Falling In Like

Chapter Four

When the song was over, the silence left in its abscense was startling. Yawning, I opened my eyes and sat up. I turned slowly towards Parker and did a double-take when I found him already staring at me.

“Hi,” I exhaled.

“That was a good song,” Parker said.

“Yeah.”

There was an awkward pause. I picked at my fingernail and watched the rain over Parker’s head while he stared at the carpet. Finally, he surprised me by breaking the silence. “Do you have any siblings?”

Once I recovered from my shock, I replied, “No, it’s just me, myself, and I. You?”

“I have a younger brother,” Parker quietly replied. “Michael. He’s six.”

“Michael or Mike?” I asked curiously.

“Mikey.” Parker smiled just a little.

“Does he play soccer too?” I questioned.

“Tee-ball,” Parker corrected.

“Is he in Miami?” I asked.

“No… Boston. He’s in Boston.”

“With your parents?”

Parker froze. “Um, my dad.”

“What about your mom? Or, like, your other dad?”

The little color Parker had disappeared from his face. “She, um, she, um, um, passed away,” he whispered, staring at the ground without seeing.

I reached hand out and placed it lightly on his back. He stiffened. “Parker, I’m so sorry,” I said.

There was a long silence while Parker watched at the floor and I kept my hand on his back. Finally, he asked in a thick voice, “How about your parents?”

“Well, my mom died when I was thirteen months old. I don’t remember her,” I said carefully, not wanting to upset Parker.

There was several more minutes of silence after that. Then Parker stood up and shook his head like a dog. “Sorry,” he murmured as he grabbed his backpack. “That was embarrassing.”

“It was fine,” I corrected. I opened my mouth to ask another question, then quickly shut it.

Parker took the lead this time, walking very quickly into a busy part of the airport. I had to jog to catch up.

“Where the hell are you going?” I asked loudly as we wove in and out of other travelers.

“I’m following the signs,” he yelled, pointing to the overhanging sign. Arrows pointed the way to the baggage claim, gates one through seven, gates eight through 20, Terminal C and, straight ahead, the hotel desk. When we reached it, he got in the insanely long line and I followed.

“Parker, how much money do you have?” I asked.

“About 40 dollars,” he replied in an offhand way as he counted the people ahead of us in line.

“40 dollars?” I whisper shouted. “Do you realize there is no way in hell that you will be able to get the bathroom of a crappy motel for that much money?”

Parker finally turned to look at me. “What?”

“Look.” I pulled out my phone and in less than sixty seconds was looking at the room listing for the nearest Motel 6. “It’s $51.99 plus tax,” I explained. “And you’re going to want to eat, too.”

Parker just looked at my phone.
“Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I can afford it either,” I said. “I probably couldn’t pay the tax, and then there’s the food issue.”

Parker still had his eyes transfixed on my phone. I waved my other hand in front of his face. He blinked and slowly turned his head to me. “Taren,” he said slowly, “How much money do you have?”

“53 dollars and 92 cents,” I replied promptly. “Wait, why?”

“Well, we could, um, you know, split the difference and, um, get a room and share it,” he murmured so quietly I could barely make it out.

I considered that idea. On the one hand, I would get a place to sleep that night that wasn’t a crowded airport. So would Parker. On the other hand, I’d be sharing a room, and probably a bed, with a boy I’d know for only about an hour. And, besides it wasn’t my style. I didn’t share, and I didn’t need other people to help me.

This is not a good idea, I told myself.

It’s a fantastic idea! I argued with myself.
You don’t need help, Taren.

A bed, my head rebutted.

No way.

A bed.

Taren, you don’t even know him! What the hell are you doing? I asked myself.

A bed. And don’t forget the bathroom. A nice, fairly clean bathroom with a shower and some privacy, I replied.

No way.

Yes way.

Nope.

“Taren?” Parker asked.

A bed. A soft, warm bed with moderately clean sheets and a pillow.

“Okay,” I blurted out.

You disgust me, I thought to myself.

Parker broke out into a small, nervous smile. “Do you, um, want to head over there?” he asked.

“Um… Sure. Let’s go.”

Look what you’ve gotten yourself into.

We stepped out of the airport and were hit in the face.

Hello wonderful readers:) Hope you enjoyed chapter four of Falling In Like! This chapter is dedicated to kpgcatlover because she is just such a wonderful person and her stories are wonderful.

I'm sorry about the length of this chapter; it's about half as long as my usual chapters. I confess that when I was writing this I wasn't super motivated, and this is also just a natural place to end the chapter. Also, there will probably not be any updates until after Thanksgiving, maybe a few days after. Just hang in there. I'll be back!

This chapter's question is: If you could travel solo to any place in the world, where would it be? Bonus points if you tell me why! I think I'd go to London because, among other reasons, The Infernal Devices is set there, and I'd like to see where Tessa, Will and Jem lived. And I want to see Blackfriars Bridge! Wow I am such a book nerd.

If you live in the US, happy Thanksgiving! If you don't, happy November!