by Liz Lovelock
“Do it,” he challenges.
Is he joking?
I stop walking. He steps in front of me, ready and waiting.
I toss the idea around in my head. I can drop him, and when I do will laugh my ass off. I slide my bag off my back, placing it on the ground. Parker stands before me. His arms are wide open, waiting, challenging me. A mischievous grin is on his cute face.
“Come on, little mouse, do it,” he goads, stepping on to the lawn beside the pavement. His mouth opens, as though he’s about to speak, but he doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. I snatch his wrist, twist myself into his firm body, and pull his arm over my shoulder. I bend my torso, flipping him over my hunched back. Parker lands flat on his back, looking up at me. A stunned look of admiration is on his face.
“I think I love you,” he jokes, still lying there in front of my feet.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re still a jerk.”
Parker clutches his hand over his chest as if I’ve offended him. “Ouch. Stab to the heart. Can a heart break twice in one night?”
I know it’s meant to be a joke, but I find myself pondering his question. “Well, after finding my boyfriend with your girlfriend, I pissed myself laughing. I think my heart hurt more finding out about my sister and Hayden.” I give him a pointed stare, making sure he knows I’m not happy with how he blurted that little fact out.
Parker sits up, resting his arms on his knees, turning to face me. His shoulders slump. “I’m sorry. I was so damn angry.”
“You and me both.” I laugh nervously. I bend over and collect my bag, throwing it over my shoulders. Parker jumps effortlessly to his feet, like a ninja. He’d have to have smooth moves, playing basketball. Mental note: watch one of his games this year.
I love sports, but I don’t usually go to the big games unless the girls or Devon want to go. Hayden didn’t like me going to watch him when he’d play, I still went, occasionally. He told me once I put him off. Now I think about it, it was probably his way of getting into other girls’ pants, since I wasn’t there. What a bag of dicks.
Cars fill the streets. A few students are walking around.
“You all right?” Parker gently touches my arm. A prickling sensation spreads through me. Weird.
I shrug. “Honestly, I don’t know. Are you?”
“Yeah. I should have known what I was getting myself into.”
I nod, agreeing with him.
“What?” he asks, his tone startling me. I hadn’t realized he was paying so much attention to me. My facial expression must have given away more than I realized. “What?” I repeat, trying to play dumb.
“Your face just then was like a ‘you should have known, all right’ type of expression.” He throws his arm over my shoulders, adding to the weight I’m already lugging around.
I scoff. “Yeah, you should have known. Everyone knows the kind of girl Stacey is.”
Parker’s silent for a moment as though pondering my statement. “How did you not know about Hayden then?”
Whoa, sucker punch to the stomach.
I pull away from his touch and stop, eyeballing him with daggers. Anger flares within me, and I don’t hold back. My index finger jabs him hard in the chest. “Just because you got hurt tonight, you decided to take another stab at Hayden, and in turn, took a giant stab at me. Screw you, Parker.”
I storm off. How dare he? Yes, perhaps I should have known better, but I didn’t deserve things to be outed the way they were. Just when I was beginning to see something different in Parker, he went and tossed it back in my face. Damn, I want to punch something. I feel the urge to run, to clear my head.
“Addison! Wait up,” Parker calls.
I ignore the loser and run faster. It doesn’t take long for him to catch me at the gates of the college campus. He attempts to grab my arm. I pull it away. I stop, glaring at him.
“Sorry,” he says, though I’m not sure it was very heartfelt.
“Yeah, you should be. Just leave me alone, Parker.” My words crack with high emotion. Turning away from him, I head toward my dorm, not looking back, and this time Parker doesn’t follow. Tears rush down my face, and they don’t stop even when I arrive back at my room. Thankfully, the girls aren’t here. Wishing today didn’t happen, I collapse on my bed, smothering a pillow to my face. I also wish I’d never met Hayden Masters, and that Ella didn’t exist.
I’ll never date a boy like Hayden again. I’m done with guys like him.
“What happened to you last night?” A body slams on top of me, crushing me farther into my mattress. Elsie.
