She's already attracted a small crowd, and people are whispering as they stare at Dianne.
"Mom," Parker calls her attention, his face red.
Every head turns in our direction.
Dianne's face brightens when she sees us. "There he is. Parker, sweetie, give him money."
Parker approaches, but instead of giving her money, he pries the bottles from her hands and sets them down on the counter. "Let's get you home, Mom."
"No. What are you doing? I need those."
"We have plenty at home. I'll give you one when we get there."
She shakes her head, her eyes wild. "You're lying."
Sensing that she'll make an even bigger scene, I go to them. "He's not. But just to be safe, I'll be the one to give you the wine, okay?" I assure Dianne, feeling sick in my stomach for lying to her.
She balls my sweater in her fist and gives me an imploring look. "Do you promise that?"
I swallow hard. "I promise."
"Okay," she nods. Then smiles at Parker. "Let's go home."
Parker squeezes his eyes shut, relief flooding his features. "Thank you," he mouths to me before leading his mom out of the store, glaring hard at the nosy customers still watching us.
There's no way this incident will stay inside the store. These people are going to talk, and Dianne's current state will no longer be a secret. Yet another problem Parker has to deal with.
"Shit. I forgot she brought her car with her," he gripes once we're outside.
"Give me the keys. I'll drive it to your home. My car is still in school, anyway."
His lips quirk up. "You're a lifesaver, you know that, right?"
"Just being an upstanding citizen," I joke, making him chuckle.
I wait for Parker and Dianne to drive away in his Lexus before I get into Dianne's BMW and back it out of the parking lot.
While I drive, I think back to what happened in the grocery store. No doubt, the next few days will have the whole town talking about it—especially since it involves the Holloways, one of the most prominent families in Holy Oaks. Dianne herself used to be influential, often serving as an organizer of community events and activities. Now, everyone is about to find out that she's become a shell of her former self. The self-assured woman that they'd known was long gone.
I just hope for the Holloways' sake that the issue will blow over fast. This will surely put them in the spotlight, and Parker doesn't need any more stress in his hands.
Reaching their home, I park in the driveway right behind the Lexus, and climb out of the car.
Parker is padding down the stairs when I step inside the house. Dianne is nowhere in sight. She's probably already up in her room, waiting for her glass of wine.
Guilt stabs at me when I remember my promise to her. But it's not like I had a choice. I had to help Parker get her out of that store in any way I could.
Pushing it off to the back of my mind, I walk over to Parker and hand over his mom's car keys. "I parked it behind your car."
"Thank you," he says earnestly. "You've been a lot of help today."
I wave a hand even as a blush rises to my cheeks. "It was nothing."
His eyebrows draw together. "It wasn't nothing. Don't play it down, Peaches."
"Um, okay." Suddenly feeling shy, I clear my throat. "So, I need a ride back to school."
He shoves his hands into his pants pockets. "I'd ask you to stay a while longer, but knowing you, you'd likely end up sleeping over again." The embarrassed glare I shot him makes him smile. "I don't think you'd get away with it a second time."
He's not far off, though. It can very well happen, and Dad will no doubt ground me for real.
"Then we better move before I decide to stay," I retort, spinning on my heels to head outside before I end up doing just that. I'm really tempted, to be honest.
I hear him mumble something under his breath before his footsteps sound behind me.
The drive back to school is veiled in silence, but it's far from awkward. I'm pretty sure Parker and I are already past that stage. In just a matter of weeks, we've moved from being casual acquaintances to...close friends? Honestly, I'm still uncertain if I can call us that.
But does it even really matter? We've relied on each other so many times that putting a label on what we are to each other doesn't feel important anymore. Bottomline is, we get along—most days, anyway.
I'm lost in my thoughts that I don't notice right away that we already reached the school's deserted parking lot.
Parker pulls to a stop but keeps the engine running. "You said what you did was nothing," he says in a quiet voice. "But I honestly don't know if I could've found her that fast without you. It didn't even occur to me to look for her in the store. I kept thinking—what if I hadn't been able to get to her in time? What if she got into an accident?" A hollow laugh escapes him. "Worse thing is, this wasn't the first time she did that. Once, we even found her two towns over."
Pain and self-loathing intermingle, arresting his features, making my heart tighten in my chest.
He doesn't deserve to feel any of it.
"Parker, don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault she got out of the house. You didn't make her. Her actions were all her own."
He shakes his head, unyielding. "She's not in the right frame of mind."
"It's still not your fault," I stress out. "Some things are bound to happen out of your control. You can't beat yourself up when they do. Besides, we managed to find your mom right on time. That's what matters, right?"
The pained look on his face fades as a small smile curves his lips. "You're really good at that, Peaches. Ever thought of becoming a motivational speaker?"
"Maybe once or twice," I
