And the changes don't stop there.

Monday morning was... oddly normal.

Theresa had to zoom off back to college for the week, as she usually did, but rather than finding relief in her absence, you quickly feel the cold lack of companionship. As sudden and jarring as everything was, you already miss your sister. Her smile, her supportive ribbing, her beautiful... nope, wait, don't go too far with that.

One of your first memories of the morning was the nearby buzz of your phone. A message, at this hour? The sun isn't even up yet! Ignoring it for a few more hours' rest, you eventually find out that it was a parting message from Theresa. Aww.

'Hope you slept well, Bubby! I'll see you on the weekend, but until then, I left you a present! It's up to you to find it, though. xoxo Tess <3'

In your early morning bleary-eyed state, you aren't well equipped to process what your sister's message meant. You instead enjoy the bubbly warmth it gives you to know that Theresa seems determined to mend your relationship even while she's away. If you had been more confident in the past, stood up for yourself, maybe you could have always had this kind of bond with her. She's still totally at fault for being the one doing the bullying, but you can't help kicking yourself a bit for just letting it all happen.

A present, though? Whatever could it be? Nothing jumps out at you as you scan over your roo— Oh, yeah. Your room is now the master bedroom of the house. Most of your stuff is packed into totes scattered around... no time to go on a treasure hunt. Best to leave whatever your sister's surprise is for later. You've got breakfast and school to prep for!

A quick shower and a mostly unnecessary shave later (give me your rugged beard genes, Dad!), you find your mother in the kitchen, quietly enjoying a cup of coffee in front of the remnants of a prepared breakfast spread. You give Mom a tired but bright smile as you fill up a plate, sitting across from her at the table and quickly dig in.

"Mornin' Mom. Did Dad leave already?"

Your mother nods, a flicker of a smile staying briefly on her face. "Morning, sweetie. Yes, Teddy left a little earlier than usual. Said he was going to try and get some gym time in at the office before his shift started."

That's right, you did make that rule, didn't you? Everyone in the house, including you, has to maintain a sufficient exercise regimen to keep themselves healthy while they live here. Making a house rule wasn't quite the same as giving Theresa a direct order, but it seems they're taking it just as seriously. Good for Dad!

"Hope he's not too mad at me," you say through a grin and bite of bacon. "I meant well with the rules I laid out."

"Oh, I know you did, sweetie!" Mom pats your arm gently. "I'll probably go for a jog once you're off to school, myself."

"That's cool, Mom. Tess worked me pretty hard yesterday, so I didn't want to push myself just yet. Maybe tomorrow though, we could jog in the mornings together? It might be nicer with company."

Mom stiffens a little, her free hand lightly clutching the front of her robe. "Is that something you... want to do with me, sweetie?" That's odd. It's not like Mom to act so shy around you. Oh no, she's obviously still embarrassed about the night before! Of course, why wouldn't she be?

"I mean, only if you want to. It was just a suggestion, really!" Both of your faces light up red, your thoughts forcefully dragged back to the events of the night prior. Mom sets her coffee down, looking away from you and worrying her bottom lip, a hand pressed politely against her lap. You can't stop yourself, eyes scanning down over the great swell of fabric across her chest. If that hand of hers came away, you could probably see a deep valley of cleavage, plump pink nipples jabbing into the soft cloth. Was she dressed under that robe? Curiosity and desire nag at you, a shameless beast beginning to stir between your legs.

Shaking your head sharply, you return to the waking world, seeing a deep flush across your mother's face. Had she noticed you staring?? Clearing your throat and wolfing down the rest of your breakfast, you mumble some excuse through bits of toast and stride quickly to the nearest bathroom, giving your mother some clearly needed personal space. She doesn't say a word to stop you. Honestly, why can't you keep yourself in check anymore?

Just fap, get it over with, and shelf those perverted thoughts for good. You're better than this! School, focus on school!

Monday goes by, followed by another day and yet another after that. You want to tell yourself that they're normal days; that the world was finally calming down after your maddening escapade on the weekend. Perhaps at school, that would be the case, but not at home. At school, you're as hopeless and awkward as you've ever been. Classes go by, lessons are vaguely listened to, homework is done to passable quality, and off you go.

At home, however, things are just different enough to be unmistakable. Your father, while perhaps a bit more tired than usual, seems to be in a fairly good mood most of the time. You don't chat much, as usual, but you can tell there's a chipper spring in his step that wasn't there before. At least you can take some solace that one of your parents is doing better off thanks to your actions.

Poor Mom, though. She just doesn't seem to know what to say to you anymore. Dad and Theresa might not think that evening was a big deal, it's clear that the embarrassment is hanging heavy around your mother's shoulders. Oh, but she tries! Bless her, she keeps trying hard for your sake. Always trying to smile, even if she struggles to make eye contact with you for long. Ever diligent, the household chores are under control as always, Mom keeping up your parents' end of the bargain in lieu of paying rent. You wish your father would also contribute to that a bit more, but if no one's complaining, you see no reason to intercede further.

