Not Quite Perfect // 17

                                    

                                          
That morning I woke up to Parker's strong arm still flung over me. I was tangled in a blanket that he must have got me, but somehow it did not wake me. Butterflies started to dance in my stomach and suddenly I felt so happy. I could not hold back my grin. What started off as the worst night of my life turned into one of the best. The fact he had the ability to do that for me was enough to make me feel lucky to have met him. After around 15 minutes of enjoying the moment, I felt him shuffle.
                          
After we ate some breakfast, he of course insisted that I should go to the hospital. I reluctantly agreed, seeing as I had agreed the night before. I borrowed Summer's clothes again, I really hoped Parker meant it when he said she would not mind. As I had expected, my arm was not broken. There was still glass in my wound which could have got infected, so maybe it was a good idea to see a doctor. The doctor put dressing on my arm and offered me a sling to help with the pain. I refused and chuckled as Parker rolled his eyes at me. 
                          
"I could have bet a lot of money that you would deny any optional help offered." He complained as we walked out of the hospital.
                          
"Good guess?" I grinned. I couldn't quite believe how much I was smiling but it wasn't like I was choosing to, it just happened. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I quickly checked it. 
                          
Hello again Riley! I don't think your dear father would be pleased with what you are doing right now, do you? Just remember everyone who has hurt you. Ben, your boyfriend who never loved you, Leah, your best friend who betrayed you, every other person you were ever stupid enough to trust. And oh yes, your father himself! You know, the one that never loved you. What's different this time? Anyway, I'm sure you know what you are doing. 
                          
Shoot. Not in front of Parker, after I told him everything how would I hide this? I told him I would tell him everything, but I knew he would worry for nothing. Who the hell was this person and what did they want from me? If there was one thing I was sure of, when I found them they would regret the day they were born. 
                          
"Who is it?" OK. I had to be convincing, not too convincing. He could read my emotions like a book, he already knew I was alarmed or annoyed by the text.
                          
"My father. As much as I don't want to, I'm going to have to get home before I have too much to explain to him." OK, that wasn't bad, I thought. I saw his perfect face twist at that and I was afraid he knew I was lying. "What?" I asked.
                          
"Nothing. I just...please just let me know you are safe." I could see the sincerity and worry on his face and I realised it was my turn to comfort him. I tightly wrapped my arms around his neck.
                          
"Parker I will be OK. I promise. I am strong." I whispered. He did not reply but I could feel him nodding. 
                          
"Are you free tomorrow evening?" He asked.
                          
"Yes, I should be." I replied as I anticipated what he would ask.
                          
"Come to dinner with me, Summer and Noah. I want to see you again and I think you should meet them." Things like that never had appealed to me for what felt like the longest time, but suddenly I felt myself really wanting to go. 
                          
"OK, that would be great." Was it a date? That would be my first in a while. I laughed I tried to picture myself as the dating type. 
                          
"I will text you the details." There was a long pause. "Please stay safe."
                          
I turned away and as I looked back I just smiled and then continued to walk.
                          
When I got home I tried my best to sneak in quietly. I knew my father was going to be angry with me, and I didn't need another mood kill after that message. However, he was right next to the door as I would in and I could not avoid seeing him.
                          
"What the hell are you doing, Riley?" He demanded loudly. After only hearing Parker's soft voice for a while, his aggression almost startled me. 
                          
"Ah, I am currently walking through the front door as you may be able to observe if you look really closely. How about you?" I exclaimed sardonically. 
                          
"Don't play dumb with me. Where were you!?" All I could really do was avoid the question, if I answered truthfully he would make the rest of my life literal torture.
                          
"Oh, you know. Just anywhere away from here." I said seriously as I glared at him dead in the eye.
                          
"You better not have been out ruining my reputation." 
                          
"As if I would dare." I scowled.
                          
"You aren't off the hook, I will find out where you were because I have a feeling I wouldn't like it." He could not get the information he wanted, it wasn't like he would ask Parker Jones if he had seen his daughter recently and no one else knew. Besides, it wasn't like Parker would tell him anyway.
                          
"Maybe you wouldn't. Too bad I'm not going to tell you! Have a nice day though, I will be off to my bedroom now!" I teased annoyingly and I skipped off to my room. Being able to irritate my father was satisfying.
                          
As I hopped onto my bed, I picked up my phone ready to do something about the messages. This of course did not include getting any sort of help, if I were to get to the bottom of the messages, I wanted to do it independently. I begin listing possible people I knew of who would send anything like that. They were mainly my father's enemies, and I could not quite put my finger on someone who would hate me too. Never the less, I jotted down a couple of possibilities. If there was one thing having a strict and controlling father taught me, it was how to track someone's phone number. I had used it when I was younger to know when my father was coming home from work. It probably wasn't very legal, but I had good intentions so I thought of it as OK. To my disappointment, I could not track the number, they must have been some sort of block on it. At that point, I was dead for ideas and I decided to come back to it another time.