I didn't go to the funeral. I wanted to. I wanted to be able to go, but I didn't want to see my mom. I didn't want to see my brother's lifeless body in the casket. I wanted to be able to stay where I was, with the silly belief that maybe he was alive. That maybe it was some sort of sick joke.

Which explained me sitting on my couch. I had a show on, but I wasn't paying attention to it at all. I don't think that I even knew what was on.

My dad had wanted me to go so bad. He said that Elliot wanted to see me and that I could just ignore my mom. Maybe I could've gone, but I just didn't. I had been nowhere near up for it.

Parker hadn't been able to come over as much, no matter how much I knew he wanted to. He was always saying that his family missed him being around, and I did feel bad for keeping him from them.

I glanced around the small living room with hardly any decorations anywhere. My dad was at work more and more, without my mom's help in the restaurant anymore. And neither of us were very good at interior design.

I picked up my phone and called Parker.

"What's up?" He asked me when he picked up the phone.

"I didn't want to go to the funeral," I said. "So I'm at home, being lonely and guilty,"

I did feel bad for not going. He probably would have wanted me to be there-Sammy. I didn't want to know if he would be mad at me for not going. I wanted to go- I just couldn't bring myself to do that.

"Don't feel guilty," Parker said. I knew that most of the time he didn't know what to tell me to make me feel better.

"Can we go and do something? Or just go somewhere?" I asked him, needing to get out of the apartment that felt so empty.

"Of course we can," Even over the phone, his voice sounded so tender and gentle. "Where do you want to go?"
"Can we just... somewhere quiet?" I didn't want to be around people. People sounded like too much then.

"I'll pick you up as soon as I can get over there. Leaving now. See you soon," Parker said, hanging up. I moved to a chair by the window so that I could see when he got there. So I could see him pull up as soon as he got there.

He was there faster than I expected him to get there, but no complaints from me. I was out the door and down to his car when he was just getting out.

"Well, hey," He said, getting back in.

I got into the passenger's seat and looked over at him for a second, before leaning over and kissing him.

He pulled away after a few seconds. "How are you holding up?" He asked me.

"I don't want to talk about it," I whispered. "Let's just go,"

I didn't know where we were going, and I didn't think that he knew either. He drove quietly, with only the low sound of the radio filling the car. I leaned my head against the window and looked out at the buildings that we passed. Some of them held memories I would never forget, some I forgot existed at times.

I must've fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing I knew, he was shaking my shoulder gently to wake me up.

"Five more minutes," I groaned, feeling like it was the morning and my dad was waking me up.

"Come on. You have to see this. It's super cool," He said, and the smile on his face was just so adorable that I had to get up.

I got out of the car, and he was soon there to stand behind me and cover my eyes with his hands.

"Really?" I asked him, shaking my head.

"It's a surprise, my love," Parker told me, leading me to whatever he was leading me to.

I heard rushing water. A lot of it, and he moved his hands away.

My jaw dropped slightly. A waterfall that fell into a lake, that was so much clearer than any that I had seen. Flowers surrounded it, and there was nothing else in sight.

"We're going for a little swim," Parker said, pulling his shirt off.

"I didn't bring a swimsuit," I said, glancing down at his chest for a moment before looking back up to his face, which wore one of his goofy grins.

"So? It's not like there's anyone else around," Parker said, moving to pull off his pants.

"You're ridiculous," I said. But I still was pulling off my own shirt.

Then there was a pile of clothes on the ground, and I looked up at him. "I can't believe you convinced me to do this,"

"It'll be fun. I promise," He said from behind me. And before I knew it, I was being pushed into the water.

"Seriously?" I yelled, going back up to the surface and pushing my hair from where it had fallen into my face.

"Ah come on, you know that you love me," Parker said, jumping in and swimming over to me.

"And sometimes I wonder why," I said, splashing him lightly.

He splashed me back with even more force. "You know exactly why you're in love with me. Don't act like you don't,"

"You're a big meanie," I said. I went to splash him, but he grabbed my wrist before I could.

"Uno reverse card," Parker said.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "See what I'm talking about? Such a meanie," I shook my head.

"Nah," Parker said.

He moved his hand to the side of my cheek and kissed me gently.

And that's where we stayed for hours, under the sun, kissing like the world was going to end.