Back Again, Worst Than A Bad Habit

Last night I got an unexpected visitor, or I should say Alexis got an unexpected visitor. That's right Reed showed up here around 7, just as I was trying to put Alexis to bed.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him when I opened my door and saw him there.

"What do you mean?" He gave me this funny look. "I called and asked if I could come see Alexis this weekend. I left a message, and said call me if it was a problem. You didn't call, so here I am. Hey sweetheart." That last little bit was directed at Alexis who was almost falling out of my arms as she tried to get up with him.

He didn't stay long, he said he wanted to be here earlier so he could help put her to bed but traffic was horrible. "I didn't expect her to still be up."

"We were a little late getting back," I told him. "You can trying to put her down if you like."

He hesitated for a moment and I was certain he was going to ask me what I was doing but he just smiled. "Come on Princess, let's see if daddy can put you to sleep." He disappeared into her room just as a knock came to my door.

I knew who it was, there was only one person I was expecting. And this time when I opened the door I saw who I was hoping for. "Hey Chris."

"Hello Amber," he leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. "So I went and I got the movies, popcorn and the pop." He made his way to my kitchen table and dropped the bags. "Are you really sure you want to watch horror movies tonight?"

"Yes," I peeked in the bags he had and saw that he managed to get the first 5 of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. "I would've thought that you would want me to watch horror movies with you."

He asked me why, and I smiled. "Well," I said as I wrapped my arms around his waist. "I tend to get scared and need someone to cuddle with to make me feel safe."

"Ahh," he kissed the tip of my nose. "So what are we waiting for then?" He grabbed my hand and started for the living room.

"So Amber," Reed came out of Alexis' room talking quietly. "I got her to sleep finally, she wanted...oh...hello." He slipped his hands in his pockets and glanced back and forth between Chris and me. "Oh!" He stepped forward and held out his hand to Chris. "I'm Reed Johnson, Alexis' father."

Chris stood there for a moment, just looking at Reed's outstretched hand. When he let go of my hand, I thought he was going to shake Reed's but he didn't. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down his nose at Reed.

Reed glanced at me and then shrugged, dropping his hand. "Well I'll be going now." He headed for the door, grabbing his jacket off the chair as he went. "I'll come by tomorrow to see Alexis. Maybe give me a call when she wakes up?" He turned to look at me again. "I'm staying at the hotel again, they'll forward your call. Or you can just call my cell." With one more quick glance at Chris, Reed turned and walked out the door.

I don't know about anyone else but the fact that Chris refused to introduce himself to Reed, ticked me off. I know the situation was a little uncomfortable and he didn't know he was here. So it was a surprise to see him walk our of Alexis' room but that doesn't excuse the attitude. And I told him that too.

Chris slowly turned his head from the door towards me, the look in his eyes made me jump back a little. "You could've told me he was here," his voice was flat and cold when he spoke.

"I...I..." I stammered, I was actually a little uneasy with his tone and the look in his eyes.

"Amber," Chris grabbed my arm and stared down into my eyes. "Next time warn me that he's here. It's not the best feeling the world to have your girlfriend's ex popping out a room in her apartment. You made me look like a fool just now."

"Chris, please." I lifted my hands up. "You're hurting me."

He glanced down at his hands on my arms. "Sorry." He muttered, releasing me from his grip. He turned and grabbed the bag of movies. We watched a couple of the Nightmares before he decided to go get some sleep.

After he left, I went to hop in the shower. I didn't notice until after I was finished in the shower and standing at the mirror getting ready to dry my hair that I had a couple bruises on the upper part of both my arms.

Oh damn! Reed got here a lot faster than I thought he would. I called him only 20 minutes ago telling him that Alexis was awake. She's laying in my arms watching me as I type. Of course, she's trying to type too.

He's going to try to see if he can handle Alexis for an hour or two by himself today. I'm scared about this, I've never not had her around. But if they get along well together, maybe I'll have some free time when he's visiting.

Wouldn't that be sweet?