Chapter 9
Carly knew the breakup with Melanie had hit Freddie hard when it happened. It wasn't like he came out and said but it was obvious to anyone who talked to him back then that this was even worse than the breakup with Sam in high school. She also knew there was some very bad blood between the twins from that time forward as well. While he hadn't said a word about it to the brunette until this day, Sam had filled Carly in on exactly what went down between her sister and Freddie as well as their own argument. Despite their history, Sam was far more concerned about the former tech producer than she was her own sister. She was just plain old wazzed off at Melanie, this was evident each time Carly talked to Sam and her name came up ever since that time.
Flashback to January-March, 2014
It took less than a week for the news to reach L.A., but as soon as it did Sam wasted no time in calling her sister and reading her the riot act about the breakup.
"Hey, Sam." Mel answered the phone like there was nothing wrong.
"Hi there, Melanie. Or should I say heart breaking little skunk bag." Sam replied.
"Dang it, Sam. That's not fair." Melanie began before being cut off. "Our breakup was mutual."
"Was it? Really? I told you, I warned you, I even threatened you, but you had to go and hurt him anyway didn't you? The one guy who I give a rat's butt about and you go and treat him like a dish rag."
"Now Sam it wasn't like that."
"Like chiz is wasn't!" Sam shouted back. "You just up and out of the blue decided you didn't want a boyfriend anymore so you go and tear up the one guy who I specifically asked you not to eff with."
"I'm hurting over this too, you know." Melanie finally snapped back. "How do you think I feel? He was my first time for God's sake."
"Your first time for what? Oh key-rist! You went and slept with him, too?"
"We went out for over 8 months. Did you think we were celibate or going to act like we were in junior high? Of course we were intimate."
"Aw man, this just keeps getting worse by the minute." Sam chided. "This is exactly what I was worried about. You're as fickle as the day is long. So what was it? You felt guilty for doing too much with him, or let me guess, you started to wonder if any other guy out there was better in bed? So you break up with Freddie and let him wondering what the hell he did wrong. Do you have any idea how much I hate you right now?"
"And just how did you find out anyway? What did he do, go calling you and telling you all about it?" This thought angered Melanie more so than getting bawled out by her twin. 'Figures."
"I haven't heard from Freddie in months. Probably because he was ashamed to talk to me because he was sleeping with you. Now he's too wazzed off to even talk to me. He told Gibby if you must know. And of course that potato wasted no time in calling me and bringing me up to speed."
"Oh." Melanie quietly replied.
"Yeah, Oh." Sam snapped back. "And the worst part, he was the one guy who would be loyal to a fault and never hurt you. Then you go and intentionally pull this chiz. So, congratulations. You're officially a complete tramp now, Pam Pucket the second. Thanks to you and your desire to have the full college experience, not tied down to a boyfriend, you went and messed up any chances I might have with the one guy who I ever loved. Did you stop to think about anybody but you, Mel?"
"This isn't about you, Sammy!" Melanie shouted back, tired of her sister's criticism.
"And thanks to you it never will be! You know what, don't bother calling me. As far as I'm concerned I don't even have a sister any more. I got along great for a lot of years without you in my life, it's not like I'll miss you any more than I do Pam. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to call my ex-boyfriend, who I can only hope is still willing to talk to me as a friend, and see if there's anything I can do to help heal what you did to him."
Sam quickly hung up and did just that, she called Freddie.
"Hey, Freducchini." She tried to sound like everything was normal when he answered the phone. "What's shakin'?"
"Nothin' much." He replied with little emotion. "Studying for a history test. What are you up to?"
"Eh, you know. I live with Cat, so making sure she doesn't burn down the apartment. It's kind of like living with a miniature sized Spencer with boobs and a pink skirt." She tried to make a joke. "So, a breathtaking evening with a history book, how can you stand so much excitement?"
Freddie sighed, he had no idea if Sam knew about his relationship troubles. Given her track record with Melanie, odds were she didn't. "Not like I have a girlfriend right now." He mumbled.
Sam wanted to play stupid but didn't. It would soon be obvious she had found out. "Yeah, I kinda heard. You could do better. I mean, I just couldn't see you and Melanie together anyway. If you want my honest opinion."
"What?" He was confused at her statement.
"Well for one, she's a prissy prude. Two, she's a huge nub. Like so much that she makes you look almost normal." By now, she was back to teasing him to try to lift his mood.
It sort of worked and he chuckled slightly. "I guess I should have known better. I'd never be able to make it work with someone like her anyway. We were too much alike. Just like me and Carly."
Sam had one question if he didn't see a future with Melanie. "Is that why you hopped in the sack with her?"
"How did you know about that?" He asked, embarrassed.
"She told me. And for what it's worth, you really could do better." She again used the phrase, stopping short of saying 'with me'.
He didn't reply and she tried to change the subject to lift his spirits.
"So I was sort of thinking about maybe coming home for a little visit sometime. When do you have spring break?" She hinted at the idea of actually spending some time with him.
