"So wake me up when it's all over. When I'm wiser and I'm older. All this time I was finding myself and I didn't know I was lost."
-Wake Me Up, Avicii.
.
"For the last time, Donte, square your shoulder more." I say, very tired. It has been a long week. Between having exams this week, basketball coaching, and sleeping, me and Parker haven't been able to do anything else yet. To be honest I was a little lonely this week with all the studying by myself. Parker had given me a taste of companionship and I didn't want the taste to end.
It was drugging.
He was drugging.
The bell rings. "Alright, boys, you know what that means, practice over, go home. Don't forget practice on Monday! We have our first game on Thursday!" Coach yells at them. He nods at me and I go to the changing rooms. I change back into normal clothes and sigh as I walk out.
"Boo!" Parker yells as I exit the locker rooms. I don't jump. I blankly stare at him.
"Not in the mood." I say emotionlessly and brush past him.
"It's like when I take a step with you, we take two steps back?" he says in a confused tone.
"No, no, I'm just tired. Studying, coaching, homework, an 1000 worded essay." I grumble.
"Thhhaaaaaattttt sucks, but guess what I got?" He asks, holding up a bottle with a wooden cork and a bunch of paper and a pen. "Come on." He says with a smile. I follow him to his car and sigh as my back hits the comfortable leather seat.
"Get it out." He says, plopping the stack of paper on my laps and handing me the pen.
Dear everybody and nobody,
Hey stranger. Wow, the term suddenly has a new meaning to me. I don't know who you are, but thanks for reading this little fun thing here. Trust me, it wont be fun, in fact this is going to be depressing, because I'm going to tell you the story of my life.
So let's take it all the way back to when I was a wee fetus. My mother died giving birth to me. My brother had been 17. My dad was so angry and blind with grief that he blamed it on me, so he left. I have yet to see him since, though he's tried contacting me.
So, my 17 year old brother grew up sooner than I wish he'd had to. He raised me, paid for my schooling, had about three steady jobs to pay for his own schooling along with paying apartment rent and food and bills. When his schooling was up, he got a call one day from a company named Rolex. He'd on a bet applied to be a model, and he didn't expect to get it because it was a joke, but he did. He is now known as the model Ty Smith. Pretty famous. He's happily married to his wife, Sally, who just got pregnant. He says when modelling starts to fail, he's going to become a basketball coach - what he'd studied for.
Have the camera shoot to me as an awkward teenager in high school that didn't quite suit her long legs yet and had a bad case of acne. (Luckily I filled in and my legs suit me, and my acne is cleared. It gets better, people... At least, that's what I thought...)
My only friends were an Asian girl named Sue and Melinda Compton. Melinda was very popular. She was perfection in its finest form, she was very kind, beautiful, got attention from men, with flowing blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes... You couldn't help but want to be her friend.
See, she'd done a lot with her life. I mean a lot. It included 50 things that she'd told me about that I'd written down as things I should find out what are like someday.
One week she was at a party. She found her best friend and her boyfriend hooking up. She'd been so in love with that boy, she told me it physically hurt. They called her names afterwards. She'd begun to have depression, which didn't suit her at all.
We'd begun talking a lot, and became very close friends. The day I was going to confront her about having painfully obvious depression was the day she committed suicide. I take the blame. I was too late. I should have helped sooner than I did.
Have the camera shoot to me for three years numbly walking the halls, depressed myself, contemplating suicide myself for something so terrible. When your best friend dies, you die. Understand that and pray it never happens.
I'd become even more anti-social.
Now have the camera shoot to about 2 weeks ago, when I'd decided to visit Starbucks. Where I dropped my list of things that she'd done that I never had. When the popular boy decided to help me succeed in completing the list.
For the first time in a long time I'm feeling what its like to live. Adrenaline is incredible, let me tell you. Try riding a roller coaster before going to a Coachella show. It's worth it.
That's it.
But I wonder what's to come when the list is complete.
Guess I'll find out.
Thanks for listening.
Bye.
"That's a long letter. What's it say?" He asks, trying to look. I fold it a few times.
