Nicole's POV
It was around 11:45 when he texted me while I was sitting up in my bed watching a movie.
Parker: I fell asleep on the couch watching a show with Dad. I'll be there in a few.
Me: I'm fine. You don't have to come. Go back to sleep.
In my mind, I really did want him to come, but I knew he didn't want to and wanted to just go to sleep.
Parker: Is the lights on in your room?
Me: Maybe. Just go in your room and sleep. I'm turning out the lights now.
He didn't say anything after that, so I figured that he went to sleep. I really did turn out my light, and I laid down and watched the movie. I had my gun beside me on the floor. I didn't feel completely safe, but I felt safe enough.
Parker's POV
I felt kind of bad for not going back to her. But I was tired, because I hadn't slept good on that couch the night before. I went to my bed in my room and fell right asleep.
It was 3:30 in the morning. I woke up and turned on my other side and tried to go back to sleep. But for some reason, I couldn't get back to sleep. I tossed and turned and closed my eyes. I thought of Nicole and wondered if she got to sleep. I texted her.
Me: Are you up?
She didn't say anything, so I figured she had fallen asleep. It sucked because I knew if she was with me, I could go to sleep. I guess that's what I get for not doing what she wanted me to. I fell back asleep around 5:00.
(((November 15, 2015)))
I slept in late the next morning. It was noon before I got out of the bed. I went into the living room after I took a shower and stuff, and I saw Nicole sitting in the living room talking to my mom and drinking coffee.
"Babe, you could've came and woke me up." I said to her.
"I know, but you let me sleep yesterday and today I let you sleep. Good morning, baby." She smiled.
"Good afternoon is more like it." I chuckled as I sit down beside her. I gave her a little kiss on the cheek.
"True. You hungry? Your mom made breakfast."
"Yeah, I'll get something. Did you eat?"
"A little."
"She ate one piece of bacon and one piece of toast." Mom added.
"I'm going to get some food and you're going to eat with me." I said seriously to her.
"I'm not hungry."
"Yeah, well, you're going to eat if you wanna go anywhere today." I said.
She rolled her eyes and smiled. I went to the kitchen and put food on a plate for me and her. I went back and sit beside her with the plate full of food. She ate a little, not much, but I was satisfied that she was alright to go somewhere.
"Did you sleep good last night?" I asked her.
"I went to sleep around one, and woke up a couple times during the night, but went right back to sleep. So yeah, it was alright. What were you doing texting me at like 3:30 in the morning?"
"I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep until around five. I was just seeing if you were up."
"Aw. Why couldn't you sleep, baby?" She asked.
"I don't know." I shrugged. I did know; I couldn't sleep because I wasn't beside her. "So where you wanna go today?"
"Um, how about we go look around for me a job at the clinic or the doctors?"
"If that's what you wanna do."
"Okay."
"You want to help me cook dinner tonight, Nicole?" Mom asked her.
"Sure, what time should we be back?"
"Around five should be good. I need to go grocery shopping today before we cook." Mom said.
"Oh, Mom, we can do that. Just write the list and we'll go shopping, right, Nick?" I said.
"Yeah, we'll go." She nodded.
"Okay, thanks, kids." Mom smiled.
I ate some more food while Mom made out the shopping list for us. Nicole went to the bathroom, and Mom got through writing the list and gave it to me. I called for Nicole to hurry up and come on.
***
Nicole's POV
We were driving down the road listening to music when he reached over, letting go of my hand, and turned down the volume on the radio. I gave him a why-did-you-do-that look.
"So um, you know how you asked me why I couldn't sleep last night?" He said.
"Yeah."
"Well, I couldn't sleep because I felt kinda bad that I just left you alone when you asked me to go back."
"It's fine. You were tired, and I fell asleep not long after."
"So tonight can I sleep over?"
A memory came rushing back into my mind from when I was around eight. My grandpa had died, and I was crying just like I was crying a couple days ago because of my parents. It was dark, but I wanted to get away from everything, and everyone. A little Parker found me a couple minutes away from my house where we would walk. He was there for me, just to talk and let me cry to him while I had my head on his shoulder. I told him that I wished that he could talk to me all night, because I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep, and that I didn't want to go home. He said that we could go to his house. I said to him, "So I can sleep over?"
"Hey, can I sleep over?" He said again, pulling me away from my memory.
I smiled, "Yeah."
"Okay."
***
I found a job as a nurse at one of the private practice doctors offices. It was five days a week, and twelve hours a day. I thought it was a good job, but Parker asked me if I would talk to him before I took the job. I said sure. I was uncertain exactly why he wanted to talk to me about taking a job, but I agreed. He said that he would talk to me about it tonight, which really made me wonder what he wanted to say.
We went grocery shopping after a spending time at the harbor. Parker was acting like a little kid in a candy store, which is kind of what he was. The shopping cart was full of junk food and candy before I had put two things in the cart. I was getting food for my house, too, and Parker just throwing stuff in the cart was really messing me up.
"I should've left you at home." I laughed.
"Nah, you wouldn't be having fun if I wasn't here." He winked as he threw some chips in the cart.
"Oh, is that why you came?" I tried to not smile.
"Yup." He smiled as he was bouncing a basketball, acting like he was so cool.
"Go grab some flour from the last aisle, weirdo." I said as I looked down from him onto the list.
"You're the weirdo, weirdo." He threw the ball back into the basket that it was in before. "No, wait, you're a nerd." He said as he walked by me.
"Parker Schnabel, you better not call me that. You know that I hate that word. I'm mad at you now."
"Okay, nerd." He chuckled.
"Shaggy weirdo."
He came back with the flour and set in in the cart. He wrapped his arms around my waist from the back as I was walking along, pushing the cart. I tried to push him off of me.
"Get off of me, meanbutt." I said.
"Ah, come on, babe. I was just playing. You're not a nerd." He paused and thought for a second. "Well you kinda are because you're so smart.....but you're not a nerd.....and hey, you can't be a nerd cause nerds aren't allowed to be at the mining camp." He nudged me as he walked beside me.
"Yeah, whatever. Rick's a nerd."
He chuckled. "You don't even know Rick."
"I've talked to him before while I was FaceTiming you. He's a nerd."
He chuckled again. "Okay."
***
We were back at his house, and I was helping his mom unload the groceries while he was still bringing the bags in. We had already unloaded all my groceries at my house.
I helped his mom cook dinner, which was hamburgers and fries, with brownies for dessert. I don't really know what the rest of them were doing, but they walked in and out the back door a lot. I think they were working on something outside.
It was around 7:00 when we all sat down for dinner. It was good, if you ask me. We talked and laughed while we ate, like one big family, which we were. Payson had to leave right after he had finished eating for his late flight back to Vegas. We all said our goodbyes to him, and he left.
It was around 9:00 when Parker and I went back to my house. I went into my room to change into my night clothes while Parker was in the kitchen getting him a drink. I walked back into the living room to see him sitting on the couch watching a DVD movie.
"So I've been dying to find out what you wanted to tell me." I said as I sat down beside him.
"Tell you about what?"
"What you wanted to tell me before I took that job at the hotel."
"Oh, that. Yeah."