"Please . . . don't cry. You had to have known I'd do this at some point."
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Parker Sims is the class clown but that doesn't mean he's easy to fool. And that's just what Nola B. is good at - fooling people. She's got the whole school believing th...
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Chapter Sixty-Six:
"Mom? Dad?!" Nola spoke in astonishment when her parents unexpectedly entered her hospital room. She had been awake for a while and had asked Parker where her parents were but each time he told he didn't know before swiftly changing the subject. It was clear that he had been trying to spare her feelings.
Giving a smile in the direction of her daughter, Katherine greeted Nola. "Hello, Honey," she spoke before noticing the decorations in Nola's room. Seeing the beautiful sight stirred happiness inside Mrs. B because she was delighted to see that the room did not look like a typically gloomy hospital room. Instead, it was decorated to the nines with balloons, drapes, and snowflake-shaped lights. "It's beautiful in here," Mrs. B. stated as she reached her daughter's bed. "Almost feels like I'm not even in a hospital."
Parker stood up from his chair abruptly, "What are you two doing here?"
Seth, Nola's father, raised an eyebrow, "she's our daughter. What do you mean why are we here?" Parker's question had caught Mr. B. off guard but he was quick to respond.
"She's been awake for a day now. Where were you two? You should've been here the moment she woke up."
Nola glanced over at Parker to see anger written across his face. Normally, she would be terrified by such emotion but there wasn't a fiber in her being that felt threatened. "Parker, it's fine."
Parker's brown eyes locked with Nola's and as soon as he did, his facial features softened. "The decorations have been up for three days, B. You mother is just now seeing them," Parker calmly spoke.
Nola shrugged, knowing her mother. "She hates hospitals."
Katherine smiled, happy that her daughter understood.
Seth grabbed his wife's hand, in comfort, before speaking, "we wanted to be here for Nola." He tried to explain but did not say anything more. Mr. B. did not know exactly how to be honest about the real reason him and his wife have stayed away from the hospital. He knew that no matter what they said, in that moment, Parker would be quick to remind them that even still they should have been there. Seth had wanted to but there was so much that Nola, or Parker for that matter, did not know.
Glancing at his wife, Seth could see how tense she was. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before looking at Parker. "Could we have a moment alone with our daughter? Please."
Parker did not want to leave Nola's side, let alone stick her in a room with two people that seemed to lack compassion and love for their own flesh and blood. However, after a second past, he was quick to remind himself that it was really up to Nola if he should leave or not. If she wanted to be alone with her parents, it was her choice and he would respect it.
