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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see Chapter sixteen
~~~~~~~~
To End The Evil
Part 54
Fulfilling his part
Ethan stopped in the doorframe. Parker was sitting on the front porch. She was obviously lost in thought.
In the house everything was quiet.
Jarod, Broots and Jay were in the basement where Jarod had revealed a huge room with lots of computer material from where they could easily gain access to the Centre’s mainframe without being detected. Broots eyes had grown wide and started to sparkle when he had seen all the tools and possibilities in the room. Together, they were working on the computer virus, Jarod had suggested making.
Emily and Debbie were up in one of the bedrooms. They were secretly enjoying the company of each other. The two of them had found common ground to share and they were often found together, quietly talking. That was, when Debbie wasn’t with Jay these days.
Sydney and Major Charles were in the living room, sharing a game of chess. They had obviously made peace with one another and were now playing and enjoying the challenge of a good opponent.
So, everyone seemed to adapt to the new arrangements and accept the other people’s presence. Peace was quietly slipping into the group.
But then there were Parker and Jarod.
Lunch had been equally quiet as breakfast between Jarod and her and Ethan got the feeling that he had to do something.
He had helped Jarod, Broots and Jay for some time with the virus but he had decided to take a break and see how Parker was doing.
Ethan walked through the front door and crouched down behind his sister.
“How about we take a walk?” he suggested, putting his hands on her shoulders.
Parker nodded slightly and got up.
Together they strolled over to the forest, walking side by side. Neither said a word. Ethan was determined to wait until Parker started to open up to him. He had made contact and given her the chance to get away from the others in the house but he decided that she had to start the conversation.
His mother had told him that she would come to him and yet here he was, joining ‘her’ and suggesting the walk.
Parker sighed next to him and Ethan wordlessly looked over to her. She growled silently and raised her hands, only to let them drop to her sides again with a thud.
“God, why is this so complicated?” she moaned.
Ethan breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to break his own resolution and that she had started the conversation. “What?” he asked.
“This, Jarod and me, and… argh,” she tailed of and growled again.
Ethan chuckled.
“That’s not funny,“ Parker complained and shot him a look.
“Believe it or not, in fact this is rather funny. The way you two behave around each other the last few days and especially today,” Ethan replied, still grinning.
“What do you mean?” Parker asked defensively.
“The tension between the two of you is palpable and yet both of you refrain from walking toward each other. There is an uncertainty hanging in the air between you,“ Ethan clarified.
“God is that so easily to see?” she groaned.
“Yes, it is. There is something going on between the two of you,” Ethan stated the obvious.
“It’s not that easy… In fact it’s rather complicated,” Parker gestured helplessly.
“Is it?” Ethan asked plainly.
Parker looked at him, frowning. “Yes, it is. So much has happened between us and… I don’t know. It’s so complicated,” she responded. “I’m so confused,“ she admitted.
The reached a clearing and Ethan saw a small bench near to where they were standing. He steered Parker toward that bench and gently pushed her down.
Ethan nodded. “That’s easily to be seen.”
“What shall I do?” Parker questioned, directing the question as much to herself as to her brother.
“What do you want to do?” Ethan asked back, pointedly.
Parker’s head shot towards him in surprise. “What?”
“I asked what it is that you want to do,” Ethan repeated.
“I… I… it’s not that easy,“ she evaded the question and looked down.
“Yes, it is,” Ethan argued without force but with gently determination.
“No, there are so much… bad and good things, old history…,“ she tailed off again.
“But does that matter?” Ethan tripped his head to his side and raised his eyebrows.
“Yes… no… I don’t know,” she huffed and shook her head slightly.
“Melina, there might be much history between the two of you; good and bad but despite everything that happened between you, you are still here, together. Jarod cares a great deal for you; didn’t you see that in our discussion this morning? And it is easily to be seen that there are feelings between both of you, strong feelings,” Ethan said and drew her chin up so that she had to look at him. “Don’t you think that’s all you need to know?”
