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Chapter or Story
Better Late Than Never
Chapter 6
Melanie-Anne
Debbie and Parker had returned from their shopping expedition armed with enough food for the next few days. When they found that the men had gone to sleep, Parker instructed Debbie to leave everything except the milk and frozen food in the car. "They can unpack it tomorrow," she said.
Broots had taken the sleeper couch and Sydney was in the downstairs bedroom. Which left just one more bed.
"Where are you going to sleep?" Debbie asked.
"Don't worry about me." She found a shirt for Debbie to sleep in and wished her good night. Before going to her room, she checked that all the doors and windows were locked and bolted. Better paranoid than dead, she thought wryly.
Jarod was sprawled across the queen-size bed. Parker set her gun down on the bedside table and pulled the jeans off, glad that the sweatshirt came to her knees. Yawning, she crawled in next to Jarod and pulled the covers up over head.
*
Three days passed uneventfully. Broots was happy to be spending time with Debbie and Sydney was enjoying his chats with Jarod. Parker had driven up to Pocomoke City for more supplies: food, clothing and a laptop and modem. While there, she had used codes Jarod had given her to transfer money from the Centre's bank account into an offshore account of his. From there, the money had passed through a dozen more accounts.
Jarod was recovering nicely. When she'd woken up that first morning to find his arms wrapped around her, she'd quietly slipped out of the bed. Now she made sure to go to bed once he was asleep and to wake up before he did.
On the morning of the fourth day, Parker and Debbie were in the kitchen, attempting to make pancakes for breakfast. Since they were working without a recipe, it was more challenging than usual, but things were going well. Sydney and Broots were taking their daily walk on the beach and Jarod was still confined to the bed.
"Something smells good."
Parker looked up in surprise and dusted flour from the tip of her nose. She glared at the speaker. "You're not supposed to be up."
Jarod smiled, leaning against the doorframe. "The doctor said I'm fine."
"Which doctor?"
He pointed to himself and walked to the kitchen table, easing himself into a chair.
"You don't count," Parker said.
"Yeah, well. It was lonely upstairs. It's really rude to sneak out of bed before I wake up, you know. You could give a guy a complex."
Debbie giggled. Catching Parker's look of outrage, she busied herself with mixing batter, but couldn't quite smother the giggles.
"Hey, Parker, how about a cup of coffee?" he continued.
"If you're well enough to get out of bed, you're well enough to make it yourself."
"I'll make you coffee," Debbie said.
Parker looked at Debbie in disbelief. So much for sisterhood and solidarity.
"Thanks, Deb," Jarod said. "Hey, Parker. If you want me back in bed so much . . ." He trailed off and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Parker leaned across the table, her voice low and husky. "You know, I think I do have a use for you . . ."
Jarod grinned.
". . . Knock yourself out." She slid Debbie's bowl of batter across the table, this time joining in the teenager's laughter.
*
After supper, Jarod joined Parker on the patio overlooking the beach. "Why are you avoiding me?" he asked.
"I'm not."
"Come on, Parker. You can hardly bear to be alone with me."
She leaned against the railing and looked out at the night sky. "We share a bed."
"Only because there's nowhere else for you to sleep."
She wished she wasn't so easy to see through. This conversation was inevitable, but she hadn't been looking forward to it. "What do you want me to say to you, Jarod?"
He inched closer to her. "At the hospital, it seemed like we had a chance at something. But since we got here, you've been distant. What's wrong?"
They were almost touching now. She stepped away. "Nothing."
"Don't lie to me."
She lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. She'd come outside for privacy and hoped he'd get the message. She should have known better.
"When did you start smoking again?"
She exhaled and stared at the red glow. "After Carthis."
"Why?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Why does anyone do anything?"
He took the cigarette from her and dropped it, snuffing it with his shoe. "What's wrong?"
"Just go away, Jarod."
"No." He was relentless.