"Nothing. Everything." I mumble before taking the bottle from his hands and putting it in there.
"A mystery. Come on, I wanna know." He says with a smile.
"I'll tell you another time." I mumble. His smile fades slowly and he takes the paper and the pen before writing himself. I look out the window, staring at the ducks as they swim by lazily. I see a seagull starts swooping to the ground to the direction of the baby ducks. Instantly I open my door and jump out as the seagull tries grabbing at one of the babies. I rip off my jacket and my shoes and jump in, swimming over to the duck that it bit. I pick it up, and the other ducks go away from me from fright.
"Poor baby. I'll help you." I whisper to the little yellow thing quietly upon seeing it have a little blood. Its also very dirty. I struggle swimming back and Parker helps me out of the water. The seagull is gone luckily. He grab my stuff, throwing them in the back of the car, and grabbing a blanket before wrapping it around my shoulders. I take my jacket and lightly place the baby duck inside to keep it warm. It stares up at me.
"Why'd you do that?" Parker asks as he closes the glass bottle and chucks it into the ocean.
"Because I didn't want it to die." I mumble as I sit in the seat. "Can you drive to a vet's office please?" I ask softly. He looks over and smiles.
"Of course.. You know, you sell yourself short, I think. You're an amazing person." He states. A bubbling feel erupts in my stomach and I smile down at the baby duck.
"Maybe I can keep you, like they did in Friends." I suggest. It opens its mouth and a little sound comes out. "Awww oh my god you're so cute." I coo, petting its little head with one finger.
"You should name it." Parker suggests.
"If your a boy, Jordan, if your a girl, Addy." I murmur.
"Really? Jordan and Adidas?" Parker asks, laughing. I nod.
"Best shoes ever."
We pull into a little vets place and I walk in awkwardly. People's eyes widen upon a drenched girl coming in with a baby duck in her hands who's little baby neck is bleeding. "Hi, I just saved this little duck from a seagull that was attacking it, and it's neck is bleeding." I tell her. The woman nods and writes something down.
"Take a seat and we'll be with you soon." She says with a smile. I hand the jacket with the baby duck, and he smiles down at it. What a sight.
"I have a set of your clothes on my backseat." Parker tells me. My eyes widen, and I step back once. "Chill! I was going to push you in the lake as a prank.. Didn't work."He mutters. I laugh and make my way outside. I get in his backseat and change in there. The dude had the nerve to touch my undergarments.. ooh he's dead.
Worst thing is, he grabbed a pair of black, lacy satin underwear and its matching bra. He couldn't grab a normal cotton set? He had to go for the lingerie? The nerve of men these days, I swear.
I pull on the black leggings, gray t-shirt and olive green bomber jacket he had put back here and I laugh once as I pull on my shoes.
He's dead.
I step out, feeling a lot better. I make my way in to see a man carefully taking the duck, and a little girl 'aww'ing. We follow the man in because they said we could.
They wind up shaving a little part of his cute little yellow fur so they can see. Not bad, just needs a little patch. They give him a dawn bath and put the little patch on him. I pay for the expenses and take the little thing back.
"Hey, by any chance is it a he or a she?" I ask. The doctor smiles at me.
"He."
"Thank you." I say before walking towards the door. Someone stops me. I look over to see an old woman holding an old cat.
"Bless you for saving the little one's life." She says. I smile and nod, thanking her before walking out. Parker has a smile on his face.
"Always an interesting day where you're concerned." He says. I laugh.
"Up for more shopping?"
.
.
"Mm. I don't know. I think sea foam is just a little too... eh.. The aqua one is better anyways." He says as we look at fabric. I know how to sew, so I'm going to make little sweaters.
"We need other colors than just aqua, Parker. Jordan doesn't need to be ridiculed for wearing the same thing every day. Plus, red looks good too." I say while I put some red and aqua fabric in the cart on his arm. Jordan squawks in my arms. "Ooh little beige sweaters." I coo as I grab some beige fabric.
