We pull into the panda express and park our cars. We walk in and order our food. We get a booth in the back corner. "So you're a reporter." He says, and I nodded. "I have loved writing since I was little, so it just kind of fit, I guess." He smiled as he took a bite of his chicken. "so what made you get into construction? Surely there were better options to support you and Isabella. What about your parents?"
He froze for a second. "I'm sorry, that was personal. You don't have to tell me." He took another bite of food and gave me a soft smile. "My parents helped in the beginning, but when I was 20 and the construction company started to take off, they cut me off and only want to visit Isabella every couple of weeks. I get it. They can't support me for forever, but what if the construction thing failed?" He shook his head, "well my parents didn't even know if I was in the house half to time so I guess helping you as much as they did was better than nothing right?"
He looked at me, confused, before nodding. "What do you mean by your parents not knowing you were there half the time?" Did Ben not tell him? "Ben knew about my parents. I figured he would have told the team, since I was nothing to him. I figured embarrassing me would have been easy for him." He frowned, and I could tell he felt guilty. "he was a dick in highschool and trying to embarrass me more than he already did would be pretty easy for him. I'm not saying this trying to make you feel uncomfortable. I'm saying this because, looking back, he probably told you guys a lot of things that I didn't want people to know."
He stopped eating and stared at me like he knew exactly what I was talking about. I shrugged because it was all in the past. "My parents were awful. They used to be okay. We would go to the beach or amusement parks. But after my little sister died, they forgot I was there half the time. My mom was shooting up or passed out, my dad was drunk or banging someone that was not my mom or on the rare occasion he would actually go to work. Ben used to feed me since they never did."
His jaw dropped, and shock was written all over my face. "I had no idea, Ben told no one." I shrugged. "I'm surprised you guys didn't know. But yeah, that was my life then, but now they don't know where I am or that I am a reporter. That makes really good money." I smiled a little. "I mean, it's great. Everything that had affected me then was gone. I mean, you're here, but you're not the same person. So I don't count you as part of my past anymore." He gave me a soft smile, "so I have a question, do you prefer movies or tv series?"
"TV series. What about you?" I nodded as I chewed my food. "Same" "Why?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes as if it was obvious. "Well, if we are gonna do this whole friends' things, you're gonna get used to movie marathon nights." "Movie marathon nights?" I nodded as I took my last bite of food. "it's where I have a bunch of friends over. We make popcorn sometimes we drink, other times we don't. We binge watch a tv series together. We just finished one and we need something new. So not only are you gonna come, but you also are gonna pick something."
He nodded, "how many people are gonna be there?" "Depends. Sometimes it's me and 5 other people and other times it's just me and they are watching it at their houses." He nodded, "alright then, just lemme know the time because I know the place." I smiled as I packed up my trash and looked at the time. "I got to get home and let Mico out. Lunch was nice. We should do it again." He nodded and cleaned up. "hey would you mind doing me a favor and checking in on Isabella? I left her with a new babysitter, but I think she prefers you more. You don't have to, but would you?"
I gave him a soft smile. "Sure," He got up, and we walked out together. "When you left, I thought I was never gonna see you again." He whispered, and I looked down, "no offence, but that was sort of the plan." He let out a long sigh as we came to a stop in front of our cars. "None taken, but I will say that Ben was right about you being some good ass pussy." My jaw dropped, and I saw a playful smirk appear on his face. I punched him in his shoulder and he stumbled a little. "Dick" he laughed and his head leaned backwords, it was a heart laugh that made my chest fill with warmth. I liked his laugh.
"I'm more than just a good pussy." He smiled as he looked at me. "I know. It was a compliment. You're a lot more than a sex toy." He said before turning and getting into his car. "Wait, what is that supposed to mean?" I asked, but he had already started his car and was driving away. I let out a sigh as I got into my car and drove to the apartment complex. As I walk in I see Isabella in the hallway clutching her arm. She was sniffling like she was crying. Her door was wide open and I could hear someone screaming, "shut the hell up your little brat. I only took this job to sell off your stuff. It's not my fault you burned yourself. Stupid girls should know how to cook!"
