Page 28 of Shatter

He's shaking as he hugs me back. His chest bucks on a sob, and I hold him harder to me.

"I'm s-s-so sorry, Mel," he stammers out.

I pull away from him and hold him by the shoulders. "What?! Why are you sorry? You did nothing wrong!"

Parker's face is a quilt of guilt, pain, and despair.

Before he can answer, Harrison puts a hand on each of our shoulders and guides us back to the couch. I hold Parker's hands and take the box of tissues Harrison hands me.

My heart aches seeing the absolute heartbreak on Parker's face.

"I ruined everything," he wails pathetically, burying his face in his hands.

Suddenly, a large blanket gets draped over Parker and me, cocooning us in warmth. I smile up at Harrison gratefully.

"You didn't ruin anything!" I insist. "What did you ruin? Our fake relationship?"

I melt a little, wiping away his own tears the way that Harrison had wiped mine. He looks so young like this. I gather him to me in a hug.

"I'm just worried about you. I'm sure that's not how you imagined coming out of the closet," I say, running a hand up and down his back reassuringly.

He sobs again, shaking his head 'no' miserably.

I'm vaguely aware that Harrison is watching us but giving us space.

When Parker's sobs slow, I pull away again.

"But now that we've established that I really don't give a shit, tell me everything."

Parker wipes snot from his nose and gives me a sad smile.

"His name is Marco..."

I grin and smack Parker's shoulder playfully.

"How long?!" I ask, desperate to pull Parker out of his depressed spiral.

My question causes the side of his lips to tip up. "A year," he whispers, his shy admission.

"You've been seeing someone for a year, and you never told me?"

He huffs. "How would that go down? 'Hey babe, I know we're supposed to be dating, but I'm actually falling for a nerdy professor I met playing video games.'"

I smile. "Yes! That's exactly how that should have gone down!"

It warms my heart that he's no longer crying.

"What's his name?" Harrison's deep voice startles me.

"Marco Laurent," Parker replies, sounding morose.

Harrison walks back into the kitchen, typing away on his phone.

"Will you stay with me tonight? I really don't want to be alone," Parker asks, squeezing my hands and imploring me with his eyes.

I look to Harrison, who gives me an impassive look.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." I don't know what, if anything, is going to happen between Harrison and me. We haven't had the chance to talk. But I don't want to ruin anything before it even begins.