When I got home, it was already late at night, my
All the lights in the house were on, obviously no one had slept.
I pushed the door open, facing the gazes in the living room as I changed my shoes and took off my backpack, expressionless.
“Zoe, come here.”
My mother spoke first.
This time, only my parents were in the living room, without that bastard Parker.
I walked over and stood in front of them, head held high, expressionless.
“Don’t you know you’ve done wrong?”
This time it was my father speaking.
His next sentence became agitated: “Staying out until now, not answering calls, not replying to messages, do you even know what you’re doing?!”
“Zoe,” my mother pulled my father’s sleeve, “tell mom the truth, were you out with that boy from the photo? Did you do anything bad?”
“Hasn’t Parker already told you everything?”
I looked up, feeling calm in my heart for the first time:
“I told you last time, we’re just ordinary classmates. He was injured and I accompanied him to the infirmary, that’s all.”
“Why did he need you to accompany him when he was injured?” my father retorted..
“Because he got injured for me!”
I threw my backpack on the ground: “Because Parker, who you think is so well–behaved, can’t stand me, hates me, tried to hit me with a ball. If he hadn’t blocked it for me, the ball would have hit me!”
The living room fell silent for a moment.
I took a breath, looking at my parents‘ stunned faces, and smiled: “You still don’t believe me?”
I bent down and started rummaging through my backpack, my hands shaking as I found my phone and that photo.
“Look.”
I handed over that photo of Parker forcibly kissing me.
“Since you don’t believe what I say, see for yourselves.”
34
Finally ending the talk with my parents, I returned to my room.
3
R
10:35 AM
<
It was from Luke:
[Did your family find out you were drinking? Remember to drink some lemon water, I put a lemon in your backpack.
[Girls shouldn’t drink outside next time, or I’ll tell on you.
[Also… don’t take your family’s words to heart. As for Parker, I’m here for you.]
I stared at the screen, laughing out loud for no reason.
Clearly, he was the one living with Parker, and now he was the one more troubled.
I recalled my parents‘ shocked and surprised expressions, and a strange feeling welled up in my heart.
I remembered what my mother looked like then.
She turned off the phone screen and handed it to me: “Zoe… Mom understands now, I’m sorry. But Parker’s family situation…”
I shook my head: “I know.”
I didn’t turn on the lights, lying on the bed staring at the ceiling lost in thought.
At this moment, there was a sound from the balcony.
I got out of bed and walked over barefoot.
Then, through the moonlight, I saw the figure I least wanted to see
Parker.
35
Parker’s house was very close to mine.
But he was supposed to be living in an apartment near the school with Luke now.
Yet he was sitting on the tree outside my window, which was outside the wall, tilting his head and looking at me.
“Had fun with Luke?”
I expressionlessly tried to pull the curtains closed, but was stopped by his call:
“Zoe, look what this is?”
He was holding something in his hand.
I paused in closing the curtains and saw clearly.
头
It was a lock of hair, tied with a string, the lock he had cut off to appease the school beauty.
I unconsciously touched the missing part of my hair near my ear.
Parker started laughing.
He said word by word: “This, is the evidence of you being my simp.”
But I didn’t even spare him a glance:
“Then keep it and die alone, you jerk.”
36
10.35
<
4
The sports meet came a few days later.
Parker had been unusually quiet for a few days. With the joint exam scheduled right after the sports meet, plus the basketball game during the meet, perhaps he had been busy.
Thinking of the joint exam, I recalled what Fiona had said that day:
“Parker plans to cheat in this exam. He’s already bought the answers, but I got hold of his transaction record.”
After all, as his girlfriend, she could unlock his phone and get any records.
That USB drive with the records had been stuffed into my backpack.
I was sitting in the stands lost in thought.
The next second, the familiar cold touch of a soda can pressed against my cheek.
I took the soda without looking up: “Luke, boys shouldn’t drink too much soda.”
“Oh, even good students make jokes now?”
Luke very naturally pinched my cheek.
I slapped the back of his hand: “Your hand’s itchy?”
He chuckled and sat down beside me: “You didn’t sign up for any events?”
I opened the soda: “Tired, lazy, can’t do it.”
Luke laughed: “Not athletic at all, huh?”
“Then what did you sign up for? Mr. Athletic.”
This guy was still grinning stupidly, not hearing the sarcasm in my words at all.
“I have the basketball finals this afternoon, come watch?”
37
I agreed.
But when I got to the scene, I couldn’t find Luke anywhere.
Instead, there was a new player.
At the edge of the court, I saw Parker.
He was wearing a white jersey with the conspicuous number [6].
And I immediately noticed the obvious star sticker on the lower left of the jersey.
That was Luke’s jersey.
A bad feeling suddenly rose in my heart.
“Zoe.”
The sound of the ball hitting the ground was heavy and clear.
Parker mercilessly grabbed my wrist: “Where are you running? Don’t you want to watch me play?”
At that moment, all eyes in the court were on us.
10:35 AM
<
And he suddenly lowered his head, speaking word by word in a voice only we could hear:
“Or you can guess now, what happened to Luke?”
38
“Slap-”
That was a crisp sound.
I slapped Parker in front of the whole school.
He didn’t even react, didn’t hit back.
For a moment, everyone was shocked, staring at us.
I took a breath: “Parker, this slap is for the ball you threw at me.”
The basketball fell to the ground.
Parker, who had come to his senses, grabbed my wrist.
His face was red, and he looked at me dangerously:
“Zoe, do you fucking know what you’re doing?”
“I do.”
My wrist was in his hand, I couldn’t struggle free, so I gave up.
“I’ve already told my parents about you forcibly kissing me. You made me isolated, forced me to transfer schools, made people avoid me like the plague. Parker, you weren’t like this before, do you even recognize yourself now?”
Parker’s hand froze.
I broke free and threw his hand away hard:
“Tell me where Luke is.”
But the next second, he laughed instead of getting angry:
“Where is he? Zoe, if you have the guts, go find him yourself!”
