2. Parker

CHAPTER 2

Parker

N ew year, new me . At least, that’s what I’d been trying to tell myself ever since I transferred to CU. My first three years of college weren’t exactly the greatest, but I was determined to make senior year my best year yet.

Castleton had offered me a full ride between academic and athletic scholarships, and I hadn’t been able to turn that down. I’d wanted a change and to leave Rhode Island.

So here I was.

I was going to focus on classes, lacrosse, and keeping my head on straight. My team, friends, and a social life came secondary to my primary purpose: getting my degree and starting my career. Nothing else mattered.

“Yo, man!” came the voice of my new teammate, Samuel . He also happened to occupy the room next to mine in the Lacrosse house and was constantly barging in to talk to me.

Maybe he knew I didn’t really have any friends here. That I only went to the required team practices and bonding activities, and I left the latter early most of the time. After the way last school year ended, I wasn’t exactly looking to make friends with my teammates.

“What’s up, Sam?” I asked him, leaning back on my desk chair. My textbook for my architectural design class lay open on the desk, and I’d planned to get a chunk of studying done tonight.

“We’re going out tonight. You’re coming with us.”

I frowned, looking at the book in my lap. “Why?”

He shook his head. “What do you mean, why ? You haven’t come out with the team once since the semester started, Maxwell.”

He was right. I hadn’t gone out once. But that was because I had other shit to do. Studying, for starters.

“But…”

“Come on. Please?”

I sighed. This wasn’t me. I used to always be the life of the party—the easy going guy on the team. Maybe I could be that guy again. “Okay,” I finally agreed. “But I don’t have a costume.” It was Halloween weekend on campus, after all, and I’d been hearing people talk about what they were wearing to the parties the entire week in class.

“Don’t worry, bro. I’ve got you covered.” He slapped a hand on my shoulder, grinning.

Groaning, I ran my hands through my hair.

I already knew it was going to be a long night.

I’d lost count of the amount of parties I’d been dragged to, house after house, as my teammates drank beer after beer. Finally, we’d gotten to one of the frat houses. I’d shed the stupid costume they’d given me at the last party, instead wearing my black t-shirt and flannel.

Grabbing a fresh beer from the kitchen, I wandered into the back of the house, finding a few of my teammates chatting with some girls dressed in short skirts.

It’s not that I blamed them for chasing after girls, but I’d promised the coach when I accepted being on the team here that I would be on my best behavior. My life this year was class and lacrosse—no distractions.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t look. No girl had caught my eye yet, though. There were a multitude of costumes here tonight, ranging from cute to skimpy versions of every animal you could possibly imagine.

And then I saw her. Long strands of blonde hair, like the color of sunshine. A sparkly, poofy pink dress that would have been absolutely ridiculous on anyone else. Pink heels that tied into bows at the ankles. And to top it all off, a pink witch hat.

“Who’s that?” I asked, unable to tear my eyes away. Though I couldn’t see her face, her presence lit up the entire room. Like the sun revolved around her, rising and setting based on her smile.

“Who?” Samuel followed my gaze, a smirk covering his face when he saw her. “The blonde?” I just nodded.“Some theater girl, I think. Dunno.” Sam’s voice drew me out of my trance. He shook his head. “They’re more trouble than they’re worth. Stick to the ones who aren’t so high maintenance.”

I snorted. “I won’t be doing any of that, Sam. No girls. Got enough going on this year.”

He shook his head. “Whatever you say, man.”

Rolling my eyes, I downed the rest of my beer. I wanted to go talk to her. Maybe it was the beer. I wanted to know if she tasted like sunshine.

I wasn’t that drunk, right? Fuck, I needed to cut myself off. No girls. I’d been so good this year.

Smoothing a hand over my face, I crumpled the can of beer in my hands. “I’m gonna go find the bathroom.”

“There’s one upstairs. Normally the one down here has a line.”

“Cool. Thanks, man.”

He nodded, turning towards the kitchen. “I’m gonna go see if I can find some food in this place. I’m starving.”

The path up the stairs was empty, and that was when I heard it. Singing. A beautiful, melodic voice. I was entranced. A flash of pink. Bouncy blonde hair. And then she was gone.

Back down the stairs, into the throes of the party. Where did she go? I pinched my eyes shut— if only to hear it again—but the only sounds came from the party downstairs.

Damn. The girl had sounded like an angel. I wondered if I could get her to sing for me again.

Slipping into the bathroom—which, thankfully, was empty—I splashed some water on my face before taking care of business and then washing my hands.

The water was a wake-up call. I needed some air. Needed to not think about the beautiful blonde who I’d only caught a glimpse of. Was it her I’d heard?

It was like something I’d heard in my dreams, and I was dying to hear it again.

Needing a break from the party, I headed to the door that led into the backyard that I’d seen earlier, only to find someone else had the same thought as me. It was the girl in pink I’d seen inside. The beautiful girl who had been singing to herself upstairs before I’d lost her. She was leaning against the rail, illuminated by the moonlight.

