by S. E. Law
I don’t want to bail, though. Even though it’s wrong, deep in my heart, I want to see Elliot again. I also want to do that again. I could hardly believe it when he kissed my asshole, licking up some of his own seed in the process.
Holy shit, what have I gotten myself into? That was pure filth, for sure.
My phone sits on the passenger seat of my beat-up old car. I want to call Olly and ask her what to do, but I can’t because the whole scenario is just so filthy.
My heart is racing. Elliot is incredibly hot. Why did he ask me to come to lunch tomorrow? And what’s up with lunch anyways? Lunch is what you do with a lady, but I just showed myself to be a tramp, what with the no-holds-barred anal sex.
I catch a glimpse of my wild curls in the rearview mirror. They’re always impossible to tame, but right now, they look even crazier than usual. They’re flying in every direction, and frankly, I look like a woman who’s just been serviced by a huge hunk of man. Which I have.
Maybe I read this all wrong. Maybe Elliot wants to talk over lunch. But about what? Ha! I doubt there’s anything for us to talk about.
I pull into the trailer park and drive four rows down until I reach my home. The lights are off in the trailer when I pull up, but that doesn’t mean anything. Mom doesn’t have a car anymore, so I have no way of knowing if she’s home or not.
Absentmindedly, I climb the steps and open the front door. When I glance inside, I cringe because the place is a mess. After spending all day cleaning someone else’s home, I guess I’ll be cleaning my own now.
Unfortunately, my mom has always been like this. Coralie always leaves pizza boxes, beer cans, and remnants of marijuana joints littered around the house. She says she needs the MJ for her asthma, but I don’t believe her one bit. Coralie just loves getting stoned, and she’ll do anything for a hit.
Suddenly, a loud moan rises up from the couch and I freeze in place. I can’t see what’s happening because the couch’s back is to the door, but I can guess. A leg is hooked over the back of the sofa, and I see the top of Humphrey Lyon’s greasy brown head moving up and down in a rhythmic manner as he grunts.
Oh gross! My mom is making out with Humphrey Lyons at this very moment, and they didn’t even bother to go into her room. Why why why? I should have seen this coming. It was only a matter of time because Coralie has no shame. Humphrey moved into the trailer two doors down from ours a couple of months ago, and my mom’s been throwing herself at him since that first day.
The poor guy probably thinks he’s special, but that’s so far from the truth as to be laughable. Honestly, there probably isn’t a man in the trailer park that Coralie hasn’t slept with yet. And that includes the married ones.
“Mmmmmh, Coralie,” Humphrey moans again, his face a rictus of ecstasy as he does whatever he’s doing. I see a gold tooth flash, and then Humphrey dives in again.
I nearly throw up. Couldn’t my mom have put a sock on the doorknob? This isn’t the first time I’ve walked in on her with someone on the couch, and I have a feeling they’re only getting started. Sure enough, I spy lube and condoms on the coffee table, although neither have been touched yet, thank god.
I cringe again, and turn back to the door, trying to be quiet. I have nowhere else to go, but I can’t stay here. That’s out of the question. I would rather die than stay here a moment longer.
Suddenly, Humphrey’s head pokes up and he looks straight at me.
“Kaylee?” he chirps. “Is that you?”
Crap. I was hoping they wouldn’t hear me. I freeze and then turn, with a frozen smile on my face.
“Hey!” I exclaim. “I see I came at a bad time. I’ll come back later.”
But neither Humphrey nor my mom are embarrassed at all. They sit up, pushing dirty, stringy hair back from their faces. Coralie shoots me an evil look.
“I thought you were working. You better not have gotten fired.”
I smile tightly.
“I didn’t. I’m just done for the day, that’s all.”
“Oh great,” Humphrey chortles. “More money for the piggy bank. You’ve got a good one here, Coralie,” he says to my mom. The little man waves for me to come further into the trailer, as if he lives here. But the truth is, I pay for pretty much everything in this household. If I wanted to, I could kick Humphrey out right now, but it’s not worth the fight I’d have with my mom afterward.
