after that day in the woods, parker never saw stella again. of course, it had saddened him but inside, he knew she was okay.
stella had left a mark on parker. she had left, she had come back, she had left again.
and maybe it was wrong for stella to just leave without a word, but parker understood that stella still had her demons, still had a battle to fight.
that had been years ago, though.
parker thought about his childhood nearly every single day.
now he was in his twenties with a wife at his side and a beautiful little girl named estelle.
his life was all that a man could ever hope for, but he never forgot about his first love, his not so happy teenage years.
"daddy, come read a story to me and mommy!"
he was drawn out of his thoughts when estelle dove into his lap, her toothy grin and curly hair making him melt.
"okay stelle. in a minute, sweetie."
she nodded and ran out of the room, a spitfire of energy.
he looked back down to the picture frame in his hand, a photo of stella and him as children.
with a small smile, he placed it back upon his desk and exited the room.
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thank you all so much for your everlasting support on this one.
