The setting; a funeral. The character; my father. All the pieces were in place and all the actors dressed in black. The sky played its role perfectly, dark clouds hanging above and the earth heavy with mud around my feet. I played my role too. I showed up. No one could ask anything more of me. I was the daughter of the woman he had abandoned for his harlot. The daughter he had lived in the same city with for seventeen years yet had not spoken to since she was two. No one asked me to cry. I obliged them by shedding no tears.


My mom was standing beside my aunt. I wasn't sure if she was upset or not, or if anyone expected that either. It had never really been my place to ask if she had still loved my father. I wasn't sure of what my reaction would be if she did. Even in his absence, my father had still managed to cause more than just emotional pain to our family. Debt collectors of all shapes, sizes and colors (most with shady backgrounds) had created several traumatic events for me as a child. I wondered how many of the people at this funeral my father had owed money to.


The sky rumbled ominously as a boy got up to speak. I only knew 3 people at this funeral personally, but I knew his name at least. Colton Reinout. My half-brother. Despite my hatred for the father that had abandoned me, I wondered what his 'real' son thought of him. All I knew about my dad was the he was a traitorous coward who loved money more than his own daughter. I had never been given a chance to see him as anything different. I wonder if there was anything different to see.


“My father,” Colton began, “Was an honorable man.” My fist tightened. Lies. “We were often in debt, but he did his best to make ends meet.” Leaving the debt and his abandoned child and ex-wife. No money. Gangsters with my father's promise of more money. Helpless. “He always had a kind word for everyone and no matter how hard it got he was always there for his family.” The clock is ticking. Men with guns. Where was my father with the ransom? He wouldn't answer the phone. “He was my role model and everything I aspired to be.” He was HORRIBLE.


Colton, the son, the liar, the boy with no idea, no IDEA what his father had done to us, continued to speak. “My father once,” he began, and from his mouth spewed a story about lazy days in the park and a kind man who was anything BUT my father and a million falsehoods. “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.” he finished and everyone applauded. I didn't clap. My hands were too tightly balled in fists. Furious tears running down my face, I walked away from the grave. Nothing followed me but concerned glances.


After the funeral was over, I returned to the grave. I wasn't sure why. Maybe I just wanted to be within spitting distance of it. It only took a few minutes for Colton Reinout to show up, looking awkward and pitying.
“I know it's hard. You never knew your father.” He began softly, looking up at me with earnest eyes moistened with unshed tears. Was he trying to comfort me? Didn't he know I was happy his father was head? Did he really mistake my leaving in anger for grief?


I knew him, alright.” I said coldly, and suddenly pent up fury and all the things I could never tell my father in his lifetime spilling out like it was Jerry Springer, “He was a JERK.” He looked taken aback, and then his eyes narrowed furiously. “You go up there and talk about all the great things he did and what a great father he was, but you only look at the kind of father he was to you! What a perfect father he was to YOU.” My fists tightened further, “Well he wasn't a good father. He was the worst father possible and the worst kind of person! I am GLAD he's dead!”


“You-” he started. His fist began to raise. He was going to punch me. He was going to punch me on his fathers grave. I was about to get into a fist fight on top of my father's grave. In terms of desecrating the dead's memory, that had to be near the top of the list. The thought nearly made me grin, far past caring. Heck yeah. Punch me. Let's get into a fight, maybe knock over the headstone. I didn't know if I could fight; I didn't know if he could fight either, but right now it seemed like the best idea in the world.


He lowered his fist. I wonder if I managed to hide my look of disappointment.
“I won't fight you on my fathers grave.” Colton said firmly, and he looked stronger than he had before. “Not you. Not family.”
“Family?” I repeated, nearly growling. No! I wanted a fight. Not this! “You aren't my family! You aren't-” My nails bit into my palms, and I gnashed my teeth. “Listen. You are NOT my family. Not you or your father!” When he didn't say anything, I spun on my heel and left. I had come to my father's funeral and I had gotten in the last word. This was all the closure I needed, I told myself.


10 minutes later...
“Oh god, I'm a JERK!” I covered my face in horror and leaned heavily against a tree. “I almost beat up a kid on top of his dad's grave! Does that mean I'm going to hell?” I had just managed to get rid of my dad, I didn't want to be visiting him and Satan any time soon. “Should I make this up to Langer or I should I just stay away from him? Is this going to traumatize him?”
I sat against the tree for a few more minutes, worrying, until I at last felt the energy slip out of me. Something particular about the conversation with Colton was stuck in my mind, worrying me. I bit my lip.
“Are we really... family?”

To Be Continued

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How was it? I hope it was okay! I love constructive criticism, especially because I'm not really used to writing anymore.

When I read the quote for this section, my immediate thought was “I want to write a story about someone who hates their dad!” I had a lot of fun with this, though. It's been ages since I played sims2, but I can't pose sims like I want in sims3 at all.

Note: The quote is on the 5th image, and the keywords used are “funeral” and “new addition to family.” The new addition to the family refers to the fact that Colton and Theodora (the main character) have never met before, but Colton now considers them family.

Thank you very much for reading and I can't wait to see what all these talented people do for round two!

EDIT: It's been so long since I downloaded anything for sims2 or even played that I don't know if anything is pay. I've never downloaded pay content, but it sometimes sneaks in with houses and full sim downloads. So if I used any pay content, it wasn't purposeful. Please go easy on me!