She turned to him, angry now. Angry at herself, at him, at the Centre, at everything. "Do you really want to know what's wrong? You're selfish. You think the world revolves around you and your problems. 'I'm Jarod, I don't know who I am.' 'I can't find my family.' Well, guess what, other people have problems too. Other people want the same things you want."
"Like you?"
"No." She lit another cigarette. "My whole life has revolved around you. You were always more important to my father than me—I hated you for that. And I couldn't leave the Centre until I found you. And then you made me question everything I was. When I saw you in that hospital room I was so scared you were going to die and I didn't understand it."
"Parker—" He reached for her but she shrugged out of his grasp.
"I don't understand why I couldn't let them take you again. I don't understand why I can't have a relationship without comparing the guy to you. I don't understand how I could give up everything to get you away from the Centre, how I could make Sydney and Broots give up everything too. And I don't understand why I'm so mad at you. I mean, I should be happy. But I'm not."
"Do you still hate me?" he asked quietly.
"No. I don't know."
"And everything you said at the hospital?"
She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I thought you were going to die."
"But now you've had time to think about it?"
She nodded.
"And you've decided you didn't mean it?"
She was silent.
"I see." Jarod turned to go back inside.
She dropped the cigarette and grabbed his arm. "No, you don't. Because I don't either. Dammit, you are the most infuriating man I have ever met." She kissed him, before she had time to think about what she was doing.
Jarod pulled away and leaned on the railing as he caught his breath. "Parker—"
She sat on one of the chairs, feeling horribly close to tears. Can't I just do things normally? She thought.
"If you give me a couple of days, I can probably get hold of my father. Then you can go back to Blue Cove—"
"Go back?" She laughed. "Jarod, if I go back, they will kill me. I passed the point of no return long ago."
"How long ago?"
She shook her head. She should have bought alcohol when she went shopping. She could have done with a good drink right about now.
Jarod sighed. "Well, good night, Parker. It's been enlightening."
*
Sydney found the pretender in the kitchen, slumped over the kitchen table. "Coffee?"
Jarod shook his head. "Thanks, but no."
"Care to talk about it?"
"It's Parker."
"Ah." Sydney had thought as much. He sat opposite Jarod and folded his hands on the tabletop.
"I don't understand her, Syd. Before we got here, she was . . . I thought we really had a chance, you know. But now, she's . . . she's different. It's like all the things she said at the hospital meant nothing to her."
Sydney remembered Parker's frantic phone call, telling him where Jarod was. He remembered walking into the hospital room to find Parker lying almost on top of Jarod. "No, she meant what she said."
"Then why is she acting like this?"
Sydney smiled. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that women will always be a mystery to men. Think about it for a while. Nothing has come easy to Parker. And every time something good happens to her, it usually fails to last. Now that she's given up one of the constants in her life, why should her other constant remain?"
Jarod scratched his head, looking slightly less depressed. "I think I get what you're saying."
"Have you told her you love her?"
"Yeah, at the hospital. She couldn't say it back." His expression turned sulky, like a little boy.
"Well, think about the people who have said it to her before. Her mother and Tommy are dead. She never knew how Mr. Parker meant it." He laid his hand on top of Jarod's. "Parker has as many scars as you do, just different kinds."
"She said as much."
"I don't think it would hurt to tell her how you feel about her as often as you can. She's bound to believe you one of these days."
Jarod slowly broke into a smile. "Thanks, Syd. Good night."
"Do you need help getting upstairs?"
"Nah, I'll be okay."
Sydney smiled and went to look for Parker. She was where Jarod had left her, twirling an unlit cigarette through her fingers. He sat next to her and waited.
"I don't know what I was thinking," she said without looking at him. "I always mess things up."
"Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure I'd blame you for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Well, not all of them anyway."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"Why don't you get some sleep? Things are usually clearer in the morning."
"He'll still be awake."
"I know."
She looked at Sydney for a long moment then slowly got to her feet. When she was at the door, he turned to her.
"Oh, Parker. I'll take care of breakfast tomorrow morning."
