One Tiny Secret - By Adam Kunz Page 0,38
that has the knife in it. Another hand wraps over my mouth, stifling my panicked squeals. I find myself cradled within strong arms and I can’t move.
“Easy with the knife,” I hear a familiar male voice say in my ear. It sounds like Parker, but I can’t see his face. I drop the knife to the floor and the person spins me around to face them.
“Damn, you’re hot when you’re scared,” Parker comments with a grin.
“I can’t fucking believe you! I could’ve stabbed the shit out of you, you know that?” I yell, and release all the pent-up fear on him by slapping him numerous times on the chest.
“Scratch that, you’re much hotter when you’re angry,” he jokes. “Come on, hit me again. I kind of liked that.”
“Parker, this is serious, okay? It’s not a fucking joke. Someone’s after me, and the last thing I needed was you scaring the ever-living shit out of me by hiding in my room! How did you even get in here anyway? The window’s locked.”
“Well, the window may be locked, but the front door was wide open.”
“The front door was open? That was the first thing I locked when I got home,” I say, confused.
“Are you sure you locked it?” he asks, worry registering on his face as he approaches me.
“Positive.”
When he sees the fear reflected on my face, he says, “Damn, I’m so sorry, Dani. I shouldn’t have just snuck in. Especially with what you’ve been going through. It was a dick move.” He raises my chin with his hand, making me look at him.
“Someone’s after me, Parker, and I’m scared shitless. This person was in my room last night and took a picture of me sleeping. And now, they’ve unlocked my front door somehow.”
“Wait—the person who’s been sending you these texts sent you a picture of you sleeping?”
I nod with misty eyes.
“Have you told your dad?” he asks, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah, but the shitty part is that all the texts are gone—every single one of them. Without any hard evidence, he won’t believe me. Hell, I just lied to him about a slew of things. To say that he doesn’t trust me right now would be a huge understatement.”
As the first tear runs down my cheek, it’s brushed away by Parker’s thumb. Then the floodgates open and I completely lose it. Parker’s arms wrap around me and he begins rocking side to side. I hear him say, “I’m right here. Nothing’s going to happen to you,” while my head rests against his firm chest. My tears begin to soak the area of his T-shirt supporting my head. I shift back to look up at him.
“You okay?”
“I feel a little better, I guess,” I reply, snuggling back up against him. I wasn’t lying. Being in Parker’s arms is making me feel better. For the first time I don’t feel alone in this.
“Good.”
I hear his worry for me in the tone of his voice. He’s holding me like I may disappear if he lets go. This is Parker truly caring for me, that I know for sure. He may have his asshole side too, but who doesn’t?
“After the day I’ve had, I’m glad you’re the one here with me,” I say softly.
All of the animosity I’ve been holding in fades while Parker continues to hold me in his arms. I know that once he’s gone again, I’ll probably go back to being irked with him, but for now, this seems right.
Parker runs his fingers through my hair, which relaxes me and reminds me how much I used to love when he did that. His gentle caress moves to my left cheek as the back of his hand grazes my skin. He then lifts my chin so I’m looking directly into his eyes.
“Me too,” he replies before placing a soft kiss on my lips. It’s a quick kiss and not one of passion or love, but more like one of comfort. A kiss that’s sole purpose is to make me feel safe. Or is it an invitation for more?
I lick my lips, feeling every crease while contemplating kissing him again. He smirks, probably realizing what I’m mulling over, because he’s most likely considering the same thing. Wrapping my hand around the back of his head, I ease his face down to mine until we’re practically nose-to-nose. I smell the cinnamon gum on his breath as he lets out a small laugh.
His lips tease mine, but pull away before they connect. His arms