TROUVAILLE | BROOKE DAVIS

fifty-nine

Hospitals were slowly becoming Parker's thing. First the school shooting, now a car accident, prior to her senior year, Parker had never been in a hospital except for the day she was born, now it seemed like she was there constantly, if not for herself, then for her friends.

"Look who's awake," she heard from her bedside. Parker looked up to see Brooke sitting beside her bed, no longer in her bridesmaid dress. Parker smiled up at her, closing her eyes to shield from the bright hospital lights.

"Hey," Parker said, her voice coming out raspy, "Where's Rachel?"

"She's awake," Brooke tells her, "Do you remember what happened?"

"Rachel and I were talking and then we were in the other lane and we went over," Parker says, looking up at Brooke, "How'd we get out the car?"

"Nathan saved you two," Brooke tells her, "Why the hell did you get into the car with her?"

"Rachel's my friend," Parker says, "And I wasn't expecting her to drive off of a bridge."

"Parker honey," Jessica rushes into the hospital room and embraces her daughter, which Parker weakly returns. Her mother pulls away and holds her shoulders, eyes dancing across her face, "What were you thinking?"

"I knew Rachel was upset and I was just trying to talk to her," Parker said, "She didn't mean for this to happen."

"She shouldn't have been drinking in the first place," Jessica tells her firmly, "I want you to stay away from her."

"Mom-"

"I mean it," Jessica says, "That girl has caused nothing but trouble for you this year."

"Rachel didn't shoot me," Parker argues.

"No, but if she hadn't released the time capsule then Jimmy Edwards would have never brought that gun to school," Jessica tells her, "Now are we in agreement about this?"

Parker rolls her eyes and looks up at the ceiling, "I guess."

"Jessica squeezes her shoulder before looking at Brooke, "Stay with her while I find a doctor?"

"Of course," Brooke says smiling. Once Jessica is out of the room, Brooke takes a seat beside her bed, "I'm gonna ask you a question and you have to promise not to get mad."

"Okay," Parker says, "I promise."

"You don't still have feelings for Rachel, do you? Because that would totally make sense as to why you jumped in the limo with her. And I wouldn't be mad or anything I just – I'm curious."

"I don't still have feelings for Rachel, but I do care about her and I knew she was hurting at the wedding so I wanted to be there for her, even if that meant stupidly getting in a limo with her," Parker says with a laugh.

Brooke smiles at her and takes her hand, interlacing their fingers, "You're always doing something stupid. You, Lucas, Nathan. I swear you three have a hero complex about you."

"Okay Lucas and Nathan might," Parker says, "I just end up at the wrong place at the right time."

Brooke scrunches her nose as she thinks, "I'm sure you got the saying wrong."

"No, I got it right. Wrong place. Right time."

Brooke laughs, "No, it's wrong place, wrong time."

"Whatever," Parker says as she looks down at her fingers interlaced with Brooke's. They fall into a comfortable silence, one that neither one of them wants to break, so Haley breaks it instead.