As I reach the living room, I hear the tail end of a conversation between Shane and Alice. Well mostly one sided argument, as Shane was not really fighting with Alice.

“Well what do you think?”

“Why don’t you ask her.”

“You don’t think that there’s anything going on?”

“Don’t know.”

“And why is that?”

“Because it’s not my business. If she wants to talk about it, she will.”

“She doesn’t really do that.”

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to suffer with the unknown, sweetie.” God have I mentioned how much I love Shane. She’s so quick to shut down Al’s interrogation. I’m sooo glad she’s hear as a buffer.

“I’m going outside for a cigarette. I’ll be back, Al.” No, no, no come back. ***** now what do I do.

OK Porter suck it up, you can do this, it’s just Alice. Your friend. A reporter. A person that digs and digs and talks and prods until you crack. Yep no problem at all. God who am kidding, by the she’s finished I’ll probably tell her about the time my cousins and I all played Doctor together. Don’t ask. We didn’t know any better okay.

“Hey, where’d did Shane go?” I ask a little too much like a lost child.

“Cigarette.” Was all she said while watching me carefully.

“And my ***** raising brother?”

“Out for a morning jog.” Another simple answer. ***** I can’t take this.

“Alice, why are looking at me like that?”

“No reason. Just trying to figure some stuff out in my head.”

“Having to do with me?”

“So you don’t think that the fight next door…”

“We don’t know if that’s what it was.”

“Right. I’m sure that’s how they sort out who washes the dishes. Anyway, you don’t think that fight had anything to do with you, do you?” She eyes me really carefully. So I do what I have to do when someone like Alice back me into a corner. I have to shut down.

“No, why.”

“Because of the way you were macking on Tina. If not mistaking last night before the Planet you and Grace had hit it off.”

“True”

“But at the Planet, Grace was nowhere to be found towards the night of the night and you were making out with her best friend, right?