Overcome (13 page)

Chapter 28

Parker

Parker couldn’t help but laugh at Carly.

She hesitated before she hopped out of her seat, having to slip her shoes on first, of course. She smoothed out her clothes like she had to impress someone. He liked that she cared what his family thought.

“You don’t have to worry. They’re cool, except Spencer, but you already met him.” He placed his hand on her back before making their way inside. Comforting her made him forget how much he dreaded seeing his mom. Carly was right, he needed to see her now, while he still could. He didn’t want to think about the day he’d no longer have the choice.

When he reached the front door, he slid his arm further around her and pressed her side against his. He wasn’t sure how she would react, if she would pull away or not, and it was a pleasant surprise when she didn’t. It was as if she belonged there, under his arm.

The kitchen was bright with the afternoon light shining in and the light charcoal smell coming from the grill seeped into the house, making Parker’s stomach grumble.

His dad stood at the industrial sized grill, the long spatula in his hand. He was in his casual Sunday wear, a pair of khaki shorts and a shirt with three buttons and a collar. What he would have worn golfing early that morning if this was a normal Sunday, but it wasn’t a normal Sunday.

Kamberlee and his mother were under the awning at the big glass table. The blankets his mom brought outside and covered her flowers with the day before were gone, but the petunias were brown from the few hours they sat under the cover. His mom seemed a little better. At least she wasn’t hallucinating at the moment. She was still frail and shriveled. 

“You must be Carly,” his mom said as they made their way toward her.

“Hi.” Carly’s voice was small, yet another side he’d never seen from her before, shy.

“Parker.” His mom waved a hand toward her. Parker didn’t hesitate in making his way to her.

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, honey.” Her voice was slurred and muffled.

Parker looked down at the concrete under his feet. “I’m sorry for running off.” He kept his arm around Carly.

His mom reached up and her fragile hand wrapped around his. It was dry and cold.

“We both messed up. Let’s forget it.” Her voice was forced, and according to his dad she’d been going in and out all morning. He wasn’t sure how long it would be before she was talking crazy again.

Carly slipped out of Parker’s grip and found a seat by his sister under the shade of the canopy in the middle of his mom’s flowers. Kammie had a paperback on her lap. Carly’s curls blew in the light breeze.

Despite his mother’s moment of insanity the day before, she’d only killed the petunias. Between the months of May to September her garden looked like a flowery jungle.

Everyone had on their fake smiles. Owen stood near his dad with a beer in his hand, as always. And Parker tried not to scowl too much in the direction of Spencer, who sat on the lounger underneath the hanging ferns. The wispy stems spilled over the sides of the pot like a head of hair. Spencer’s hands were behind his head and his voice was loud over Kammie and Carly, trying to get in the conversation.

But when Carly looked up at Parker and her mouth turned up into a smile, his heart felt funny, like it forgot how to beat for a second.

Kammie turned her head toward Parker. Her smile showed her mouthful of braces on her teeth that took up most of her skinny face. She waved him over.

Owen was the only one who brought girls home and they were too much older than Kammie to relate to her. Carly, being two years younger than Parker, was even closer to Kammie in age than he was.

“Is she boring you with the book talk?” Parker winked at Kammie when he addressed Carly.

“Whatever,” Kammie giggled.

Spencer took Parker’s appearance as a cue for him to move from his perch and finally get in on the conversation.

Parker nearly gagged on the cologne wafting from him. “Dude, you trying to poison us?” He waved his hand in front of his face.

“What,” Spencer held his hands out palm up. “It smells good.”

“Yeah, if you’re a gigolo,” Owen’s deep voice chimed in. 

“Or a godfather,” Kammie giggled.

“Or a pimp,” Carly added with her own giggle.

Parker smiled.

“What, you don’t think it smells good?” Spencer turned to Carly, his jaw slack and hand on his chest. His sunglasses reflected the pond at the bottom of the hill.

Carly crinkled her nose and lifted her eyebrows, “It’s a little much,” she whispered and motioned her pointer finger and thumb together.

Owen’s beer sprayed from his mouth into the patch of pansies.

“Less is more.” Carly nodded, straight faced. Parker loved her sense of humor, how she could tell a joke and not crack a smile.

Kammie’s shrill giggles burst out of her. She held her stomach and leaned forward, her face turning red as she tried to breathe through her laughter unsuccessfully.

“All right, guys, leave Spencey alone. He likes to smell like a fashion magazine,” their mom smirked.

“Sorry
Spencey
,” Owen’s deep voice chuckled.

“You guys suck,” Spencer grumbled and stalked away.

“O,” his mom gasped and shook her head.

“O, what, mama? I can’t help it if he can’t take a joke.” Owen took the vacant chair next to Carly. Making a scrapping sound on the concrete as he slid it out from the table, turned it around, and straddled. His hands fell on the back and his beer dangled from his hand. “So maybe you could tell me about this chick that’s got Judd so whipped.”

Carly made eye contact with Parker, her brow wrinkled. “I wasn’t aware Judd had a girlfriend.”

Owen squinted as he looked up at Parker, who wanted to deck him because he took the only seat beside Carly and Parker wanted next to her. “You seen him with anyone? I’m thinkin she’s gotta be really hot to take him outta the game.”