“Um, no, I’m okay. I just came by to grab … um, this umbrella,” I say wildly, snatching an umbrella from the hook by the door. “I’m going to the library,” I say, turning on my heel to leave.
“An umbrella?” Humphrey asks with real confusion. “But it’s not raining outside. Why would you need an umbrella? Stay, Kaylee. We haven’t had a chance to talk in a while.”
I shoot him a look. We have never had a conversation before. Our interactions have been limited to “Hi, welcome to the neighborhood!” and “How’s the weather?” I don’t know why he’s acting like we’re best friends now.
I almost feel bad for the guy, to be honest, because my mom uses men. She’s a serial dater, and no one lasts longer than a month or two. Once she’s bored, she moves on. She’s just using these guys for money and weed hook-ups.
Plus, these so-called “boyfriends” generally get sick of her when they realize she never pays for anything. Then, the screaming fights start, as well as the physical violence. Coralie beats her boyfriends, not the other way around. Usually, it ends with some kind of police report, and then we’re back to square one. The guy is gone, and she asks me for money. Unfortunately, I almost always end up giving it to her.
I know I’m enabling my mom, but what else am I supposed to do? I’m eighteen, but I still have a couple months of school left. I can take off once I get my diploma, but I don’t know what’s going to happen to Coralie then. I doubt she’d be able to survive without me.
“Kaylee, you’re being rude,” my mom interrupts my thoughts.
I blink at her. “What?”
“You’re just standing there. Talk. You are capable of that, aren’t you?”
I squeeze my hands into fists. It helps calm me down.
“Yes, Mom, I know how to talk. I just don’t have anything to say. I have homework to do. Since I won’t be getting it done here, I need to go to the library,” I say between gritted teeth.
My mom rolls her eyes.
“I did not raise you to be such a bitch.”
I take a deep breath so that I don’t scream at my mother. Yelling at her only makes things worse, and I’ve learned to stay calm when she gets like this.
“I’m just trying to get through high school. I have a paper to write.”
She rolls her eyes again.
“It’s Saturday! You don’t even have school tomorrow. Lighten up.”
Nice of her to notice. Sometimes, I’ll be leaving for school, and my mom will wake up and ask me where the hell I’m going so early in the morning. I always wonder if it’s because she’s afraid I’m leaving her.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend grins evilly at me.
“Perfect! You can stick around,” Humphrey smiles.
Then he gets an odd look on his face. Humphrey’s hand slithers onto my mom’s thigh, way too far up, considering the audience.
“Say, Kaylee, you’re experienced, aren’t you? You’ve lived in Monroe your entire life, right? Nothing shocks you.”
I narrow my eyes at him.
“What do you mean?”
Humphrey licks his lips lasciviously, looking me up and down in my tight maid’s outfit. A disgusted shudder crawls down my spine.
“Well, I’m just saying you can join us, if you’d like,” he offers before leaning over and kissing my mom, tongue on tongue. Then, he pops back up, licking his lips. “I’ve always wanted to be with a mother-daughter duo.”
I nearly throw up. Did he just invite me to have a threesome with him and my mother?
“I’ll pass, thanks.”
But Coralie isn’t even shocked.
She just cackles before playfully slapping Humphrey’s shoulder.
“Look at her! Kaylee thought you were serious. You’re such a practical joker, Humphrey. You’re funny enough to be a comedian,” she coos while batting her mascara-caked lashes.
But Humphrey meets my eyes, smiles, and I can tell he wasn’t joking at all. Vomit rises in the back of my throat, and I swallow, hard.
“Oh, Kaylee, just look at what you’re wearing,” my mom sighs. “No guy would ever want you dressed like that. Humphrey was just playing, don’t you see?”
Never mind that her words don’t even really make sense. I don’t need to be here, and this entire situation is making me nauseous. I cross my arms over my exposed bust, and take a step back. I feel self-conscious enough in this outfit without my mom’s commentary.
