Chapter 7.

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"How was dinner?" dad's voice wandered in from the kitchen, the moment I stepped into the house. I walked in, expecting to see him in his pyjamas, dining on garlic bread and spaghetti, but he wasn't. He was dressed in a crisp suit and was hastily stuffing files into his briefcase.

"Fine," I said, smiling, despite the fact that dad was leaving for yet another long night, at the thought of my dinner with Blake. While driving around town to get to his place, he had mentioned a diner as we passed as his favourite and asked me if I wanted to have dinner with him.

"I see that smile," dad said, looking at me for a moment, "Who's this boy?"

"Blake Mitchell," I replied. There was no reply. I sighed. Dad was preoccupied.

"Kitten, I'm going to be out again ," he told me, not looking up from the file he was skimming to see my sigh.

"Dad, why'd you get Parker to turn the tank tap off yesterday?" I asked, suddenly remembering.

Dad looked up. "He's been doing it all this time," he told me, like it was nothing.

"Yeah, but you could have told me," I told him quietly.

He looked up and dropped his file on the table and came over to me. "Oh, Kitten, I would," he said, smoothing the hair from my face, "But it's been moved. I got it changed some time ago and now it's up on the roof, where you have to climb a ladder and move across the short railing up there to turn it off and on. I know that you're a little scared of heights, especially up there, with the wind blowing and a railing that doesn't even reach your knee. It's been a real help that Parker does it."

I was shocked. "So he has to do it today as well?"

Dad shook his head. "I did it, today," he replied and I nodded, "But he's going to come over and close it whenever I'm not here."

"Dad," I whined.

"Alex, come on, let's be grown up," he remarked, moving back to his briefcase.

I pouted. "Dad, that briefcase doesn't match."

*

There was a reason why my table faced the window and looked out on to Parker's. There was also a reason why Parker's table was turned to face mine, too. We used to help each other out homework. We used to hold up papers with our answers written, comparing them, checking to see who would finish it the fastest. Our entire childhood had been a series of little contests we got a kick out of.

Now, though, Parker's curtains near his desk were permanently shut and only his window in front of his bed was visible. I sighed, trying not to think about it. Dumping my backpack on my chair, I threw myself on to my bed and closed my eyes, trying to forget today. Or at least the part where I fainted in front of my class.

Thinking Out Loud strayed me from my solitude. I answered Hanna's call and immediately wished that I hadn't.

"You went out with Blake Mitchell?!" she screamed at me, through the phone.

"How do you even know?" I asked, covering my eyes with my hand, wishing I had told her before anyone else. I'll never hear the end of this.

"He asked Jackson about what you liked to do in general and Jackson had asked him why and he had said because he went out for dinner with you and Jackson told me. How dare you not tell me this?!" she demanded.

"I just got home," I confessed.

I heard a hollow gasp on the other side of the phone. "What did you two talk about?" she asked, going girly, "Is he the bee's knees?"

"What?" I yelled at her, straightening up, "No. God, Han, it's not like that and honestly, I don't even know what that means."

"Are you going out again?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. I think the only reason we went today was because both of us were so hungry after practise," I told her.

I could picture her shaking her head at me as she laughed. "Honey, tomorrow, in school, I'll have to teach you a few things, but I have to go now. Mom's yelling at me about something."

"Bye." I dropped the phone on to my bed, not knowing how to feel about the shock of today. My phone beeped. I picked it up, already mad at it. As soon as I saw the name, however, my anger dissipated.

Have you gotten over the fainting spell today, my lady? :P

I smiled. Blake was the weirdest.

Yes, Your Highness, I have.

Your Highness? I should take you for dinner more often.

You could try.

I will, he replied, But now, I think you should get some more sleep than you usually do. Sleep tight.

I will. Thanks, Blake.

Anytime, Hale.

I got up and walked over to my window seat, with a book and sat down, unable to think of homework. It wasn't long before I heard Parker's new sports car thundered its way into his garage. If we were still friends, I would have been the first person he took in his car.

I leaned out of the window to see him, out of sheer habit. He wasn't alone. Chanel was with him, her arms around his waist, she was leaning into him, like she was a creeper and he was the only sturdy tree around. I rolled my eyes, turning back to my book.

A while later, the light in his room came on, and due to my involuntary muscle spasm, my neck just happened to turn to see them, but it was only Parker. He came in, shut the door, picked up a shirt from the pile on his chair and walked into the toilet. I waited to see, but Chanel never turned up.

That's when I realized, I think. I'm pretty sure it had been staring me in the face all this time, but I must not have ever paid attention to it. A part of me still cared.

I still cared about Parker.

So. Damn. Much.

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