*2 Hours Later*
We arrived in Tampa just after 10pm and found the beach house without much difficulty. My dad told me that two or three other residents lives in the "apartment", which I figured would be just teenagers like myself. And I wasn't far off. As soon as we got settled in, just half an hour after we arrived, there was a knock on the door. I had just layed the boys down to sleep, since I knew they were exicited but also very tired. I quickly ran to the door.
"Hey! You just moved in, right?" a tall girl, taller than me, asked with a smile. She was real pretty, but didn't look old enough to be living on her own. She looked about 15 or 16, at the most.
"Yeah, hi... I'm Torrance." I told her, smiling back. But I was very tired, I was ready to collapse.
"Hey!!! I'm Shanelle, but most people call me Nellie." she replied. I smiled at her again. She was very cute.
"Nice to meet you, Shanelle." I told her, holding out my hand. She shook it gently.
"I live right downstairs... with my... boyfriend." she informed me.
"Really? Can I ask you how old you are?" I asked her, hoping she'd tell me the truth.
"I knew you'd ask. I know I don't look my age, but I'm 17. My boyfriend is 19, and we've lived here almost a year now, wow..." she told me. I believed her.
"Oh, wow..." I replied, not knowing what to say. "I'm almost 19..." I finished. "Sorry, do you want to come in?" I asked her, backing up to let her in.
"Sure." she replied.
"Sorry it's a mess... you know, just got here a little while ago." I let out a laugh.
We sat down on the "couch" and I laughed again, looking around. This place was as new to me as it was to her.
"So... who did you move here with... if you don't mind me asking." she asked quietly.
"Oh..." I started, wondering if I should tell the truth. Well, I didn't want to start out my new life by lying to my first new friend. "Just me and my boys... my sons..." I told her even quieter than she had been.
"Your... sons?" she asked, wide eyed.
"Yeah, I know. I'm nuts. They're 3-year-old twins." I smiled. "I love 'em, I mean, I have to..." I laughed.
"Wow..." was all that Shanelle could get out.
"I know..." I replied again. "You wanna see 'em?" I asked. She nodded right away. "I just put them down to sleep, but you can see 'em if you want."
"Yes, wow, I'd love to." she replied.
So the two of us got up and walked down the hallway to the boys' new room. I opened the door a crack, just to make sure they were both asleep. And they were. So we walked in and over to their beds. My dad had previously arranged to get the boys new beds and everything for their new room, and they loved it all. My dad loves the boys and since he has lots of extra money, he spends alot on them.
"Awwww..." Shanelle purred. "They are adorable."
"Yeah..." I agreed, staring at my beautiful boys. They both had blond hair, long, almost to their chins. I just don't want to cut it, they look so adorable with it. They are adorable. "Sometimes they're... quite a handful, but... they're really good." I told her. She couldn't stop smiling.
"I don't know what my boyfriend would do if I got pregnant... he'd more than likely freak out and take off. He's afraid of commitment, deathly afraid." she laughed. I smiled back.
"Well, don't feel bad. That's exactly what my ex did. He left us when I was 6 months pregnant and he doesn't know he has two sons..." I said, thinking about him again. I still couldn't believe I had seen him today.
"Oh... I'm sorry." she told me.
"Don't be, it's ok. I'm really happy now..." I said. We left the boys' room and went back to the main room of the house. "I grew up in Sanford, just west of here. I met my ex-boyfriend five years ago, and we dated for four years. Then I got pregnant, and he got pressured into leaving me, and he moved to Orlando..."
"I'm so... sorry. That's awful." she told me, in a whisper.
"It's ok, really." I replied.
"So... you haven't seen him since?" she wondered.
"Well, I hadn't seen him in over three years, but I recently saw him... just... today actually." I said, remembering again.
"Really?" she asked. I just nodded. "I don't really know what to say."
"It's ok, you don't have to see anything." I finished, standing up again, after she did. She knew it was time for her to leave. It was after 11pm now.
"Well... I really hope we can be friends. You seem really nice..." she told me.
"I hope we can get to know each other better. And you can meet my sons when they are awake." I laughed.
"Yeah..." she laughed. "And you can meet my boyfriend... Mackenzie." she answered.
"That'd be cool. How 'bout you come up here tomorrow sometime?" I asked. She nodded right away.
"Of course, sure we will." she replied.
"Great... see you tomorrow then." I finished.
"Yeah..." she smiled widely. "See you tomorrow."
