"So why Daniel anyways?" Parker asked. "I heard he cheated on you like 8 times." "3," I corrected. "Oh, well that makes it better then." I snort-laughed. "Real sexy." "Shut up." "You avoided the question." "I'm pretty good at that." "Why Daniel?" Parker asked again. "I mean, you can take complete offense to this, but a girl even thought about cheating on me I wouldn't hesitate kicking her to the curb." "You don't stay with a girl for more than one night." "That's not necessarily true." "You're telling me you've had a girlfriend?" "And you're changing the subject," he pointed out. "Well you peaked my interest." "And you peaked mine." I sunk back into corner, letting out a sigh. "Is it because he's got a big-?" "Disgusting." "Just curious." "You're a pig." He laughed at that. "And no. I'm not that desperate." "Then he must have some dirt on you." "Dirt?" "Like some deep, dark secret that you don't want anyone to know?" "This isn't Criminal Minds dude." He laughed again. "He's just Daniel," I said, with a shrug. "What does that mean?" "Why are you so curious?" "Because you confuse the hell out of me." "That didn't answer my question," I mocked. "And you're stalling again." "As I said, I'm pretty good at it." "I heard that he ran away from a fight once." "He didn't run away," I defended. "The kid was an offensive lineman, he would've beat the shit out of him." "So you defend him then?" "No. God Parker, just drop it." "Does he have like your name tattooed on him then?" "Why would that attract me to him?" "Because you find that sexy?" I ignored him this time, staring up the ceiling. Out of every person on the entire planet, I had to get locked in an elevator with Parker Adams. "Well if you're not going to tell me, I'm just going to keep guessing." "Be my guest." "Well you dated him last year, and sometime last year you had an eating disorder." "Tasteful." "Well it's the truth," he stated, bluntly. "So Daniel must know about that, yeah?" I didn't answer, staring at the wall now. Someone seriously shoot me. "Did he cause your ED?" "What the fuck is wrong with you?" "I told you I'd keep guessing." "So you pick at my Anorexia?" "I'm not picking at it. I'm asking questions." "You're such an asshole." He laughed again, clearly amused by the situation. "Let's see if I can't guess about your past girlfriend," I snapped. "Okay, touché," he muttered. "She must've been a nice shade of slut to date the likes of you." "Enough," Parker ordered. "Oh, did I touch a nerve Parker? Does it bother you when people pick at your past?" Silence filled the elevator again, and I pulled my knees up to my chest, resting my chin on them. "She'd dead," Parker informed me. "What?" I asked, my eyes snapping over to his shadow, to where I guessed his face was. "Annalise? She's dead." I didn't know what to say, what to do. "She was in the car with my parents," he continued. "Coming to my tournament. She said she was sick; she wasn't going to come. And then I asked her to come. So she loaded up with my folks and carpooled over with them." "Parker, I'm sorry," I whispered. I felt like a Class-A bitch. "It's whatever. Now you know." I let out a sigh, staring back up at the ceiling. "Daniel is the only guy that ever made me feel pretty," I said, tears prickling at my eyes. "He told me that I was beautiful, complimented me in ways that other guys didn't. He made me feel special." I wiped a tear off my cheek. "Emily," Parker said, quietly. "I don't need to see you here in this elevator to tell you that you're beautiful." "Parker, don't." "You are," he insisted. "And you don't need douchebag Daniel for you to realize that. You have a certain sparkle in you that most girls don't have." I closed my eyes to stop the tears, my emotions on override. "And just because Daniel was the first guy to notice that, that doesn't mean he's the only one," Parker continued. "Or that he'll ever be the only one. You don't need him to be beautiful." I didn't answer, staring up the ceiling. He's only saying those things because he feels sorry for me. Because we're locked in this elevator together and he feels obligated to. And then I felt a hand on my foot. I practically jumped into the air, my eyes snapping up to see Parker sitting next to me. "Any guy would be lucky to have you Emily," Parker said, sincerely, before crashing his lips onto mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself up so that I was straddling him. I felt him start to unbutton my shirt, and I didn't stop him, instead deepening the kiss. And then the elevator lights came back on, the elevator lurching back into motion. I fell back in surprise, Parker and I staring at each other wordlessly. And then we both stood up, Parker running his fingers through his hair while I buttoned back up my shirt, my cheeks flaring red. This was not supposed to happen. No, correction. This absolutely could not happen. I looked back down across the elevator, where the blood drips were still on the floor, and then my eyes travelled over to Parker's arm. He'd wrapped a bandana around his arm. "Where'd you get the bandana from?" I asked, my eyes flickering up to meet his. "It was in my pocket," he muttered. Because that made all the sense in the world. I nodded, my eyes flickering around the elevator. "So that never happened," Parker clarified. "Right," I agreed, with a quick nod. And then the elevator doors opened, signaling we'd reached the lobby.