THE PRETENDER
“Sunbeams”
by the lurker

She gazed at the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the glass windows. The leaves of the large trees outside danced to the rhythm of the breeze, lighting the shadows on the wood floor. Her mind was beginning to wander, and for a moment, she wondered if Sydney or Jarod ever noticed something so simple. She hoped that they did.

Parker was tired. More tired than she could remember feeling in a long time. Why she felt so wiped out, she did not know. Perhaps it was the stress from work, or maybe it was just adjusting to the death of the man she thought to be her father for her entire life. In the end, the reasons didn’t matter, the result was the same: she was overwhelmingly exhausted. She let her head fall back onto the cushions of the sofa and closed her eyes.

**************

He hung up the phone for the eleventh time that night; there was still no answer. A frown creased Jarod’s brow as he glanced at his watch: 2:03 AM. Surely Parker was home by now. He shook his head at himself. There really was no reason to worry. But still, something in the back of his mind was gnawing at him.

**************

The shrill ringing of a phone startled him awake. He flipped a light switch and glanced at the clock: 4:24 AM. Who the hell would be calling at this hour? Shaking the sleep from his mind, Sydney reached for his phone.

His voice still held sleep as he answered, “Yes...this is Sydney.”

“Sydney.”

“Jarod? Why are you calling at this hour?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Sydney. I’m concerned about Miss Parker.”

Syd was wide awake, “What about her?”

“She hasn’t been answering her phone.”

Sydney’s eyes narrowed, “Is this some kind of joke, Jarod? You know as well as I do that Miss Parker often does not answer her phone. What on earth makes you think there’s a problem?”

Jarod gripped the phone tightly, the stress in his voice apparent, “I can’t explain it, Sydney....it’s just a feeling. But it won’t go away.”

Sydney sat up on the edge of his bed, “What kind of feeling?”

“It’s the sensation that something is wrong.”

“With Miss Parker you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Jarod....I saw her when she left work this evening, she was fine.”

“What if she had an accident or something? I’m....I’m far away Sydney, or I’d do it myself.”

Sydney could feel the panic of Jarod’s heart and he let out a slow breath of air, “All right, if it makes you feel better, I’ll go over there and check on her, although you realize that she’s going to be hopping mad about all of it.”

“Thanks, Sydney. Take your cell phone with you.”

“You could just give me your number.....”

“I’ll call you.”

Sydney hung up the phone, threw some clothes on and picked up his cell phone. He was sure there was nothing wrong, but the urgency in Jarod’s voice struck a nerve deep within him. He moved faster as he grabbed his coat and headed out the door.

***************

There were no lights on in the house as he pulled up out front. He quickly moved up the walk, and rang the front door bell. He waited. There was no movement in the house. He pressed the bell once more, and still there was no answer. Sydney wAlked around the back, noting that Parker’s car was in the car port. He rang the back bell and waited. Still nothing.

He removed his coat and wrapped his hand in it, and as gently as he could, shattered the glass pane closest to the doorknob in Parker’s door. Sydney reached inside, unlocked the bolt and opened the door. Quickly he moved to deactivate the alarm. He guessed at Parker’s code, and thankfully, was right on the money. Why she would choose such an obvious choice as “Jarod” was beyond Sydney.

He turned on lights as he went through the house, but there was no sign of Parker anywhere. He climbed the stairs and quietly stuck his head into the rooms, but still no Parker. There was only one more room he could check, but he doubted that she would be in it. Sydney quickly went back downstairs, and opened the door to Catherine’s studio.

He turned a light on, and found Parker asleep on the couch. Sydney smiled slightly and walked over to the sofa, sitting down next to Parker.

He gently shook her shoulder, “Miss Parker? Parker, wake up.”

Parker didn’t stir. Syd shook her shoulder again.

“Parker....can you hear me?”

When there was still no response, Sydney became concerned. He felt for Parker’s pulse, it was weak and thready, and her forehead felt extremely hot. The doctor tried once more to rouse her, but to no avail. Sydney picked up the phone and dialed 911.

**************

He paced the hall, waiting. There was still no word. His cell phone rang, he answered, his voice tense.

“This is Sydney.”

“It’s me.”

“Jarod.....”

“Where are you?”

“The hospital.....you were right, Jarod. I found Parker unconscious in her mother’s old studio.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know yet. They’re still conducting tests. She’s running a high fever, and her heart is beating irregularly.”

“C’mon Sydney....best guess...”

Sydney gripped the phone tightly and swallowed hard.

“Sydney?”

“It’s probably a systemic infection, Jarod.”

“You sound frightened Sydney. Infections can be treated with antibiotics...”

“Yes, but you know as well as I, Jarod, some infections, if they have infiltrated the entire lymphatic system and the blood, they can be fatal.”

“You didn’t notice any symptoms before now?”

Sydney slammed his eyes shut against the wave of guilt. He was already feeling it, but to hear it voiced......

His timbre was tight, “I’m afraid I did not.”

Jarod picked up the culpability in Sydney’s tone, “I’m sorry, Sydney, I didn’t mean to sound as though I was making an accusation. You’re not responsible.”

Sydney looked up and saw the attending doctor walking towards him.

“Jarod, I have to go. I think we have some news coming.”

“I’ll call you again, Sydney.”

Sydney put his cell phone away and looked toward the physician.

“Doctor? How is she?”

“We’ve done everything we can for the moment. She’s stable, but still unconscious.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“A massive staff infection.”

