00:00i was fourteen the first time she said it her voice was sharp like glass breaking in my ear and her eyes didn't blink she leaned down so close that i could smell her perfume sweet suffocating like rotten fruit hiding under sugar don't tell your father she whispered
00:15and i froze when my dad remarried everyone told me i was lucky your new stepmom is beautiful my aunt said she'll take care of you my grandmother promised but nobody lived in that house with her like i did
00:28nobody saw the way her smile vanished the second dad closed the door behind him at first it was small things she'd move my things around then tell dad i was careless she'd cook dinners then make me eat alone in the kitchen while she and dad laughed in the dining room she always found ways to make me feel like a guest in my own house the night she said those words it was raining dad had gone out for work and the thunder made the whole house tremble i was in my room drawing when she came in without
00:58like she was waiting for me to say something but i didn't know what then she leaned in close pressing her red nails into the blanket beside me don't tell your father she breathed like it was a threat and a promise at the same time she didn't explain she just stared and smiled that smile never reached her eyes from that night on everything changed she started locking doors when dad wasn't home sometimes i'd hear her walking outside my room her steps dragging slowly down the hall back and forth back and forth like she was waiting for me to
01:28come out when i opened the door the hallway would be empty i told dad once that i didn't feel safe he laughed kissed her cheek and said she's just trying to get used to being a mom give her a chance but he didn't see the way her smile twitched when he wasn't looking he didn't hear the way she whispered through the vents at night one night i woke to the sound of my doorknob turning it clicked softly then stopped i lay frozen in bed barely breathing pretending to sleep
01:58the floor and then her voice don't tell your father the door closed again and i didn't sleep until sunrise weeks blurred into months i kept a journal scribbling down everything she said everything she did because i thought maybe i was losing my mind but the strangest part was dad never seemed to notice anything he'd come home with flowers for her kiss her on the cheek and say see she's wonderful i told you and she was wonderful to him
02:28when she talked she looked at him like he was her whole world but when he left the room her eyes would land on me
02:35oh hungry watching there was one evening that still burns in my memory we were watching tv in the living room all three of us dad got up to grab a drink leaving me on the couch with her
02:47the second the kitchen door swung closed she leaned forward without looking at me and said clear as day you should be grateful i'm here then she turned her head slowly and added don't tell your father when dad came back she laughed at something on the screen as if nothing had happened and i sat there shaking one saturday dad announced he was leaving for a work trip full weekend i felt the blood drain from my face but i forced a smile he hugged me goodbye told me to listen to your mom and walked out the door
03:17the house was silent after he left too silent i sat in my room every muscle tight waiting she didn't come to me right away instead i heard her humming downstairs a low tuneless sound that never stopped it followed me through the vents vibrating up the walls pressing into my skull hours passed and when night fell she finally came she stood in my doorway her face hidden in the dark
03:41you're not very grateful she said softly i swallowed hard my voice shaking for what she stepped inside her perfume filling the air for everything i don't tell your father she whispered then she leaned closer so close i could see her eyes glinting you should thank me i didn't speak i couldn't she smiled when i stayed silent as if my fear was exactly what she wanted and then just before she left she said it again don't tell your father
04:09that night i dreamed i dreamed i was buried under the house i could hear dad calling my name but his voice kept getting farther and farther away and over it all her humming closer louder until i woke up gasping for air
04:21the next morning she made pancakes she slid a plate toward me her nails tapping the table and said eat you'll need your strength her smile didn't reach her eyes and i didn't dare ask what she meant
04:33i started keeping my phone hidden under my pillow recording her when i could but every time the files came out blank hours of silence even when i knew she was speaking it was like her words didn't want to be captured
04:46i thought maybe i was cursed maybe she wasn't just cruel maybe she was something else the weekend ended and dad came home i wanted to run to him to scream to beg him to believe me
04:58but when i opened my mouth she pressed the hand to my shoulder her nails biting into my skin she leaned in smiling at him over my head and whispered so only i could hear
05:07don't tell your father and i froze after that weekend i thought maybe things would calm down dad was home again the house felt safer with his voice echoing through the halls