I dropped my stuff and rushed to Isabella. "hey what happened?" I asked, and she looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "My babysitter wouldn't feed me. I tried to cook, but I hurt myself." He removed her hand to show me a burn on her arm. It was red and bubbling with some blood. Suddenly a girl who was atleast 20 and drunk off her ass came rushing around the corner. "Who the hell are you?!" she said, swaying from side to side with a bag full of metal clinking together inside.
"Isabella, go to my house, grab my keys, and unlock the door. Now." She nodded. She scurried past me and grabbed my keys that were on the floor and unlocked my door. She opened it and ran inside. I turned my attention back to the girl who was chugging some wine. "What the hell happened? Why won't you feed her?" She scoffed, "I am getting paid by a very handsome guy to watch his kid not to take care of her. Besides, she was so winey that I told her to go fuck off and fix herself some food. I never thought she actually would."
"She is 6 years old! She can't take care of herself! You're a fucking monster!" She rolled her eyes like she didn't almost kill Isabella. My hands started to shake thinking about Isabella's arm. "Get out now," she snorted as she tried to walk back further into the apartment. I snapped. I ran after her and grabbed by her shirt and threw her to the ground. The wine she was holding spilled everywhere, and the bag skirted across the floor. Watches, silverware, and even a vase spilled out everywhere.
"Hey you stupid bitch." She tried to get up, but she kept losing her balance. I kicked her in the stomach and she fell as puke dribbled out of her mouth. I picked up the phone and called the police. I hung up the phone and saw the girl lunging at me. I ducked and kicked the back of her legs as she slammed her mouth on the edge of the kitchen counter. I heard a crack and when she fell, I saw blood dripping from her mouth and a tooth fell out. I smiled a little. I kicked her in the head and she slammed into the floor and passed out. I heard the police knocked on the door to the apartment complex.
I walked out and opened the door for them. "she just kept coming at me," I said, acting like I didn't hit her repeatedly. God, I wanted to fucking strangle her, but I decided against it. "Okay, well, you did a good job. Is the kid okay?" the officer said cuffing the girl. I shrugged. "I'm gonna go check on her." I walked out and up to my apartment. I saw Isabella sitting on the couch. When she saw me, she immediately jumped up and ran to me. She wrapped her arms around me, "thank you Andrea." I smiled a little as I looked down at her. "I have to take you to the hospital, okay?" She nodded into my shirt and I could hear silent sobs.
I picked her up and wrapped my arms around her. She wrapped herself around me like a koala and cried onto my shoulder. I pulled her closer, "your okay Isabella, she can't hurt you anymore." She nodded as she pulled me tighter before wincing. I pulled back and looked at her arm. It was bleeding. More and more bumps appeared. "Let's go," I said, while grabbing my keys from the couch and walking out. I grabbed my purse, that was still on the floor. The police were throwing her into the back of the police car when I walked out. She was still unconscious and I couldn't help but smile.
I put Isabell into the back seat and quickly got into the front; she kept pushing her arm against herself to stop the pain. The cops left first and once they were out of sight; I raced to the hospital. I must have been doing 80 because I got there quicker than I normally would have. I put the car into park and grabbed Isabella; I carried her inside, and I went up to the first doctor I saw. He was a young guy, maybe 25, "she has a terrible burn. Can you please look at it?" He looked at me, then at Isabella. He looked me up and down. And I tried not to barf. I showed him her arm and his eyes got wide.
"Wow, that's bad over here please, what happened?" He led us to a bed and pulled the curtain around, "set her down please" I sat her on the bed but she tugged on my shirt, "he has to look at you arm Isabella, I'm right here." I said as I pried her hand off my shirt but held it in my hand. "Babysitter told her to fix her own food. I came home and saw her crying on the floor." He nodded, "are you the mother?" I opened my mouth to answer but Isabella answered for me, "might as well be," she said and that broke my heart. She has never had a mother. Her mother left her.
