Smokescreen by icd
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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see part one
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Smokescreen
Part 3
Happy Welcome
He got out of his car stiffly. Once out of the confined space, he stretched and took a deep breath. He had been on the road for the better part of the last day and a half and now he had finally arrived at his destination.
He turned and looked over to the house.
Straightening, he walked up to the front porch and turned once more to admire the view. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he took the last step towards the door and knocked loudly.
Only moments later, one could hear footsteps approaching. The door was pulled open, revealing a petite woman who looked to be in her sixties. Even in the dim light of the house, Jarod could see that she had long, dark hair that was pushed into a braid that hang loosely over her shoulder.
“Yes?” she asked, eying him from head to toe.
“Excuse me, Ma’am. I presume that someone told you I’d be coming,” he smiled. “My name is Jarod,” he added, when he saw a frown appear on the woman’s face.
Her face lit up at that name and she pushed the door open further. “Jarod. Yes, of course. Forgive me for not recognizing you,” she gestured him to come in.
“Thank you,” Jarod nodded at her gesture and let himself be ushered into the living room.
“Marc, this is Jarod,” the woman announced once they entered the room.
An elderly gentleman looked up from his reading. He was sitting in a comfortable looking leather armchair, reading a book, a pipe dancing in one corner of his mouth. When his gaze came to rest on the young man, now standing in his living room, his face lit up just as his wife’s had. He swiftly put the book down and got up from his seat, walking over to Jarod. Putting out his hand, he waited for Jarod to take it and then shook it firmly.
“Welcome, Jarod. We didn’t think you’d be here so soon. Your father wasn’t really precise on the time frame,” the man said.
Jarod smiled and then nodded. “Yes, I wasn’t sure how long I would need myself and to be honest, I got here faster than I had calculated, Mr…”
“Skip the Mister. It’s Marc and… has my lovely wife introduced herself?”
“Oh, how very rude of me. No, I didn’t, dear,” the woman fell in before Jarod could answer.
Marc put out his hand and drew his wife over to him. “Jarod, this is my wife Carol.”
“Pleased to meet you, Carol,” he smiled widely and shook her hand.
Carol removed herself from her husband’s grasp and headed to what Jarod presumed to be the kitchen.
“You go on talking. I have some chocolate cookies in the oven that I need to give a glance so that they don’t burn,” Carol announced.
Jarod’s face lit up briefly at the mention of cookies but he bit down a remark.
Both of his hosts saw the flash in his eyes and on his face nonetheless.
“Don’t you worry. I made them for Jay and you. You will have to wait a bit though until they get cold,” she told him, smiling brightly.
Jarod blushed but then he chuckled deeply at her comment. “Thank you Carol,” he said, looking at her.
She just waved a hand at him and vanished into the kitchen.
“Sit down, Jarod,” Marc invited and pointed to the sofa standing close by. Jarod nodded his thanks and sat down leaning back in his seat.
“So, how long have you been on the road?” Marc asked.
“The better part of the last thirty-six hours,” he replied evenly.
“That’s an awful lot. You must be tired then,” Marc said astonished, while his eyebrows shot up high on his forehead.
Jarod chuckled, touched by the concern in the man’s voice. “No, Marc. I’m fine. I am used to getting little sleep and so being on the road that long is no real problem. I’m used to travelling a lot as well,” he shrugged.
“Yeah, I can imagine. You’re not the only one that can go without sleep for a long time though. I shouldn’t have been surprised,” Marc gave back.
Now, Jarod’s eyebrow rose up on his forehead. “Jay?”
Marc nodded sadly. “He still has a lot of nightmares and even if he doesn’t, he never sleeps much. He usually is up very early in the morning.”
Jarod sighed but then composed himself. “Where is he?”
The man smiled. “Still at school. He will come back in about,” he paused, looking at the clock that was in the room. “In about two hours.”
Jarod merely nodded.
“Do you want to lie down until he comes back?” Marc asked.
Shaking his head, Jarod sat up straight in his seat. “No, in fact, I’d rather hear a bit more about the troubles he’s causing.”
“Yes, that would be reasonable,” Marc nodded and then started. “I presume that the Major told you the general facts?”
Jarod nodded.
“At first, he was such a shy and nice young man. He was really doing fine from what we could observe,” Marc explained.