“Maybe but…,” she started.
“Do you love him?” Ethan posed the next direct question to her.
She shrank back slightly at the word and then sighed. “Yes,“ she whispered.
“And do you think that he might have similar feelings for you?” Ethan went on.
“I don’t know,” she said. Ethan looked at her and quirked an eyebrow, “Yes, there is something,“ she relented, her voice barely a whisper.
Ethan smiled tenderly. “Then where is the problem?”
“The problem is that…,” Parker stopped, finding none anymore. “The problem is that,“ she started again. “I don’t know what to do around him. I feel like a teenage girl with a crush on the most popular, most handsome and gentle boy in the whole school,“ she looked at him, a somewhat desperate expression on her face.
Ethan grinned and she returned the grin. “And what do you want to do about it?” Ethan asked again.
She chewed on her lip. “I don’t know,” then she saw Ethan’s gaze. “Ask him out like a schoolgirl would do?” she tried again.
Ethan chuckled heartily. “Maybe you should at least ask him about his feelings and if he feels the same ‘and’, what the two of you want to do about it,” Ethan suggested.
“I think, I will do that,“ she relented.
“Good,” Ethan cooed and smiled.
“But now right away,” she uttered.
“Bad,“ Ethan shook his head.
“I’m afraid,” she admitted.
“Understandable but don’t make this harder for both of you,” her brother advised. “It won’t make things easier to delay them.”
Parker nodded her head. “I know but I have to think things through first.”
Ethan got up. “Well then, I better leave you to think. I’ll get back to the house to help the others with the virus.
Parker looked up at her brother. “Thanks,” she said earnestly.
“You’re welcome, Melina,“ Ethan replied and then turned around to walk back to the house. He sighed silently and grinned. The first part went better than he had anticipated.
~~~~~~~
Ethan was sitting in the computer room next to Jarod. They were both typing rapidly on the keyboard but Ethan was stealing sideway glances at his older brother.
Jay had gone of to the kitchen. It was his turn to help make dinner.
Broots had been on the computer since shortly after lunch when they had first started this little project. He had been tired and Jarod had sent him away to rest for some time.
Jarod himself had yet to get tired and so he was still here, now alone with Ethan.
Ethan grumbled noiselessly.
He would obviously have to break the decision that he had made earlier before talking to Parker. As long as Jarod was able to put his problem aside and bury himself in his work, he wouldn’t start a conversation about his feelings to Parker with his brother.
‘So much for the “They will come to you”-thing,’ he thought.
“Damn!” Jarod growled besides him and Ethan looked up.
“What is it?”
“I just made a mistake. No, let me correct myself. I made a mistake about ten minutes ago without noticing it and so I have to start this sequence all over again from there. Shit!” Jarod grumbled.
“It could have been worse,” Ethan replied.
“But it wasn’t the first time today. I think that nearly half of the time I sat here today, I had to wipe away the rubbish that I fabricated before,” Jarod looked over at his brother and rolled his eyes and then concentrated back on his screen.
Ethan hid his grin when he smelled his chance. “It isn’t that much of a surprise since you’ve been distracted the whole day,” he shrugged.
Jarod’s head whipped around to his brother once more and he frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you have been absent the last few days and especially today,“ Ethan pointed out.
Jarod grimaced at his brother’s words. “That obvious?” he groaned.
“Yep,“ Ethan responded plainly.
“God damn ’it. It’s complicated. It’s… I can’t get her out of my mind.”
“That’s equally obvious. And yet you are trying to avoid each other at all costs and when you are together in one room, you at least avoid making eye contact,” Ethan looked at his brother, grinning slightly.
“Yes, it’s…,” he tailed off
“Complicated. Yes, you said so. But in what way?” Ethan returned.
“Don’t know and that’s basically the problem,“ Jarod huffed. “I think she feels something for me but I don’t know if she is ready for that,“ Jarod tried again and shook his head sadly.
“How about you ask her,“ Ethan suggested while rolling his eyes.
