Free Fall

by E. M. Moore

  24

  The next couple of days are spent exploring one another on a whole other level. I’ve been through a great deal of emotions with Reid since I’ve known him. Brotherly love, friendship, and yes, even hate, but this, this right here is by far the best. I didn’t know someone who wasn’t family could become so important to me. That I would literally want to hold onto him every chance I got. The best part about it is that I’m not trying to do it to recover from Brady’s death. No, this is something else entirely. Being with Reid is making me feel so much more than just “better”.

  I blink awake Monday morning. At first, I don’t realize what woke me. My hair is mussed over my face, and my legs are tangled up in his sheets and his legs. We tried yet another different position last night as Reid continues to give me a crash course in sex, “bringing me up to speed” as he calls it. I can’t say I mind, but I do mind being woken up from a peaceful sleep.

  “Reid,” I hear. “Up. Now.”

  My heart sinks. It’s Mrs. Parker. Holy shit. I’m so fucking naked right now.

  She must kick the edge of the mattress because the whole bed moves. “Reid. Now. I told you I didn’t want her in our house.”

  I gasp as Reid lazily lifts his head, peeking back at his mom. I try to crawl into a hole. I just want to fade away into the background because this has got to be the most embarrassing thing ever.

  “Shit, Mom. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re going to be sorry,” she spits. “Get her the hell out of here, I mean it.”

  “Mom,” he says, pulling the sheets around his waist, but also trying to hide me as well.

  “Reid Jeffrey Parker,” she says. “Do as I say!”

  She exits the room and then slams the door closed. I finally lift my head to meet Reid’s eyes. His are downturned. I’ve never heard his mom so mad before. I thought she liked me. I thought— Well, I’m sure any parent doesn’t want to find their kid in bed with someone else when it’s so clearly blatant that they’ve been having sex, but it’s me. When he sees the look on my face, he cups my cheek. He then stretches his long legs out of the bed and finds a pair of shorts to put on before walking to the room and stepping out.

  “And where’s Briar?” she immediately starts in. “I can’t believe you brought her here with Briar. You know we’re supposed to be looking after her. Where is she? Her mother’s going to kill me. Is she okay? I tried texting her, but she’s not answering.”

  I cringe. I’m pretty sure I left my cell downstairs after Reid carried me up to his room last night like I weighed nothing.

  “And I don’t know how many times I have to tell you I do not want Sasha here, Reid. You know I don’t like her.”

  “Mom,” Reid tries again. I can tell she’s way past listening to him though.

  “I’m going to try Briar again.”

  I pull myself to a sitting position on the bed, hugging my knees to my chest as I listen to what’s going on in the hallway. Relief floods me when I realize she thought Sasha was in the bed with him and not me. So, at least there’s that.

  “Mom, you don’t have to.” The door swings open once more, and Reid points inside. “Briar’s right there.”

  I glare at Reid, then look over to meet his mother’s eyes. I smile and give her a small wave. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Parker. I didn’t— I wasn’t thinking.”

  Reid drops his head to the side like he’s disappointed in me and then pulls the door shut again, capturing his mother’s shocked face on the other side with him. I scramble around the room and throw on clothes while there’s still silence out in the hall.

  “Mom?” Reid asks, his voice softer now.

  “Was that Briar Page? In your bed?”

  “Yeah, Mom. There’s something I need to tell you.”

  She squeals. I just pull my shirt down over my head, completing dressing myself when the door opens again and Mrs. Parker barges in. She throws her arms around me. “Oh, Briar. It’s you.” For as small as Mrs. Parker is, she’s got some strength in her. She holds on to me so fiercely that the initial shock wears off, and I hug her back, both our arms clasped tightly around one another. “This is great news.”

  “Jeffrey! Get up here!”

  “Mom!” Reid says.

  “Oh, right. Right.” She pulls away from me and smiles.

  A hesitant smile pulls at my own lips. “I’m sorry about this,” I say, gesturing toward the bed.

  Her face finally reddens. “Well, I can’t say that I’m— I’m sure you guys were safe. Right? Oh honey,” she says, cupping my cheek. Tears spring to her eyes. “I’m so happy.”

