Chapter Sixteen : she's a ticking time bomb
Parker
I left Paige's house after eating pancakes, it's not that I wanted to. Being around her makes me feel pretty damn important but I knew my feelings were just one sided and I couldn't be falling for her so I needed out of there. I tried to get her to talk to me about last night but she kept pushing it off saying that she didn't want Nora listening in but I also knew that she was scared. I wanted her to trust to come willingly and not forced.
Haylee had texted me while I was asleep and I wasn't sure what the hell to do because it was more than one hey, it was a paragraph of why Paige and I would never work and another paragraph of why Haylee and I make a good couple. She then texted me asking me to come over and I ignored them all which was hard because I wanted to be there but I didn't want to disappoint Paige.
Noah had also called me and I wasn't in the mood for his bullshit of an excuse of getting a rise out of me.
I called Malcolm instead and he answered.
"What's up," he yawned like he had just woken up, it was noon by now.
"I just left, why weren't you home man?" I asked.
"Paige and I got at it and I just couldn't take it, I mean I know it's not her fault but I kinda blamed her."
"Why the hell would you do that?" I asked.
"I wasn't processing what she was telling me and I don't know, I knew she was blaming me, I knew she was mad and she had every right. I wasn't where I should've been and you were. She made you sound so fucking great that it pissed me off more but yet she also was trying to put the fault on me and I wasn't fucking having it so I told her I'm not gonna just wait for her and she took off and now she won't talk to me, hell she wouldn't even open the door last night to talk. I don't know man usually I'm good at being patient but just recently Paiges and I's relationship is strained. We aren't the same as we used to be."
"Malcolm you didn't see her when I went to pick her up, she was trying so hard not to cry because she has it in her head that she needs to constantly be okay and strong but she broke down and I could tell how embarrassed she was for doing so. She's being so hard on you because she's being hard on herself and it's easy to take it out on you since she's already pissed off that you kept a big secret from her. Just when she shows interest in talking don't fucking hesitate, don't tell her in a minute just let her talk to you. I'm so worried about her man, she's a ticking time bomb."
"She's really that bad?" Malcolm said.
"She doesn't look like it at first glance but she's barely holding herself together."
"Shit," he sounded stressed, "do you think she'll tell my parents what happened or?"
"I don't know but they should know when they get home," I mentioned.
"Parker I don't know if I'll come home tonight, it's the last night that Madi's parents are out of town. I'll be home in the morning, Madi's a little shaken up about the idea of being home alone."
"Why not bring her back to the house then?" I asked.
"Because there's still tension between Madi and Paige, they haven't talked for weeks. Paige stopped sitting at their table. Paige has distanced herself from everyone but you and Nora."
I smiled before trying to shake off that feeling, "I'll text her later today and ask if she wants me to stay over tonight then because she should be the one to be focused on right now. She's the one who faced the shit last night."
"Man Madi isn't like Paige, Paige is independent while Madi relies on others. She feels safer with a man she can trust in the house. Paige has never had a problem before being in the house with just her and Nora."
"Right but also last night might have changed her, it's fine though it's probably best if I go over there anyways."
"Alright man I gotta go, Madi's calling for me. I'll talk to you a little later."
"Bye," I hung up still so shocked that he was still picking Madi's needs. Paige was his sister, she was there before Madi ever was and yet Madi is the main priority. I bet Paige sees that too.
I drove home knowing it'd be empty, my mom was hardly ever home these past years, and Paige wondered why I never had anything to do. Her family was in a way my family. Mr and Mrs Porter raised me more than my father or mother did and I wasn't mad at either of them. They had me young and their maturity never settled in as much at the Porters. They showed me how to be the perfect man like Mr Porter. Malcolm was also taught but he never really took it to heart. He sometimes doesn't realize how lucky he is for a great family and he takes it for granted.
My dad lives in Illinois and hardly ever tries to communicate, he's got a whole new family and a whole new life so of course he could never make time for the old one. He had a son with his new wife a few years back, around Nora's age actually and I get to talk to him sometimes. My mom and Michael tried to have a baby but nothing came of it and I'm glad it didn't. A kid shouldn't be raised in a household like this.
I pulled into the driveway to find Haylees car parked and she was on the porch talking to my mom, shit.
My mom knew of Haylee and she did like her, they met once on the porch while Michael was taking his nap.
I stepped onto the porch and Haylee stood up happy to see me about to hug me but stopped realizing I wasn't home last night.
"Haylee came to see you and I told her you were at the Porters," my mom looked at me with a slight smile.
"Oh, I saw the texts you sent me. I just have been busy this morning," I kept my eyes on her and she looked surprised.
"Oh that's okay, your mom was talking about me staying for lunch."
"You did," I then looked at my mom and she smiled.
"Right, you can invite Paige to come over too. A big meal sounds good huh?"
I wanted to know what my mom was thinking of the possibility of both Paige and Haylee in the same room sounded nerve racking and messy.
"She had a lot of homework to get done besides I don't think she'd want to intrude."
