The Marine I Know

Chapter 25

"Belle?" Parker says, knocking me out of my trance. I look up at him to see the concern in his eyes. He lays an arm across my shoulder, giving me comfort. "What happened?" I look at mom who knows right off the bat what type of dream I had.

"Just a bad memory, that's all," I whispered, snuggling into his shoulder as he kisses my forehead and I fall into a deep sleep.

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"Let me get her inside, Helen," Parker says.

"Okay. Belle's lucky to have you." My mom says as Parker carries me up to my room. I snuggle close to Parker, who lays me down on my bed after taking my shoes off and pulling the covers over me. He kisses me on the forehead.

"Sleep well, my beautiful darling."

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I open my eyes and see my room. I'm laying in my bed, but I'm trying to remember how I got here when bits and pieces of last night slowly come back to me and I smile. I try to sit up, but there's something substantial across my stomach.

'What the heck?'

I look to see an arm, and I slowly follow it to see Parker sleeping on his stomach, his hair flopped out across the pillow and looks peaceful. I turn on my side to face him, gently grabbing his arm so it can lay between us, and I grasp my fingers with his. Blue eyes shine back at me with a smile on his face.

"You do realize that I was awake since I can feel your gaze on me." He chuckles, which is the best thing to hear first thing in the morning. I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and Parker tenses, pushing himself up to put himself between me and the threat. 

"Belle, it's me." Parker relaxes, and I kiss him on the cheek.

"It's open." It sounds like there is a bit of trouble opening the door, so Parker lets my hand go to open the door to see my mom holding a tray with food on it. "Mom, you didn't have to," I say, but she shakes her head at me.

"I have a feeling you two have some things you need to talk about." I push myself against the headboard as my mom sets the tray down on my bed. She gives me a kiss on the head and then leaves, shutting the door.

"Dangit, I didn't say thank you." I lean my head up against the headboard, mentally beating myself up when the bed dips and Parker, who has his glasses on, wraps his arm around me.

"How good are you at cooking?" He asks me, and I shrug.

"I'm not a chef, but I can survive," I reply when he gets the best smile on his face. "Parker?"

"We surprise your mom, and isn't she seeing someone?" 

"Actually, yes. Mom hasn't introduced him to me yet, but I think that would be adorable." I kiss him on the lips. "You are quite the romantic, aren't you?" He chuckles and then smiles at me again.

"Yes, but don't tell the guys. They'll call me a whipped one." I laugh at that.

"Remember, their dating my best friends, so they have no room to talk." I look at the tray to see two cups of orange juice, two pieces of buttered toast, two strips of bacon, and two fried eggs. I grab a piece of toast and take a bite, my stomach grumbling from having no food this morning. We continue eating and just enjoying each other's company. I have two-bed side tables, so once we finish the meal, we put the glasses on coasters, and then I get up to move the tray, but Parker already beat me to the punch. 

"I got this, relax." He says as he puts the tray on my desk after clearing it off and then joins me back on the bed.

"I feel like I need to tell you what happened and what the deal is with Ryan." I start, looking over at him to see him already looking at me with love and understanding in his eyes, "But you most likely may not like it, though." He grabs my hand and tightens his grip on it.

"Whenever you're ready, baby girl." He whispers, and I gather the confidence I need to tell him.

"When I was twelve, my mom met this great guy. She knew that my dad wouldn't want her to be alone for her whole life since she is a great woman." I smile. "This guy she met, Ryan, was the most charming and caring for my mom and I. We had to move out of the house since my mom just wasn't able to keep up the payments, so Ryan told us we were more than welcome to move in with him. My mom looked at me; all I did was look around the house, the memories the walls held." I feel tears running down my face, and I go to wipe my eyes, but Parker runs his fingers across my cheeks, catching the tears. I smile and continue the story. "She knew that I would miss the house, but I remember what she told me, 'Your father loved us very much. He is always with us in our heart and the memories, which we cherish.' She says, pointing to her heart. I smile and then help her move the stuff into the U-Haul we rented, and Ryan was helping us. He was giving us a few moments to process. Everything got moved, and Ryan was driving while I was looking back at the only place I could call home until it was out of sight, which I then leaned my head against the window, cherishing the memories."

"We lived with Ryan for about five months when I first started noticing stuff happening. I had it in my head to look after my mom, to make sure she was okay. I noticed this in the middle of summer when she began wearing long sleeve shirts and high collar shirts. Ryan worked as a security consultant at the time, so he worked the traditional hours. I had a weird feeling in my gut, call it female intuition, and I went upstairs to knock on my mom's door to find it slightly open. I quietly open the door to see my mom with bruises up and down her arm, her neck had finger marks, almost like someone tried to choke her." I breathe, and Parker tightens his grip on my hand, and I look at him to see his jaw tightened, glaring at the wall. I gently put my other hand on his face and turn it towards me. He looks at me with a million different emotions running through his eyes.

"When people assault woman, it makes me angry and upset." He sneers, but I get him to continue looking in my eyes.

"I'm almost done, okay? Do you trust me?" I ask him, and he replies with a kiss on my lips.

"Yes, even if it kills me, I trust you."