Scattered Colors (25 page)

“Fuck you!” I bellowed. “You’re a sorry piece of shit, you know that? This is your fault and I’m stuck fixing it, as fucking always!”

My vision was so clouded with fury I didn’t see the fist flying toward my face until it made impact. My head snapped to the side as I staggered back, but he wasn’t finished. A well-placed punch to my gut knocked the wind out of me and took me to my knees.

My father leaned down closer to my level. “You’ll do what I say because this is my goddamned house,” he hissed in my ear. “You don’t have a choice, you little shit, so I suggest you fix it.”

With one last kick to my ribs, he was out the back door, not bothering to look back. As I leaned over, gasping for air from my father’s beating, I felt the happiness slowly seeping out of me. There was nothing I could do. I had no choice. I had to protect my mother no matter what. I was the only one who was going to do it.

I slowly climbed to my feet and headed toward my bedroom, collapsing on my bed. I hadn’t cried in years, but the realization that I had to let go of the only good thing in my miserable life had tears burning the backs of my eyes. How did you let go of someone you loved? How was I supposed to just walk away from her? The thought of not having her burned like acid in my gut. As I lay in bed, waiting for sleep that would never come, I could only pray she’d be able to forgive me one day.

The sun had long since set with no signs of Parker. The few texts I sent asking where he was had gone unanswered. I stayed on that beach, on our log, until I had no choice but to head back, worried I wouldn’t be able to see the path if I waited too much longer.

Surely there was something important holding him up. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Parker wouldn’t miss my birthday. When I got back to the house, I discovered my father had already made it home from work. Bags of my favorite Chinese takeout were strewn across the kitchen island, a large cake box sitting right next to them.

“Ah-ah,” Dad scolded as he came walking back into the kitchen holding a vase of gorgeous flowers, having caught me in the act of lifting the lid to see the cake. “No peeking. That’s for after dinner.”

“Aww, Daddy. You didn’t have to do all this.” I smiled as he put the vase down on the table and turned to give me a big hug.

“Are you kidding? My baby girl just turned eighteen. Of course I had to do something. I’m just sorry I wasn’t able to pull off something bigger.”

“Oh, Dad…” I squeezed him tighter and nuzzled my cheek into his chest. “This is absolutely perfect. I didn’t want anything big anyway.”

We pulled apart and began plating our food. “So, what did Parker do for you today?” he asked as we sat down and started eating.

My stomach clenched at the reminder of my unanswered texts. “We were supposed to meet on the beach after school but he never showed. I texted him but haven’t heard anything back. I’m started to get a little worried.”

“I’m sure everything’s fine, honey. He probably just got held up.”

I never shared with my father about Parker’s mom, so I couldn’t voice my concerns that something bad might have happened to her. In the months we’d been together, there had only been that one horrific episode, but I knew she still had bad days. I could only hope whatever it was that prevented Parker from meeting me down on the beach wasn’t as bad as what I’d been building up in my mind.

Dad’s deep voice pulled me from my worrying. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I got you a present.”

“Daddy!” I admonished. “You already got me the cake and flowers. That’s enough; you didn’t have to do anything else.”

Dropping his fork and scooting back in his chair, Dad reached into the pocket of his slacks and pulled out a shiny key ring. “Well, then I guess I’ll just have to take it back to the dealership tomorrow. You know, since you don’t want it.”

With a squeal of joy, I jumped from my seat and snatched the key off my father’s extended finger before running through the house and out the front door, his loud rumble of laughter following after me. A peel of excited shrieking that could have put Stella’s to shame danced through the air as I caught sight of the silver Volkswagen CC sitting in our driveway.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” Dad said as he came to stand behind me. I spun around and nearly tackled him to the ground as I hugged him. Despite the lingering worry over where Parker was, I had to admit it really
was
a good birthday.

That night I made sure to leave my bedroom window unlocked, thinking Parker might sneak through since he hadn’t made it in time for our sunset. The more time that passed, the worse my anxiety became. Finally, around eleven o’clock, I got a reply. It was short in nature, but it helped me to breathe a sigh of relief.

Parker: Sorry about tonight, something came up. I’ll see you in the morning.

I soothed myself by saying if something terrible had happened with his mother, he would have called.

Me: Okay, hope everything’s all right. Love you.

I locked my phone and dropped it on the bedside table. It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized he never told me he loved me back.

Parker: Can’t take you to school today. Gotta go in early.

