Overcome (11 page)

Chapter 24

Parker

Purple … everything was purple when Parker woke. The hand running through his hair made him close his eyes again.

He was glad the nightmare had been replaced with a better dream.

Carly’s faint laugh filled his ears.

He smiled and opened his eyes. His head lay in her lap and her gray irises sparkled down at him. Her hair was perched on top her head, he loved seeing her face. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he smirked and reached his hands up around her neck to pull her toward him.

She clamped her mouth shut, but the grin was still there. She held her hand over her lips. “Morning breath.”

Maybe this wasn’t a dream.

Parker sat up, though he hated to leave the comfort of her lap. Her back was leaned against her headboard and he looked toward the window, then the clock.

Everything was a fog. He tried to remember the events that took place in the nightmare and how he ended up here.

“I think my dad’s still passed out on his recliner, and my brother and his friends are downstairs.”

Her dad? Her brother and his friends? Was this going to be another nightmare? If only he could somehow wake himself up.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

He watched her bare feet sink into the plush carpet. Her shorts were skin tight. Shorter than anything he’d seen her in before, and they covered little more than most underwear. When she stood up and stretched her arms above her head, her tank top rode up and exposed the skin on her stomach.

Maybe it was going to be a sexy dream.

“What do you have?” his voice was rough as he spoke.

She grinned, “Cookies.”

“Sounds good.”

Carly left the room. Parker leaned back on the bed, placing his hands behind his head and waited for the next scene of his dream to unfold.

He’d expected her to walk back in with nothing but an apron on and the plate of cookies. It was his dream, he didn’t have to be noble in them did he?

But when she came back in, she was still wearing the shorts and tank, which were still sexy. She only had one cookie sitting on a napkin in the palm of her hand and a glass in the other.

Maybe she was going to feed him the cookie.

But she didn’t. She just sat down and handed it to him.

“Thanks,” he said, waiting for her to start stripping, either herself or him, he didn’t care.

He took a bite of the best cookie he’d ever tasted and watched as she stared at him. He didn’t take his eyes off her as he drank the water she brought him. Anything can happen in a dream and he didn’t want to miss it.

She frowned and looked away.
No don’t look away
.

It’s supposed to be a sexy dream. She needed to look at him with eyes that wanted to devour.

He needed a sexy dream after the nightmare he just had.
No more nightmares, please.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to … but … if you feel like it, I’d like to know what upset you yesterday.”

He dropped the cookie in his lap.
Crap, it wasn’t a dream
.

“Wait, what happened last night?” He sat up and leaned forward, though he didn’t know why he tried to hide it now. It wasn’t like she didn’t know it was there.

She looked at him with something in between her snarl and smile.  “You don’t remember? Were you drunk or on drugs or something?”

“No, I … I don’t do either,” he answered.

If this was real, it meant
that
was real—his mom.

And if this was real, her dad and her brother were real.

And if she was Kammie, he’d be loading his shot gun.

“Uh, I want to tell you. I will, but let’s get out of here. Before your dad and brother wake up.”

*****

Parker didn’t know how he managed to get away with not talking, but he didn’t mind when he parked by the lake and began to kiss her before saying a word.

Now she was on his lap, straddling him, her hands in his hair. He could get used to this.

Distraction.

His heart thundered at the thought.

He didn’t want to be her distraction, and he sure didn’t want her to be his.

Carly meant more than that. 

Her hands slipped from his hair to his cheeks as she pressed her lips harder against him.

He loosened his grip from her hips.

Carly kissed his chin … then his jaw and it took every bit of will power in him. Why couldn’t it be a dream?

Her mouth was on his again.

He moaned, only causing her to press into him.

This was difficult, but wasn’t impossible. He’d better get some brownie points with the man upstairs for it. “Carly,” he pulled away and raised his hands to her cheeks. “Maybe this isn’t …”

The heavy breaths coming from Carly and her swollen lips only made it worse. She rested her forehead against his. “We can talk,” her voice came out breathless.

“Yeah,” he said.

Last night, all of yesterday, was a blur to him. He was certain he’d cried in her arms, though he didn’t want to think about it, about his delusional mother, rushing her to the hospital. His dad explaining to him, his brothers and sister while sitting in the cold, white waiting room that the cancer was in her brain now and she was only expected to live a few more weeks, a month at the most.

When he didn’t speak, Carly rose off his lap. “You have to give me something. Why are you here? Do you want me to help you take your mind off it?”  She pulled her shirt down over the exposed part of her waist. “Do you want to talk? I don’t know … but I’m willing to be whatever you need right now, you just have to tell me.” Her soft voice cracked and his heart dissolved.

“Carly,” he reached across the console and placed his hand on her knee.

Her bottom lip slipped into her mouth.

Chapter 25

Carly

Carly waited for him to speak, to say something, anything that would give her a clue.

She’d spent the last eight hours with him and he’d probably spoken less than he had all the other times she’d seen him combined.

Parker’s eyes finally met hers, and she wished this boy didn’t have her all twisted up inside. She held her hands in fists on her legs and his palm squeezed her knee.

“I … I don’t know if I can … talk,” his voice came out choppy. “And I don’t want to … to make what I feel for you … I don’t want to lessen the way I feel and use you to … to distract me.”

Tears stung her eyes and her heart jumped to her throat. “Please don’t say things like that.”

“Why?” His rough hand brushed against her cheek, and her chest felt like it was about to burst.

