This chapter didn't really turn out how I wanted it to but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN| NOT WHAT, WHO
The sun had just begun to rise when the sound of something hitting my closet door causes me to bolt up in bed, wiping at the sleep stuck in the corners of my eyes as Parker, half asleep and only in his boxer briefs, jumps from the bed with ready fists. Noel, with her hair falling over her shoulders in tangles, looks between the two of us before crawling over the crumpled comforter and collapsing on top of me.
“Um, good morning?”
“I’m hungover.”
I sigh, pushing her hair away from her face. “How about some coffee?”
Noel nods. “A lot of coffee.”
She crawls off of me and walks out the door. I watch the door carefully as I pull a pair of shorts on, Parker laying across my bed, blinking at me with red eyes. As he opens his mouth to say something, Noel walks back into my room, a pair of Nolan’s sweatpants in her hands. When she sees me staring, she drops of shoulders and crosses her arms across her chest.
“What?”
I nod my head at the sweats in her hands. “I could have given you a pair of mine.”
She shakes her head. “It’s okay, his are more comfortable anyway.”
This causes me to cock my head to the side, my hands falling to rest on my hips. “How would you know?”
“Uh… boys pants are more comfortable, you know?”
I just nod, smirking. “Sure.”
She looks around the room for a minute before hitching her thumb towards the bathroom door. “I’m gonna go shower.”
“Yeah, you do that.”
As Noel closes the door behind her, I sit on the behind next to Parker, running my hand through his hair when he drops his head into my lap, looking up at me with a tired smile.
“Hey, Parker?”
He pulls my hands to rest on his chest. “Yeah, darlin’?”
“Can you tell me about your brother?” He closes his eyes, nodding a little.
“What do you want to know?” He asks.
I shrug my shoulders. “Anything.”
“Alright” He says. “Well, I was twelve when he ran away, he’s four years older then me and had just turned sixteen. We were close, real close actually, but he didn’t want anything to do with dad or the way he treated us. So he left. The last time I heard from him was a year ago, he said he was in California but I don’t believe that.”
“Why not?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “He’s not… my brother is a good ol’ southern boy, that’s what ma always said. He liked doin’ rodeo’s and he was really good at it too. I just don’t think he’d go there.”
“What’s his name?”
Parker smiles as he answers. “Wyatt.”
I smile at the look of admiration setting into his features and lean down to kiss his forehead. “I love you.”
Parker chuckles, reaching up to brush my hair behind my ear. “I love you too, Sable.”
“Aw.” Noel stands in the doorway of the bathroom, her wet hair already starting to curl against the faded dark blue of her hoodie. “You two are nauseatingly adorable.”
I shake my head. “Do you want coffee or not?”
Her eyes go wide at the thought and she nods rapidly.
By the time the three of us get down stairs, the clock above the sink reads half past eight and the sun sends rays through the kitchen that fall across the the stove were Parker stands cooking us oatmeal, which he insisted on making, stating “You’ve never had anything like it.”
Noel sits across the island from me, her head laying flat against the counter. Parker places a bowl in front of both of us, the oatmeal, which smells like cinnamon, is topped with almonds and fruit. Impressed, I look up at Parker who sets mugs filled with coffee in front of us. “Thanks.” Noel says quietly as she sips the black liquid, grimacing at the bitterness of it.
“Headache?” I ask through a mouthful of oatmeal. Noel nods, resting her chin against her wrist.
“You have no idea.” She takes another sip of her coffee as Parker sits down next to me.
He glances at me worriedly before sipping his coffee. “What happened last night, Noel?”
Noel straightens up a bit. “Do you honestly want to know?”
Parker nods. “I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”
Noel groans, running a hand through her bangs. “Lets see, where should I begin? How about when Sable and I found Alex about to get it in or how I got completely trashed and-” Parker raises his hand and cuts her off.
“Alex did what?”
Noel gives me a pointed look, gesturing for me to answer while sipping her coffee. I sigh and let my spoon slip back into the bowl. “We walked in on Alex and some girl about to have sex.” I say dully. Parker raises a brows at me before turning his gaze back to Noel.
“Sorry he did that to you. You don't deserve that.” Noel rubs her thumb down the side of her mug, her foot tapping anxiously against the leg of her stool.
“Thanks, Parker. I got over it pretty fast, though. A bottle of tequila and not only do my clothes fall off but my dignity goes out the door as well.” Unsure of what exactly she means, I sit up in my seat, watching as her cheeks turn red and her eyes search the countertop in front of her.
"Noel, what did you do?”
She mutters something under her breath and I scoot closer to the edge of my seat, leaning over the counter. “What did you do?” I ask again. Noel leans back in her stool, kicking her feet against the wall of the island before running her hands over her face. Beside me, Parker grabs my bowl out from under me and takes a spoonful.
“Not what,” She says. “more like, who?”
I pause, looking over to Parker who looks between the two of us as he eats my breakfast. “Alright, who?”
Noel smiles sheepishly, rubbing her arms. “It might have been Motley.” I jump back as Parker spits coffee over the counter in shock, pounding his fist against his chest as he coughs.
