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  “Parker, I like Nikki. I mean I really like her.”

  “You do?” Now I was beginning to wonder who the real ass was.

  “I’m not sure how Casey became a backdrop in all this, but really? Consider your source.”

  I leaned back against my headboard and scratched the top of my head. “But how did she know about Nikki ordering pizza and her dressing up?”

  “I have no clue. I only told Trent and Devin. Neither one of them can stand Casey, so neither one would have told her.”

  I jolted straight up at my epiphany. “Where did your conversation take place?”

  “At Trent’s house. Why?”

  Trent’s younger sister, Teagan, was a sophomore and a BDBS-in-training. No doubt she was nearby or eavesdropping when Boyd shared in his night event with his friends. Teagan probably reveled in her discovery and immediately called Casey.

  Oh that Casey sure was a sly little bitch. She had me convinced Boyd had boasted to his friends about Nikki’s attempt to flirt with him, only to make a fool of herself. That thought had my temper raging. Casey was messing with the wrong person. I didn’t have to do it now, but when she least expected it, revenge would be mine - and it would be sweet.

  “Teagan and Casey are tight,” I finally answered. “I’m just not sure why either one would care who you liked.”

  “Actually, I don’t think it has anything to do with me or Nikki.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “It’s you.”

  That response made my ears perk up. It was an edge-of- your-seat statement. “What’s me?”

  “Think about it, Parker. Casey hates your guts.”

  The feeling was mutual. Only I had more of a reason to hate her. She knew damn well Trent was taking my sister to prom, yet she stole him away. Deep down I knew Casey and Trent figured out it was me who vandalized his car.

  “And what better way to mess with your nemesis’ head, is to attack her best friend,” Boyd said.

  “I hate her.”

  “Who doesn’t? So Nikki likes me, right?”

  I laughed. “She adores you.”

  “You think she’d say yes if I ask her to homecoming?”

  Something squeaked in my ear and I prayed it wasn’t me who just squealed like a silly schoolgirl at the excitement of Boyd’s question. After all, it wasn’t me he was asking out…it was better than that.

  “There’s no doubt in my mind that Nikki would like nothing more.”

  “You’re not going to call her right now, are you?”

  I couldn’t contain my excitement for her. Of course I was going to call her, but it would be more dramatic if I allowed Boyd to call her first. “No. She’s all yours,” I said joyfully.

  “Thanks. So, you think you can give this ass her cell phone number?”

  Chapter 4

  How in the world was I expected to concentrate on homework with my mind straying elsewhere? I played out all the possible scenarios of the conversation Nikki could be having with Boyd. What he was saying, what she was saying. Holy crap, what if she wasn’t conversing whatsoever? Nikki was probably stumbling around a numb tongue. Omigod, I’ve never been so nervous!

  There was a knock at my door and I angled my head in confusion. No one ever knocked at my door. In fact, no one had visited my room since the day I moved in. I was baffled when I responded, “Come in?”

  Emily poked her head in and asked, “Do you have a minute?”

  “I guess.”

  The concerned expression on Emily’s face was disheartening. The blood drained from my face at her appearance. The night she told me Dad passed away came rushing into my memory. It was a night that still tapped dance in my head every night before I went to sleep. For the first few months, I’d cry myself to sleep. But now my body just goes numb, and I learned to program my brain to think about my future. Things like college, being a photographer for a high-profiled magazine and marrying someone famous.

  Since I didn’t see any visible pools of tears in Emily’s eyes, I was able to calm my labored breathing. Although, one of her demeanors stuck out like a sore thumb…the intimidation in Emily’s stature. She wasn’t standing straight with confidence or the audacity that matched her personality. Instead her shoulders were slouched and she was staring down at the carpet. I’d never seen her that vulnerable before.

  Emily was still wearing her white uniform from beauty school. And she reeked of perm solution. The stench had my eyes watering and my gag reflex working over-time. She actually smelled like a cat‘s litter box.

  “Parker, can I have your word that you won’t get mad by what I have to say?”

  “Sure, in exchange you burn that stinky uniform. You’re killing me.

