Living Life With The Parker Boys

Chapter Twenty Two- Stories and Studies

Chapter Twenty Two

“Quit the dramatics and just get on with it.” I said rolling my eyes. When he didn’t reply and only sent me a half hearted glare I sunk into the nearby seat.

“I was going to say it begun when Ryder and I became friends but even now I can’t remember a time when we hadn’t been friends, we were practically born into the friendship. Our parents were really close growing up so our moms were practically inseparable, which meant that whenever they hung out we were dragged along. They’d always go to their brunches and charity events together so Ryder and I always ended up hanging out. My brothers were close with him too but not the way we were. We had some sort of brotherly bond that neither of us could explain. When we got to middle school we made new friends but we made sure to still hang out outside of classes and on the weekends. Then one day when we were hanging out at his place whilst our moms were planning a big event with one of their new friends in town, she’d brought along her daughter, Adelaide. I still remember the exact moment when I spotted her. Her crazy red hair was flying everywhere in the wind and it seemed that she didn’t give a damn what people thought as that day she’d decided on wearing rainbow pants and a bright floral top that hurt my eyes to look at. She was different. Don’t roll your eyes Brooklyn, it wasn’t like that with Adelaide. 

Ryder and I grew to her quickly. Whenever we hung out she’d call us the three musketeers, by her side you couldn’t help but not give a damn about what everyone else thought. We were all happy up until Sophomore year of High School. I started seeing Adelaide as more than a friend no matter how much I didn’t want to and when I confronted Ryder about it he had the nerve to laugh in my face. By this point he’d grown quite a reputation in school, his arrogance seemed to have excelled as had his social life outside of school which meant he was always blowing Adelaide and I off. I told Ryder that I was finally going to confront her about my feelings the following night when I was supposed to be hanging out at hers. I remember how happy she was when she answered the door, she was practically bouncing on the spot.

“Come in, I have something to tell you.” She said dragging me through the doors.

“Yeah, so do I.” I replied, scratching my neck nervously. My palms were sweaty and I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I’d never felt like this with any other girl before. She was oblivious to it of course.

“Well, I guarantee you mine’s better.” She said.

“Oh I doubt it.” I said smiling slightly. She rolled her eyes before urging me to tell her. I took a shaky breath, letting out a small chuckle before finally letting it out. “I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while but I really like you Addie and not just as a friend and if you’d let me I’d love to take you on a proper date. I know it might be a little odd at first but I know that if you give me, give us, a chance then we can work it out.”

I watched as the smile fell from her face and her eyes shift to the floor where she shuffled uncomfortably. I knew I’d made a mistake once I’d opened my mouth.

“I don’t know how to say this Ash but Ryder asked me out this morning, he told me he’d been in love with me from the day he’d first met me. I said yes Ash, I’m sorry.” She said. I could tell that she meant it too. I didn’t take much notice of it though, the anger that I felt was like nothing I’d known. It was like fire was spreading through my body until I finally exploded.

“That bastard! I told him how I felt about you, he knew how much you meant to me. He done this on purpose. He’s not the one who loves you Addie I am!” I shouted. By this point her eyes had glazed over with tears.

“Can’t you just be happy for me?” She asked, her voice hushed.

“How can I be happy for you when you’re about to go on a date with Ryder after I just confessed my feelings! Which by the way took a lot of pep talking.”