Page 17 of Fixing Emilee

“Ms. Hill, if you leave school grounds with Mr. West, you will also be suspended for three days,” Mr. Clark warns behind me.

Parker spins me around, wrapping his free arm around my waist. His other one holds the bike up. “You can’t do that. I’m taking her to rest after what she just went through.”

“You are not authorized to do that, Mr. West….”

“Oh, for fucks sake. Go, Emilee,” Levi shouts.

“Yeah, go,” Tiffani says.

“I’ll see you in three days, Mr. Clark,” I say. Grabbing the helmet from Parker’s hand, he helps me pull it over my head. Once I’m settled behind him, I lean into his back, wrapping my arms around him to hold on. He brings one of my hands up to his lips, kissing it before settling it on his chest. I grab a fist full of his hoodie.

“Hold on, baby,” he says as we speed out of the parking lot.

I have no clue where we are going, and I don’t know if I care right now. I just thought I was dying at school, and now I feel like I’m flying, just like the bird Mr. Gold caught me staring at during my last therapy session. I was jealous of how free that bird looked, but here I am, feeling that freedom with the one my heart wants more than anything else. I watch as we head out of town, and the countryside comes into view. The scenery whips past us, but I’m at peace behind him. Pulling my hand from him, I raise the visor on the helmet, placing a very awkward kiss on his shoulder. His whole body shudders, and I try to squeeze my thighs. The bike’s vibration and Parker’s closeness are not helping my ache for him. My panties are soaked with my need for him. He pulls his left hand from the handlebars and rubs my thigh, letting me know he knows what is happening to my body.

“Don’t worry, Butterfly, I’ll take care of you when we get to where we are going. But first, we have to talk,” he says aloud, making sure I can hear him.That doesn’t help at all, asshole.

When he finally kills the engine, my butt is numb. Sitting in front of us is a yellow two-story house. Removing my hands from his chest is hard because it means the time to talk is here. He steps off the bike and turns around to help me get off. My phone vibrates in my pocket as I stand up. Pulling it out, the name on the screen says, dad. They bought themselves phones a few days ago, and I put my papa under dad. Yes, that much has changed. I’ve been calling him that this past week.

Pulling off the helmet, I swipe the green button to answer it. “Hello,” I say timidly because I don’t know what his mood will be like. I just left school, and now I guess I’m suspended for three days, so he has a right to be upset with me.

“Sweetie, I’ve been trying to call you for the last hour and a half. Where are you?” I don’t hear any anger in his voice, just worry. Opening my mouth to answer him, Parker’s hand shoots out in front of me, indicating he wants my phone. When I make no move to give it to him, he pulls it from my hands.

Never breaking eye contact, he brings it to his ear. “Mr. Hill. Hi, it’s Parker.” He says calmly like he didn’t just steal my phone and is best friends with my dad. I wish I had put it on speaker because then I could hear both sides of the conversation.

“Yes, sir. We’re in Cape at my old house. Yes, sir. She had what I assume was a panic attack, but she seems fine now. Of course. I’ll call you when we are headed back. Yes sir, thank you, here she is,” he says, holding my phone back toward me.

“Emilee, are you okay being with him?” Dad asks immediately.

“Yes, I am. Is that okay?”

“Yes, it is. We trust that boy. Listen to him, Emilee, and let him explain. Then listen to your heart. I know it has led you astray before, but you are stronger than you were even a week ago. You have therapy this afternoon, but I’ll call and reschedule it. We love you and will see you when you get home,” he says, hanging up on me before I can mutter a word.

Many things have changed since I’ve been home, but one thing has not, I pace when I talk on the phone. After putting my phone back in my pocket, I don’t turn around to face Parker. All the strength and braveness I had at school is gone. The hair on my neck stands up, and I feel Parker’s eyes on me. A shiver shakes my entire body from the heat of his eyes alone. Taking one last look at the woods in front of me, I turn around, facing the man that scares me. The ache that hasn’t left me since this morning intensifies as I drink him in, leaning up against the side of the porch with his left foot on the railing behind him, looking like a dark-haired Greek fucking god. I may be nervous, but I’m done denying that I want him. I crave his body, of course, but I also want to own his heart like he does mine.

I swallow around the lump that has formed in my throat, looking into his piercing blue eyes. “Hi, Parker.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Hi Parker. Those two little words are all it takes to set my soul on fire, making my heart feel complete for the first time in weeks. I swear if I wake up and this has all been a dream, I will be pissed. Reaching down, I pinch the shit out of my leg while closing my eyes. If I’m asleep, the pain will wake me before the dream continues breaking my heart even more. Fuck, that hurt. Opening my eyes, she is still standing in front of me with the woods I loved getting lost in as a child framing her. I waste no time launching toward her, eating up the distance in a few strides. She opens her arms, snaking them around my waist as I collide with her. Her head goes straight into the crook of my neck as I pull her as close as possible. All the broken pieces of my world slide back into place as her sweet scent surrounds me.

The longer I hold her, the more the world fades away. Her heart beats frantically in her chest to the point I can feel it, and I’m sure she can feel mine as well. A cold tear falls down my neck, making me pull back. Her cheeks are streaked with them. “Ah, Butterfly, don’t cry,” I say, wiping them from her beautiful face.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. Kissing her forehead, I lay mine against hers.

“Me too, baby. Me too.” I watch as she closes her eyes, releasing a breath.

“Why are we at your old house?” Our faces are so close that her lips brush mine, and I have to restrain myself from closing the distance. I feel like a starving man, and her lips would ease that ache, but there is so much we need to discuss before that can happen.

A sigh falls from my lips as I put more space between us instead of shortening it like I want to. “I might have lied to your papa,” I start, grabbing her hand and leading her toward the porch.

She pulls back on my hand, interrupting me, “Call him my dad, please.”

Looking over my shoulder, I offer her a smile watching as one graces her face. If she is comfortable calling him dad, that means they are healing as a family, and I couldn’t be happier for all of them. But now it’s our time to heal because I can’t keep living without my heart. “That’s new, but I’ll do anything for you. So, dad, it is. I lied to your dad. This isn’t my old house, well, not technically. This is Zak’s house. I didn’t know where to go, but I knew we needed to get far away from that town. This is the first place that I thought of.” Pulling out my key, unlocking the door, stepping back letting her enter first.

Once we’re inside, I relock the door. “The room I use is up the stairs, or would you feel more comfortable talking in the living room?” I point to the couch sitting off to our right.

“Your room is fine,” she replies.

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