That's about the 10th time you've come up with an excuse to not move to the dorm, and - "

"It's not an excuse, it's a reason."

"Maybe, but it's not a good reason. None of them are. You want to tell me what's really going on?"

Silence.

"Melissa, come on. We need to talk about this. I'm not letting it go this time."

"Ok, ok then... I don't want to leave, ok?" 

"I kind of got that," he said. "But why? You were so excited about getting out on your own, living in the city, living in the dorm with your friends... Now you're not. What happened?"

 "I - I still want to do that, just not yet. It's too soon, I'm not ready. I mean, I get that you want me out of your house now I'm old enough, but I kind of - I just got used to living with you guys, and now I have to go."

"It's your house too," Cory said, " and I don't want you out of it. You know that the whole time you were growing up I wanted to be a part of your life. You're here now and I'd love it if that didn't have to change"

"Well they why - "

"Because it does have to change. You're not a child anymore and I don't think staying like a child in our home is the best thing for you. There's a kind of growing up that you can only do when you're out on your own and whether you believe it or not, you are ready. There's a whole world out there for you to discover. It wouldn't be right for me to hold you back." 

"It won't hold me back," she said. "I'm still going to college. Heaps of people commute to the city from Richmond. I've got my whole life to do other stuff, but I'll never be able to live with you guys again."

"Commuting isn't the same as living on campus. You need to at least try the dorm. Look, if you give it a reasonable length of time and really hate it, then of course you can move back in, but - "

"But... I won't have a bedroom any more."

"Why do you say that?"

"When Sam went to college you gave her bedroom to Noah. Then he had to move in with Corinne when Emily needed a nursery. Corinne and Noah are getting too old to share a room now, so you need my bedroom back."

"We gave Sam's room to Noah because she told us to. She thought at the time that she'd stay next door with Matthew when she came home. Your bedroom is yours for as long as you want it. It's got nothing to do with how old you are or whether you have another place to live."

"But the kids - "

"We've already worked it out. Emily is almost old enough to share a room with Corrine now, and Noah can have Sam's old room again. It's your bedroom, its your home."

"But - "

"Look, if you really want to stay living with us, then of course you can, but I want you to think really hard about it.... you can come home between semesters, and I hope you do. Hell, you can come home every weekend if you want...  although I hope you won't do that every weekend, because there's usually a lot going on in the city and - " He stopped and laughed.

"What?"

"Just... when I think about how much you used to want to go into the city at night... climbing out the window, getting yourself and Sam into trouble with fake IDs... "

"I don't think I really knew what I wanted then."

They sat in silence until Rose called out softly to Cory, as she made her way back to their tent. 

He got up to leave. "Do you really know what you want now?" he asked.

He had already gone when she answered.

She stayed by the firepit for a long time, watching the flames die down.

------

Melissa woke up early the next morning, feeling strangely refreshed despite the late night. She dressed quickly and wandered down to the sea.

The red had only just faded from the sky, leaving a faint pink shimmer on the water.

What she wanted now was what she'd wanted all along - a place where she could feel safe, feel like she belonged. But just like friends are still friends even when you don't live in the same place, a home is still a home, even if its not the place where you go to sleep every night.

She took a deep breath, enjoying the now-familiar smell of salt and sand and seaweed. The day felt fresh and new and full of possibilities.  

Cory was right, there was a whole world out there for her to discover.

She was ready.

-----

My babies are growing up!

I didn't want her to leave either, when it felt like I'd only just got her into a happy home. That's also why I had her repeat a year of high school, although it made sense in the story, with all the school she missed the year she ran away. 

I would have liked to actually show more of the college conversations before their trip and her excuses for not moving out, but my time-skip put a stop to that - I only had pictures of them on the island and Melissa has aged up to YA in my game now. She's been in college for a couple of years, and we'll catch up with her there in another update soon.

I found it a bit strange to have this outdoor bed at the spa...

Cory and Rose didn't mind, though

Time to build some walls around that thing!