She put her hands on her hips and stared at him, I could see it behind her eyes as she fought to regain control of the situation. All I could do was look at my boyfriend in amazement. He seemed so calm. So in control of the situation. He was going to make an excellent lawyer I realized with a sense of happiness.
“Why not just let us go,” Parker said. “Mr. Alverez can change the locks. Problem solved.”
Mrs. Crawley stared at him and I could see her fighting with herself. Everything she had ever known was that students who misbehaved must be punished. But this was Parker Benson facing her. One of the good ones. If she ruined his life then what was her purpose?
She had always viewed her calling as helping students like Parker rise to better things. If she punished him it would destroy any chance he had. No Ivy League school was going to take him if he had been suspended for trespassing.
“Come on, Jade. We need to be going,” Parker said as he reached to the side of the couch and grabbed my suitcase.
Mrs. Crawley’s eyebrows slithered halfway up her forehead when she saw the suitcase.
“Get my computer, leave the pizza,” he added as he stepped aside to let me complete the task. But I noticed that he moved to always place himself between me and the Vice-Principal.
Somehow, he had made this all about him. Taken all the focus, all the heat.
All I could do was grab his computer as I let him take charge. This was not how I had imagined this moment going. I had always thought that when they found me it would be in handcuffs and a perp walk through the middle of school.
But no, it looked like we might actually get away. But it was only as we stepped out into the cool night air that I realized that I had avoided one problem only to fall into another.
Where was I going to go? A sinking feeling of loss filled me. I had been safe. I had been warm and dry. Once again, I was on the streets.
Parker must have seen the fear in my eyes.
“Don’t worry, you can crash at my house for the night. We’ll figure out something for the long term tomorrow.”
“You can’t do that. Your mother…”
He laughed. “Jade, no girlfriend of mine is spending the night on the streets. It would ruin my reputation for being a good guy. Besides, Mom needs some drama. It’s been too quiet around our house since Jake moved out.”
All I could do was stare at him as he led the way to his car. Almost every part of me said that I shouldn’t rely on someone else. But I also knew that Parker Benson was the one person in this world I could trust.
Chapter Eight
Parker
My heart rose to my throat as I pulled into our driveway. I had tried to be confident in front of Jade. The last thing I wanted was her worrying. But deep down I wasn’t too sure. There had been so many changes, I didn’t even know where to start.
Getting out, I rushed around to open her door and waited for her to get out. The entire time, my mind was scrambling with alternatives. No way was this going to go good.
“Parker,” Jade said as she put a hand on my arm. “Are you sure?”
I gave her my best reassuring smile, then grabbed her bag out of the back seat with one hand and took her hand with my other one.
“Don’t worry. Just think. In a few years, this will be a funny story.”
She looked up at me with wide eyes. Like a doe caught in a headlamp. She didn’t know which way to jump. All she knew was fear and doubt.
Setting my shoulders, I led her to the front door, opened it and stepped inside first. Mom was sitting on the couch watching TV, a book folded face down in her lap. I gently pulled Jade inside to stand next to me.
“Mom,” I said as I took a deep breath. “This is my girlfriend Jade McDonald and she’s in trouble.”
Mom’s eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped open as she jumped up.
“Parker. How could you?” she said with a look of disappointment that pulled at my heart.
Jade gasped next to me and then I realized what mom thought.
“No. Not that. We …. No,” I managed to say. “Jade is not pregnant. She had to leave where she was living and needs a place to stay tonight. I’ll come up with something else tomorrow.”
Mom’s brow furrowed as she tried to understand.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Benson,” Jade said. “It is only for one night. I promise.”
I gently placed a hand on Jade’s shoulder, I could see her nervousness leaking off of her in waves.
“We’ve got a lot of other options, Mom,” I said. “I could get some money from my college account and get us a hotel room for the night or maybe just crash in my car down by the park.”
Mom’s eyes widened then she sighed heavily as she softened. I knew that look. It was the same one she had for helpless kittens, scared rabbits, and little boys with bleeding knees. It seemed she also had a soft spot for frightened girls.
“She can sleep in your room. You will have the couch,” she said to me and I could see by the determined look she shot me that this was not negotiable. “Let me change the sheets,” she added as she marched to the linen closet just off the hall.
“Mrs. Benson there is no …”
I reached out and touched Jade’s arm and shook my head.
“Bring her bag, Parker,” Mom said as she pulled sheets and pillowcases from the closet.
I smiled down at Jade. Mom had taken charge. Things would be fine.
.o0o.
Jade
My stomach churned with a heavy combination of fear and shame. What would Mrs. Benson think of me? I was a stranger, invading her house. Her son’s girlfriend. Landing on her doorstep out of nowhere.
And Parker. What did he think of all this? I knew him well enough to know he didn’t like drama. He liked things smooth and easy. Not this turmoil.
One night, I told myself. Just one night. Although, I didn’t know what the difference would be. Being homeless tomorrow wasn’t much better than being homeless tonight.
“Here you go,” she said as she entered Parker’s room and immediately started stripping the bed.
“Really this isn’t necessary,” I said as I saw her shake the pillows out of their case.
