Sadie had always shared a wall with her step-brother Sam.
Her father had died when she was just a baby, and her mother had soon re-married, making John the step-dad that had always seemed like a dad, and Sam the step-brother who had always seemed like a brother. They lived together and had grown up together, and Sadie had even taken John's surname. To a casual observer, they seemed like an ordinary family living a standard life in a normal house in a regular town. In fact, to
any
outside observer, nothing would have seemed amiss. This is because the thing that made their family
not
ordinary was on the
inside
- specifically, on the inside of Sadie.
Sadie had a secret which she kept locked up tight in the most secure location in her mind. It was the kind of secret that she knew she could never share with anyone, even (especially!) with her own family. But it was also the kind of secret that burned brighter the longer she kept it secret, and ever since she and Sam had turned 18, Sadie had felt this brightness burning harder than ever.
The wall that separated their bedrooms was thin drywall. Sadie knew exactly how thin it was, because their beds abutted it on each side, and Sadie had always been able to hear a good deal of happenings on the other side. Sadie was slightly older than Sam and, in her mind, a lot wiser, so she felt she had been first to realize the importance of keeping certain things quiet in bed. She felt that Sam was the complete opposite, taking no care whatsoever. At first she was disgusted and annoyed at being kept awake, and wanted to storm into Sam's room, catch him in the act, and tell him off, but she couldn't muster the confidence and didn't really want to see him do it anyway.
Over time, Sadie grew to tolerate, and then even to enjoy the nightly rhythmic squeaking noises of Sam's bed next door. It gave her a sense of power over him, like she knew his secret, and could reveal it any time she wanted. She came to learn his patterns. He would usually do it late at night when he thought everybody else had fallen asleep - another reason for Sadie to keep still and quiet in her own bed. Sometimes Sadie would lie half-asleep, not knowing if perhaps the noises were in her dream. They would usually start as a quiet squeak of mattress springs, proceed rhythmically, and then intensify - sometimes to the point where the bed began knocking slightly against the wall. It was usually at this point that the speed of the rhythm increased - faster and faster, with urgency... until it suddenly stopped, and silence descended for a minute, and then she would hear Sam getting out of bed to go to the bathroom.
At some point along the way, Sadie had begun touching herself at the same time. Part of her was just being practical - the safest time to do it was when there was already noise. She kept her movements to a minimum, usually lying face down and squeezing her fingers between her legs. She hoped that whatever incidental noises she made would be lost in the noise that Sam was making. Occasionally she would mis-time her self-pleasuring, and Sam would finish first. She felt unable to continue at that point, worried that there was nothing going on next door to mask the sounds of her carrying on. A long, frustrating, touchless night would follow.
Eventually Sadie trained herself well enough to hear Sam's pattern starting, get into position, and finish at the same time as Sam. She even slowed down if she felt she was getting ahead of Sam. She wanted to achieve climax at the exact same moment. Her orgasms became tied to Sam's. She would visualize what was happening, inches away from her through the wall. Was he doing it under his sheets, or in the open? What would she see if she drilled a little hole through? Did he use a sock, or what?
This was Sadie's secret: her sex life had become interwoven with her step-brother Sam's. He knew nothing about it at all, and she could never tell him. Besides the embarrassment, she didn't want to risk their tacit arrangement coming to an end.
Everything changed the night Sam brought his girlfriend home for the first time. They had met at his 18th birthday party, and were planning to go away to the same college. Sadie was already feeling mixed emotions - on the one hand, proud of Sam for getting into a good school; on the other, sadness that they would no longer share their wall. Sadie was going to a different college. The thought of solid block walls in a strange dorm filled her with trepidation.
Sam had been dating Gracie for a while; they were a perfect match: Gracie's tall, athletic figure, and Sam's equally buff physique (Sadie had noticed). Sadie knew it was only a matter of time before they took things to the next level in their relationship. Sam had been spending a lot of time over at Gracie's; for all Sadie knew, they could have taken it to the next level already.