Chapter 6
Melanie-Anne
Debbie and Parker had returned from their shopping expedition armed with enough food for the next few days. When they found that the men had gone to sleep, Parker instructed Debbie to leave everything except the milk and frozen food in the car. "They can unpack it tomorrow," she said.
Broots had taken the sleeper couch and Sydney was in the downstairs bedroom. Which left just one more bed.
"Where are you going to sleep?" Debbie asked.
"Don't worry about me." She found a shirt for Debbie to sleep in and wished her good night. Before going to her room, she checked that all the doors and windows were locked and bolted. Better paranoid than dead, she thought wryly.
Jarod was sprawled across the queen-size bed. Parker set her gun down on the bedside table and pulled the jeans off, glad that the sweatshirt came to her knees. Yawning, she crawled in next to Jarod and pulled the covers up over head.
*
Three days passed uneventfully. Broots was happy to be spending time with Debbie and Sydney was enjoying his chats with Jarod. Parker had driven up to Pocomoke City for more supplies: food, clothing and a laptop and modem. While there, she had used codes Jarod had given her to transfer money from the Centre's bank account into an offshore account of his. From there, the money had passed through a dozen more accounts.
Jarod was recovering nicely. When she'd woken up that first morning to find his arms wrapped around her, she'd quietly slipped out of the bed. Now she made sure to go to bed once he was asleep and to wake up before he did.
On the morning of the fourth day, Parker and Debbie were in the kitchen, attempting to make pancakes for breakfast. Since they were working without a recipe, it was more challenging than usual, but things were going well. Sydney and Broots were taking their daily walk on the beach and Jarod was still confined to the bed.
"Something smells good."
Parker looked up in surprise and dusted flour from the tip of her nose. She glared at the speaker. "You're not supposed to be up."
Jarod smiled, leaning against the doorframe. "The doctor said I'm fine."
"Which doctor?"
He pointed to himself and walked to the kitchen table, easing himself into a chair.
"You don't count," Parker said.
"Yeah, well. It was lonely upstairs. It's really rude to sneak out of bed before I wake up, you know. You could give a guy a complex."
Debbie giggled. Catching Parker's look of outrage, she busied herself with mixing batter, but couldn't quite smother the giggles.
"Hey, Parker, how about a cup of coffee?" he continued.
"If you're well enough to get out of bed, you're well enough to make it yourself."
"I'll make you coffee," Debbie said.
Parker looked at Debbie in disbelief. So much for sisterhood and solidarity.
"Thanks, Deb," Jarod said. "Hey, Parker. If you want me back in bed so much . . ." He trailed off and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Parker leaned across the table, her voice low and husky. "You know, I think I do have a use for you . . ."
Jarod grinned.
". . . Knock yourself out." She slid Debbie's bowl of batter across the table, this time joining in the teenager's laughter.
*
After supper, Jarod joined Parker on the patio overlooking the beach. "Why are you avoiding me?" he asked.
"I'm not."
"Come on, Parker. You can hardly bear to be alone with me."
She leaned against the railing and looked out at the night sky. "We share a bed."
"Only because there's nowhere else for you to sleep."
She wished she wasn't so easy to see through. This conversation was inevitable, but she hadn't been looking forward to it. "What do you want me to say to you, Jarod?"
He inched closer to her. "At the hospital, it seemed like we had a chance at something. But since we got here, you've been distant. What's wrong?"
They were almost touching now. She stepped away. "Nothing."
"Don't lie to me."
She lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. She'd come outside for privacy and hoped he'd get the message. She should have known better.
"When did you start smoking again?"
She exhaled and stared at the red glow. "After Carthis."
"Why?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Why does anyone do anything?"
He took the cigarette from her and dropped it, snuffing it with his shoe. "What's wrong?"
"Just go away, Jarod."
"No." He was relentless.