“Oh, get off me,” I grumble. I shuffle out from under her, my face still buried in my bed. Her body weight shifts off mine slowly. I don’t want to face the aftermath of last night.
“So… did you hear Parker beat up your boyfriend last night?” Her tone is more than a little casual. News travels fast around here. I roll over and peek out from under my blankets, only my eyes showing. Elsie’s now sitting up, and she’s wearing her rainbow unicorn pajamas. Her hair is a tangled, golden–brown mess, and it’s as though she’s just leaped from her bed. Her cell phone is clutched in her hand, and she’s watching something.
“What time is it?” I groan, avoiding her topic of conversation.
“Six-thirty.”
I bolt upright. She receives my death stare. “Why are you waking me up now?” I slam my body back down and cover my head, ready and hoping for sleep. “Go away,” I mumble.
Elsie doesn’t budge. “Why won’t you answer my question?”
“What question?” I exhale, throwing the blanket off me, knowing exactly what she’s talking about. I don’t have any desire to relive last night’s events. The embarrassment of it all was enough for me.
Elsie turns toward me, propping her leg up on the bed. “Parker and Hayden… fight?” She raises her eyebrows.
Rolling my eyes I respond, “How do you know?” I sigh dramatically, rubbing my hands down my face.
Elsie hands me her phone. “Here.”
On the screen, there’s a video ready for me to watch. I hit play, and my mouth hangs open in shock. The video is a blow-by-blow of what happened last night. From the moment Stacey ran after Parker, to when Parker and Hayden got into it. This is terrible. It’s going to be the gossip of the day. Just what I need.
“Oh, my goodness. Why?” I cry out loudly. I look back up at Elsie, who’s watching me intently. “How could this have happened? Do you know what happened before this?” I shake her phone at her, then toss it away from me as though I’ll catch some sort of disease just by its close proximity.
She shakes her head.
“Well, I opened the door to Hayden bumping around in the sheets with Stacey, the tramp.” My voice grows louder and more agitated with each spoken word. The annoyance from last night slowly returns to a crescendo.
“What?” Elsie leaps off the bed, her face turning a different shade of red. A flame of rage lights behind her eyes. “Oh, wait until I see him again,” she grits out through clenched teeth.
Her feet hit the carpeted floor hard as she paces the length of our bedroom.
There are four girls in this shared dorm, and I share a room with Elsie. There are two beds against the cream-colored walls, and desks at the end of our beds. We both have our own nightstand beside us. It’s nothing fancy, but it is home.
Elsie continues to stomp around our room. I say nothing. Last night was messed up. My sister. Hayden. Parker and his… whatever it was. I shake away the thoughts of how dropping Parker to the ground made me feel, and the weird sensation I got when he touched me. He’s a jerk.
Unexpectedly, my door flies open and in waltzes Willow and Jane. Seriously? Let’s have a party.
“Oh, my goodness, what do you all want? Can’t a girl sleep-in?” I ask.
Willow and Jane stare at me. Their jaws drop, as if they’re planning to catch flies with their open traps. Their cell phones are in their hands also.
Thank you, social media, for ruining my day.
I’m not sure if my sister will want to talk about what came to light last night. A small part of me wishes that, as my sister, she wouldn’t have slept with my boyfriend in the first place. If I found out one of my friend’s partners were cheating, I’d march straight to my friend and tell her.
With everyone now crammed into Elsie and my room, the chatter starts all over again.
“What happened with Hayden last night?” Willow begins the line of questioning.
It’s Jane’s turn next. “Stacey’s such a bitch. I don’t know what Parker was thinking when he started dating her. Everyone knows she will sleep with anyone.” She shakes her head in disgust.
Bring on the fiery Elsie yet again. “Hayden’s a dead man walking. What a dick.”
The cursing and slandering of Hayden and Stacey gets thrown back and forth between the three of them. It’s like watching a game of hot potato. Elsie has a turn, then throws the potato to Willow, who spews her hatred for Hayden. We can’t forget Jane now, as it’s tossed back to her.