I want to tell her that one guy has taken an interest in me in this exact outfit. Elliot asked me to have lunch with him tomorrow, so this outfit must have some positive points. But Coralie merely giggles nastily again.
“Humphrey, look at my daughter. You know, she once told me she wants to go to college.”
He blinks, like he’s never heard of college before.
“Is that right? Where?”
Mom waves him off. “Who knows? It’s a hilarious thought. Kaylee would never get in, let alone last a minute.”
Humphrey sniggers too.
“College isn’t for everyone,” he says in a smarmy voice. “My cousin Jigger went to college and was expelled for selling meth. They wouldn’t even give him a refund on his tuition! It was the worst decision he’s ever made.”
My mom nods knowingly.
“And it’s definitely not for a girl like Kaylee. She works as a maid, obviously. She cleans other people’s houses for a living. Why would you need college to do that? We’ll give her an education ourselves, won’t we?” she purrs, trailing her nails down Humphrey’s chest.
I remind myself to breathe. Oh my god. Was my mom actually suggesting that the three of us engage in a threesome? I can’t believe it. More likely, Coralie was just saying that because Humphrey has some special weed that she wants to get her paws on. But her boyfriend doesn’t even get the hint.
“A woman who knows how to clean is a valuable commodity,” he says, nodding. “I especially like it when they’re good with toilets,” he says, winking at me.
I didn’t think Humphrey could get any more disgusting, but that sentence solidifies it. Elliot would never say something like that, with all the filthy innuendos. This is just too disgusting, and I turn on my heel to leave.
But then my mom’s voice rises from the couch again.
“Kaylee is going to be cleaning houses for the rest of her life, you know that, don’t you? You’ll never get anywhere, sweetheart. It’s your destiny, don’t you see? You should just accept it, Kaylee. Don’t fight it, and it’ll go down easier.”
I gasp at the shaft of pain lancing through my heart. I open my mouth for a sassy retort, but then snap it shut again. Fighting with my mom is never worth it. She wins every time, even when she’s wrong.
“Good girl, Kaylee,” Coralie smirks. “I see it on your face. You just accepted your fate.”
It’s not my fate I just accepted; it’s the fact that my mother will always be a bitch, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. I don’t say that aloud, though, because it would get me nowhere. Instead, I merely speak in a terse voice.
“You could try getting a job.”
She laughs. “Why would I do that when you support us so well?”
I shoot her a hard look.
“Because you’re my mother.”
“Don’t talk to Coralie that way,” Humphrey interrupts. “Your mother raised you, and the least you can do is to be respectful.”
I bite my lip. Technically, Coralie raised me, but that’s only partly true. She was stoned most of the time, so really, I raised myself. We were in the same room, but I was looking out for her most of the time, and not the other way around.
But true to form, my mom gets bored of the conversation and reaches for a joint. Her eyes light up and she sits up straight. Anticipation shines in her eyes.
“Help me, Humphrey, dear.”
Sure enough, her boyfriend leans over with a lighter, and she takes a deep drag as her eyes roll up in the back of her head. Then she exhales through her nose. The sickly sweet smell makes me even more nauseous and this time, I open the door to leave.
“Doesn’t it get boring, being here all the time?” I ask. “I mean, you could do something with your life, Coralie. You don’t have to hang out at Monroe Trailer Park day after day.”
My mom laughs.
“You don’t understand because you’re always out. Being home is the best, don’t you see? Maybe you’ll get it someday. You should have a kid, and then, in sixteen years, they’ll support you. It’s the perfect arrangement.”
I turn to gawk at her, one foot already on the stoop.
“I would never force my child to support me.”
She giggles while exhaling smoke again from her nose.
“I don’t force you. You do this voluntarily to pay me back, like Humphrey said.”
It’s just like her to try and gaslight me. It never works, but I let her believe it does.
“I’m going to become something someday,” I tell them both through gritted teeth. “I don’t care what you say. I’ll go to school and follow my dreams. Nothing you say or do will stop me.”