05:17but she didn't stop she only got bolder it was like she knew something i didn't like she knew he would never believe me
05:26no matter what i said and maybe she was right she began to play a new game sometimes she'd call me into the kitchen while dad was sitting in the living room
05:34she'd hand me a glass of water or a plate of food smiling so sweetly her voice light and airy but her eyes her eyes would lock onto mine
05:42and she'd mouth the words silently without sound don't tell your father it was worse than hearing her say it out loud
05:49because then i knew she didn't need words to scare me i started avoiding her skipping meals staying late at school
05:56pretending to be asleep before she came upstairs but she always found ways to corner me
06:01one night when dad was taking a shower she knocked on my door soft steady knocks i didn't answer
06:07the knocks turned into scratching long and deliberate like nails dragging across wood
06:12then her voice slipped through the crack you can't keep this up forever he's mine not yours
06:19i clutched my blanket to my chest frozen and then softer almost like a lullaby don't tell your father
06:26i thought about running away i even packed a bag once stuffed with clothes my journal and a little cash i had saved
06:33but as i crept toward the front door i saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting
06:38she didn't move she didn't speak she just watched me smiling in the dark and when i dropped the bag
06:45and fled back upstairs her voice followed me calm and patient that's right don't tell your father
06:50one afternoon i found something strange i was cleaning up in the basement when i noticed a box tucked behind
06:56the shelves inside were photographs old faded curling at the edges most of them were of dad some were of the
07:03two of them together but then near the bottom i found pictures that made my stomach turn cold
07:08photos of me some at school some through the window of my bedroom all taken before she ever moved into
07:15our house i shoved them back into the box heart hammering in my throat that night she caught me staring
07:21at her across the dinner table and with a faintest smirk she whispered under her breath just loud enough
07:27for me to hear don't tell your father from that moment i knew she hadn't just married dad to be
07:33part of our family she had been watching us watching me long before i wanted to tell him but every time
07:39i tried the word stuck because what would i say that my stepmother collected pictures of me that she
07:46whispered in the dark he'd laugh he'd say i was being dramatic and she knew that that was the worst part
07:53the final straw came one wednesday night dad was running late from work and i was home alone with
07:59her i tried to lock myself in my room but the key was gone she must have taken it i sat at my desk
08:06staring at the door when the humming started again that low tuneless hum that seemed to rattle my bones
08:11it grew louder closer until finally the knob turned she stepped inside carrying something in her hand
08:18my journal my blood ran cold as she flipped through the pages all my scribbles my fears every time i
08:25wrote about her it was all there in her hands she looked up at me with a smile that made my skin crawl
08:30you shouldn't write lies about people you love she said i love you i protect you you don't even realize
08:37it i whispered give it back but she just pressed the journal to her chest and leaned close her breath was
08:44warm against my ear when she said it again don't tell your father i don't remember standing up i don't
08:50remember screaming i just remember dad bursting through the door moments later his eyes wide as
08:55he saw me shaking clutching the desk for balance what's going on here he demanded she turned to him
09:01her face instantly soft tears welling in her eyes she she doesn't like me she whispered her voice trembling
09:07she makes things up about me and just like that he believed her he put his arms around her holding
09:13her protecting her from me that night i lay in bed staring at the ceiling dad thought i was the
09:19problem she had won and i knew if i didn't do something soon i'd never escape but just as i was
09:26drifting into a restless sleep i heard something that made my blood freeze a faint creak my door opening
09:32i turned my head heart pounding she stood there in the shadows silent this time and in her hand she held
09:39my journal open to the very last page her eyes locked on mine as she whispered barely audible
09:45i didn't need to read what you wrote i already know what you think and i know what you'll never do
09:50she paused tilting her head you'll never tell him you can't and then she smiled her teeth glinting in
09:57the dark because if you did he wouldn't believe you he'd only believe me she closed the journal
10:03tucked it under her arm and left the room without another word but as she walked away her voice
10:08floated back soft and sing-song sealing my fate don't tell your father and this time
10:14i realized something that made my heart stop she didn't need to tell me anymore because she was right
10:20i never would
