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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Hayley
Five
Melanie-Anne
January 4
The Centre
SL 20
Hayley stared at the ground as she followed Raines down the hallway. She was trying so hard to focus on what the voices were saying that she didn't realize he'd stopped until she walked into him. He turned around to glare at her. She looked up, her eyes wide, and mumbled an apology. He grabbed her chin, twisting her face to the light, and smiled.
"Is this Lyle's work?"
Hayley nodded once. Raines smirked and turned away to open a door. Hayley peered past him into the room but there was nothing to see. She followed him inside and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Suddenly there was a bright light and she shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw Raines standing by the light switch. Licking her lips, she looked around the room. A gurney sat in the centre, flanked on one side by a formidable-looking machine. Hayley looked back at Raines.
"What are you going to do to me?"
Raines stepped towards her, the squeak of his oxygen tank frightening in the silence. "Haven't you ever wondered why you can do the things you do?"
She shook her head. "Michael said it was 'cause some people were special, and I was one of them."
"No one is quite as special as you are, Hayley."
Something in his tone chilled her to the bone. From the corner of her eye, she saw movement at the door and broke his gaze. A black man stood in the doorway, looking at Raines. Hayley smiled.
"Dumela," she said.
The man looked at her, frowning. Hayley's smile vanished. Confused, she looked at Raines.
"You're not in Africa anymore, Hayley." He sounded amused. Hayley wished she could just disappear.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"You wanted something, Willie?" Raines looked at the newcomer.
"Dr. Singleton has arrived."
Raines nodded. "Watch her." He grabbed the handle of his oxygen tank and left.
Hayley stared at Willie, looking for any resemblance to her old friend Mpho. There was nothing. This man's face was hard, his eyes were cold and nothing she'd seen so far suggested he had any interest in befriending her.
"What are you looking at?"
She bit her lip and stared at the ground again.
*
SL25
"You came to visit again!"
Parker smiled absently at Jason and sat on the floor next to him. Her thoughts were on the girl she'd met. "I'm sorry I made you come back."
Jason clambered onto his knees and whispered in Parker's ear. "Mr. Raines came to visit after you left."
"What? Did he hurt you?" She studied Jason carefully, looking for the smallest scrap of evidence that Raines had hurt her brother.
"Nope. He wanted to know what I did at your house."
Parker went cold all over. "What did you tell him?"
"That Santa came, and I played with the bunny, and I watched TV, and you made scrambled eggs." He dropped his voice to a whisper again. "I didn't say anything 'bout Jarod."
Parker smiled and hugged him. "It won't be much longer. I promise."
*
SL20
Lyle couldn't watch. Hayley lay on the gurney, her face pale against her dark hair. Her eyes were closed but Lyle knew she wasn't sleeping. His head hurt. He leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the one-way mirror and closed his eyes.
He'd gone back to Hayley's room after his encounter with Angelo, only to find that she was gone. Hoping against hope that she wasn't with Raines, he'd come up here. He'd found Raines, Willie and a doctor he didn't recognize. The test results hidden in his pocket, he'd gone into the observation room to watch.
She was frightened. He didn't know how he knew. It was just a feeling, dull and heavy in his gut. Then again, he'd suffered at Raines' hands when he was Hayley's age. Maybe this was just the return of all his old fears.
No. He hadn't thought about that in years. He would not think about it now. He opened his eyes and forced himself to look at Hayley. The doctor was drawing blood from her arm. There were electrodes attached to her forehead and a blood pressure cuff on her other arm. Her eyes flew open and she looked right at Lyle. He stepped backwards before remembering there was no way she could possibly see him.
He saw a tear trail down her cheek and raised his hand to the glass. He really couldn't watch anymore.
*
Miss Parker's House
"She can't stay there." Parker sat cross-legged on her bed. She held the phone to her ear, a photograph of Hayley in her free hand. "Lyle hit her today, and all she did was sneak out of her room."
"I'm working on it, Parker."
She heard loud voices coming through the phone, and muffled music. "Where are you?"
"At a diner. How's Jason?"