  “Promise me, Parker.” Emily sat on the edge of my bed and her body convulsed. “Promise on our dad’s grave you won’t pummel me.”

  “Emily, you’re scaring the beejezus out of me. I promise. Now, what the hell is going on?”

  “Trent just called me.”

  I’d have to Google how many different shades of red existed in the Crayola dictionary, but I’d stake my extensive Snow Globe collection my face displayed each of those colors. If Emily blurted out she still had feelings for him, I’d have to drum up an intervention plan. And the only detoxing ritual that came to mind would be to dunk her head in the toilet. Was she a freaking retard?

  I clenched my jaw and grinded my teeth together. I felt my nostrils flare wider than those hippie jeans from the seventies. I believe they were called bell-bottoms. I promised not to get mad though, so I held my breath when I spoke. “And?”

  “Why would you want to date him?”

  “What?” I didn’t know if my brain registered her correctly.

  “I thought you despised Trent?”

  “Emily, did you take your sleeping pill already? Are you sleepwalking?”

  “It’s four o’clock in the afternoon, Parker,” she huffed. “Trent called me looking for your number. He’s bad news and you know it. I don‘t want you getting involved with him.”

  The pieces of the puzzle came together and it all fit. Boyd provided the corners and outer layer when he said it would be best not to reveal how he attained my cell phone number. And now Emily just filled in the missing pieces to complete the mystery. No doubt Trent braved the call to help his buddy out. It was a gutsy move on his part.

  “Awe, you do care about me,” I teased.

  “He’s a schmuck and he’ll play you like a fiddle. Don’t forget what he did to me!”

  “Then why would you give him my number?”

  Emily fell over sideways, burying her face in my pink and brown polka dot comforter. “Because he has that much of a hold on me still. How pathetic am I?” she moaned.

  “Okay, first off Em…stop drooling on my bed.” Emily sat up, wiping smeared lip gloss off her chin. “Secondly, Trent never called me. He got the number for Boyd Canton, so Boyd could call Nikki.”

  “Really? Boyd likes Nikki?” Emily grinned. It was the strangest sight, but her eyes smiled as well. “They’d be so adorable together. What did Nikki have to say?”

  My cell phone was sitting idle next to me. I picked it up in hopes it would expedite Nikki’s call. “I’m still waiting for her to call me. I guess they’re still talking.”

  So I hoped. There was still that uncomfortable jittering in my belly, worried Nikki was stuttering through her conversation and on the verge of tears for making a fool of herself.

  It then hit me. Nikki wasn’t shy and was quite the conversationalist. She even talked her way out of a speeding ticket last month. Her insecurities only surfaced around Boyd.

  Nikki truly did like Boyd.

  “So, you’re not interested in Trent?” Emily asked me.

  I could only sneer at her query. “Hell no! He’s Spam. I should have done more than flatten his tires after what he did to you.”

  “Take a deep breath, Parker. You’re getting all worked up over nothing.”

  E
mily was right. I needed to take a step back and chill. Why was I always so angry? More importantly, why did I feel compelled to protect my family and friends and seek revenge on those who mistreated them? Hey, my own breakthrough. I should charge myself a few hundred dollars for that session. I get it now.

  “Emily, are you afraid of me because of my temper?”

  “A little. It’s like walking on eggshells with you.”

  “Sorry. I’m not sure why I’m like that. But did you really think I was going to pummel you for being concerned over my well being with Trent?”

  She shrugged her shoulders with palms up. “Well, sort of.”

  “Dork!” I laughed. I leaned forward and shoved her in the shoulders, sending her backwards off my bed. I laughed even harder.

  Emily rebounded off the floor and threw her body on top of mine. “I smell? Well take a huge whiff of this!”

  She jammed her sleeve up my nose and rubbed it across my face. I was laughing and gagging at the same time. I was being deprived of oxygen from hysterical laughter, so much that tears were streaming down the sides of my face.

  In self-defense I yanked the sock off my right foot and covered her face and nose with it. “Oh god!” Emily’s cry was muffled, but I could still hear her. “Don’t you ever change your socks?”

