Kelly’s relationship with her boyfriend was a little terse at the moment, now that there was a long distance between them. Before she went to college, the two were practically inseparable – especially when they were alone. The sex was absolutely amazing. But now she lived in a dorm with four other girls, and her sexual interaction with Sam was reduced to the verbal kind. It could be frustrating, but she knew it was more for Sam than it was for her – knew it mostly because lately, his fantasies been really bizarre – usually involving domesticated animals. But she loved him, so she played them out for him. After all, it wasn’t like she was really doing it, she just made herself sound like she was – as weird as she felt about it. No one else knew she did it either – when you lived in a house full of girls, getting a phone call was sacred.

She came downstairs to hang up the phone, and was surprised to see the place devoid of life. One other perk of being a part of a group that had been compared to the Spice Girls was that guys – and lots of them – were there all the time. She wasn’t interested in anyone else, but the attention was fun. But now, it was empty.

She placed the phone on the receiver, and Kim opened the door to her room. Quietly, she walked over to the phone. She wouldn’t meet Kelly’s eyes. Her jaw was set as she hit the “Play” button on the receiver, turned on her heel and walked back into her room, shutting the door behind her.

“Okay,” she heard her own voice on the recording. “I’m in my room now. So what do you want to talk about?”

“You know what I want,” said Sam. She heard herself chuckle. “Honey, where’s the dog?”

“He’s right here…let me slide some peanut butter on my…”

Kelly finally woke up enough to hit the “Stop” button. Someone must have answered the phone after the machine had picked it up, and the entire conversation was not only recorded, but played to the room while it had been going on.

No wonder the place had cleared out.