The Nuisance Across The Hall

Seventeen: Waffles And Intersections

Sky, Sophia, and I decided to grab breakfast the next morning. With it being a Saturday, the local Waffle House was packed. Luckily, we only had to wait ten minutes. Unluckily, Sophia was incredibly impatient. She must've asked Sky and me at least twenty questions each. Even after we had waited ten minutes, she kept up with the questions.

"What time did you get home last night, Mommy?" She asked, climbing out of my lap to move freely in front of me.

"Late," I answered with a yawn.

"Sky when is your birthday?" She asked the redhead next to me.

"December 2nd." She answered sweetly. "Do you know how old I'll be?" She asked back.

"Hmm..." Sophia pondered for a minute. "Thirty!" She announced.

I laughed at Sky's fallen face. "No. Not even close." She said, exaggerating her reply.

"Are you going to be older than thirty?" She asked in return.

"No! Sophia, I'm turning twenty-three!" Sky exclaimed.

Sophia simply laughed at Sky. After that, we were finally seated at a table. Sky and I both ordered coffee while Sophia asked for chocolate milk.

"Mommy, can I get chocolate chip waffles?" Sophia asked.

"No, you got chocolate milk. Why not get blueberries or strawberries on them instead." I suggested. The last thing I need was a chocolate crazy kid at ten in the morning.

"What about me? Can I get chocolate chip waffles?" Sky asked me jokingly.

"You can get whatever you please because I'm not paying for you," I responded. Sky just laughed and Sophia started to pout, which made me laugh.

When the server came back, Sophia got the kids waffle with strawberries, I got a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with a side of toast, and Sky got the hash brown bowl. She walked away with our order and began calling it out to the cooks.

"I wonder how long it took them to memorize what everything meant." Sky said thoughtfully.

"My mom worked at Waffle House for like three days before quitting because of that," I said with a slight laugh. Sky looked confused at my statement. "What?" I asked.

She shook her head and said, "Nothing. It's just... you never talk about them. Like, ever." She explained.

She was right. I never talked about my parents or Rowen. It was always just too emotional for me to think about. I shrugged and said, "I don't know, maybe I'm finally moving on from all that." The talk I had with Travis the other night no doubt helped with that. I don't know why it was so easy to talk to him. Maybe because he was just a nice coworker? He wasn't really in my life except for work. Maybe the lack of relationship between us somehow helped me confide in him even more.

"Well, I'm happy for you." Sky said, breaking me from my thoughts. I mumbled a small thanks and returned to answering Sophia's random questions.

A few minutes later we got our food and dug in. I didn't know what it was, but something about Waffle House always made everything better. Although, I did have to stop Sophia from drowning her waffle in syrup.

"So now that we are full and happy," Sky started out. "Time for some questions." A devilish smile had grown on her face.

I groaned, knowing where this was going. "Sophia asked enough questions before breakfast," I complained. Sophia giggled at that.

Sky rolled her eyes and began her interrogation. "So I noticed you didn't come home in your own clothes..."

"Zack gave me some clothes he couldn't fit in so I didn't have to stay in my work clothes," I explained before she could finish her question.

"Mhm, sure." She said skeptically. "So give me the rundown of the night."

I sighed and began, "Well, we ate some pizza, watched a movie-"

"What movie?" Sky interrupted.

"The Conjuring," I answered.

"Wow, he got you to watch a scary movie? I'm impressed." She said, leaning back in the booth, crossing her arms.

"Well he lied about it first and I didn't do much watching due to the fear of it all," I explained.

"Awe, did you hide behind him?" She cooed.

"Maybe..." I replied.

"That's cute! What else?" She asked, moving on.

"Nothing really," I said. "We did slow dance a little though," I said, a little quieter than normal. I could still remember how happy I was at that moment. I could still feel how nice it was just hugging him and not letting go.

"To what song?"She asked, taking a bite from her breakfast.

"I don't really remember. We didn't really listen to the songs playing. We were just kinda... there, I guess." I tried explaining. When I looked back up at Sky, I thought she was about to cry.

"That. Is. So. Cute." She said with a break between each word. I let out a small laugh at my best friend's reaction. It was pretty cheesy. And Sky ate up cheesy.

Sky asked me questions and I provided boring answers while we finished eating. Soon enough, we were paying and heading out of the breakfast joint. Sky rode with us so I had to drive her back to my apartment complex for her car. We exited the parking lot and began driving down the main road.

"So you didn't even kiss?" Sky asked, making sure she didn't miss any details.

"Nope," I answered, shaking my head.

"How is that even possible?" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"I don't know. There just wasn't really ever a good time for it, I guess." I explained. "You know, not every date has to end with a goodnight kiss. Or any kiss, for that matter."

"Yeah but it sure helps with getting a second date." She retorted back.

I just laughed and focused on the drive. Sky picked up the aux cord and began playing music through her phone. She tried cranking the volume but I turned it back down to a reasonable level.

"I don't need to cause an accident because of you," I said once I placed my hands back on the wheel.

"Yup, parenthood sure has changed you." Sky commented, picking her phone back up to scroll through her playlist for a different song.

"I think you forget how much of a good thing that is," I replied back.

The light we were stopped at turned green and I began accelerating. Out of nowhere, a small black car zoomed into the intersection and into my side of the door. Shattered glass showered the entire interior of my car. The force from the impact somehow made me slam my head into my door, or maybe the door slammed into my head, I couldn't tell. My head felt warm and my body went rigid. My vision went completely black before my car even stopped. All I could hear was a constant ringing noise and screaming. Before I knew it, I fell completely unconscious.