  “Stop it! Stop fighting!”

  I craned my neck past Emily and saw Mariah standing in my doorway. Her pouted lips quivered, and I realized she thought Emily and I were honestly in combat mode. I glared over at Emily with a devious grin, and when she nodded her head I knew she had read my mind.

  The bewildered expression on Mariah’s face when Emily and I slithered towards her was cosmic. She was oblivious to what was happening, or what was about to transpire. The poor thing.

  I had to fight tooth and nail to remain serious and not burst out in a hyena cackle. It was crucial for me not to glance over at Emily, for I knew if I did, our formulated telepathic plan would be blown.

  When we reached our victim, Emily grabbed a hold of Mariah’s right arm, and I wrapped my arm around her left side. We hoisted Mariah off her feet and carried her over to my bed with her kicking and screaming to let her go. Mariah caught onto our plan the second we held her hostage.

  “No!” she cried out already laughing. “You’re going to make me pee my pants!”

  I pinned Mariah down on my bed as Emily began the tickle torture. “That’s the plan, Stan!” I laughed, tickling Mariah on her neck. She hated that.

  “I mean it, stop!” Mariah begged. “I’m too old to wet myself.”

  Emily sat in a pondering position with her hand resting under her chin. “What do you think Parker? Should we stop? I mean Mariah is too old to wet herself.”

  “Hmm…seems we have quite the conundrum on our hands. Mom might ground her if she tinkles in her panties.”

  “So we should stop then?”

  “Hell no! Slap a pair of Depends on the girl. No mercy!”

  “Yes ma’am.” Emily saluted and continued to tickle Mariah.

  “Sweet!” Nikki screeched. “The Tickle Torture. You guys haven’t done that in like, forever. I’m in!”

  “No, Nikki. Save me, please!”

  I yanked Mariah off my bed. “You’re so lucky Nikki is here. Everyone out.”

  “But I want to hear about Boyd,” Emily whined.

  “What about Boyd?” Mariah asked, fixing her hair.

  Nikki was blushing. From the way she was dancing around, I thought she was the one about to wet herself. “I’ll tell you all about it over dinner.”

  “Dinner?” I wasn’t able to determine if Nikki was inviting us to dinner, or if she was dining with us.

  “Your mom invited me for pot roast. This day just keeps getting better and better,” Nikki cooed.

  Mother made pot roast? Why hadn’t I noticed any slow cooker when I snacked earlier? Guess my thoughts were engaged elsewhere…like on Nikki. And I certainly wouldn’t have wafted in the aroma considering my mother bathed the house with those plug-ins. The second you stepped over the threshold, you were greeted by the scent of lavender and vanilla.

  Mom was always so inundated with shopping and herself in general; dinner was usually whatever my sisters and I whipped up for ourselves. We had different schedules, so we ate at different times and different meals. Heck, we hadn’t assembled around the dinner table since Dad died.

  When the four of us entered the dining room, Mom had everyone’s place settings evenly proportioned, with a tall glass of milk next to our plates. Not only had she prepared a wonderful dinner, she managed to sneak in salon time. Her hair had the renewed salon shimmer and her nails were freshly manicured.

  Holy crap, did she have a date? I quickly counted the number of place settings. Five. Whew! I’d end up in anger management again if there were six. Nikki took a seat at the head of the table and my heart sank. The last person to sit in that chair was my father.

  Emily bit at her lower lip and Mariah’s eyes glazed over. I didn’t dare peek over at my mother’s expression, fearful I would lose my appetite completely.

  Nikki peered up and I could see life drain from her face. “I’m so sorry. Should I sit next to Parker?”

  “You’re fine, dear,” my mother replied, smiling softly.

  “What’s the occasion, Mom?” Emily asked, forking a piece of meat in her mouth.

  “Nothing special. I figured since all you girls were home tonight, we could have a family meal.”

  “It’s so yum,” I said, and wondered if I appeared carnivorous with the way I was inhaling my food.

  “I second that,” Nikki chimed in. “Thanks for inviting me, Mrs. Collins.”

