Nele Listens

I wasn't eavesdropping. Not really. I was just about to go downstairs, barefoot, the hood of my hoodie pulled halfway over my head. I just wanted to go to the kitchen.

And then I heard the voices.

Low.

I stopped on the third step from the top. Just around the corner. So that no one could see me from below.

David and Lisa.

I couldn't see much, just their shadows playing on the hallway wall. Hers flowing, playful. His motionless, tense.

I listened.

“... She's not a child anymore,” Lisa said. My stomach tightened. What did she mean by that? “You can see that, can't you?”

David didn't answer right away.

And Lisa... oh God, Lisa! Her voice sounded like honey drizzled on ice. Then the conversation stopped abruptly.

“She's listening, isn't she?” she whispered.

I held my breath. My heart was pounding like a drum in my chest. Had she spotted me? Or was she bluffing? Did David know I was there?

I dared to take a peek.

She was standing close to him. Too close. One hand was on his chest as if he belonged to her. He didn't push her away. But he didn't touch her either. On the contrary, he seemed paralyzed. Like someone who doesn't know whether to run or fight.

She tilted her head. Her mouth was very close to his ear. And he didn't flinch. I didn't understand what she said next. I didn't need to. I read it in her smile as she turned and walked away. And it was in his eyes after she disappeared into the hallway.

I was furious.

Not at Lisa. At myself. I had let her take the lead. She had stormed in with lip gloss and no shame and cornered him as if it were her house, her game. Her David.

I couldn't let her win. I wouldn't allow it. He was my stepfather, after all.

Fine.

You want a challenge?

Then let's raise the stakes.