Split Chance Ch. 01

I turn around and stare at her ass as she walks away. Smiling, I wink at her as she turns around one last time before walking into the cafeteria. Turning around slowly I don't move until I see that the coast is clear from anyone else. Smiling, I leave the school to go home and relax away from everyone.

School was pretty decent but I missed Liz. That bitch was probably blowing up my phone and sadly for me I had left it in my car. "WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!" pulling the phone away from my ear I wince as I sit in the car regretting how right I was.

"Liz, calm down..." I begin to say before she cuts me off. "Don't you fucking tell me to calm down for all I knew some hillbillies killed you!"

"Liz, they aren't hillbillies, and no one attacked me I forgot my phone in the car."

"...don't ever do that again."

"I won't, I'm sorry I scared you."

"It's okay now, anyway how was your first day of school?"

"Well I may have found one of the sexiest women, and I made two new friends."

"Look at you, anyway what does she look like?"

"She's a redhead, sexy hourglass figure, emerald green eyes, and she's my teacher."

"Frankie, no..nah uh..nope.. not another teacher. I mean yes she sounds smoking hot but you remember last time."

"I don't know what you're talking about." "Yes you do. You broke our math teacher's heart. Hell she was so heartbroken she quit Frankie!"

"It's not my fault Liz! I told her from the beginning I didn't want a relationship."

"You should have stopped after the first time but you had to keep going."

"What the hell Liz since when did you become so judgemental?"

"I'm not trying to Frankie, but you can't fuck someone for months and not expect them to begin to fall for you. Sure you can do it but not everyone is like you. I'm just saying don't make anyone else fall for you only to break their heart."

"I don't make them..." I said as I look at my hand gripping the steering wheel. "I'm not trying to be mean Frankie, I..."

"No I get it. I have to go home Liz, I'll text you okay." Hanging up I throw the phone on the other seat. Running my hands over my face I drive out the parking lot and go home.

I hated that Liz made me feel guilty and upset. I hated the thought of her hating some part of me. Sure she never said it but she didn't have to. She clearly didn't like that I slept around with women but relationships were not my thing.

I always told them I just wanted sex so why the hell would they act so surprised when I stop things.

I mean they're older than me yet they're the ones acting childish. It's not my fault, it isn't. Slamming my hand against the steering wheel I pull into the driveway and go to my room. Luckily for me there was no one around so I lay in bed hoping I can relax before I have to get Emily.

Yet, once again my peace and quiet was interrupted by the doorbell. Going to the door I look out and see some dude in a suit. "Yeah, can I help you?" I ask as I open the door, dude seems chill enough.

"Frankie right?" he asks as we both just stare at each other not realizing there was a child until I hear a soft voice speak up.

"Dad I don't want to stay here. I want to go with mommy." I look down and see a little girl looking up at me with teary soft green eyes.

"Yeah, I'm Frankie. Hey are you my mom's friend with the kid?" I ask as I move to the side letting them inside. "No my name is Mark but I know your mother. She's my wife's friend, Evelyn is her name.

Anyway, I know you were suppose to meet Evelyn tonight and you still will. Right now though, I need you to take care of Madeline. I have to leave out of town for business and I haven't been able to get a hold of her mother."

I look down at the little girl who is staring at me, at least her eyes were no longer teary which I am grateful for. I look up at Mark and I have a feeling that he is some shit but hey what can I do.

"Um, sure I can watch over her." I finally say, internally sighing because now I can't have some rest.

"Great! Well this is her mom's number like I said I've been trying to get a hold of her but haven't been able to. She's probably with a client. " Turning to look at his daughter Mark didn't even look upset at leaving as he speaks to her. "Madeline behave until your mother gets here please. Again thank you Frankie here's a hundred for the unexpected visit." Mark hands me a hundred dollar bill then walks out the door. Like what the fuck he didn't even hug the kid or say goodbye.

Turning back around I purse my lips and sit down on the couch across from where she is sitting. Little kid was creepy staring at me without saying or doing anything. Looking down at my phone I see some missed text messages from Liz but ignore them and decide to call Evelyn.

When she didn't pick up I leave a voicemail with my info before hanging up. "So what's your name?"

"Madeline, but my mommy calls me Maddie. Will my mommy be here soon?"

"Uhm no not yet. Can I also call you Maddie?" I ask her as she begins to relax. I can see her eyes begin to get curious which makes me relax. "Okay, what's your name?"

