Chapter One: Alex

“Hey, little sister, are you about ready to go or what?”

The sun was setting just above the fields of wheat behind the Wilhelm family farm. Alexis Wilhelm emerged from the worn screen door in the front of her family’s house carrying a large box in her arms and trying in vain to blow a wisp of hair from her face. She thrust it into the trunk of her older sister Andrea’s car with a huff.

“What’s all in that box, if you don’t mind me asking?” Andrea maneuvered the box further into her trunk, nestling it snugly between two duffel bags.

“All the essentials,” Alexis said nonchalantly as she pulled a battered cigarette lighter and a pack of Parliaments from her pocket.

“Makeup?” Andrea asked facetiously.

“Massage oils, handcuffs, ball gags, my little whip, edible panties, those sex beads I swiped from that one store,” Alexis rattled off between partially closed lips as she lit a cigarette.

“No condoms?”

“Don’t need ‘em, you know that,” Alexis sighed in exasperation.

“So are you excited for college?” Andrea sat next to her sister on the rear bumper and produced a cigarette of her own.

“Sure, anything to get me out of this backwoods fucking shit hole,” she answered.

“Glad to know you’re going in for the right reasons,” Andrea laughed.

“Yeah, well, you only spent a year at college.”

“Yes, but in that year I realized that I didn’t really want to be an actress, I found a real career, and of course I met the love of my life,” Andrea seemed to gush.

“Ah yes, the incredible, amazing, wonderful whatsisname,” Alexis responded in boredom.

“Kyle.”

“Yeah, Kyle.”

“Who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone you wouldn’t mind holding on to. I never thought it would happen to me, either, but things do happen.”

Alexis clicked her tongue several times and blew out an elegant ring of smoke. “Don’t count on it. So tell me again, how did I let you convince me to go to the college that you dropped out of after a year, even though I won’t be getting any help from the deadbeats back in the house?”

“Because you wanted to get away from this town, because there are almost four thousand full-time male students there, because it’ll actually help you decide what you want to do with your life, those are the most apparent. And you might get some money if you gave out some hugs before we left.”

Alexis glared at her older sister.

“Right, sorry. So before we go, is there anyone back in there that you want to say goodbye to?”

“Andrea, we have a two hour car ride ahead of us, then I’ll be spending the night at your apartment. That gives you a lot of opportunities to talk about those assholes, so let me tell you right now, don’t mention them again. I’m finally done with them and I don’t want to make them think I might miss them. Okay?”

“Fine, I understand. Look, if you could permit me one last reference to them. . .”

“If you need to get it out, then go ahead.”

“I remember going through what you’re probably going through now, and I was so glad to get away from them, too. But somewhere along the line, I was able to forgive them. They made some mistakes, some very big mistakes, but it’s all years in the past. There’s no point in holding a grudge.”

“So if I may ask,” Alexis said in a disinterested tone, “When did you decide to forgive them?”

“After Kyle and I had been going out for a few months. I realized that I loved him, and that was all it took to give me the power to forgive them.”

“A long-term monogamous relationship is all it took, huh? Well, I suppose if they’re looking for forgiveness, that’s too bad for them.”

“Just think about what I said, Alexis. You don’t know what will happen at college.” Andrea wrapped her arm around Alexis’ shoulders in a sisterly hug, and her sister responded by scooting closer to her.

“Do me a favor, Andrea?”

“Anything, little girl.”

“Call me Alex from now on.”

“You got it. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, there’s just one thing left that I need to take care of. You close up the trunk and start the car, I’ll be out in five minutes.” With that, Alex hopped off the bumper of her sister’s car and walked into her family’s dilapidated house. Every stair creaked and groaned as she ascended them to the second floor, and the floorboards echoed them as Alex moved down the hall and into her bedroom.

“Where did you go?” a masculine voice asked from the fading light somewhere in the vicinity of Alex’s bed.

“Stuff to do, you know,” Alex replied without thinking, lifting up the sheets on her bed and snaking her way under them. Then, as an afterthought, her head poked out from the sheets just over the boy’s left shoulder. “You can find your own way out, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Just wondering,” Alex said as she slipped back under the covers. She silently cursed herself for having a cigarette as she tried to work up some saliva. Fuck it, she told herself as she unzipped his pants and prepared to go down as is, he’ll never see me again anyway.