"Last week in March." He replied. "You sure you can get away and leave your room mate on her own for that long? From what you say she's liable to get her foot stuck in the toilet or something."
"I'd have to ask somebody to watch her. Hey, I know, why don't you come down to L.A. to visit me? Then I wouldn't have to find a Cat sitter. You have a whole week off, right? That's plenty of time to fly down, spend a few days having fun and fly home."
"You know I hate to fly. After the Japan trip."
"Oh, get over it, we all survived didn't we?" She teased.
"Well, yeah. But . . . " He knew his mother would have a cow, but he was still dying to see Sam. "I'll maybe look into that, it would be nice to see some new territory." He didn't dare utter the words 'and you.'
Of course, by the time his spring break rolled around, Sam was hell-bent on jumping over the killer tuna fish, Cat was jealous about Sam spending so much time with her friend Jade, and Freddie received a phone call from some air-headed young gal telling him that Sam had been injured and he needed to get there immediately.
The college freshman did indeed fly to L.A., but he spent his week off in the hospital recovering from being nearly eaten alive by the ravenous fish. The best part, though, he and Sam had most definitely reconnected over the break. The two parted with plans for her return to Seattle, not necessarily right away but at some point. After all, Cat would be leaving for college or at the very least traveling or joining some stage show somewhere and Sam wouldn't need to worry about her getting stuck inside a box.
End of flashback
Back to present time, now with Freddie and Spencer - who's preparing for Carly's arrival.
Freddie Benson walked into apartment 8-C after work. He was very much at home there, and he had become more like Spencer's little brother than neighbor.
"Daddy!" A little girl ran toward him and he stooped down to pick her up, as he usually did.
"Hey, little princess!" He held the girl tightly. If there was one thing in his life he would always be proud of, it was his daughter. She reminded him of her mother and even though he hadn't seen or even spoken to her in quite some time, he still couldn't help but have feelings for the mother of his child and the time they spent together.
"Thanks for watching her for a little bit, Spence." He walked toward the kitchen where the nearly forty year old was mixing something in a large bowl.
"She's never a problem. Glad to have her." Spencer replied, happy as ever. "I'm really lucky to be able to see her grow up. And she is my god-daughter after all."
"I know you don't mind and she sure loves Uncle Spencer, but I really appreciate your help. I try to do as much work as possible from home if Mom can't be there. This meeting today just couldn't be helped and Mom had made her podiatrist appointment months ago."
"You guys sticking around for a bit?" Spencer asked. "As soon as the cake's in the oven, I'm starting on spaghetti tacos."
"I wish we could. Mom will be home any minute." The younger man shrugged. "Something tells me she won't eat spaghetti tacos."
"Dude! Carly's coming home for the first time in three years, last time she was home for just a week and you were out of town. Don't want to be here to see her in person?"
"Aunt Carly!" The little girl yelled in her dad's ear, causing him to wince." She knew Carly from his video chats with the dark haired woman who was obviously a very close friend of her father's. Freddie had also shown her many of the web shows, which he had stored on his computer. Or at least the ones fit for a little kid to see.
"And I'll catch up with her. Maybe tomorrow or over the weekend. It's not like she's got to go back after a week this time. If I don't get home and start dinner, we're liable to end up with tofu meatloaf or something."
The little girl made a 'yuck' face.
Before he could think any more about his mother, the door again burst open. "Fredward!" Marissa exclaimed, seeing her son. "Thank God! What are you doing over here?"
"Gramma!" The little, strawberry blonde girl exclaimed and held her arms out to the older woman.
"I missed you, darling." Marissa took the girl from her dad for a hug before letting her down to the floor. "I was so worried, I'm not used to you not being home when I get there."
"I told you I had to go into the office for a mandatory meeting this afternoon and Spencer was babysitting, Mom." He replied. Somehow, this woman could make him feel like a kid who did something without permission, despite the fact that he had been a father himself for several years now.
"Well, I'm sure Spencer has other things to do, we should be going. Thank you for watching her, Spencer." Marissa was almost colder than usual and obviously in a hurry to get her out of Spencer's apartment.
"I was thinking we should go out for dinner, Fredward. We haven't had this little one shopping for a long time and by the looks of the way her clothes fit, she's soon due for a bigger size. Honestly, I can't figure out why she's so tall for her age." Marissa made no mention of the stature of the girl's mother, but Freddie knew what she was thinking.
Freddie, of course, knew the underlying reason for his mother's offer. She was very much aware that a certain brunette from her son's past was due to arrive at any moment. Spencer had made no secret that his little sister was moving back home the second he found out. To say Marissa was not impressed was an understatement. In her mind, there would never be any female worthy of her son's affection and the girl who grew up across the hall from them was no exception.
Of course, she had little to worry about. Not only was there nothing between the two, but they had minimal contact since that fateful day many years before when Carly decided that she was going to live with her dad in Europe.
"That'd be fine, Mom." He agreed, not really sure why, but he wasn't in a huge hurry to see Carly in person. Sure, they talked on the phone and there was the occasional video chat but he was afraid of the feelings seeing her in person might stir up.
