Life as I Know It

Chapter 17

A/N: Sorry that I've been gone awhile. I haven't been in a real mood to write, in general really. But for some reason, I felt this need to do it today. Especially since it's so close to the holidays. So, I hope you enjoy!

~oOo~

As I tucked my phone in my back pocket, I opened the door to meet Phil.

With his baby blue eyes, tousled brown hair, scruffed chin, he was a handsome man. He wore a blue jacket and white dress shirt with no tie, black pants and shoes. He kinda gave me a douche-like vibe, but at least he looked nice enough.

He shot me a bright smile, and I smiled shyly back.

"Hi, Bella, right?"

"Yeah, hi. Welcome." I stepped aside to let him in and shut the door. I walked him to the living room and he sat down.

I awkwardly looked to the hallway. Mom's bathroom light shone from the bottom of the door, and I could hear her heels clattering on the floor.

"So, your mom tells me you're in school again?" Phil's voice made me turn back to him.

"Um, yeah. I just started earlier this year."

"Oh, ok. Where you going? What's your major?"

"University of Phoenix. It's an online program. And, Communications."

"Any concentration?"

My heels swayed back and forth. Was this a conversation or an interview? "Journalism."

His eyebrows raised and he nodded. I braced myself for the impending lecture, just as a couple other people did to me when I told them my major. "That's a struggling field, journalism. What made you choose that one?"

I shrugged, trying to be polite. "I like to write, and I have my own websites and I write for a lot of them. And I like to know how the media works."

"Well, in my opinion, media is subjective. There's only so much you can do with it for a job. Plus, you have to work from the bottom up, for little pay. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

I closed my eyes to prevent them from rolling so far into the back of my head. My foot started tapping on the hardwood floor, and I could feel the room getting warmer. What was with this guy? How could he come into my house and basically look down on me on what I wanted? Sure I didn't exactly have a plan, but at least I wasn't a douche like him.

"Ok, smart guy, what do you do for a living? Where'd you go to school? What was your major?" I tried to keep my tone even.

He smiled that cocky smile I'd thought was so endearing five minutes ago, shaking his head. I glanced back to the bathroom, and sighed in relief when her door opened. She swayed in her blue, sparkly, sequined gown. Her curly hair and makeup was redone, primed and polished. She looked so beautiful. She didn't deserve to be with this douche.

I plastered on a sweet smile and stepped aside as Mom greeted Phil with a kiss on both cheeks.

"So, you've finally met!" She grinned, wrapping an arm around me and Phil.

"Yes, we have. She's a sweet girl, Renee. I can see where she gets it from." He winked, and I gagged on the inside.

"Yeah, he's really nice, Mom." I looked to the both of them, and unwrapped her arm around me. "Well, I'll let you two go."

"Oh, you don't want to grab your plate first? You can eat in your room if you want." Mom's smirk let me know to do so and do it quickly.

I nodded, gagging even more on the inside. I did not need to know what they wanted to talk about. "Right. Ladies first." I shook Phil's hand. "It was very nice to meet you."

"Likewise." His grip was firm as his douche smile blinded my face.

I let go and walked around them to the kitchen. As I poured the spaghetti and meat sauce into a plate, I could hear my mom turn on her infamous slow jams on the stereo. Just so I could get out of there fast enough, I heated up the food for 30 seconds in the microwave. I almost lost my appetite when I could hear them both in the living room whispering sweet nothings to each other. I put my food into a tray, grabbed a napkin and a can of iced tea, and walked quickly past them to my room.

I almost slammed my door shut, but I didn't want to make them suspicious. I sat my food down on the bed and turned on my TV, the volume going up high so their date couldn't be heard through the thin walls. I landed on the old movie Brokeback Mountain and angrily ate my food.

A/N: Phil is fun, isn't he? Lol.

I probably won't be able to update again until the new year. Work and school are really pushing me. So. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's in advance! Thanks for all your patience and still reading.