“What are we going to do about her?” says Sasha.

We’re in my room, sitting cross-legged on my bed, facing each other.

“We can’t just kick her out,” I say.

“Why not?”

“She’s on the lease, right?”

“Yeah,” says Sasha.

“So she paid the rent. She’s on the lease. I don’t see any legal reason to kick her out.”

“What about the drugs? Whatever she’s using, it’s definitely not legal.”

“So what are we going to do? Call the cops on her? I feel sorry for her.”

Sasha looks up at my celling, where all of my possessions have been super glued to the ceiling.

“I just wish she’d used regular glue,” I say. “Whatever she used, that stuff’s never coming down.”

Sasha giggles, and it makes me giggle.

But the joyous moment doesn’t last long. I sink back into my depression.

My thoughts turn to David, and his muscular body, and the way he looks at me.

I’m never going to feel the way he made me feel again. And that’s not the depression talking, nor the hopelessness. That’s just reality. I can feel it in my bones, and I’m as sure of it as I ever have been of anything in my life.

Unless I get him back.

But how can I deal with his demanding personality? The way he talks to me… it’s terrible. It’s like each time after sex he turns into a different person altogether.

And, anyway, even if he was to open up… he’d be furious at me for ruining everything with his daughter. He’s going to lose her to his ex-wife and it’s going to all be my fault.

“Wait a second,” I say, an idea suddenly coming to me out of the blue. “What did you say her name was again?”

“Alicia, why?”

“There’s something familiar about her.”

“I’ve never met her before. Like I said, she’s just some random person from Craigslist. That’ll teach me, right?”

“But…”

“I don’t think you’ve met her either.”

“Wait,” I say. “This might sound crazy. But I think she might be David’s ex-wife. I’m pretty sure her name was Alicia too.”

“That’s crazy,” says Sasha. “She sure doesn’t seem like a billionaires-ess, or whatever it is you call them.”

“I’ll be right back,” I say.

“Where are you going?”

“Don’t worry,” I say. “It’s OK.”

I leave Sasha sitting on my bed, pondering my very strange ceiling.

“Alicia?” I say, entering the common room. “Alicia? Are you here?”

“Hi,” says Alicia.

“Where are you?”

“I’m right here.”

Now I see her. Or, I see her foot. She’s lying behind the couch, apparently, with one foot sticking out.

“You’re behind the couch.”

“Yes.”

“Oh,” I say, not knowing how to respond to this strange behavior. “Are you sure you don’t mind that I’m in your room?”

“No, it’s filled with bugs.”

“Bugs? I didn’t see any in there. I thought you fixed that problem by plugging the holes.”

“That was for the ice. But now there are bugs. They can’t get me here, though. I’m safe. You should come back here with me or else the bugs will get you.”

Her broken glass pipe is sitting in a different position on the table. I touch it and it’s so hot it almost burns my finger tips. She must have just smoked whatever it is she’s smoking. There’s that strange burnt plastic smell around.

“I’m OK up here,” I say. “But I’m glad you’re safe.”

“I’m safe.”

“Alicia,” I say. “I was wondering if you had a daughter.”

“A daughter?”

“Yeah, do you have a daughter?”

“Of course!” says Alicia, her voice turning angry and mean.

“What’s her name?” I say.

“Why do you want to know? Are you from the courts?”

Wow, she’s really out of it. She must be high as a kite and hallucinating. She doesn’t seem to remember who I am from one minute to the next.

“I’m your roommate,” I say. “Remember?”

“Oh. Yeah, I have a daughter named Laura. But I don’t have her.”

“Where is she?”

“With her asshole father, David.”

“David Masters?”

“Of course! Who else do you think I meant?”

So this is Laura’s mother!

Wow, so David wasn’t just acting out of self interest. Alicia may not be a bad person, but she obviously has some drug issues, just like David said, and it’s clear to me right now that she’s certainly not fit to be raising Laura, no matter what kind of father David is. He may have some work to do in terms of becoming more of a good conversationalist with his daughter, but he’s providing her a stable place to live and a stable life, something that Alicia is not capable of.

I turn on my heel to leave, to tell Sasha all about this.

Apparently Alicia hears me from behind the couch.

“Where are you going?” she cries out shrilly. “Don’t leave me. The bugs are going to get me.”

“I’m going to go get the bug spray,” I say, rushing away from the couch, without listening to what she has to say.

Sasha’s lying on my bed, looking up at the celling.

“You know,” she says. “This bed hasn’t even been touched. I don’t think she’s slept in it since you left.”

“She’s probably sleeping under it,” I say, and I tell Sasha how Alicia is hiding behind the couch. I tell her all about how Alicia is actually David Masters’ ex-wife.

“What are we going to do?”

“I think I can fix things,” I say.

“Fix what? What are you going to do?”

“I can get David full custody of his daughter,” I say. “I don’t know how, but I can do it.”

“What? I’m talking about the apartment. What are you going to do about the apartment?”

“Oh,” I say, realizing we’re on completely different pages. “I don’t know. I’ll figure something out. I’ll just sleep in your room until we figure it out.”

Sasha sighs.

“That OK?”

“Yeah,” she says.