~~~~

Excuse the Mistakes

There is a picture of Parker on the side. At some point in the chapter, I describe him shirtless, and I thought I would provide a picture ;)

~~~~

Today was one of those days when I was glad I was sick.

First of all, today was Monday, and staying home on a Monday was every teenager’s fantasy. However, the major reason I was happy to be home from school was because of Parker. Whatever feelings I was having towards him had to be sorted out, and it was easier to do that when I was home alone.

“Alright, Reed,” my mom said, walking into my room, “I’m heading to work, but if you need anything, just call me or your father.”

“Okay,” I mumbled, burrowing further under my covers. My mom said something else, but my mind was so tired that I just ignored her.

I faintly heard my bedroom door close behind my mom, and I yawned loudly. One of the dancers at my studio had managed to get me sick with a death plague, and I was one hundred percent sure that I was dying.

I’d spent last night curled up on the bathroom floor, since I kept vomiting. Every time I’d moved to go back to my bed, another wave of nausea hit me, and I was bent over the toilet once again.

Around four in the morning, my mom had found me in my bathroom. She took one look at the toilet full of the contents of my stomach and told me that I could stay home, which wasn’t a common occurrence in my house. Then, my mom had helped me into my bed, and she’d set up a trash bin next to my bed in case I began throwing up again.

A few minutes after my mom had left for work, I felt myself start to drift off, and my tired body welcomed sleep with open arms. A cold, tiled bathroom floor and a bathmat blanket weren’t exactly comfortable when it came to sleeping. A warm, soft bed, however, was wonderful.

Suddenly, after what felt like only minutes, my phone went off, ripping me painfully from sleep.

I tried ignoring it, but my mom must’ve changed my ringtone to this annoying one because she knew that I’d answer it. I let out a groan as I pulled my arm out of my cocoon and felt around on the bedside table. My fingers closed around the small piece of technology, and without looking at the caller ID, I pressed the send button and held the phone up to my ear.

“Hello?” I called irritably.

“Where you at, Baby Mama?” Parker asked playfully, and I groaned.

“I’m home sick,” I answered grumpily.

“Really?” Parker replied, his tone changing to one of concern, “Are you okay?”

“No,” I deadpanned, yawning, “I’m dying. Can’t you tell?”

“Is anyone home with you?” Parker asked, ignoring my sarcastic remark.

‘Nope,” I replied, “I’m home alone until Thomas gets home from school.”

“Then, I’m coming over,” Parker stated, and before I could tell him absolutely not, Parker had hung up. I swore under my breath and dropped my phone back on the bedside table. Parker coming over meant that I would have to at least sit up and no part of me wanted to.

Reluctantly, I slid my comforter off of my body and swung my legs over the side of my bed. Gently, I pushed myself up into a sitting position, and I moaned as the world spun slightly. I grabbed the small trashcan on the floor next to my bed and sat it on my thighs, directly under my mouth.

As the wave of nausea subsided, I looked down at the clothes I was wearing. My shirt was fine, but what I was wearing on the bottom half of my body wasn’t. I was wearing a pair of shorts from when I’d been overheating earlier, but I hadn’t shaved recently and that fact was obvious.

I stood up and walked slowly over to my dresser, but when I bent over to grab some sweatpants from the bottom drawer, I felt the vomit rise in my throat. Quickly, I stood up and took a big breath of air to force the bile back down.

Parker was just going to have to deal with a little hair.

I grabbed one of the many mismatched throw blankets from the end of my bed, and I padded out of my room and down the hallway. I stepped slowly down the stairs, wincing slightly, and then I walked down the hall and into the kitchen.

Despite the fact that it was only a little after eight in the morning, I grabbed a can of Coke, which I heard could settle one’s stomach. I also dumped a bunch of saltine crackers into a plastic bowl, and I carried all of my supplies into the den, which was a lot more comfortable than our living room.

However, just as I settled down on the couch, the doorbell rang. I moaned and let my face fall onto one of the throw pillows unceremoniously. I thought about not answering the door, which might make Parker go away, but the avid ringing and knocking on the door was making my head hurt.