“No, man,” Parker said, trying to mentally throw Owen out of the seat.

“That’s weird, ‘cause what I heard he’s with her every single night and nobody can get him to party anymore either.”

Carly looked down at her hands. She began scraping at her nails again. Parker noticed her doing that in the Jeep earlier. At this rate they were going to be polish free by the time they left.

Parker picked up one of the chairs on the side of the table he was standing, and carried it around to Carly. His brother and sister might be hogging each side of her, but he could still sit behind her.

Owen continued to flap on about his college years and stories of him and Judd throwing the biggest parties. Parker didn’t think Carly cared.

Parker sat the chair directly behind Carly’s. He placed one knee on each side of her.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled before turning her chair sideways, the back of her now facing Owen.

Parker took this as a signal she wanted him to touch her as much as he wanted to. He placed his arms around her stomach and tugged slightly. She scooted close until he had her in a sideways hug. He rested his chin on her shoulder. Her hands covered his. Carly relaxed into him like it was the most natural thing in the world for them to be doing.

Kammie’s whole face lit up, including the metal on her teeth, glinting from the sun. “Awe.”

“Don’t make a big deal, Kam,” Parker said with his teeth clenched. He didn’t want Carly to have a reason to pull away from him.

She felt perfect against him and he didn’t care what his family thought, he just wanted to be near her. Her fruity smell was ten times better than any flower in his mom’s garden.

“But this is better than my stories.” Kammie’s green eyes were wide, like two lime lollipops.  “This is real life. Did you kiss yet?”

“You better not know anything about kissing.” Owen poked his big head around Carly’s shoulder, his bulging bicep laid across the table. Parker glanced at his mom, who was nodding off. She couldn’t even stay awake to get to know Carly.

“I’m fourteen. I can know about kissing. We learned about more than that in health class, dork.”

“I thought sex ed wasn’t until ninth grade.” Parker spoke up, but wasn’t sure why he wanted to talk about this with his sister and his … girlfriend? Was she his girlfriend? She’d said earlier she wasn’t sure she wanted that, but she wanted to be his friend. But she was like a magnet he was drawn to and every time she was near he wanted to be closer.

“Okay,” Carly leaned up, creating a gap between them that he didn’t like.

“Who’s hungry?” his dad’s gruff voice called out and he stood with a platter of steaks piled high.

Chapter 29

Carly

“I don’t know. Can we take a break?” Carly whined and leaned back. She pulled her feet out of the water and sat them on the wooden planks.

Parker laughed, the text book sat in his lap as he continued to swing his feet back and forth in the pond. “Do you want my help? I’m going to have to take you home soon.”

Carly poked out her bottom lip and lifted herself onto her elbows. “I don’t wanna go home.”

Parker chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “I don’t want you to, but, you need to pass summer school.” The book made a hollow sound as he tapped the page.

“Why didn’t I just do the work during the school year?” She groaned into her arm as she draped it across her face. Her other hand adorned the pencil at her side, which she let fall to the dock, it rolled echoing against the wood as it slid to the crack between the planks then plunked into the water. “Crap.” She sprung up and reached for it, though it was already too late.

“You did that on purpose.” Parker’s mouth quirked in his adorable sideways smile.

“No, I didn’t.” She pushed her unruly curls out of her face as she looked into the water like that would help her see to the bottom of the pond.

The book closed with a thud and Parker’s hands fell on her waist. She jumped at first then fell into him as he pulled her against him. His light stubble scratched her cheek when he kissed it. “I guess we can’t do work without a pencil.”

Carly’s giggles echoed off the pond. Parker turned her toward him, so she was straddling him. His feet dangled off the dock, and she buried her hands in his hair before smashing her mouth into his.

This was much better than studying. He wrapped his arms completely around her waist and pulled her closer. Carly grinned against his lips.

He tasted like a minty explosion, and his light woodsy cologne mixed perfectly with the surrounding pine trees. She had to laugh when they hiked through the rows of evergreens and he told her his dad ran a Christmas tree farm. Was there anything this family didn’t do? Dairy, Christmas trees, his brother mentioned something about a tattoo parlor.

“I want to study too.” Spencer’s calm voice pulled her crashing back to reality.

She disconnected her lips from Parker’s and looked over his shoulder at Spencer strolling toward them. Parker tensed under her.

“Dad wanted me to let you know you should probably be heading back now so you can get home at a decent time. Mommy will be worried about her little boy.”  Spencer’s tennis shoes clunked against the dock as he continued toward them like it was nothing to interrupt.

“Go away, Spencer,” Parker grumbled.

Carly climbed off his lap, and his arm tightened for a second around her waist before he let her go.

“I just don’t want to see this end up like Haley.” Spencer’s eyes were hidden behind his silver shades. But his lips were curled up as he looked toward Carly like he expected her to flip out.

She couldn’t deny she was curious about Haley, but he had a past, so what? She had one that she didn’t want to share with him, too.

“Shut up, Spencer,” Parker clipped. He stood and swiped the book off the dock. He tucked it under his arm and started toward the path through the trees without even looking back at Carly. She glared at Spencer who stood with that same pleased grin, his hands resting in his pockets and his gaze on her.