"My name is Francesca but I go by Frankie." Maddie gets up and starts walking around the living room before standing in front of me. She touches my face which makes me frown cause her hands were kind of sticky.

"Are you a girl or a boy Frankie?" I laugh which causes her to pull her hand back. She stares at me with her eyes wide open.

"I'm a girl Maddie I like to dress like a boy. Are you a girl or a boy." For a second she looks so sad but then she smiles and laughs. "I'm a girl silly. Right? I'm a pretty girl, see look at my pretty dress." Maddie says with a smile while showing me her light green dress and jean jacket with her black dress shoes.

Chuckling, I smile at her before replying, "You do look pretty with your dress. I'm hungry are you hungry?" I ask the kid as I stand up and start walking to the kitchen. Immediately she is right next to me as I get some ingredients. I grab some bread and the nutella before sitting down on the table. Maddie sits next to me and stares as I make myself a nutella sandwich.

"Can I have one, my mommy says I can't have nutella at home but my friends sometimes give me some. So can I pretty please have some, I really like it."

"Sure Maddie you can have some." I said smiling as I continue to make myself one more before making her one. Once I finish and put the things away I hand hers over and start to eat mine. I look at her and notice that she is once again staring at me.

"What's wrong?" I ask her and watch as she stares at me then at her plate. "I don't like the edges my mommy cuts them for me, can you do it too. When is my mommy going to get here Frankie?"

"I'm not sure, it's only one, I was suppose to take care of you until four. Do you have any homework?" I ask her while I finish my sandwich and watch as she eats hers while getting nutella all over her mouth. Laughing, I grab a glass of milk for both of us and a napkin for her. "Here kid." I said as I sit back down smiling at her. I watch as she finishes her sandwich and milk then continues her struggle at cleaning herself.

"Okay stop please stop." I said while laughing. I motion for her to follow me and take her to the restroom so she can wash her hands and face. As soon as she is done she runs back to the living room. As I walk in I see her with a book. "You like reading?"

"Yes, I like to read, it's fun. My mommy likes that I read, she says I'm very smart for my age."

"How old are you?" I ask as I sit down next to her . "I'm five I'm in kindergarten but mommy said I should be in first grade. "She's right I thought you were six. Whatcha reading?"

"It's called First Grade, Here I Come! it's by Nancy Carlson. I like it because it shows how different it will be."

"That's nice, you really are smart." I smile down at her before pulling out my phone. Still no reply from her mother so I decide to call again and leave another voicemail. It was one thirty now, I still had an hour and a half before I had to go get Emily.

Fuck I just remembered I didn't have a car seat for her and the car I had was a two seater. "Hey Maddie, what do you do when you don't have a car seat?" I really hoped she knew. "My dad doesn't have a car seat I sit with him in the front cause his car doesn't have a back." I was grateful about that but now I didn't know what to do about getting Emily. Damn, I need to get a new car. I grab my phone and call up my dad's best friend.

"Hey Frankie, how are you kid?" As soon as I hear his Italian accent I smile. Leo helped raise me when my dad wasn't around. He was more like an uncle to be honest.

"Hey Uncle Leo! I'm good just chilling with my mom now." I say as I stand up and walka bit away not wanting to disturb Maddie's reading. "Oh yeah, I heard about that. Bastard, should have left you with me instead."

"Right! Anyway, Uncle Leo I have a question for you."

"Oh no, who did you kill. Don't worry Frankie I have connections tell me where you're at and I'll...." I laughed as I heard him before stopping him from going any further. "Uncle Leo I didn't kill anyone! The fact that you thought I did though." This time it was my uncle's turn to laugh making me smile. "Of course you did not, you're too good for that life Frankie." My uncle said making me feel confused for a second there. "Right, well my question was about a car, you see...."

"Oh sweet Mary! Please tell me you didn't hurt our baby Francesca. Where are you? Tell me right now what you've done to her..." "Uncle Leo! I didn't hurt our baby she's fine. I need another car, my mom is making me get a job babysitting and she also asked me if I could pick up her daughter up. The problem..." And again my Uncle interrupts me. "Whoa whoa whoa, what is your ma thinking. This is the time for you to be young and free. Since when are you a taxi driver Frankie, I don't like this. Not one bit, your old man sent you there to be with your mom not be your ma's taxi or uber driver."