“Sorry to interrupt Marc, but… how much do you know about Jay’s history?”
Marc smiled sadly. “We know what he’s been through, Jarod. If that’s what your question was. We know about the Centre. We know what you both have been through. We know that he is your little brother and that you helped your father in rescuing him,” Marc said.
Jarod nodded, keeping the fact that Jay was not his brother but his clone a secret.
“As I said, he was a real good boy, never making any trouble. He was really trying his best to adjust to his new environment and he was doing fine. He strived for affection and we were ready to give it to him. Everything seemed fine.”
“What happened?”
Marc shook his head sadly and shrugged his shoulders. “We don’t know. There was nothing that would explain his behaviour. We asked the school if there had been anything that could have changed Jay that drastically but they also didn’t know. He had never been disobedient at school before but they said that they had noticed his change as well and that they had been about to ask us about it.”
Jarod frowned at the tale Marc told. “When was that?”
“I started not quite three months back.”
Jarod nodded and then looked out of the window for several seconds in concentration. Three months back… “That’s about nearly a year after he came here, right?” he inquired.
“Yes, it is. We really don’t know what happened. This sudden change,” Marc trailed off. “He started skipping classed and being rebellious in school as well as here. Since then he has been suspended from school twice. The first time he was cheating in a test and the second time was only three weeks ago. He was involved in a fist fight with another boy. Jay obviously started the fight,” Marc sighed deeply.
“What about his grades?” Jarod asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
“We agreed with the Major that he shouldn’t do as well as he could but his grades have dropped drastically since this whole thing started,” Marc informed him.
Jarod nodded, filing that piece of information away for further use. At the moment, he was trying to get as much information about Jay’s behaviour so that he could get an idea what it was that had made the boy change.
“You certainly tried to talk to him during that time,” Jarod half stated and half asked Marc.
“Of course we did,” Marc nodded. “At first we seemed to get somewhere with the talks we had, but as time went by he closed up on us. The last time we talked about his behaviour was three days ago after he got into a fight outside of school. He just sat there and didn’t respond at all; just stared straight ahead as if we weren’t there at all. I normally don’t give up that fast but I didn’t know what else we could do so I called Charles.”
“You did the right thing,” Jarod reassured the man.
Marc just shrugged with a sad expression on his face. “I really don’t know what changed him.”
Jarod smiled lightly. “I’m here to find that out and try to help him.”
“I hope you will be able to do so,” Marc sighed. “I really don’t know what else to do.” He paused and then looked up at Jarod again. “You are staying here with us of course.”
“Oh that won’t be necessary. I can find myself a place to--” Jarod started but he was quickly interrupted by Marc.
“I know that it’s not necessary but we would love to have you here with us. We are really enjoying the company,” Marc said firmly.
Jarod nodded, smiling. “Ok, then. If you want me to stay, I will gladly stay here. I don’t usually have company.”
“See,” Marc nodded curtly, pleased with the decision. As Jarod would quickly see, it was a movement, Marc was using often and that had become an unconscious one.
Both Marc and Jarod looked at each other with a pleased expression, taking a liking in the presence of the other one.
This calm and relaxed silence was interrupted when suddenly the door opened and only moments later banged shut loudly.
Marc sighed and looked at Jarod apologetically.
Seconds later, Jay stalked into the room and walked over to the kitchen without turning to look at the rooms occupants.
He came back out of the kitchen only a heartbeat later with a cookie in his hand. It was the first time Jarod saw Jay’s face after entering the house. It was very serious. His younger self looked straight ahead. His eyes, Jarod could only briefly see, were unlike his own. They had the same colour, yes but they lacked the living spark that was inhibiting his own.
Jarod frowned at the young man’s expression.
Jay walked right out of the room and Marc and Jarod could hear him walking up the stairs with firm and somewhat angry steps.
Jarod looked over to Marc who was about to get up from his seat and go after the boy. He had an angry expression on his face and Jarod saw that he was furious even though Marc tried to hide it. The older man stood up.
“Let him be,” Jarod said calmly.
Marc’s gaze snapped over to where Jarod sat. “He didn’t look at us. I don’t think he even saw you sitting here. I want him to come down and at least say hello.”
