The Elites

Chapter 12

Alexandra's Point-of-View

I watched as the others left on their dates. I just stood there quietly in the living room and Parker was staring at me.

"Alexandra, you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he said.

I looked up at him and smiled.

"Do you want to go? I have some dinner reservations, but if you don't want to go, that's okay," Parker offered.

"I'll go," I said.

"Is it okay if we drive?" he asked.

"Of course," I said as we walked to the car, a sensible mini-van. "You seem to be pretty prepared."

"I tried to be," he said. We got in the car and I flipped music channels. There was nothing good on.

"Mind if I play something?" I asked.

"Go ahead," he said.

I turned my phone on and started playing music from my phone. It was the soundtrack to Hamilton, my favorite musical.

"You like Hamilton? I love Hamilton. I don't listen to it around the guys because they would probably think it would be weird and all but-" he stopped himself out of embarrassment.

"I'm a musical prodigy. I love music," I said.

"Oh really? I know every song the Hamilton soundtrack," Parker said. We kept on like this until we parked and arrived at the restaurant.

"You wanted to take me to The Scene?" I asked him.

Parker looked nervous. "Is that okay?" He asked.

I hugged him. "Thank you so much! You don't know how much I appreciate this!"

At first, Parker seemed a little startled at first, but then he wrapped his arms around my waist in a hug. When I released, we walked into the restaurant.

"Table for two?" She asked.

"Actually, the reservation is for Parker, on the garden floor," Parker said.

I gaped at him.

"I've always wanted to eat on the garden floor! How did you know?" I asked him.

"I asked that girl, Rebecca, what you liked. She wasn't really helpful, but she told me some hobbies and stuff," Parker said.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well I learned tha-" Parker got cut off.

"Are you guys ready yet? I've been waiting like, a whole minute," the impatient hostess complained.

Parker and I just looked at each other and smiled.

"Follow me," she sighed. We walked up the steps to the garden floor.

The garden floor was the floor above the ground level. It was very hard to get a reservation, always. Which is why The Elites and I have never eaten up here. Usually when we eat, it is impromptu.

But now I have the chance to!

"Here's your table. Talk all you want here," the hostess said.

When Parker and I sat down, we picked up right where we left off.

"So what did Becca tell you?" I asked.

"She told me about how fashionable, beautiful, talented, kind, and smart you were. And she told me to kiss you," Parker said. He looked up at me with that gaze that completely froze me and warmed me at the same time.

"Sounds like her," I said.

Another waitress came over then. "What would you guys like to drink? Or eat? Or both?"

I was surprised by her straightforwardness.

"I-I'm so sorry! Uh, here are your menus. Do you like the music?" She asked.

"It's-uh, it's good," Parker said.

"Oh no! I'm sorry! I just completely ruined your date night! I should go call Brittney and quit! I can't do this!" The waitress apologized.

"No, it's okay! It's fine! Here, take my seat," I said.

"Are you sure? I'm supposed to be serving you. I should go get you some drinks on the house. I'm so so sorry!" The waitress apologized again.

Parker looked at me for a brief moment. "Go ahead and sit down," he told the waitress. She sat down in my seat and looked a little uncomfortable.

I pulled a chair over to the table. "Are you cold?" I asked her. I pulled out my sweatshirt and offered it to her.

"Are you sure? Your sweatshirt so nice," the waitress asked.

"Yes. A friend picked it out for me once and it never really fit. You can keep it too," I said.

"Thank you so much! I never get this kind of hospitality from the people I wait on," she said.

"What's your name?" Parker asked.

"Lily," the waitress said.

"Well, Lily, what's wrong?" I asked.

"My husband, James, took off without me and left me with our kid, Harry," Lily explained.

"Here, let me get you something," I said. I walked over to the bar and ordered three waters and a large soft pretzel. When I brought them back to the table, I heard a little bit of the conversation.

"...he's only seven! And I had to leave him alone to try and make money, but it's not working! James always did everything," Lily explained.

I set down the drinks and the pretzel. Lily dove right in.

"Thank you for listening to me. I should probably get back to work before someone notices," Lily said. She got up and left.

"We did something good today," I said.

"Wanna finish the pretzel?" Parker asked.

"Yes!" I said.

May I just say, we completely devoured that pretzel.

"It's really cold up here," I said. "Here," Parker said. He offered me his jacket. "Wait," I whispered. I put my right hand on the table face up. Parker, confused, reached both his hands out to mine. I slammed my left one on top of his two. My right hand twisted frantically back and forth, trying to get a good hold. I concentrated on the flow of the wind and calming it down to a warm breeze. When I opened my eyes, I could feel it had gotten significantly warmer. But mostly because Parker's hands were cradling my one. "Can I still take your jacket please?" I asked him. "Sure," he said. He went to hand it to me, but then his brow furrowed. He brought both his hands to his temple, trying to control something. "Parker..." I started. He struggled more. He looked so pained I wanted to cry. I slapped a hand down on his wrist. "Parker!" I shouted. He snapped out of whatever was bothering him. "I'm sorry, Alex. I never meant for that to happen," he apologized. "It's okay, but what happened?" I asked. "Nothing. Hey, did it rain lately? The ground is wet," Parker said. "Not that I know of," I said. I went to grab my water, but in the process I knocked over the candle. The entire ground of the top floor burst into flames. Parker and I jumped to the table, which was quickly catching fire. Everyone around us ran towards the exit in a hurry. "Okay, got a plan?" Parker asked me. "It's crazy," I said. "Better than dying," Parker said. "Jump off the building," I said. "Alex, were gonna die!" Parker exclaimed. "GO!" I screamed. We both jumped off the two story roof at the same time. Now, if we were normal people, this would be an issue. But for me, heck no. I held my hands out in front of me while I was falling. I felt the wind swirl around us both and carry us to the ground safely. "CAR!" I screamed. We both took off towards the car. When we got there, we discovered two other cars had slammed themselves into the front and back of the minivan. Parker opened the door to the backseat and we both piled in. "Lock it!" I screamed. Just then a bullet blew through the window, shattering it. "Okay," Parker said," there's a compartment under the seat. Push that button and crawl in."I did as I was told. A few minutes later, Parker crawled under the seat. "This area will keep us safe and out of firearm aim," Parker said. You could hear the bullets flying through the windows. That's when I felt it. That shattering pain. The pain that you dream about in you nightmares but never feel. Yes, it was horrible. "Parker...is there something wrong with my shoulder?" I asked. He grabbed my shoulder and gingerly touched it. "Alexandra........someone shot your shoulder. That, and you have major burns," Parker said from some faraway place. "Thank you...for a great night," I whispered as I blacked out.