Your mom opens the door, and by the sound of the frustrated groan, you already know who is it. Her reaction of shock, disgust and anger remind you that you’re not exactly you right now. “Mom? Who’s that creep?”
“Tina...” Your mother closes the door, leading your sister inside. “I can explain.”
She studies you with familiar disdain before complaining. “I stopped caring about your twisted desire to live as a young woman, and I know you want to stick it up to Dad, but in our house!?”
“Tina, I got better tastes than you think! Your father’s obviously more handsome than this guy.” She looks at you, flinching. “No offense.”
“I’d be worried if you found me attractive,” you say, for more than the obvious reason.
“Then why he’s here?” You can see Tina’s holding the bile rising to her throat from her disgust. “Why did you bring a stranger to our house?”
“Because...” You strip off Quentin’s face off yours (feeling like you’re trying to strip off your own), and Tina shudders. “I need to know why this guy tried to pass off as Dad.”
--
You explain everything after showing the deflated skin of your father. Tina suspects the worse, but unlike you, she doesn’t hesitate in zapping you.
It’s like waking up from a dream – one caused by a sudden feint – except you don’t dream of anything. Your mother still has Ashley’s skin, and you’re still inside Quentin. Strangely enough, you don’t feel his mind at first, but it soon reappears as you regain your consciousness.
In these few minutes, you learned a lot about these things. You don’t know how long it’s been, but all you remember is Tina zapping you and then waking up. Not just that, the connection to the mind of the person you’re wearing doesn’t get interrupted if you take off their head or get zapped.
Tina seems satisfied after what she did (she’s not the saint she claims she is, it seems), and you let Quentin express your frustrations instead. “Hey! What’s the big idea, you dumb broad!?”
Tina’s eye starts to twitch, and you feel one of the pens straight on your sternum. “That better must’ve been the guy you’re wearing, you little semen stain, or I swear you’ll wake up somewhere you wish you never were!”
“Sorry, sorry!” (Quentin went a bit too far, you reckon.) “That was uncalled for, though.”
“With what you two have been doing? I’m not sure if I should trust you.” She returns the pen to your mother, plopping on the couch. “Mom told me everything – about Dad visiting you and stuff.”
“I was about to explain that.”
“Yeah, but what if you were trying to fool me or something? Especially after Mom told me you can steal their minds.”
“It’s not stealing their minds,” your mother says. “It’s more like a helpful tutor – Ashley's mind’s helping me act more like her.”
“Then you’re enslaving her. Or whatever sounds better. That’s more fucked up than wearing her, Mom.” Your sister then turns on you, slapping your shoulder. “And do you have to wear this... ugh, weirdo! ...to get his memories? Why would you do that anyways?”
“Like I told you,” your mother says. “It seems someone’s after Ashley, and they thought I was still back at my – at her – house, then they found your father, and then--”
“So you’re getting into an even bigger trouble just to stick it up to Dad.” Tina bounces from the couch, screeching in anger. “I swear, Mom – I don’t even know you anymore.”
“If we haven’t done this,” you argue, “Ashley might be gone. Replaced by some other creep with even worse intentions.”
“Worse intentions than what Mom plans to do with Dad?”
“If you consider that creep would’ve slept with Dad? Hell – he might’ve replaced you and we wouldn’t have known anything!”
That seems to pause her, giving her something to think. “True. Mom said Dad started the relationship. But this is just a coincidence – that doesn’t mean--”
“It could mean anything,” your mother says. “What matters is that David stopped it, got too curious and found something unfortunate about Paul.”
“And instead of reacting like a rational person, you instead decide to steal her life out of revenge. What makes you different from them, Mom?”
Tina’s words strike your mother hard, as she finds no response to deliver. You stand up for her, though, trying to appease Tina. “If Mom allowed Dad to live with Ashley and forget about everything, we’d still be in trouble.”
“How?”
“This guy,” you say as you shake Quentin’s deflated head, hanging from your neck, “was looking for Trevor – the guy that was trying to replace Ashley in the first place. Trevor’s gone.”
“What do you mean ‘gone’?”
You feel only the truth will save you. “I was so angry about what he did to Ashley that I took his skin and burned it. It’s ashes now.”
Your mother gasps, falling butt-first to the floor. “David!”