She turned to him, angry now. Angry at herself, at him, at the Centre, at everything. "Do you really want to know what's wrong? You're selfish. You think the world revolves around you and your problems. 'I'm Jarod, I don't know who I am.' 'I can't find my family.' Well, guess what, other people have problems too. Other people want the same things you want."
"Like you?"
"No." She lit another cigarette. "My whole life has revolved around you. You were always more important to my father than me—I hated you for that. And I couldn't leave the Centre until I found you. And then you made me question everything I was. When I saw you in that hospital room I was so scared you were going to die and I didn't understand it."
"Parker—" He reached for her but she shrugged out of his grasp.
"I don't understand why I couldn't let them take you again. I don't understand why I can't have a relationship without comparing the guy to you. I don't understand how I could give up everything to get you away from the Centre, how I could make Sydney and Broots give up everything too. And I don't understand why I'm so mad at you. I mean, I should be happy. But I'm not."
"Do you still hate me?" he asked quietly.
"No. I don't know."
"And everything you said at the hospital?"
She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I thought you were going to die."
"But now you've had time to think about it?"
She nodded.
"And you've decided you didn't mean it?"
She was silent.
"I see." Jarod turned to go back inside.
She dropped the cigarette and grabbed his arm. "No, you don't. Because I don't either. Dammit, you are the most infuriating man I have ever met." She kissed him, before she had time to think about what she was doing.
Jarod pulled away and leaned on the railing as he caught his breath. "Parker—"
She sat on one of the chairs, feeling horribly close to tears. Can't I just do things normally? She thought.
"If you give me a couple of days, I can probably get hold of my father. Then you can go back to Blue Cove—"
"Go back?" She laughed. "Jarod, if I go back, they will kill me. I passed the point of no return long ago."
"How long ago?"
She shook her head. She should have bought alcohol when she went shopping. She could have done with a good drink right about now.
Jarod sighed. "Well, good night, Parker. It's been enlightening."
*
Sydney found the pretender in the kitchen, slumped over the kitchen table. "Coffee?"
Jarod shook his head. "Thanks, but no."
"Care to talk about it?"
"It's Parker."
"Ah." Sydney had thought as much. He sat opposite Jarod and folded his hands on the tabletop.
"I don't understand her, Syd. Before we got here, she was . . . I thought we really had a chance, you know. But now, she's . . . she's different. It's like all the things she said at the hospital meant nothing to her."
Sydney remembered Parker's frantic phone call, telling him where Jarod was. He remembered walking into the hospital room to find Parker lying almost on top of Jarod. "No, she meant what she said."
"Then why is she acting like this?"
Sydney smiled. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that women will always be a mystery to men. Think about it for a while. Nothing has come easy to Parker. And every time something good happens to her, it usually fails to last. Now that she's given up one of the constants in her life, why should her other constant remain?"
Jarod scratched his head, looking slightly less depressed. "I think I get what you're saying."
"Have you told her you love her?"
"Yeah, at the hospital. She couldn't say it back." His expression turned sulky, like a little boy.
"Well, think about the people who have said it to her before. Her mother and Tommy are dead. She never knew how Mr. Parker meant it." He laid his hand on top of Jarod's. "Parker has as many scars as you do, just different kinds."
"She said as much."
"I don't think it would hurt to tell her how you feel about her as often as you can. She's bound to believe you one of these days."
Jarod slowly broke into a smile. "Thanks, Syd. Good night."
"Do you need help getting upstairs?"
"Nah, I'll be okay."
Sydney smiled and went to look for Parker. She was where Jarod had left her, twirling an unlit cigarette through her fingers. He sat next to her and waited.
"I don't know what I was thinking," she said without looking at him. "I always mess things up."
"Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure I'd blame you for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Well, not all of them anyway."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"Why don't you get some sleep? Things are usually clearer in the morning."
"He'll still be awake."
"I know."
She looked at Sydney for a long moment then slowly got to her feet. When she was at the door, he turned to her.
"Oh, Parker. I'll take care of breakfast tomorrow morning."
