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Chapter 2
Alex's Point of View:
The muffled engine of a lawnmower jolted me awake, cutting through the haze of sleep. The only proof of last night besides my memory was the crusty sock by my bedpost. I tossed it in the bin on my way to the bathroom, grappling with what I remembered: Chelsea gasping under Ted's hands, Emma squirming as Sam groped her. It felt too real--their shaky breaths, flushed skin--but too twisted to believe. Did I make it happen, or was it just a sick dream? Either way, it got me off again in the shower, though a weird knot stuck in my stomach after.
With post-nut clarity, I worried about my sanity and what I was doing to Emma's family. Eventually, I reached a practical decision--if I were nuts, there was no reason not to have the best crazy delusions I could, and that meant using my hallucinatory powers. If I weren't, as long as I was careful, I could always leave the Smiths the way I found them. Even then, I knew it was a flimsy excuse, but my mixed feelings and urge to mess with them again clouded my head.
I grabbed some cereal in the kitchen. My mom, Sandra, had left a stack of food delivery gift cards for the weekend while she was off at a conference. Compared to the hot July day outside, our house felt cold, quiet, and still.
Back upstairs, the neighborhood's green yards stretched into the distance, each a mirror of the next. In the closest yard, shirtless Sam shoved a lawnmower back and forth while Ted trimmed the edges and Emma sunbathed out back. She wore a sports bra and stretchy shorts, not the string bikini. I envied Sam's wiry muscles and wondered if Emma ever scoped him out like I did her. Inside, Chelsea poured coffee, her hands steady but eyes distant. The twins, Stacey and Tracey, sat close on the couch in matching summer skirts and button-ups. It looked like a normal Saturday to anyone else, but I knew the dirty truth.
Sam was desperate to corner Emma, but she kept slipping away, eyes dodging his. Their cat-and-mouse game dragged on through the house until Ted, oblivious to the tension, pulled Sam into helping with the yard work. Ted stayed smug, still thinking he'd gotten away with covert sex with Chelsea during family night. Stacey and Tracey, ever the schemers, huddled together, whispering about blackmail with their secret videos--though I wasn't about to let that happen. Chelsea wore a mask of calm, her face blank, but inside, she churned with shame over what she'd seen and done.
The whole situation was spiraling, and for a second, I thought about wiping their minds clean and starting over. But that seemed too extreme, too messy. Instead, I went for small tweaks, nudging their vibe to fit my plans. I couldn't believe how easy it was--a dropped guard here, a subtle push there--and they were sliding toward my wildest fantasies.
Sam's Point of View:
The last half hour was a blur--I heard a crash during my post-yard shower, then muffled yelling. Minutes later, Dad called for a family meeting. I scrambled out of the bathroom, my clothes sticking to my damp skin.
I spotted the broken lamp before the room came into view. Glass shards formed an arrow in the carpet, like someone hade chucked it. But as I got closer, the scene turned wilder. Emma stood, arms crossed, glaring, while Mom scowled at the twins' phones, jabbing the screens with sharp, pissed-off swipes. Stacey and Tracey bent over the couch's back, skirts flipped up, and pink bikini panties bared. Dad stood beside them, gripping a thin birch switch I hadn't seen in years. Its memory stung my ass.
"Son," he said, "come here next to Stacey."
I was sure I'd catch hell for last night; nothing else explained this morning's chaos. But the twins' role in it stumped me.
"No, not beside them," Dad said. "Behind. You too, Emma, behind Tracey." He handed me the switch. I grabbed it warily, like it might snap at me; I'd never touched the handle side. The wood gleamed, smooth from years of use.
"I'm putting you and Emma in charge of your sisters this summer," he said. "They're too much for your mom and me to handle alone now. Here's the tool to keep them in line. You know the drill--ten hard ones." Stacey whimpered, her legs shaking. I stood frozen, trying to wrap my head around it.
"Uh," I mumbled, voice shaky. "What's going on?"
"They filmed Emma in private and tried to blackmail her," Dad said, his voice rough but worn out. "Your mom's been digging through their phones and... shit, they've been into some wild stuff." He clapped a hand on my shoulder. "It's a lot, I know. We'll talk later, but this is what's gotta happen now. You ready?"
I glanced at him, then down at Stacey. She was my sister, but those panties weren't sisterly. I steeled myself, flashing back to the ritual from years ago when I took the hits, and pressed my hand to her back.
"Count," I tried to say authoritatively, but it came out as a squeak. There was nothing for it. I raised the mean strip of wood and brought it down sharply. It smacked against Stacey's ass, she raised on her tiptoes, and a thin red line formed on her cheeks.