Chapter 11
Olivia had to help Amanda out of the tub. She was still in pain, but Amanda wasn't totally embarrassed to have Liv helping her out. Once she got her out, Liv asked her if she needed help with her clothes. Amanda did settle for help with the shirt. Maybe she was gaining Amanda's trust. "Okay finish getting dressed and meet us in the kitchen to eat. You need some food before you take your pain meds." Olivia and Melinda prepared the table and Amanda joined them a few minutes later. Melinda smiled "Well you look better. How do you feel?" Amanda sat down slowly, "A little better the bath sure helped and I didn't put my arm in the water." Melinda noticed Amanda's flushed cheeks and she reached over and felt her forehead, cheeks, and neck. Amanda just flinched. Melinda could tell she wasn't use to being touched or cared for. She got up to get her thermometer from her bag. "I can tell you aren't used to being fussed over, but now you have Liv and me so you might as well get used to it fast. Let me take your temperature, because you feel warm." Melinda pointed the thermometer towards Amanda's forehead, "101.4! Let's get this Tylenol in you right now." Liv handed her some water and 2 pills and something dawned on her "Have you eaten or drank anything today?" Amanda's face gave her answer away before she could say anything. Liv was livid. "Come on Amanda! You have to start taking care of yourself." Amanda immediately started pouting. Melinda shook her head and Liv quickly realized her mistake and knew this was the wrong time to get tough with her. She had been through a lot today. "Look I'm sorry. I just want you healthy. We have Chinese food and soup. How about you try the soup first and then if your stomach feels ok, you pick whatever else you want to eat." Amanda picked up her spoon and started eating while Liv grabbed some ginger ale for her. After Amanda finished her soup, she tried an egg roll and then she was full.
Liv gave Amanda a blanket, turned the tv on, and told her to park it on the couch. After they cleaned the kitchen, put the leftovers away, and Liv put Amanda's clothes in the dryer they joined Amanda in the living room. Melinda picked a Netflix drama and they all relaxed. Liv and Amanda shared the couch and when Liv noticed Amanda getting tired, she pulled Amanda's head in her lap to lay her down. Amanda's body tensed up immediately. So Liv stroked her long blonde hair and Amanda started to relax. For the first time ever, Amanda felt like someone really cared about her. 10 minutes later she was out like a light. Liv knew Amanda had to be tired and wanted her to rest her body. Melinda and Olivia figured out 2 things during the movie. 1 Amanda moved around a lot and made small mumbling sounds in her sleep. Liv finally wrapped her arms around Amanda, because a couple of times she almost ended up on the floor. 2 she was a very heavy sleeper. They could have had a rock concert and she wasn't waking up. They did have a good laugh about both things.
After the movie was over, Melinda checked Amanda's fever to make sure it was down. "It's down, just make sure it stays down. Give her these pain meds an hour before bed. She needs to sleep and you should probably wake her up so she sleeps tonight. Melinda grabbed her bag and got ready to leave. "I will give my friend a call tonight about an appointment for her to talk and I will come by in the morning before I head to work to check on Amanda. Call me if you need me before then. Love you." Liv gave Amanda a kiss on the forehead, "Wake up sleepyhead. Can you tell Melinda goodbye? She's leaving now." Amanda sat up sleepily and looked over at Melinda, "You're leaving?" Melinda turned around, "Yeah you fell asleep on me during the movie though, so you owe me another movie date." Melinda gave Amanda a wink, "I'll check on you in the morning sweetheart." Amanda did something that was totally out of bounds for her. She ran to Melinda and gave her a big hug. "Thank you Melinda!" Melinda looked at Olivia and they exchanged a smile. "You are welcome and I love you." Amanda smiled at those words. No one showed care, affection, or told her that they loved her so she started to think she didn't need anyone to love her, but she was slowly changing her mind.
After Melinda left, they went to get Amanda's clothes from the dryer. "Let's get your clothes together and figure out what you have and what we need to get you. Go grab your bag and see what's in there. I'll bring the clothes in the bedroom." Amanda grabbed her bag, she found her hairbrush, toothbrush, and 300 bucks she stashed away. "Hey at least I have my toothbrush and my mom would be fucking pissed that she missed this", Amanda said holding up the roll of money. Liv was folding her shirts when she stopped, "Amanda Rollins your mouth! I don't like the cussing. You are too smart to talk like that and you do remember our conversation about me believing in discipline? Amanda looked at Liv, "Sorry Liv." Liv just shook her head. "Looks like you need bras, panties, shirts and pants. You need at least a week's worth. I'm off tomorrow, so we can go shopping." Amanda looked in her bag, "Well I didn't have much anyway. You know Liv, I was thinking while I was in the tub and this school thing may not work. I have a savings account at the bank and it's got 5000 in it and this is 300. If you help me find a cheap apartment like a studio or something, maybe I can just work and…" Liv crossed her arms and cut Amanda off. "Are you trying to make me upset? Absolutely not! You will not quit school to work 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet. So no, I will not help you find an apartment, because you can stay with me. As for your savings, I'm glad you have one, add that 300 to it. And don't even think of arguing with me. Get your clothes and let's take them to your room. Come on. Now!" Amanda followed Liv into the room beside her room. She put the clothes in the dresser drawer and Amanda added the other clothes. "Okay Fin texted me, he wants to see you and make sure you're feeling better. So I told him to stop by for dinner and you are helping me cook. Come on." Liv and Amanda went to the kitchen and made dinner. Amanda was on salad duty, while Liv made honey garlic salmon. They heard a knock and knew it was Fin, so Amanda opened the door. "Hey baby girl, glad to see you looking better," Fin said, giving Amanda a hug. "It smells good in here, glad I have friends who can cook. Amanda looked down and saw her bag. "Ummm Fin, how did you get that?" Amanda stood frozen in one spot. She was terrified. Liv came from the kitchen seeing that Fin may need some help. "Well I went to pay your mom a visit. We had a talk and she packed the rest of your things and gave them to me. It's okay, she won't bother you anymore and she's not in trouble if you don't want to press charges. I only went there to let her know that we will be your family. We will have your back and she will stay out of your life if she can't respect you. I also told her I was cop and if she didn't want any trouble, she better not give you any trouble." Fin and Liv held their breath and Amanda jumped in Fin's arms. "Will you get into trouble for doing that?" Fin just smiled, "Baby girl, don't worry about me. It's time someone took care of you." They sat down and had a nice dinner together. Amanda told them, "I haven't had a dinner like this since I was like 9. I really appreciate you guys helping me." Fin helped clean the kitchen and gave both of them a hug goodnight.
If Amanda learned anything today, it was that she needed people to love her and maybe she just found those people.
