Ever Since You Walked Into My Life

I leaned against the door frame of Sammi's room and watched as she played peacefully with the few Barbie dolls she had left over from our continuous moving. I crossed my arms over my chest and felt a smile slowly start to creep onto my lips. I had been invited to Norman's house the other day for a zombie marathon, but I was beginning to double think his sweet offer. Norman seemed like a rather sweet man, but spending time with someone I didn't know made me a little nervous.

It had been a long time since I could do something for myself and I didn't feel right to start going out again, especially with the worry of keeping Sammi comfortable on my mind all of the time. I felt like it would be wrong to do something to keep myself happy instead of Sammi. She must have heard my silent thoughts, because she turned around and gave me a smile. She rose her Barbies and asked, "You wanna play with me, Rascal?"

"Maybe in a little bit, Sam."I gave her a small wave, but before I could walk away, she was calling me back.

"Rascal, when are we going to Mingus' dad's house?"She asked.

"Uh,"I scratched at the back of my head and said, "I don't know if we're going, Sammi."

"Why not?"She frowned."I thought it would be fun."

"Do we have to?"I ran a hand through my hair and gave her a playful smile.

"You said you would."Sammi replied.

"I don't think scary movies are your thing, Sam."I chuckled lightly.

"Rascal,"Sammi groaned."I wanna go."

I ran a heavy hand down my face and sighed quietly. If I didn't bring Sammi to Norman's house than she would never let me live down the invitation I had gotten. Mingus was also her friend and she seemed excited at any chance she had to spend time with him. Slowly, I nodded my head and said, "Alright, Sam. You win. Throw on your shoes and we'll go, alright?"

A happy yelp burst into the room as Sammi got up from her spot on the floor. I chuckled lightly as she began searching for her shoes. It wasn't long before Sammi and I were on our way to Norman's house, which wasn't that far from our own. He was certainly close to the school, which forced a quiet laugh from my lips when I thought about how late he was the other day to pick up Mingus. If I hadn't of stayed with Mingus, I never would have gotten the set date at Norman's house.

I felt good knowing someone wanted to spend some time with me, especially since I haven't had the attention of someone my age in a long time. The only problem I had with it was working it in through my crazy scheduele. I pulled into Norman's drive way and wasn't in park before Sammi threw open her door. I reached out to grab her, but she was long gone by the time I even thought of moving. I rested my head on my steering wheel and sighed quietly.

Sammi was easily excited, but now knowing she could have a friend for more than a few months put her over the edge. I slowly got from my car and found that by the time I had gotten to the door, it was wide open. Norman peeked his head out, as if searching for me, before letting a large smile crawl along his lips. I gave him a shy wave and said, "Hey, Norman. How are you?"

"I'm good. Come on in."I stepped inside and watched as he kicked his door shut behind him."I have a shit load of kickass movies lined up for the night."

"I'm not scared easily, so be prepared for a hardcore critic."I joked.

"We'll see about that."Norman peeked behind Sammi and I and shouted, "Mingus! Sammi's here!"

There was a muffled sound of scuffling before the slamming of what I presumed to be his bedroom door. Mingus' footsteps could be heard a mile away as he rushed to the front door. His smile widened when he saw Sammi, who was just as eager to get to playing. They rushed off to his room and I followed Norman further into his beautiful home. Even though the walls were a simple white, it gave it a calm effect to it. I stopped, however, when I came across a wall sized painting.

Norman looked back when he realized I wasn't following and seemed to grow a little nervous. He stepped closer and said, "It's mainly just an outline right now. It'll be cooler looking when it's finished."

I ran my fingers gently over the dried paint and smiled. I looked back at him and said, "This is coming along amazing, Norman."

"Thanks."He blushed."I thought you were a hardcore critic? What do you really think?"

I laughed quietly and turned back to the unfinished painting. It was a dark outline of what I thought were zombies and a few colours blending together. It seemed so perfect I wanted to ask Norman not to finish it, in case he were to mess up. I always enjoyed the different and unique look of zombies, so this painting was a shock to me when I saw he added his own personality into the strokes of black paint.

