Page 42 of Only Ever You
Hudson leaned forward, his concerned gaze skating over my face. “I do know, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. It’s worth giving someone a chance.” He waved one hand dismissively. “Don’t think I’m being all mushy. I’m not one of those people who thinks you have to be partnered up and do the happy family dance. You know, like Beck,” he said dryly.
A low laugh rustled in my throat. Beck meant well, but he was a true believer in love and all that. “If the way you feel about Luna is anything like the way I feel about Stella, it’s worth it. I know what happened with your mom sucked, believe me, I get it. But not everyone’s like that. Your dad sure isn’t. That man stepped up for you. He’s rock solid.”
“I know.” My heart felt scraped raw. These were old wounds. I’d lived with the motto it was best to let old pain stay buried. This was not something I wanted to open up.
“Maybe you should go see a therapist, you know the one, the one Leo and Casey see?” my friend suggested.
“Are you serious?” I sputtered.
As if on cue, Leo came walking into the locker room. “What’s your therapist’s name?” Hudson asked.
Leo sat down on the bench across from me. “Delaney. She’s awesome. Why do you ask?”
“I was just telling Parker maybe he should go see her.”
Leo’s gaze shifted to me. “I say go for it. I don’t even know what this is about, but I promise Delaney can help you figure it out.”
“Oh, my God,” I muttered.
“Hey, therapy isn’t for cowards,” Leo replied, looking affronted by my reaction.
I shook my head with a sigh. “That’s not it. I’ve been to therapy, back in high school. I got nothing against it, but…” I ran out of words.
“I think he’s in love with Luna and he’s freaking out,” Hudson chimed in.
“Dude, we don’t have to have a group conversation about this,” I muttered.
“Luna is nice, you clearly love her, and those donuts—” Leo whistled, pressing his fingertips together in the chef’s kiss gesture. “Fucking amazing.”
“I agree. They are. No argument there,” I replied.
Leo arched a brow as he studied me. “Look, it’s not my business, but it seems like you and Luna are pretty good together. I definitely understand not being sure about things like that, but I’m also on team love-makes-the-world-a-better-place.”
I snorted. “Dude you’re still in the honeymoon phase with Casey.”
“Yep, it’s fucking amazing. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said flatly. His expression went from teasing to dead serious in a flash. “I’ll text you Delaney’s number. I don’t think Casey and I will ever stop seeing her. We only go like,” he wiggled his hand back and forth, “once a month or so now, but it’s super helpful. Not to mention, I’m basically an instant soup dad, and it’s great to have someone to check in with about that.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
PARKER
While I was busy wondering whether or not to call Delaney, things kept rolling along with Luna. Maybe I wasn’t sure how to handle my feelings for her, but I couldn’t stay away. I was walking into the station a few days later when Maisie called my name from the front. When I walked out there, she was at her desk, and an unfamiliar woman was standing at the counter.
Maisie smiled over at me. “Hi Parker, this woman is here to see you.”
Although my brain didn’t quite recognize her, my heart knew this person was my mother. A sense of sheer panic slammed into me. I kept it together and just stood there by the door into the back hallway. “What can I do for you?” I hated that my voice sounded hoarse.
“Parker, do you remember me?”
I shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”
Maisie appeared to sense my distress or sheer discombobulation. Sometimes it felt like everything in the world was a step in a path to a moment. In this case, a reckoning. Little boy me had wanted for so long for my mom to come back. Here she was now, and I wanted to vomit and to scream and shout.Instead, I stood there. Static filled my brain. It was a miracle I didn’t fall because it also felt as if someone had tripped me.
“I’m your mom,” my mother said.
I stared at her. “Uh-huh.” I didn’t know what she expected, but it seemed like maybe she thought I’d give her a big ol’ hug.
Maisie rounded the corner and literally stood in front of me when my mom turned and began to approach me. I could sense Maisie’s protectiveness. She took care of all of us here at the station. As the main dispatcher, she was, both literally and metaphorically, the switchboard through which all communication flowed. In this moment, I could feel a deeper level of protectiveness. I knew if I needed her to, Maisie would physically walk my mom out of the station.