"He's alright—Hang on a sec." Someone was pounding on her front door. She put on slippers and went downstairs. "I'll call you back."
She opened the door, her hands on her hips. "What do you want?"
Lyle pushed inside, heading for the living room. "If you could leave, would you?"
"Lyle! Does it look like I invited you—Wait. What are you talking about?"
He stood in front of the fireplace, looking at a photograph of Catherine and a young Miss Parker. He picked it up. Parker laid the phone on the coffee table and stepped closer to her brother.
"Lyle?"
"If she could see us now, what do you think she'd say?"
Intrigued despite herself, Parker leaned against the wall. "I don't know."
Lyle sighed, then raised his head and looked at her. "I've always wondered why you stayed all these years. Don't tell me it's about Jarod. If you wanted to catch him, you would have done it a long time ago."
Parker laughed. Lyle had no idea how close to the truth he was. "I don't see you any closer to catching him than I am."
"I don't have that connection to him that you do."
"Connection? Do you know how ridiculous you sound? And while we're on the subject of your apparent lapse in sanity, what are you doing at my house?"
Lyle walked over to a couch and sat down, the photo still in his hand. He stared at it for a moment, then sighed. "I needed to think . . . to talk. I don't know."
Parker folded her arms across her chest. "Really? And you thought I was the one to talk to? I hate to break it to you, Lyle, but we don't have that kind of relationship. Go find yourself a shrink."
"I just went for a drive. Somehow, I ended up here." He shrugged.
Parker tilted her head as she studied her brother. She fetched two glasses from the kitchen and picked up a bottle of scotch. She placed them on the coffee table and sat opposite Lyle, ignoring his look of amusement as she poured a liberal amount of scotch in each glass. Lyle looked like he needed a drink, and she wasn't one to let someone drink alone.
"Why do you stay?" Lyle asked.
"That's the third time you've asked. I know you don't want me there, but honestly, this is a little—"
"Seriously, Parker. What's keeping you there?"
She leaned back in her seat and met her brother's gaze. "Seriously. Jason."
"So why'd you bring him back after Christmas?"
Parker sipped her drink and glanced at her Christmas tree. She'd meant to take it down before she went back to the Centre, but hadn't gotten around to it. In her mind's eye, she saw Jason gleefully unwrapping his presents. She saw Jarod, grinning as he held up his Mickey Mouse PEZ dispenser. She smiled.
"You wouldn't understand, Lyle."
His eyes narrowed slightly. Parker felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Why had he come?
"Humor me," he said.
"Okay. Because I haven't found all the answers I'm looking for."
"Are the answers really that important?"
She looked up sharply; was she that transparent? Since she and Jarod had been together, she'd discovered there was more to life than finding the truth about her past. Especially when she knew she wouldn't like the answers.
"I told you, you wouldn't understand," she said.
Lyle sighed and set his glass down on the table. He smiled; to Parker, he looked sad. "You disappoint me, Parker. But I hope you find what you're looking for."
Only after he'd left, did Parker realize he'd taken the photo with him.
*
Same time
The Centre
SL25
Hayley sat quietly on her bed. She looked at the balls in the corner and sighed; they rose and floated across to the opposite corner. Midway through the exercise, she decided she was bored and let them fall to the floor. She flopped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She was afraid to sleep; afraid of the nightmares that she knew would come.
WAAAAAAH!
She shot up, grabbing her head. It had never hurt like this before. Not caring about the consequences, she pried open the cover to the vent and slipped inside. She paused, trying to remember the way. When she reached Jason's room, she pushed the cover open and climbed out. She dusted her hands on her pants and took a step towards the bed where Jason lay, caught in the throes of his own nightmare. She knelt on the floor and took his hand.
"Thula thu, thula baba, thula sana," she sang softly. "Thula thu, thula baba, thula whethu."
After a while, Jason stilled and his breathing returned to normal. Hayley breathed a sigh of relief and she climbed up onto the bed, lying next to him. All the while, she softly sang her lullaby, humming when she couldn't remember the words.
