Have You Heard? I'm a Nerd. (EDITING)

Ch8: Goldilocks

Dusty started barking crazily as a reaction. He bounded away leaving us standing in the foyer.

"I have to warn you. You're about to meet my little sister." Lake advised.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"That depends."

I was about to question him further when Dusty returned. But that wasn't the weird thing. The weird thing was that riding on his back was a small girl that looked about seven. I would describe the girl as Goldilocks clone because she definitely looked like the younger version of the fictional character. Her golden blonde hair was in tight ringlets that framed her round pudgy face. Her eyes were sky  blue and as innocent looking as a new born chick. She looked absolutely adorable in her dainty pink dress.

I stopped observing Lake's sister when I realized Dusty was making no need to stop. The dog was unaware that he was most likely reaching ten mph and was about to crash into a frightened Tammie.

Everything seemed slow motion as the excited labrador skidded towards my legs. I jumped out of the way just in time. Of course I do not have the balance of a prima ballerina so I was practically leaping to my death. I closed my eyes, waiting for my face to come in contact with hard tiled floors. I was bracing for impact when I realized that I should've hit the ground already.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw hands circled around my waist. I looked around to see dark brown eyes staring back at me.

"Erm, thanks." I mumbled as Lake released his grip.

"No problem." He replied. His attention turned to the giggling seven year old in front of us.

"Alice! How many times have I told you to not ride on Dusty's back! It's dangerous!"

Alice stopped laughing and climbed off of the dog's back.

 "Sorry, Lakey."

 The girl looked like she was about to cry when her gaze shifted to me.

"Who's that?" I was surprised that her voice loss the vulnerable tone, and switched to a indignant one.

"This is Tammie."

"Is she your new girlfriend?" She looked accusingly at me while the two of us looked astounded at her.

"N-no!" We yelled at the same time.

I cleared my throat before speaking. "Me and your brother are just friends." I emphasized on the just.

"They all say that."

I felt really awkward at that point. I was grateful Lake changed the subject.

"Tammie, I guess you need to give those to my mom. Follow me."

Before we left the room, Alice held up two of her fingers and made a peace sign. She tapped them on the bridge of her nose then pointed her index finger at me. She was saying "I'm watching you." I think I felt an unpleasant shudder.

I walked away slightly scared.

~~~

"Mom, we have a delivery for you."

A tall woman with jet black hair came into view. The first thing I thought was she looks nothing like Alice and Lake. Maybe they inherited all the genes from their dad. Some kids end up like that. Disregarding the non existent resemblance between Lake and his mom, I walked up and politely shook her hand.

"Hi, I'm Tammie." I greeted.

"Maggie." She smiled warmly and gently let go of my hand.

"These are from my mom."

"Oh, you're  Kate's daughter?" She asked as she took the papers from me.

"Yes, I am." I confirmed.

"Thank-you for bringing the documents over. Would you like to stay for lunch? Greg is preparing his specialty."

I was about to give her an answer when the phone started ringing.

"Excuse me a moment, sweety."

I nodded my head to let her know I would wait.

"Hello?" Maggie asked into the receiver.

I tuned out of the conversation and instead surveyed the room. It was a simple tidy room with a desk and black, leather, office chair. The walls were blindingly white and everything screamed professional. My roaming eyes landed on the window two feet away. Underneath it was a small decorative table. Displayed proudly on top was a photo of the Walters family.

You could tell the little boy was Lake. He appeared to be about nine years old, and Alice was meerly an infant. I assumed the man was their father, but the woman standing in the back wasn't Maggie. This lady looked a lot like the children in the photo. Her hair was a beautiful mixture of colors. It was light brown with gold streaks in it. Her eyes were blue and so innocent looking, it felt like I was peering into Alice's beautiful orbs.

I felt eyes watching me. Maggie was talking enthusiastically on the phone, and there was only one other person in the room. I turned around to see Lake studying me intensely with his dark eyes.

I stared back wondering what I did. I felt lost in his gaze. 

"Is that alright Tammie?"

Maggie's voice jolted me back to reality. "I-I'm sorry. Can you repeat that, please?"

"I was asking if its okay if you stay."

"Umm." I looked down at my phone to check the time and saw it was 11:30. There was also one new text message from my mom.

It read: Are you almost done Tammie? Lunch is on the stove when you come back.

First of all, yes. My mom does know how to text... surprisingly. Second, I kind of felt uncomfortable after Lake's stare. Thirdly, although I didn't mind staying, I still had to buy the healthy groceries.

 "Thanks, Mrs. Walters but I have to get going."

Mrs. Walters smiled but it seemed somewhat disappointed. "That's a shame. I've heard so much about you, Tammie. It's great to see you in person. Tell your mom I said hello."

I agreed to deliver the message then departed for the grocery store. On the way out I sent a speedy reply to mom saying: I'm almost finished.

When I reached the front porch I turned around to say good-bye to Lake.

"I'll see you around I guess."

All he did was shrug.

~~~

I was finally home. I had to carry four heavy bags filled to the brink with food items. My hands were red and aching.  At the store I tossed in all the boring nutritious foods like raisin bran and cantaloupe. (I also bought a bag of chips. Shhh.)

So here I am now, sitting at the kitchen table, alone. I was pushing around my food with my fork. I wasn't that hungry. My parents were busy putting the final touches on our home. I wasn't in the mood to help decorating, so I was pretty bored now that I had nothing to do.

I sighed thinking about what Sydney was accomplishing.

Unenthusiastically, I saved my half eaten lunch and placed my dishes in the sink. I went up to my room and sat on my bed to think. The rest of the day was going by too slow for my liking. I was about to get up and turn on my computer when my phone beeped from my pocket. I pulled out the device surprised to see a text message from Jess.

Sydney says I need to learn swagger? What is swagger??

All I could do was laugh.

Wow I kind of had writers block with this..... lol. But I haven't been in the mood to write since my fish Freddy died :( yeah i know it's a fish but he lasted for five years so you get attached. So anyways please leave a comment below :) comments make me happy and I want to know what you think. Any guesses about the woman in the Walters photo? Excuse any mistakes....Until next time =)

P.S. the lovely cover on the side was made by SongBird138  :)