Disclaimer:  In first chapter.

Chapter 16

“Hello Parker,” Sydney replied back with a warm smile as he sat down beside her.  Taking his hat off, his gaze wandered down to the football field, watching Josh as he warmed up before the game.  Glancing back at Miss Parker he said, “Before coming to the game, I read the newspaper article about Josh.  You must be very proud of him.”

Miss Parker gave Sydney a somewhat puzzled look before looking down at Josh who already seemed to have a little fan club building down at the bottom of the bleachers.  There were about ten girls all dressed in red and black (the school’s colors),  waving signs and chanting words like, “We love you, Josh” or “Number eight is great”, but Miss Parker couldn’t help but cringe when a couple of the girls started shouting, “That’s it, shake what your mama gave you.”  As for Josh, he seemed oblivious to their words as he continued warming up.

Muttering under her breath she commented, “God, I hope Josh has some common sense when dating girls.”

Sydney gave her an amused look.  “Ah, I wouldn’t worry about Josh.”  He paused as he watched Josh walk over to Sarah and Debbie.  Standing beside Debbie, Josh whispered something into her ear.   Sydney chuckled as Debbie playfully punched Josh in the arm, smiling up at him.  “Besides, I think Josh is already smitten with somebody.”

Miss Parker followed Sydney’s gaze.  She couldn’t help but smile as the two teens continued to joke around with each other.    Down near the end zone she could hear Josh’s coach calling out to him to get back on the field.    Throwing his water cup in the trashcan, Josh ran back onto the field.  Looking at Sydney, Miss Parker replied back, “It’s funny you should mention that because Josh told me specifically last night that Debbie and him are just ‘friends’.”

Sydney’s smile got broader.  “Do you know who they remind of?”

“Who?”

“Jarod and you,” he answered, leaning back against the railing.

“What” she asked incredulously.

“You heard me.  Jarod and you had that same kind of bond between each other.  Playfully teasing each other, seeing who could get on whose nerves.”  Sydney tore his gaze away from Miss Parker, looking down at the hat he had in his hands.  “However, there are times when even love is not enough to save a marriage,” he commented solemnly.

“Syd, please…” Miss Parker groaned.  The last thing she wanted to discuss was this troubling marriage between her and Jarod.

Catching the tone in Miss Parker’s voice, Sydney gave her a sympathetic look, deciding to drop the subject at hand.  Changing gears he asked, “So tell me, how are you doing since yesterday’s little accident?”

Miss Parker shrugged her shoulders.  “Well, as you can see I’m feeling fantastic,” she said sarcastically.  “Everyone thinks my mind has taken a vacation at the moment.”

Sydney looked at her, pondering what she just said.  “What do you mean by that?”

“Syd…” Folding her arms across her chest, she leaned back against the railing also.  “Syd, this…” she said, waving her hand through the air, “…isn’t my life.”

Meeting Sydney’s eyes, she could see his concern for her dancing within them.  Reaching out, he took hold of one her hands.  “But it is, Parker,” he replied softly, giving her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Miss Parker looked down at their entangled hands.  Her younger, smaller hand seemed to be dwarfed by the larger, older one.  She could see the age spots that dotted over the top of his hand, indicating that Sydney was getting older with each passing year, and then soon, he would be gone also. 

The realization hit her hard as her steely blue eyes became tear laden.  For some reason, she always felt Sydney would live forever, never leave her, but looking down at his hand, she became aware of his mortality.  Sydney, a man she always took for granted in her life.  When her father disappointed her time and time again, Sydney would always be there, trying to reach out to her, hoping she would open up to him.  But, Miss Parker had to be her father’s perfect little angel, never showing any emotions.  Her father told her she had to be strong as granite, but a funny thing about granite was that sometimes it had to break and crumble, to release the pent up tension building within it, and she was no exception.

Looking away from Sydney’s caring eyes, she swiped away her tears, trying to get control of her emotions.  Feeling his warm fingers under her chin, he turned her chin back around to face him.  “Parker, I’m sorry…here…” reaching into his pocket he brought out a handkerchief, wiping the tears from her eyes.  Handing her the handkerchief, he threw his arm over her shoulders, pulling her into a warm embrace.  “Parker, I’m truly sorry.  I know this whole ordeal has to be troubling for you.  The last thing I wanted to do was make you cry, but you know, sometimes we all need to release a few tears now and again,” he said soothingly.

