Hearts of trouble (under development)

The mother gentics always lands somewhere

The confrontation with Karen had left a strange, electrifying feeling coursing through Lily's veins. It had been a release of all the anger, confusion, and bitterness she'd been holding inside for months. But as she sat in her room, the adrenaline of the moment beginning to wear off, she started to feel something shift inside her, something she couldn't quite explain.

The next morning, Lily woke up feeling different. The events of the previous night lingered in the back of her mind like an unresolved echo, but there was something else happening-something more unsettling. As she stood in front of her mirror, brushing through her long brown hair, she noticed something strange.

Her features seemed sharper, more defined. Her eyes, which had always been soft and full of warmth, now appeared colder, more intense. The reflection staring back at her was still her, but there was a subtle shift, a change that made her feel like she was looking at someone else.

As the days passed, Lily's physical transformation became more noticeable. Her hair, which had always been a rich brown, started to darken, taking on the deep, raven-black hue that had always been associated with her mother, Andrea. Her once delicate features began to harden, the same sharp cheekbones and pointed chin that Andrea had. Her eyes, once light and filled with warmth, now carried the same cold, calculating look her mother had always worn when she was angry or disappointed.

Lily didn't want to admit it, but she could feel herself slipping into her mother's persona. Her moods grew darker, more volatile. Where once she had been a calm and rational person, she found herself snapping at her friends, her family-at anyone who dared to cross her. She started to mimic Andrea's behavior, her biting sarcasm, her sharp retorts, and the way she carried herself with an air of superiority.

It was almost like she was becoming a mirror image of the woman she had once despised.

She didn't know why it was happening, but it felt like the change was inevitable. With every passing day, Lily found herself drawing closer to the part of her that resembled Andrea, the woman who had always been bitter, self-centered, and distant. A part of Lily that she had always feared she might become.

One afternoon, after another argument with her dad-this time over something as trivial as her not doing her chores-Lily stormed out of the house. The door slammed behind her, and she walked down the street without any particular destination in mind. Her thoughts were a whirlwind, chaotic and sharp, cutting through her like a knife.

As she walked, she found herself thinking more and more like her mother. "I don't need anyone. I don't owe anyone anything. They don't deserve my kindness," she muttered under her breath, the words sounding foreign, but somehow right. She could feel the change, how she was slipping into her mother's skin, taking on her attitudes, her bitterness, her darkness.

It was almost as if her mother's presence, the way she had always hovered over Lily's life, was now consuming her from the inside. Andrea had always carried herself with an arrogance that made everyone else seem small, and Lily, without even realizing it, had started to adopt the same sense of superiority.

Later that day, Lily went back home, her mind clouded with frustration. As soon as she walked through the door, she could feel the tension thick in the air. Her dad was there, sitting at the kitchen table, papers scattered in front of him. Karen wasn't around.

But Lily didn't care anymore. The anger she had felt the night before flared up once again, and she couldn't stop herself.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" she snapped, her voice sharp and bitter, just like Andrea's when she was at her worst. "You want to fix everything? Well, guess what? I'm not broken, so stop trying to play the hero."