“You know, I’ve been able to convince myself that there was nothing between us for a long time but in Scotland and even more so after returning from there, I couldn’t get myself into believing it anymore. I love her and God, I tried to repress the feeling and for some time it nearly worked but when we started working together… it just resurfaced and I… I promised myself that I would ask her someday when we were safe and away from the Centre,” he paused. “And you know what? We are safe and away from the Centre here, at least for now and I… I… I don’t dare telling her,” Jarod raised his hands helplessly.
“Why not?” Ethan asked.
“I’m afraid. Afraid that she will reject me, afraid that she will push me away again, afraid to get hurt, pick something,“ Jarod shook his head sadly and shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s the way love works. It makes you vulnerable,“ Ethan said.
“As if ‘you’ could tell something about that,” Jarod smirked playfully.
“The voices told me to say that and don’t try to evade the theme,” Ethan scolded equally jokingly.
Jarod sobered mockingly and then grinned again.
“What do you want to do?” Ethan asked.
“I will have to tell her, that’s for sure. I won’t be able to go on like that for much longer. She is constantly around and…,“ he balled his hands. “She’s driving me crazy. Even if I’m in danger of getting hurt, I will have to tell her.”
Ethan nodded approvingly. “I didn’t think it would be that easy to talk you into it.”
“The problem is not that I don’t know what I have to do. The problem is that I have to work up the courage to do it,” Jarod sighed.
“Well. I can’t help you with ‘that’, now can I?”
“I suppose not,“ Jarod shook his head.
“Hey boys. Dinner is ready,“ Jay poked his head through the door and looked at his brothers expectantly.
Jarod and Ethan both nodded in acknowledgement.
“I won’t get anything done today. Maybe I should just get over with it. Then I might be able to work properly tomorrow again,“ Jarod said and grinned.
Ethan grinned back and then the siblings got up and walked upstairs to join the rest of people in the kitchen. All the while, Ethan had a smile on his face. He had the distinct feeling that everything would work out now.
To be continued…
~~~~~~~~
Part 54
Fulfilling his part
Ethan stopped in the doorframe. Parker was sitting on the front porch. She was obviously lost in thought.
In the house everything was quiet.
Jarod, Broots and Jay were in the basement where Jarod had revealed a huge room with lots of computer material from where they could easily gain access to the Centre’s mainframe without being detected. Broots eyes had grown wide and started to sparkle when he had seen all the tools and possibilities in the room. Together, they were working on the computer virus, Jarod had suggested making.
Emily and Debbie were up in one of the bedrooms. They were secretly enjoying the company of each other. The two of them had found common ground to share and they were often found together, quietly talking. That was, when Debbie wasn’t with Jay these days.
Sydney and Major Charles were in the living room, sharing a game of chess. They had obviously made peace with one another and were now playing and enjoying the challenge of a good opponent.
So, everyone seemed to adapt to the new arrangements and accept the other people’s presence. Peace was quietly slipping into the group.
But then there were Parker and Jarod.
Lunch had been equally quiet as breakfast between Jarod and her and Ethan got the feeling that he had to do something.
He had helped Jarod, Broots and Jay for some time with the virus but he had decided to take a break and see how Parker was doing.
Ethan walked through the front door and crouched down behind his sister.
“How about we take a walk?” he suggested, putting his hands on her shoulders.
Parker nodded slightly and got up.
Together they strolled over to the forest, walking side by side. Neither said a word. Ethan was determined to wait until Parker started to open up to him. He had made contact and given her the chance to get away from the others in the house but he decided that she had to start the conversation.
His mother had told him that she would come to him and yet here he was, joining ‘her’ and suggesting the walk.
Parker sighed next to him and Ethan wordlessly looked over to her. She growled silently and raised her hands, only to let them drop to her sides again with a thud.
“God, why is this so complicated?” she moaned.
Ethan breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to break his own resolution and that she had started the conversation. “What?” he asked.