Five
Melanie-Anne
January 4
The Centre
SL 20
Hayley stared at the ground as she followed Raines down the hallway. She was trying so hard to focus on what the voices were saying that she didn't realize he'd stopped until she walked into him. He turned around to glare at her. She looked up, her eyes wide, and mumbled an apology. He grabbed her chin, twisting her face to the light, and smiled.
"Is this Lyle's work?"
Hayley nodded once. Raines smirked and turned away to open a door. Hayley peered past him into the room but there was nothing to see. She followed him inside and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Suddenly there was a bright light and she shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw Raines standing by the light switch. Licking her lips, she looked around the room. A gurney sat in the centre, flanked on one side by a formidable-looking machine. Hayley looked back at Raines.
"What are you going to do to me?"
Raines stepped towards her, the squeak of his oxygen tank frightening in the silence. "Haven't you ever wondered why you can do the things you do?"
She shook her head. "Michael said it was 'cause some people were special, and I was one of them."
"No one is quite as special as you are, Hayley."
Something in his tone chilled her to the bone. From the corner of her eye, she saw movement at the door and broke his gaze. A black man stood in the doorway, looking at Raines. Hayley smiled.
"Dumela," she said.
The man looked at her, frowning. Hayley's smile vanished. Confused, she looked at Raines.
"You're not in Africa anymore, Hayley." He sounded amused. Hayley wished she could just disappear.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"You wanted something, Willie?" Raines looked at the newcomer.
"Dr. Singleton has arrived."
Raines nodded. "Watch her." He grabbed the handle of his oxygen tank and left.
Hayley stared at Willie, looking for any resemblance to her old friend Mpho. There was nothing. This man's face was hard, his eyes were cold and nothing she'd seen so far suggested he had any interest in befriending her.
"What are you looking at?"
She bit her lip and stared at the ground again.
*
SL25
"You came to visit again!"
Parker smiled absently at Jason and sat on the floor next to him. Her thoughts were on the girl she'd met. "I'm sorry I made you come back."
Jason clambered onto his knees and whispered in Parker's ear. "Mr. Raines came to visit after you left."
"What? Did he hurt you?" She studied Jason carefully, looking for the smallest scrap of evidence that Raines had hurt her brother.
"Nope. He wanted to know what I did at your house."
Parker went cold all over. "What did you tell him?"
"That Santa came, and I played with the bunny, and I watched TV, and you made scrambled eggs." He dropped his voice to a whisper again. "I didn't say anything 'bout Jarod."
Parker smiled and hugged him. "It won't be much longer. I promise."
*
SL20
Lyle couldn't watch. Hayley lay on the gurney, her face pale against her dark hair. Her eyes were closed but Lyle knew she wasn't sleeping. His head hurt. He leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the one-way mirror and closed his eyes.
He'd gone back to Hayley's room after his encounter with Angelo, only to find that she was gone. Hoping against hope that she wasn't with Raines, he'd come up here. He'd found Raines, Willie and a doctor he didn't recognize. The test results hidden in his pocket, he'd gone into the observation room to watch.
She was frightened. He didn't know how he knew. It was just a feeling, dull and heavy in his gut. Then again, he'd suffered at Raines' hands when he was Hayley's age. Maybe this was just the return of all his old fears.
No. He hadn't thought about that in years. He would not think about it now. He opened his eyes and forced himself to look at Hayley. The doctor was drawing blood from her arm. There were electrodes attached to her forehead and a blood pressure cuff on her other arm. Her eyes flew open and she looked right at Lyle. He stepped backwards before remembering there was no way she could possibly see him.
He saw a tear trail down her cheek and raised his hand to the glass. He really couldn't watch anymore.
*
Miss Parker's House
"She can't stay there." Parker sat cross-legged on her bed. She held the phone to her ear, a photograph of Hayley in her free hand. "Lyle hit her today, and all she did was sneak out of her room."
"I'm working on it, Parker."
She heard loud voices coming through the phone, and muffled music. "Where are you?"
"At a diner. How's Jason?"
