As much as you’re surprised that your mother considers the possibility of letting Ashley free, you know she doesn’t mean it. Oh, she must be feeling guilty for Tina’s rejection - and because you’ve all grilled her on it. But the changes in her personality from living Ashley’s life have been nothing but positive.
You never knew Ashley as well as her sisters did, and yet, your mother has managed to fool them. And yet, if your mother has changed, it has been very little – she's still as loving and caring as she’s ever been.
It makes you think about something – about how Quentin changed Cassandra for the better. Maybe Ashley’s mind recalls her as an extrovert, but neither Claire nor you have seen it. With him inside, she became a pervert, yes, but a smart and confident one - enough to deal with Tessa's guards.
The same is happening with your mother. Before, she was just cruising through life, without aspirations. Now, she’s a new woman – quite literally – with a vision, but keeping all those traits you love from her.
Claire was right in that you should see things in Tina’s perspective. But is it a sin to let your mom be happy for once? Even if the real Ashley leaves your dad behind, your mother will be miserable – tasting the forbidden fruit yet being forced to relinquish it.
And of course, that takes away any other possibility. She could’ve become Ross, or Barbara, but she rejected them. They weren’t compatible with her. And right now, no one else – not even herself – is compatible with her. Only Ashley.
Thus, as much as it may pain Tina, your mother – the victim in all this – comes first. “I prefer you this way.”
That shocks them both. “Davey? I thought you were--”
“Mom, you told me. You were miserable. Claire, since when did you see Mom smile as much as this past week?”
“I dunno. When I was little?”
“See? I’m not wrong. You’re not wrong, Mom. Remember what you told me? That you feel young and beautiful again when you’re Ashley?”
“Yes. But is it worth losing Tina?”
“You still got us.” You instinctively draw Claire closer to you, and while she shirks at first, you feel her arm wrapping your back.
“Davey’s right. Mom, we haven’t seen you as happy with your life as now. It feels like you're alive again.”
“Heck - the way your replacement acts? No one would bat an eye to it. The only difference is the warmth when you hug us.”
“Besides,” Claire adds. “You know I cheered you up! Dad needs to learn a hard lesson. Might as well do it while being a hot, successful blonde mom!”
“Stop it!” Your mother’s still crying, but no longer from sadness. You see her hug her body, sniffing through her smile. “I feel like I was born again.” Soon, you notice she huffs, and she becomes very uncomfortable. “Good Lord, this is so awkward. Could you give me some space?”
You and Claire exchange looks. There’s distress on your mother’s face, but it’s not sadness. You pull Claire out, and she takes the words out of your mouth. “Is it me, or was Mom... y’know...?”
You close your room’s door and take her away. “Don’t wanna think about it. Don't want you-know-who to know.”
--
Your first dinner with the Wright sisters is extremely awkward. (Even Claire isn’t annoying as usual.) Your mother did the cooking, but she had Barbara as her assistant. Cassandra has been very distant from everyone, occasionally talking to her sisters, but not to you.
Claire was in shock to see Barbara wearing the skin of your mother’s replacement. It’s still disturbing to see your mother in Ashley’s skin and Barbara wearing a copy of your mother, but you’ve grown used to it. She’s still digesting it, like the food she’s eating – slowly and uneasily.
To your surprise, she’s the one that breaks the ice between everyone. “Must feel weird to be wearing the skin of someone else, no?”
Barbara doesn’t respond. She looks aside, but your mother tries to soothe her. “It’s alright, Barbie. Claire’s just trying to be nice.”
“Yes, it’s a pain. It’s not me. I’m doing it for you guys, but to be honest, the quicker we can fix your mom, the quicker I can...” She lowers her head, muttering. “Let her loose.”
“I’d prefer fixing your troubles first,” Claire insists. “So you can, y’know, live your lives in peace and quiet.”
“But won’t that mean--?”
“I’ll keep an eye on them,” your mother claims. “They helped all of us, so that’s the least I can do for them.”
“Still - it’s unfair for them to help us while we do nothing.” Barbara drops her fork on the plate, looking at you. “Can we do something? I mean, I’ll have to do it with your mom’s face, but if I can do anything...”
