Defending Parker

[Chapter 18]

Chapter 18 (Jillian's POV)

“Have you talked to Parker recently?” Saige asked, leaning up against the locker next to mine.

 

Oddly enough, that wasn’t something I expected to come out of her mouth this early on a Monday morning. Shuffling through my things, I held my locker door lightly as I poked my head out. “Not since Saturday.” I replied curiously, not knowing where this conversation was headed. “I texted him a few times yesterday and once this morning, but he hasn’t responded.”

“Seriously?” she asked incredulously, her eyes widening as she rested her head against the locker. “I thought for sure that you’d be able to tell me what’s been up with him.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

My mind immediately started reeling, jumping to worst-case scenarios about the trial or his father, but when Saige saw the worry etched into my face, she shook her head, telling me not to worry.

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” she insisted. “It’s just that ever since I got home from your house on Saturday he’s been acting a little bit different. Mom told me not to worry about him, that it’s probably just his nerves for the trial starting to appear, but he just seems really stressed out to me. At dinner on Saturday he barely touched his food while he just sat there in silence pushing everything around his plate, and then when I tried to talk to him yesterday he was really jittery and closed off. It’s like he suddenly reverted back to the guy he was when he first moved in last year.”

Although it sounded as though she was trying to reassure me nothing was wrong, I couldn’t help but feel a cloud of uneasiness settle over me.

“It’s probably nothing,” Saige continued, shaking her head as she forced a smile onto her face, “I don’t know why I even brought it up.”

“Saige,” I said flatly, watching as she bit her lip anxiously, “Do you really believe that?”

“Well-“

She trailed off worriedly as I cut her off. “Exactly!” I said, “You live with the guy Saige, and if he seems off, something’s probably wrong. I just wish he’d tell me.”

I didn’t mean to sound down on myself, but it was true. Even though I knew I couldn’t force him to tell me everything, especially since I really hadn’t known him all that long, there was a part of me that felt crestfallen that he didn’t trust me enough to confide in.

“You and me both.” Saige continued as an after-thought.

It was times like these that I missed the warm weather, as I’d just be able to pull on a pair of running shoes and run, setting all my problems free as I focused on the sound of my own breathing. Running on the treadmill wasn’t the same to me, and although I still ran on a daily basis, nothing could beat the feeling I got when I felt the wind hit my skin and clear my heard.

“At least we’ll see him at lunch.” Saige said as the first bell of the day rang overhead, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Who knows, maybe his mood will have picked up by then.”