Roommates

Chapter 13

This was bad, really bad. I was slightly panicking. I was in a situation where I had to deal with my two fears, a child and an unpredictable stranger. All I want to do was crawl into a gaint blanket and wrap myself into it. What did I get myself into and how?  Why couldn't I say no?

"So where were we?" Amanda questioned with a cocky smirk.

"Eating." I quickly stuffed a piece of pancake into my mouth, so that I wouldn't have to talk to her.

Amanda chuckled softly. "You can't avoid talking to me."

I nodded my head as I swallowed the pancake. "I definitely could. Like Hannah said, I'm not comfortable with talking to someone I don't know."

"And how did you become comfortable talking to Hannah?" She leaned forward against the table. Her eyes were focusing in on me like an eagle.

"Uhh...good question." When did I start feeling comfortable around Hannah? Was it at the market or when I was sick? Probably the market. "When we went shopping together."

"We can do that then," Amanda suggested. She glanced down at her phone.

"Uh...I think I will pass. I really want to go home," I answered.  All I wanted was to take a nap. This day has been too exhausting and embarrassing for me to handle.

"Come on it will be fun," Amanda urged. "We can drop Charlie off at his dads and then go."

"Dads? As in plural?" I stared at her in complete confusion. What kind of family situation was this?

"Yes, dads." Amanda emphasized the s.

"So your ex is into guys now?" I tried to wrap my mind around the situation, but I still couldn't grasp the new information she was telling me.

Amanda laughed loudly as she slapped the table. Charlie cutely imitated her by slapping on the table as well.

"Manners." I pointed toward Charlie's hands and he stopped in confusion. He stared at me with his big brown eyes and then back at his hands like they were now some kind of foreign object.

"No, not my ex. I wouldn't mind if one of them were, but they don't swing that way," Amanda said casually. She pulled the hair tie out of her hair and tossed her hair from side to side in order to reshape it.

"And you're the mother?" What was she trying to say?

"More like nanny," Amanda answered as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"But he called you mom..." Never mind that didn't matter. Charlie seemed to have the tendency to call anyone and anything his mommy.

"Yes, he does. Just like how he called you mommy." Amanda grinned at me and turned toward Charlie. She squeezed his little cheeks as he giggled.

"Oh wow!" That's what I get for assuming and now I was completely wrong.

"I work hard for this body." Amanda gestured toward herself.  "I'm not ready to give it up."

I nodded like I understood her, but in reality, I wasn't sure how to respond.

"Are you finished?" Amanda pointed toward my plate. "They're a few blocks away."

"Yeah." I pushed my plate away from me.

Amanda waved her hand in the air as the waitress came over. "Can we have our bill?"

"The blonde that was sitting with you earlier already paid," The waitress replied.

My eyes widened at the revelation. How dare she do that? That was so sneaky. No one beats me at paying the bill. My parents would have been ashamed.  Paying the bill was all about pride and generosity. Heavy on the pride. As a child, I have seen my parents and relatives have a polite fight over paying the bill before and I knew how to win or I thought I did. I have to pay Hannah back.