When Clyde Parker, the wayward son and the rotten-apple of the Parker family-tree, storms his way back into Avery Fields, he sets out a flurry of butterfly effect in Dawn Marshal's life.
...
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IT WAS THE START of a new tradition—they would climb up the rusty metal staircase to the rooftop after crappy days and nights that didn't promise anything better, sometimes Dawn would carry her grandfather's old stereo blasting best rock anthems of 'The Smiths' and 'Nirvana' with songs that express hatred towards all humanity, sometimes they would stargaze and immerse into this comfortable silence that could stretch on for hours.
Dawn realized she was turning into her brother.
It was another night when Clyde Parker ripped another band-aid off as his words flowed like blood gushing out of an open wound.
"My thoughts are blurry, my memories are overlapping with many other memories, I saw it with the eyes of a six year old. I remember hearing my mother humming to 'Should I stay or should I go', her sandy blonde hair pulled in a messy bun. She would be in a yellow dress, a red gingham apron tied around her waist as she whipped pancakes, tossing them into the air and then flipping them into the pan. Her porcelain skin would glisten in the sunshine that filtered through the kitchen windows. I used to think she was an angel." A lump formed in his throat.
She clutched his hand and squeezed it, "You don't have to do this."
"You are right I don't have to but I want to. I cannot go around carrying this burden anymore..." he wiped a stray tear that strolled down his cheeks with the back of his sleeve, "Then I remember her in a hospital bed, wearing a paper dress, tubes going through her body, the pulse rate monitor beeping, her skin emaciated, her hair was lost from the chemo, her beautiful blue eyes sinking into their sockets. When she smiled, I remember thinking she still looked beautiful."
"She was diagnosed with leukemia; her doctors knew she wouldn't make it. Yet she was clinging to that last sliver of hope like holy grail. Hospital bills and her expensive pills came and went away, we couldn't afford her treatment. We were drowning in debts and suddenly one night she didn't want to fight it anymore. When she came to tuck me in, she hugged me real tight, she cried, she told me she loved me and that she would always watch over me. I told her she's all I had and that I couldn't lose her. She couldn't fight her disease anymore, it was a losing battle and she didn't want to die defeated. She didn't want her cancer to win, so she beat it to it. I don't remember when it started or when it stopped, all I know is that when it did stop, it took her away."
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed the knots in his throat.
"That night, she filled the tub with water and drow—" His voice broke off at the last few words.
Her fingers curled around his, she tilted her head and leaned against his shoulder. Clyde Parker sat beside her vulnerable and naked, he was naked not in the most people are, he was not naked to the skin and bones. She had unraveled layers of him, stripped him off the skin and bones and she had seen all that was left of him, she had seen his soul.
He had bared all his scars for her eyes only. Clyde Parker confided in her with bits of him, bits of him which were masked from the prying eyes of the world. And something about this felt so intimate and scary.
Certainly, she had heard of this tale from the mouths of many—the myth of the skeletons in Calum Parker's closet that evolved over the fleeting years. But hearing it from Clyde Parker, his pain streaming out through the open dam of the words he spewed, it was different.
And that rawness in his tone, the pain radiating through them, she wanted to take them away; stack them in a mason jar, label it with 'pain' and hurl it down the cliff.
It was long before she collected herself, found her voice again and spoke. "Your mom was a really wonderful and strong woman inside out."
His eyes merged into hers, "Just like you," he whispered, "With less crazier hair, of course!" He flicked a flock of her over hair shoulder and she giggled. Then his eyes dawned upon her with a gaze she couldn't quite describe, it was as inexplicable as her being associated with the likes of Clyde Parker.
And that night, under the many stars, his cold blue eyes thawed out like the crisp layer of winter dying out in the first morning of spring. "You are beautiful," and for once Clyde Parker hadn't carved her out in miscellaneous metaphors but spewed the exact words which were lying on the tip of his tongue.
She couldn't remember the last time someone called her beautiful.
•°•°•
"God, I missed this!" His lips melted into hers in a longing kiss. To an onlooker she looked like a lovesick maiden reuniting with her World War I soldier at the train station after two years.
His fingers molded around her hips, as she sunk further into the warmth of his body. Her hand snaked around his broad shoulder, slipping past the collar of his white button down and gently tugging at his soft and silky hair all the while their lips moved in sync and her tongue fought a losing-battle.
Then somehow, Clyde's voice whispered in her ear, "You are beautiful." She gently shoved Caleb away and parted their lips. His eyes widened like saucers.
"Caleb..." her fingers fiddled with his collar but she wouldn't meet his eyes, "Do you think I am beautiful?"
His forehead was morphed into folds as he furrowed his eyebrows trying to decipher her simple worded question. He didn't know what to tell her. He could tell her the word 'beautiful' had a different meaning to each individual but that wouldn't answer her question and Dawn was persistent.
Silence was her answer. Her brown eyes dropped to her dirty converses as she clutched her chemistry book to her chest. "I should get to class before the warning bell..."
"Hey...hey," he lifted her chin, "Dawn look at me..." He pleaded as he cupped her face and captured her tingling lips in another kiss. Her leg curled around his thigh and his nails dug on her sides forcing a moan out of her as he bit her lower lip for entrance. Their tongues fought in dominance, dancing in the rhythm of their beating hearts.
He kissed her in a way, he hadn't kissed her beforeand he really hoped that was enough to answer her question.
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This chapter was an emotional one and it unravels a sensitive part of Clyde Parker. If it touched you and you liked this chapter don't forget to color that little orange star, comment and share this story. Honestly, it will mean the world to me if you do.
Also, only 15 more chapters are left for this story, give or take and as I am working on wrapping it up and editing it, you can hit my profile with a follow to see more of my future-works. You can find this story also on Inkitt (it's free, for those of you, who don't know) I just published part two there but I will put the rest of the story there by tomorrow and possibly post the ending there before Wattpad, so you guys can check it out. Link is in my bio.
On that note, stay tuned for the next chapter, it's a good one (I promise) and I might post it sooner than you think ;). Yes, since we are reaching the end prepare yourself for some surprise updates , I know I am awesome. Adios!
