Keep From Falling (Markson Grove Series Book 1) (23 page)

“This was after Adrienne and Tris, which I didn’t know about till you told me, by the way, so don’t flip out on me for being a
Misfit
and not having told you.”

“I wasn’t going to,” I say, defensively.

“Good,” he says. “Anyway, so Parker never left Skylar’s side after he met her. One night, he even broke a guy’s nose who tried to get her in a room with him when she’s already told him no.”

“You’re seriously saying he was in love with her,” I say, still unable to believe it.

“That’s what I’m saying. There is no way Parker Michelson raped Skylar Hale. No way. And that’s my professional opinion.”

I smile slightly in spite of the seriousness of the conversation. “Your professional opinion, huh?”

He nods with a chuckle. “That’s right.”

“Did she love him back, you think?”

“I always thought so. There was a point when she stopped taking rooms with other Misfits altogether, and only spent her time with him. I remember it really well because it was all anyone was talking about one night when I was making a killing at poker. Two guys I was playing against were really annoyed that they lost their
Goddess
. Like I said, Skylar was important to people, and Parker made her untouchable.”

“So what happened?”

Derrick shrugs, “She stopped coming to the mansion.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know man, maybe because of Bree.”

“Maybe. But Parker still goes every weekend?”

“Yep.”

“What does he do there now that she’s gone?”

And that’s exactly where Derrick stops being cooperative. He stands up and stretches his arms out as though he’s too tired to possibly continue this conversation any further. “Well, I think we’ve done enough sharing for one night,” he says with a tiny smirk.

His reluctance to tell me more has my interest piqued, and I’m annoyed that this is where he’s going to decide to stop sharing. “You’re seriously not going to tell me?”

“Hey, I told you way more than I should have already. Let’s not push it, I want to be alive for graduation.”

I’m not sure just how serious he’s being when he’s implying that whoever runs
The Misfit Mansion
will kill him if they find out that he’s been talking, but I don’t want to push it in case he’s being completely serious. I have no idea what they are capable of, after all, and I don’t have any desire to find out.

Skylar

It’s ironic that my favorite alone spot is the very same place where my life nearly ended that night over a year ago. Keegan used to bring me here to get away from Cecelia and her round of alcoholic boyfriends. He’d take me to this very spot where I’m standing now, and we’d throw rocks into the lake for hours. We wouldn’t even talk; we’d just throw quietly, enjoying each other’s company. But even at the young age that I was then, I knew what it was he was actually doing. I knew he was taking me here, to this beach, to protect me from everything else; everything that was to come.

Only now, nearly ten years later, is it that I’m realizing that no matter how hard he tried it didn’t work. He didn’t protect me from anything. Life is cruel and it hurts more than any child can predict. People die, they are ripped from you, and there is no control in that. There is no security in a beach where you once threw rocks with your big brother who swore to take care of you forever. Forever is a long time; too long to make promises.

I pick a rock up off the ground and roll it around between my fingers for a moment, thinking about everything that’s happened since then.

I look to my left and see the place where Parker was held to the ground by two men beating him as another man pinned me down to watch. I remember the pain of being punched in the face. I remember Parker begging for them to let me go, but not being able to break free from their grasps. I remember the gun put to his temple…

I flinch, and physically shake the memory from my mind. I take in a shaky breath before throwing the rock as hard as I can into the lake.

“Hey,” a voice says, startling me. I spin around, fear permeating my every being, but only for a moment. The instant I see that it’s Parker standing there, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says quietly. He looks me over, deeply concerned, and I know he knows what it is I was thinking about.

“It’s fine,” I mumble. I walk over to a large rock a few feet away from us and crawl up onto it. After a moment, I motion for him to take a seat next to me.

He hesitates, his eyes studying me for a moment. I can tell he’s trying to decide if he should take me up on the offer. Eventually, he must conclude that I’m being sincere with my request because he sits down beside me.

“What happened to your face?” I ask, reaching over and gently running my index finger along a dark bruise below his left eye. His right eyebrow has a clump of dried blood in it with a very deep cut just above it. His lower lip is swollen and cut as well. I shake my head. Every time I see him lately it looks like someone’s tried to beat him to death.

“Just a fight,” he says, pulling his face away from my touch. He gives me a pointed look that says I just received the only explanation I’m going to get out of him, so I should let it go.

“Ok,” I say with a small nod, changing the subject instead. “Do you come here a lot?”

He stares out into the water for a moment before answering. “Sometimes,” He replies honestly.

“Do you think about that night?”

“Always.”

I close my eyes and keep them that way for a few moments while I take in his answer. The regret in his voice echoes through my mind over and over again. When I finally reopen them, he’s gazing at me, forcing me to see the regret I heard so loudly moments before. I look away to avoid the intensity of the gaze. I can’t control what those eyes do to me. They affect me; they always have.

He reaches for the heart-shaped pendant around my neck that Bree bought for me when we first became an item. “You wear this often,” he says, holding it between his thumb and index finger.

“It was a gift.”

“From Bree?” he asks.

I nod.

He turns away, looking back out into the water, and watches the tiny waves, created by passing speedboats, move back and forth on the sand. I watch him watch the water for a few minutes. I know something’s bothering him.