  Thunderous footsteps sound on the staircase leading up to the second floor. Reid swears under his breath. “Mom, can Briar and I please have some privacy for a minute?”

  “Oh, of course,” she says. “I’m making breakfast. We’ll talk more about this down there. We’ll have to have ground rules or something. Your dad and I will talk.” Even though the words coming out of her mouth sound so adult, the smile she’s holding on her face tells me she’s pleased.

  As soon as Reid ushers her out the door and shuts it, he leans against the other side, sighing. Mr. and Mrs. Parker are whispering out in the hall. Reid shakes his head and comes forward.

  “They weren’t fans of Sasha, I take it,” I say.

  He shakes his head. “Not at all. My mom has never liked her.”

  “So, you used to bring her here?”

  Reid entwines his fingers with mine. “Not for a long time, but yes.” He blinks once. His hair is still sleep-mussed, making him look adorable right now. “Are you jealous?”

  I’m trying not to be, but hell yes, I am. Reid Parker’s mine. I’m almost positive we’ve claimed each other in any way we can over this past weekend.

  Reid tilts my chin in the air and kisses me, making me forget all about being embarrassed and jealous, wrapping me up in him until he pulls away. “Do we have to go to school today?” I ask, blinking my eyes open as if these past couple of days have been a dream.

  “I’m afraid so,” he says. “I’ve got practice tonight, getting ready for the game this weekend.” He squeezes my ass. “Why don’t you take a shower? I’ll drop the clothes you brought in here, and I’ll go downstairs to try to head off all the questions we’re about to get.”

  “Your mom,” I say, smiling. “She didn’t seem to mind that I was in your bed.”

  “If I’d known I wouldn’t get in trouble for having sex in the house, I would’ve brought you here earlier.”

  I laugh at that, but then he nudges me toward the shower.

  I hurry through my morning routine, not wanting Reid to have to brave his parents for too long by himself. I pull on a pair of jean shorts and a nice t-shirt, throw on a layer of foundation and some mascara before padding downstairs. I peek around the archway to find Reid huddled over a plate of pancakes, the steam rising from the stack going out and over his tousled hair.

  “You were safe?” I hear Mr. Parker ask.

  “Yeah, Dad,” Reid says. And the funny thing is, he doesn’t even sound embarrassed or exasperated. “Though, Briar will have to be put on birth control now.”

  “You were her first?” Mrs. Parker asks, excitement clear in her voice.

  “Shh, Mom,” Reid chastises. “The shower turned off. She’ll be coming downstairs any minute now. I doubt she’ll want you talking about that.”

  He’s right. My face is already all sorts of red right now.

  “It’s just so sweet,” she says. “Ugh, I just knew you two would be perfect together.”

  Sweet? I think. Her son can be far from sweet, especially when we’re talking about sex. But we’ll just let her think there were candles and roses involved instead of a game where we stripped naked in front of one another.

  I clear my throat and decide to walk in. Reid shouldn’t have to deal with this alone. Next to him, there’s already another plate filled with pancakes. “Hi, Mr. Parker,” I say when his dad rises to his feet to gr
eet me. “I’m so sorry—”

  Mrs. Parker says. “No need for that,” at the same time Reid says, “Would you quit saying that?”

  I shoot him a look. His dad looks thoroughly uncomfortable now, so I just sit down at the table, and his parents follow suit. None of us say anything for a long while because I’m sure what’s on all our minds is the fact that Reid and I are fucking. I know it’s on my mind, and I’m sure as hell not going to bring it up.

  I’m about halfway done with my pancakes when Mrs. Parker says, “You do things your way, Briar, but I think your parents need to know what’s going on. They’re probably going to feel differently about having you stay here now that you and um…you and Reid had sex—are dating? You two are dating, aren’t you?”

  My heart lodges in my throat. I peek over at Reid, wanting to see his reaction. He’s annoyed. I can’t tell if it’s because of the question or because his mom is asking the question. He looks up. “I’m sure Briar will tell her mom when she’s comfortable.”