All doubt was removed the night Gracie came over for a movie & popcorn evening. Sadie's mom and step-dad were away, so they had stayed up late with the house to themselves. When the movie finished, rather than Sam offering to drive her home as usual, Gracie had announced that she was tired and that they were heading off to bed.
Wait, Sam's bed?!
Sadie thought to herself, almost panicked.
She was taken by surprise at the obviousness of it.
"OK guys, see you in the morning I guess!" said Sadie, trying to work out her next move. All she knew was that she had to be up in her own bed as soon as possible - she didn't want to miss anything. "I'll probably head off myself soon, it's been a long day".
Sam and Gracie shuffled each other out of the room, not trying to hide their handsiness with each other.
Sadie sat on the sofa staring at the muted TV. She waited 60 seconds, then bolted up the stairs as fast as she could without making a noise, then slipped into her own room and locked the door. She turned off the light, crawled into her bed, and began to listen.
She could hear Gracie giggling. She could hear them move about the room. Gracie seemed a little more switched on to the situation than Sam; Sadie was sure she'd heard her give out a "sssh!".
It wasn't long before Sadie heard the sound of bedsprings. She strained to listen for words, but they must have been whispering and trying to keep quiet.
"You don't have to, Gracie," said Sam, audibly through the wall. This elicited another "ssssh" from Gracie, and then there were no more words, just the rustling of bedsheets and the irregular squeak of springs.
What were they doing?
thought Sadie. This was not a pattern she recognized. There was clearly movement of some sort, but it was... gentler? Less rhythmic, less insistent, perhaps smoother?
Suddenly Sadie heard Sam let out a low moan.
What was she doing to him?
The new noises continued, and Sadie's mind raced as she tried to fit them to what she knew of sexual positions and activity.
Sam moaned again - and then something else. Perhaps a kind of sigh, or sharp exhalation of breath? To Sadie's comfort, a bedspring rhythm was developing, with familiar building insistency. She slipped a hand under the elastic of her panties, sure she now knew what was happening.
Oh Gracie, you slut!
she thought as she rubbed herself. Sadie began her usual trick of timing her own rhythm to the sounds she could hear - but it was different this time. Something new. A new feeling came over her... was this... jealousy? Or envy.
Suddenly the rhythmic noise stopped, and she heard the muffled, ruffling sound of someone readjusting their position.
"No, please! Don't stop!" she heard Sam say.
"Sssh, keep it down, you clutz," she heard Gracie hiss, and then something whispered and inaudible.
Sadie wondered if Gracie suspected anything. Did she think Sadie was still downstairs, or had she heard her come up to her room? What did she suspect about the thinness of the wall?
More shuffling, and then the return of the rhythmic movements, re-building to their previous pace. Sadie frigged herself furiously now, driven by her imagination of what was happening on the other side of the wall. Was her imagination running away with itself, or did she hear... a wet smacking noise?
It sounded very much like Gracie knew what she was doing. The rhythm was like a metronome - focused, determined, consistent.
Suddenly, she heard Sam let out a muffled groan, and Gracie let out an equally muffled squeal of delight. It sounded like Sam was trying his hardest to stay quiet, perhaps holding a pillow over his head as he grunted uncontrollably.
Soon the noises died down and were replaced by more shuffling.
"Fuuuck," was all she heard from Sam.
Sadie imagined them snuggling up to each other. She thought she heard whispers, but the wall was sturdy enough to prevent them coming through clearly.
In the novelty of the action, Sadie had mis-timed her own act, and she was left throbbing and unsated. Gentle silent swirls on her nub weren't enough. She felt she was blocked, and wished they would get back to action next door - but it didn't happen. Sadie presumed they had fallen asleep. Reluctantly, she did the same.
The next morning, Sadie awoke and sat bolt upright. In her dream, she had been in Sam's room, watching Gracie go to town on him. She had felt a burning envy at this stranger who had come in and taken Sam away from her and done things for Sam that Sadie never could.
Sadie shook her head and took a swig of water from her bedside table. She pushed those thoughts all the way down.
She changed and left her room to go down and make some breakfast, but found the house empty, and Sam's car gone.
They must have headed back to Gracie's early,
