BY VERY DEFINITION
22. Taken And Kept
Parker walked nervously into the Lima Baptist Church on Thursday. She had carefully dressed herself in a white sundress and an unbuttoned, her red hair was tied back with a purple ribbon and she was wearing white gloves. Tate walked next to her, dressed in black pants and his varsity jacket. He had a tattered guitar case at his side. The Allistar family was standing in the aisle as the crowd filed in, they gravely accepted words from each of the grievers. Grace was standing next to her parents, wearing a red sating dress, she gripped her mother's hand loosely as she scowled at the ground. The little brunette looked up from the ground and her eyes landed on Parker. Looking suddenly excited, she tugged on her mother's arm and pointed. Before waiting for a response the little girl dropped her mom's hand and dodged through the crowd running to the cheerleader.
"Parker!" She said loudly, wrapping her arms around Parker's right leg. Confused, she put her hand on Grace's back.
"Hi, Grace." She greeted quietly.
"Sorry." Mrs. Allistar apologized, following Grace and pulling her daughter away from Parker's leg.
"Not a problem."
"We are glad to see you here." Mrs. Allistar continued, she spied Tate and his guitar case.
"This is Tate Hanson." Parker introduced quickly, "He'll be playing guitar for me."
"You have a song, then?" Mrs. Allistar's eyes lit up after shaking hands with Tate. Parker nodded mutely. "We look forward to it." And she returned to greeting the other guests. Parker closed her eyes for a moment, taking a steadying breath, she didn't react well under pressure.
"Are you okay?" Tate leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"Sure." Parker answered on an exhale, opening her eyes again, "I've never sang in front of a crowd before."
"You'll be fine, you're wonderful in practice." Tate said. They had both spent the past three days working tirelessly on their presentation. Parker hasn't slept much since she had only a couple of days to learn a new song. Tate had been extraordinarily helpful, and Parker had been delighted to learn that he'd been playing guitar for years (though he refused to sing in front of her). And he agreed to play with her during the service.
"You're right. I hope." Parker whispered. Tate studied her for a moment before switching his guitar from his right hand to his left and with his now-empty right hand he scooped up Parker's left hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Parker smiled gratefully but looked down to hide her blush.
"You've got this." Tate said, tugging her to one of the benches. Mrs. Allistar stepped up to the podium.
"First and foremost I'd like to thank all of you for coming today. It would mean a lot to Whitney that you were all here. I'd just like to say a few words." She took a deep breath to steady herself, "Whitney was a little ray of sunshine. No matter what life threw at her, she found a way to smile through it. She'd soldier through scabbed knees and chemotherapy. Through school and gymnastics. Even before developing her tumor she spent too much time in the hospital. She was too daring, she'd break her leg in gymnastics, attempting something she wasn't ready for. She'd climb trees and jump off of things, and even in the face and presence of pain she was still fearless. That's what I'll remember most about my daughter, she was strong."
"I was Whitney's gymnastic instructor for five years." A tall blond woman stood at the podium next, "She was a fast learner. She was one of my brightest, always eager to do the impossible. Determined to perfect things first. She could have been Olympic material, but her only dream was to be a cheerleader." The woman laughed once, "Living by the day. As her mother said, she was daring. And whenever she got hurt she made the fastest recoveries humanly possible, because nothing could keep her from what she loved to do."
"She used to come visit me all the time." Whitney's Aunt said, "Back when she had the time. I'm across town and she would walk for over half an hour just to come eat cookies with me. She was sweet that way. She went out of her way to make sure I wasn't lonely. I think the real reason was because she was lonely, and that way we could at least be together. Whitney didn't have many friends, for reasons that I don't know. I don't see how anyone could turn her nose up at her, all that was needed was her to say hi, you'd instantly fall in love with her." After a few more people spoke it became apparent that the service was drawing to a close, making Parker jitter nervously. Tate met her eyes and smiled, trying to make the girl feel better. He knew that she'd be great, but she didn't have the confidence to believe him. Hard to believe that the most popular girl in school was afraid of crowds, she was scared and she was modest. Mrs. Allistar returned to the podium.
"And now, one of Whitney's friends has prepared a song in her honor. Parker Evans." It was time. Parker rose, her legs feeling like jelly and walked to the stage where a couple of microphones were set up. Tate followed her, pulling a stool over and sitting on it as he took out his guitar. He adjusted the mic to his guitar and then looked up at Parker expectantly as she adjusted her own microphone.
"Hello." She said into the mic, her voice shaking the tiniest amount, "I'm...I'm Parker Evans. I didn't know Whitney for very long, but somehow I got to know her pretty well. This is Tate Hanson, he'll be accompanying me." Tate waved in acknowledgment. Parker took a deep breath as Tate started to play, "This is from all of us, to Whitney Kay Allistar." And she started to sing:
"I can see you standing in the pouring rain
Waiting for changes to carry you away
I can see the light fall from your eyes
As we get lost in the tears of this goodbye
But you can't go farther
Than my heart can go
Cause I'll still be loving you
Through the sadness and the madness here
And I'll always be with you
In the distance
That has taken you
From me
I can hear you laugh
When I close my eyes
I can picture your face
And the strength inside your smile
I can see the words
Dance across your lips
I'll remember forever
Something more than this
And you can't go farther
Than my heart can will go
Cause I'll still be loving you
Through the sadness and the madness here
And I'll always be with you
In the distance
That has taken you
From me
So you can't go farther
Than my heart will go
Cause I'll still be loving you
Through the sadness and the madness here
And I'll always be with you
In the distance
That has taken you
From me
And I'll always be with you
In the distance
That has taken you
From me
That has taken you
From me"
Parker could have collapsed, her voice giving away at the very last note. Tate Hanson looked up from his guitar and saw Parker's eyes sparkled with tears, but she kept her face brave. He admired that about her, that she could continue to move even when at her lowest point. The church clapped as the two walked off the stage and Mrs. Allistar walked back on.