"I'm their neighbor. Does she need surgery?" He shook his head as he examines her arm. "No, just some wrap and some antibiotics. Monitor it, though. I will be right back with some wrap and some morphine to help with the pain." I nodded as I wrapped my arm around Isabella and pulled her close to me. Who could hurt a child and not care? My heart broke just thinking about what she went through tonight with that awful babysitter. If they need a babysitter, I will babysit her. I do not trust someone else not to take advantage of who her dad is. "Please don't leave me," she whispered, and I nodded as I kissed her head, "never."
I was her father's fuck buddy, but I could still have a relationship with Isabella. Me and Matheo were friends, so maybe I could be like an aunt to her or something. The doctor returned with some wrap, a white bottle, and a needle. "Did you contact her parent's?" I shook my head, "no I brought her straight here." I loosened my grip on her so he could wrap her arm. He nodded as he took the needle out. She flinched and cuddled up next to me. "Hey it's only gonna pinch, watch me, okay?"
I held out her arm and kept her eyes on me. "What's your favorite show?" I saw the doctor get ready to inject the needle, and I looked back at her eyes and she was smiling a little. "Victorious, she is this amazing singer, but she doesn't think so. She goes to this school with a bunch of other talented people." As she talked, I watched him inject the morphine into her and smeared a cream all over her burn before wrapping it. She didn't even feel it as she kept talking about her favorite show.
"Done" he said, and I smiled at him. He had us fill out some forms so they could charge the insurance company for the medical treatment. I carried her back out to my car and drove us home. As we walked in she ran to my other side away from her apartment, "you wanna go watch some Victorious at my house?" She nodded, and I smiled, "alright I will be there in a second. I have to leave a note for your dad."
She gave me a small smile before heading up the stairs and into my apartment; I walked into her apartment and saw that there was still a mess everywhere. I picked up all the metal and laid it on the island; I cleaned up the spots of blood on the floor and on the stove. I pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from my bag; I wrote. "Babysitter got drunk and Isabella got hurt by the oven. Things got messy, and I wasn't sure where to put anything, so I put it on the counter in the kitchen. I took her to the hospital to get her treated. It was a pretty bad burn. She is at my house. I will leave my door unlocked for when you come home, - Andrea."
I folded the note and shut it in the door before heading back to my apartment; I walk in and see Isabella sitting on the couch, waiting for me. "Let's get you some food first. Come here." I walked over to the fridge and waited for her to come over. I open the fridge and let her look around. She shrugs, so I take her over to the cabinets and open them. She pointed to a box of macaroni. I smiled. She has good taste. "Okay, go take a seat. I'll fix it." She nods as she skips to the couch. I saw some blood spots on her shirt and I sighed. She is only 6 years old. She shouldn't have lived through that.
"Isabella come here please" I said, and she followed me to my room, which luckily was clean. I opened my drawer and pulled out a purple shirt that is way too small on me, but I use it as a crop top. "Here, put this on. There is some blood on your shirt." She nods as she tries to take the shirt off, using her arm that isn't hurt. I felt so bad for her I had to step in. "here let me help," I said as I helped her take her shirt off. I helped put the purple one on her. It fell to her knees. "Alright, let's go put on your show," I said and she skipped back down the hallway and to the couch.
I grabbed her shirt and walked into the living room; I put on victorious and handed her the remote. I explained the buttons on the remote before heading into the kitchen. I put the macaroni on the stove before getting out a scrub brush and soap; I scrubbed the blood out of her shirt before putting it into the washer. I went and stirred the macaroni. I strained it and mixed in the cheese; I got a little bowl for Isabella and a little one that matched for me. "What would you like to drink?" I asked, and she turned around, looking at me. "I think I did something," she said, and I walked over to see she had unwrapped her arm and was picking at her arm that was scabbing over.
"Come here," I said, and she followed me to the bathroom. "You can't pick at it. Let it heal, okay?" I said, sitting her on the counter and grabbing some peroxide. "This is gonna sting a little, but it has to be cleaned out." She nods and bit her lip as I sprinkled the peroxide over her arm. I re-wrapped her arm and helped her down off the counter. We walked back into teh living room area. I got us our food and water. I gave them to her before sitting down. I grabbed a blanket that was on the back of the couch and laid it over her. We watched Victorious until she started to doze off.