“That wouldn’t do any good and he saw me. He knows that I’m here. Give him time to grasp that fact and get down from his trip,” Jarod shook his head. He had seen his younger twins eyes dart towards him very briefly. If he hadn’t been observing Jay’s movements closely he would have missed it. He had also seen the surprise in Jay’s eyes.
What he had also seen in the young man’s eyes and what was that puzzled him most, was the anger and coldness that flared up at the recognition.
Marc had settled back into his chair, mumbling something along the lines of: “If you think so. But I wouldn’t count on that!”
Jarod leaned back in the chair again as well, replaying the moment once more and trying to sort through the brief memory. He suddenly got the feeling that there was more to Jay’s behaviour than met the eye, and that it would take him more time and effort to break through to him than just walk into this house and into the young man’s life.
To be continued…
~~~~~~~
Part 3
Happy Welcome
He got out of his car stiffly. Once out of the confined space, he stretched and took a deep breath. He had been on the road for the better part of the last day and a half and now he had finally arrived at his destination.
He turned and looked over to the house.
Straightening, he walked up to the front porch and turned once more to admire the view. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he took the last step towards the door and knocked loudly.
Only moments later, one could hear footsteps approaching. The door was pulled open, revealing a petite woman who looked to be in her sixties. Even in the dim light of the house, Jarod could see that she had long, dark hair that was pushed into a braid that hang loosely over her shoulder.
“Yes?” she asked, eying him from head to toe.
“Excuse me, Ma’am. I presume that someone told you I’d be coming,” he smiled. “My name is Jarod,” he added, when he saw a frown appear on the woman’s face.
Her face lit up at that name and she pushed the door open further. “Jarod. Yes, of course. Forgive me for not recognizing you,” she gestured him to come in.
“Thank you,” Jarod nodded at her gesture and let himself be ushered into the living room.
“Marc, this is Jarod,” the woman announced once they entered the room.
An elderly gentleman looked up from his reading. He was sitting in a comfortable looking leather armchair, reading a book, a pipe dancing in one corner of his mouth. When his gaze came to rest on the young man, now standing in his living room, his face lit up just as his wife’s had. He swiftly put the book down and got up from his seat, walking over to Jarod. Putting out his hand, he waited for Jarod to take it and then shook it firmly.
“Welcome, Jarod. We didn’t think you’d be here so soon. Your father wasn’t really precise on the time frame,” the man said.
Jarod smiled and then nodded. “Yes, I wasn’t sure how long I would need myself and to be honest, I got here faster than I had calculated, Mr…”
“Skip the Mister. It’s Marc and… has my lovely wife introduced herself?”
“Oh, how very rude of me. No, I didn’t, dear,” the woman fell in before Jarod could answer.
Marc put out his hand and drew his wife over to him. “Jarod, this is my wife Carol.”
“Pleased to meet you, Carol,” he smiled widely and shook her hand.
Carol removed herself from her husband’s grasp and headed to what Jarod presumed to be the kitchen.
“You go on talking. I have some chocolate cookies in the oven that I need to give a glance so that they don’t burn,” Carol announced.
Jarod’s face lit up briefly at the mention of cookies but he bit down a remark.
Both of his hosts saw the flash in his eyes and on his face nonetheless.
“Don’t you worry. I made them for Jay and you. You will have to wait a bit though until they get cold,” she told him, smiling brightly.
Jarod blushed but then he chuckled deeply at her comment. “Thank you Carol,” he said, looking at her.
She just waved a hand at him and vanished into the kitchen.
“Sit down, Jarod,” Marc invited and pointed to the sofa standing close by. Jarod nodded his thanks and sat down leaning back in his seat.
“So, how long have you been on the road?” Marc asked.
“The better part of the last thirty-six hours,” he replied evenly.
“That’s an awful lot. You must be tired then,” Marc said astonished, while his eyebrows shot up high on his forehead.
Jarod chuckled, touched by the concern in the man’s voice. “No, Marc. I’m fine. I am used to getting little sleep and so being on the road that long is no real problem. I’m used to travelling a lot as well,” he shrugged.
“Yeah, I can imagine. You’re not the only one that can go without sleep for a long time though. I shouldn’t have been surprised,” Marc gave back.
Now, Jarod’s eyebrow rose up on his forehead. “Jay?”
Marc nodded sadly. “He still has a lot of nightmares and even if he doesn’t, he never sleeps much. He usually is up very early in the morning.”