  I turned my attention to Nikki, although it wasn’t easy with me being in pot roast heaven. “Well Nikki, what happened with Boyd? Spill it girl!”

  All eyes shifted to Nikki. Her eyes widened at the mention of his name. It was cute. She swallowed a potato before speaking. “He called my cell phone and I thought it was Parker at first, so I was like, hey what’s going on my BFF?”

  Emily giggled. “I bet you caught him off guard by your greeting.”

  “No! He caught me off guard when I heard a male voice respond by asking if Parker would be mad if he was my new BFF.”

  “Always the jokester,” I said with a chuckle.

  “It made me laugh, and I’m so grateful he started off the conversation like that. If he just said he was Boyd I would have soiled myself. He asked if I had a date for homecoming yet.”

  That sounded like Boyd. Straight to the chase and cut out the bull crap. He probably was the type who cuts the crusts off a sandwich in order to devour the heart of the meat quicker.

  “Nikki, that’s wonderful,” Mom clapped, obviously elated. I knew what was coming next but it was too late to excuse myself. “Has anyone asked you yet, Parker?”

  Ugh. “No. I couldn’t imagine anyone who’d want to.” Did I just cut myself down?

  “Well, if you wouldn’t dress like a tomboy maybe you’d get asked out more,” Mom huffed.

  Great, add another flaw to my list. There was just no pleasing the woman. After seventeen years, now she decided to be vocal about my choice of apparel? Okay, so, I mainly wore T-shirts and jeans to school. How did that classify me as a tomboy? I actually waited for her to ask me if I was a lesbian.

  Mariah was quick to jump in. “I’m sure she’ll get asked very soon.”

  “Wayne Stevenson already asked her,” Nikki said laughing.

  “Gross!” Emily made a sour face. “Stalker Stevenson asked you out?”

  Every school had a popular nerd. Wayne knew everyone, and everyone knew of him. Wayne was the typical geek who wore over-sized reading glasses. He washed his hair maybe twice a week, which was probably the reason for his zit-riddled complexion. He was nice, but in an annoying fashion. I did my best to dodge him in the halls, only he always managed to catch up to me and ask hundreds of questions of how I was, what I did over the weekend, and if he coul
d study with me.

  “I kindly turned him down.”

  Mom put down her fork and wiped the sides of her mouth. “Maybe you should rethink your answer. It’s better to go with Wayne, than not at all.”

  What the heck was her deal? “I’ll be at Homecoming with or without a date.”

  “Why would you want to embarrass yourself by going stag, Parker?”

  I could no longer refrain from holding back my anger. She had no clue when to take a step back. It was at that shining moment I realized she was the culprit behind my standoffish behavior. “Date or no date, I’m the school photographer and I must be there. Do you know anything about me?”

  “How can I, Parker? You’ve never let me into your life.”

  And for good reasons, too. Why would I allow such a negative person into my life? My mother knows no kind words with me. She only ridicules and belittles me in front of my best friend and sisters. I hated her. I know hate is a very strong word. But I actually hated her.

  Poor Nikki. I knew I had placed her in an uncomfortable position, but I was actually glad to have her witness firsthand how my mother constantly picked on me. Nikki insisted it was just my imagination.

  “Are there more carrots and potatoes, Mom?” Emily interrupted.

  “Help yourself, dear.”

  Emily gets a response with terms of endearment. I get a bashing. I simply didn’t get it. “We should go to the mall tomorrow after school and look for dresses,” I said to Nikki.

  “Dress?” Nikki had the deer in the headlights look. “I don’t know Parker. I’m too fat for a dress.”

  Everyone at the table disagreed.

  “Nikki Rose Chesney, you are the most beautiful and vivacious woman at Mason High. I’d sell my soul to the devil to have your curves,” I scolded.

  Nikki pouted. “That’s sacrilegious. You really don’t mean that.”

  “It’s a figure of speech. But I’d kill for your body. I mean, look at me.” I stood up and turned sideways. “I’m a freaking stick figure.”

  Mariah choked on her milk and some milk snots shot out of her nose. “Oh my god, I