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Chapter or Story
She woke with a start; she had fallen asleep on the couch. She moved her neck from side to side to work out any kinks before they set in. It was still nighttime, so why did she wake up?
A squeak. A noise had awakened her. It came from inside her house…there it is again. She rolls off the couch into a crouch, squinting to see in the dark. It had come from the kitchen.
Was someone in her fridge getting a snack? The nerve. She was sure she had heard her refrigerator door squeak open. She had no idea how it had developed a squeak, but it had, and she was glad for that right now. It gave her an advantage --as if she needed one-- to know where the intruder was.
Making her way slowly to her linen closet where she keeps an extra gun, it hits her. What criminal in their right mind would make themselves a snack in the middle of committing a felony? She almost laughed.
It had to be Jarod, who else could it be. But that’s not a reason to take a chance, she would have to make sure it was him before she could let her guard down. The email from Alex had left her on edge.
Peeking around the corner into the kitchen, she sees him. He’s crouched down rummaging in her fridge, for God knows what, and in the process providing her with a wonderful opportunity to see his backside… while he’s not running. She grinned, then cocked her gun. "I didn’t know lab-rats could open doors. What are you doing in my fridge?" He spun around dropping the box of ho-ho’s… she had no idea why or how that was even in her fridge.
"Oh goody, a gun pointed at my chest. That will make this meeting of ours so much more distinguishable from all the other times we have been in a room together. Are you always so predictable?" Before she realized it, he was already upon her and removing the gun from her hands. ‘Pay attention’ she chastised herself. He had already disarmed her before they could even start an argument…round one to Jarod.
He grinned when she asked, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Are you saying that it pleases you when I visit?" The resulting glare from her told him that he should fight the urge to tease her. He bent over to pick up his ho-ho’s. He placed the box back in the fridge after grabbing two of the foil wrapped snacks. He offered her one; she shook her head no.
"What are you doing here Jarod?" Sitting at her table, she watched him wolf down both of the ho-ho’s.
He mumbled something around the food in his mouth and she couldn’t make it out. She got up and got a glass of milk for him. He drained the glass and looked into her eyes. He had a milk-mustache, but despite that, he looked dead serious.
"I need your help."
"I beg your pardon!" She practically screeched.
He just grinned and said, "You don’t have to beg. You just have to help me."
"With what? Why?" She asked skeptically, not wanting him to know she would help him in a heart beat right now, if Alex’s warning wasn’t nagging at her. Maintaining a balanced image of suspicion and stubbornness is something Jarod could handle, so that’s exactly what she did. If she showed any concern other than obligatory interest, he may become suspicious and then she would have to tell him about Alex’s message. And if she told him about that, then he would realize that she did care. A great deal of time and effort had been spent on her part in making sure that he never noticed just how much she cared. ‘Cause if he did…’
"Ultimately, it’s about finding my mother. But, initially I need to find out who your father is, and who your baby brothers real parents are." The way he said it, he sounded hopeful, as if she might actually know the answers already. But why did he need that information, what did it have to do with him and his mother?
"Excuse me? Did I hear you right? How is that going to help you find your mother?"
Her tone was incredulous. Jarod started to worry.
He would need those answers if he was going to stay in this game with Alex. His motivation in life seemed to be to torture Jarod. He was accomplishing that through his mother. Jarod could not really see how any of the answers to the questions Alex had him wondering about could torment him. So, maybe he was motivated by something else. The only way to find out is to uncover the truth. Which brings him back to Miss Parker. He needed her to find out the truth about these two mysteries.
"All right Miss Parker, let me explain. I got a video email from Alex, and he has my mother." He related the whole message to her so that she could understand why those answers were so important to him. Her demeanor changed from outright incredulity to…wait, what emotion is that? It looks like fear, but what does she have to be afraid of? He blinked and, shook his head to clear it. When he opened his eyes to try to read the emotion sparkling back at him, he started. The emotion that was developing was worse than her being afraid.
Maybe he was reading her wrong, he hoped he was reading her wrong. If he wasn’t, then it looked like he would not be getting her assistance after all. He had seen this look before; it was her preparing for an argument she had no intention of losing, her resistance would build slowly. Unlike most other people, instead of breaking her down with sound reasoning as the debate continued, she would become more adamant in her refusal to listen.
He had to know though. "Will you help me find those answers Miss Parker?" As soon as he asked her, her eyes became stony and whatever emotion that had been there before vanished and all that was left was an impassive wall of silence. She cleared her throat to speak.
"I’ll help you find the answers, but that’s it. I don’t want anything more to do with this once you have them. Is that clear?" He nodded. She couldn’t help snapping off that last comment. Being nice and docile towards him was out of the question if she was going to keep them¾ him, out of danger.
Voice gruff with emotion, he looks directly at her. "Thank you Parker, you don’t know how much this means to me." He was silently surprised that she was willing to help, but he was not going to push it and ask why. Fortunately, he didn’t have to.
"I’m not doing this for you. I want to know the truth about my father and my baby brother too. Working with you can only speed up the process." Being hostile was her only line of defense here. How else could she avoid that look of tenderness that he was directing at her? If he looked at her like that much longer, she would not be able to conceal her feelings from him. But she had to. It was the only way to keep him safe. She had to keep her distance. He was already getting too close, getting her to reveal truths to herself that she hadn’t thought possible before. Her feelings for him were too strong now and there was no denying what they were…at least to herself. But to Jarod, she would deny him the truth forever if she had to. She was not about to lose him because she didn’t heed the warning from that sociopath.
"Whatever you say Miss Parker. Can I stay here?" He cocks his head and waits for a response.
"What?" She squeaks out, eyes about to pop out of their sockets.
He heard fear in her voice, he was sure this time that that was the emotion. He did not understand where it was coming from, and he only hoped it didn’t have to do with him. He never wanted her to be afraid of him. He would never hurt her.
‘What is Wonder-boy trying to do here, break down all my walls in one night?’ Parker wondered to herself, fearful of the proximity his staying here would keep them in.
Him staying here would keep them in contact much easier and safer than anything else she could think of would. It would therefore make this task they were undertaking move along much quicker, she reasoned with herself, looking for any rationale that was reasonable enough for her to let him stay. The only real problem she could see was what his presence would do to her. His presence could cause her to lose her focus. If she was going to be responsible for his safety, than it wouldn’t be sound judgement if she let him distract her.
She could not let him stay here. She opened her mouth to tell him but he was already repeating his request.
"Can I stay here? The closer we work together the sooner we should find our answers, and I’d rather not do this over the phone."
His clarification forced her to relent. At least it was the same reason she had come up with, she rationalized.
She was still uneasy about it. Granted, she could keep a more watchful eye on him and make sure he was safe if he was staying here. However, that would mean she would have to remain indifferent and impassive 24 hours a day, for however long he would need to be there. Being this close to him for the weeks time until Alex’s phone call. ‘This is going to be torture.’
"Fine, sure, why not. You can stay in the guest room, I am sure you know where it is. Goodnight." She got up from the table and went straight to her room.
Jarod contemplated whether he should get some sleep. He decided that he would need to figure out a way for Miss Parker to get the information that he would need to uncover the truth instead. In addition, he needed to make sure whatever he would need her to do, that it would not cast any suspicion in her direction. He got started right away.
Authors Note: Alright, I was gonna make this part longer, but I’m going to be busy for the next week with finals, so I decided to just put out what I’ve already written. So, let me know if you like it. Because honestly, I spend so much more time writing this than I do writing my papers for school, its not even funny. Please R&R. And I don’t mean rest and relaxation. Not to pressure you or anything. *grins*
