| Chapter Eight (Later that night) Andy crossed the room and clicked the radio on, finding her favorite pop station. She crossed the room again, picking up some dirty plates off the table as she passed. She sighed softly, placing the plates in the sink where Sara had already begun washing the dishes. Sara smiled. "Tonight wasn't that bad, was it?" "No, I just felt bad for Jeremy. He was obviously uncomfortable. But I place the blame on Lizzy for that one. He seemed nice enough, but I don't know. He wasn't James." "Well, don't worry. They're gone now and the rest of the night will be much more relaxed." Andy laughed at that. "Relaxed? You obviously haven't met Jon yet. Relaxed isn't the word that comes to mind." Sara shrugged. "You know what I mean. Relaxed as in not uncomfortable. Oh, whatever." Andy giggled and then squealed, as the same group that she'd heard earlier came on again. 'What is their name? This is going to drive me crazy...' Sara gave Andy an amused look, as she scurried to turn up the volume. "And you're squealing why?" "The song, silly. These boys can sing." Sara raised an eyebrow. She could do that, you know. Raise one eyebrow. It was very impressive. "Yeah, An. If you say so..." Andy threw a clump of suds in Sara's direction, as she sang along at the top of her lungs and began to dance around the kitchen. It's hard to say I'm sorry It's hard to make the things I did undone A lesson I've learned too well, for sure So don't hang up the phone now I'm trying to figure out just what to do I'm going crazy without you As she sang the last line of the verse, she turned around to come face to face with Sara and a very large clump of suds that quickly found their way into her hair. She shrieked. "That's it. It's on. You're going down, bitch." "Bring it on, whore." Andy continued singing at the top of her lungs as suds flew all around her. Before long, Sara joined in the singing. You're all I ever wanted You're all I ever needed, yeah So tell me what to do now When I want you back They didn't notice, but Matt chose this moment to let himself in through the back door. He stood in the doorway of the kitchen for a moment, trying to contain his laughter as he watched his girlfriend and her friend dance around the kitchen, covered in soapsuds from head to toe. He burst out laughing and slid down against the doorframe, crying from laughing so hard. The girls turned to see him sitting there, and a deep crimson covered their cheeks. Andy clicked the radio off and soon joined the laughing couple, who sat in the doorway. Just then, the doorbell rang. Andy froze in horror. "Oh God, that's them." Sara looked down at her soap-covered self and grinned. "Great way for us to receive someone we barely know into our home, huh?" Andy turned to Matt. "Would you get the door? Puh-lease?" "I'm thinking no." "Sara? Little help here? He's whipped, he'll listen to you" Sara looked at Matt, smiling sweetly. "Go get the door, sweetheart." "Why don't you, darling?" "Please Matt? I'll love you forever." He sighed in defeat. "Fine. Y'all owe me." Andy and Sara listened as Matt opened the door. They listened to him greet Mrs. Harless at the door and explain who he was, as they finished wiping the suds from their hair and clothing. Andy called out in reassurance. "I'm in the kitchen, Mrs. Harless. Sara and I are cleaning up from dinner. We'll be done in a minute." They straightened their clothing and walked through the entry to the hallway. At the last second, Sara pulled Andy back to wipe some remaining bubbles from her shoulder, and the two walked into the main hallway giggling. Andy grinned, seeing that Matt had already swept the two little ones away and was currently charming Jenny into dancing with him. Andy turned to Jon's mother. "Hi. This is my roommate, Sara. Sara, this is Mrs. Harless, Jon's mother." Sara and Lynn exchanged greetings, and then Lynn looked from Andy to Sara. "I really hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience for you. I'm really in a bind here, otherwise I wouldn't drop them on you like this." Sara spoke up. "It's really no trouble. Matt, the one crawling around on the floor over there, well...he loves children. Besides, we didn't really have much planned for tonight. And Andy keeps talking about how great these kids are. So, really. We're glad we could help you out." Lynn smiled gratefully at Sara, before calling Jon over to say good-bye. Both he and Jenny hugged Lynn, then quickly ran back to attack Matt again. She laughed and then turned to go, thanking Andy and Sara once more, before shutting the door behind her. (Later that night) The night had gone by rather uneventfully. Matt kept Jon and Jenny busy while the girls cleaned up the kitchen. The rest of the night had been spent fairly quietly, watching movies and playing games. Sara and Andy