Sydney muttered aloud, “How in the hell would she have contracted a staff infection....”

“I was going to ask you that question, doctor.”

Sydney shrugged, “I have no idea. May I see her?”

“Of course, follow me.”

***************

He entered the darkened room quietly. There was only the sound of soft blipping from the machines helping to keep Parker alive. He heard the soft rhythm of a ventilator. Sydney’s eyes adjusted to the dark and he could make out the profile he knew so well. He felt tears sting his eyes slightly at the sight of the tubing running everywhere.

Sydney sat in the chair next to the bed and gently picked up Parker’s hand, kissing it sweetly.

“I’m here, Parker.” He held onto her hand, rubbing it softly, “Keep fighting Parker, don’t let go....”

***********

Jarod quietly crept into Parker’s hospital room. Sydney was asleep in the chair by the bed, his head leaning on Parker’s arm, his hand clasped tightly to hers. Jarod smiled slightly. He made his way over to the chair, and gently extricated Sydney from his charge, leaning the older man carefully back into his chair. Jarod supported his head, until it came to a comfortable position, leaning on the back of the chair.

Jarod stared at Sydney’s face for a moment, surprised by the lines of worry he found there. He reached out with a finger and gently brushed a lock of Sydney’s hair back out of his closed eyes. Jarod turned his attention to Parker. Her pallor struck him like a blow. He sat on the edge of the bed, and watched her. The ventilator kept her chest moving up and down, and he wondered if that was the only reason she was still breathing.

He glanced at the other monitors in the room, taking in all the readings, assessing Parker’s condition. He stood up carefully and picked up her chart, which was hanging on the end of the bed; he studied it. An alarm began to sound, Jarod put the chart down and went to Parker’s side as she began to choke on the respirator.

After a few moments, Jarod decided to take action. He began to disconnect the ventilator. As he prepared to pull out the tubing, Parker’s eyes snapped open in panic.

“Take it easy, Miss Parker, just relax....”

Jarod pulled the tubing out and Parker began to cough. Jarod lifted her chest up slightly, and grabbed a kleenex, holding it to her mouth.

“Cough hard, Miss Parker, you need to clear your lungs.”

Parker complied and a moment later she was able to breathe on her own, although her breaths were shallow. Jarod gently laid her back on the pillows. She was as white as a ghost. A nurse entered the room quickly.

Jarod help up a hand, “It’s okay, nurse, she’s fine now.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“I’m a friend of hers...and I’m a doctor.”

“I’m calling the attending.”

The nurse left, and Jarod turned toward Parker, “Okay?”

Her voice was barely a whisper, “What the hell are you doing here, ratboy?”

“Saving your carcass.”

“If I had any strength, I’d use it to tie you down and drag you back to the Centre.”

Jarod smiled at her, “That’s going to have wait, Miss Parker. You need your strength. The fact that your conscious is a good sign, but you’re not out of the woods yet.”

Jarod turned to go, but Parker’s voice stopped him, “You’re leaving me here like this?”

Jarod nodded in Sydney’s direction, “You’re in good hands--if he wakes up that is....he looks a little wiped out himself.”

Jarod walked out of the room, and Parker smiled slightly.

****************

She was sitting up in bed, the color having returned to her face. Sydney set the flowers down on the bedside table, and gently leaned in to kiss her cheek.

“You’re looking much better, Miss Parker.”

“They say they’ll let me out of this hell hole in a few days. I can’t wait to get back to work.”

Sydney scolded her, “You will need at least two weeks of recuperation at home, Parker. And I’ll see that you have it.”

“I’m not five, Syd.”

He looked away, embarrassed, “No, no you’re not.” He picked up her hand gently, “But I don’t want you to over do it and relapse.”

“You worry too much.”

“I don’t worry enough, Parker. If I did, I would have seen this coming....”

“Oh Syd, this wasn’t your fault. I hadn’t felt well for weeks, I just kept going despite the warning signs. I’m a big girl, Sydney; I’m not your responsibility.”

He looked into the large grey eyes staring at him, “I know. But you’ll forgive me if I still worry.”

Parker smiled at him and changed the subject, “Have you heard from ratboy lately?”

Sydney shook his head, “Not since I was able to tell him you were out of the woods.”

She smiled, as if she had a secret. It wasn’t lost on Sydney.

“Parker?”

“What?”

“What’s behind that smile?”

“Nothing.”

“Parker...”

She squeezed his hand, “Nothing, Syd. I promise.”

He frowned at her, “Parker, I know that look...what aren’t you telling me?”

“Drop it, Freud.”

He smiled in spite of the barb; he recognized the fondness behind it, and took it as a good sign that Parker was returning to her normal self.

“You look tired, Miss Parker. Get some rest.”

Sydney got up to go, but Parker held onto his hand. He looked at her, a question in his eyes.

She smiled slightly, “Stay till I fall asleep?”

He sat back down on the bed, “Of course.”

Parker’s eyes slowly closed and Sydney waited until her breathing was in a slow rhythm before he carefully stood up, placing her hand on the bed. He kissed her on the forehead and quietly slipped out of the room.
He couldn’t help but notice the sunlight streaming in through the glass windows of the hall as he made his way toward the elevators of the hospital. The leaves of the large trees outside danced to the rhythm of the breeze, lighting the shadows on the tile floor. For a brief moment, Sydney wondered if Parker ever took time to notice something so simple. He hoped that she did.

###