"Nonsense I called her and she said she'd be more than happy to and Nora's coming too. I'll go get her and leave you two be," my mom got up in a hurry and made her way to her car that was parked on the street. What was she planning?
"Paige came over recently? Your mom was telling me something about a history project or something like that. You never let me come over but yet she did," Haylee looked hurt at the idea that Paige got to come inside but it was stupid to begin with and I shouldn't of but she was stubborn.
"She needed help with a test she didn't do well on so I helped her, it was just once though," I lied as I opened the front door and Haylee followed in.
"But she was able to come in," Haylee suddenly started to look around and unlike Paige this was her first time in while with Paige it was her second and third but Paige looked more in love with the place than Haylee. But Haylee came from a family who always had a big house and mine was smaller than Paiges.
"This is the house you grew up in?" she sounded surprised.
"Yeah, this is the house I grew up in," I nodded and she stepped in a little more looking at the pictures on the wall, "I know it's nothing fancy," I mentioned.
"It's more homey than my house, all I have on my walls are worthless million dollar paintings my parents bought to spice up the place, there aren't any family pictures or anything relating to who we are," she looked at me like she envied me.
I was quiet, not sure what to say to her because this was my ex-girlfriend in my house with me and I wasn't trusting of myself still with her.
"Oh, you were so tiny in this one," she lifted up a baby picture of me playing in my playpen with chocolate all over my face. It was my dad's birthday cake, he wasn't there my mom had told me that so just her and I ate it.
"Yeah," I nodded, "a lot of these are just baby pictures of me."
"Oh," she picked up a picture and it was of the three of us, Parker, Paige and I at the pool together. It was before I knew Haylee and even then she was jealous,"You two always seem to be around each other."
"I grew up with the Porters all my life," I shrugged my shoulders.
"Does that mean you always had a thing for Paige?" she turned her head towards me and the jealousy was radiating off her body.
"Why does it even matter Haylee?" I asked her not answering the question.
"Because Parker I wanna know if you dated me in middle school because you liked me or because you couldn't like her so you choose me. Was I a second choice?"
"I had a thing for Paige but I liked you more," I admitted.
"Are you telling me you liked her, her? Are you sick?" she pressed the back of her hand to my forehead.
"What the hell does that mean?" I swatted her hand away.
"She was ugly in middle school, people only talked to her because Malcolm was hot and the girls wanted Malcolm to ask them out. Now you were also very attractive but I called dibs so everyone knew you were mine," she smiled proud of how pathetic she was in middle school.
"Paige was not ugly," I shook my head remembering her exactly.
"Parker, no boy wanted Paige even if she was the last girl on the earth. I mean she had her glow up but she's nothing compared to Kayla, maybe that's why people saw her as a plain jane. Kayla takes the looks and Paige was just born not with a pretty face," she shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal to shit talk on my fake girlfriend. This was not the Haylee I fell in love with.
"Come on Parker face it, you just want me jealous of you and her but I told you already before I won't stop fighting for you, I love you Parker."
"Do you even hear yourself right now?" I asked her and she stepped back suddenly unsure of how well this conversation is going to go.
"Have you?" she started but stopped herself.
"Have I what?"
"Have you slept with her?" she waited before she started to talk again, "who am I kidding of course you did, you can't go without sex for so long considering we did it plenty of times. I mean what would be the real reason you stay with a low life like her. She's a nobody," she shook her head like she was silly for thinking that I'd keep my pants on.
"I haven't, I respect her Haylee."
"Okay but you must have done other things," she mentioned.
"No," I shook my head, "haven't seen her naked, haven't taken off her clothes, none of that."
She tilted her head to the side trying to understand my logic, "then why stay?"
"Because she makes me better," I suddenly said the truth and Haylee was quiet.
"Bullshit, you're just trying to make me jealous of you. Well guess what it's not going to work this time!"
"I'm not trying to make you jealous, I'm trying to let you see that I am in fact happy and you need to just fucking accept it and move the hell on."
"What are your feelings towards her," she asked, taking another step towards me.
"I like her Haylee, what else do you want to know?"
"Ha!" she pointed at me like I was caught in a lie, "on the football field she said you told her you loved her! And now it's just like? Did you or did you not tell Paige you loved her?"
"Haylee why the hell does it matter?" I asked ignoring the obvious question.
"Because Parker, if you don't love her then you still love me and there's still hope there. I mean I know you do," she put her hands on my chest, "I see it every time I'm around but does Paige? Does she know I'll always have your heart?" she got on her tippy toes and we were nose to nose.
The door swung open and there was Paige standing there with her hands full and I pulled away instantly. She looked between Haylee and I before looking back at me.
I knew Haylee was smiling like getting caught was all apart of the plan and I tried to come out with words to tell Paige it wasn't what it looked like but that would be a fucking lie.
"Ooops," Haylee smiled before going out to the car where my mom was.
"Paige," I began and she shook her head.
"No, it's fine can you help me with these bags please," she said trying to juggle everything at once and I came to her side right away.