Four: Parker

Parker was glad about the turn out. The entire house was packed full of people and he was getting great footage. The DJ that Lucy had found for him was exactly what he wanted. All Electro, all House, all hip hop and all night long. It had been his only demand and one that the DJ met with ease. The main floor had turned into a huge dance floor and no one was complaining. The booze was still flowing and the drugs were in abundance. If it hadn’t been for Tasha following him around all evening it might have been a perfect night. Instead he kissed one girl and then another, but Tasha didn’t give up. Lucy had promised to do something about it, but had failed to show up on time. Parker knew he was on his own.

When a brunette he met at a Steve Aoki event asked if he wanted to do a line there was no way he could say no. They headed upstairs to his room and locked themselves inside. She knelt on one side of his night stand while Parker sat on the bed, filming her.

“Tell me one thing about yourself,” he laughed behind the camera. She constructed some of the neatest lines he’d ever seen. It was like an art. They were pretty much all the same size. For a moment his camera’s attention focused on the white powder and her smooth moving fingers. It was the girl’s giggle that brought his attention back to her. She was wearing hot pink lipstick and black eye shadow. Her hair dangled down in front of her face as she snorted a line with a cut-off pen shaft. He focused on her eyes as she tilted her head back, sniffing. When facing him again, she responded,

“I’m a lot of fun.” Parker held the camera away from the both of them as he leaned over and kissed her. She slipped the cut pen into his hand while she bit his lip.

Parker did a line, then another. The girl took the camera and turned it back on him. He touched his nose and smiled at the little red light that stared at him.

“Now you tell me something about yourself,” she told him, “something real. Something deep.”

Parker thought for a moment. Anything he could possibly think of seemed cheesy and much like a lie. The girl moved the camera up and down his body, focusing for a moment on his crotch. He could see her zoom in and out. He just laughed.

“Come on. Something the other girls don’t know about you,” she said with a chemical induced grin on her face. Her dilated pupils were so piercing. He stared straight into them. He thought about Tasha and several other girls and realized there was only one thing that seemed fitting. If it weren’t for the cocaine he wouldn’t have said it at all.

“There’s only one thing I can think of,” he told her, dropping his gaze to his folded hands in an attempt to look bashful.

“What is it?” she asked with sympathy in her voice. Rolling his eyes and turning away from the camera he said, “Let’s drop it. Leave it alone.”
It was tempting to be at this side of the camera. It was tempting to blurt it all out like a video blog. But then again, who was this girl? He didn’t know. She was cute. Tiny little body, good size breasts, perfect round ass. He moved the camera out of the way again to kiss her neck. He heard a little moan escape her lips. Right then he knew she would do anything he wanted.

“You can tell me anything.” Her words were full of conviction. With a shrug he faced the camera and stared straight past it, at the wall. In the most casual voice he was able to produce, he told her, “Everyone I know has their addictions. I can’t commit to anything.”

The corners of his mouth turned up as she lowered the camera and set it on the night stand. She didn’t even bother to stand, but instead crawled across the floor and between his legs. He squeezed her waist between his knees as she pushed her lips against his. He pulled her shirt over her head, exposing her black lace bra, which he unlatched with ease and tossed across the room. She whispered that she wasn’t addicted to anything either. A weak attempting at creating a bond. He ignored it and responded by taking her hand and putting it down the front of his pants.

She took no time buttoning his jeans and sliding them down his thighs. Parker did nothing, except lean back with both his hands on his bed. He groaned as she put her lips around his cock and dug her fingers into his thigh. Part of him felt guilty for not remembering her name.

It could have gone on for hours if she had her way. It could have gone on for hours if he let it. But Parker had a party to host. He handed her a Kleenex to clean her face off while he did the last of her coke. He got to his feet, zipped up his jeans and said, “See you down stairs when you’re ready.” Before leaving his room he checked his mirror, making sure he was acceptable. The black and white stripped shirt he was wearing was crushed, but he did little to flatten it. His white jeans were in better shape than his shirt. He thought that his attire brought out the hint of dark in his skin, his eyes, his facial hair, but in a second thought told himself it was probably just the cocaine. Things always looked better when there was a little powder involved.

