A Taste Of Life

Chp. 35- Best Man

*Taylor*

"Taylor!" My mom called out from outside the bathroom door.

"I'm in the shower!" I called back out slightly irritated. I can never have time for myself without her interrupting.

"Honey, Mr. Parker is downstairs. He wants to talk to you."

I turned off the shower and furrowed my eyebrows. Ava's dad wants to talk to me? Fuck.

"Uh, I'll be right down."

I climbed out the shower and grabbed the towel off the counter, wrapping it around my waist.

I quickly hurried to my room to change into clothes then made my way downstairs.

There Ava's dad was, sitting on the couch, his gaze turning to me as he saw me walk over.

"Hello Taylor." He smiled and reached out a hand.

"Hello Mr. Parker." I shook his hand, "Um.. my mom said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Oh, right." He sat down once again and I sat across from him. "I need to ask something of you."

"Is this about Ava?"

"No, no." He mumbled, "This is about my wedding."

"What about it?"

"Well, I came here today.. to ask you to be my best man."

I froze in shock with my mouth slightly ajar at his words. Me? His best man?

"B-But, I thought you would ask uh-"

"Logan?" He scoffed, "Sure, he's a great kid. But I think we both know he's not exactly my favorite. Him and his family are nice folk, but their fancy dinners and expensive houses are too much for my liking."

I tried to stiffle my chuckle but horribly failed. "I'm sorry Mr. Parker.. I just thought that since he's with Ava, you would ask him."

"Well, Ava doesn't know I'm asking you to be my best man." He remarked, "She'll be furious."

"Hell yeah she'll be."

"But it's not her wedding," He declared, "and if I ask you to fill this position and not Logan, then that's for my choosing. Not hers."

"I know, but.. I don't want to make her upset." I explained, "Not anymore than what she already is."

"Is something wrong between you and Ava?"

"Is anything ever right between me and her?" I buried my face in my heads and sighed deeply. "I swear that girl is the most stubborn person I have ever met."

"She gets it from her mother." He grinned, almost seeming to be lost in his own thought. "Her mom was always the toughest battle I ever had to face.. but boy, was she one hell of a lover."

I remained silent as he spoke.

"I was like you once. Irresponsible, reckless, just a boy who didn't want to grow up and face reality. And because of that, I let the woman I loved slipped right through my fingers. And when it was too late to ever win her back, it became my biggest regret." He paused and looked at me. "Of course I love Rebecca with all my heart. But there are days I imagine waking up to her face. So everytime I have to pick myself up and finally realize that this is my life now. I have to start living it before Rebecca's gone too.. and I can't lose her. Not her.

You can't let Ava slip through your fingers. She may be stubborn and hardheaded, but inside she needs love. Your love. I know you can give it to her. If you can just-"

"Mr. Parker, with all due respect, I'm really starting to think this is it between us. We both moved on and-"

"Do you still love her?"

I sat there in silence when the answer was hitting me right in the face. Of course I still love her. I'll love her until my heart stops beating, but there's nothing I can do now.

"She's with Logan now." I tried to change the subject, "and he can probably give her all the things I never could."

"But we both know all the expensive gifts or clothes he may give her could never fill the ache in her chest that only you could fill."

"She doesn't want me." I sighed in defeat. It's time to face the truth. No matter how painful it is. "I've hurt her too much."

He looked just as frustrated as I was. "Well, even if that is so, she'll realize one of these days that the only love she ever felt was never easy. And she'll see that maybe she shouldn't have let go."

"That's the thing.. she didn't let go.. I did."

"It's never too late to fix your mistakes."

"Mr. Parker." I started to say, "It is too late. We've gone too far down our own paths. I have too much on my plate right now. I have to look at colleges, find out how to support the baby, talk to Sarah about-"

"Woah, wait. Baby? Sarah? What exactly has been going on in San Fransisco?" He asked.

"I guess I have a lot to explain.." I said, "But.. please don't tell Ava."

"You're asking me to keep this from my daughter?"

"She would never understand. Plus, she moved on with her life. We both did. If I don't want her to know, she shouldn't have to. So please, promise me?"

"Promise."

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Hey guys! I just wanna thank you guys for sticking with me. For following up on updates and giving me your opinions. I'm growing as a writer and its definetly evident in my writing as this trilogy goes on. So thank you! You guys rock!

Trust me you guys, I make plenty of mistakes like grammar and spelling. So even with my errors, thank you guys for still supporting!

Sincerely, Sammie.