Humphrey and my mom both start cracking up. You’d think this was a comedy club with how hard they’re laughing.
“I’ll get out of this trailer park someday,” I add again, vehemently.
This only makes them laugh harder. Mom starts to cough as she tries to take another puff of the joint while still giggling. Tears literally spill from her eyes now.
“You know how many times I’ve heard that?” Coralie smirks, after she’s recovered somewhat. “Everyone in this damn trailer park says they’ll get out someday. How many do you think actually do it?”
I try to come up with an example of someone who has, but I can’t. I’ve lived at Monroe my entire life. Most of our neighbors are the same people who were here when we moved in. The ones who have left have either died or gone to prison. It seems that there are only two ways out of this place.
“I’ll do it. I know I can,” I say fiercely.
“You’ve always had this false sense of positivity,” Mom shakes her head while making a face. “I have no idea where you get it from. You’re no better than the rest of us, don’t you see, Kaylee? The trailer park has tentacles. You try to leave, and it pulls you right back.”
I can’t take any more of this. I literally run out the door to my car, and jump in, slamming the vehicle door shut behind me. First, I hyperventilate a bit, gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled fingers. How dare they? Then, I begin to cry. They’re heavy, tearing sobs that make my lungs heave painfully.
My mom is wrong. I will get out of this place. She might think I’m stuck here for good, but it’s not true. I’ll find a way out. It won’t be easy, but I’ll make it happen. I’ll be the success story people tell their children. I’ll be the one who escaped.
With that, I start the car and pull out onto the road with determination on my face. Monroe fades in the distance, and I pray that my new life begins soon.
5
Elliot
Edwards doesn’t question why I’m pacing in the front entryway to Millbrook Manor, and I appreciate that about him. He knows his place as a member of my staff, and acts with discretion at all times.
After all, I look like a lunatic right now. Kaylee should be here any minute, and I’ve been waiting and watching for her arrival like a teen boy on his first date. It’s ridiculous, I know. I’m well into my forties, and yet I’m watching the window like a girl waiting for her white knight to arrive.
Finally, I catch a glimpse of a hatchback making its way up the winding road to my home. The car look
s like it might fall apart if it hits a bump too hard, what with the peeling paint and rusted tire caps. I wonder if she’s even safe driving that death trap.
If it wasn’t clear before, it’s obvious now. There’s an enormous wealth gap between me and Kaylee, and it’s clear just by the look of her car. It doesn’t bother me. Will it bother Kaylee?
I’m getting ahead of myself. We haven’t even had lunch yet. Our only interaction was limited to a steamy encounter in my office. Maybe she hates my guts. Maybe she wants to berate me over coffee and sandwiches. Who knows?
“Edwards!” I call out. “My guest has arrived. Can you bring her to the patio please?”
The older man nods and heads for the door. Meanwhile, I scurry out back to the garden patio because I don’t want Kaylee to know that I’ve been a nervous wreck. Thankfully, lunch is already set out. My chef made delicious sandwiches and a fantastic apple meringue pie. I put in a special request for the apple meringue, and something tells me that Kaylee and I are going to have some fun with it.
A man has to do what he has to do, after all.
“Welcome back, Ms. Kaylee,” I hear Edwards say through the open patio door. “Please, follow me.”
Their footsteps get louder until Edwards and Kaylee are standing in front of the patio’s sliding doors. She’s absolutely gorgeous. The curvy girl’s wearing a blue sundress that hugs her generous assets, and little white flowers dot the fabric. Her hips are wide, and her waist slim. Long legs peek out from below the hem, stopping in a pair of high-heeled sandals.
But Kaylee hasn’t even noticed me yet. Instead, she’s looking around my garden with awe.
“Wow,” she whispers, eyes wide with appreciation. “I saw the garden from a distance on my last visit, but it’s even more beautiful in person.”
I try to see the grounds the way she does. I think my home is gorgeous, but I’ve lived here my entire life. Maybe it’s rubbed off on me a bit.