were downstairs with Jenny playing a game. They could hear thumps from above them as Jon and Matt "wrestled" upstairs. Sara looked up to the second floor, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's immaturity. Andy shrugged. "Well. They keep each other busy. That's all that matters." Without realizing what she was doing, Andy found herself singing that pop song from earlier to herself. "I, I'm doing this tonight. You're probably gonna start a fight. I know this can't be right. Hey, baby, come on..." Jenny looked up from the game board when she heard what Andy was singing and said, "Jon's brother sings that song." Just as Andy was about to respond, Jon appeared at the top of the stairs, a blanket tied around his neck as a cape. He began to climb down the stairs, Matt a few steps behind him. Andy saw that the cape was too long and rose to her feet to meet him on the steps. "Slow down, Jon. I don't want you to-" She was cut off as her fear came true. Jon tripped over the edge of his "cape" and went flying down towards the ground floor. Andy's eyes widened as she tried to get there in time, but she was too far away to make it in time. Jon hit the floor, arms out, and began crying before he even realized what had happened. Andy was at his side in seconds, scooping him up in her arms. Matt reached them moments later. "Here, Andy. Let me look at him." She silently handed the boy over, knowing that Matt was a pre-med. major and could help him more than she could. Jon continued to cry, as Matt checked him over. After a few seconds, Matt stood, still holding Jon and said, "It doesn't seem like anything too serious, but he might have a broken arm or a sprained wrist. We should probably head over to the hospital to have him checked out." Andy nodded, her face pale from fear. She couldn't believe that Lynn had trusted her with Jon, and she'd let him get hurt. "Ok. Sara, make sure you bring Jenny along. Matt, you drive. And I'll hold Jon on the ride over." Within a few seconds, everyone was assembled in the car and on the way to the hospital. (At the hospital) Andy sat in a cold plastic waiting room chair, trying to process all that had happened in the past couple of hours. She had used her cell phone to call Lynn. But Lynn wasn't able to get to the hospital for awhile, so she had told Andy that she would send her son, Justin, over right away. Andy didn't know much about Lynn's son except that he traveled a lot on business, but he was apparently home for a few days. She didn't really care who he was anyway, so long as he could be of some comfort to Jon. So, now she sat waiting for Jon's brother to appear in the waiting room. Sara had left the room with Jenny a few moments ago in search of a bathroom. Jon was still back in the examining room with Matt. The doctor had said Jon's arm was broken, but that he needed a parent present to do anything more. Andy had explained their situation, and after a series of phone calls between Lynn and the hospital, they had finally agreed to get a cast put on his arm. So Andy and Sara had agreed to wait with Jenny, while Matt and Jon remained in the back. Andy had wanted to stay with Jon, but she was feeling too guilty over the whole situation, so Matt had convinced her to wait for Jon's brother, saying that Jon would prefer to have a guy stay with him rather than a girl. Andy was shaken from her thoughts as a handsome man about her age came running into the room. She studied him a moment and figured he must be Jon's brother. They had some similar facial features. Besides, there weren't many people in the waiting room at that moment, and no one acted like they were waiting for him. She stood up and took a few steps toward him. "Justin?" "Yeah?" He looked annoyed. Well annoyed, with an underlying sense of worry. Which she assumed was for his brother. "You're Jon's brother, right? I'm Andy, the one who was babysitting tonight." "Yeah. Yeah, I'm Jon's brother. What's going on? He's ok, right?" He paused, and his demeanor changed quickly from flustered to angry. "Hey! Why aren't you WITH him? And how could you let him get hurt in the first place?" Andy returned his glare. "I'm sorry. God, I feel guilty enough as it is, without you throwing it in my face. Accidents happen, ok? It's not like I threw him down the stairs or something." She took a deep breath to try to calm herself. "Jon's going to be fine. He has a broken wrist, but it's not too bad. Matt, my roommate's boyfriend, is waiting with him right now. They should be out any minute." "Where is he? I want to see my brother." "I already told you, he's back with the doctor. You'll just have to sit and wait with the rest of us." "If that Matt guy is back there, than I can go back too. He's my brother." "Calm down. You'll see him in a minute. I don't know exactly where they are anyway." "I