"Thank you for that." She said softly.
Tate had offered to drive Parker home after the service. She had originally planned on walking but she no longer felt up to the task of hiking two miles back to her house. They drove in silence most of the way, Parker leaned her head against the window, gazing out at the town passing by.
"This house." Parker indicated as he turned onto her street. Tate pulled the car into the driveway and turned to look at the girl in his passenger seat.
"Are you okay?" He asked seriously.
"Yeah." Parker lifted her head from the window halfheartedly, "I mean, I didn't really know her." She rubbed her eye.
"How did you know her?" Tate asked curiously. Parker just shrugged.
"I met her at the hospital when Quinn had her baby."
"But that was just a couple weeks ago." The basketball player stated blankly.
"Yeah. I was waiting and Whitney sat next to me, we started talking."
"Why?"
"We were both waiting, made sense."
"What was Whitney waiting for?"
"She was going in for surgery. To get her tumor removed." Parker knew she was supposed to get out of the car, but her entire body felt slack with depression. Tate absorbed that for a moment.
"The surgery...?"
"Yeah." Parker fidgeted, "Weird, isn't it? I was the last person to see her alive, and I didn't even know her. But she was sweet. Everything they said at the service was true. I only talked to her for a few minutes and I could figure that out."
"It kind of sounds like you knew her pretty well."
"It's just...some of the things she said." She looked over at him in the driver's seat, her eyes glistening with something Tate couldn't identify, "She said the strangest things. Saying things about how she wasn't afraid of dying, she was always worried more about other people. And she talked about how she never told her little sister that she loved her."
"The little girl that hugged you?" Tate recalled.
"Yes. Grace. She was going to tell her when she got out of the surgery."
"But she didn't get out of the surgery."
"I know. So I told her."
"You told Grace-"
"That Whitney loved her." Parker moved slowly and got out of the car, Tate was staring after her with raised eyebrows. She closed the door behind her and the slamming brought Tate back to life. He scrambled out of the car and walked next to Parker as she headed for the front door.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He pressed, concerned.
"I'm fine." She insisted as she opened the front door, "Thank you for driving me home."
"Parker? Is that you?" Rhonda called from the kitchen. Before giving her a chance to answer, Rhonda stepped out into the hallway, a baby monitor in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other. "Oh, hello." She said in surprise.
"Rhonda, this is Tate Hanson. Remember, I told you he was helping me with my song after school." Parker said, stepping inside the house, Tate followed her.
"Oh yes, now I remember." Rhonda sighed, "Will he be staying for dinner? Quinn!" She called over her shoulder into the kitchen.
"What?" Quinn, who had gotten roped into kitchen duty, called back.
"You don't have to-" Parker started.
"Get out another place setting for Tate."
"I'm really sorry about this-" Parker continued in undertone.
"It's okay." Tate said, smiling warmly at Rhonda, "Thank you."
"Well, then I've got to stir the soup." Before she could turn back to the kitchen she stopped short, looking at the baby monitor desperately as the sounds of a fussing baby emanated from it. She looked at Parker pleadingly, "Parker, could you...?"
"I got it." Parker said at once, taking the monitor from Rhonda and heading up the stairs, Tate followed her. She lead him to baby Whitney's room and set the monitor down on her dresser before leaning over the crib and lifting the small infant into her arms. "What's the matter?" She asked in her in her best baby-voice, "What's the matter, baby?" She rocked the baby in her arms and turned to look at Tate, "This is my baby sister. Well, my foster sister. Rhonda and James adopted Quinn's baby."
"She's cute. And tiny." Tate commented as he leaned over to look at the baby, "What's her name?" Parker didn't answer for a minute, embarrassed, she just continued to rock her foster sister back and forth. "Well?"
"Her name's Whitney." She answered at last, "Whitney Grace Pierson." Tate stared at her for a full minute, unsure of what to think.
"That girl, at the memorial service." Tate said slowly, "And Whitney. Parker, who exactly was she to you."
"I guess..." Parker considered, "She was the only person who really knew me. But, that's weird." Parker shook her head, feeling foolish, "Sorry, I'm just a little out of sorts. Thank you for helping me with the song. I know you would have like go to pizza with everyone else."
"You don't know that." Tate contradicted, watching as Parker place Whitney back in her crib, "And I don't think I would have liked it better. I'm happy to help."
"That's all you ever do, help me. I feel bad about it." The short redhead said ruefully, turning to look up at him.
"Then I guess we'll have to do something fun together so you can make it up to me." Tate grinned. The pair started to head from the room to go down the stairs into the kitchen.
"Sounds good to me." Parker agreed easily, "Plus, you're already in for a reward. Rhonda is the best cook in the world." She looked down and continued awkwardly, "And I could pull some strings so you could sit across from Quinn."
"Doesn't matter, I'm good wherever." He paused for a moment, "As long as I can still see you." He smiled and went ahead of her into the kitchen, leaving Parker absolutely breathless.
Song: "Taken" by PLUMB
Good song.
First Chapter being back at school, it's been a bit stressful this past week. Gug.
I am SO CLOSE to getting 100 reviews I can ALMOST taste it! Sooo...
Spiffy Arrow! (Still exciting)
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Ignore the numbers, they won't go away.
4e9ba0ea-753f-4394-8043-54c76fbc1b23
1.03.01