This choice: Confront the imposter yourself • Go Back...Chapter #6Confronting a Familial Stranger by: Nostrum   Though a distraction would be great, you can’t trust your sisters will agree before she moves to your room. And if you do, you’ll make her suspect. Claire's room is tidier, which means she might not take too long – drawers, maybe under the bed, definitely the shoe closet – before she checks yours.
Thus, your best bet is to confront her. If anything, it’ll be a gutsy power move – you're unsure what will happen if she feels threatened, but the idea that Tina or Claire might react should give you some leverage.
To avoid suspicion, you grab a glass of Coke from the fridge before slipping into Claire’s room. She’s rifling through your sister’s stuff, so startle her. “She’s not gonna like that,” You say, and she gasps in shock. You take a casual sip and bluff her. “I mean, whatever you’re doing with Claire’s stuff. You think she has porn or something?”
“David...” She tries to act casual, but she knows you cornered her. “I thought you’d be in your room.”
You shake the glass, letting the ice cubes clink. “Wanted something to munch on.” You slide inside, closing the door. “When’s dinner?”
“Once I finish a couple things,” she says, with the same tired sigh as your mother does. “You’d do me a big favor if you cleaned your room once in a while.”
“From the looks of it, you’re screwing up Claire’s.” You take another sip, slowly pressing her. “You’re gonna clean it up afterwards, right? So she doesn’t suspect?”
She turns around, striking an intimidating pose complete with a dark glare. “David? Tell me what’s going on or I swear I’ll ground you until graduation!”
“Not gonna be long,” you taunt her. (How can you respect someone who’s trying to pass as your mother? Though, the very idea shakes you.) “I’m just curious what’s gotten into you.”
“Nothing you should mind,” she says in a rough, unladylike tone. It’s easy to see you riled her up.
“Must be that package, right?” And just like that, you freeze her. “You think one of us must’ve stolen it.”
She takes a deep breath, trying to act rough. “That’s a gift for your dad, Davey. For our anniversary."
It’s a long way for that, you think to yourself. “You mean Dad’s birthday, right?”
She stares coldly as she nods. “Yeah. Anyways – it's a pair of pens from a very expensive boutique. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
Except they can make people into skins. You know she’s trying to save face. Time to figure out how much she knows. “And what if you can’t find them?”
“They better appear – they were very expensive. But... I’ll guess I’ll have to do something to buy a new one.”
“Gonna ask that Leslie guy for them?”
That triggers her. She slams your back at the wall, gnarling at your insolence. “What did you hear, you little shit?”
“Enough to screw us both.” You push her back, eyes fixated on hers – identical to your mother’s in every aspect, but decidedly not her own. “Tell me something. Mom never spoke about a cousin named Merry. Who are you, really?”
She snorts, accepting defeat. “Of course she wouldn’t talk about me. Black sheep and all.” She locks Claire’s door and pulls her face off. “Never seen someone like me in a picture?”
You can easily see the resemblance to your mother, but you don’t recall seeing her face in your grandparents’ house. She’s young – not as Tina, but easily in her early thirties – and has a pretty face marred by a perennial scowl. It’s impressive how your mother’s muted olive eyes are replaced by clearer ones – especially when see the slits in your mother’s deflated face. Her teeth are slightly crooked, compared to your mother’s perfectly straight ones.
“No,” you say, shaking your head.
“Ever heard her say the name ‘Meredith’?” Before you can even answer, she sighs. “No. Of course not.”
“Because you know, right?” She grows more desperate. “Because the pens give you her memories, right?”
“Wish they could,” she says, sitting on Claire’s room. “At least I can go around well enough to fool people.”
“So if I asked you how Grandma and Grandpa look now--”
“I could add a couple details, but not all of them.” She looks at you with a cocky grin. “You’re smarter than you look, kid. Must be Paul, right?”
You try to weather the curveball by countering her. “Maybe it’s from Mom – y'know, the woman you’re wearing.”
“Marie was smart, kid, but not clever. Could’ve been a model or gone to college, but instead she lives like a housewife.” She taunts you by playing with your mother’s body. “Then again, doing household chores and having most of the time to yourself is a clever move.”
“Why?” you ask her. “Why do this to her?”
She flinches, flashing a timid smile. “Need a place to hide, kid. She’s the only one from the family I know lives near the area.”
“And that Leslie? Who’s he?”
