The Unexpected Encounter (An Eminem Fan Fiction)

Chapter 24: Just the Two of Us

"Thank you for doing this for Whit," I heard Hailie say sincerely as we hopped down the stairs to head toward the kitchen. 

I felt really good on the inside when she said that. I felt as if I was earning her admiration; not just hers, but Whitney's as well. "You're welcome. It just tears me apart when I see kids sick. As I said before, my sister suffered the same thing months ago. The condition they're in is awful. I'm so glad she recovered; that it's really a temporary thing."

Hailie looked to me sympathetically. "I know, right? I'm sorry to hear that happen to your sister. I'm glad she got better."

"Thanks. Whit will too," I smiled to her.

Hailie returned one back. "Well, here we are," Hailie announced momentarily once we got there.

I took a look around, gasping. "This kitchen's gorgeous, and huge. There has to be a lot of food here."

Hailie took a deep breath. "Let's hope so."

We took some time to look extensively through all the cupboards and drawers. There had been some cans here and there, but nothing close to what we were looking for. The refrigerator and freezer just had a few food items that had been left there a while but it was noticeable there hadn't been any recent stops at the grocery store lately.

"Did you find anything?" Hailie called over to me.

"No... you?"

"No," she groaned, shutting the cupboard she was just searching in. "Dad just came back so I knew there wouldn't have been much."

"What should we do?" I asked, worried.

Hailie turned to me, eyes glistening. "Why don't we go grocery store shopping?"

My eyes widened. "You mean right now?"

"Why not? We really do need to stock up on food and groceries," she told me, judging by what we discovered by searching. Nothing.

"Yeah, sure," I smiled brightly. "That would be fun. I actually haven't eaten yet, maybe we can grab a bite to eat, too, if you want?" I suggested.

"Of course," she nodded her head. "Let's go ask Whitney if she wants us to pick anything more up for her." We dashed up the stairs together, making our way to Whitney's room. We came in, both crouching down beside her bed once we reached it. "Hey, Whit. Sal and I were thinking about going out to the store. Want us to get you anything else?" Hailie asked her.

Whitney blinked at us, thinking about it for a second. "Maybe just some snacks or something. I want sweets, though," she fussed. "I'm craving them. I hate being sick," she battled with a sniffle.

"Hey," a voice came in, surprising us. Marshall was back. "Whitney, baby, how are you feeling?" Marshall immediately asked her with concern.

"Not too bad," she said partially weak.

"She has a fever. It appears to be the symptoms of a cold, for now. I told her to rest for now so it doesn't worsen," I explained to him.

"Also, Sal and I were wondering if we can go to a grocery store to pick some items up for Whit," Hailie included. "Plus, the fact that we don't have jack squat to eat in this house," Hailie pointed out.

Marshall looked from me to her, sighing. "Well, alright. Where were you guys planning to go?"

"Probably just Kroger, and we can walk since it's not too far from here. Is that alright?" Hailie asked her father.

"That's fine by me," Marshall responded. 

We left Whitney's room after that, letting her rest without another distraction. We made our way downstairs, getting ourselves ready by the front door. Marshall handed us his credit card, only telling us to purchase things that were needed and not to overspend it on useless items. He warned us to be careful as well and to watch out for any paparazzi, stalkers, and the such. 

"We know, we got it," Hailie said to her father, chuckling all while sighing. "We'll see you soon. Bye, love you, Dad."

"Bye, Hailie. Love you too, baby," Marshall said warmly back.

As Hailie was already out, I turned back at Marshall myself. "Bye," I whispered, smirking greatly. "I'll see you as soon as we get back."

He gave me a playful slap on my tush.

"Hey, what in the—" I yelped, narrowing my eyes at him angrily.

He snickered in return, entirely amused. Then, he wished me well. "Bye, baby. Have fun." 

I ran and caught up with Hailie after I left Marshall, us already walking out the other side of the opened gate. I began to speak, looking back at the property wholly behind me. "This house is just so beautiful," I admired, it taking my breath away.

"Thanks, I know," Hailie chuckled. "I love it here."

I smiled brightly at her.

Hailie continued. "By the way, I think your outfit's adorable. You pull it off so easy, and then you just have this casual sweater over it that really matches everything. I'm loving the Detroit pride, too."

I turned bright red. "Aw, you're too nice. It was just something I threw together, honestly. I'm really envious of your beauty. You're a gorgeous girl," I complimented back.

After Hailie flushed in response, denying her own attractiveness (however me strongly stressing that she undeniably was), I went on to explain to her that the "Detroit pride" sweater was actually a souvenir I got for myself and I was actually on vacation here. I went on to tell her my family, school, work, home, almost everything, in a quick summary as we walked down the street. She seemed really fascinated about it—and all at the same time, I was feeling instantly closer to her.

Both of us coming across a shopping plaza ahead of us, I immediately made a comment. "What is Kroger?"

"You don't know?" Hailie looked at me surprised.

"No... we don't have any around where I live, I think," I laughed.

"It's pretty much a supermarket, grocery store chain," Hailie explained briefly.

"I see," I responded. "I'm used to Albertsons back home, as well as Ralphs, Vons, Stater Bros, Walgreens—"

"Ah, kind of lost you there," she laughed, stopping me. "But I'm familiar with Walgreens, we've got a bunch here."

"Oh, cool," I commented. "It's weird, though, I would think everywhere across the nation would have a lot of the same grocery and drug stores, you know?"

"Right?" Hailie agreed. She brought up something else next, still appalled from an earlier topic we discussed. "I still can't get over the fact that you're a year older than me."

"But I am," I laughed some. "How old did you think I was?"

"I don't know, maybe in your twenties?" she previously assumed.

I chuckled at her. "I get that a lot." I went on to explain that many people would think I was in my twenties, I didn't know what it was about me. Or sometimes, even the complete opposite (depending on the person), they would mistake me for a sixteen-year-old. There was no in-between for me.

Hailie told me she could relate. She introduced me to a lot of her problems, too, she faced, being the daughter of one of the greatest rappers. I expressed my sympathy, but letting her know to ignore those people. "Can I ask you something?" Hailie casually started thereafter, surprising me.

I got nervous but nodded curiously. "What is it?"

"How exactly did you and my dad meet? I'm just curious... it's so unlikely for him to bring anyone home. What'd you do?" she eyed me funny.

In between laughs, I told her the events that happened at the club Tuesday night and then afterwards. I told her about Nate, as well. I didn't go into complete detail but I told her the main gist of it. Hailie nodded the entire time, admiring how neat, amazing, and a pure coincidence a lot of it was and praising her father for doing such a thing for me.

Once I was near finished explaining everything, we had reached our destination.