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“As bad as it may sound to say out loud, things are about to change for you. They’re going to get better and easier, and when you knock Little Miss Sunshine and Rainbows up, I expect naming rights, and I get to be godfather this time.” He’s almost out of the door when he turns and adds, “Also, when you get married, I get first dibs on which bridesmaid I get…and I get to be best man.”
Well, you can’t fault him for being anything other than true to his nature. We’re patching things up after our fight, and he’s already working on starting something with Seb. If he wasn’t the first person to jump into a brawl to have our backs, you’d think he was an asshole, but as it stands…Harrison is an asshole with a fucking big heart, and I’m going to owe him so much more than naming rights and all the other shit he stipulated. I’m going to owe him a future with the woman I love and everything it entails.
25
SUMMER
The first thing I notice is the steady beeping sound. My eyes feel heavy, but I force them open, trying to piece together where I am and what’s happened.
Blinking to clear the fog, my eyes are drawn to Parker sitting beside me, my hand gently clasped in his and his head bowed. The relief that he’s here with me is all-consuming.
“Parker?” I croak, my throat feeling like I’ve swallowed sandpaper.
His head whips up to take me in, a breathtaking smile spreading across his face.
“Fuck, baby, you scared the hell out of me,” he says as he leans forward to kiss my head. I grimace a little at the pressure, but it’s worth it. I thought I’d never see him again.
“Oh my God, you’re awake. Oh sweetheart, we were so worried.” Mom’s relieved voice fills the room as she rushes in, looking unkempt, but I zone out when I notice who is missing.
My eyes scan the room frantically, but he’s nowhere to be found. Worst-case scenarios begin to play out in my head.
His scared face.
Heather.
The barricade.
Not my sweet boy.
My eyes swim with tears, and I can feel the panic threatening to take over. The frantic beeping of the machines I’m hooked up to seems deafening. My chest feels tight, and I struggle to get air into my lungs. Every breath burns. “Easton. Where… No…”
Parker cups my face in his hands. The feel of his warm skin on mine is usually a calming influence, but right now, it’s doing little to ease my panic.
“Calm down, Summer. Easton is fine. He’s with my parents. He’s safe, thanks to you.” His eyes are full of love and gratitude, and the intensity of his emotion is undeniable. He kisses my hand and holds it to his face, as if proving to himself I’m really here. I sag back onto my bed, completely drained. Everything starts catching up with me, and I feel like I haven’t slept in months.
“He’s okay?” I sob, relief making me feel light-headed.
“Yeah, baby. He is fine. Probably being spoiled rotten as we speak.” Parker tries to ease the tension with his joke, but I’m not in the right frame of mind to appreciate it. Easton’s terrified scream after the gun went off will haunt me until the day I die.
“I’m going to let the doctor know you’re awake. I’ll be right back,” my mom says before slipping out of the room.
“Fuck, Summer. I thought I was going to lose you.” Parker’s voice breaks as he kisses my hand, keeping it pressed to his cheek. “The world went dark when I realized you were both gone. My sun and my rainbow, both gone, leaving me in perpetual darkness.” His eyes glaze over, and he takes a breath, trying to compose himself. “You’re everything. You and East are my whole world, and I can’t imagine having to live without either of you.”
“You don’t,” I whisper, squeezing his hand. “I’m here.”
“But you could have died. If she… Fuck.” He bows his head, trying to control his emotions, and my heart swells for him as I see the vulnerability and fear in him. He loves so hard, with every fiber of his being, and it’s beautiful and heartfelt.
“Parker. Don’t. I’m here, I’m okay, and so is East. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me now,” I try to joke, lifting his hand to my lips and kissing it.
“I need you, Sum. So much it scares the shit out of me. But I know that since you came into our lives, you brought color to our black-and-white existence. You made us whole. You’re the rainbow after the storm, the promise of goodness and light after a thunderstorm. I love you, my rainbow girl.”
“I love you too.”
Two weeks later…
After I was discharged from the hospital, Maria was adamant we should stay with them while I started to recover. Travel wasn’t really an option, and an excuse to spend more time with everyone I loved in one place sounded pretty awesome.
Parker loads the cases into the trunk of the replacement rental as my aunt showers Easton with kisses.