can't believe mom trusted Jon with you." Andy had been trying to keep her cool, but Justin wasn't exactly making that easy for her. "I said that I was sorry. It was an accident." "There wouldn't have been an accident, if you had been watching him more closely." At this point, Sara walked back into the room with Jenny at her side. She saw Andy and who she assumed to be Jon's brother standing in the middle of the waiting room, nose to nose, as they tossed arguments back and forth. She looked at Jenny. "Sit here for a second, ok?" When the little girl nodded and busied herself with the coloring book that Sara had found for her, Sara walked over to the other two. She stood there beside them with her arms crossed for a moment, but they still didn't notice her presence in the room. Sara waited a moment before stepping between the two in mid argument. "Excuse me. We are standing in the middle of a public waiting room, and you two are shouting at each other. What is wrong with this picture? Exactly how old are the two of you?" Both Justin and Andy looked away sheepishly. Sara continued. "Not to mention the fact that there is a little girl sitting over there, who adores the both of you. I don't think this is the example you want to be setting for her, is it?" When no one answered, she repeated herself. "Well? Is it?" They grumbled their agreement. Sara looked from one to the other. "Now Andy, why don't you go sit with Jenny for a few minutes. And you. You need to go sit over there and cool off for a minute, before Jon comes out here expecting a calm and comforting brother. I don't think this is what you would like to be greeted with, if you were in his position." Andy tossed a glare over her shoulder as she turned to go sit with Jenny. Justin glared at the back of her head as she walked away, but finally sat down grudgingly, as Sara had requested. He knew that she was right about him needing to be there for his brother. Sara laughed softly to herself. "Well I'll be damned. They actually listened." The room was thick with tension for the next few minutes, while they waited for Jon to be brought back. Andy wasn't sure what it was about Justin that made her want to kick him. Hard. She didn't normally lose her temper very quickly. He just knew how to push the right buttons apparently. Justin was trying his best to calm down. He was focusing on his brother to distract him from that girl across the room. Jon was going to need him soon. He had to stay in control of his temper. For his brother. Just when it seemed like the room would explode from all the tension and frustration, the double doors swung open and out came the doctor, followed closely by Matt, who was holding Jon. Both Andy and Justin jumped to their feet to see how he doing. Jon spotted his brother and immediately squirmed out of Matt's grasp. "Justin!" Justin scooped him up. "Hey, bro. I missed you. How's your arm feeling?" Jon smiled. "It doesn't even hurt anymore. And look! I got a cool blue cast!" "Yeah, I see that. It looks pretty cool. What do you say we go thank that doctor and than go on home?" "Ok. Is Jenny coming too?" "You bet." "Ok. Cool." Justin walked over to the doctor with Jon still in his arms. Andy watched amazed at this transformed Justin, who so obviously loved his little brother to death. She couldn't believe this was the same guy who she's been arguing with moments earlier. Once finished talking to the doctor, Justin walked over to where Jenny sat. "Hey, Jen. You ready to go?" She looked up and smiled. "Yep." He took her hand and walked towards the exit, calling out his thanks on his way. "Hey Matt, thanks for taking care of Jon back there for me." Matt smiled and waved. "Not a problem man. See you guys later." He turned to Sara. "And you, sorry about earlier. Thanks for watching Jenny." Sara looked at him skeptically. "Mmhmm. Sure thing. Bye guys." Then he opened the door and was halfway out, when Jon said, "What about Andy?" Justin let the door close without going through. "What about her?" "You didn't say good-bye to her." "Oh." Justin turned around and said in a monotone voice, "Bye, Andy." She looked up from where she was sitting. "Oh. Um, bye. Bye Jon. Bye Jenny." Jon waved with his good arm. "Bye Andy!" This time it was Jenny who pulled her hand free and ran to give Andy a hug. Andy smiled at her and whispered, "Thanks, Jen. Bye." Jenny ran back to where Justin stood. He took her hand and with one last glare at Andy, the three disappeared from sight. As soon as they were gone, Andy stood up and headed straight for the exit herself, slamming the door behind her. A very puzzled Matt turned to his girlfriend. "What the hell was that all about?' Sara shook her head. "I'll explain later. Let's go find Andy and get out of here." He nodded and reached for her hand, as they headed for the door. |