Chapter Sixteen - [Parker.]

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The Fourth of July weekend in Paris was…eventful.

For a small town, I hadn’t expected much. In Los Angeles, they went all out and it could get pretty wild sometimes. But in a town like Paris, I wasn’t sure what they really could do to celebrate.

But I was throughly surprised when there seemed to be plenty of things to do. Aunt Lauren was on call, so she was able to enjoy the festivities with me. 

There were games set up downtown for the kids, a petting farm, food shacks, people selling special things they’d made - clothes, jewelry, etc and even the stores were open late with special deals.

On the Fourth, they had fireworks. I was on a set up blanket near an oak tree, and my aunt was sitting nearby with a couple of her friends. Emmett had joined me, asking my Aunt Lauren if he could steal me away like the southern gentleman he was.

“There’s something..Something I wanted to tell you,” Emmett said, uncharacteristically shy as he played with the frayed edge of the blanket.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’ve got a buddy in Montgomery, Alabama. His  house got hit by a bad storm, and he needs some help. I’ll be gone for a couple weeks. 

“Oh.”

I was quiet, unsure what to say. I didn’t know what I felt about him, but I knew I didn’t want to not see him for a couple of weeks. But what he was doing was very selfless. He was taking time out of his life to help a friend.

“That’s very nice of you,” I said, smiling at him.

We looked up at the sky at the same time, amazed at the fireworks that were going off. This had always been my favorite part of this holiday. Even as a teenager, they always held my attention well. They were just so…

“Beautiful,” Emmett said.

My eyes flickered to him, but he wasn’t looking at the sky. His eyes were staring into mine, and I had to fight back the nerves that were fluttering around in my stomach. Before I could formulate a response, Emmett reached up and pushed my hair behind my ear.

His hand slid from behind my ear to the back of my head, pulling me in gently.

When his lips met mine, the fireworks weren’t the only things that were exploding. A mixture of emotions were swirling around. Fear, excitement, enthrallment. When the kiss ended, I brought a finger to my lips.

I remembered the way it felt when I kissed him that night in Panama City Beach. It was exactly like this. It felt the same. Just as…consuming.

 “Charlotte, are you ready?”

 My Aunt Lauren stood about twenty feet away from me. I hadn’t noticed that the fireworks had ended and people were leaving. The neutral expression on her face told me she hadn’t noticed our kiss.

 “Yeah, I’ll be over at the car in a minute,” I said, offering her a smile. She nodded, said a quick goodbye to Emmett, who had gotten up as well. He offered his hand to me.

“Thank you,” I said, grabbing onto it. He pulled me easily to my feet. “When are you leaving?”

“The day after tomorrow,” He said. “I just found out today, otherwise I would have…" 

“It’s okay, Emmett. I understand.”

“You let me know if you need anything, okay? Call me whenever. Even though I’m away, my mama will be glad to give you a lending hand." 

“Thank you.”

I hugged him, and watched him walk back to his truck with his blanket in hand. I turned around, walking the opposite way back to Aunt Lauren’s vehicle. 

“You two looked cozy,” Aunt Lauren said.

“He’s very gentlemanly. I’m not sure how I feel.”

Or what it meant.

“You guys don’t know each other very well yet. That will come. Honestly, Charlotte, if there was anybody in Paris to have an unexpected baby with, it’d be him.”

 “I don’t get why you’re so understanding.”

She had stopped at a stop sign on an empty road, and she turned to me" 

“We are family. You may have done something I wish wouldn’t have happened to you so young and with someone you barely know, but it has happened. You know and have experienced the consequences of your actions, and will continue to experience these consequences. Harping on you will do nothing.”

I offered her a small smile. 

“Thank you, Aunt Lauren. I’m glad that I was sent here.”

She put her hand on mine for a moment before she drove on.

“Me too, Charlotte. Me too.” 

Three weeks later. 

The heat was sweltering.  

