✓ | PHOTOGRAPHER ( CALEB MCLAUGHLIN )

xxvii. i'm gonna pass out

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN.
[ xxvii. i'm gonna pass out ]
/ IRL & INSTAGRAM DMS /

     DAWN HUFFED AS she, Esther, and Andi all fell back onto the couch, waiting for Parker to get ready (who didn't wanna leave her room in the first place). "Parker, hurry!" Esther called out in annoyance.

     "I don't even wanna go in the first place!" Parker fired back, making Esther roll her eyes and fold her arms.

     "Annalise thinks Parker is depressed," Andi confessed to the other girls, who silently agreed. "She doesn't have motivation to do much anymore besides photographing."

     "She's just upset about Caleb," Dawn informed, reminding her the subject she wanted to tell the other girls. "Speaking of which." She lowered her voice down, moving in closer to the other two. "Sadie Sink texted me about Parker." Esther gasped and her eyes widened with shock, not expecting for that sentence to come from the girl's mouth.

     "I think I'm gonna pass out," Esther breathed out as she dramatically clutched her chest, leaning back onto Andi who was surprised as well.

     "No way. What does she want with Park?" Andi asked with excitement as she held Esther.

     "I have no clue, she hasn't told me yet," Dawn explained in a low voice, cautiously looking around. Esther got up off of Andi, catching her breath. "She's supposed to text me back soon." Before Dawn could finish her sentence, the three heard footsteps come from the hallway and instantly went silent. They watched as Parker sluggishly walked into view, dressed more decently than she has been.

     "Let's just get this over with so I can sleep and go to work," Parker whined as she walked to the front door. The three looked at each other before getting off the couch, following Parker out the door.

***

     Parker sat in the booth and picked at her food unconsciously with a fork, keeping her head supported on her hand. The group was silent, not knowing what to say. So they all just picked at their food and ate it piece by piece, wanting to say at least something. "You know who would've taken me here?" Parker questioned softly, keeping her eyes on her food she was picking at.

     "Who?" Andi croaked out, curious to whom she was hinting at.

     "Caleb." The three rolled their eyes, tired of hearing about the boy. "He would like it here. Even if he didn't, he wouldn't tell me," she explained in a low tone. She leaned back, dropping her utensil onto her napkin. "He was too nice."

     "I thought you didn't wanna talk about him?" Esther commented in a sarcastic voice, receiving a kick from Dawn underneath the table. They both looked at each other with annoyed eyes, Dawn secretly telling her to "be quiet".

     "It's hard not to talk about a person like him," Parker answered softly, clearing her throat as she did so. She looked out the window and saw couples walking together; hand in hand. She thought about her and Caleb possibly being like that. She choked back her tears and wiped her glossy eyes, continuing to stare out the window. Her eyes trailed down to her camera sitting beside her. She picked it up and took a picture of the outside, trying to distract herself from crying. "This photo sucks," she sighed disappointedly.

     "You're amazing at photographing, what do you mean?" Andi added, watching the girl beside her stifle a laugh as she looked down at her camera.

     "Caleb would say the same thing," Parker sniffled, hearing Esther groan out of annoyance. The tall girl bit her bottom lip, knowing everyone was tired of hearing her speak about him, but she couldn't help it. Every little thing reminded her of him so much she just spoke it out. She stared at the photo she took deeply, trying to spot out the good in it for reasons she didn't know.