Sliding the door open, I joined her outside, copying her position on the other side. I leaned against the railing, staring up at the stars. The air outside was crisp, given the temperatures this time of year, but I wouldn’t complain. I had my flannel and a pair of jeans on, besides. It had been colder up in New England, so I was used to it.

That was when she noticed I was there. “Oh.” She sounded surprised.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Shaking her head, she said, “No. You didn’t. I just didn’t expect anyone else to be out here.”

That voice … I stepped forward, wanting to be closer to her. To ask her to sing for me again.

The girl in pink froze, her eyes growing wide. “Parker ?”

That stopped me. Her voice. I knew that voice. Knew her . She stepped closer, and my heart felt like it had stopped beating. She was here. The girl of my dreams. “Rosie? Is that you?”

How long had it been? When I’d moved away, I’d planned on keeping my promise to my childhood best friend. Keep in contact. Go back and visit. But it’d been hard. We’d moved states away, and I’d had lacrosse and school to keep up with.

“Hi.” She whispered the word, her cheeks still the prettiest shade of pink I’d ever seen. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“You go here?” I blurted out. “To Castleton?”

Audrey nodded, leaning with her back to the railing. “I’m a junior. Majoring in drama.”

Of course she was. A smile spread over my face. This felt a lot like fate. Maybe the universe had brought me here for a reason. “I just transferred here this year. Architecture. I’m on the lacrosse team, too.”

“Wow.” Her eyes widened. “So much has changed, hasn’t it?”

I smoothed a hand over my face. Wasn’t that the truth? “Yeah.” But not everything. She was still the same Rosie Girl I’d known, down to her core. I could feel it. “What were you singing?”

She blushed. “Oh, you heard me?”

I nodded. You sounded beautiful. Words on the tip of my tongue. “Yeah. You always were an amazing singer, you know?”

“It was just a Taylor Swift song.” Audrey brushed me off. “I don’t even notice I’m doing it sometimes.” She brushed a lock of golden blonde hair behind her ear, turning towards me.

“Do you want to sit?”

She looked around the porch, her eyes landing on the patio furniture. “Yes.”

Tucking her legs underneath her on the wicker couch, she took her witch hat off and stuck it on the glass table.

“This is fun,” I said, gesturing to her costume. “Little pink witch. I like it.”

“You should see Ella,” she said, smiling. “She made both of our costumes.”

“She goes here too?” I asked, though I didn’t know why I was surprised. They’d always been close, even for twins.

“Mhm.” Audrey hummed in response. “She’s majoring in costume design.”

“That’s cool.” Reaching over, I brushed a thumb over her cheekbone.

“W-what was that for?”

“You had a fleck of glitter on your cheek.”

“Oh.” She looked down at her lap. “Occupational hazard, really. Sometimes I probably use too much glitter, but…”

But she loved it. It had always been that way. When we were younger, her bike had been pink with a little white basket. She’d worn her pink sundresses to play with me in the mud and go on adventures around the neighborhood. Audrey had always loved the color, sparkles, and being the center of attention.

Maybe that was why I couldn’t take my attention off of her. Because she lit up my world in a flurry of pink, and I was entranced, like she had me under her spell.

Childhood best friend , I reminded myself. Even if we were more like strangers right now. It had been almost a decade, yet slipping back into a friendship with her felt as easy as riding a bike.

“Where’s your costume?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Ah.” It was my turn to be embarrassed. “I sort of ditched it at the last party. It was stupid, anyway.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“No.” I rubbed my forehead. “It was. My teammates made me wear these awful demon horns and fake vampire teeth.”

Audrey burst out laughing. “A demon? God, that’s the last thing I can imagine you dressing up as.”

“It’s been a few years since I did,” I admitted. “I’m not really that interested in Halloween anymore.”

“But you loved it when we were younger,” she pouted.

Not really. I just loved making her happy, and she loved dressing up. I went trick-or-treating with her every year, content to be her protector. The last year before I moved away, we had a big Halloween party at my house, but the two of us had spent most of our time sitting on the swings in my backyard.

Back then, Ella and Audrey always wore matching costumes. I’d just dressed up as whatever she told me to be. It wasn’t like I had a sibling to dress up with, so I didn’t care as long as it made her smile.

Even though she was a year younger than me, she always got her way. Maybe it was her outgoing, bubbly, sunshiny personality. In comparison, I was quiet. Shy. Easygoing. Sure, I could be brave, too, but it had mostly been for her.

“Halloween was always fun growing up,” I admitted. “You made it fun.”

“Yeah.” She was quiet. “Listen, I should?—”

“Don’t go,” I practically begged, reaching out and grabbing her hand.

Audrey giggled. “I was going to say I should probably find Ella and tell her we’re hanging out. That way she doesn’t miss me.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “After that… do you want to get out of here?”

She grinned. “ Yes.”