She even agreed to go jogging with you in the mornings, much to your guilt-ridden delight. While Mom's workout attire is much more modest than your sister's sports bra/booty shorts combo, there's nothing out there that is going to adequately contain those decadent curves of hers. Staying in step with her makes it impossible not to glance down at those hefty melons wobbling around, threatening to tear her top asunder. Letting her get ahead of you just means locking your eyes onto a plump and tightly packed ass, thumping away just like the night you saw it in its full glory. Upping your pace doesn't help either, since it only urges your mother to try harder, panting and groaning in effort to keep up with you, giving you more fodder for your imagination to play with.

You tell yourself it's all a lose-lose situation, but your cock has never been happier and tries regularly to show itself. You only pray that Mom doesn't notice, or at least doesn't attribute it to herself if she does.

Every night, just after dinnertime, Theresa sends you another text. Always the same question:

'Soooo, did you find my present yet? :3'

The first night, you thought you had it, finding some hand weights mixed in around the totes in your room. While she informed you that no, they're not the present, she does expect you to use them and stick to a routine while she's away. Ugh, what a trap to fall into.

'Ugh, you suck, sis. Sunday wasn't **** enough?'

'Nope! >:p You better keep at it if you wanna impress Penny before school's out!'

Unfortunately, the weights were the only thing you could even hazard a guess on. You hadn't found any new items in your room, or anywhere else that you thought to look.

'Are you messing with me again, Tess? I seriously can't find anything. It's in the house at least, right?'

A quick reply. 'Probably! Trust me, you'll know it when you see it. ;3 ' Probably? Did that mean it's something that moves around? You and your parents had finished moving all the stuff to new rooms, so it's possible something might have gotten lost in transit. You certainly hope no one threw out your present!

'Why wont you just tell meeee -m- Quit being mean, sis.'

'If you really wanted me to, you'd just order me to tell you <3 But that wouldn't be near as exciting, would it?'

With a loud, frustrated groan, you abandon your phone, knowing Theresa is right. It feels like a challenge. You don't want to just have the answer provided to you. You simply must find this mystery present on your own! And find it you will... eventually.

~

Wednesday night, though, Theresa has more questions to pose to you.

'So, have you tried talking to Penny yet?'

'No, why?'

'Dumbass, go say hi to her already! You're gonna lose your chance! What have you got to lose from just saying hello?'

'Oh I dunno. My dignity? My will to live?'

'Pssh, don't be melodramatic, Bubby. You've never had any dignity.'

Okay, ow. Rude. Before you can get snippy, Theresa keeps going.

'Seriously, you're not going to get anywhere if you don't take the first step. Though I guess if you wanted, you could skip all the usual stuff and just claim her.'

The very notion gives you pause, looking over the text again and again. Claim... Penny? It would be a whole hell of a lot easier, wouldn't it? A dark corner of your mind nods along to the idea, liking how very easy it would be to suddenly have Penny all to yourself, able to do anything and everything you could ever want with her. No one would question what you do with your own property... all it would take is a marker and a brief opportunity to...

No. No. That's not who you are. Claiming Theresa was an accident, and even if it worked out for the better, you aren't about to start using that as an excuse to just mess with people's lives. You don't want Penny to obey you, you want her to love you. Love takes work and dedication, something... something you haven't been doing all this time.

'I'm not going to claim Penny, sis. I want to do this right.'

'Fair enough :p if nothing else, you've always got it in your back pocket.'

'Nope, not even then. If I can't do this properly and get her to like me, then... that's that. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna bust my ass to get her properly, though. You're right, I need to jump on the chance I have before it's gone. I'm going to try and talk to her tomorrow, promise.'

Rather than a text, you're sent a gif of a theater audience giving a standing ovation.

'Good for you, Bubby! Big Sis is really proud of you! I'll be rootin for ya, and you'd better tell me all about it this weekend! Go make some memories!'

You grin despite yourself, rubbing the heat off your cheeks.

'Thanks, Tess. G'night!'

Flopped back on your very large bed, you stare at the ceiling and process your conversation with Theresa. You made a promise. Better be prepared to keep it, else Theresa is going to throttle you good for wimping out. Just the mere idea of getting within speaking distance of Penny makes your head boil with embarrassment, your arm swinging over your eyes to blanket you in darkness. Why does this have to be so hard??

Groaning loudly and writhing in frustration, you swing yourself up and look at yourself in the full length mirror built into the wardrobe. Red cheeks, baggy eyes, furrowed stress lines... who's going to want to talk to that? There's got to be some way to make this easier. You've got to do this tomorrow. Make yourself do it. There's no backing down now.