  Briar sure as hell is not saying shit to her mom.

  Mrs. Parker worries over her lip. I can tell she doesn’t want to misuse my parents’ trust.

  Reid stands, his chair scraping against the floor as he takes in his mother. “Oh, Jesus. I’ll stay away from her for the rest of the week. Okay? I don’t want to piss off the Pages either.”

  I watch as Reid walks to the sink to rinse off his plate. Mr. and Mrs. Parker both relax with that sentiment. In fact, everyone else in the room seems calm now, but not me. I don’t agree with this staying away from each other bit. When Reid and I get in his car so he can drive us to school, I tell him that.

  He side-eyes me, then winks. “I’m sure we can find ways.”

  He pulls my hand to his mouth and brushes a kiss against my knuckles while still watching the road.

  He takes a right into the parking lot and pulls into the closest parking space to the front entrance. I go to get out, but he stops me. “Once people realize we’re together, rumors will spread everywhere. Sasha won’t be happy but leave her to me. If you need anything, go to me, Cade, or Lex…or hell, any of the guys on the football team for that matter. We’ll all be there for you.”

  “People are going to know?” I ask. This is a lot different conversation than we had last week.

  His mouth twitches. “I think they’re going to realize when I can’t keep my hands off you.”

  That makes me smile. “So, we’re going to make it official?”

  He gives me an inquisitive glance. “As far as I’m concerned, it was official as soon as I was free. My hearts been yours for a while, Briar, even when you didn’t know it, and even when it was trapped.”

  Speaking of hearts, mine’s melting right here in the car. For everything Reid Parker is and has been, he just etched his place onto my heart. No matter what happens, he’ll always be there.

  “You ready?” he asks.

  I take a deep breath and stare up at the school. I’ve come a long way from the girl a month ago who didn’t want to go to classes, who felt like no one was by her side, and who didn’t care about anything anymore. But somehow, I’m getting a lot of the same feelings. The school looms intimidatingly and nerves strike inside me. But when Reid meets me out in front of the car, slipping his fingers between mine before walking to the school with me, I leave all that shit behind.

  I’m not going at it alone anymore.

  25

  It feels as if from the very moment Reid and I make things official at school, Ezra starts messaging me again like some sort of cosmic practical joke. He seems off, too. Not like the guy I poured everything out to, but some incessant gnat that won’t go away no matter how many times he gets swat at.

  Pic? He sends on Wednesday morning before school. I have to hide my phone screen away from Reid while we’re eating breakfast together with his mom staring at the two of us. It shouldn’t matter that I had an online relationship with someone, but at the same time, I see how territorial Reid is, and I honestly don’t want him to know Ezra is part of the reason why I ran away. I wanted to meet him. I feel so differently now though. Now, I don’t even want to answer him. On the way to school, he sends another message. You used to send me pics all the time.

  I’m getting frustrated now. I’ve already told Ezra I’m dating someone not through a cell phone screen, but he won’t take the hint. I feel bad for wanting to block him because he did so much for me, but I don’t know if I have another alternative right now. I’ll probably try to talk to him at least one more time, see if I can’t get him to back off.

  “Who’s that?” Reid asks.

  “Um, Jules,” I say before turning the screen off and putting my cell in the front pocket of my bookbag. I hate lying to him, but the alternative is to get into a huge and lengthy conversation this early in the morning. I’m also embarrassed. I don’t want Reid to know about Ezra, and I especially don’t want Lex to know about Ezra. He’d be so hurt considering I was talking with Ezra at the same time I was doing things with him.

  Surprisingly, Lex has been okay about Reid and me. He’ll look away when Reid kisses me at lunch and other things, but he’s hanging in there, which I appreciate. I didn’t realize how much I needed these three boys in my life. Yes, Cade too. All six-foot ridiculousness of him. His thing now is telling me that it’s only right he and I have a sexual encounter since I’ve done things with both Lex and Reid. Reid doesn’t find this funny at all. For that matter, neither does Lex. Cade’s usually the only one who laughs, which is fine by him. He’s busy sticking his dick into one of Sasha’s friends to be serious at all about screwing me anyway. Not that he would. He would never jeopardize his relationship with Reid for sex. He just likes to get under people’s skin.

