Stripped Read Free

myself by the time Thursday rolled around. I had a final Friday morning but it was an essay and I decided to turn it in early in case I was occupied for the entire night once again. I only prayed this time it wouldn't be with a murder.
    I been watching the news all week, his wife had definitely been behind it. She was splashed across every news headline. They claimed that she knew about his multiple mistresses and how he never paid any attention to her anymore. Apparently they'd been living in separate homes for over a year. I just felt bad for the children, they were all adults but having their names smeared in the tabloids wasn't fair to them. Their mother had gone off her rocker and honestly to me it had seemed like their father was just a lonely old man. The kids didn't seem like people that deserved this kind of attention.
    On Thursday afternoon I watched them parade the wife around in handcuffs in front of the precinct. I heard Alexis come in as I sat on the couch glued to the TV but I tore myself away to focus on her. She had been a bit more stressed out than I was about midterms. It was surprising because her grades were usually really good. When she got home I understood why she was so worried.
    She flopped down on the couch next to me looking completely exhausted. She put her hand over her eyes and shut them in frustration. “What's going on with you? I mean midterms weren’t really that bad.” Honestly they hadn't been as difficult as I was expecting.
    She pulled her hand away from her face. “My dad is coming to visit. He thinks that I don't focus enough on school and he wants to make sure that I'm not partying all the time.”
    “Oh.” Alexis's relationship with her father was a bit strained. While her mother took her on shopping trips in all the famous cities in the world her dad paid for it. But he never came along, always too wrapped up in the business world to take time to see his own daughter. And any time he did come, it was just to tell Alexis that she wasn't doing a good enough job. It always riled me up, though I never said anything to her about it.
    “I don't understand why he doesn't think I'm doing a good enough job, I mean I made Dean's list last semester. Just because I am hanging out with some guys and going to some nightclubs doesn't mean I can't keep my head on straight. Right?”
    I nodded. “Of course you're right. Your grades are fine I’m sure. When was the last time you saw him?”
    She shrugged. “Maybe Christmas? I don't really remember. Oh God that's terrible too.”
    “What's terrible?”
    “That I can't remember the last time I saw him. Like I think he was there for Christmas eve, but my mom had a huge party so I don't even remember if I saw him. Oh Calla what do I do?”
    I looked around our apartment and I knew exactly what we needed to do. “The first thing that we’re going to do is hide all the booze.” I pointed up on top of our cabinets where we had at least ten bottles of liquor and a few other bottles of wine that had been given to us as gifts.
    She made a face. “Yeah I guess that would be a good idea. And then I'm also going to have to hide my lingerie in the back of my closet in the trunk.” The trunk. It was where we hid everything we were embarrassed about when someone important was coming over. Sex toys, condoms, porn, and any lingerie that we had. The trunk was infamous. We never actually told guys about it but somehow they already knew. I think it was just that type of talk that happened in they gym when guys were showering together or doing something else equally manly. Not that a bunch of straight guys in the shower was that manly.
    “I will vacuum and dust before work tonight. I'm sure it'll be fine. How long is he staying?”
    She shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean he’ll probably just come for dinner tonight and then stay for his meeting in the morning. I doubt he’ll stay any longer than that. It would definitely fill his quota for family