“Yeah?” I could see that. Everett was a little like Parker that way. “Not me. I was taller than everyone from preschool on up. And I waspopular.”
Ev’s eyebrows went up at that and I grinned. “I know, right? Hard to believe. Ginger-haired giant, freckled as fuck, but I played baseball, and kids around here have low standards for what’s impressive, I guess.”
“Or they have normal standards. And you met them. Because you’re a decent human.”
I shrugged. “If you say so. You know, it’s funny. I had a ton offriends, but I didn’t have anyone I could talk to about anythingreal. My sister Molly, a bit, but that was different. And then I met Parker.” I smiled at the memory. “He was two years younger than me, a year younger than Molls, but he stood up for her when this little punk was saying shit and got himself knocked down for his trouble.” I shook my head. “He was never one to start a fight, you know? But once he was in it, he wasin it.”
“And let me guess. You beat up the kid who knocked Parker down?”
“Not exactly. But… kinda.” I pulled my knees up to my chest and looped my arms around them.
“You protected him.”
“I tried.”
“And you were best friends ever after.”
I nodded. “Until we weren’t. We, ah, started dating a couple weeks after my sister died.” I looked at Ev, and he nodded. He was a little too familiar with the details of my sister’s death.
“I’d already graduated, oh… a year and a bit before that, I guess. I was working at the diner, saving pennies, taking care of my dad. He’d gotten hurt at work a year or so before, and he lost his job,” I explained. “And Parker… he was my lifeline. He got me thinking about the future again when I’d kinda stopped caring. He’d always liked cooking and so had I, and we were gonna open a restaurant someday. Together.”
“Reeeally.”
I gave him a small smile. “Anyway, we started dating and his parents werenothappy.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard this. They didn’t like O’Leary?”
“They thought Parker deserved more than he could have here. Small restaurant, small town, small life. Did you know that with his test scores, he could have gotten into nearlyanyschool? I’m talking Ivy League here. And he could’ve studied just about anything he wanted. Business. Pre-med. Anything. But he kept saying he just wanted to be here. With me. And run a restaurant. Like he owed it to me.”
“I donotlike where this story is going, Jameson.” Everett’s voice held a warning note. “Tell me you didnot—”
“Oh, I did. Yep. His mom came into the diner one day.Beatrice. She told me she knew I loved Parker, but really, was loveenough?How long would it last? And we were bothsoyoung.Tooyoung, really. We were making decisions before we gave ourselves a chance to figure out what we wanted.”
“And you told her, ‘Fuck you, lady.Parker and I know what we’re doing so mind your own damn business.’Right?”
“Actually… yeah. I kinda did. But then I got to thinking about it. And, you know, she had a point, Ev. She did. We were kids.Small-townkids, at that. What the hell did we know about what else there was out there? And I knewIcouldn’t leave here. Not with my dad so sick, so I thought… what would happen if we broke up? Would Parker still want to live in this small town, running a restaurant? Or would he go off to Boston?”
“Jameson,” Everett groaned. “You’re like every sappy movie I have everhatedall rolled into one.If I love it, I’ll set it free.” He made a gagging noise.
“Yep. Yeah. That’s what Parker said too, when he found out. Which was yesterday, by the way.” I cut my eyes to him.
“God.” Ev looked at the ceiling. “Of course it was.Of course.You couldn’t have told him about thisright away,like a normal human? Or even when he came back to O’Leary? You couldn’t have engaged in dialogue? Trusted what he said? None of that? No? You had to be all strong and silent? Didn’t this happen inTwilight?”
“How the hell would I know?” I gave him a look. “For that matter, how the hell doyouknow?”
Ev lifted one slim shoulder. “Pop culture exists, Jameson. It’s athing.”
“If you say so. DidTwilightend with the guy running off to Boston?”
“Mmm. No, pretty sure she became a vampire.”
“So what you’re saying is that this is in no way similar toTwilight?”
“Alright, alright.” Ev waved this away. “So you were being all stupidly noble,and?”
I sighed. “And it seemed like the right idea, Everett. It did. Even now… I dunno. It doesn’t seem entirelywrong. Except…”
“Except?”
