Chapter 6: The Camaro

Parker’s mom had left for work before Parker had woken up. She was glad she was old enough now that her mom didn’t feel like she had to be monitored or kept entertained over summer break. A few too many bad experiences at summer camps had made Parker wary of all of it.

She was pouring herself a bowl of cereal when there was an unexpected knock on the door. Lissa still wasn’t talking to her. She’d sent a few text messages – 50 or 60 – and hadn’t gotten any responses.

Puzzled, Parker opened the front door with her box of cereal still in hand. Damien stood there with a stunning smile. He was wearing a fitted gray t-shirt that outlined his muscles too well, and a pair of blue jeans.

“Morning, Parker,” he said with a friendly nod. Parker swallowed as Damien’s eyes traveled down her body. She was still in her pajamas. Nervously, she held one arm across her chest and dropped the cereal box to cover her shorts.

“Good morning,” she said in a strained voice. Parker cleared her throat and giggled nervously.

“I didn’t know if you had plans today…” Damien said, trailing off a little.

“No, I don’t have plans,” she said.

“Great, want to hang out?” he asked, a little more enthusiastically than she would have expected.

“Um…sure,” she said. “Let me get dressed.” Damien nodded.

Parker ran upstairs and changed quickly. When she came back down, Damien was still waiting on her porch. She’d left the door open, but he hadn’t come inside to wait. Behind him, parked right outside her house, was a navy-blue Camaro convertible.

“Is that your car?” Parker asked, pointing to the vehicle and smiling. Damien nodded, grinning widely.

“Yes, it is,” he said. “Want to go for a ride?”

“I’d love to!” she said excitedly.

Giddiness flooded through her as she slid into the passenger seat. Damien ran around to the driver’s side. The car roared to life, and he sped away from the curb, putting the top down as they went.

“You like cars?” Damien asked, driving just fast enough for each turn to be a thrill. The wind felt great on her face, and Parker loved the smell of the fresh ocean air.

“I like this car,” Parker said, looking over at Damien. He winked at her, and Parker’s stomach flip-flopped.

“Tell me about yourself, Parker, what kinds of things do you like?” Damien asked as they flew around another bend.

“I read a lot,” Parker said. “My favorite genre is fantasy, like paranormal fantasy.”

“Paranormal fantasy?” Damien asked, raising an eyebrow. Parker bit her lower lip. She hoped Damien didn’t think she was weird.

“Yea, you know, werewolves, vampires, angels, ghosts, demons, that kind of thing,” she explained. Damien hummed and nodded. “What kinds of things do you like?”

“I like to write, journaling mostly,” he said.

“Is that a habit picked up from all the traveling you’ve done with your family?” she asked. Damien looked thoughtful as he stared out the windshield.

“Yea. It helps me remember,” he said.

They talked about Damien’s travels and his family, but Parker noticed that he almost always hesitated before answering, and each answer was vague enough not to tell Parker much of anything. She understood personal privacy and thought she might be prying too much, so she stopped asking questions.

“I’d like to know more about you,” Damien admitted. “What your dreams are, where you see your life going.” Parker laughed and shook her head.

“Far, far away from here,” she said.

“Really? Isn’t this your home?” Damien asked, glancing at her from the driver’s seat. He pulled the car up to an outcropping where they could park and get out to look over the beach.

“I’ve lived here my whole life,” Parker said. “I’d rather go somewhere more exciting, bigger, lots of activity. I’d blend in more.”

“You sound like Lucien,” Damien said. They stood at the edge of the outcropping, the rumbling waves crashing against the rocks below.

“I do like this,” Parker said, motioning out to the ocean.

“It is very peaceful,” Damien agreed.

They got back in the car and Damien took her home. Parker hadn’t expected to have so much fun on a simple car ride, but Damien knew exactly how to make the ride exciting.

“Thanks for spending the day with me,” Damien said, walking Parker to her front door. They stopped on her porch, facing each other.

