Kelly was standing in front of her front door. She took her keys out, and opened the door quietly. She had been told by her mother from a very young age that there was no need to announce herself to the world by doing things obnoxiously. So, she never stomped, trampled, or noisily did anything. She was a quiet timid girl. She had never even heard her parents making love. That's how quiet things were at her house. Today was different, though.
She walked in to the living room, through the hallway past the kitchen. She headed up the carpeted stairs and towards her room. She heard noises coming from her mom's room, and the door was wide open. Her mom was moaning, and screaming as someone was on top of her. The lights weren't on, and Kelly wanted to make sure it wasn't her daddy. She wasn't prepared for what came next, though.
"You're a wild woman, Mrs. Davis."
Her heart froze in her rib cage. That sounded like her boyfriend, Mark. Mark? What was Mark doing in bed with her mother? She almost ran into the room, but she just went quietly up to her door, opened it, and went inside her room. She closed her door, locked it, and cried for the longest time. She didn't hear them leave, or go down to the first floor. She just remembered crying for what felt like hours.
Her cell phone rang, and it was Mark. She clicked it on.
"Hello?" she asked bitterly.
"Kelly, hey. I called to let you know that I can't make our date tonight." He explained softly. "I got held up with some other errands, and I can't make it. I have to take a shower, and go meet with my boss about work."
"Fine with me." She said bitterly.
"Something wrong, dearest?" Mark asked.
"I don't want to go out with you anymore." Kelly explained.
"But I gave you a ring."
"Flushed it down the toilet." She lied. She would do that as soon as she got off the phone.
"Kelly, what happened to you?" he asked.
"I found you, Mark, like some bestial wild pig fucking my mother!" she shouted. "I want nothing to do with you!" she shrieked.
"But, my grades—"
"-I never want to see you again. You can find someone else to help you with your homework. Since that's all I ever was to you anyway."
"Kelly, let me explain!" Mark begged.
"I will." Kelly shot back at him. "Not because I want to take you back. I just want to see what kind of excuse you'll lead me to believe. I want to see what you've had time to come up with in this amount of time." She said bitterly.
"Kelly, your mom was naked when I came over. I was looking for you, and your mom was walking around the house, naked. She asked if I liked what I saw, and I did. Then, all of a sudden, I'm kissing her and—"
"-Mark, I don't want to hear it. I am dumping you. You can tell the coach, and your father, that you will be needing a new tutor for your work. I want to have nothing to do with you." She shouted.
"Fine. I never loved you, anyway. And I want my ring back. That's fourteen karat gold." He explained.
"Find it from the sewage company. I flushed it." She said as she hung up the call. There was a knock at the door.
She froze. She didn't know who that could be. Her mom ready to yell at her? Or her dad? She waited.
"Kelly, open the door." It was her father. She just stared. "Open the door, Kelly, please." He begged. "I have to talk to you."
Kelly opened the door. He stepped in. He turned on the light.
"I'm kind of getting ready to go to bed." Kelly said softly. "I'm not feeling well today, dad."
"I know." Said her dad softly. "Your feelings were heard all over the house, and maybe out of your open window, too." He said softly.
"Oh daddy, no!" Kelly gasped. "You weren't supposed to hear me! I was going to tell you, but I didn't know how." She whispered.
"I wondered why you were in here for three whole hours crying." He said as he walked over to her. "Can I do anything for you?" he asked.
"No. I'm not the one you should be tending to." Kelly said softly. "I want to know if I can do anything for you. Does mom know I know?" she asked. "Or that you know?"
"No, she doesn't. She's been down in her office all this time. I made dinner, and I was about to come get you, and I heard what you said." Sean said softly.
"What are you going to do?" Kelly asked. "You're not going to hit her, are you?"
"Kelly, listen to me." He said as he leaned in and took her face in his hands. "Under no circumstance is it ever..., ever..., okay to hit a woman." He said as he looked her in the eye. "I am not going to hit your mother, I am going to ask her about this. I am going to get a divorce from her. But honey, I would never lay hands on a woman." He explained.
"I hate her. She's a slut." Kelly said softly. "And Mark is a pig."
"Yes, they are." He said softly. He kissed her forehead, and hugged her. "Want some dinner? We can eat it in the dining room, and I won't call your mom until you're out of the room if you want." He said softly.
"I'll come eat with you, daddy." She said softly. "But you don't have to hide anything. I want you to tell mom whenever you're ready." She muttered.
That night, they both ate with Sydney. She was sitting there, as if nothing had happened. She was smiling and everything.
"What's up with you two, you look like you've seen a ghost." She remarked.
"Nothing much." Sean said softly.
"I love your food, dad. You really outdid yourself this time." Kelly said grinning.
"Thanks, Kells. I thought it was pretty good myself." He said smiling.
"It beats Panda Express." Sydney said with a grimace. "That place is terrible."
"Dad, do you want me to help with the dishes?" Kelly asked smiling politely at him.
"If you want. You don't have to, if you have homework or something."
"I can help him, dear." Sydney explained.
"No, it's all right. You go down to your office, and do whatever it is you do." Sean said noting that Kelly was ignoring her mother for sure.
"All right. I guess you two could use some bonding time. You don't spend nearly enough time with your daughter." Her mom said softly.
"You all right, honey?" Sean asked after all the dishes were done.