“Why are you a jerk?” She sneered before slipping her feet into her flimsy flip-flops. She knew the hike back up was going to be a challenge in slippery shoes.  She had Parker’s help on the way down, taking his time and holding her hand.

Parker waited for her just before the ground inclined. “I’m sorry about that, Spencer and I don’t get along.” He held his palm out for her.

Taking his hand she said, “I noticed. My brother and I don’t get along either.” They climbed the hill, Parker going slow.

He nodded, slivers of gold pierced through the trees creating a design on the side of his face. “Listen … about Haley …”

“I don’t … you don’t have to tell me.” Carly swallowed, trying not to pant as they continued uphill.

Parker stopped and turned toward her. She looked down, orange needles covered the ground like a blanket. The place smelled like Christmas and summer all at once.

If he told her about Haley, she felt like she would owe it to him to tell him about Colten.

“I want to,” Parker said.

“It was your past …” She wasn’t sure he heard her. She could barely hear herself.  “Can we just keep our pasts where they are ... behind us.”

“Carly.” His hand slipped out of hers, and reached up and tucked her curls behind her ear.

Carly blinked up at him. It was such a small, simple gesture, but it made her heart, her stomach, her insides flip.

“I like seeing your face,” he whispered.

Any normal girl would be swooning, but Carly wasn’t a normal girl. Carly didn’t want to swoon. She didn’t want butterflies in her stomach. She didn’t want him to be all she thought about. She didn’t want to check her phone a million times to check if he’d text, or wait anxiously till the next time she’d see him. All she wanted was to have some fun.

“I need to get home.” She pointed up the hill. “And the last thing your mom needs right now is to be worrying about you.”

He stared up the path like he was trying to figure out something in his head. “Right.”  He took her hand again and continued the climb.

*****

To be standing in a room with your boyfriend’s mom you just met all by yourself is awkward enough. When that said boyfriend isn’t technically your boyfriend and that mom is dying is a whole other level of awkward. Add in the fact that technically-not-your-boyfriend couldn’t keep his hands off you in front of his family, pushed the notch up another level.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to visit today.” Linda spoke from the sofa. Her hands were in her lap and her breaths came out forced. 

“Yeah.” Carly looked behind her like Parker was going to come waltzing back in any second.

When his dad asked him for his help when they got to the house, she was both impressed and cringing. She liked that his whole family, even the butthead Spencer seemed to be right there when their parents needed them, and their parents weren’t harsh about it. They were kind and thanked them after.  Even though she liked that about him, to be honest, she didn’t want to be with his mom alone.

“I can tell he cares about you.” Her words were slow and she examined Carly, her eyebrows low and her lips in a line.  Carly felt like she was being studied for approval. Carly didn’t like having to get approval. She usually failed. But she didn’t know why she cared. It wasn’t like she was marrying Parker or anything.

“Parker’s sweet.” Carly folded her hands together and looked back again.
What’s taking him so long?

“Yes, he is.” Her throat rattled as she began to cough. As if Carly didn’t feel uncomfortable enough now she had to figure out if she needed to hunt someone down, or give her CPR, or call 911.

Carly let out the breath she was holding when Linda’s coughing eased.

“I’m sorry about that.” Linda grabbed her tall glass of water on the stand beside her.

Linda seemed like she would have been refined before the cancer took over. She was probably a classy business man’s wife, hosting book clubs and afternoon teas for the other housewives with perfect posture and not a hair out of place.

“It’s okay,” Carly whispered, again staring at that door.

The glass clinked when Linda sat it down shakily.

“And, yes, Parker is sweet. And he has a huge heart that he doesn’t open up to just anybody,” Linda rasped.

Guilt traveled down Carly’s chest and into the pit of her stomach. Carly didn’t open her heart up either.

Then Linda waved for Carly to come closer. Carly didn’t want to. She hesitated before obeying, because what other choice did she have? Linda reached up with a trembling hand and took Carly’s hand in hers. She didn’t know what to think. Linda’s hand trembled and Carly wanted to cry knowing what was happening to this woman. Parker didn’t deserve this. His birth mom was a joke, and he’d been given a second chance with a real mother who loved him, that was evident. She cared what happened to him. And now she was just going to be taken away from him? It wasn’t fair. Carly didn’t care how much Bree and Lexi and Nate and Garrett claimed God was in control, she couldn’t see it. If he was the one in control, how could they trust him?

“Parker’s had a rough time, and I hate leaving him. Will you be careful with his heart?”

It took everything in Carly to hold back the stinging tears as Linda looked at her with her own watery eyes. A woman’s dying wish was for Carly to be careful with her son’s heart. How could Carly do that when she wasn’t even sure she could be careful with her own?

“I will,” Carly whispered. She wondered if God would punish her for lying to a dying woman.  But she couldn’t tell her she had no idea how to be careful with his heart.

Linda’s thin, flaky lips tipped up in a smile, and Parker finally walked in, pulling in a blast of the hot humid air with him. Carly hadn’t been more relieved and nervous to see him at the same time.