Under My Enemy's Roof - Under Him

Now I wanted some food and a shower and just to stop walking back and forth to the damned Prius. This time, I grabbed some more clothes.

Normally, I’d bring suitcases back to school during the last break. Now, though, I didn’t have them. Fortunately, the Prius was clean, so I just stacked them inside. I had, unfortunately, closed one of my shirts in the trunk door. It now had a black mark on the sleeve.

Great.

Going back inside, I put detergent on the offending area, set the washing machine and threw it in. With some more detergent and washing it by itself, I was hoping to save the shirt.

Then I took the rest of the stuff upstairs. Phil was now sitting at the bottom of the stairs, vaping and looking at his phone. I stopped because he was in the way and he slid to the right without looking up. I walked around him.

Jeez, is this what I was going to have to put up with every day? It was a good thing some of my high school friends live in the area. If I had to hang around here all day, I’ll probably go insane.

Avoiding Phil was hard enough, but Daphene never seemed to leave when dad was out of the house. It was going to be crazy being trapped with all these people.

I made one final trip to the car. I scanned it for anything I could’ve possibly missed. I lifted up seats and checked under them. Finally, just as I was ready to lock the doors and be done with this, I heard the last voice I wanted to hear.

“Who is doing laundry now?” asked Daphne, on my way in. “Is that you, Tracianne?”

“Yes,” I sighed, exasperated.

“I’ll be happy to do some with the rest of the---”

“No, it’s fine, I got it,” I dismissed her.

I was a grown adult and knew how to wash laundry.

God, this woman was already constantly up in my business!

Walking past Phil, I got up the stairs and sighed.

“Hey, do you need help?” Phil asked.

“My car is empty now, dumbass!” I snapped.

“I’m just kidding,” laughed Phil. “I wasn’t really offering.”

Growling to myself, I went into my room and shut the door. I threw down my stuff, flopped on the bed and tried to take a nap. This was going to be a very long quarantine.Chapter Four - PhilWhat a brat my stepsister is! God, she can’t even unload her car without turning it into a drama! If she had just come inside and asked nicely, I would’ve been happy to help empty her car. But of course she had to insist on being the center of attention.

I spent the morning answering emails, eating breakfast burritos and generally looking at the Internet at stupid shit. It was relaxing, if unproductive. I was just about to get into a groove when I could hear someone gently knock at my door.

“Excuse me, Phil?” asked Richard.

“Yeah, what?” I responded.

“Family meeting in ten minutes. You decent?”

“Yeah.”

He opened the door. I was still in my underwear.

“I thought you were decent.”

“I’m always decent, Richard.”

“Well, put on some pants, please. We’re having a family meeting,” he repeated.

“I heard you. Why can’t you just tell me whatever it is you want to tell me?” I asked.

“Because we’re all going to be living here and it’s easier if we talk as a group, okay? Now come on, please?”

“All right, all right,” I relented.

“Now, please.”

“You said ten minutes.”

“Oh, right. I did. Ten minutes.”

Jeez, this guy forgets what he said thirty seconds after. Guess he’s just nervous being here. Hope no one’s infected yet. What a nightmare if we all get it. Then it’s off to the hospital to what--- Be put on a respirator, I guess. At least I wouldn’t have to listen to Richard’s bullshit for a while.

I went downstairs. Mom, Richard and Tracianne were already sitting at the table. Traci had one of those plastic cups with a straw. Not the kind you’d get at McDonald’s or something, but one of those high-end store-bought ones. You know, the straw was reusable and you had to wash it.

She just sat there, occasionally sucking on it and playing with the straw with her tongue. What’s her deal?

“Okay, everyone,” Richard began. “First of all, glad you’re both safe. Thanks for being here. I expect the smoothest of stays, right Phil?”

“What? What did I do?” I objected.

Tracianne put her hand up and started smiling. She was enjoying this.

“Nothing, I’m just trying to stave off trouble,” Richard said.

“You’re challenging me like I did something,” I said. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Not saying you did.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“There’s no problem and I don’t want there to be one,” Richard repeated, again, making me feel like he was blaming me for something.

“It’s fine, Phil. We all just want to get along, right?”