The Miner's Girl

Chapter 3

Nicole's POV
We walked into the house about two hours later. We were laughing about something that happened when we were around eight years old. It was fun going down memory lane with him, and his mom earlier. Now I was ready to make new memories with him.

"Hey, guys. Have fun outside?" Ms. Nancy asked from the rocking chair in the living room.

"Yeah." We both laughed as we sat down on the couch.

"So what should we do now?" Parker asked me.

"I don't know. I've been wanting to go to the beach. But I really need to unpack my stuff and get the house straight. Right now it's just a bunch of boxes and some furniture packed in the living room and kitchen." I said.

"Well, how about we go to the beach today and tomorrow me and Payson will go help you get the house straight?"

"That's sweet. But you haven't even asked Payson yet."

"I don't have to. He'll do it. But if it'll make you feel better, I'll ask him tonight and if he doesn't want to, I'll help you by myself."

"Okay. Hey, what's our old friends been up to?" I said as it suddenly popped in my head.

"They're all in college or somewhere else. They usually only come home for Christmas and sometimes during the summer. We're the only ones left that's staying for the winter." Parker explained.

"Oh. I guess I'll see them at Christmas maybe." I said.

"So are you ready to go to the beach?" Parker asked while he checked his phone. I happened to casually see what he was doing. Some girl named Kristy had texted him. I didn't know he was talking to anyone. He usually tells me. It kind of made me disappointed for some reason.

"Um, sure, I guess." I said.

"Okay. I'm going to use the bathroom and we'll go, okay?" Parker said as he got up and looked at me.

I nodded.

He walked down the hall into the bathroom and shut the door. I leaned back, on the couch and let out a deep breath. I started scrolling through Facebook.

Nancy's POV
I noticed that Nicole changed from happy and excited to disappointed and hurt. It changed when Parker looked at his phone. Now she's on her phone. Did he text her something?

"Honey, what's wrong?" I asked when Parker went to the bathroom. Her mind was somewhere far away.

"Oh, nothing. It's nothing important." She stated. She was trying to act like everything was fine.

"Yes, there is something wrong. You were happy, and now you're just acting down. What did you see on his phone?"

"I saw that he was texting some girl named Kristy." She leaned over to me and whispered.

"Oh, honey. And now you think that he's talking to her, and he doesn't care about you."

"Kinda." She admitted.

"Kristy is someone that he used to be involved sort of with. But honey, believe me. She's trash. She posts inappropriate pictures online. It's nasty. She's nowhere near as great as you."

"I don't think he likes me as more than a friend."

"Do you like him? As more than a friend?"

"I think I do, honestly. I didn't think it was possible, but I do."

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that Parker liked her too. However, I decided that it would be best if Parker told her. I'm so happy that they both like each other. It's fate that brought them back together.

"I have a good feeling that he likes you too. You know how Parker is. He always has to be nice to his fans. And honey, that's all she is. She's a fan that he started talking to a couple years ago. I didn't even think they talked anymore. She probably just got an itch to talk to him. You know, everyone wants to say that they know someone famous. I'm sure it's nothing."

"I hope so. I'm going to try to be happy and not think about it. I'm going to have fun at the beach. I just hope he's not trying to get together with her."

"He's not."

Nicole's POV
About that time, Parker came back into the living room. He was doing something on his phone again. He looked at me and smiled. I did a little smile back. He came and sat beside me again.

"Okay, I'm ready. You ready?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"We're taking my truck, right?"

"Sure, if you want to."

"Okay, let's go."

We said our goodbyes to his mom and walked out the door. He opened the passenger side door for me. I climbed into his truck. He shut my door, and he got in the driver's seat.

"Hey, remember that time when we went down to the beach with your mom and dad? We were like ten. Your little sister was like, almost two." Parker said as we drove down the road.

I laughed, "Yeah. I remember that you were walking down the beach with me looking for seashells. You carried my little sister everywhere with us. You tried to put her in the edge of the water, and she threw a fit."

"Yeah, I learned my lesson with her. She wouldn't go in the water with anyone but your dad."

"That was a good time. I still have pictures of me and you at the beach that day. Of course, I have hundreds of pictures of me and you everywhere. I have them all in a photo album."

"We need to look through that one night. I have a few of my own. We should put them together in the album."

I smiled at him, "Yeah, we should."

"I bet little Kayleigh doesn't even remember me. How old was she when you left again?"

"Um, she was four, I think. And yeah, she said that she thinks she remembers a little, but she can't tell me anything that you and her used to do. I've shown her the pictures, and she knows that you're my best friend and that I talk to you all the time."

"We used to go outside and play. We both would play tea party and baby doll with her. She would climb in my lap and watch TV and play video games with me."

"She called you 'Parkie'."

"Yeah, she was my little buddy."

"I have a picture of you and her sitting in the rocking chair at my old house, and she's asleep in your arms. It's so cute."

"Yeah, we really are going to go through the old pictures."

"We'll do it when I get unpacked, deal?"

"Bring it to my house so I can find my pictures. I'm sure Mama wants to see them too."

"Yeah."

We drove down the road listening to music and talking every once in a while. It only took a few minutes to get to the beach. It's one of the perks of being in Haines. Of course, it's mostly too cold to get in the water, but it's fun to sit on the rocks and watch the ocean.