Sounds of Rain

Even though I didn’t want to, I knew I had to go home at some point. If not because I wanted to, then to check that my mum was okay. Even if I didn’t like her at the moment, I still knew that she needed checking on. “You want me to come with you?” Parker asked softly the following morning. I smiled but shook my head.
“No,” I said softly. “Thank you, but I think I should deal with this on my own.”
“Okay,” he smiled, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. “Phone me and tell me how it goes. And you’re more than welcome to come back here if you need to. I want this place to feel like home to you.”
“It really does,” I whispered, moving into his arms and holding him tightly. “More than any place we’ve lived in the last 2 years.” I looked around the house and then at Parker. “But that’s probably because of you, not the building.” He smiled weakly and I could tell he was trying very hard not to show how upset, how scared, he was. “I love you,” I told him vehemently. “So much.”
“I love you, too, Ireland,” he whispered, nudging his nose against mine. “Eskimo kiss,” he mumbled. I laughed softly and looked up into his eyes.
“Now give me a proper kiss,” I told him and he grinned before lowering his lips to mine. “I’ll see you soon, okay?” Parker smiled and nodded, pecking my lips once more.
“Good luck,” he said. I smiled and nodded. I gazed at him for a final second and then turned and left his house and headed back to my mum.

When I walked through the front door, my mum called, “who’s there!?”
“It’s me,” I sighed, heading into the kitchen to get a drink. No matter how many times I did that walk, it was still long.
“Come here, Ireland,” she said and I sighed wearily. I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with her. I was heartbroken from the knowledge that I was going to have to leave Parker and I just couldn’t be patient and understanding with her right now. But, nevertheless, I headed into the living room.

My mum was sitting on the sofa, cup of tea in hand. The television wasn’t on, which was odd in itself, and she was sitting perfectly straight in her seat. “Um, everything…okay?” I asked with a confused frown.
“Sit down, Ireland,” she said calmly. I did as she said, albeit nervously. “Now, I think we need to have a talk.” I slumped a bit. If she was going to talk to me about moving or packing, or our new home or our new town, I really didn’t want to hear it. “How long would you say we usually spend in each house?” she asked and I frowned at the unexpected question.
“Um, no more than a month,” I said and she nodded.
“Exactly,” she said, as though that should explain everything. It didn’t.
“What?”
“Why do you think we’ve been here so long, Ireland?” she asked and I bit my lip. I’d liked to think that it was because she was getting better, that she finally felt able to stop running. I just shook my head, no confident enough to say that out loud. “Have you had a boyfriend in any of the other places?”
“No,” I whispered and then my eyes widened in understanding. “You…You stayed here for me?” I was stunned. I’d always thought my mum was selfish and self-serving. But…she’d stayed for months, well beyond her comfort zone. For me. “Why?” I whispered, still in shock.
“I know you may think so, but I’m not a completely terrible mother,” she said, and continued before I could argue. “I can see that you’re happy, that you’re happier than you’ve been in a long time, years even. I know you don’t like moving around, but you did it to keep me happy.”
“You’re not a bad mum,” I said weakly, uncomfortable with what she was saying. Mum just smiled softly.
“You’ve been doing things for the last 2 years to make me happy, but you’ve never really made yourself happy,” she said. “Not until we got here. And now, I can’t take you away from that. You’ve made it your life mission for the last 2 years to make me happy. But I’m the mum, I should be ensuring you’re happy, not the other way around.”
“So…we’re staying here?” I asked eagerly, perking up at the idea.
“No,” she said and I instantly deflated. Why say all those things but then just take me away from Parker anyway? “I’m not. Your are.” I blinked at her, realisation suddenly hitting me like a gust of wind.
“What?” I whispered.
“You’re staying here, Ireland,” she said with a gentle smile. “This is where you belong. I don’t belong here; I’m still searching for where I belong. But I can't take you away from Parker. I can’t bear to see you so hurt.”
“But…” I whispered. “But…you…you need…”
“I’m perfectly capable of surviving by myself,” she said stubbornly. “I’m the parent, I don’t need you babying me.” I stared at her and tears pricked in my eyes.
“Are you sure?” I whispered.
“Yes, honey,” she smiled. “I’m sure. I can’t keep you from living your life with Parker. You’re perfect together and I’m not going to pull you away from that.” I stared at her for a moment before grinning and throwing my arms around her.
“I love you,” I said softly, hugging her tightly.
“I love you, too,” she smiled. “Now go and see that boy of yours. I’m sure he’s just as heartbroken as you were.” I grinned and quickly kissed her cheek before running back out of the door. Yeah, it would have been easier to phone him. But I wanted to do this in person.