“My partner.” She bites her nail, her eyes rolling with delight. “In more ways than one.”
“Why are you two hiding?”
You burst her bubble as she leaps from Claire’s bed, mortified. “You’re gonna be a lawyer or cop, kid? If you call the cops, I’ll make you my accomplice.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“You talked about the pens, right?” Fuck! “You know about them. I can always say we offered you partnership, and it’d be your word against ours.” She cackles with glee. “Maybe you’re not that smart, kid.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” you press, trying to save face.
“Well, since we’re both fucked here...” She takes a deep breath, muttering her response. “God, I need a smoke. We’re thieves, alright?”
“And you probably struck big.”
“Hit it in the nail. Tyneside’s branch of Bank of America. Over half a mil in cash.”
You whistle, even though you know you shouldn’t. “That’s more money than any one of us has seen in our lifetime.”
“And that’s just the cash,” she adds. “Got a couple jewels and stuff as well.”
“I get why you need to hide, but... Why inside my mom? There are a lot of people--”
“You’re not a crook; of course you wouldn’t know. We need to clean those assets – sell the jewels, set the cash on different accounts, move it around... It’s a process.” She looks at you and fusses. “I don’t know why I’m even telling you this.”
“Guilt?” you scold her.
“Maybe, but I wasn’t close to her anyways. Should be obvious, though – we need some faces to wear while everything becomes untraceable.”
“And you decided nothing’s more untraceable than a housewife.”
“Not if we fuck up,” she confesses. “Les used some other faces to do the transactions, but we needed a spot out of town to hide while things die down. Figured we could hide inside a couple, and that’s when I thought of cousin Marie."
“Why her, though? Could’ve been anyone else – there are a lot of people that--”
She waves her hand, asking you to stop, with a look of disbelief in her face. “Marie’s the blandest woman I’ve ever known, kid – plus, I can slide easily just by asking her for a coffee and a talk of the “good ol’ times’. Once one of us is inside, we could slide the other in without people suspecting.”
“So,” you remark bitterly, “it’s all about convenience.”
“Exactly, kiddo. Marie got the short end of the stick, and here I am.”
You rub your forehead, fighting with the frustration. “What will you do with them?”
“What else? Hide here until things go clean, then move somewhere else.”
“And once that’s done,” you ask her, hoping for a good answer, “you’ll leave us alone?”
She looks at you, making that same lamenting flinch as before. “I could tell you we will, but I think you deserve a clear answer. I don’t know.”
“Mom didn’t do anything to you,” you decry.
“Yeah, but having a vacation as a housewife has been a blessing in disguise.” She moves towards the mirror, fondling your mother’s breasts. “Especially one with this body – fuck, kid, why couldn’t I get these when I was growing up!?”
“That means you’re staying with her.”
“Or with your sister,” she replies with a nasty grin. “I bet no one has told you this, but your sister’s just like Marie in her younger years. Maybe I’ll wait and move to her when she finishes college – gonna have a nice, cushy job and a hell of a banging body.”
“And the same will be with your partner, right?”
“Pretty much. I mean – one of us’ll have to change if we go younger.” She chuckles, rubbing her cheek. “Though, your brother’s got a nice body too.”
You retch, thinking about this woman and her partner slipping into your siblings’ skins, doing whatever perverted stuff they think. “I’d prefer you found someone else.”
“That depends on how things go, kid.” She must have seen the fear in your eyes, because she laughs and caresses your cheek. “Don’t worry – maybe we’d have worn you once to see how you look, but you’re a bit too plain for what we’re looking.”
“Small relief,” you joke. “Doesn’t mean I’m out of the fire.”
“Maybe if you cooperate.” You stare at her, and she nods. “I can see it in your eyes, little cousin. You’re curious.”
You’re unsure of it, but the idea’s tempting. Being able to slip inside someone else, passing off as them... It’s certainly an exhilarating experience.
But that’d make you just like them. “Not really.”
“Tell you what.” Meredith, your mother’s cousin, wraps her arm around your shoulder and brings you closer to bed. “You help Les slide into one of the others and keep the secret. Do that, and we’ll let you in. Choose whoever you want – inside or outside.”
You stare coldly at her, and she gives in. “Fine. Just a taste, and if you don’t want to, we’re gonna steer clear. We’ll even think about letting your family go once we finish. Don’t say we don’t do things to family. So, what do you say?”   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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