Jane turns to me, her blonde hair in a messy bun sitting perfectly on top of her head. She perches on the edge of Elsie’s bed across from me. “How could he do this to you?”
Three faces stare at me, waiting for I-don’t-know-what.
“He’s a douchebag. That’s how.” Willow sits beside me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders, comforting me.
I’m grateful the girls weren’t here last night when I arrived home in tears. I think they would have gone in search of Hayden and castrated him.
My cell comes to life beside my bed with a message. Taking a peek at it, I groan when I see Hayden’s name on the screen. Willow releases me to look at the lit screen, and she scoffs distastefully.
“Who’s it from?” Elsie jumps off the bed and leaps for my phone before I get a chance to take it and even read the message. She groans. “Really? This dick wants to start this now? I mean, I’m your friend, and I have every right to wake you up. This guy…” She points at my cell to the now opened message. “Hayden better not give you hell, or he’ll receive it from me.”
These girls—I love them fiercely, even though they can be a handful sometimes. Leaning toward Elsie, I snatch my cell back. “Thanks for all the support, girls. Ya know I love your enthusiasm. I need it. How about y’all keep an ear out for some parties this weekend? I’m in desperate need for some time out with my girls.”
They all leap on me, giving me a massive bear hug. Laughter ripples around the room. How can I ever feel down with this group of friends surrounding me?
After more words of encouragement and bad-assery from my band of crazy, I finally take a moment to read Hayden’s message—which has now transformed into four messages in thirty minutes.
Today’s going to be a long one.
Opening the first text, I grit my teeth together.
Hayden: I’m so sorry, Addy. Please forgive me.
Hayden: It was a dumb mistake. I want you back.
Hayden: I promise to be different. I can change.
Hayden: It was all your sister. She instigated it.
My blood simmers with fury at his last message. What does he take me for? An idiot?
Standing from my bed, I pace the floor. With each step, I have the urge to run. Going to my cupboard, I pull out my black tights and a black and pink tank top. Pulling them on, followed by my sneakers, I’m out the door before any of the girls have a chance to ask where I’m going.
I load up my running playlist and put my headphones in. “Novocaine” by Fall Out Boy belts away. Its rhythm pours through my body.
As soon as I’m out of my building, the morning sun kisses my skin. Its warmth is welcoming. Lately, the days haven’t been too hot; instead, there’s a lovely fall feel. I run between the old-style buildings of River Valley College, which have been in this town for years.
Heading toward the campus gates and passing by the unopened café, I clear my head of the last twenty-four hours, if only for a moment. I find my pace and keep to the beat of my music.
My thoughts trace back to last night no matter how much I try to forget. I was blind to the fact something was going on. I’m so stupid.
Then there’s Ella. She hasn’t even tried to contact me. How can she call herself my sister?
What kind of sister would hurt their own flesh and blood? A bitch—that’s the kind.
I don’t want her apology, even though she hasn’t offered it. In fact, I don’t want anything more to do with her.
My pace quickens, and my breathing becomes erratic. Sucking in some long, hard breaths, I set myself back in the right breathing pattern. In through the nose, out through the mouth.
I focus on my feet, one moving in front of the other on the speckled pavement below.
Oomph.
I collide with a sweaty bare chest. I stumble back, holding my arms away from me as they are now filthy, covered in someone else’s sweat. Eww.
“What the heck?” I swipe the sweat away on my clothes, wishing for a shower right about now.
Glancing up, I’m staring into the familiar blue eyes of Parker Kent. I pull my earbuds out and place my hands on my hips, I frown at him. His stare isn’t trained on me now, though, he watches a car go past on the street. “Great. Just what I need this morning. I’m punished by running into one of the few people I don’t wish to see or speak to.” I groan with displeasure.
Parker says nothing while panting hard, and my eyes rake over his half-naked, tattoo-covered, body while it glistens from the sunlight hitting his sweaty, yet very well-defined, sculpted muscles. The delicious V muscle he has going on above his shorts, is to-die-for. I had no idea he had this much ink on his skin. I want to reach out and touch the fine lines of each image.