"Ooh black." Parker says, grabbing some. I nod. "Maybe some navy blue too?" He offers, holding it up. I nod.
Luckily, I already have a sewing machine at the apartment.
"I think we're good." I say, grabbing double of each color we'd picked out for when he starts to grow. We check out and chat as we get back to the car. Soon enough, we're at Walmart looking at baby things.
"I think we should go with the aqua colored crib."
"Goddammit, Parker, not everything has to be aqua!" I exclaim. I see a family eyeing us, stopping just to watch. Jordan quacks in my arms. I hold him up. "Oh I'm sorry baby. Me and daddy are just fighting on which crib to buy you. Your gonna be a spoiled little baby, yeah." I say softly, nuzzling my nose into his neck. He's so soft.
"Think about it, aqua is the color of the sea and the sea is where he comes from so he'll be more comfortable." He says. I sigh.
"Fine." I let up. He smiles and grabs two of the cribs. We're splitting expenses here because we're both buying two of everything. I grab a stray bib that has a duck on it. I toss it in. Jordan rests in my left hand. "We need sturdy strollers, not plastic toy ones." I tell him. He nods and we go down the isle. I get a black stroller and he of course gets the color closest to aqua. We both buy a kitty pool each.
"Awe, honey, look." I hear a woman whisper. I turn slightly and see an old woman pointing at us. "They're having a family and preparing." She gushes. I smile at her, and hold up Jordan, who quacks at them. The old man bursts into laughter as his wife jumps in shock.
"We already are a family." I tell her with a smile. "Adopted." I state. Technically we did. We went to the ASPCA and got forms and everything. Luckily, our apartment building lets animals allowed. We continue.
His car is basically filled, and he calls up a few of his friends to help unload seeing as I'm not just going to set Jordan down on the street while we unpack.
We get my half of the stuff out and they bring it inside. Parker shuts the car trunk and follows in.
When we all come in, Laney looks shocked as hell.
"What..?" She trails off. I walk up to her.
"This is Jordan, mine and Parker's baby duck whom I saved from a malicious seagull. I have custody on weekdays, he gets him Fridays through to Monday morning." I inform her. She looks at me like I'm insane before reaching out and petting him. She smiles and shakes her head.
"You... I'm not even going to comment anymore." She says before going to her room. I have the guys take the stuff into my room.
Like said, apartment is big, so we have no trouble adjusting furniture to where my bed is in one corner, the crib is in the other, the kitty pool is leaning against the wall beside the crib, and the stroller is propped up against the wall. I set Jordan in the little bed and he quacks before laying down.
"Thanks guys." I say to the boys and grabbing my bags of material. I go to the little table with the sewing kit and get to work as Parker and the guys' talk. Parker takes a picture of Jordan, saying this is going to get - and I quote - a bunch of chicks.
"We are not using my child as a babe magnet." I pipe as I finish the first mini sweater to fit the ducks' body. Leg holes, wing holes check, backside missing any fabric because I'd rather not have little duck feces stains on the sweater, and I pick up Jordan. Parker helps me put it on him, and I smile as I put him back in. He takes another picture.
I continue to make duck sweaters and slowly, one by one, Parker's friends leave. Parker lays on my bed with a smile on his face as he stares at the ceiling.
"Life has been more amusing since we met." He states. I look over at him.
"Likewise." I reply, accidentally nicking my finger. I hiss in pain for a second, sucking the blood before going back to the sweater before I mess it up.
After I'm done with that one, I shut the machine down. 11 little sweaters. I give him 6 of them, making sure to give him mixed colors. He smiles.
He stands, saying he needs to sleep before the game tomorrow, and I lead him out.
I lean against the door, watching him walk away.
"Hey, Ally?" He asks, turning around for a second. "Thanks." He says.
"For what?" I ask, slightly confused.
"For making it less lonely for me."
AMAZING COVERS MADE BY qualifiedbitch
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How twas chapter 5?
What did you think of her letter? Do you think you'd blame yourself too?
Do you like Jordan?
Do you think Jordan will benefit in their friendship?
XoXo
-Elisia