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“How old is she?” I scoot further onto his bed, sitting criss cross as I face him.
“Thirteen,” he answers. “I’m glad I’ll be graduating before she starts high school next year.”
“None of your siblings are in high school?” I ask.
“I have a brother who is fifteen, but we have a different lunch period.”
“What about the rest of your siblings?”
“I’m the oldest, then there is August, Gemma, Noah, he’s ten, Dylan is eight, Lucy is seven, and the youngest is Carson. He just turned four.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. I know it’s a lot.”
I shake my head. “No. It’s cool. I’m just not used to it. But as loud as your house is, it’s also really quiet. I like it here.”
“Loud but quiet.” He grins.
“Yeah, I guess that doesn’t make sense.” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth.
“You can come to hang out any time you want.” He looks at my lips, then back into my eyes. “Probably not in my bedroom though. My mom made an exception today because she knew my siblings would be weird.”
I laugh. “Like telling me that I smell good.”
“Yeah, like that,” he agrees.
I sit up straighter. “I’ve never had a boy over, but I’m pretty sure Dad would never let a guy in my bedroom. So, I understand. I’m surprised he’s okay with this now.”
Parker tilts his head to the side. “Really?”
“I already told you, I’ve never had friends.” I shrug, like that should explain it. “It’s hard to make friends when you know every thought that goes through their head.”
He nods. “That actually makes a lot of sense.”
“What about you, Will, and Blaine? How long have you guys known each other?”
“Pretty much since birth. We grew up with each other. Blaine and Will live really close to here,” he explains.
“Me too. My house is less than half a mile away.”
“I know.”
He knows?
How does he know?
Before I can ask, he stands from the bed. “It’s time for dinner.”
I raise an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
“My mom told… uh…” he pauses, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, “my mom yelled. I’m surprised you didn’t hear.”
I get a distinct feeling that he’s lying, but why would he lie aboutthat? It doesn’t even make sense.
With no choice but to believe him, I stand up from the bed. He grabs ahold of my hand as we make our way through the hall and down the stairs. Before we walk into the dining room, he drops my hand suddenly. I wonder what that’s about, but I realize he probably doesn’t want anybody to get the wrong idea. Still, I long to reach out and touch him again. Even though his family’s thoughts are quiet, I enjoy the peace that touching Parker brings.
When we walk into the dining room, a little boy runs up to Parker. He stops and abruptly turns to me. Taking a step forward, he leans in and sniffs me.