I started to get sleepy too. Isabella cuddled up into my arms and passed out. Poor girl had a lot taken out of her today. I closed my eyes for just a moment before I felt someone shaking me awake. I slowly open my eyes to see Matheo standing there with a small smile. "Hey" he whispered, and I turned to see Isabella had her arms wrapped around me and was lying on my stomach. She was still sound asleep. I slowly moved her off of me and onto the couch. Matheo helped me stand up without waking her up. "Thank you for taking care of her. What happened?" He asked, and I rubbed my temples.
"I came home and found her crying in the hallway. The babysitter was drunk off her ass and was trying to steal your crap. She made Isabella try to make food for herself, but she burned herself. I took her to the hospital to get it checked, and they wrapped it. She's fine, but she wouldn't even go back into the apartment when we got back. She had some blood on her shirt so I gave her one of mine, well it's a shirt I sleep in. She keeps picking at it." He nodded, "what happened when you got there? The police said she knocked herself out when she kept lunging at you. I am so sorry Andrea."
I shook my head, "don't apologize to me, apologize to Isabella. Next time you need someone to babysit her, get me. I work from home. No offence, but your taste in women clearly sucks well aside from me. I do not want Isabella being handed to another babysitter by your standers because I met the last one and she was awful Matheo." He nodded. "I have cameras and I saw what really happened between you and the babysitter." My jaw tightened, and he smiled a little. "I'm glad to know Isabella has someone as protective as you." I gave him a soft smile, "so I lost my temper."
He wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me closer. He kissed my forehead. It felt romantic. "Thank you for protecting her when I wasn't here." I leaned my head against his chest. "Matheo, being a single parent is hard. Next time you need a babysitter, get ahold of me. I like Isabella. I don't mind watching her." He nodded, and I realize he had his arm around me. It felt nice and comforting. I pushed him away. "I need your number to get in contact with you." He nodded as he pulled out his phone. I grabbed mine from the counter and he typed in his number. I texted him so he had mine and I looked at Isabella. She was still sleeping soundly.
"I checked the weather, and a storm is coming in and it's supposed to be pretty bad." He said and I looked at him but he kept staring at Isabella. "What?" He sighed. "Ben told us some things about you. He mentioned nothing about your parents or you sister. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He looked straight down at me, "he told us you're terrified of storms. So if you want, you can stay at our place when it hits tomorrow night." I gave him a small smile, "thank you but I'm not sure Isabella will be back in that apartment tomorrow. You might have to stay here for a few until she's can go back into the apartment. She was terrified of it. She literally went on the other side of me like it was going to bite her."
He sighed as he looked back at her, guilt was in his eyes. "The girl was awful, but you had no way of knowing this was going to happen. Just go over there and hold her, be there for when she wakes up." He nodded. "I never meant to impose on your life like this." I smiled and before I could stop myself, I leaned up and kissed his cheek. I looked away quickly. "You're not imposing. If anything, you're probably saving it. Before you guys moved in, I was working and partying. It was boring and now it's not. I wasn't happy living the way I was before, but now with you and Isabella it feels exciting, like who knows what in the future. I mean you're my friend which I never saw coming and Isabella is just so adorable. I never got to take care of my sister. She died before I could, but I loved hanging out with her with the time I had. I'm glad Isabella chose to get close to me."
I could feel tears in my eyes. "My sister and Isabella would have been great friends." I said, and he chuckled, "it sounds like your sister meant a lot to you." I nod, "she did. She was my best friend." "How old were you when she died? If you don't mind me asking." A tear fell down my cheek, and I smiled, picturing my little sister. "I was 9, and she was 7. She got hit by a car in front of me. I tried to get her, but I wasn't fast enough. I remember her favorite show was victorious." I pointed to the TV and Matheo wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into him. "I'm sorry Andrea." I shrugged, "nothing I can do about it now." I said and I could see Isabella stir a little. "I'm gonna go to bed, feel free to stay here tonight." I pulled away from him and went down the hall into my room.
I shut the door and plugged in my phone. I curled into a ball and hugged a pillow; I cried into the pillow before my eyes lids grew heavy and sleep consumed me.