"Yeah...look Uncle Leo, she wants me to know about responsibility. I don't want her to get mad at me or think I'm ungrateful, I want her to like me."

"Frankie, I understand but she ain't got a right to treat you like this. You're one of the most responsible people I know. I'm fact, when your ma first left you took care of your father. He wasn't eating or bathing much yet you took care of him. As for her liking you, she doesn't have to treat you like that for her to be able to like you and you shouldn't take it."

"I know...but I don't mind Uncle Leo. Plus the little kid I'm taking care of is sweet and smart, she's not whiny you know?"

"Yeah, I get you Frankie. You have always wanted kids. I remember the time Liz and you got all serious about starting a family almost gave your pops and me a heart attack."

Blushing but smiling I remember the time he is talking about. Liz and I were fifteen and I'm not sure why but kids seemed like a great idea then. We even looked up adoption centers. "I still want a family. But that's for the future Uncle Leo what kind of car can I get and how soon can I get it?"

"You want it to be an Audi?"

"Of course." I can almost hear his brain thinking. While, I wasn't super into cars, Audis have always been my favorite. "An audi s5 coupe should be fine and I can get it to you this weekend. I'll even bring Liz with me." At the mention of Liz I feel my anger flare up a bit before turning to sadness.

"That sounds perfect Uncle Leo. Thank you so much I'll see you this weekend then. Go ahead and charge my dad for making me come here."

"Haha you got it kid, love you and say hi to your ma for me. Tell her she is still the bitch I remember her as."

"Um sure. Love you to Uncle Leo." Hanging up I smile as I look down at my phone.

Talking to him was always nice. He was family to me, speaking of family I decide to call my dad only for him to not pick up again. I lean against the wall trying to stop the emotional pain as I take some deep breaths.

"Frankie." I look down and see Maddie looking up at me.

"Hey kid, what's up?" I ask as I see her studying me. "Why are you crying." She asks and at that moment I realize that I in fact am crying. Wiping my cheeks and eyes I take a deep breath before smiling at Maddie. "Just allergies sweety."

"My mommy gets allergies too, she gets them a lot. I make them go away, do you want me to make yours go away?"

Chuckling, I look at her and slide down the wall which brought me down to her level. "Sure kid, how do you make it go away?"

Next thing I knew I felt tiny arms around my neck and hair all over my face. Patting her back awkwardly I wait for her to pull away from me. "See no more allergies." She is right, I stopped crying before and even though it wasn't her hug that helped I let the kid think it did.

"I guess you were right." I look down at my phone and see I still had a bit before I had to go get Emily. "Hey, kid do you have any homework?"

"Yes, do you want to help me?" Maddie smiles as she runs into the living room giving me a chance to compose myself. Once I was done I follow after her and see her with her homework out on the floor. Simple math and some reading seemed the right thing to do.

"Okay, let's do this."

-----

"Well we still have an hour to go, we've done your homework and mine, you helped me clean my room. What else can we do?" I ask the kid as she looks at me with a smile and shrugs.

Laughing, I start tickling her and watch her laugh along with me. "Haha stop!" Chuckling, I stop and tense up when I feel her fingers on my side. "Oh no no no, you are not tickling me." I stand up and move away from her.

"But you tickled me." Maddie starts walking towards me, making me backup. For the next few minutes she chases after me and I run like the devil is right behind me, because it was.

I hate tickles, they send me into a panic attack like serious panic. "Okay no more Maddie, I'll buy you a milkshake!"

"Ooh yay, let's go." Laughing, I grab my keys and follow her as we walk out the house and to my car.

Driving to McDonalds we park and get out the car. "Come here kid, when we go out make sure you hold onto my hand, okay?"

"Okay Frankie." Maddie holds onto my hand as we go in. "Frankie can I have a happy meal?" I look down at her with a raised eyebrow before nodding.

"Which kind do you want?" I look at the menu and look down at her. "I want nuggets and chocolate milkshake."

Putting the order in we move to the side. "Frankie, why is everyone staring at you?" I look around and realize that everyone is indeed staring, not that I cared but the kid seems to.

"They're weird." I say as I grab our milkshakes and her happy meal. "Hehe can I call them weirdos?"

Smiling at the kid I shake my head and grab her hand. "No you can't Maddie. Come on let's go get Emily."

