Chapter 20
Ali Kat
After giving Eva a quick tour of the family farm, and Garrett the means to escape, I head back to the loft for some girl talk.
“I got here as soon as I could. I woulda been here sooner, if Ted wasn’t such a hard-ass. He tried pulling some,“Ali needs to do some self-reflection,”bullshit, but I wore him down.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he made a good call. I damn near wanted to kill him when he decided to cart me off to my family’s farm, but honestly, this is exactly what I needed.”
“What you needed? It’s not like you actually have a real problem with alcohol. I’ve been to rehab three times now, and I’ll likely go a fourth. What you had was a bad night.”
“I mean, I needed this for my soul.”
“Yeah, and pretty soon, you’ll be doing yoga, going on retreats, pushing vitamins.”
“Oh, stop. I just—need to try harder with my family.”
“Have you read the recent headlines?” Eva says, pulling a magazine from her purse.
“No, and I don’t want to…”
“Everyone thinks you’re in rehab, a few think you’re dead. They still can’t decide where on Earth you’re from, some say Alabama, others Sweden.”
“Are they still saying I’m from Sweden? That’s crazy.”
“Your team does a good job of keeping you off the radar. There’s even been speculation that you’re some kind of cult member.”
“Wait—what?!?”
“You know, they’ll pull anything out of their ass.”
“I guess that’s better than having them show up on my parents’ doorstep.”
“So, when does the maid come?” Eva says, eyeing the piles of clothing strewn across the floor.
“There is no maid.”
“Oh…”
I start shoving the clothing back in the brown wardrobe I had hid Garrett in.
Eva smirks. “You wouldn’t believe who I hooked up with?”
“Your mom’s pool boy again?”
“Oh, no—never again. I found out my mom was banging him too.”
“Ewww!”
“Anselm Hartwick,” she enthuses.
“The porn star?”
“The eight-inch porn star.”
I chuckle. “Well, if that’s how we’re competing, I have you beat.”
Her eyebrow arcs in confusion. “You…have me beat…in podunk Nebraska? Are you like fucking your brother for real, or is this a horse you’re talking about? Wait, is it that country boy you were telling me about? The one that did you dirty?”