She smiled at me and shook her head. “I will feel better. Humor me.”
All I could do was swallow and nod. I glanced at Parker who stood in the doorway with a soft smile for me. A reassuring look that told me not to worry, everything would be fine. Sighing, I quickly scanned the room and realized I was standing in Parker Benson’s bedroom. How many girls would kill to be in this spot?
The room was so typical Parker. A bookshelf filled with novels, mostly science fiction. A desk that looked out on the back yard. Three textbooks nicely stacked on the corner. The only thing surprising was the poster of Mark Twain. A story that I couldn’t wait to hear.
His room smelled like him I realized and bit back a moan as I closed my eyes and drank in that sandalwood scent.
“Since it is only for one night, I won’t clear out space in his dressers,” Mrs. Benson said as she shot Parker a look that questioned whether it would be for only one night.
He smiled at her and said, “Thanks Mom, this is great.”
“Yes … well,” Mrs. Benson said with a shake of her head. I was pretty sure great would not be how she classified the situation. She frowned at her son then sighed heavily. “Parker, you know where the stuff is to make up the couch. Why don’t you go do that?”
My heart seized up as I realized she was sending him away so she could talk to me alone. I shot Parker a nervous glance but all he could do was nod and follow his mother’s command. Things were too sensitive to think about pushing back. Not at the moment.
He gave me a quick, reassuring smile then turned and left. Leaving me alone with his mother. She tilted her head slightly and examined me as if I was a possible purchase from the department store.
“Is everything okay, honey?” she asked sweetly. “I mean, do you need anything?” I knew instantly she was referring to
my having to leave my home. She probably thought I had been abused or something.
“No, I’m fine,” I answered as I tried to reassure her without giving out any details. If she learned that I had led her son into a possible trespassing charge and suspension from school. She’d lose it and toss me out so fast my head would swim.
“The bathroom is across the hall,” Mrs. Benson said as she fluffed the pillows again. “It might not be as clean as I wished it was, but it shouldn’t be too bad.”
“I will be fine,” I assured her. “And again, thank you so much.”
She nodded, gave me one last look then left me there alone. In Parker Benson’s room. My mind swirled with a thousand different emotions. Parker loved me. I had been kicked out of my boiler room. Mrs. Benson thought I was a scourge on her son. The worst thing in the world for him.
To top it off. I was hungry. We hadn’t even had a chance to eat the pizza. But there was no way I was going out there tonight. No way. I was going to hide in Parker Benson’s bedroom and hope for a miracle.
.o0o.
Parker
Mom shot me an angry look as she closed the door to Jade’s room.
“What are you thinking, Parker?” she hissed.
I stopped laying out the blanket on the couch and looked her square in the eye.
“I was thinking about helping the girl I love. I was thinking that my family was the best place to look for help.”
She blanched and rocked back. I didn’t normally talk back to my mom like that. But something had shifted. She needed to understand how important this was.
Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly then nodded. “Get some sleep. We will figure it out in the morning.”
I sighed inside, another crisis avoided. As she turned to go to her room I called after her. “Thank, Mom. I knew I could count on you.”
She stopped and turned back to look at me with a softness about her eyes. “Don’t you dare use your charm on me, Parker Bradford Benson. It won’t work.”
I smiled. I knew that when she said that, it had already worked. It was only after she had left that I was able to truly relax. So much had changed. Declaring my love for Jade hadn’t exactly been planned. It had come out before I could stop it. Not my normal way of dealing with things.
And then there was Jade herself. God, what must she be going through? My heart ached for her. She must be feeling so alone. So frightened. How could I not help her?
I needed to find a solution. A long-term solution that didn’t have my girlfriend living on a street corner.
A thousand different scenarios flashed through my mind. Everything from cashing in my college money to selling my car, to reconfiguring the garage and making it into some kind of apartment. But nothing really worked.
I was still trying to come up with a solution when the front door opened. Buck shot me a quizzical stare.
“Who’d you piss off?” he asked as he shut the door.
“Jade McDonald is in my room,” I said as if that would explain everything.
His eyebrows rose. “And you’re out here. I swear bro. You and I are going to have to have a talk about how this whole boy girl thing works.”
“It’s not like that,” I said. No way did I want him having the wrong impression about Jade.
“Oh really?” he asked as he glanced down the hall. “So, I guess it would be okay if I stepped in and talked to her. I’m sure she’s probably lonely.”
I threw the blankets back and jumped up. “You do that and I’ll tear your arm off and beat you upside the head with it.”
Buck studied me for a moment then smiled as I realized he had been pushing at me to discover the truth.
“I’ve got to give you one thing brother,” he said. “You do have good taste. How serious is it between you guys?”
I sighed as I shook my head. “Bad. Or good, depending on how you look at it.”
He pursed his lips. “And Mom is okay with your girlfriend crashing here. I’m going to have to keep that in the back of my mind for the future.”
“No, she’s not okay with it obviously. It’s just for the night.”
Buck smiled slyly and shook his head. “If you try hard. I bet you can drag it out for a couple of months. I believe in you brother. Just don’t think about moving back into my room.”
