Miss. Matchmaker |✓

Chapter 12

"What if maybe he's seeing some other girl, huh!? Or, or maybe, just maybe, seeing their "father" is code for him eloping with said girl! Yeah, yeah." My rambling words sounded ridiculous even to my own two ears, however the math doesn't add up when I calculate it in my head. While Dustin and I had not known each other for more than a month or two yet, it still felt as if someone had took scissors and cut off all my heart strings leaving the organ itself to fall into the it of my abdomen to be gargled up by my stomach acid.

"Yes, you are so right. I bet they're even going to have little demon babies that will one day grow up and move on to high school and you'll be forced to teach them while they sit in the corner; mocking you for what could have been," by the tone in Harper's voice one would have been under the impression that she was being completely honest. The way she shook her head leaving her red, Ariel-the-mermaid shaded curls to bounce in agreement with her made the sarcasm that poured itself onto each of her words all the more convincing.

"It's just, I thought he would of told me that he was going away." I pouted like a child being slapped on the wrist for eating dessert before dinner, reaching for my laptop, that is most likely from an era where dinosaurs still roamed the earth, I noticed some unpainted nail peeking through the layer of polish I had applied earlier this week. "Would you mind painting my nails?"I questioned Harper, watching as she wordlessly propped herself up and off the blankets she cocooned herself into and making her way to my bathroom to fetch the nude colored polish.

I lifted the top layer of my computer revealing a bright screen too which I responded with quickly hammering the tiny sun button to a more bearable lighting mode. "Say, do you know any lawyers?" I called louder than I had to seeing as Harper was quickly making her way back over to where I was sitting.

She thought for a moment, before shaking her head and throwing her body next to mine on the love seat, startling Specks who was comfortably resting with his right paw lying across my stomach. She took my right hand in hers and began applying the color to my nails, covering up any cracks. "Why don't you just look them up?" She suggested as I had just began typing in the word "lawyer" to a Google search bar.

"Why don't you just look one up?" I imitated in a high-pitched, goofy sounding voice that caused Harper to break out into a snort of a laugh. "Oh! Here's one and it's actually located right up the street from the school," my face displayed a look of approval as I began clicking through their website. "Thompson and Cruz "Attorneys at Law,"" My voice knocked itself down a few notches to sound more manly.

"Sounds reliable to me." Harper began coating on a thin layer of clear polish to lock in the color, "Oh, you see, I didn't do that before." I admitted sheepishly, watching her finish up on my pinky finger. Her hazel colored eyes playfully came up to glare at me as I closed my eyes and flashed her a wide grin. She forcefully grabbed my other hand, bringing it across my breast; leaving me in an uncompromising position. My left hand was caged underneath, as I balanced the laptop in its place on my thighs I opened a new tab and clicked on the quick-access link I had for my email. It was set up to my school account, which was filled to the brim with excuses from students as to why they couldn't possibly finish the project I had assigned them and giving them 3 weeks, including in-class time to complete.

"Why, hello little guy," I mumbled more to myself than Harper, her fully pierced ears didn't care to listen to my words as she had closed the cap on the nail polish and was now fully indulged in an episode of 'Keeping up with the Kardashian's'. It was from an account called 'roughrider2758' which had peaked my interest in itself, however my eyebrow perched itself higher on my forehead as I read the subject titled 'I'm sorry, darlin' with a colon and beginning parenthesis followed. I double clicked on it, my heart picking itself up from its place in my stomach and leaping into my throat.

I really am, I know more than anyone that I should have told you about this trip. But, in the honest truth I hadn't planned it in the slightest, I wish I could explain this to you in more detail but I got to go. Please don't hate me!

                      -- Dustin

"And I'm an idiot," tossing my head back onto the floral printed cushion I groaned loudly, causing Specks to whimper and Harper to shoot me a perplexed look before she turned directions and had a full view of my computer screen. She read slowly, saying each word as if it were part of a confidential plan, before finally howling out a laugh that made me grab the closest item to me, which had just so happened to be Speck's rope toy, and clobber her with it. Speck's took it as a time to play and trotted his 40 pound body across my lap and began lightly nipping at the toy and Harper.

"You so so so so so deserve that!" Harper informed me, while trying in her best efforts to calm the beast that was now licking at her face as if it were a water bowl.

"Yeah, well, whatever." A red flare crawled up my neck and made my cheeks look as if someone took a beet and brushed it onto my skin. I turned my attention back to my own work as my sister sat next to me attempting to soothe my dog, I tapped at the letters on the keyboard mindlessly in the reply box provided for me.

Don't sweat it and no, I don't hate you :)

-- Rae

Clicking the 'x' in the corner of that tab after hitting the send button, I was brought back to the lawyers page. I got up from my place, bringing my laptop along with me for the ride and found myself in my kitchen pulling open the junk drawer. Rummaging through, I found a sharpie and, with that, jotted down the number on the inner side of my forearm. It was then that I noticed my newly painted nails had been chipped from the events that had recently taken place.

"Uhm, Harper," I called into the open floored apartment, "I'm going to need you to re-do my nails, again."