Kiss Her

It was long past two o'clock in the morning before I could get up and abandon my seat by the door. The numb feeling in my stomach hadn't passed, however, and I felt even more sick than before. As I looked up at the spiral staircase before me, I had an overwhelming sense that it would feel like a mountain ahead. Sighing, I dragged myself up the stairs, longing to collapse in my bed and finally allow the guilt to disappear; for a few hours, at least.
The moment I landed on the mattress, however, I was jolted into a sitting position.
A head of blonde hair caught my eye as I'd attempted to sleep.

Parker.

All thoughts of Nick disappeared quickly as I rushed to open the window and let him in.

"How did you get out there?" I whispered tensely, pulling him inside.

Parker just smiled and said, "You've lived here for how long- and you never noticed that a massive, easily climbable tree is only about a foot from the edge of your roof?"

A slight pink made its way across my cheeks as I swatted his arm lightly.

"Never mind that, why are you here?" I asked softly, looking into his eyes.

That's when I noticed it.

He'd been crying.

"Parker! What happened?" I breathed, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"Belle," He sighed, sitting beside me. "D-does Ashley ever.. you know, fool around? I heard that she... uhm, got with Danny Miller last week; and well, I think she might be lying to me."

Oh God. He found out about her.

My first thought was to spill; tell him everything that she'd been doing; how she'd been chasing after Nick for months. As I opened my mouth to speak, a horrifying thought hit me.

I was doing the exact same thing.

I had Nick, yet I yearned for Parker.
Suddenly, I felt sympathy for Ashley. No longer could I think of her as fake; she just couldn't figure out how to get what she wanted. I knew how she felt; all too well.

Taking a deep breath, I replied, "You know what, I've never heard anything about that. I think you should talk to Ashley about it."

With a nod, he stood up and made for the window.

"Parker!" I said, a little too quickly for my liking. "If you want, you can stay... it'll be like old times, you know?"

A heavy silence filled the air, all the while, my heart pounded so hard I was sure it broke a few ribs.

His smile eased my panic instantly.

"Sure, Belle. I'd like that."

**********************************************************

Later that night, as I lay on my bed, no longer tired, listening to the sound of Parker's soft breathing, I thought about my decision to keep quiet.

The more I thought about it, I realized I'd done the right thing.

I hope.

As my eyes fluttered closed, one last thought hit me. This specific thought happened to pertain to my letting the boy that I was absolutely infatuated with stay the night. As I thought about Nick, and how he'd feel if he knew, I still couldn't bring myself to regret it.