“This, Jarod and me, and… argh,” she tailed of and growled again.
Ethan chuckled.
“That’s not funny,“ Parker complained and shot him a look.
“Believe it or not, in fact this is rather funny. The way you two behave around each other the last few days and especially today,” Ethan replied, still grinning.
“What do you mean?” Parker asked defensively.
“The tension between the two of you is palpable and yet both of you refrain from walking toward each other. There is an uncertainty hanging in the air between you,“ Ethan clarified.
“God is that so easily to see?” she groaned.
“Yes, it is. There is something going on between the two of you,” Ethan stated the obvious.
“It’s not that easy… In fact it’s rather complicated,” Parker gestured helplessly.
“Is it?” Ethan asked plainly.
Parker looked at him, frowning. “Yes, it is. So much has happened between us and… I don’t know. It’s so complicated,” she responded. “I’m so confused,“ she admitted.
The reached a clearing and Ethan saw a small bench near to where they were standing. He steered Parker toward that bench and gently pushed her down.
Ethan nodded. “That’s easily to be seen.”
“What shall I do?” Parker questioned, directing the question as much to herself as to her brother.
“What do you want to do?” Ethan asked back, pointedly.
Parker’s head shot towards him in surprise. “What?”
“I asked what it is that you want to do,” Ethan repeated.
“I… I… it’s not that easy,“ she evaded the question and looked down.
“Yes, it is,” Ethan argued without force but with gently determination.
“No, there are so much… bad and good things, old history…,“ she tailed off again.
“But does that matter?” Ethan tripped his head to his side and raised his eyebrows.
“Yes… no… I don’t know,” she huffed and shook her head slightly.
“Melina, there might be much history between the two of you; good and bad but despite everything that happened between you, you are still here, together. Jarod cares a great deal for you; didn’t you see that in our discussion this morning? And it is easily to be seen that there are feelings between both of you, strong feelings,” Ethan said and drew her chin up so that she had to look at him. “Don’t you think that’s all you need to know?”
“Maybe but…,” she started.
“Do you love him?” Ethan posed the next direct question to her.
She shrank back slightly at the word and then sighed. “Yes,“ she whispered.
“And do you think that he might have similar feelings for you?” Ethan went on.
“I don’t know,” she said. Ethan looked at her and quirked an eyebrow, “Yes, there is something,“ she relented, her voice barely a whisper.
Ethan smiled tenderly. “Then where is the problem?”
“The problem is that…,” Parker stopped, finding none anymore. “The problem is that,“ she started again. “I don’t know what to do around him. I feel like a teenage girl with a crush on the most popular, most handsome and gentle boy in the whole school,“ she looked at him, a somewhat desperate expression on her face.
Ethan grinned and she returned the grin. “And what do you want to do about it?” Ethan asked again.
She chewed on her lip. “I don’t know,” then she saw Ethan’s gaze. “Ask him out like a schoolgirl would do?” she tried again.
Ethan chuckled heartily. “Maybe you should at least ask him about his feelings and if he feels the same ‘and’, what the two of you want to do about it,” Ethan suggested.
“I think, I will do that,“ she relented.
“Good,” Ethan cooed and smiled.
“But now right away,” she uttered.
“Bad,“ Ethan shook his head.
“I’m afraid,” she admitted.
“Understandable but don’t make this harder for both of you,” her brother advised. “It won’t make things easier to delay them.”
Parker nodded her head. “I know but I have to think things through first.”
Ethan got up. “Well then, I better leave you to think. I’ll get back to the house to help the others with the virus.
Parker looked up at her brother. “Thanks,” she said earnestly.
“You’re welcome, Melina,“ Ethan replied and then turned around to walk back to the house. He sighed silently and grinned. The first part went better than he had anticipated.
~~~~~~~
Ethan was sitting in the computer room next to Jarod. They were both typing rapidly on the keyboard but Ethan was stealing sideway glances at his older brother.
Jay had gone of to the kitchen. It was his turn to help make dinner.