“I find it weird that you did that to him but don’t chew Mom on it.” Tina helps your mother stand up, then helps her sit. “Why’s that so terrible?”
“Because it would’ve set his sights on us. What if he found me, figured this out, then decided to do the same?” Quentin’s memories paint a grimmer fate. “Plus, it seems they’ve got some sort of escort service or something. They’ve turned you into one of them.”
“They?” Your mother and sister ask in unison. “Who are they?”
“That’s what I was about to tell Mom. This isn’t just two guys that found this. It’s something worse.”
--
You resolve to take drastic measures to keep everyone safe. Nick’s always on his thing, so you can’t do much, but you decide to look for Claire at Jessica’s house. Then, Ashley would step into her house and search for her sister’s things, though Ashley’s memories make it harder as you have to step in, only to find her crying.
Once you’re all together – with Quentin off you, meaning you lose access to his mind – you wake up your father and weather his disorientation. “Dad?” Tina says, as everyone – even your mother, still inside Ashley – surrounds him.
“Tina?” He shakes his head, stirred. “What’s going on?”
“It’s a long story,” she says in a very soft and calming tone. “Do you remember what happened?”
“I...” Your dad shivers as he sees your mom. “Ashley? What are you doing here?”
“Mr. Anderson,” she says, her inflection and poise switching almost instantly. “I need you to remember what happened.”
“I met your sister.” He then realizes he’s around you, shivering. “Wait. Marie, is that you?”
“Yes, Dad.” Tina snarls at your mom, slapping her arm. “It’s Mom.”
“But, how!?”
“Paul, I need you to remember. This is serious. You said you met my – I mean, Ashley’s sister.”
“It’s still disgusting to know you’re inside her.”
“Dad, focus.” You show him the skin of Ashley’s sister, also deflated. “You saw this girl, right?”
“Yes, yes!” Your father’s breathing quickens, and he slides away from you. “She called on the door, asked if Ashley was around. I told her she moved out, but I didn’t tell her anything else. Then, she says something weird, and... now I’m here.”
“Dad,” you say as you switch to Quentin’s skin. “Listen up. That wasn’t Ashley’s sister. Someone was inside her.”
“Someone?” Your dad looks at your mom, furious and vindicated. “Guess it’s not funny when someone else’s involved, huh?”
“Paul, zip it! This is bigger than we thought.”
“How?”
“This guy,” you tell your dad, “worked with the guy that was trying to get Ashley. You were about to sleep with a creep of a man – or maybe he would’ve ditched you to do whatever he wanted.”
“Ashley already ditched me,” your father replies bitterly.
“Yeah, but because you fucked up.” You feel your parents’ gazes – your mother staring with Ashley’s muted green eyes makes it more shocking – as they remind you Claire’s nearby.
“I’ve heard worse,” your little sister admits. “And Davey’s right, Dad – you fucked up.”
“I still say that, if Dave hadn’t intervened, things would’ve been better.”
“And I say things could’ve been worse,” you insist. “Remember what I told you – you could’ve been in danger.”
“What’s this all about Tina being in danger?” your father blares, catching everyone’s attention.
“It seems that guy and the guy trying to take over m--” Your mother pauses, correcting herself. “Take over Ashley. They work together, and they’re tied to something even worse. David was trying to get more details about the group they’re working with, because it seems they’re doing something illegal.”
“It’s what I get from that guy’s mind,” you reveal. “Though I need to get inside again to get more details.”
“What Davey’s saying is that he... well, he burned the guy trying to become Ashley into ashes, so now they’re probably out for revenge. And he said they might take it on me, so...”
“Not just you,” you say while looking at your little sister. “Maybe Claire as well.”
That revelation leaves your father deeply pensive. “Then what do we do? Call the police? The FBI?”
“Paul, we still have to figure out what’s going on with them.” Your mother looks at you as she grasps her elbows. “For the time being, I’m letting you back.”
“Marie? Y-you're serious?”
“You’re sleeping in the couch, though. Maybe in Nick’s room if he’s not here, or if David wants to lend you his.”
“Why not in our bedroom?”
“Because,” she says as she digs her nail into your father’s chest, “this is for everyone’s good. You and I still have our issues, Paul. Don’t make me drop you out again.” She then grabs the girl’s skin and jerks her chin. “Dave, come with me. We still have a lot of things to talk about.”
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