Castle On The Hill

Chapter Eleven

A large gust of wind pushed me back, luckily into the fourth floor room I was sitting on the ledge of. When I come up here to be alone and think, I have a safe space on the fourth floor that my friends don't know about. A space to think about my life, think about my relationship with Parker, think about calling Dansville my home.

Today the troublesome thought that led me up here after school despite the wind and snow is my relationship with Parker. He comes from a sheltered family and a good home, so sometimes he has trouble understanding why I have trouble doing things, like making plans for the feature. Another thing is that for someone who is so schedule-oriented, he sure is a flake. I can't tell you how many times we've had plans and he's canceled for one reason or another. I'm never going to leave him, so I guess I'll deal with it. I'd rather deal with an aggravating boyfriend versus not having one at all.

How does he expect me to plan for the feature when in five months, I'll be eighteen? I'll have to leave Mama Tina with no income and no plan. Ten months with her also makes her house the home I've lived in the longest. That's also why I'm so scared. I don't want my case manager to move me. Every time I talk to her I tell her to please let me stay here, I just hope she follows those wishes.

I sat up and stretched. I'm not ready to go home, but the sun is starting to set. I am not a fan of navigating down this abandon hill alone in the dark, even though I've done it before. The flashlight on the phone doesn't do much justice when you're in the abandon woods, so we all usually bring flashlights with us. Since I came here straight from school, I don't have mine.

When I made it to the streetlights, I let out a sigh of relief. Now I can just walk around the neighborhood without going home. I could always go see who is hanging out downtown.

When I made it to the library, I saw Parker walking out the front door. I looked at him in confusion and ran over to him.

"Hey babe, you didn't tell me you were coming to town. Want to grab dinner or come over to my place?" I greeted when I caught up to him.

"No."

I gave him a concerned look. "Um, alright. Is everything okay? The past two days gave been sort of rough and you're blocking me."

"We need to break up." He replied in a monotone voice.

My jaw dropped. "Wait, what?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and tapped his foot. "I said we need to break up."

"Why? I'm so confused."

"So am I."

He stormed to his truck and I stood frozen, unsure of what to do. Parker just dumped me. I know we have our problems, but I was not expecting that to happen. I sat on the ground and tried to fight the tears. I saw him standing by his truck, so I got up and stormed to him.

"What the hell?" I yelled.

"I think we need to break up." He replied in a nonchalant tone.

"Why?"

"I need time to think. I need to sort through some things on my mind."

"Like what?"

"That's none of your business anymore."

"Who am I supposed to hang out with at school now?"

"We can still be friends."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Are you insane? You just dumped me."

Parker looked at me, dumbfounded. "Why can't we be friends?"

"Because you dumped me and when I asked what you need to think about, you told me it's not my business. Why would I want to hang out with someone like that?"