The Marine I Know

Chapter 26

"I gasped at my mom's condition, and she jumped, turning to face me before realizing it was me. She relaxed, and then I run into her arms. 'Did Ryan..?' I couldn't finish the sentence, and the silence from my mom confirmed my thoughts. She told me to go pack, and I did, and then we met at the top of the stairs. All our furniture was in storage, and all we had was clothes and a few knick-knacks that had sentimental value. We thought Ryan was at work, so we get our stuff down the stairs, but freeze when we hear the TV going, and Ryan is sitting in the chair in front, watching the game. We get our stuff downstairs, but then the TV goes mute, and Ryan stands up, looking at us with death in his eyes. He and my mom begin having a shouting match, and I quickly sneak into the bathroom, locking the door calling 9-1-1. The dispatcher heard all the fighting, and I quickly riled off the address, but then the door busted on its hinges, almost knocking me against the toilet. Ryan broke down the door and glared at me, taking the phone and stepping on it before grabbing me by the collar of my shirt, probably to do the same thing he did to my mom. I look over his shoulder to see that she was sporting a black eye when the cops barge in through the door. Ryan puts me down just as he gets handcuffed, but not after yelling at us that he will screw up our perfect life. My mom holds me in her arms while the EMTs are trying to get a look at her eye." I finish, shaking and Parker leans me against his side.

"Did he ever get jail time?"

"Yeah, but my mom was too scared to testify, so without evidence, he got eight years behind bars," I whisper, thankful I was able to get all that stuff off my chest.

"Man, he deserved worse than a punch to the nose." I chuckle at him. "He didn't..."

"No, he didn't," I say, and he relaxes. I grab my glass and finish the rest off, wishing it's a bit stronger, but when you're only nineteen, you have to make do with what you have. Parker looks at me, laughing. "Oh, now what?" I say with a smile. I put the glass down back on the table, and I glare at him.

"You downed the orange juice like it was alcohol." He laughs, and I gather all my strength to push him off the bed, which considering I have less muscle than he does, it's a challenge. I succeed, but at the last minute, he smirks at me before I fall off the bed with him, landing on top. He smirks one of those evil smirks, and I playfully smack him on the chest, before I realize he has no shirt on. I blush as he chuckles. A toned chest that leads down to a six-pack, strong arms that I imagine wrapped around me in protectiveness. Parker clears his throat, and I feel all the blood rush to my face. I look at him to see a smirk on his face, "Like what you see?" I smack him again and try to stand up when the door opens slowly, and I look to see my mom standing in the doorway with a smile on her face.

"Sounded like someone fell, just wanted to make sure." She says, holding back a laugh and I grab my pillow off the bed, throwing it at her, but she sees it coming and shuts the door, her laughter ringing through the house.

'She hasn't laughed like that since dad.'

"Well, that was something, wasn't it?" I look down at him before trying to stand up again, but this time, he pulls me down back onto him. We look into each other's eyes and slowly lean in to kiss. His arms wrap around my waist, holding me to him while my fingers run through his hair, feeling the softness of it. He gently flips me over onto my back, never breaking contact.

'Man, that's skill.'

Of course, it's my mind that decides to have a mind of its own. We pull apart, slightly out of breath, and Parker has a smile on his face.

"Come on; we have to begin the surprise for your mom." He says, getting up and he offers me his hand, which I take and end up against his chest again.

"So that's how you tango?" I say, smirking at him, and I feel his chest rumble with laughter.

"Sweetheart, it takes two to tango." He says. He lets me go after kissing me on the forehead and walks into the bathroom. I smile and go to the window to gauge the weather for today. It looks cloudy, so I decide to opt for my maroon long sleeve shirt, my favorite dark wash skinny jeans, and my tan riding boots. Parker walks out of the bathroom, and I look over to see him smirking. He looks-well might as well say it- he looks hot in a navy blue button-up that is rolled up at the sleeves, dark wash jeans, and his converse. He leans up against the doorjamb, crossing his arms, automatically knowing that move is going to be the death of me. "Checking me out again?" I roll my eyes and walk past him, stopping when I get an excellent idea in my head. I lean up to his ear.

"Sweetheart, it takes two to tango and also your clothes would look really nice on my bedroom floor," I whisper, and he coughs, and I take that moment to act a little flirty as I shut the door to the bathroom and I start laughing silently. I brush my hair, so it falls into soft curls just below my shoulders. I then add a little bit of untinted foundation to protect my face, concealer under my eyes, eyeliner and then mascara, making my eyes pop. I open the door and walk out, only to have someone grab me around the waist and putting my back to a chest and breath whisps across my ear.

"Be careful what you wish for." He says, sending shivers down my spine, "Because I am more than willing to do that for you, sweetheart." I turn around and look him dead in the eye and lean in to kiss him, which he starts to do, but I put my finger up against his lips and then take off running downstairs after grabbing my phone, laughing. My mom looks at me with a smile on her face.

"Well, about time, you two came downstairs." She says just as I hear Parker run down the stairs, smirking at me with a mischievous look in his eye. "Oh gosh, what did you do Belle?" Mom says, laughing.

"Well, let'sjust say some things were said and now he's out to get me." I try toexplain, but I can tell the look in my mom's eyes that she knows.