Chapter TWO

For whatever reason, I couldn't stop thinking about that conversation for the rest of the day. The rest of the week, even. I knew that he probably didn't care if he ever saw me again, but I did. I cared.

   I told Maddie about him that day, but she rolled her eyes and shrugged it off. That was her personality, though. Maddie was the opposite of me. She was judgmental and outgoing and hilarious. She practically always said what she was thinking. Sometimes, I wished I was more like her.

   "It's weird that they never leave the house," she told me, as if I didn't already know this.

   She sipped her Bubble Tea, then shook her head at me, her braids flopping around. We were walking around the mall, waiting for her sister to come back to pick us up. Neither of us had vehicles, though we both had our learner's permits. I hadn't done much practice driving, though.

   "I'm just... curious," I told her, then shrugged, leaving it at that.

   But when I got home, I went straight up to my room and right to my window. I expected to see him - Parker - there, waiting for me. But the window was closed and the curtain was pulled down. Maybe I should have left it alone, then. Maybe that was a sign.

   But of course I tried, again. And I only saw him once over the next couple of weeks. I forced myself to continue on with my life. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk to me, or get to know me. I didn't even bother telling my mom that I'd spoken to him. I knew she wasn't a big fan of the neighbors, but I didn't know why.

   My birthday was in April, a month after I had talked to Parker through our windows. By this point, I was almost completely over my curiosity with him. School was on spring break and my birthday was that weekend. I had a few friends over for cupcakes and manicures. My mom worked at a nail salon and that had been her job since before I was born. It was a birthday tradition since I was thirteen to have Maddie, Teah and Valerie over to eat junk food and get our nails done, by my mom.

   My friends and I were sitting around the living room waiting for our nails to dry when there was a banging on the front door. My heart was beating fast as I waited for my mom to walk through the house to answer it. It felt like it took hours.

   "Hello," I heard her say to someone. "Oh dear, yes, come in."

   I jumped off the couch and stepped into the front hallway to see who it was, even though I had a feeling. There, I saw Parker standing in the doorway, hesitant to come inside.

   "Becca, you girls are fine for a bit, yes?" my mom asked, her face pale.

   We were seventeen. Of course we were fine. I nodded at her. "Yeah, why?"

   "I have to give a ride to... um..." She glanced at Parker.

   "Parker," he said quietly, avoiding my eyes.

   "Parker needs a ride... so I'll be back when I can-"

   I looked at him again; his eyes were red and swollen. I could tell he'd been crying. I barely knew him, yet I was instantly affected by seeing him this way. I could just tell something was very wrong.

  "Mom-"

   "It's okay, Becca. You girls watch a movie or something. I'll be home soon," my mom finished, then gave me once more glance.

  I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't want me to ask any more questions.

  "Okay," I finished, but it felt so wrong.

  She nodded and then turned and ushered him back out of the house.

  That evening, though, I had to get answers. My birthday party with my friends had been fun, but I was completely consumed with not knowing what was going on with the neighbors, specifically Parker. Why was everything such a big secret?

  "Mom?" I asked cautiously, walking into the kitchen around 9 P.M.

  I'd showered and put on my pajamas, and my mom was drinking decaf coffee - like every other evening. She looked up at me, a smiling forming on her lips.

  "Hey, girl. Did you have fun today?" she asked back, her long hair gathering around her shoulders.

   "Yeah, of course, thanks..." I said forcing a smile. I pulled out a chair to sit across from her.

   "Wow, seventeen. I can't believe it," she went on, still smiling at me.

  I nodded, nervous. "Where's Dad?"

  "Oh, in bed. He has to be up early again," she replied, then sipped her coffee.

  "Oh, okay."

  "What's up, Becca?" she asked, knowing something was going on with me. She knew me pretty well.

  "Oh, um, I was just wondering... what was with you leaving earlier, to drive, um, the neighbor kid somewhere?" I finally asked.

  Her face changed. Hesitating, she sipped her coffee again. "I really... I don't want you to..."

  "Mom, what?"

  "It's not my story to tell, honey." She was avoiding eye contact with me.

  "What does that even mean?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

  "He needed help, a ride... so I-"

  I could tell she really didn't want to tell me the truth, and it really infuriated me. It wasn't like her to want to keep anything from me. This was so so strange.

   "Mom, it's just weird. We've never spoken to them, like ever. And today you just -"

  "There's a reason for that, Becca. Please, let it go." She looked back at her coffee cup, not allowing me to say anything else about it.

   My mom was the cool mom. She was the mom who drove my friends and I around and did our nails whenever we wanted. She rarely raised her voice or even disciplined me. She left that up to my dad. So I knew now that she was serious about this.

   I agreed to let it go and went back to my bedroom that evening, but I knew I could not forget about him. I knew I had to find out more abut Parker Allen.