Reliving Yesterday ✔

Chapter 30.

"Parker," I said, in a kind of choked up voice, "What the hell are you doing? Where the hell have you been?"

He slowly lifted his head to look at me, looking annoyed. His eyes were bloodshot. He was holding a bunch on polaroid photographs in the hand that wasn't holding the bottle.

"Go home, Alex," he said, in a tired voice. He was clearly drunk, but not so drunk that he wanted to confess a bunch of things to me I would have other never even have been able to get out of him even if I tried prying his mouth open.

"No, Parker. I'm not going anywhere. I'm your friend and I'm not going to go home and let you sit here in the dark and drink yourself silly," I said. I wrenched the bottle out of his hand and ran to the kitchen where I dumped the remaining contents of the bottle down the sink. Parker growled from behind me. When I had finished, I turned. His usually bright eyes were dark and deadly. He looked angrier than I'd care to remember.

Parker pushed me back against the sink. "What the hell, Alex?" he shouted. At that moment, with a clap of thunder, rain started to pour.

"What the hell to me, Parker? Really? What the hell have you been doing all day? Where have you been? Why do you look like shit, Parker?" I yelled back at him, "This isn't how a normal high schooler should behave, dammit. You're way too young to deal with whatever you're dealing with."

"Like you care," he scoffed.

"Like I care?! Of course, I care, you idiot. I've always cared about you. Even when you made it so difficult. Why don't you just tell me what you're going through?"

"You wouldn't understand," Parker brushed me off.

"Well I'll never even know if you don't tell me," I tried to reason with him, "Nothing is worth all this, Parker. All the bruises and the fear and the drinking – especially the drinking. I'm not going to watch you dig your own grave, Parker."

"Well, I've already got halfway without your help," he spat.

"Parker," I pleaded, "Please just tell me. We could go to the police?"

"No, Alex, you don't get it," he said.

"Then tell me!"

"God. Why can't you just be my friend, Alex?" he yelled.

"I AM being your friend, Parker. I've always been your friend, but you're making it so Goddamn hard to help you right now!" I snapped at him.

"Then why don't you just leave?" he demanded.

I stared at him, red faced and heaving deep breaths. "You know what, I will." And then I stormed out of the kitchen, up the stairs and made my way back into my room through the rain and slammed the window shut. And then I broke down. I'd always hated fighting with Parker. I'd almost always cried after I yelled at him. A few minutes later, I shook myself off and went to change and dry my hair and then to do some homework.

From time to time, the lights in Parker's house would switch on and off and I'd look up every time something caught my eye, but Parker didn't come or call or do anything. By the time ten rolled around, I had finished my work and I was getting ready for bed. I switched off the lights in the bathroom and switched off the lamp on my table.

I had just grabbed my book off my table and turned to close my curtains when I noticed figures on Parker's lawn. There were two men standing there in the pouring rain dressed from head to toe in black thrown into a little light by the lamppost on the street. A few moments later, the door opened and Parker walked out, waving his hands around and saying something to them. Very soon he was soaked. I couldn't really make out what was going on because of the rain, but I could tell when one of them pulled something shiny out of their pockets.