  Jules has also adjusted well to mine and Reid’s new relationship. When we walked into school that first day, she couldn’t keep a smile off her face. I tried to ask her if Brady ever said something about not wanting me to be with Reid, but she couldn’t think of anything. The only thing she commented on was how fiercely protective Brady was of me.

  Pretty much the only one who hasn’t taken Reid and mine’s new relationship well is Sasha, but I’m not shocked about that. The skank comments have significantly increased as well as the rank faces she throws my way. It’s amazing how someone so pretty can twist their face into something so awful. None of the guys on the football team will touch her after what happened at the party following the homecoming game, so instead, she’s dating someone from the lacrosse team, though she seems too preoccupied with Reid to even bother to pay attention to her boyfriend. It’s sad, really. The guy is cute, and he seems nice. It just makes me wonder how long that relationship is going to last.

  After school, I walk out to the bleachers like normal and watch the football team practice. I’m not the only person who does this. There’s usually a steady stream of admirers. I swear the guys could jog off the field, pick a girl, and bang them just like that. Since I’ve always been so close to the team because of my brother, I’ve never really seen the appeal. I do now though. I wonder if any of these girls have gotten a taste of someone like him. Maybe they’ve fucked Cade. Maybe they wait at the edge of the fence to see if he’ll even remember their name. I think I would. If Reid left me… I’d wait at the gate. I’d follow him after school. I’d text his phone. It all seems so needy, and it is. I need him. We’ve gone so far past the realm of friendship that I would never want to go back, which scares the shit out of me. When I think about it, my chest constricts. But when I stare into his eyes, I can see he feels the same way. Whatever hold we have on each other is overpowering for both of us.

  Like I’d hoped, we haven’t paid attention to his parents’ warnings about not having sex in the house. We’ve just been extremely secretive about it. Either him or I sneak into the other’s room at night, testing the boundaries with one another. When I have to go back to sleeping in my own house, I’m going to be so lonely. I don’t ever want to go away. I want to be tr
apped in Reid’s embrace forever.

  I’m sitting on the bleachers thinking about that, my foot tapping against the seats in front of me when a figure sits down next to me. I see the ribbed colors of the cheerleading skirt first, then hear the rustle of pom-poms. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Sasha just found her way to me. I sigh and look over. She’s staring ahead at the field, her lips thin.

  “What do you want?” I ask her.

  “I want Reid back.”

  My hackles rise. For her to even think she could get him back boils my blood. “Not happening.”

  A vicious scowl parts her lips. “You underestimated me. So did Reid.”

  I shake my head at her. “I see you watching him still,” I say. “Why would you even want him back? He clearly doesn’t want you.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  I shrug. I think I would know considering it’s obvious he wants to be with me, but I’m not going to turn this into a bitch fest. “Let’s say for argument’s sake that he doesn’t. Sasha, you can have any guy at school.” I look around her, seeing if her boyfriend is anywhere near. “You got that new guy.”

  She makes a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. “He’s a baby.”

  I’m pretty sure the guy is only a year younger than us. Actually, that would make him my age, so what does it matter? I look away, obviously trying to reason with her isn’t working, and I’m not going to fight with her either.

  Like I’ve just been sitting here musing, Reid and I are meant to be. I can feel it deep in my bones, and when we’re together, it just feels so freaking right.

  “I don’t know how you got your hooks in him, but you need to give him up. Break up with Reid.”

  “Not happening,” I tell her, a shocked laugh forcing my lips apart

  “Oh, you will,” she says, a small smile playing over her ever-present scowl.

  I turn toward her. All the petty shit that’s happened with her since Brady died rushes over me. “You know, you’d think I’d get some sort of reprieve from the likes of you after the year I’ve had. You never once sounded sorry about Brady. Not once. Hell, Reid told the whole school you fucked someone else because he couldn’t do it.”