His head hangs low. Ever so slowly, he pulls the earbuds from his ears and looks up at me.
“Sorry, were you saying something?” He swipes his hand over his face.
I watch every move he makes, his muscles flexing and rotating. My stomach tightens, and tiny butterflies take flight. I shake my head clear of the no-go zone. “I said, watch where you’re going next time.”
He shrugs, unfazed. “Sorry. Was caught up in my running and lost track of things. Other people included.” He doesn’t look at me. Apparently, his cell is more interesting.
I place my earbuds back in my ears, and I’m about to keep running when a light touch on my arm stops me. Flicking my head up, I realize Parker’s trying to speak to me.
Pressing pause on my music, I ask, “What did you say?”
Parker holds his phone out to me.
I look down at the video. “I’ve already seen it.”
Parker takes his cell and slides it into his pocket. “Oh, you have, have you?”
I nod. Where’s he going with this?
He shuffles his feet before speaking. “How are you this morning? Still hating me?”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Parker’s watching me, a gentleness swirls in his gaze. Is he being genuine? I never know how to take him. The Parker I knew a year ago is the same one who stands before me, but this one, he has a much bigger ego. More girls chase him these days, and compared to those girls, I’m nothing. I’m one of the tiniest fish in the grand ocean.
Clearing my tight throat, I answer, “You’re a jerk. What more can I say? I’ll survive this stupid Hayden stuff.”
Parker nods, gifting me with a devious grin. “Have you heard from Hayden or your sister?”
“I don’t see how me and my sister are any of your business.” Does he not realize I’m not happy with him?
“Stacey’s tried to call a bunch of times. Even showed up at my house.” He sighs with clear frustration.
“I can’t believe she won’t leave you alone.” I wave my arms about like a lunatic. “Well, Hayden says it was my sister’s fault. He wants me back.” I release an exasperated puff of air at the thought. Going back to him would be like giving myself a sente
nce. I sentence you to a life of misery. No thanks.
Parker startles me by stepping closer, wrapping his arms around my body. My laughter stops. I don’t budge in his grip. Even though he may be covered in sweat beads, he still smells good. Tantalizing, even.
“Umm… are you okay?” I still haven’t managed to wrap my head around how super fine his half-naked body is. My heart thrums with excitement. I want to wrap my arms around him. My head screams at me. Retreat. Retreat. What’s Parker doing?
He stands upright, releasing me. “Thanks for making me laugh. Sometimes we need someone to lighten our loads, and you helped me today.”
I point to myself. “Me? I don’t think I did much. In fact, I’m still a little pissed at you.” I laugh nervously.
Parker shrugs.
Beside us, more cars move about the streets. The sun’s higher in the sky. I quickly glance at my cell, gripped tightly in my hand. “Well, I have to go, or I’ll be late again for another class.”
“I had nothing to do with Jimmy and his stupidness yesterday.”
“I don’t care. What got to me was how you all stood around and watched me scramble for my books, while I looked like a fool. I don’t get you, Parker. It’s like there are two sides to you. The jerk, who makes more appearances than he should, and then there’s this…” I gesture to him. “I don’t even know what to call this side of you yet.”
Parker doesn’t seem too pleased with my description of his double personality. He crosses his arms over his chest. “Look, I get you don’t really like me.” He raises an eyebrow and continues, “Yeah, we kissed last year, and then it was pushed aside because you had a boyfriend. You’re no better than him. I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think you need to take a real hard look in the mirror, Addison.”
I stare at him, my mouth hanging open. I make a coughing sound. “I’m nothing like Hayden Masters. I owned my mistake and told him what I did. I’m not perfect, Parker, I get it. But I’d never treat someone the way he treated me after the kiss we shared.” I’m yelling and getting funny looks from pedestrians as they pass by. My throat tightens with emotion. Tears threaten. I shouldn’t have to explain myself to him.