On the way to school Maddie was able to finish her happy meal and was now drinking her milkshake. "Why is she taking so long Frankie?"

"I'm not sure, maybe she's having fun with her friends." I look over at her as I continue to drink my milkshake and see her mouth covered with chocolate and whip cream. "Maddie, you do know we have straws, right?" Laughing, I grab a napkin and wipe her mouth along with her hands. "You are such a messy child."

"I know my mommy doesn't like it either but I can't help it." Laughing, I look at the door as it opens and see Emily with a smile which turns into a frown once she sees Maddie.

"Ugh, Frankie why is Maddie here and where am I supposed to sit?" I look at Maddie who is looking at Emily with distaste. I have no idea what was going on between those two but it seemed as if they did not like each other.

"I don't have a car seat or space for that matter. Just get in, Maddie is going to sit on your lap." I grab the happy meal garbage and move it between the seats. "Frankie I don't want to do this." Emily stares at me as Maddie sticks her tongue out at Emily.

"Emily just do it!" I whisper yell causing her to shut up and sit in the car. "I want a milkshake, why didn't you bring me one."

"Because you weren't with us." Maddie says making me smile obviously she is as tired of Emily as I am.

"But you could still have...."

"Emily! Stop talking, Frankie can I play music again?"

"Frankie she can't just cut me off, what the hell."

I hand Maddie my phone and watch her pull up my spotify. "What are you going to play Maddie?" Instead of replying she smiles at me as Moana starts playing through my speakers. Chuckling, I notice Emily pouting while Maddie was singing along to the soundtrack. Me, well I just keep drinking my milkshake.

As soon as I pull into the driveway Emily gets Maddie of her lap and outside before going into the house. Looking over at Maddie I smile as she grumbles and gets back inside the car. "So why don't you like Emily?"

"She's a bully, I don't like her and she's mean. Frankie, someone is calling you, maybe it's my mommy!" Maddie answers before I can take the phone from her.

"Hello mommy, is that you." I saw her smile fall as she realizes whoever it was wasn't her ma. "Yes, Frankie is here, why do you call her Teddy Bear, oh does she give you teddy bears, I want a teddy bear. Can Frankie be my teddy bear? But why not, she can be my teddy bear too. I don't like you, I'm telling Frankie that you're mean."

Chuckling, I watch as Maddie goes from happy to sad then to mad before she gives me my phone. "Liz I..." Before I can complete my sentence Liz decides to cut me off. "No listen, I was being mean. I don't care who you go for or how many women you go for Teddy, I miss you and I love you no matter what. I was being stupid, in fact it doesn't even matter to me."

"You say this now but before you got so judgemental Liz, I mean your my best friend." I smile at Maddie who is now pouting even more.

"I was wrong Frankie please, I wasn't thinking, I hate being away from you. I mean who's going to cover for you and what if she tries to blackmail you when or if she falls for you. Frankie I'm just worried, we've always been together and now we aren't."

"Liz, I get that but still, what did our distance have to do with the way you spoke to me? Nothing, to be honest."

"You're right, and you're right about them being old enough to take care of themselves. I guess I just don't want you getting hurt like that one day."

"I won't, remember I don't fall in love." I get out the car and wait for Maddie to come around the car before we start walking towards the house. "I know, I love you Teddy, will you forgive me?"

"Yeah, I do Sunshine." I open the door and let Maddie go in before walking after her.

"Great! It would have been so awkward if you were mad when I went this weekend with Uncle Leo."

"Well now you won't have to worry. I love you Liz but I have to go, I'm babysitting right now, bye and again I love you." Smiling, I hang up before walking into the kitchen.

"Hey ma, I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah, I parked in the garage, Frankie Emily told me what happened?" My mom said while looking at me with a serious expression making me frown. "I mean I don't have four seats so yeah she had to put Maddie on her lap, what's the big deal."

"Not that Frankie, I'm talking about the fact that you didn't get her a milkshake." Is she fucking kidding me, did that bitch tattle on me, like what the fuck. "Ma, seriously by the time she got in the car it would have been melted. I mean she wasn't even with us."

"Look Frankie, if next time you won't bring her one, finish yours before picking her up or don't get one at all."

"Ma it's a milkshake, it's not the end of the world." I frown even more I mean she made it seen as if I killed someone. "I don't care Frankie, I've said what I had to say."