CHAPTER FOUR

I KNEW I LOOKED LIKE crap. I'd failed to get any sleep after Taylor's phone call. I'd tried calling Parker, but he hadn't picked up. Now, as I hovered in front of his door, I wondered whether I'd been right to come here without a word from him.

I took a deep breath and held it as I pushed the button of his doorbell. Its chime seemed too loud, making me cringe. Nothing happened, so I pressed it again, putting my ear to the door and trying to pick up some movement inside. I finally exhaled when I heard shuffling and quickly stepped back, trying to minimize my creepiness.

The door opened slowly, and Parker stared blankly at me. His eyes half-closed, his hair a complete mess, he looked like he was about to fall asleep on his feet.

"Parker, sorry. Did you get my text?"

He grunted and waved me in, then dragged his feet to the couch in his living room. He pushed a pizza box and some other wrappers away and collapsed on it.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded and patted the seat next to him. I hurried to comply and the moment my butt hit the seat, he snuggled close, resting his head on my lap. "Cold," he murmured.

I grabbed the quilt hanging on the side of the couch and covered him. Parker shivered and then relaxed.

"Do you need anything? Should I call a doctor?"

He shook his head, which looked weird with him curled up on his side like that. "Just need to rest."

I sighed and ran my fingers through his hair. He made a pleased sound, so I kept going long after his breath had evened out. I don't know how long I stayed like that, massaging his scalp and watching him sleep.

"What's the time?" Parker slurred his words as he woke up, stretching like a cat and pushing his head higher on my lap.

"About noon," I said after checking my phone. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." He sat up and rubbed his eyes. I'd managed to make his hair a lot messier and he looked so sweet, I ached with the need to touch him more.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was still heavy with sleep, but the words were crisper.

"Came to check up on you. Heard you'd taken a vacation from work and I just had to see it for myself."

Since the divorce, Parker hadn’t taken a free day for any reason. I had a hunch he resented holidays for forcing him out of the office.

"Taylor." The name sounded like a curse on his lips.

I nodded. No need to deny it.

"Dad said he's been looking for me. What else did he tell you?"

I squirmed as he pinned me down with his intense stare. I couldn't, not even after all this time, deal with this depth of scrutiny from Parker. "Said something about doctor's appointments."

Parker sighed and patted my shoulder. "That explains you coming here. I'm fine."

"Then tell me what the doctor said"

Parker rolled his shoulders and moved his head from side to side. "Got a few dizzy spells at work. Dad forced me to go get it checked out. Extreme exhaustion, apparently. Doc said I should rest, and Dad made sure I listened."

I smiled at his cranky expression. "Looks like you needed it."

He shrugged and looked away. "Couldn't really sleep for the first few days. I did catch up on all the TV series I wanted to watch. And those I didn't. Then, something clicked, and I think I've done nothing but sleep and eat for the past few days. It's Saturday, right?"

"Yeah. How about you shower, and I'll take you to lunch?" I looked around at the wrappers and beer bottles littered across the living room. "Something that's not junk food."

He slumped and hung his head. "I don't have the energy."

"You need the fresh air. Just do as I say."

"Fine, kid. I'll shower and get ready."

Kid. Every time he called me that, I felt a little bit of my heart shriveling up and dying. There was nostalgia in hearing the word, but my need for him to see me as a man always overpowered it. He was only four years older than me, for God's sake!

I tried to relax as I waited for him to get ready, but I couldn't sit still. I got a garbage bag from the kitchen and started cleaning up. I moved from the living room back into the kitchen and sorted everything into recyclables and stuff to simply throw out, then took them to the appropriate bins on the ground floor.

I knew this building by heart. Parker had inherited his apartment from his grandmother and he'd lived in it since college. Later, when he'd moved in with Taylor, they'd had to find a new apartment. This place wasn't posh enough for my brother. The little wanker was spoiled, wanted nice things and status, which he'd happily gobbled up when Parker's advertising job had supplied them. Then he'd tried to blame Parker's crazy work hours for his cheating. Bastard!

The moment he'd filed for divorce, Parker had moved back here. He'd left the old place to my brother, but of course Taylor couldn't afford it on his own. He'd stayed in the same posh building but downgraded to a one-bedroom. He had expensive tastes, and he needed clothes and pricey cocktails more than he needed a spacious apartment. That's how I knew he wasn't going to move in with the kid he'd been flaunting. He wanted someone to provide for him.

"Ready," Parker said when he returned to the living room. He looked around, taking in the tidier room. "Oh, man, you didn't have to clean up for me."

I shrugged. "Take it as a thank you for all those times in high school my mother made you take care of me when I was sick." I didn't get sick a lot as a kid, but I did have a tendency to catch colds and flus. I was lax about how many layers I wore and never knew how to stay away from kids who spread germs around. Mom couldn't get sick, it would keep her away from her social life and she knew better than to delegate to Taylor, so the moment Parker walked into our lives, she'd asked him to care for her sick child. Being the nice guy he was, Parker had always done it without complaint.

Parker rolled his eyes. "Then I'm buying you lunch."

I'd invited him, but I knew he wouldn't budge. It wasn't worth fighting over it anyway. As long as I got him out of the house and made sure he ate properly, I could afford to lose one battle.

"Where to?" Parker asked over the humming of his engine when we got in the car.

I wanted a place that was close to a park. Maybe I could force a walk on him after we ate. "How about that Turkish place next to Lincoln Park?"

His wide grin told me I'd hit jackpot. He loved anything Middle Eastern. Grilled meats, rice, carrot salad, it was definitely better than the junk he'd been consuming. He peeled out of the parking lot without another word, his smile still on.