I stood up and walked slowly to the front door, and I hesitated a moment before unlocking it. I pulled the door open, and there stood Parker. To my surprise, however, he was holding a clear, plastic container full of soup that I could tell was hot. What was even better, though, was the stack of DVD’s he had under his arm.

“Hey,” I said, and I tried smiling, but it probably looked more like a grimace.

“You really do look sick,” Parker commented as I moved to the side to let him in.

“Wow, thanks for that,” I replied, shutting the door, “That makes me feel better to know that I look like crap.”

“I didn’t say that!” he said defensively, and I rolled my eyes. I led Parker into the den and sat down on the couch. “Where do you want me to put this stuff?” Parker asked, holding up the soup and gesturing towards the DVDs.

“You can just put it on the coffee table,” I said, nodding towards the small wooden table that already held my can of Coke and my saltines. Parker placed the soup down, and then he plopped down next to me on the couch.

“I brought Dawn of the Dead, Hostel, Paranormal Activity, and The SpongeBob Squarepants movie,” Parker stated, spreading the DVD cases out on the small stretch of couch between us.

“Wait,” I said, tipping my head to the side and looking at Parker with curiosity, “Why did you bring that last one?” Parker knew about and shared my love for horror movies, and that SpongeBob movie stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Because you like SpongeBob, right?” Parker replied, shrugging, “I remembered that shirt you were wearing a while ago, and I had this movie. Plus, I wasn’t sure if you could really handle a scary movie if you were sick.”

“True and true,” I confirmed, commenting on each of his assumptions, “SpongeBob it is then.”

I started to get up to put the DVD in the player on my TV, but Parker stopped me before I got too far. “I’ve got it, Reed,” he said, and he boosted himself off of the couch and grabbed the television remote.

I watched in surprise as Parker changed the television input and turned on the DVD player, which I’d always found to be complicated. However, Parker made it look easy. The dude understood my technology better than I did.

Parker set the movie to play, and then he sat down next to me, a lot closer than before. As I bundled up in the blanket and tucked my feet underneath my torso, I fell over and ended up leaning against Parker’s side. Before I could apologize and move, Parker slipped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close.

Remember when I said that I needed to sort through my feelings for Parker?

Well, this really wasn’t helping.

*

“Reed, are you seriously crying right now?”

“Shut up,” I muttered, wiping my eyes, “It’s not my fault, okay?”

“You do realize we’re watching Finding Nemo, right?” Parker replied, raising an eyebrow in amusement, and I narrowed my eyes. I smacked Parker in the chest playfully, and he shoved me back gently.

That’s when I got the metallic taste in my mouth.

“Parker,” I croaked, and I could actually feel all of the blood drain from my face.

“What is it?” Parker asked, he voice full of concern. He still had his arm around me, which had been going on since after we started watching movies.

“I need my bu—”

Before I could even finish my words, I start to throw up… all over Parker’s lap.

Well, there goes any sense of attractiveness I had.

Instead of freaking out and jumping away from me, Parker just grabbed the bucket as quickly as he could, and he held it under my mouth to catch the rest of the vomit. I even felt him pull back the strands of hair that were in my face.

When I finally finished, I winced at the stinging sensation the stomach acid had left in my throat after the vomiting had passed. I grabbed a nearby tissue and wiped my mouth, and then I looked up at Parker.

“I’m sorry I threw up on you,” I whispered, feeling completely guilty and disgusting.

“It’s not your fault, Reed,” Parker said, and I was surprised at how calm he was being, seeing as there was a mixture of digested saltines and coke splattered across his lap.

“You should get cleaned up,” I said, stating the obvious.

“Do you have a laundry room somewhere?” Parker asked, nodding towards the rest of my house, “I can throw my clothes in there to get clean.”

“Yeah,” I said, “I can show you where it is.”

“Are you sure you can get up?” Parker replied, looking at me skeptically.

“I have my trusty bucket,” I replied, tapping the plastic in Parker’s hands. Parker hesitated, and I rolled my eyes, “Parker, you can’t sit in vomit and I am really bad with directions, so I am going to have to show you where it is.”

“Fine,” Parker said with a sigh, and he started to pull his vomit stained shirt off.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded, my eyes wide in shock.