“We have the most important proof,” you tell her. “Your dad and the guy wearing you.” You see her wince, and you grimace. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s alright. It’s just... It’s still jarring to know someone was wearing and using me.”
You make a quick look at your mother, catching her pained reaction, as you work on a distraction. “At least we can get something good out of it. Once we find someone we can trust, we can show them everything.”
“You said something about calling the FBI. Isn’t that enough?”
“We still need to make sure we can trust them, Barbara. You're still on their sights; they may still arrest you.”
“I don’t think they should,” the middle Wright sister claims, “if we make the proper claim. Dad and the guy wearing me are on our custody. We just have to make them talk.”
“And they’ll claim we’re working with them and betrayed them,” you insist. “Our only chance is to figure how to separate your mom from your dad and show it to them.”
“Got any clues?”
You do, but you don’t want to admit it. “We’ll have to check the other pens, but not now. I’d rather find someone we can trust. As things go, we suspect even the mayor!”
“What’s that about not trusting your mayor?” she asks you.
“It’s...” You choose to drop some of the truth. “Something I got from your dad. Seems they had a deal with mayor Chen to move some of the pens in exchange for letting them do their work here.”
That terrifies the two women, prompting Claire to step in. “Excuse my brother – he's an idiot.” (You make a point of glancing at her, but no more.) “We don’t know what’s going on with mayor Chen, but we can’t go to them. Our best bet is to call the FBI and try to keep things confidential.”
“Yeah, I get that.” Barbara taps her nails on the table, her eyes dancing all around. She calms down with a lungful of air, then acknowledges you. “You’re the ones in the know. You do the planning, and I’ll help in any way I can.”
“We've got to keep things under wraps the best we can. Your mom, the guy that wore you, the other skins, the pens... No one can know. If some agent’s dealing with your mom’s case, we’ll figure out how to break it up to them.”
“Good.” That calms Barbara down, but not enough. She focuses on gulping down the casserole your mother made, obviously changing conversation. “Ash, where did you learn to cook like this...?”
--
You’re about to sleep, moving some pillows and bedsheets to the couch, when Claire approaches you. “Now that Barbara and Mom are about to sleep...”
You let her sit on the couch, checking the stairs for any eavesdroppers. “Whaddya want?”
“You don’t wanna call the FBI because you’ll have to give up everything, right?”
She read you like a book, but you’re sure she’s sharing the thoughts. “Pretty much.”
“I got’chu.” You eye her, seeing her grin. “Hey - you think I’m gonna give everything to them without using at least one? Besides – we gotta protect Mom at all costs.”
“Exactly. That means we gotta find how to hide the skins and work on the story.”
“The story’s solid as long as Tina doesn’t interfere.” Your sister stares at the distance, deep in thought. “What about the pens?”
“Whaddya mean ‘what about the pens’?”
“Are we gonna keep ‘em? How many pens you got?”
You look at the stairs once more, then whisper to Claire’s ear. “That depends. How many pens total, or how many sets?”
She stares at you in shock. “Sets?”
“Shh! There’s two kinds of sets. Mom has one set we found that has five of them – the black one that makes the skins, the brown one that gives you their mental voice, and three other ones.”
“Davey, you can trust me. I won’t tell anyone.”
You roll your eyes, as she’s got a point. “There’s the green one that makes copies of skins, the white one that cuts and... uh, I’d say welds skins together, and then there’s a purple one that I don’t know what’s for.”
“Ooo...”
“We’re not gonna use that one for anything!” you warn her. “Anyways - Mom’s got that set, but we found like a dozen sets having only the black and brown pens.”
“Okay. That means we could keep a set each and then tell them you found the others.” You stare at her, and she returns a cocky leer in exchange. “You’re not gonna tell me you didn’t think about that!”
“Maybe in case we need them,” you lie to her, and she knows.
“Davey, I know you. We’re keeping a set each, end of discussion. All that’s left is how to contact them. Are we gonna call them directly, or...?”
You’re about to tell her to check the Internet for news about Tessa, but you figure Quentin’s skills will work better in that regard. And yet, an even crazier idea comes to your mind.
What could’ve made mayor Chen deal with Tessa? Has she also been replaced? If you deal with her first, you could stop any criminal operations in Edgefield and use the city’s resources.
Hell – you may even ensure her re-election!
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