“I had a really great time,” she said. “I’m sorry if I asked too many prying questions.”

“No, no,” Damien said shaking his head. His dark hair swayed around his chiseled jaw. “My family is a little confusing, so I have to simplify things.”

“I understand,” Parker said.

“I had a great time today too,” Damien added. “Maybe you’d like to go out with me again, like on a date?” Parker’s breath caught in her throat.

She coughed a little to kickstart her own breathing again. She’d never been asked out before! She hadn’t even had time to process the fact that she’d just spent a whole day, a fun day, with a guy who hadn’t once commented negatively on her physical features!

“Umm, yeah, I’d like that,” she said with a shy smile. Parker felt her cheeks burning with a blush. Her stomach twisted in all kinds of pleasant ways.

“Cool,” Damien said. “Friday night? I’ll pick you up?”

“Yea,” Parker said with a nod. She bit her lower lip, flirting a little this time instead of feeling nervous. Damien smirked at her and nodded.

“Until then,” he said nodding and backing away from her. Parker nodded and let herself into her house.

Running up to her bedroom, Parker threw herself down on her bed. She grabbed her pillow, hugging it against her as she laughed into it and rolled around, too overcome with giddiness at being asked on a date! She was so excited. She wanted to call Lissa, but she thought that would be insensitive, seeing as Lissa had been turned down by Damien.

A bunch of confusing thoughts and feelings raced through her head. Would Lissa ever forgive her if she went out on a date with Damien? Was it worth risking the way she felt about him for the sake of her friendship? What if she never felt that way again, and what if no one else ever felt that way about her? She couldn’t pass up this chance!

Her thoughts were cut short when she heard some strange sound outside her window. Swallowing nervously, Parker wondered if the hawk was back.

Timidly, she went to her window. She’d left the curtains closed since the night before. Now, she carefully pulled the curtain back.

With a squeak of surprise, Parker pulled back and dropped the curtain. Lucien was sitting in the tree outside her window!

Gathering her strength, Parker opened the curtain again. She tapped on the glass to get his attention. Lucien turned around, a wicked smirk on his lips. His eyes devoured her as though she were something to eat!

Parker’s whole body went rigid. A cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. She couldn’t move!

Lucien raised an eyebrow at her and then jumped out of the tree to the ground below.

Breaking out of her fear, Parker gasped. She ran downstairs again, bolting out the front door and around the house. She was terrified she’d find her neighbor’s dead body on her lawn. That fall could have easily broken his neck!

When she rounded the corner of the house to her backyard, Parker nearly collided with Lucien. He was standing there, perfectly unharmed. He held his arms out, grabbing her shoulders to stop her from running into him.

Quickly, he let go of her when she stopped moving.

“Are you okay?” Parker asked, breathing heavily from her exertion and terror.

“I’m fine,” Lucien said dismissively. He smirked at her again, and Parker was reminded of all the horrible, unsettled feelings she’d had while he stared at her through her bedroom window.

“I…how…what?” Parker asked, unable to form a complete thought. Lucien licked his thin lips, the light of the moon behind him making his light skin and hair practically glow. Even though she felt he was dangerous, she couldn’t help being attracted to him at the same time!

“Don’t tell Damien,” Lucien said in a dark, threatening tone.

“Tell him what?” Parker asked with a nervous squeak. Lucien lifted his hand, pressing his thumb to her lower lip.

“That’s my girl,” he said with a wink. “Go back inside, you’re safe in there.” Lucien pulled away from her and strode back to his house. Parker stared after him for several minutes before she went back inside.

Going to her desk, she pulled out a blank notebook page. Millions of thoughts were racing through her head. What teenage boy could jump from a tree over two stories high and survive without so much as a twisted ankle?

Something was definitely off about her neighbors, and she wanted to know what! She started making a list of possibilities, starting with the obvious, like drugs and ending with things that sounded crazy, like being dropped in a vat of toxic waste. She couldn’t see Lucien as a hero though, maybe Damien, but not Lucien!