Friendship And Hardship

[Chapter 15] - Morning Coffee And Long Days

"Did you seriously fall asleep with the ice on your face."

Parker was beginning to grow concerned for her friend as she stared him down from behind. "There's no way you fell asleep with that load of ice on your face," she repeated, blinking a bit.
"Well you've got your proof right here..." Barnacles muttered, placing his hands on the bathroom sink.

"So you're best idea was to shove your face under boiling hot water?!" Parker exclaimed.
"I can't feel my face, so it's not working!" 

She deduced that it was too early for this bullcrap.

"Man, I'm leaving you here. I can't be of much help now."
"You're the one that punched me!"
"And you're the one that fell asleep with a chunk of ice on your head!"

...

"Okay damn."

...

It wasn't as rare to see Parker drinking coffee nowadays. It seemed normal now, even though it had only been going on for a few days.

Well, to some people it was still rare.

"Who turned you into a coffee addict this morning?" Kwazii asked, glancing over at her. He had lost count of how often she refilled the cup.
"Who?"
"No, I'm asking you that."

Maybe she was drinking vodka instead...

"Who?"
"Yeah, who's- you know what, forget I said anything."

...

"So... Is anyone up for a little adventure today?" Parker leaned on the table, her elbows pressed against it. "I've got some business with the island to finish."
"Parker, you put protocol in place for the island, but you keep going back to it," Barnacles pointed out.
"Well, I know that, but I can't stay that far away from it!"
"Weren't you gone for three months one time?"
"Yeah, but I wasn't anywhere close to the island. I am now, so I'm taking advantage of it."

After today, she wouldn't stay very far from the island. Unless she was... visiting a certain someone.

She assumed that her brother, Emerson, had taken another route. She knew that he wouldn't stay in Greenland, which was where they went after what happened with... oh, you know.

After their parent's passing, the two moved to Greenland, and then Parker went off to the island.

Emerson? She didn't know where he went, but she knew he wouldn't be in Greenland anymore. He was miserable there.

She didn't want to leave him, really. She didn't, and it hurt so much to leave, but she felt like it would be best for her to go. He'd be better off doing things alone.

On Emerson's side, though, he went north of where they had been, then south, then all around the world at this point.

Parker didn't know where he could have gone.

"Don't you think it's a bit... dangerous? I mean, I'm all for it, considering what we've already done on the island, but... with what we've also discovered... you know?" Kwazii asked.
"You mean the arrows and stuff?"
"Yeah, we haven't focused on that in a while."
"Hmm... I'll stay on the lookout for anything weird on the island," she replied.

"If someone was on the island, what do they want?" Peso asked, noticing how tense Parker was getting at the thought of that.
"I don't know. The worst thing would be wanting someone here dead," she answered.
"Why would someone want that?!"
"I don't know. People are weird," she stated, staring off into the corner while keeping a tight grasp on the handle of the coffee mug she was holding.