Having had such an eventful afternoon, Parker was not surprised when she slept until noon the following day. The phone was ringing merrily, jostling her from her sleep and adding to her already splitting headache.
“Hullo?”
“Oy,  Parker, you know you sleep like a bear?”
“… What?”
“It’s Emma, Park. I’ve been trying to reach you all morning.”
“Oh… Well, I guess. I had a long day yesterday.”
“I’ll bet. Hey, meet me at the creek side of Stone Wall Lot on Adrian’s property.”
“But Emma, I—”
“Ta, Lovie. See you in ten.”

With that, the conversation was over. “Stone Wall Lot in ten minutes, my butt. She’s got to be halfway there already,” Parker grumbled. Tugging on her boots, she hustled out the door and down the lane in the direction of the agreed meeting place. She reached her destination in just shy of twenty-five minutes, earning her a teasing look from Emma. Surprisingly, Drew was there as well, sitting on a log and pitching rocks into the woods. Emma did not look entirely pleased; for some reason Parker could not derive, her two closest friends simply did not get along. “Park! There you are. ‘s been hell sittin’ here with this diva, waiting on you,” Drew said, laughing and getting to his feet. He wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug, and Parker smiled and inhaled deeply, savoring every ounce of his scent that she could manage before he released her with a kiss on the cheek, which she returned. It had always been their traditional greeting: something Parker was glad for. The affection had become almost commonplace. Drew would carry her, hold her hand, spin her tenderly in the water of lake just south of town, even rub her feet. Parker gladly reciprocated with cuddles, sitting in his lap, and tickle fights. And yet, there was a clear line, a disconnect between what it was and what Parker wanted it to be.

Emma rolled her eyes at them, and flopped down onto the ground. “You didn’t have to come you know, you big ogre,” she said, and Drew pulled a face at her. “I most certainly did. I ran into you on that road, you had that crazy look in your eye like you get when you’re up to something. Now, normally I don’t care what kind bullshit you get yourself into, but you said you were looking for Parker, and I’m not letting her get involved in any more of your crazy schemes unless it’s proven safe,” Drew retaliated. Emma curled her lip. “Why don’t you just go home and fondle your dogs or something?” she spat, and Parker narrowed her eyes. “Hey, cut it out, both of you. Drew’s got a point, Emma. What’re you up to?” she asked. Emma instantly lost her venom and started grinning. “New York City, Cookie. I’m moving in the winter, and I want you to come with me. I’ll start night classes at one of the colleges in the spring, and you can come too, and we’ll make a start in life.” Parker smiled, but Drew remained somber. “It sounds like fun, Emma. I’ll talk to my mom and da-” she began, but Emma hushed her. “No! You can’t. I’m not telling my parents, and you can’t tell either. It’s a secret. You know neither of our parents would let us, so we have to just do it. We can’t stay in this Podunk little town forever,” Emma hissed. Drew shook his head. “Nuh uh. Absolutely not. I’m not letting Parker do this. You go off and be crazy in the city, but this ‘Podunk little town’ is good enough for me and Parker.” Emma glared viciously; as much as Parker loved the girl, she was a bit of a snot. “You’re not in charge of Parker. She can make her own decisions. You’re not her father or her boyfriend or her brother or husband or anything like that, and even if you were, she could still go against you. You don’t have a choice in this, Drew.” He looked to Parker pleadingly. “This is stupid, Park. Are you really gonna go with her and leave me and your whole life behind you here?” he asked.

Parker shook her head slowly. “I dunno, Drew… It’s so quiet here, I think I’d go crazy if I stayed. This could be a lot of fun… But on the other hand, Emma… I just don’t know if I want that kind of rush in my life… And Drew’s right… What about our life here? Maybe you don’t like your family so much, but I love my parents. I don’t want to hurt them…” she said, shifting uncomfortably. “C’mon, Parker. This’ll be the best decision you’ll ever make. Tell you what… I’m leaving December seventeenth out of the train station three towns over. I’ve already got the tickets, don’t worry about a thing. You meet me there that morning if you want to come. If you don’t, then… I don’t know, Pumpkin. I’ll write you when I get settled, I guess,” Emma said, and for a moment, all three were silent. “Come on, Park. I’ll walk you home,” Drew said softly, putting a hand on the small of her back and turning her towards the path home. Emma snorted. “You two are pathetic, you know that? Geez, have sex already and get it done with. Stop beating around the bush, everyone knows you’ll end up together, so stop pretending you know nothing about it,” she said, obviously put off by Parker’s lack of a response and the apparent failure of her little meeting. The pair said nothing, only walked away. Parker was beet red again, and glanced at Drew to try and get an idea of what he felt about what Emma had said. He looked straight ahead, and his jaw was set firmly in place. He was mad about the possibility of Parker running off on her own with only Emma as a guide, and entirely too hard to read in any other respect. Whether or not he shared Parker’s feelings, it was obvious that he cared for her deeply, and had no intention of seeing her hurt. Unable to stop staring and mapping every contour of Drew’s face, Parker eventually attracted his attention. He glanced down at her and gave a half-smile. “You know I just want you to be safe, right? I don’t trust her with you. You’re like my little sister, Parker,” he said softly. Parker twitched. Sister? Little sister? That was it? “We’re the same age, Drew.” He smiled and stopped to kiss her forehead. “You think that changes how I feel about you, Puddin’?” he asked, and Parker forced a laugh. It should.