“I just don’t like … I don’t want you to … I don’t want to …” she took in a deep breath before speaking again. “Hope,” she whispered, turning her gaze away.

“What happened to you?”             

Carly looked down at her hands. She folded them into her lap, scraping the bright polish off her nails.

“I was upset when you didn’t call last night.” She kept her gaze on her fingers, only on a strip of polish was left on her thumb.

“I’m sorry.”

She looked up, his red rimmed eyes stayed on her. Watching her, she didn’t want him to watch her. She didn’t want to like it.

“I’m not that girl, Parker. I’m not the kind of girl who sits around and waits on a guy to call.” She shook her head and looked out at the lake.

The parking lot was beginning to fill up with beach goers. Moms with little children, and arms loaded down with the supplies for the day, tanned couples walking hand in hand, groups of teenage girls and guys laughing and teasing one another as they made their way toward the lake.

“I’m the kind of girl who is with the guy who’s supposed to call the girl waiting.” She waited for him to look away when she said this.

It was true, guys didn’t come to her to date. And she hadn’t wanted to since Colten.

“I’m the kind of guy who makes the girl wait for the call,” his hand covered hers, it was warm and sent tingles through her, “but I don’t want to be with you.”

“Parker, the mess you were in when you came to my door last night … I understand, but what … what I’m saying is, I don’t mind being your escape. And I don’t mind being your friend … but I don’t know if I want more than that.”  She had to look away from him as she spoke the biggest lie of her life.

All of a sudden, the Jeep seemed tiny, the air seeped out and she couldn’t breathe. She pushed on the door.

“Don’t go,” Parker said.

She turned and had to fight taking back everything she’d said.

“Stay with me.” His hand wrapped around hers. She glanced down at him touching her, making her feel things she hadn’t felt in months. “My mom’s dying.”

“Mindy?” as soon as the name left her mouth, she realized how stupid it was.

His jaw clenched. “Mindy is not my mom.”

Tears slipped out of the corners of his eyes as he clenched him shut. They traveled down his cheeks and over the faint scruff on his chin and finally they plummeted from his jaw onto Carly’s wrist.

“Sorry,” Carly whispered.

Without opening his eyes, he threw his head back. It bounced when it hit the headrest. Though he was further away from her, his hand was still wrapped around her wrist.

And tears continued to flow, though no noise came with them.

This was different than last night in the dark of her room. She couldn’t see him then. Now she saw him in the bright light, open and vulnerable as he pushed through her wall a little more.

When Carly pulled her wrist away from him, his hand balled into a fist, but he left it resting on her leg.

His stubble was scratchy against her palm as she reached up and wiped the tears from his cheek. He opened his eyes when she made contact. They were intense, staring into hers as if he was showing her everything, all his past and present hurt and pain. She wanted to look away. She didn’t need that.

She had enough battle wounds and scars she could handle. But she couldn’t help but want to make him feel better.  How was she going to stay far enough away she wouldn’t get burned?

Before she could think, she closed the gap between their faces. His lips were salty from tears. Her heart felt like it was going to burst or melt or crumble, she wasn’t sure what, but she was already in further than she wanted to be.

Her phone going off in her pocket sent her mind crashing back to reality.

Parker stayed still against the seat as she pulled the phone out of her pocket.

“It’s Judd.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to tell him who was on the phone. “He might need me to come in today.” Again, she didn’t know why she was explaining.

“Hey,” she ran her hand over her hair as if Judd could tell she’d been making out over the phone or something.

“Hey Carly, I’m sorry I know it’s early for you, but” Judd’s voice was frantic, why was he calling her.? “You haven’t by any chance seen Parker? His family said he took off yesterday and nobody can find him and he’s not answering his phone …” Carly looked up at Parker who still had his eyes closed and his head leaned back.

She was sure he didn’t want to be found and maybe that was his reason for being with her now, but she couldn’t let him regret being here when he could be with his mom. She replied, “Yeah, I’m with him now.”

Parker’s eyes shot open and his lips pursed.

Judd made an oomph sound, like he was relieved. “Can you do me a huge favor and have him call home?”

“Yeah, I’ll try,” Carly answered.

“Great, I’ll let them know we found him,” Judd said, before hanging up.

“Your family doesn’t know where you are?” She lowered her phone onto her lap.

Parker ran a hand over his face and it seemed like forever before he answered.

“He … she … they didn’t tell me she was dying.” He responded, looking out at the lake. “They kept telling me that it was nothing.”

“So you don’t think they need to know where you are?”

“I’m eighteen.”

“But …” Carly held her hand over her eyes to shield the blinding sunlight breaking through the clouds. Now she wished she’d grabbed her sunglasses. “They’re worried about you … they care.”

“I know.” His voice cracked and he nodded. “Why didn’t they tell me the truth?”

“I’m the last one in the world to tell you why. I don’t have a clue how parents’ minds work. But this has to be hard on them, too, you know?”

Though she’d only lost a boyfriend, she could kind of relate.

“Call them,” she finally said when he didn’t respond.

“I left my phone at home.”

She rolled her eyes and handed him hers. “I’ll be outside. Let me know when you’re done.”

Even the simple brush of his fingers against hers when the phone passed from her to him sent butterflies in her stomach.

He stared down at her sparkly phone. “Using this isn’t going to make me less manly is it?”

She quirked one side of her mouth up. “You mean even less than running away from your parents and crying like a baby on a girl all night?”

And with that comment, he finally cracked a smile.