𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐀𝐆𝐄 [𝐂. 𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐒] [𝟑]

16| Real Life

She hated to wait. In lines, for new episodes, for food and especially for phone calls.

Waiting for phone calls killed her. The waiting, the nerves and her bad habit of pacing. She'd been pacing for 15 minutes, since she arrived home.

Martha didn't pick up, most likely still sweating and her other friends all told her the same. All but Charlotte. She told her to jump his bones. Needless to say that didn't help. Her thoughts after that weren't the best.

Her ring tone was obnoxiously loud. It startled her from her thoughts while she sat on her kitchen counter.

It wasn't him. It was her mother. With whom she still lived. Even at 26 she still lived with her parents and younger brother. When she moved to Los Angeles from D.C. her parents came with her.

She wasn't complaining.

After telling her mother exactly what she needed to buy at the grocery store, she threw herself onto the couch.

Their two Labradors sat next to her, cuddling her on both sides. She kept on checking her phone and it was severely starting to annoy her. It made her throw the phone to the small table in front of her.

As she scratched the dogs' ears she sighed. There was nothing interesting on the TV. The kitchen was too far and she could not be bothered to get up.

She reached out to the table next to her side of the couched where she had placed the TV controller. She zapped through the channels, unable to choose something, before stopping and turning off the television.

She stretched her legs and placed her head on top of one of the dogs. She cuddled the dogs and scratched their tummies until she fell asleep.

___

She was woken by the loud sound of her annoying ringtone. On the couch to her left were her mom and brother, the first studying a recent set of laws and the second watching television and playing on his phone at the same time. She rolled her eyes.

Lazily she moved enough to grab the phone. Didn't even care to check.

"Hello?"

God, her voice. It sounded horrible.

"Hey. It's Chris. Did I wake you up?"

She quickly sat up, making the dogs jump off the couch and started fiddling with the bottom of her shirt.

"Chris! No, of course you didn't! It's eight PM, why would I be asleep?"

Her mother looked at her curiously and her brother rolled his eyes at her little white lie. She really felt like smacking him, sometimes.

"Right. Of course. So... How are you?"

Was he for real? It took her a moment to process the question.

"I'm good. You?"

"Me too."

A pregnant pause followed the answer. Matilda really didn't know what to say and in all honesty she didn't remember Chris to be this awkward.

"You know, I called and now I've got nothing to say. I feel so stupid now. I mean, I told you I'd call you later, so I did..."

Matilda didn't know what to say, either. However, she did blush when she understood that he called just to keep his word to her. She found it sweet.

"That's really nice of you. But you sound tired."

She heard him sight before chuckling and her legs finally untangled, her feet finally touching one of the horrible carpets her mother insisted on having.

"I am... I guess I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

She slowly nodded, as if he could see her, one of her manicured nails trapped between her front teeth.

"Bye, then."

"Bye."

She hung up and sighed. Kudos to Chris, for putting her through the most awkward conversation she'd ever had.

Her mother and brother were both looking at her, confusion etched on their faces so all the did was get up and leave the room.

"Oh, shut up."

On her way to her bedroom, she was still able to hear her brother shout an answer.

"We didn't say anything!"