"I think it's astonishing. You shouldn't paint anymore because if you mess this up I might have to kill you."Norman's laughter followed after my statement and I found myself blushing.

"Alright, killer. Let's go watch some gratuitous violence on tv."I followed him over to the living room, where he knelt down by the dvd player.

Norman peeked up from his tv and said, "You can sit down you know."

"Sorry."I laughed quietly as I took a seat on his large, black sofa."I'm weird when I go over a person's house the first few times."

Norman stood from his kneeling position and found a seat next to me on his couch. He pressed play on the remote and rested his arms on the top of the couch. I hunkered into the cushioned seats and sighed quietly. If he let me, I would have fallen asleep on this piece of beautiful furniture. I looked over at him as he said, "This is the original Dawn Of The Dead. I thought we would work our way up the zombie totem pole."

I giggled quietly as the movie began to start. Norman had mentioned right after the opening credits that he had ordered pizza, which sound absolutely amazing at a time like this. Who doesn't enjoy having a marathon of scary movies and a whole pizza pie just to yourself? It reminded me of when I was younger and our mother used to make home made pizzas. My stomach was already growling just thinking about the large amounts of cheese and toppings.

Nearly a half hour had gone by and I found myself at the edge of the couch, chin in my hands. It was certainly interesting, even though it was an older movie. Norman had found my intent stare at the television screen funny, especially when the scary parts came along. I felt as though I were holding my breath as I watched the horribely detailed zombies make their way into the large mall. I jumped suddenly, however, when the door bell rang throughout the house.

Norman began to laugh uncontrollably at my fear and I instantly blushed a deep, crimson red. He eventually climbed to his feet after pausing the movie and said, "I'll be right back."

I called Sammi and Mingus out and found ourselves sitting at an island counter in the kitchen. I would admit that I was jealous of Norman's house, for the main reason that it was not a duplex and was comfortable. Norman dropped two pizza pies on the counter and asked, "Who's hungry?"

Sammi and Mingus instantly rose their hands and began chanting I am. I chuckled lightly and helped Norman make the two their plates of incredibly greasy food. After making the few plates, Norman found a seat beside me at the island counter. I groaned inwardly when I stole a bite of my pizza and said, "This is amazing."

"We never have pizza at our house!"I threw a glare in Sammi's direction and watched as she shrunk back into her seat.

Norman took notice as well and I held back an annoyed sigh. It wasn't Sammi's fault for saying something like that, for the main reason that we both weren't used to this. I was a little embarassed because Norman thought I sold make - up for a living, not working many hours at the local food store. When Sammi and I finished, I explained that Sammi and I had to get going. Like usual, Sammi bit back a frown and said goodbye to Mingus.

I thanked Norman multiple times for the dinner and we made our way outside. Norman stopped me for a moment and I handed Sammi the keys. I told her to get it started and to turn the heat as high as it could go, being that winter was right around the corner. I turned toward Norman, who gently shut the front door behind him. His features had grown soft and caring, which was something I wasn't expecting. I chewed roughly on my bottom lip as he asked, "Is everything alright, Rascal?"

"What do you mean?"I whispered softly.

"I mean,"Norman stopped for a moment, as if he didn't want to say the wrong thing."are you okay at home? You seemed a little tense when Sam mentioned the pizza thing."

I let my eyes fall down to the ground and I sighed quietly. I wasn't going to give in to Norman's question and explain the bad situation I was taking Sammi through. I just shook my head and said, "No, everything's fine."

"If you need anything,"Norman began sweetly.

"Look, Norman."I ran a hand through my hair and managed to choke out, "I appreciate the time we've spent together lately, but I think it would be best if we didn't become friends."

Norman's face fell dramatically and I could feel my eyes welling up slightly in tears. I ran a warm hand down his arm and whispered, "Thanks for understanding, Norman."

I turned away from him and made my way to my car. I popped open my door and gave Norman one last look. I could see the hurt in his face as I climbed in and I sighed quietly. I didn't want to give my goodbyes to Norman, only because he seemed like a real, decent man. Yet I couldn't fight that feeling of guilt for thinking of myself. I wanted to keep things simple and keep things straight for Sammi and I. I wanted a lot of things, but times like these don't call for selfish attitudes.