It was late July - the 24th - and the heat today seemed to be especially punishing. I was sitting on the swing in front of the house, fanning myself as the person from the air conditioning company installed the new unit. 

In the two and a half weeks since Emmett had been away, it was now obvious that I was pregnant. I had spent most of the time in the house, going out as little as possible. When I did, I put on a big sweatshirt or something that would cover my expanding belly.

But here, there was nobody to hide from.

The man that was installing the air conditioner was a twenty something man that I had never seen before, and of course Aunt Lauren already knew. I wore a clingy but cool purple dress that went down to my knees and showed off my belly.

“You can’t hide forever.”

Aunt Lauren sat down beside me on the swing. Taking a deep breath, I gathered a correct response to her words. I knew she was right.

“I know. I’m just…” 

“You’re scared, Charlotte. And that’s fine. A couple people might toss mean words at you, but who cares? You’re a good girl, and you can handle being a mother whether you realize it yet or not.” 

“You’re right. I’m not ashamed. But I don’t want anyone to hate me.”

“Screw them. If they do, they don’t need to be around you anyway. You need positivity right now.”

I nodded. 

“Maybe I’ll go get some dinner or something tonight, at that little diner. I wish you didn’t have to work.”

She had been working the afternoon/late shift lately, and was actually in uniform now.

“I have to head off, honey. But I really do what you to step out of the house tonight. Go get some dinner and a nice desert. On me.”

She dropped a couple of twenties onto my lap.

“And I won’t take no for an answer,” She said as I opened my mouth to protest.

“I’ll go tonight. I promise. No covering up.”

She leaned over and kissed my forehead.

“Good. Call me if you need anything. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

It was almost seven pm when I had gotten ready and decided to leave. I was nervous, but was ready to go out. I was glad that Aunt Lauren had given me a gentle push in this direction. I had been ready to do so the past couple of days, but needed the last little nudge. 

When I walked into the restaurant, I got a couple of strange looks. Nobody said anything mean. A few people had lingering glances, but that was about it. After I got my drink and ordered my food, I stepped into the bathroom. Things were going well.

I returned to my seat, sliding into the booth and taking a sip of the sweet tea.

“Mind if I sit down?" 

Looking up, I met the eyes of a handsome young man. He was dressed in khaki pants and a black polo shirt, his dark blonde hair swept to one side. He had brown eyes that were alight with something I couldn’t put my finger on. 

“Sure.”

I found myself saying the word before I could stop myself. He slid into the booth. Why did I keep getting hit on when I just went out to get food? He hadn’t seen my belly, that much was obvious.

 “What’s your name?”

“Charlotte.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Thomas Parker. Are you from here?”

“I moved here about a month ago.”

He leaned a little bit forward, a grin on his face.

“I figured you were new. I would have noticed a pretty little thing like you.”

He leaned back, winking. There was something that gave me an off feeling about him. Something I didn’t like, although I wasn’t sure what it was. The way he looked at me, maybe. Something about his demeanor. 

“Thank you,” I said quietly. 

“Parker.”

The gruff voice beside me made my heart jump into my throat. Emmett was standing in front of the table, glaring at Thomas. The tension was clear between the two, and it was also clear it had been there before Thomas had sat down with me.

“Well, hello Nash.”

Thomas stood up, and the two stared at each other for a long moment, unspoken words flying between them. Thomas walked away. 

When Emmett sat down where Thomas had been a moment before, his eyes were still blazing.

Author's Note: Here you go! Hope you like the chapter. :) Those comments that ONLY say "Update" or "Update asap!" are a pet peeve. As much as I would love to be a paid, full time writer it's not plausable. *Sigh* So I write in my free time. Please be patient with me! 95% of you are, and I love you for that. I LOVE MY FANS. As for that other 5% who get rude about it...oh well. :) You'll get over it or you don't have to read. 

Why do you think Emmett is mad? Is he mad at Charlotte, or this Thomas fellow? What do you think the story is with him?

Also, what sort of bumps in the road to do you see for Emmett/Charlotte?

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