Time did what it has a tendency to do: it passed. Slipping by unnoticed and unworried, time passed on its’ merry way, bothering almost no one. The exception, as one can reasonably expect, was Parker. The benchmarks that pointed out the passage of time were the occasional discrepancies in her previous relationship with Drew. Every now and then, he would react differently than expected, often in ways that made Parker feel less close to him than ever before. Summer swims ended long before the season melted into fall. There was no more hand holding. Cuddling was met with a cold shoulder, and he no longer kissed her blushing cheeks. As the weather chilled, so did Drew. Parker supposed that it was merely chance that, on the eve of December sixteenth, she found him standing in the moonlit field where, five short months before, he had tickled her into nearly cracking her head open. She had dreamed him sweet and heavy, radiating with summer sun and the passion of a child’s painting. What Parker would have given to make it all real…

She jogged up beside him, boots crunching loudly in the snow, and threw her arms around his neck. His smell was low, musky, but the same Drew she had always known. His hands rested lightly on her hips, almost pressing her to let go, and so she obeyed the silent command. “Drew, it’s cold as hell out here. What are you doing?” she asked. He shrugged and smiled a little. “Thinking.” Parker grinned. “Therefore you are,” she said with a laugh. He furrowed his brow, and she pursed her lip. “Descartes,” she said softly, and he nodded. “… You don’t remember.” Drew looked at her, then back up at the moon. “I don’t remember a lot of things, Parker. You’ll have to be more specific,” he said, but she shook her head. “Nevermind.” There was quiet, and she too took to staring. “It’s beautiful out here, though. All these snowflakes in the light of the moon… It’s like one big field of falling silver.” There was an emptiness in the air that she had never felt before; too long had she let herself be divided from this boy—no. Man. Drew was a man now, like it or not. “You don’t have to be so cold to me, you know. I’m not leaving with Emma. I’m staying home,” Parker said softly, pressing closer to Drew and expecting the arm he tended to put around her for warmth. “I know you’re not,” he replied, not moving a muscle. Parker looked up at him, but he did not meet her gaze. “… Do you want me to?” she asked, and he shook his head, but still would not look at her. “I never told you about that boy I liked. I never told you who he was,” she said, and took a deep breath, expecting him to ask further. Again, his response was merely to shake his head. Silence divided them, and finally Parker sighed. She stuffed her fists deep into the pockets of her coat and turned to leave. Halfway across the field, he called her name. She stopped and turned, expecting some great Christmas miracle kiss. But no, Drew had stayed planted where he was. “You belong at home, Parker. The city is only for those who have something left to find. You have everything you need right here, Doll. Don’t cheat yourself into thinking anything you miss tomorrow morning was worth it,” he called. He looked away, and Parker started back home.

The phone rang bright and early the next morning. She was expecting a call from Emma’s parents, wondering where their darling baby girl was. But no, she wouldn’t tell them New York. She would tell them she didn’t know.
“Hullo?”
“Parker? Oh thank goodness, Parker.”
“Mrs. Giles? Is something wrong?”

The woman’s voice was growing frantic. “It’s Emma, Honey. Do you have any idea where she is? She went to bed here last night, I thought, but… She never came down for breakfast, and when I went to go check on her, she was gone… Is she with you, Parker? Please tell me she’s there…” pleaded Emma’s mother. Parker frowned. “Oh no… No, Mrs. Giles. Emma isn’t here. She should be home… I’m sorry Ma’am, I don’t know anything about this. Is there anything I can do?” she asked, and the woman began to sob. “I… No, I guess not… Ooh, this is all that boy Andrew’s fault! I know it is!” yelled the woman, and Parker froze. “… Drew? Our friend Drew?” she asked softly, and Emma’s mother wailed. “He’s been hanging around with Emma constantly, and he’s gone too! I just know he whisked her off somewhere! He convinced my poor baby girl to run off to God only knows where!” The crying began anew, but Parker heard nothing more. She gently placed the receiver down, flopped onto the hardwood floor, and put her face in her hands. Everything became very clear, very quickly. Parker was deaf to the world, and heard only his words from the night before echoing in her head, over and over again: “Don’t cheat yourself into thinking anything you miss tomorrow morning was worth it.”