Reluctantly pulling away from his arms, she wiped the few remaining tears away.  “I…I know you’re right, Sydney,” she replied shakily.

“Do you feel somewhat better?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah, I do.”  And truth be told, she did feel somewhat better.

They remained in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Sydney spoke up again, “Tell me, what do you remember before you fell and bumped your head yesterday?”

Taking a deep fortifying breath she answered back, “Sydney, its best if I don’t tell you.”

Sydney looked down at her hands to find her twisting and gripping the handkerchief tightly.  She seemed very distraught by the thoughts running through her mind.  Running a wary hand over his face he asked gently, “Tell me about it?”  The only answer he got back was silence.  Hiding his frustration he pleaded, “Parker, how can I help you if you won’t let me in?”

When Miss Parker turned to look back at Sydney his heart caught in his throat.  He could see the despair and anguish written in her features.  Absentmindedly, he reached out grabbing her hand again, trying to be an anchor of support for her.  Taking another deep breath she started, “Well, I work at a place called The Centre…”

Once she was done telling her story, Sydney sat back, speechless.  “Well, I can see why you were so hesitant to tell me, but Parker you must know the Centre doesn’t exist here.”

Miss Parker shook her head from side to side.  “But that’s just it Syd, it does exist albeit a twisted way.  The way Broots described my father’s law firm; I couldn’t help but be reminded of the Centre.  And what about everyone here; Lyle, or shall I say Bobby, Jarod, Broots, you, and me?  How do you explain the eerie resemblance between the two different lives?  Take for example Lyle’s missing left thumb, Kyle’s death at the hands of my brother, Angelo’s lost innocence…” she stopped mid sentence as a thought came to her.  “But I’m still confused about one thing.”

“And what’s that?” asked Sydney.

Resting her fingers over her lips, she let her eyes wander down between Josh and Sarah.  She then turned her gaze to the left, finding Brandon and Jarod talking to someone down by the concession stand.  Letting her gaze fall back on Sydney she stated, “My children.”

Sydney stared at her thoughtfully, pondering her words.  Finally, after some time he suggested, “Parker, have you ever thought that the Centre could be a figment of your imagination?”

“What?” she asked incredulously, staring at him wide eyed.

Sydney put his hands up defensively, trying to calm her down.  “What I’m trying to say is that it’s not uncommon for people to build these fantasy lives inside their minds, so they can escape the reality they’re living in now.”  He paused.  “Think about it, you’ve been under a huge amount of stress these past ten years, trying to be the peacemaker within your family.  You have your father and Jarod fighting constantly through the years, and you being pulled back and forth between them, having no idea as to whose side you’re on.  Then there is your brother and Jarod since that horrible car accident from many years back, again you’re being pulled back and forth between them.  And now, there are your children and the divorce.”  He stopped talking, giving her a sympathetic look.  “Anyone under these circumstances would have a hard time dealing with reality.”

Miss Parker scoffed at him.  “I’m not loosing my grip on reality.  I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but this is not my life.  I know what I’m talking about.  But tell me this Freud, since you’re such a genius on the subject, how do you explain Josh, Sarah, and Brandon.”

Sydney fidgeted in his seat, not liking the conclusion he came too.  After some time, he cleared his throat an answered, “Maybe the reason your children don’t exist in this Centre life is because maybe you’ve never wanted a family with Jarod.  Maybe you fell out of love with him over the years, hence no children in your Centre life.  Maybe you felt betrayed by him for leaving you.”

Miss Parker felt blindsided by Sydney’s words, gaping at him.  She tried to find her voice, but nothing would come out.  She did agree with Sydney on one thing, she did feel betrayed by Jarod when he escaped from the Centre.  When they were kids, they promised each other they would runaway together, never look back, however only one of them ran away from the pits of Hell, but still, Sydney’s theory just didn’t hold up for her.

For the past week she had been having these strange dreams about faceless children.  When she tried to look at their faces, she was met with blurry images, never able to see their true faces.  Then the night before the big chase in Lexington she dreamt of her and Jarod sharing a family, when she woke up from it, she laughed at the absurdity of it, but as the laughter subsided, disappointment began knocking within the walls of her heart.  All she ever wanted in life was to have someone love her the way her mother loved her, that pure unconditional love, no strings attached.  It would’ve been nice to come home to a house full of love, instead of a house shrouded with emptiness, just like her soul.  And, if she was truthful with herself, in a way, she did harbor feelings for the annoying little lab rat, but the question was, did she love him?

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To Be Continued…