Impressionable Teen

Serene waits on the couch, legs tucked beneath her. When Lily cuts through the living room, Serene calls her over. They speak for less than a minute. Serene learns the room still hasn’t been touched. Lily leaves with a shrug. Alone, Serene opens her phone, searching. An idea catches, small and sharp. She saves the voice note she’s just finished, named it simply: bedtime. Later, Lily comes to her stepmother’s room. The lights are low. Serene lies propped on pillows and tells her to lie down, close her eyes, listen. She plays the recording—soft instructions buried under gentle music. Lily agrees without questions. Morning shows the difference at once. Lily’s bed is made, laundry folded. Serene smiles into her coffee. The following evening Lily offers to chop vegetables, stir sauces, set the table. Her hands move quickly, eager. Serene watches her, surprised and quietly pleased. That night the door creaks. Serene stirs as the mattress dips. Lily stands over her wearing nothing but the moon through the window, one hand sliding down her own thigh. The recording worked, yes, but it also opened something hotter, hungrier—an ache that pulls Lily straight into her stepmother’s bed.