"He's alright—Hang on a sec." Someone was pounding on her front door. She put on slippers and went downstairs. "I'll call you back."
She opened the door, her hands on her hips. "What do you want?"
Lyle pushed inside, heading for the living room. "If you could leave, would you?"
"Lyle! Does it look like I invited you—Wait. What are you talking about?"
He stood in front of the fireplace, looking at a photograph of Catherine and a young Miss Parker. He picked it up. Parker laid the phone on the coffee table and stepped closer to her brother.
"Lyle?"
"If she could see us now, what do you think she'd say?"
Intrigued despite herself, Parker leaned against the wall. "I don't know."
Lyle sighed, then raised his head and looked at her. "I've always wondered why you stayed all these years. Don't tell me it's about Jarod. If you wanted to catch him, you would have done it a long time ago."
Parker laughed. Lyle had no idea how close to the truth he was. "I don't see you any closer to catching him than I am."
"I don't have that connection to him that you do."
"Connection? Do you know how ridiculous you sound? And while we're on the subject of your apparent lapse in sanity, what are you doing at my house?"
Lyle walked over to a couch and sat down, the photo still in his hand. He stared at it for a moment, then sighed. "I needed to think . . . to talk. I don't know."
Parker folded her arms across her chest. "Really? And you thought I was the one to talk to? I hate to break it to you, Lyle, but we don't have that kind of relationship. Go find yourself a shrink."
"I just went for a drive. Somehow, I ended up here." He shrugged.
Parker tilted her head as she studied her brother. She fetched two glasses from the kitchen and picked up a bottle of scotch. She placed them on the coffee table and sat opposite Lyle, ignoring his look of amusement as she poured a liberal amount of scotch in each glass. Lyle looked like he needed a drink, and she wasn't one to let someone drink alone.
"Why do you stay?" Lyle asked.
"That's the third time you've asked. I know you don't want me there, but honestly, this is a little—"
"Seriously, Parker. What's keeping you there?"
She leaned back in her seat and met her brother's gaze. "Seriously. Jason."
"So why'd you bring him back after Christmas?"
Parker sipped her drink and glanced at her Christmas tree. She'd meant to take it down before she went back to the Centre, but hadn't gotten around to it. In her mind's eye, she saw Jason gleefully unwrapping his presents. She saw Jarod, grinning as he held up his Mickey Mouse PEZ dispenser. She smiled.
"You wouldn't understand, Lyle."
His eyes narrowed slightly. Parker felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Why had he come?
"Humor me," he said.
"Okay. Because I haven't found all the answers I'm looking for."
"Are the answers really that important?"
She looked up sharply; was she that transparent? Since she and Jarod had been together, she'd discovered there was more to life than finding the truth about her past. Especially when she knew she wouldn't like the answers.
"I told you, you wouldn't understand," she said.
Lyle sighed and set his glass down on the table. He smiled; to Parker, he looked sad. "You disappoint me, Parker. But I hope you find what you're looking for."
Only after he'd left, did Parker realize he'd taken the photo with him.
*
Same time
The Centre
SL25
Hayley sat quietly on her bed. She looked at the balls in the corner and sighed; they rose and floated across to the opposite corner. Midway through the exercise, she decided she was bored and let them fall to the floor. She flopped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She was afraid to sleep; afraid of the nightmares that she knew would come.
WAAAAAAH!
She shot up, grabbing her head. It had never hurt like this before. Not caring about the consequences, she pried open the cover to the vent and slipped inside. She paused, trying to remember the way. When she reached Jason's room, she pushed the cover open and climbed out. She dusted her hands on her pants and took a step towards the bed where Jason lay, caught in the throes of his own nightmare. She knelt on the floor and took his hand.
"Thula thu, thula baba, thula sana," she sang softly. "Thula thu, thula baba, thula whethu."
After a while, Jason stilled and his breathing returned to normal. Hayley breathed a sigh of relief and she climbed up onto the bed, lying next to him. All the while, she softly sang her lullaby, humming when she couldn't remember the words.
