Fission 3

This will be the most drama we get to.

Lisa POV:

She knocks at the door of Crystal's room, trepidation settling deep inside her gut. She can hear movement inside, a shuffling of clothes or something along those lines.

"Crystal, dear? Are you there? Can I come in?"

"Go away!" Comes the muffled reply from within.

"I'd like to talk to you. Please? Just let me in for a minute, honey."

Silence follows for almost ten seconds, but then Lisa hears a click, and the door opens slightly. Crystal peers out of the crack in the door, her eyes narrowed to slits, glaring daggers at Lisa.

"Fine," she huffs, opening the door wider. She steps aside to allow her mother to enter, then closes it once she's in. She doesn't say anything, just keeps her arms folded, staring at Lisa defiantly.

"How are you feeling?" Lisa asks gently, hoping to open the conversation.

"How do you think I am feeling?" She replies angrily, clenching her teeth. "You're screwing Doug! Have you lost your mind?!"

"I know how it sounds like, but-"

"But nothing!" Crystal snaps, cutting her off. "You've drilled into my head over and over again to be courteous around men, to not touch them unless they explicitly want you to, to respect their boundaries, to never **** myself on someone. And then, I find out that my own mother has been fucking her own son for weeks now?"

A twang of anger cuts through Lisa's thoughts, and she glares right back at Crystal.

"What exactly are you insinuating here? That I **** him? Because if that's what you're trying to imply-"

"What I'm implying, Mom, is that you've abused your influence as a mother, to subvert Doug's will. He's barely of age, barely able to make decisions for himself! You should have stopped this long ago! Instead, you took advantage of his naivety and pushed yourself onto him, time after time, week after week!"

Lisa staggers at that, reeling from the harshness of Crystal's words and the anger in her voice. The words cut deeper than she expected. She feels tears well up in her eyes, and a lump forms in her throat.

"And then you jovially proclaim that you've shot a porno together? Great, wonderful! Now, everyone will know! Do you even realize what sort of impact this will have? We'll be laughed out of our circles! The other girls, the boys, everybody!"

She pauses for a moment, shaking with rage, her cheeks flushed a deep shade of red. Lisa is trembling, trying to come up with the right words, something to defuse the situation.

From downstairs, the sound of Sarah's hysterical laughter during Doug's tickle attack pierces through the momentarily quiet room, making Crystal pause. She closes her eyes and takes a couple of deep breaths, calming down a bit.

Tears are streaming down Lisa's face, and she doesn't bother wiping them away. Instead, with profound sincerity in her voice, she speaks.

"Crystal, dear. Please listen to me. I know you're angry, but... but I swear to you that I'm not taking advantage of him. He is my son and I'll never let him, or you for that matter, come to harm. And what we have is a stronger love than I ever thought possible. There's no way I could turn my back on him, no matter what you say. And he is in full control of his situation. If you don't believe me, ask him yourself."

The anger in Crystal's expression melts away slowly, leaving only sadness behind. But she listened, which is a small win, at least. Lisa wipes her eyes and sniffles softly, looking back at Crystal.

"And the porn?" Crystal asks quietly, sounding subdued. "Why?"

"Really just the money. Doug suggested it, and I was running out of options," Lisa replies truthfully. "I didn't want to do it either, not at first, but there are bills to pay, and Doug insisted on helping. And... well, as much as I hate admitting this, he got through to me."

"Mom, do you realize how many clicks you'd need to get to actually make a reasonable amount of money? Millions!"

"I know, dear. I've done the research. I'm not worried about that. It'll get enough, trust me."

Crystal stares at her in disbelief. She bites her lip lightly, hesitating before speaking again.

"How can you be so sure?"

Lisa reaches into her pocket and pulls out a USB stick, holding it out to her daughter. Crystal looks at her skeptically, then takes the offered item, weighing it in her hand.

"Watch it. Maybe then you'll understand. And if, after that, you're not comfortable with it being on the Internet, tell us. We'll find a solution."

Crystal considers her words carefully. Her brow furrows, her lips are pressed tightly together, but she eventually nods.

"Fine. I'll watch it. Now, please get out of my room. I need time alone right now."

Lisa agrees with a nod, and leaves the room quietly, closing the door behind her. She exhales a shuddering breath, leaning against the wall, trying to regain her composure.

After a minute, she goes back downstairs, where Doug is cleaning up, Sarah nowhere to be seen. When she walks into the kitchen, she finds him putting away dishes and the cutting board. Not saying a word, she approaches him and hugs him gently from behind. He turns around and kisses her tenderly.

"Mom, you cried? What happened?!"

"I talked to Crystal. It went... as well as expected," she chuckles sadly. "She's upset, angry even. But she listened."

He hums and nods. "What did you say?"

"The truth. There was no other way to go about this. She'll talk to you in a bit. She was concerned that I was taking advantage of you, by virtue of being your mother. She's afraid you're **** to my influence over you," Lisa explains quietly.

He stiffens at that, anger flashing in his eyes.

"That's insulting. I know perfectly well what I'm doing. And she's not much older than me. Who is she to judge me for anything?"

Lisa gives him a warm smile, cupping his cheek in her hand.

"I know, Doug. But she's your older sister, and would fight a lion for you. That's just how she is. Give her some time, she'll come around." Lisa insists, stroking his hair soothingly. "Everything will work out fine. You'll see."