SIERRA
The moans and screams of my daughter flow from her open bedroom window and into the backyard. The neighbors give me amused expressions while I hurriedly run to the back door and fumble with the keys. I flush beat-red with embarrassment as I battle the door's broken latch to the soundtrack of Laurie wailing her ecstasy above me. I curse under my breath, feeling the neighbor's judging eyes taking me in. This wouldn't be nearly as bad if Laurie kept it down, but holy shit, she's a screamer! Was I ever that obnoxious in high school? Yeah, I definitely was, but at least I had the wherewithal to
close the fucking window!
I grit my teeth and finally manage to spring the fucking latch. I swing the backdoor open and run up the stairs. Her screams subside as I reach the top step, and I take a moment to breathe and collect myself. I assume she and Ryan have heard my rapid ascent of the steps, and are now hurriedly getting beneath the covers. I'm not the kind of mom who barges into her daughter's room when I know she's in the act, so I wait until she's had enough time to cover up. After a painful minute, I figure I've waited long enough, so I put on my best mom-face, and grasp the door knob.
"How hard is it to close your fucking-" the words stop dead in my throat. Apparently, they hadn't heard me coming up the stairs; and by "they," I mean Laurie, her best friend, Eleanor, and her brother, Tom. My son, Tom. They're all naked, all lying on the bed, and all staring at me with the same expression of horror that's on my face. Actually, Eleanor's expression is more of amusement than anything.
"Hey, Mrs. B!" She laughs jovially at me, "You know, knocking is usually the polite thing to do."
I open my mouth to say something, but the words stick in my throat. I simply stare from Laurie, to Tom. Laurie's gaze falls almost immediately, but Tom stares back. His shocked expression has relaxed into a cold, hard, gaze. It's a look I've never seen him wear before; it almost says, "So, we're fucking; what are you going to do about it?" It's disturbing, but this whole goddamn situation is disturbing. No, "disturbing" is the wrong word for it; this is a family-ruining, life-destroying, you-failed-so-hard-as-a-mother, catastrophe. My heart sinks slowly into my chest as the realization weighs on me. I open my mouth to say something, anything, but there's nothing to be said. There's no magical combination of words that can fix this. I give my children a final dismayed look, step into the hallway, and close the door.
ELEANOR
Oh man, this is just too
good!
Tom and Laurie are staring at each other, their faces communicating their horror in stark detail. I'm nestled between them, enjoying the warmth of their bodies almost as much as I'm enjoying their discomfort. In case you haven't realized this about me, I'm a twisted sexual deviant. I need the wrong and the extreme to really get me off. I was worried that after Tom seduced Laurie, the two would start a boring, twin romance. Once you get passed the taboo of the relationship, there's really nothing that special about two sibling teenagers fucking each other... unless they get caught. Well, they've been caught, and by the worst person possible. Now, the possibilities
really
open up.
"Tom," Laurie whispers to her brother in a shaking voice, "what the fuck are we going to do?"
"I don't know," Tom says grimly, though his voice doesn't bare any of Laurie's fear, "this is... really fucked."
"Should we..." Laurie gulps, "should we move away together? You already have that apartment lined up in Lincoln. We could finish out our senior year from there."
"That's an idea. I've got enough money saved up for three months, but with you helping out, we could leave early."
"You guys are such pussies!" I laugh, catching the Baker siblings by surprise. They seemed to have forgotten I was here, and I demand to be noticed. "You're just going to bail on your single mother and leave her here alone? What kind of children are you?!"
"She'll never speak to us again!" Laurie hisses, "She'll kick us out anyway!"
"You don't know that. You have no idea what's going through her head right now."
"I think we have a pretty good idea of what she's thinking," Tom says, brushing a strand of red hair over my ear, "but enlighten us, Ellie; what is she thinking?"
"That this is all her fault. Parents never blame their children for their actions; they always blame themselves. And right now, you two are planning on abandoning her. How do you think she'll take that?"
I see the shame begin to spread across Laurie and Tom's faces, and I smile internally. Manipulation has always been my greatest art, and today, I have a chance to paint my masterpiece.
"She's right," Tom says to Laurie, "we can't leave her; she'll blame herself for everything."
"But what do we do?" Laurie says softly, the fear leaving her voice, the sadness taking over, "How can we look her in the eye after this?"
"I could talk to her," I say in my best 'I'm just trying to help' voice, "You know, smooth things out before you meet."
"That's an idea," Tom says, "she's known you your entire life, and you're Laurie's best friend; she'd be willing to speak honestly to you."
"Can you do it?" Laurie asks me, her eyes full of hope.
"Sure, I can." I smile easily, "I'll get her calm and collected, and then the four of us will have a nice, long, talk. Once she gets over the shock of it all, she'll accept the situation, and you guys can move on as a happy family."
"You make it sound so easy." Tom mutters incredulously.
"I can be very persuasive," I smile wickedly to him, "as you two well know."
Tom smiles at that. He glances over my head at Laurie, and Laurie nods.
"Ok," Laurie says, and smiles for the first time, "sounds like a plan. Thank you, Ellie."
"It's nothing," I laugh, shaking a dismissive hand, "you two get dressed, and come when I call for you. This'll all blow over in a week, tops."
I get off the bed, making a show of stretching and shifting my hips for the Bakers. I glance casually over my shoulder, and smile when I see them both gawking; it seems Laurie has developed quite the taste for the fairer sex. I ruined that bitch. I slip on one of her signature cut-off tops, and cram my full ass into a pair of her leggings. The bottom of my ample alabaster bust protrudes from the frayed hem of her tank, and her spandex stretches dangerously as it tries to contain my best asset. I give myself a once-over in the mirror, then walk out the door without a look back, knowing their eyes are following me. I strut across the hallway to Mrs. Sierra Thomas Baker's room and smile to myself. God, that was easy.
Puh-lease, Tom; do you really think I'm going in there to fix the beautiful mess I created? Do you really think this all ends in a wholesome normal family? Laurie is a bit naive, but you should know me better after what I did to you. Did Da Vinci crumple up the Mona Lisa halfway through? Did Beethoven just say, 'fuck it,' after the first movement of Moonlight Sonata? I've just started my masterpiece, and now I'm going to finish it.
SIERRA
My thumb slips on the flint of my Bic as I shakenly try to light a cigarette. I haven't had a smoke in years, but right now, I need one. What does it matter anyway? All the rules I've imposed on myself, all the classes I've taken, all the sacrifices I've made, all amounted to my teenage children fucking each other. Smoking in the house hardly seems like an egregious infraction now. A knock on the door nearly causes me to jump through the ceiling. I can't see them now! I can't look in their eyes!
"Mrs. B?" Eleanor's voice calls from the other side of the door, "Can I come in?"
I breathe a long sigh of relief, and manage to steady my hand long enough to light the end of my smoke. I take a deep inhale of the addictive fire, and blow out, feeling my electrified nerves calm.
"Come in, Ellie." I say to the door.
Laurie's best friend walks in wearing my daughter's clothes. They are way too small for her, but I guess Ellie didn't have much in the way of options.
"Are you to be the intermediary between my children and I?" I ask her as I put the square between my lips.
"You got it," Eleanor smiles, and gestures to the pack in my hands, "can I bum a smoke?"
I hand her a cigarette, light it between her lips, then sit down at the foot of the bed. She sits down next to me, and we smoke in subdued silence.