That text had caused my chest to seize the moment I read it. All morning long, my gut screamed at me that something wasn’t right. When I finally made it to school, a sense of impending dread had taken over.

As I stood at my locker with Stella, I tried my best to appear calm as I scanned each person’s face, looking for Parker.

“Sooooo, you gonna tell me what special surprise Parker had planned for you last night?” Stella asked with a wide grin.

“Um…something came up last night. He wasn’t able to come over.”

I tried to play it off as no big deal, but judging by the way Stella’s brows dipped between her bright green eyes, she hadn’t bought it.

“Is he okay?”

“I-I don’t really know. I haven’t talked to him. He texted this morning to say he couldn’t take me to school, but I haven’t seen him yet.”

It was obvious from her expression that she was just as perplexed as I was. However, being the amazing friend she was, she tried her best to brush it aside. “I’m sure he’ll have a perfectly good explanation. Besides, at least that gave you a chance to drive your new car!”

“This is true,” I laughed. Just as I began to feel a little better, I caught sight of Parker’s telltale swagger as he made his way down the hall. I let out a gasp at the sight of the bruises that marred his face.

Not again.
I thought as my heart broke for him. I wanted to find his father and beat the ever-loving hell out of him. How could a man lay his hands on his one son? I didn’t have to meet the elder Owens to know that I hated him with every fiber of my being.

“Oh, Parker,” I sighed as he slowed to a stop in front of me. I lifted my hand to touch his face, but he pulled back at the last second. “Are you all right?” I asked, sympathy heavy in my voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine. We’re gonna be late for class.” He tried to step around me, but I grabbed hold of his arm, halting his progress.

“Hey, hold on.” He turned and stared back at me with such impassiveness it sent a chill up my spine. “You’re lying. Tell me what happened, please,” I pleaded.

“Um…I’ll just leave you guys alone,” Stella said. When I cast my eyes in her direction, they held the same worry I knew was shining in mine. “See you in class.”

The moment she disappeared down the hall, I turned back to Parker. His face a blank, emotionless mask. “What happened?”

He ran his hands through his hair roughly and pulled his lip ring between his teeth. We stood in silence, just looking at each other before Parker finally pulled me into a corner out of the way by my elbow.

“Look…” He ruffled his hair once again. “I just…I can’t.” For one split second, that blank expression dropped just long enough for me to see a flash of emotion cross his face. And what I saw scared me. He looked absolutely devastated.

“Parker.” I stepped forward and placed my hand on his arm. He squeezed his eyes closed, as if in pain, before taking a step back…away from me.

“This isn’t working for me anymore, Freya.” His voice sounded thick as he spoke.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked in disbelief. “What’s not working for you?”

“This,” he said as he waved his hand between us. “
Us
. It’s just not working. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“You don’t want to do this anymore,” I repeated as the weight of his words finally began to sink in, ripping my insides to shreds in the process.

“Yeah.” He nodded simply, like he hadn’t just destroyed me with seven little words.

“Bullshit! Something happened and I want to know what the hell it was!” I was making a scene, and for the first time in my life I couldn’t care less that I was the center of attention. I wanted…no, I
needed
the truth from Parker before he did something that couldn’t be undone. “
Please
,” I begged. “Talk to me. What happened last night? Why did your father hit you?
Talk to me
!”

His eyes flitted around the hallways, looking almost panicked as he scanned the other students’ faces. When he finally looked back at me, the emotion was gone. His brown eyes I’d fallen so in love with were dull and lifeless.

“It doesn’t matter what happened last night. All you need to know is that I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to be in a relationship, Freya. I’m done. I’m over it.”

I couldn’t breathe. There was no air in the hallway. Everyone standing around, watching the train wreck that was my relationship, had sucked it all up leaving me choking, gasping for breath.

“I’m sorry, gorgeous,” he continued. The way he sounded so cavalier sliced another piece of flesh from my bones, making me hate the nickname I’d grown to love. “You’re great and all, but it’s just not fun for me anymore. Things just ran their course, and it’s time to move on.”

I felt like I was dying. Tears burned my eyes before finally breaking free to run down my cheeks. Parker cringed at the sight.

“I don’t believe you,” I insisted, refusing to accept his words as truth. I knew the boy in front of me better than anyone. I
knew
him. He loved me. “I don’t believe you!” I screamed. “What about everything you said, everything you shared with me. You’re honestly going to stand there and tell me it meant nothing? You’re lying! You’re a fucking liar, Parker! Tell me the
truth
!”