Page 71 of The Missus
The door of the bathroom opened, and Keira automatically picked up her phone. She didn’t want Alanna to know she was watching for her like some dog waiting for its owner to come home.
‘Checking the apps?’ Alanna smiled as she came over, slipping on her jacket.
Keira put her phone away. ‘Just a quick look. In case of fresh blood.’
‘Anything interesting?’
‘Not today,’ Keira told her. And that wasn’t a lie. She wasn’t interested in anyone that might be on that app.
***
They went home and found Sandra in the living room, flicking through a copy of some magazine calledHaute Living. ‘What time do you call this?’ she asked as they came in.
Keira’s eyes nearly rolled clean out of her head. ‘What time do I… What?!’
Alanna sighed. ‘Mother, I’m thirty. And this is my place. You can’t pull that one anymore.’
Sandra chose not to respond to that. ‘You stink of beer.’
Alanna rolled her eyes. ‘I’m going to bed.’
She walked out of the room. Keira realised she should probably follow. ‘Night, Sandra.’
She walked into the bedroom. Alanna was sat on the edge of her bed. ‘What the hell was that?’ Keira asked.
‘At a guess? She’s embarrassed about all the stuff we know about her and she’s trying to exert some control by relying on the old parent-child dynamic,’ Alanna said casually, slipping off her shoes.
Keira raised an eyebrow. ‘She knowsI’mnot her kid, though. Right?’
‘I don’t know what her brain is doing right now. I’m trying not to engage with her shit.’
Keira felt that anything she could say to that would likely be unhelpful, so she kept her yap shut and began to get undressed. She stopped just short of the underwear stage, but before she could ask for privacy, Alanna said, ‘I’m looking the other way, don’t worry.’
Keira didn’t bother to check, trusting Alanna’s word on that. She stripped down and went to her wardrobe to grab a T-shirt. But what she forgot was that her wardrobe had a mirror on the door. As she put her hand on the handle, she glanced into it and accidentally saw Alanna in her bra and panties. She looked away quickly, but it was too late to cancel out what she’d seen. Goddamn, Alanna had abody. This wasn’t big news to Keira. She’d seen her in clothes that rocked her assets before today, so she had some idea of what was underneath. But getting a good look was a different thing. That long hair slipping down her naked back. Keira was gonna have to get ahold of herself. A sight like that could cause a person to lose their mind.
Keira quickly put her T-shirt on and slipped under the covers, switching off her lamp and saying, ‘G’night!’ and settling herself down.
‘Night,’ Alanna said, and Keira felt her slip in beside her. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for darkness to take hold. It came quickly, thanks to the beer.
***
‘Keira!’
‘Huh?’ Keira said, looking up. She was sitting in a giant hall with a few dozen other people, all at individual desks. She hadn’t been here a minute ago, but she was quick to accept the new location.
Standing above her was Sandra. She was handing her a pencil. ‘You forgot this! Can’t take a test without something to write with. Honestly, you kids. You don’t think.’
Keira frowned and took the pencil. Sandra walked off back to her desk at the front of the test hall. Keira looked down in front of her. Fucking maths test. It was her worst subject.
‘Psst.’
Keira turned, and Kelly’s desk was next to hers. She was leaning over. ‘What did you get for question five?’
‘I haven’t even started yet!’ Keira screeched.
Sandra looked over. ‘Shush!’
Kelly tutted and went back to her test.