Broots had been on the computer since shortly after lunch when they had first started this little project. He had been tired and Jarod had sent him away to rest for some time.
Jarod himself had yet to get tired and so he was still here, now alone with Ethan.
Ethan grumbled noiselessly.
He would obviously have to break the decision that he had made earlier before talking to Parker. As long as Jarod was able to put his problem aside and bury himself in his work, he wouldn’t start a conversation about his feelings to Parker with his brother.
‘So much for the “They will come to you”-thing,’ he thought.
“Damn!” Jarod growled besides him and Ethan looked up.
“What is it?”
“I just made a mistake. No, let me correct myself. I made a mistake about ten minutes ago without noticing it and so I have to start this sequence all over again from there. Shit!” Jarod grumbled.
“It could have been worse,” Ethan replied.
“But it wasn’t the first time today. I think that nearly half of the time I sat here today, I had to wipe away the rubbish that I fabricated before,” Jarod looked over at his brother and rolled his eyes and then concentrated back on his screen.
Ethan hid his grin when he smelled his chance. “It isn’t that much of a surprise since you’ve been distracted the whole day,” he shrugged.
Jarod’s head whipped around to his brother once more and he frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you have been absent the last few days and especially today,“ Ethan pointed out.
Jarod grimaced at his brother’s words. “That obvious?” he groaned.
“Yep,“ Ethan responded plainly.
“God damn ’it. It’s complicated. It’s… I can’t get her out of my mind.”
“That’s equally obvious. And yet you are trying to avoid each other at all costs and when you are together in one room, you at least avoid making eye contact,” Ethan looked at his brother, grinning slightly.
“Yes, it’s…,” he tailed off
“Complicated. Yes, you said so. But in what way?” Ethan returned.
“Don’t know and that’s basically the problem,“ Jarod huffed. “I think she feels something for me but I don’t know if she is ready for that,“ Jarod tried again and shook his head sadly.
“How about you ask her,“ Ethan suggested while rolling his eyes.
“You know, I’ve been able to convince myself that there was nothing between us for a long time but in Scotland and even more so after returning from there, I couldn’t get myself into believing it anymore. I love her and God, I tried to repress the feeling and for some time it nearly worked but when we started working together… it just resurfaced and I… I promised myself that I would ask her someday when we were safe and away from the Centre,” he paused. “And you know what? We are safe and away from the Centre here, at least for now and I… I… I don’t dare telling her,” Jarod raised his hands helplessly.
“Why not?” Ethan asked.
“I’m afraid. Afraid that she will reject me, afraid that she will push me away again, afraid to get hurt, pick something,“ Jarod shook his head sadly and shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s the way love works. It makes you vulnerable,“ Ethan said.
“As if ‘you’ could tell something about that,” Jarod smirked playfully.
“The voices told me to say that and don’t try to evade the theme,” Ethan scolded equally jokingly.
Jarod sobered mockingly and then grinned again.
“What do you want to do?” Ethan asked.
“I will have to tell her, that’s for sure. I won’t be able to go on like that for much longer. She is constantly around and…,“ he balled his hands. “She’s driving me crazy. Even if I’m in danger of getting hurt, I will have to tell her.”
Ethan nodded approvingly. “I didn’t think it would be that easy to talk you into it.”
“The problem is not that I don’t know what I have to do. The problem is that I have to work up the courage to do it,” Jarod sighed.
“Well. I can’t help you with ‘that’, now can I?”
“I suppose not,“ Jarod shook his head.
“Hey boys. Dinner is ready,“ Jay poked his head through the door and looked at his brothers expectantly.
Jarod and Ethan both nodded in acknowledgement.
“I won’t get anything done today. Maybe I should just get over with it. Then I might be able to work properly tomorrow again,“ Jarod said and grinned.
Ethan grinned back and then the siblings got up and walked upstairs to join the rest of people in the kitchen. All the while, Ethan had a smile on his face. He had the distinct feeling that everything would work out now.
To be continued…
