Page 35 of Surrender
In a relationship where I’d just let someone take over and dictate what I wore, where we ate, or who I could interact with.
I’d always found my relationship with Parker easy because he took the lead.
But now, it was starting to feel like I was losing a part of myself in the process.
“Excuse me,” a sweet voice whispered, and I looked up to find a young waitress standing nervously at the door to the restroom. She was fiddling with the small apron tied around her waist, twisting it tightly in her fingers. “Are you here with Parker Carrington?”
I released a heavy sigh. “I am.”
“You didn’t look that happy at dinner,” she said, letting the words hang in the air.
I huffed out a laugh. “If you’re looking to ask him out…”
It wouldn’t be the first time a girl had confirmed with me that we were dating, even offering to take him off my hands.
At the time, I was shocked.
Now, though, I’d almost pay someone to take my place.
The waitress glanced out the door one last time before hurrying closer to me, a sense of urgency suddenly taking over. “That’s not it. I just wanted to say that I think you need tobe careful,” she warned, swallowing hard before she continued, “One of my friends was a waitress here. Parker came in all the time last year, flirting with her and tipping her a lot of money. They dated for a month or so and then one night she showed up at my place crying, saying she had to break up with him because he was getting too intense.”
Chills.
They shot up my spine like bolts of lightning.
I already knew what was coming.
“Then she just stopped coming to work, stopped answering everyone’s calls, and her apartment was cleaned out. That was over a year ago,” she explained, her eyes flicking between the door and me. She was anxious. Scared maybe. And I was beginning to understand why. “I know it sounds crazy, but she’s not the type of girl who would just go off-grid like Parker told everyone she did. She has amazing parents and a twin sister. They were inseparable.”
“Her parents haven’t heard from herat all?” I questioned, wiping my hands on my dress because my palms had begun to sweat.
The waitress shifted nervously. “Um, I think they said they get emails every now and then, just saying she’s okay, and that she wants to live a simple life.”
I felt ill.
I’d heard this before.
“Mr. and Mrs. Granger!” Parker’s hands instantly slipped from my body as he moved in to greet them with hugs. “It’s so nice to see you. How is the family?”
Strangely, there was an unease that lingered in the air—the first time tonight that I’d sensed anything other than absolute adoration for Parker, Margot, and their family.
“Oh, as good as can be,” Mrs. Granger answered, clearlyforcing a smile. “We were wondering if you’d heard anything new from Jasmine? I know you said you’d call if you spoke with her, but it’s been almost six months, and she still hasn’t sent anything other than a couple of emails telling us she’s fine and enjoying life being simpler.”
Clearing my throat, I asked the question. “Was her name Jasmine?”
Where I expected to see a look of surprise on her face when she realized I already knew, instead, she frowned.
“No, her name was Kylie,” she answered, shaking her head. “Wait. Who’s Jasmine?”
Who the hell was Kylie?
Oh God.
Two girls.
Both missing after they dated Parker.
Sending similar emails to their families, who have been desperate to find them. Families who sounded like they loved them dearly. Families that had no reason to want to run away from.
