"Please . . . don't cry. You had to have known I'd do this at some point."
***
Parker Sims is the class clown but that doesn't mean he's easy to fool. And that's just what Nola B. is good at - fooling people. She's got the whole school believing th...
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Chapter Thirty-Five:
"All Parker told me, was that you're a 'friend' of his. He never told me how you two met." Claudine flicked on the kitchen light switched and went over to her white marble counter. The room fell silent and Claudine glanced at Nola, who was lingering in the doorway - not saying a word. "Well, how did you meet him?" She went over to a glass cabinet and pulled out an almost empty bottle of rum. "Looks like just enough for a couple drinks," Claudine muttered as she began to collect the other ingredients for the Pina Coladas.
After a minute, Claudine realized Nola had not responded to her question and, also, had not moved away from the doorway. "You're just like Remus. His silence is deafening too and he, also, has to stand a hundred yards from everyone - at all times."
Claudine chuckled but she saw that Nola was not finding anything funny. "Sorry, I was exaggerating."
When Nola was silent, again, Claudine fully turned and faced Nola. She studied her up and down as if she was giving Nola her final judgment.
Nola allowed her head to tilt down, in hopes that her hair could hide her from Claudine. However, Nola had forgotten that her aunt braided her hair earlier. So, instead, Nola crossed her arms over her chest, balled her hands into a tight fist, and took a slow inhale in hopes of calming her nerves.
"Parker said you just came out of a bad relationship." The look on Nola's face indicated that Claudine had put it all together, much sooner then Nola expected. "I know what it looks like...," She turned and looked down at the blinder she pulled out a moment before, lost in thought. "... When someone has hurt someone ... like someone did to you."
Nola's palms began to feel clammy and her her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. "Parker told," Nola paused because she couldn't finish the sentence. She was betrayed that Parker had told another person about Mitch. She thought he would've been more considerate and know that it's her story to tell - not his.
And while she knew he had told his mother, Mrs. Sims, this felt more like betrayal than that time. Nola knew it was because she didn't want his friends to know about her past. She had foolishly allowed herself to think that she could come here tonight and act like shit hasn't happened. And now, Nola felt robbed of that chance.
"All he told me was that you were in a bad relationship before and that you'd recently been released from the hospital." Claudine stopped talking for a second, sick at the thought of someone abusing Nola. "He didn't give me details. Really, I've just seen it ... like I said."
Nola was relieved that they were spared the details and Parker hadn't told them everything.
"If I know anything, now," Claudine continued, "It's that Parker is helping you, which means you're safe now. So, if you want to talk about it, we can - right now."
