Love Hurts (boyxboy)

Chapter 15: Memories

A/N:

Italics represent flashbacks of past events.

Parker POV

Lips brushed against my own as a soft chuckle passed through the air. "Shh, forget about everyone else."

"Parker?" I snapped back to the present, gaze shifting from the water bottle on the table in front of me to the boy at my side. He didn't say anything, but his expression asked all the questions Griffin had long ago stopped voicing. I tended to drift off sometimes. Now days it was usually to memories of us, so normally I'd just bring it up - some happy memory we shared.

"I'm just really tired." I lied. He knew I was lying, too. We had gone to bed quite early the last few nights since he had the big game today. His heavy sigh meant that he was letting it go, though. We had this silent communication, this body language. It was just a lot easier than words, or at least, when those words were about emotions and feelings and us.

"You never told me," Griffin picked up an old conversation, causing my eyebrow to quirk up, "whether you got your invitation or not." I had dodged the question all week with excuses, places to go, random make out sessions; but, now, I had no cop out. We were at lunch with all the time in the world to talk about what probably seemed like another trivial party for him. It wasn't for me. "Why don't you wanna talk about the party?"

He called me on my silent bullshit. Why couldn't he just be another clueless jock? I groaned internally while taking a sip of water, attempting to stall this as long as possible.

"I just don't wanna go," I said quietly.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun." A hand gently tugged on my arm. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"It's Ryker Beckett's Halloween party, most people are begging for an invitation." Griffin tried to rationalize with me, but didn't go further. He saw it in me. There was just a moment, a single second where I didn't have my guard up, and he saw it. "What did Ryker do to you?"

He was angry. I didn't like angry Griffin, he scared me. Not many things scare me, but he did - and not in the thrilling/oh wow this is kind of hot way, but the my boyfriend is a psychopath about to go on a murder spree kind of way.

"Nothing," I was panicked and it showed. Griffin would never lay a hand on me, but part of me always feared that he might...just like everyone else.

"Do I need to go ask him myself?" Griffin stood from the table.

"Griff," tears were welling up in the corners of my eyes. I couldn't deal with this right now. He was the one thing I had going for me, the one good thing; however, nothing ever stayed too good for long. He looked down at me with that look, that caring and protective glint he got in his eyes when he felt like someone was threatening me. "I have something to tell you."

"I'm gonna rip his head off if he-"

"He didn't." I interrupted, glancing around. A few people were watching, but for the most part Griffin's theatrics had gone unnoticed. "I-"

Cold water met my skin and I held my breath, staring through the darkness at the figure in front of me. I counted the seconds that we just stayed underwater: 34...35...36...

"It's okay." A body was crushed up against my own in the bathroom. "Deep breaths with me," they said, "In, two, three, and out, two three."

...

Griffin POV

I had carried Parker out of the cafeteria and into the bathroom when he started hyperventilating; and now I watched him from the corner of the dark rom as he mindlessly moved things about. I'd brought him here after his anxiety attack had passed in the bathroom. We hadn't talked about it yet, but I wanted to. I wanted to talk to him about so many things, but Parker was just so...

"I'm sorry." His voice snapped me out of my trance and back to him leaned over one of the desks across the room. I didn't say anything, waiting for him to explain. He didn't. The silence continued as I searched for the right words, knowing fully that I had lost my temper earlier and that I needed to avoid losing control with Parker.

He was barely holding on by a thread, and I knew that if I lashed out or got aggressive as I have in these situations in the past that he would break - that I would break him.

"Theodore and I-" he cut himself off, shoulders sagging heavily as he continued to face away form me. "I've been to his parties before." Once again, I didn't speak; however, I was fighting the urge to launch myself out of the chair. The suspense he was putting me through was beyond frustrating.

When he didn't continue, I finally caved. "Parker, damn it, just say it."

...

Parker POV

Griffin's growl cut through the silence harshly, forcing a gasp out of me as I realized that I'd been holding my breath. I couldn't turn to see him. I didn't want to know what expression matched that tone of voice - couldn't know that it was directed at me...not when it was only going to get worse.

"We were together...sophomore year." I said softly. Griffin adjusted in his chair, but I didn't hear any other movement. "It was a secret, and things ended when-"

"You don't get to leave me!" A voice yelled. "Do you know who I am? No one in their right mind would dream about dumping me!"

"I get to." I muttered to myself, forcing the thoughts out of my head once again. "I left him because I had to, Griffin. I never wanted to and I regret it."

...