anderson
"fat maddie."
"no!" emily exclaims, taking me by surprise. "you can't name her fat maddie, anderson, i'm serious."
"too late, i've already made my mind up. her name's fat maddie," i say. me and emily decided to go to a pet store today, which was a big mistake, because now we're both going home with a bulldog puppy.
"good lord." emily shakes her head and i laugh, turning to look at the puppies in the backseat.
"so what're you naming your puppy?" i ask, curious. luckily, i beat emily to it, so i ended up getting the girl puppy and she got the boy.
"i don't know, what should i name him?" i open my mouth to reply, but before any words can leave my mouth, emily speaks up again. "and i swear to god anderson, you better not say anything with fat in front of it."
"i wasn't going to, thank you very much." i laugh, and she nods as if to say sure you weren't. "you should name him chunky," i say seriously, although i can't help but to laugh once she glares at me. "what? you said not to say anything with fat in front of it, not that i couldn't say other synonyms for fat."
"i seriously hate you."
××
"i'm going over to brandon's," emily tells me. "maybe he'll be able to help me pick out a name for this little guy," she adds, motioning to the puppy in her arms. brandon is her boyfriend of two years, and although it took a year and a half for me to do so, i approve of the boy.
"are you coming back tonight or staying at his?"
"probably just stay at his, as long as you're okay with it," she says, and i roll my eyes.
"you say that like i'm your mom, em. i'm only your best friend and housemate, you don't have to ask my permission or if i'm okay with you doing something," i tell her, letting out a small laugh.
"i'm just making sure that you're okay with staying alone tonight, that's all," she shrugs.
"i'll be fine," i tell her. i've never been a fan of living alone, hence why emily lives with me, and she always makes sure i'll be okay before leaving for the night.
"alright, well brandon's here. just call me if you need me, okay?"
"i have fat maddie, i'll be fine," i say, flashing her a grin, to which she rolls her eyes.
"still can't believe you named that poor puppy that," she mumbles, shaking her head as she heads over to the door. "i'll see you tomorrow, and i'm serious, call me if you need me, anderson."
"sure thing, mom." i roll my eyes.
"damn right i'm yo momma," she laughs, her laughter being cut off by the door shutting behind her as she exits. checking the time, i decide to head onto bed and push myself off the couch. i lock the door before heading down the hall to my bedroom, making sure to turn the lights off as i go.
since i'm already wearing just a big t-shirt and underwear, i climb onto the bed, crossing my legs before pulling the comforter up over them. a whining catches my attention, causing me to grin. "come on, fat maddie," i say, leaning over the side of the bed and picking fat maddie up out of floor, placing her beside me on the bed.
i grab the remote from the nightstand and turn the tv on, turning it to nickelodeon so i can watch the nineties cartoons that come on at night. i place the remote back on the nightstand before laying down and pulling the covers further up on me.
××
the sound of my phone ringing pulls me out of my sleep, and sleepily, i reach over and grab my phone off the nightstand. the brightness causes me to squint, and although i don't recognize the number on the screen, i answer anyways. you never know.
"hello?"
"hi, can i tell you something?" a male asks - a very drunk male, to be exact.
"do i know you?"
"can i tell you about something that's been bothering me, please?" he asks, completely ignoring my question. and just as i start to reply, to tell him he has the wrong number, he begins going on about what's been bothering him, and for some odd reason, i find myself unable to hang up on him.