Jefferson Lake (MBBF Spin-Off)

Chap. 29

"She just wants you to be open with her," I stated. "Which you won't be."

"What is there to be open about? I dated Annalise. I loved her once. That's it."

"You didn't love her once," I declined. "You still do Parker."

His eyes snapped over to me.

"She knows that just as much as you do. And she's just trying to figure it out with you, but you won't let her."

"I don't still love her," Parker declined, his voice emotionless. "She's dead."

"So is mom," I stated. "Do you not love her?"

"Shut the fuck up Lee, that's not the same thing."

"Why not?"

He was silent for a few moments, his ragged breathing the only thing breaking the silence between us. "Because it's not."

"Oh, well if that's the case, then I guess you're right."

He grabbed a picture frame off the top of his dresser, hurling it across the room and watching as it cracked against the wall.

I was used to Parker's fits of anger, his destruction mode. I'd once seen him break a chair.

"I'm in love with Emily," he informed me.

"I'm not disagreeing with that," I said. "I don't know how you feel. But it's not impossible to love two people."

He let out a long sigh, shaking his head.

"Stop pushing your girlfriend away while you still have one," I advised. "She had the entire week off of school. Haven't you wondered why she hasn't been up to see you once?"

Parker didn't look at me.

"Because you're a dick," I filled in for him. "So get off your high horse and fix this before it gets any worse."

He slowly nodded, running his fingers through his hair.

I better get a shout out at their wedding at the very least.

~*~

I distantly heard the knocks on my dorm room door.

But I couldn't put my sketching pencil down.

I hadn't felt this inspired in a while.

When I was sketching, it was like the only two things in the world were my sketchbook and me.

"I could be a serial killer and you would've never noticed I was here," McKenna's voice said.

My eyes snapped up from my sketchbook to see her leaning against my desk, munching on some Pop-Tarts.

"I've been here for seven minutes," she informed me. "Your door was unlocked, which isn't much of a surprise. But I walked in, stood right here, and even helped myself to some Pop-Tarts. And you never looked up."

I felt a little dazed. I wasn't used to being pulled out of a sketching binge.

My mom would usually leave me to myself because she was always one to promote creativity. And Parker was pretty much just happy to see me doing something.

I glanced back down at my sketch before looking up at her again. "Hi."

She chuckled. "Hello there."

I shut my sketchbook, running my fingers through my hair. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I wasn't going to interrupt you," she admitted. "I rather liked watching you sketch."