“Oh hey,” Parker said turning around to face the brunette. She stopped pulling on her shirt to stare at him. For a second her eyes were so hopeful, staring up at him from the floor. He pointed to his camera and said, “Here, hand that to me.”

She did exactly as she was told, grabbing the camera off the night stand and getting up to bring it over to him. Parker took it from her, kissed her on the cheek and said, “you did good.” She looked confused and slightly flattered as he walked out the door. He nodded to the beat of a Designer Drugs song that was being played on the floor below. He was about to head down the stairs when he saw her standing in the hallway. It was nearly midnight and he knew he should be getting downstairs to his guests, but he raised the camera in her direction.

The stories just didn’t fit the girl that was standing in his hallway. It was hard to see a party girl in the dirt jeans and baggy sweater. There was nothing overly impressive about her, excepted how remarkably plain she was. Charlie’s love for the weird girl had blinded him, obviously. This girl was nothing to get excited over.

When Parker glanced into the display screen of his camera he was surprised at how solitary she appeared in her stillness. Guests moved from one staircase to the other, coming from rooms he’d never permitted they use, they passed by without ever once touching her. It was almost like no one else could see her. Parker glanced over his camera. Through the lens or not, she appeared the same. It was rather unsettling.

If she noticed him, she played the fool very well. When he cleared his throat her body jerked in shock and she turned to stare at him, taking several steps back. Her eyes weren’t on Parker at all. They glared at the camera, completely unimpressed by its presence.

“You wanna put that away?” she asked him. There was no hiding the bitterness in her tone.

“Name?” But he already knew it. He didn’t want to flatter her, didn’t want to let on he knew more about her than she probably cared for him to know.

“What? Get that thing out of my face, please.”

“This is the guestbook for the evening. Don’t you want to be remembered?”

Her shoulders drooped forward, making her look defeated.

“Not particularly, to be honest…Okay, what?”

“So why are you here tonight?” He zoomed in and out of her face. She had round face and a round nose and large, round, brown eyes. The symmetry amused him for just a moment. She was wearing an old, stripped sweater that was fraying around the cuff of the sleeves. He focused his lens on her hands, pulling at her sleeves for a moment, but then she spoke.

“I’m looking for Charlie. Have you seen him?”

“Charlie?” Parker raised his eyebrows, attempting to look confused. He liked the way she studied him, watching his every move, even the way his eyes shifted. It was interesting that he couldn’t tell what she thought after giving him the up and down. There was no hint of her opinion. Parker winked at her anyway.

“Nevermind.” She turned back to the photographs on the wall. Parker smiled to himself.

“I heard a rumour about this photographer,” Parker said turning the camera onto the photograph. It was Charlie and Lucy. Their arms were wrapped around each other’s shoulders. Their mouthes were open in laughter. The contents of both their drinks were spilling out in opposite directions. The photograph captured the liquid hanging in mid-air. The black and white photograph was almost two years old. Lucy’s face was more full and despite the lack of colour it was obvious her hair was more golden instead of white. It had been and still was one of Parker’s favourites. Charlie’s glasses were sliding off his nose. This blonde curls were hanging into his eyes, sweaty from dancing. He and Lucy were both wearing aviator sunglasses despite how dark the club looked.

“Oh yeah?” Her tone was flat, but Parker could see the fear in her eyes when she said it. This only encouraged him to push it even further. He wanted to play with her a little more, wanted to capture something on his camera that she wouldn’t want him to see.

“Yeah. She disappeared. Just up and left in the middle of the night almost exactly a year ago. I heard the whole situation from her best friend. You curious?” Parker lowered the camera to an odd angle to catch her biting on her bottom lip. She didn’t look at him or the camera, just focused on the picture in front of her.