“Reed, if I get up and walk, all of the vomit on my pants will drip onto the floor,” Parker explained, “If I pull my clothes off here, there’s less of a chance of it getting messy.”

“Oh,” I replied, and then I closed my mouth tightly. Parker had a good point, and I was about to see him in just his underwear.

Parker finished pulling off his shirt, and then he unbuckled his belt and undid the button on his jeans. Then, as carefully as he could, Parker slid his jeans off. “There,” he said, standing up in front of his clothes.

“Nice boxers,” I commented, nodding at the red boxers with black hearts.

“Thanks,” Parker said, winking at me. As he folded his jeans carefully, so he wouldn’t spill any of my vomit on the couch, I couldn’t help but check out his body. I mean, I’m a teenage girl, and Parker Hunt’s body was a common topic of discussion in the girls’ locker room.

And let me tell you, it did live up to the stories.

It was obvious that Parker worked out. His arm muscles were clearly defined, as were his pecs and abs. The most attractive part about Parker’s body, however, were the muscles that I deemed “stupid girl muscles.” You know those muscles that guys have near their pelvis that form a V? Yeah, well, they made girls stupid, and judging by Parker’s, I could see why he’d gotten laid so many times.

“So, where’s the laundry room?” Parker asked, snapping me from my increasingly sexual thoughts.

“Right,” I said, hoping that I hadn’t been too obvious in ogling at Parker, “Follow me.”

I stood up carefully, with some help from Parker, and then I padded out of the room with him behind me. We walked through the kitchen to the small laundry room in the back, and I gave him quick instructions on how to work the washer. Then, I excused myself to the bathroom to clean out my bucket.

As soon as the bathroom door closed behind me, I dumped the contents of my bucket into the toilet, flushed it, and started rinsing out the bucket. I looked up in the mirror and groaned.
Compared to Parker, I looked like Slenderman’s ginger sister. My skin was a pale white from all the vomiting, and I just looked thinner than usual.

Contrary to what the tabloids said, being super skinny wasn’t attractive. I liked my curves, but whenever I got sick, my body seemed to suck everything in, which made me look like a twelve-year-old boy.

I groaned and after I was done cleaning out my bucket, I popped some Pepto Bismol in my mouth and walked back over to the laundry room. When I entered the room, Parker had already put the clothes in the washer, and he was sitting in a chair and reading and old Entertainment Weekly magazine.

There they were again— those damn feelings.

I’d felt them when Parker had first wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and then throughout all of the movies we’d watched together. When I’d thrown up, the feelings had temporarily gone away, but now, they were back and more aggressive than ever.

“Hey,” I said, drawing Parker’s attention to myself.

“Are you feeling better?” Parker asked, closed the magazine and tossing it back in the recycling bin where he’d gotten it.

“Slightly,” I answered, walking over to the washing machine and leaning against it, “I took some Pepto, so hopefully that will help with the nausea.”

“That was a good idea,” Parker said, standing up.

Suddenly, we were very, very close together. I found myself, once again, staring up into Parker’s warm, chocolate brown eyes. I opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn’t find any words, and for once, Parker looked speechless as well.

We started to lean in towards each other, which was probably a bad idea, since I was sick. However, before our lips could even touch, the washing machine made a loud beeping sound that made me jump and cry out in surprise.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, taking a step back, “I’m gonna go get some… water.”

Then, before Parker could say anything to me, I turned on my heel and hurried away as fast as I could without getting nauseous again. I walked into the kitchen, set my bucket down, and let my forehead drop gently against the kitchen counter.

I didn’t want to admit to myself that I was falling for Parker Hunt.

But I knew it was true.

~~~~

:D So what do you guys think about that, huh?

The video on the side is of Vincent Kidd, someone who was on the Voice UK. He's singing with his coahc, Jessie J. I think he is amazing and he should have won!

Also, I want to make this very clear. I absolutely HATE when someone comments about how I should check out their story. If you wanted ME to check out your story, you would have private messaged me. By posting it in a comment, you are using my story as advertising, and I WILL delete your comment. There are share your story threads, so you can use that.

Can we maybe get Stupid Cupid back up on the What's Hot lists for Teen Fiction and Humor?

FAN

VOTE

SHARE

COMMENT

~~~~