“You didn’t.” I say, watching the way she bites her lip and smiles.
“I did. In that tall bush at the top of the abandoned beach houses driveway.”
I blink at her, remembering the shuffling I had heard as I waited for Nolan to come get me. “So, that’s what I heard.” Noel blushes deeply, hiding her face in the crook of her arm while Parker watches her carefully, wiping up the coffee he spit out.
“Was he-”
“Wasted? Yeah. So was I.”
I lean forward slightly, curiosity getting the best of me, pressing my hand to the side of my mouth I whisper “How was it?” hoping Parker doesn’t hear me. As my luck goes, he does and I look over to see him glaring at me. A smile erupts onto Noel’s face as she giggles.
“Amazing. Drunk amazing, but amazing. He’s such a good kisser and, god, don’t get me started-”
Parker cuts in. “Yeah, please, don’t get her started.” He snaps and I stick my lip out at him.
“Oh come on, Parker, let me tell her how he-”
Parker slammed his fist down on the counter. “Could you shut up about my best friend. I really don’t want to have nightmares about what you two did in the bushes. Just, eat your damn oatmeal.” I pick my spoon out of my now cold oatmeal and suppress the urge to laugh. Noel does the same, only she flips Parker the bird before grabbing hold of her spoon.
“You guys are up early.” The three of us turn to Nolan as he walks down the stairs. I hold my breath as he walks past Parker but when Nolan pats him on the back and walks straight to the fridge, the breath leaves my mouth with a whoosh. They chat about something I couldn’t care less about, Noel and I watching in confusion at their friendliness towards each other. Noel voices her confusion first.
“So, when did you two become best friends?” Nolan walks past her, pulling a strand of her hair before sitting in the stool next to her, a piece of bread hanging out of his mouth.
“Not like it’s any of your buisness, Noel.” He states, peeling the crust from the bread and dropping the pieces onto the counter.
“No, but it is mine.” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “A couple days ago, you hated his guts. What’s changed?” At the sink, Parker turns towards us, like he wants to know Nolan’s answer as much as Noel and I do. After finishing off his piece of bread, he sighs at the fact we’re all staring at him and shrugs. “I just figured that since you really like him I could try and be supportive of that and get over my feelings towards him. If he makes you happy, Sabe, then that makes me happy. I’m sorry for what I did. Really, I am.”
I smile. “Thank you.” Nolan winks at me, shoving the rest of the bread into his mouth and chewing.
“We talked last night, darlin’. No hard feelin’s. Right?”
Nolan nods. “Yeah, he’s actually kinda cool.” He says it like it’s shocking. Next to him, Noel smirks.
“Aw, do I smell a bromance?” His smile falling, Nolan picks a piece of crust up off the counter and throws it at her, the piece of bread falling into her mug of coffee when she tries to smack it away from her.
“I’m not a freaking goose.” She says, slapping his shoulder.
Nolan only laughs, holding his stomach. “Could of fooled me.” At this Noel’s mouth falls agape and she flips him off, lifting her mug up to her lips in an attempt to hide the redness that spreads across her cheeks.
After a few minutes of random conversation, Noel gives me an amused look before laying her arms down on the counter. “So Sable, how did you sleep last night? You two looked pretty comfy when I walked in.” I feel my cheeks flush when Nolan looks over to me, judging my with his eyes.
Parker grabs my hand under the table and squeezes it. “Well, Noel, unlike you I didn’t get laid last night.” Parker groans at the mention of it Motley and Noel's rendezvous and Nolan shakes his head, holding his hands up in the air.
“Who did you sleep with?” He asks Noel, confusion written all over his face.
“Not like it’s any of your business.” She retorts, using his own line on him. I chuckle, biting my lip to hide the smile that threatens to erupt across my face. Nolan glares at me before turning to Parker.
“Do you know what the hell is going on?”
“I wish I didn’t.”
“Who was it?”
Parker sighs. “My friend Motley.”
“He’s a real good kisser.” Noel says teasingly causing Parker to roll his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had decided to be a bad ass, Noel?” Nolan asks, turning his body completely towards her and leaning close. I watch Noel flush and stutter a response.
It wasn’t like I didn’t know that Noel had been in love with Nolan since we met. Everyone knew, except Nolan of course. Stupid boy had no clue.
Beside me Parker shifts in his seat for the umpteenth time. I squeeze his hand which makes him look over to me, discomfort obvious in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know. Something isn’t right.”
“What do you mean, Parker?” Noel and Nolan had stopped talking at this point and was now watching Parker shift in his seat again before running his hand over his face.
“I-I don’t know. Just, something’s wrong.” He grips my hand, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Something’s really wrong. I can feel it.”
The phone in Parker’s hand rings as soon as he unlocks it, Motley’s name popping up on the screen. He answers it without hesitation, tapping the screen and holding it to his ear. “Motley-”
Noel and Nolan’s eyes widen in unison at the screams coming from the other side of the line.
Motley’s screams.