Well, all this running to and from Parker’s house was certainly keeping me fit. Once again, instead of knocking, I just let myself in, with a little less dramatics than the night before. “Is everything okay?” Parker appeared from the kitchen, holding a mug in his hands. His eyes looked slightly red and I guessed that once I’d gone, he’d let himself cry. I couldn’t wait to tell him the news. I practically ran over to him, took the mug from his hands and set it down on the side, before throwing my arms around him and kissing him deeply.
“I’m staying here,” I whispered into the kiss. Parker immediately pulled back, obviously needing a clearer answer. “I’m not going anywhere.” He stared at me for a second, before his lips crashed onto mine and he kissed me deeply, holding me against his body as close as possible. We fell onto the sofa, Parker lying over me, and he continued to kiss my breath away.
“God, Ireland, you have no idea how happy you just made me,” he whispered, breaking the kiss and gazing down at me instead.
“Yeah I do,” I smiled. “I was practically jumping for joy when my mum told me.” He laughed softly.
“So, what’s happening?” he asked. “Is she cancelling the move?”
“No, she’s still going,” I said, stamping down any nervousness about that. “And I’m staying here.”
“Really?” he whispered. I could tell that he wanted to be happy, but he could sense my hesitance.
“Yeah,” I smiled. “My mum will be okay on her own. She usually is. I just worry.” Parker smiled and nodded.
“You can always go and visit her, and she can come and stay here with us,” he said and I blinked.
“Here?” I whispered and Parker bit his lip.
“Do you not want to live here?” he asked, sitting up instead. “Because I’d understand. You probably aren’t ready to live with me…and anyway, you’d probably want something nearer town, right? And-“
“Parker,” I said, interrupting his doubts. “You really want me to live here with you?” He looked at me and, as though he sensed my thoughts on the subject, grinned.
“Of course I do,” he said. “If you want to, I mean.”
“Are you kidding?” I asked, sitting up and straddling his lap. “I’d love to live here with you. This house is just…this house is the reason we met in the first place.” Parker smiled softly.
“I thought it was the rain…” he said and I rolled my eyes.
“If you want to get technical,” I said with a small smile. “But if I hadn’t seen this house and decided to use it as shelter, I would never have met you.”
“Mmm,” Parker smiled, placing his hands on my waist and stroking my sides. “It is a pretty amazing house…” I smiled.
“Well, it has an amazing owner,” I smiled. Parker grinned at me and I leant forward and kissed him deeply once again.

Not much later, we were back in the same position as before. Only this time, neither of us had any clothes on. “Are you sure about this?” Parker whispered and I nodded desperately. Parker smiled at me tenderly and then pushed into my gently. I gasped and arched off the narrow sofa into his body. We’d been too caught up in each other and what was going on to think to move to the bedroom. But that was okay. Parker let me catch my breath and get used to him for a moment, but then pulled out and pushed back in. My toes curled as I locked my legs with his.
“I love you, parker,” I whispered. I’d never felt so intimately connected with someone before and I never wanted it to end. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, Ireland,” he whispered, his lips hovering just above mine as he continued to thrust into my. “God, so much.” His lips touched mine in a soft kiss and then he moved his hand between our bodies and started stroking me in time with his thrusts.
“Not gonna last…” I panted, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, holding him as close as physically possible.
“Me, too,” he gasped. And, true to our predictions, a moment later, just as Parker found my prostate, I arched off the sofa and cried out, coming in his hand and over our stomachs. Parker continued to stroke through my orgasm and as he reached his, coming inside me.

Parker collapsed over me, there not being enough room for him to roll off without landing on the floor. His head rested on my chest and once I’d caught my breath back a bit, I raised my hand and stroked through his sweat-dampened hair. “I’m so glad you’re staying,” Parker whispered and I chuckled.
“Me, too,” I sighed peacefully. “And my mum will be okay. She has been getting better recently. It’s just me being paranoid.” It was silent for a minute and then Parker raised his head and looked down at me.
“You know…you can go if you want to,” he said and I frowned. “I mean, if you don’t want your mum to be on her own…If it’s just me keeping you from going with her, you should go.” I gazed at him a second before smiling.
“It is just you keeping me here,” I told him softly. “But that’s plenty for me. My mum’s right, she’ll be able to look after herself. I want to be happy, and going with her and leaving you here, will not make me happy. I couldn’t bear the idea of leaving you. I’m yours, Parker, and you’re mine, and I’m not going anywhere.” He stared at me for a second and then grinned.
“Are you sure?” he asked and I nodded.
“More sure than I’ve ever been in my life,” I told him. He smiled and scooted up to peck my lips. He settled himself on top of me once again.
“I told you,” he said quietly, a minute later.
“What?” I mumbled, confused.
“Your heart line,” he grinned. “It’s not broken. We’ll be fine.” I grinned and tightened my hold on him.
“It’s just a line,” I whispered, running my fingers through Parker’s hair.
“Maybe, but that line reflects our relationship,” he said. “So don’t go talking badly about it.” I chuckled but didn’t argue back.

I knew that I’d worry about my mum in the weeks and months to come, but that was okay. She’d be okay, she’d look after herself, and continue to look for where she was most happy. But I’d found my place. I belonged in Parker’s arms, and I wasn’t going to leave them for anything.