My heart ached with the thought of Jade living here. She would be safe. Where I could be available to help if she needed it. No. it would never work.
Sighing, I shook my head. “Stay out of stuff that doesn’t concern you.”
He laughed all the way down the hall to his room. I watched to make sure he didn’t bother Jade and only returned to the couch after he had gone into his room.
How was I going to solve this? My insides were all scrunched up as I tried to come up with a solution. The only thing important was that Jade be safe. Secure. And happy. Heaven knew she deserved to be.
Chapter Nine
Jade
The sun woke me as a thousand memories filled my brain. Parker’s room. Creepy Crawley. Parker telling me that he loved me. All of it rushed in making me gasp as I sat up in bed. Parker’s bed.
What had I gotten myself into? How was I going to deal with all of this? Monday I would probably be suspended from school, or worse, expelled. I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t stay here. That was one thing I was sure of. No way was I upsetting Mrs. Benson. For the first time, I began to understand the dynamic with a boyfriend’s mother.
She was the one person in this world I didn’t want hating me.
The house was quiet. I frantically tried to understand what happened next.
“One step at a time,” I told myself as I pulled on jeans and a T-shirt so I could scoot across the hall to the bathroom. By the time I made myself presentable I was almost feeling normal. I congratulated myself on taking out my nose ring and most of my earrings. For some reason, I believed it had made me look a little better in Mrs. Benson’s eyes. And right now, I could use all the help I could get.
As I passed the living room, I glanced in only to see the couch empty and the blanket folded up.
My stomach dropped. Where was Parker?
When I walked into the kitchen I found Buck Benson grabbing a mixing bowl from beneath the counter. As I watched, he filled it with cornflakes and half a jug of milk. He started to bring the milk to his lips then caught me watching him.
He sighed heavily before he shook his head and put the lid back on without drinking directly from the jug of milk.
“Morning Jade,” he said as if he saw me in his kitchen every morning. Then ignoring me, he sat down on a bar stool and started inhaling his breakfast.
“Have you seen Parker?” I asked as I held my breath.
Buck shook his head. “No,” he mumbled around a mouth full of cornflakes.
My heart fell as my stomach tightened up. But before I could ask him more, Mrs. Benson stepped into the kitchen tightening the belt on her robe. She quickly assessed the situation then slapped Buck in the back of the head.
“Did you offer our guest anything,” she asked.
Buck winced and said, “Hey, are my brother’s girlfriends really guests? I mean …”
My heart jumped. Being mentioned as Parker’s girlfriend did something to my insides that I can’t describe. A sort of tingly happiness mixed with worry.
His mom slapped him in the back of the head again.
“Why did you do that?” he said as he flinched away from her.
“General principal,” she said as she shot me a quick smile then started making coffee.
Was this what a normal family was like? I wondered. Suddenly, I could see Parker fitting in well in this world. Each of them was comfortable enough with each other that they didn’t have to walk on eggshells. No one was hiding the truth.
“Have you seen your brother?” Mrs. Benson asked Buck as she lifted the pot of coffee to me, silently asking if I wanted some.
“Yes Ma’am, please,” I answered.
“No,” Buck said as he rubbed the back of his head. “I haven’t seen my saintly brother. He disappeared. He probably wanted to avoid the physical abuse you dish out.”
Mrs. Benson grunted. “I don’t have to slap Parker. He’s my good son. The only one who turned out worth a darn.”
I gasped until I saw the twinkle in Buck’s eyes and realized she was teasing him. These two had a special relationship I realized. He was her baby. But, also bigger than a house. He was twice her size yet she kept him under control with a teasing look.
“Thank you,” I told her as she handed me a mug of coffee.
I added some cream then took a sip and felt my world come into alignment.
“How’d you sleep, honey?” Mrs. Benson asked and I could tell she actually cared. A warmth filled me and I swear my eyes grew misty. To have someone talk to me as I actually mattered was such a strange sensation.
“Yes, Ma’am. Everything was fine. Thank you so much for letting me stay the night.”
She smiled as she rested a hand on my arm. Then said, “You don’t need to call me Ma’am dear. I’m not that old.”
Buck snorted over his cornflakes. She shot him an evil glare. All I could do was nod and say. “Of course, Ma’… Mrs. Benson.”
She patted my arm then turned and said to her son. “Don’t make any plans for today. The yard needs to be mowed. And I need you to move those bags of topsoil to the beds in the back.
“Oh, Mom,” he whined. “I had plan …”
She shook her head. “That was your first mistake. Making plans without talking to me first.” She then turned to me and shot me a quick wink. A female lesson in keeping men in line, that look said.
All I could do was hide my smile while taking a sip of coffee. She was a good person. I realized. Maybe things might actually work out. A small hope began to build inside of me. Then the front door opened and I held my breath when Parker walked into the kitchen.
God, the boy was handsome. Tall, and just so, so, so perfect.
“Hey Mom,” he said as he walked right past her and bent down to kiss me on the cheek. “Good morning, Princess,” he said softly. His eyes delved into mine, searching to make sure I was all right.
Hidden Truth (The Benson Brothers Book 2) Page 5
