A Small Town Dream by Rebecca Milton Read Free Book Online Page A

and cried.
     
    She didn’t know if she was crying because of the betrayal, or because she let Parker go. She was so conflicted, she felt sick. But that kiss . It came rushing back into her memory, and she instantly wanted it again.
     
    “I’m not a good person,” she said to the darkness. She held her head in her hands, hoping for an answer, but none came.
     
    She was all alone.

 
7
     
    “Did you talk to Parker?” Annie was alone in the library. Suddenly Connie was there, grilling Annie. “Did he say anything to you?”
     
    Thank god he was telling the truth , Annie thought. She’d been so worried Parker had come to see her on his own.
     
    Connie fumbled to sit, her backpack and purse falling to the floor. A boy at the next table looked up and shushed her. “Oh, shush yourself, geek,” Connie snapped. He blushed and sank deeper into his reading.
     
    Annie closed her book, shoved it into her pack, grabbed the rest of her things, then tugged on Connie’s arm. “What are we doing, Annie?” In answer, Annie snatched up Connie’s bags and dragged Connie out of the library.
     
    “We’re avoiding detention,” Annie hissed, once they were in the hall. Annie continued tugging Connie along until they were in the courtyard, then sat her down on a bench.
     
    “Okay, Connie, now, what the blazes is going on?” Connie hung her head between her knees. Annie waited, worried.
     
    “Parker is... something’s wrong, but I don’t know what.” Connie was a wreck. Annie rubbed her back. “We haven’t had sex in, I don’t know, at least two months, and we used to do it all the time. He barely speaks to me. He says he still loves me but, there’s something under the surface, something he’s not telling me.”
     
    “He says he loves you?” Annie wasn’t sure why she needed to hear that, but she did.
     
    “Yes,” Connie said through her teeth. “He says ‘I love you,’ whoopee-doo. But he doesn’t want to fu—” Annie flinched, and Connie’s hand flew to her mouth. She knew Annie did not use that kind of language, and was always upset when one of her friends did, even when stressed. “Sorry, Annie, I’m just... I wish I knew what was going on with Parker.”
     
    Then Connie grilled Annie about Parker’s behavior, if Annie had noticed any differences. Annie hedged.
     
    “Well, he’s dressing a little differently, but he still looks nice, and I think he’s smoking a little more than when he first—”
     
    “That’s not what I mean, Annie! It’s that book, that damn Road book. I should have sucked it up, forced myself to read it, told him I loved it, never mind I’d be lying. Stupid, stupid book .”
     
    “It’s not about the book itself,” Annie said without thinking. As soon as the words left her lips, she wished them back.
     
    “What do you mean ?” Connie asked, her voice choked with emotion. “Do you know something? Annie, please , tell me. You have to help me.” Annie wasn’t sure what to say. To buy time, she pretended to have a tickle in her throat.
     
    Finally, she said simply, “You need to talk to Parker.”
     
    “ Annie , I have talked to him. He says there isn’t anything wrong. He says he loves me, he says everything is fine. But…” she grabbed Annie’s hand, “I know it’s not. I can feel it, something’s different. Please , Annie, tell me.” She was obviously desperate and hurting.
     
    “Well, the book,” Annie began, carefully choosing her words, not wanting Connie to know what she and Parker had done. “It makes you feel... It makes you look beyond what you’ve been doing all your life, to question where you’re headed. It makes you want... more .” Connie watched Annie’s intently, waiting. “I think Parker was really affected by it. I was. It is exciting, and it made me re-think staying for the rest of my life. Maybe Parker is just... I don’t know... Thinking about other options.” Not a good choice of words. Connie started to