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Authors: Melanie Munton
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turning one last time to look at the necklace that he made hanging around my neck, smiled at me again, and then walked out.
I liked Parker again.
And that was when the crush that had quickly morphed into an infatuation started.
I wore the necklace almost every day after that. And he always smiled when he saw it. After that day, it didn’t matter if he teased me like Clay did. I knew that he didn’t really mean it. He was trying to act like all the other big kids. Because of that, I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to tell anyone that he had made me a necklace. So, I didn’t. I let everyone assume that I made it myself.
It was the first of many secrets that we shared together.
I walked over to my camera bag that lay on my bed and opened the inside zipper of the main compartment. My fingers touched the plastic pieces and I pulled out the necklace.
The same necklace that he had made me all those years ago.
I’d kept it with me all this time. Had stowed it away in that camera bag, had taken it with me on every photo shoot I had ever been on.
So that Parker was with me wherever I went.
Just like he had once promised that he would be.
I had thought about throwing it away in college one time and finally being done with him, pushing him out of my life completely. But I never could. It may not have been healthy to hold onto something so precious to me but also something that represented someone who had brought me so much pain and misery.
This was Parker, though.
And I couldn’t just throw him away.
But I wasn’t sure that a necklace could make me so easily forgive him now. Because it wasn’t a mere jewelry kit he had destroyed this time.
It was my heart.
Chapter Six
Kinley
I couldn’t sleep.
It was the same as any other night that I stayed in this house, whether Parker was here or not. Because no matter how hard I tried, being back in this house always reminded me of him and the memories I wanted to forget. Without fail.
It didn’t matter that we hadn’t said more than two sentences to each other since he arrived. It was like he was in my blood. Which made it nearly impossible to get a good night’s rest. I quietly crept out of my room and tip-toed down the hall to the bathroom. It was around midnight and everyone else was asleep, so I tried to be quiet.
Clay and Gwen had opted to stay the night, rather than go back to his place since tomorrow was Christmas. We usually had a tradition of having a big Christmas breakfast before we opened gifts. Of course, that meant that Parker was also staying the night. He occupied the guestroom across the hall from my bedroom. And when I snuck out of my room, I didn’t see the light on beneath the door which relieved me.
I shut myself in the bathroom and did my business, hoping that might help me get to sleep. Then, I saw Parker’s toothbrush on the bathroom counter and I had to curse myself for once again letting my mind be consumed by him.
It was pretty sad when all it took was a damn toothbrush.
My reflection taunted me in the mirror, asking me why I let a man affect me this way. When had I become so weak? When had I started to let my happiness be dictated by one person?
Too damn long ago.
But I didn’t want to be that woman. Parker wasn’t mine, he was never mine. And it was a complete waste of my time to pine over him and dwell on the fact that he never wanted me.
I’m stronger than that, dammit.
I took a deep breath and nodded at myself in the mirror. I was a successful, highly sought-after photographer, who had been all over the world and captured some of the most beautiful images you could ever see.
I had already dealt with heartbreak.
I could deal with one man.
The bathroom door creaked loudly as I opened it to head back to my room, making me cringe. There was no movement in the hallway, so I assumed that I hadn’t woken anyone up.
Dad had installed lights along the hallway floor years ago, so I didn’t have to feel my way back to my
I liked Parker again.
And that was when the crush that had quickly morphed into an infatuation started.
I wore the necklace almost every day after that. And he always smiled when he saw it. After that day, it didn’t matter if he teased me like Clay did. I knew that he didn’t really mean it. He was trying to act like all the other big kids. Because of that, I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to tell anyone that he had made me a necklace. So, I didn’t. I let everyone assume that I made it myself.
It was the first of many secrets that we shared together.
I walked over to my camera bag that lay on my bed and opened the inside zipper of the main compartment. My fingers touched the plastic pieces and I pulled out the necklace.
The same necklace that he had made me all those years ago.
I’d kept it with me all this time. Had stowed it away in that camera bag, had taken it with me on every photo shoot I had ever been on.
So that Parker was with me wherever I went.
Just like he had once promised that he would be.
I had thought about throwing it away in college one time and finally being done with him, pushing him out of my life completely. But I never could. It may not have been healthy to hold onto something so precious to me but also something that represented someone who had brought me so much pain and misery.
This was Parker, though.
And I couldn’t just throw him away.
But I wasn’t sure that a necklace could make me so easily forgive him now. Because it wasn’t a mere jewelry kit he had destroyed this time.
It was my heart.
Chapter Six
Kinley
I couldn’t sleep.
It was the same as any other night that I stayed in this house, whether Parker was here or not. Because no matter how hard I tried, being back in this house always reminded me of him and the memories I wanted to forget. Without fail.
It didn’t matter that we hadn’t said more than two sentences to each other since he arrived. It was like he was in my blood. Which made it nearly impossible to get a good night’s rest. I quietly crept out of my room and tip-toed down the hall to the bathroom. It was around midnight and everyone else was asleep, so I tried to be quiet.
Clay and Gwen had opted to stay the night, rather than go back to his place since tomorrow was Christmas. We usually had a tradition of having a big Christmas breakfast before we opened gifts. Of course, that meant that Parker was also staying the night. He occupied the guestroom across the hall from my bedroom. And when I snuck out of my room, I didn’t see the light on beneath the door which relieved me.
I shut myself in the bathroom and did my business, hoping that might help me get to sleep. Then, I saw Parker’s toothbrush on the bathroom counter and I had to curse myself for once again letting my mind be consumed by him.
It was pretty sad when all it took was a damn toothbrush.
My reflection taunted me in the mirror, asking me why I let a man affect me this way. When had I become so weak? When had I started to let my happiness be dictated by one person?
Too damn long ago.
But I didn’t want to be that woman. Parker wasn’t mine, he was never mine. And it was a complete waste of my time to pine over him and dwell on the fact that he never wanted me.
I’m stronger than that, dammit.
I took a deep breath and nodded at myself in the mirror. I was a successful, highly sought-after photographer, who had been all over the world and captured some of the most beautiful images you could ever see.
I had already dealt with heartbreak.
I could deal with one man.
The bathroom door creaked loudly as I opened it to head back to my room, making me cringe. There was no movement in the hallway, so I assumed that I hadn’t woken anyone up.
Dad had installed lights along the hallway floor years ago, so I didn’t have to feel my way back to my
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