Parker

Chapter 48

Parker started to move towards her, his heart was slamming in his chest and his body yearned to take him into his arms and hold her. But he before he could near her he felt a hand tightly clasp around his arm.

"No, no." His father said stopping him. "No."

"Dad please let me talk to her." He8 said his eyes begging him.

"No." Rodger said a little more forcibly causing the other students in the line to look at them.  Parker could not help but notice that the boy who had been sitting outside the school office was among their number.

"But dad...."

"I said no." He said in a stern as he gave a his a severe look.

"All of you face forward." The teacher who was watching over then said. She gave them withering look as she said "That's another fifteen pages for all of you." Rodger was not sure what that meant but that did not sound good. "Go now." The teacher ordered and they started to walk towards the lunch room.

Christine looked back at him on more time before they turned the corner. He felt an invisible dagger slice its way to his heart as he saw the misery in her eyes.

She then disappeared around the corner.

"I wish you had let me talk to her dad." Parker said as he pulled away. "I  need to know what is going on. Why she is in school suspension."

"I know why."

"You do?" Surprise rippled across his face.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Her mother told me." Rodger said.

"Her mother?" Parker questioned. "Oh  man it's true isn't it." His face became a mask of devastation. She really did give Wesley a hand job in the parking lot "

"What?" Rodger asked. "Where in the world did that come from?"

"That's the rumor circulating." Parker said.

"And I'm pretty sure that is all it is." Rodger said. "Just vicious gossip that someone spread in order to hurt you and Christine or to hurt the Wesley boy."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I saw how she looked at you." Rodger said. "And there is no way a girl who looks at her boyfriend like she was looking at you was messing around with her ex boyfriend a couple hours earlier."

Unless she is a total sociopath Rodger thought.

"You think so."

"I know so." Rodger clasped his shoulders giving them an affectionate squeeze so put that nonsense out of your mind.

"Okay." Parker said. "But I still would like to talk to her though. Hear that nothing happened from her own lips."

Rodger blew air through both nostrils. In the distance he could hear the sound of students as they made their way to the lobby. He put his arm around him and they made their way towards the door. "I'll talk to her mom and see if she okay with the two of you talking for a couple of minutes."

Parker did a double take. "Really."

"Yes, really."

Cole residence....

Carson stepped onto the front porch and locked the door behind him. He took a quick look at his surroundings and when he was confident that there was nothing amiss he stepped off the porch and then walked to the car.

Once he was at the car he stopped and looked around. It felt like someone was watching him. He could feel their eyes boring into him. A nervous knot formed in his throat as he looked around again only to see nothing.  He was the only person outside, the few cars that were in the court were empty and belonged there.

Except for the green plumbing van that sat on the side of the road a couple of door down. He looked to see if anyone was in the van but the windows were tinted.

The front door to the house across the street opened causing him to jump. He then relaxed when he saw the seventy year old gray haired woman lived there walk out. The woman whose name was Schroeder gave him a wave and he waved back.

You're being paranoid he told himself. Just calm down. No one is laying in wait to kidnap you and take you back to your parents. You're safe.

Carson got in the car, started it, and then pulled out of the driveway.  He gave one more wave to Mrs. Schroeder who was making her way to the mailbox.

Once Carson had pulled out of the court the green van started and pulled away from the curb. The septuagarian gave the van a suspicious look as it passed by her. She then raised her cell phone up and snapped a picture.

A picture that she quickly sent off in a text

Rodger and Parker....

Rodger's cell phone alerted him of a text when the two got in the car. He opened it to see a picture of the back of a green plumbing van with the caption this van sat at outside the Ingrams for an hour and followed the boy out of the neigbor when he left.

Rodger's nose wrinkled as he read the text. "Parker Google Nixon plumbers for me." That was the name on the back of the van.

"Okay."

Rodger sent a thank you text in which he encouraged Mrs. Schroeder to call the police if they show back up.

"Done." Parker said. "All that is coming up is stuff about Nixon and Watergate."

"No businesses by that name though." Rodger said as he forwarded the picture to Chris and the lot manager telling them to keep an eye out for the van.

"A couple." Parker said as his father put his phone down and started the car. "Both in Tennessee."

"But nothing local."

Parker shook his head. "No."

"Didn't think so."

"What's going on?"

"I don't think Carson's parents are not  going to let him go without a fight." Rodger said as he pulled his car out of the parking space.

"I think your right." Parker said feeling concern for their housemate.

"But don't worry." Rodger said. "I won't let that happen."

"Okay." Parker said confident that his father would keep his promiae. "So what happened with Christine?"

Rodger let out a breath of air as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. He told him about Pete kicking her out of his car, her mother worried about her, and that she had given her mother a horrible attitude.

"So they put her in in school suspension because she mouthed off to her mom." Parker said.

"That." Rodger said growing uncomfortable. "And paddled her."

"Paddled her?" Parker said as his eyes grew. "They paddled her?"

"Dean Helderman did."

"But they don't paddle girls." Parker said in disbelief. "Girls get handspankings, boys get the paddle and cane."

"Really?" Roger said oblivious to that fact.

"Really."

"That doesn't sound fair." Rodger said.

"I can't believe they paddled her." Parker said. " I don't care how bad of attitude she had they shouldn't have done that to her." Parker then asked "How long is she is suspension for?"

"Just until lunch." Rodger replied. "As long as she behaved herself."

"I really need to talk to her now." Parker said. "I have to make sure she is okay."

"I'll try but I don't make any promises." Rodger then thought abou the other part of her punishment. How her mom added another two weeks to her punishment and he would have to go six weeks without communicating with his girlfriend.

I'll wait until after lunch to drop that bombshell he thought as they drove down the road.