“Bree is still seeing Evan,” he says so quietly that I almost don’t hear him.

I tilt my head to the side and blink a few times as I attempt to let the words sink in. A sharp unsettling ache jumps from my stomach into my throat. “Why would you say that?” I ask. I feel my eyes begin to well up with tears, but I will them away, refusing to let them flow.

“Because I saw them,” he says, still keeping his voice low.

“Where?”

“They were in Queensland this afternoon. I saw them walking the waterfront holding hands.”

I shake my head. “You’re wrong,” I hiss.

He looks at me with what appears to be pity and I glare at him. “Don’t look at me like that,” I snap. “You’re fucking wrong!” I attempt to shove him off of the rock we are sitting on but he catches himself and hops off just in time.

“Trust me. I’m not wrong. I didn’t just see them. I spoke to them too.”

“You did not! Bree would never talk to you, she hates you.”

“Yeah, she made that pretty clear,” he mutters.

I shake my head over and over again as if refusing to believe him. “Bree and me, we’re in love. She was confused for a bit, but that’s over now. She knows what she wants. She’s not cheating. She’s not.” The words are confident, but the delivery is lacking.
I’m
not even convinced that it’s the truth.

He sighs loudly, obviously irritated with my refusal to believe him. “Bree is still seeing Evan,” he repeats slowly, putting emphasis on each individual word. He stares right at me, refusing to blink.

“No, she’s not! You’re making it up!” I accuse because it’s the only thing I can think to do to hide the mortification I’m feeling right now.

His eyes grow sad, and his face distorts into a look of devastation. He regards me as though I had just stabbed him in the back. “Do you honestly think I would do that?” he asks solemnly.

“You knew I was worried about her cheating,” I say, still managing to somehow hold back the tears.

He shakes his head in disbelief. “You know me, Sky. You know I would never do that. I’m telling you this because you deserve to know. That’s all. I don’t have ulterior motives here.”

I lower my head and look to the ground. This can’t be happening. She promised me it was over with him. She said what she had with him didn’t compare to what she has with me. “She loves me,” I say finally because there isn’t anything else to say. Believing Parker means believing that everything Bree has told me over the last two weeks has been lies. I can’t believe that. I won’t allow myself to.

“
I
love you!” He returns with so much force in his voice that it almost comes out as a growl. “She doesn’t have a clue what she wants, but I do. I want
you
! I
love you!”

I open my mouth to protest his confession, desperately needing to pretend he didn’t actually put it out there in a place where I can't ignore it any longer. But before I even have a chance to say anything, his hands are on either side of my face and his lips are planted firmly on mine.

I resist for only a moment before the familiarity of his soft, moist lips cause my entire body to relax, and I inadvertently begin to kiss him back. The intensity of this kiss stirs something inside of me that I can’t quite put into words, but I know I don’t want to be feeling it. My past is colliding with my present after all of this time, and I’m not ready for the fallout. I can’t be what Parker needs me to be. I wish he would understand that.

I bring both my hands up to his, which are still resting on either side of my face as he continues to kiss me tenderly. His body is relaxed, but his heart is pounding in his chest. And his tongue…

I can’t do this.

I move my mouth away from his, and gently lower his hands from my face. “I don’t love you, Parker. I’m sorry,” I say quietly, refusing to look him in the eye. Instead, I stare at the lips I’ve just finished kissing.

I shouldn’t have kissed him back.

I watch, in slow motion, as he licks the cut on his lower lip and reaches gently for my chin. He nudges it upwards, forcing me to look at him. “You do,” he replies with absolute certainty.

I shake my head as if to say that he’s wrong, but he reaches over to my cheek and wipes away tear that has finally escaped and is running down my face.

He shows me his hand with the black tear smeared on his fingertips. His piercing blue eyes burn into mine and I don’t blink.

I know at that moment that he knows me. No matter what it is I tell him to make him think otherwise, he always seems to know the truth that is buried deep inside of me.

I break down into a fit of sobs, bringing my knees to my chin. Bree is cheating on me, Parker is in love with me, and all I want is for everything to go back to normal.

I know what he’s telling me about Bree and Evan is the truth. I knew it was happening, I just didn’t want to believe it. Now he’s forcing me to face it head-on and I don’t think I’m ready.

He stands in front of the rock I’m sitting on and wraps his arms tenderly around my trembling body. He doesn’t say anything as I accept the embrace, needing something real and honest, and knowing deep down that Parker has never failed to give that to me.

Evan

I count the products on our store shelves for our monthly inventory the entire afternoon at work, and surprisingly have very little interruptions from customers. It’s been dead all day. Bree’s been up front with Spencer at the cash since we both came in at noon, and aside from a few discreet smiles passed back and forth between the two of us, we’ve successfully made it appear like we hardly know each other.

One week has gone by since our little trip out of town to Queensland, and three whole weeks since I agreed to be her little secret that she hides away from the world. For a while I was conflicted about that choice, but now, as we are pretending there isn’t anything drawing us to one another, I realize that I’m glad I agreed to it because I’m completely into this girl.