A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire #1)(131)

Chapter Twenty-Seven



Garrett powered off his GPS as he pulled into the driveway of the small two story home in Manchester Township. The rental car already in the driveway and the light on in one of the front rooms made him nervous and excited all at the same time. He’d felt empty for the past two months, like nothing in his life meant anything, and he did nothing but exist day in and day out. Being this close to Parker right now, knowing she was within an arm's reach made his heart beat faster and his hands sweaty.

He turned off the engine and made his way up the front walk to ring the doorbell. Within seconds the door opened and he forgot how to breathe. The last time he saw her she was covered in bruises and dried blood and a machine was breathing for her. The faint yellow color of the fading bruises around one eye and her cheek made him remember just how long it had been since he last saw her.

Parker had been asleep, curled up in a ball in her father’s chair with tears dried on her cheeks and the letter clutched to her chest when the doorbell rang. She had stumbled across the room and flung open the door without even checking to see who it was. Nothing could have prepared her for the shock of seeing Garrett.

She had purposely avoided newspapers and televisions after she recounted all of the details of their mission to Agent Charles and a member of the Navy legal team recorded her sworn testimony for court from her hospital bed. Due to her condition, she was given a special medical waiver so she wouldn’t have to testify in court. She washed her hands of the entire situation after that and wanted nothing more to do with it. The nightmares were bad enough. Watching the trial day in and day out and knowing Garrett was there and not with her would have killed her. Fernandez had robbed her of too much. The fact that the trial against him took Garrett away from her was more than she could handle.

Due to her self-imposed ignorance, she had no idea the trial was over, though she did find out about Fernandez from Agent Charles. It was the one and only time she was happy to see the agent in her hospital room.

“Can I come in?” Garrett asked.

Parker suddenly felt nervous and awkward. She’d wanted Garrett there, wished him to be close enough for her to touch for weeks, and now that he was there, she didn’t know what to do. All of the pain and anger she felt back in the Dominican when Garrett got mad and stormed away came rushing back to the surface. She remembered finally letting her walls collapse, allowing her reservations to crumble to the ground, and letting herself love Garrett with everything she had. She remembered finally feeling truly happy for the first time in her life. And then he turned his back on her.

Parker tackled one demon by coming back to her father’s house, but now another one stood right in front of her.

“Yeah, sure,” Parker muttered as she opened the door wider and stepped back out of the way so he could enter.

Garrett walked past her and out of habit she breathed in deep, the smell of his cologne wrapping its way around her and intoxicating her.

She closed the door behind him and took a few deep breaths to steady her racing heart before turning to face him. Parker found him staring at her when she turned.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she told him, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.

“I can’t believe it took me so long,” he replied with a sad smile.

Parker nervously picked at her fingernails and then caught herself, quickly shoving her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and out of the way.

“You’ve been crying,” Garrett stated, taking in the tear streaks on her face and her red, puffy eyes.

Parker looked down at her feet, nodding her head. “My dad left me a note.”

“I’m sorry.”

Parker looked up at his face and could see the concern and worry there. It only made her angrier.

“Sorry for what? My dad dying? Not being here when I needed you? Or walking away from me because you didn’t trust me enough?”

Parker had rationalized with herself for weeks in the hospital that she knew Garrett would have stuck by her side if he could. Even though there was a sensible reason for his absence while she healed, she realized now that it didn’t take away her feelings of abandonment. Lashing out at him just proved how upset she was and how much she hadn’t forgiven him for not trusting her and leaving her alone—in the hospital and with Milo.

Garrett broke eye contact, looking away in shame.

“All of the above,” he replied with a sigh. “If I could have been with you these last few months, you know I would have. It scared me to death not being there and not knowing what was going on or if you were okay. I would have given anything to not have to leave your side, Parker.”

She closed her eyes to ward off any more tears at the sound of her name on his lips.

“I know that. Logically, in my head, I understand you had a job to do and it couldn’t be helped. I shouldn’t make you feel guilty about something you couldn’t control.”

Parker left out the fact that her head and her heart were currently at war with everything that happened. She knew the reasons for the choices he made, and yet, her heart couldn’t find any reasonable explanation for the pain he’d caused her.

The silence stretched between them and Parker wondered if they’d ever get back to the easy nature they used to have. In all the years they’d known each other they’d never been at a loss for words. They were always talking, laughing, or pissing each other off.