When she didn’t answer he went on, “She was only a semi-decent photographer. Just did stuff for local bands and a lot of the local zines. Pretty minor work, but with a decent pay off for sure. I guess you could say she had a pretty legit reputation, from what I hear. I only heard of her once she left. Probably ran off to have some illegitimate child or rehab. If you ask me, I’m guessing it was rehab. I’m almost sure of it. It fits with the story of her boyfriend.”

She slyly took the video camera from his hand, turned it off and said, “I can tell you one thing, you don’t know anything about it.”

“And you do?” Parker said. The smile spread across his face. The jig was up and he was really impressed by her composure. She handed the camera back to him with collective movements. Her lips were pursed, but only noticeable because he was looking for anything that showed some sense of emotion.

“I know a little something about the photographer.”

“Oh yeah? Do tell.”

“I took these photographs. I am the photographer. So, now who are you?” Stella picked up her things and prepared to leave. She made tiny steps backward, away from him. Parker took a large step toward her.

“Parker King. Your new landlord,” he told her with a deep laugh. He played it up, tilting his head back and touching his stomach. It was rather over-dramatic, but he could see the annoyance she tried to hide in the grip she had on the strap of her bag. Her knuckles were going white just staring at him.

“Listen, Stella, I was just playing,” Parker told her, trying to make peace. He even chuckled a little, to say no hurt feelings, but it only made her more frustrated. Her eyes narrowed at him.

“Where’s Charlie?” She asked.

“Don’t be mad. It was just a joke. Your pictures are cute,” he told her. She didn’t smile or even look at him. She repeated, “Where’s Charlie?” This time with more force in her tone.

“He’s not here,” Parker said, annoyed by her and for a moment, Charlie too. Charlie was supposed to be there. It was his party too. They had big plans for Stella’s return. It was Charlie’s idea to stay in for New Years and invite everyone they knew. It was in completely contrast with what Parker had wanted to do with himself. He’d even sold his Glamour and Glitz ticket to a acquaintance of his because Charlie said they would have a better time with a house party. But Charlie had been missing since nearly four that afternoon.

“He was supposed to meet me. He was supposed to bring me here. I need to find him.” Stella put one hand into her hair and pulled at it. She turned to the picture of Charlie and Lucy. Stella frowned.

“He’s got things to do.”

“Better then picking up your friend that you haven’t seen in six months?”

“The friend that up and left him over a year ago without a word about it? You left, he has new priorities now. And how can you blame him? His life went on, even without you. Get over it.” Parker never meant for it to all come out like that. He hadn’t even realized how harsh the words were actually were until she slung her back pack over her shoulders and headed toward the stairs. Before Stella could get too far Parker grabbed her bag and said,
“Just wait. Fuck. Wait.”

He was sure that if he hadn’t grabbed hold of her pack that she would have walked out of the house without waiting to hear what he had to say. With hesitation, she turned around and put one hand on her hip, waiting like she was asked.

“If I let you walk out of here Charles would fucking slaughter me. For real. Come on. This is your room. It was his, but he moved to the tiny one down the hall for you. So just take it, alright?” Parker pushed the door open and walked inside to turn on the light. With small, cautious steps, she made her way into the room as well. At first she appeared unimpressed with the small, window-less room until she realized a door frame at the other side. Parker stood back while he watched her walk into the sun room. Book shelves lines one entire wall and beneath the windows on another. Charlie had left his desk for her along with a few empty, black picture frames. Stella turned to Parker and said, “He left this all for me?”

“Yeah, even if you don’t deserve it,” Parker reminded her. Stella ignored his comment and tossed her bag into the floor. From his pocket he grabbed a set of keys and put them on the bare mattress of the double bed. Charlie had brought for her against Parker’s better judgment.

He didn’t say another word, but walked out of the room and back down to the party. The Dj was playing one of his favourite songs. He turned his camera back on and made his way into the middle of the dancing people. When Tasha found him and kissed his neck he didn’t pull away. The count down to midnight began just as Charlie walked through the door.