Jarod sighed but then composed himself. “Where is he?”
The man smiled. “Still at school. He will come back in about,” he paused, looking at the clock that was in the room. “In about two hours.”
Jarod merely nodded.
“Do you want to lie down until he comes back?” Marc asked.
Shaking his head, Jarod sat up straight in his seat. “No, in fact, I’d rather hear a bit more about the troubles he’s causing.”
“Yes, that would be reasonable,” Marc nodded and then started. “I presume that the Major told you the general facts?”
Jarod nodded.
“At first, he was such a shy and nice young man. He was really doing fine from what we could observe,” Marc explained.
“Sorry to interrupt Marc, but… how much do you know about Jay’s history?”
Marc smiled sadly. “We know what he’s been through, Jarod. If that’s what your question was. We know about the Centre. We know what you both have been through. We know that he is your little brother and that you helped your father in rescuing him,” Marc said.
Jarod nodded, keeping the fact that Jay was not his brother but his clone a secret.
“As I said, he was a real good boy, never making any trouble. He was really trying his best to adjust to his new environment and he was doing fine. He strived for affection and we were ready to give it to him. Everything seemed fine.”
“What happened?”
Marc shook his head sadly and shrugged his shoulders. “We don’t know. There was nothing that would explain his behaviour. We asked the school if there had been anything that could have changed Jay that drastically but they also didn’t know. He had never been disobedient at school before but they said that they had noticed his change as well and that they had been about to ask us about it.”
Jarod frowned at the tale Marc told. “When was that?”
“I started not quite three months back.”
Jarod nodded and then looked out of the window for several seconds in concentration. Three months back… “That’s about nearly a year after he came here, right?” he inquired.
“Yes, it is. We really don’t know what happened. This sudden change,” Marc trailed off. “He started skipping classed and being rebellious in school as well as here. Since then he has been suspended from school twice. The first time he was cheating in a test and the second time was only three weeks ago. He was involved in a fist fight with another boy. Jay obviously started the fight,” Marc sighed deeply.
“What about his grades?” Jarod asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
“We agreed with the Major that he shouldn’t do as well as he could but his grades have dropped drastically since this whole thing started,” Marc informed him.
Jarod nodded, filing that piece of information away for further use. At the moment, he was trying to get as much information about Jay’s behaviour so that he could get an idea what it was that had made the boy change.
“You certainly tried to talk to him during that time,” Jarod half stated and half asked Marc.
“Of course we did,” Marc nodded. “At first we seemed to get somewhere with the talks we had, but as time went by he closed up on us. The last time we talked about his behaviour was three days ago after he got into a fight outside of school. He just sat there and didn’t respond at all; just stared straight ahead as if we weren’t there at all. I normally don’t give up that fast but I didn’t know what else we could do so I called Charles.”
“You did the right thing,” Jarod reassured the man.
Marc just shrugged with a sad expression on his face. “I really don’t know what changed him.”
Jarod smiled lightly. “I’m here to find that out and try to help him.”
“I hope you will be able to do so,” Marc sighed. “I really don’t know what else to do.” He paused and then looked up at Jarod again. “You are staying here with us of course.”
“Oh that won’t be necessary. I can find myself a place to--” Jarod started but he was quickly interrupted by Marc.
“I know that it’s not necessary but we would love to have you here with us. We are really enjoying the company,” Marc said firmly.
Jarod nodded, smiling. “Ok, then. If you want me to stay, I will gladly stay here. I don’t usually have company.”
“See,” Marc nodded curtly, pleased with the decision. As Jarod would quickly see, it was a movement, Marc was using often and that had become an unconscious one.
Both Marc and Jarod looked at each other with a pleased expression, taking a liking in the presence of the other one.
This calm and relaxed silence was interrupted when suddenly the door opened and only moments later banged shut loudly.
Marc sighed and looked at Jarod apologetically.
Seconds later, Jay stalked into the room and walked over to the kitchen without turning to look at the rooms occupants.
He came back out of the kitchen only a heartbeat later with a cookie in his hand. It was the first time Jarod saw Jay’s face after entering the house. It was very serious. His younger self looked straight ahead. His eyes, Jarod could only briefly see, were unlike his own. They had the same colour, yes but they lacked the living spark that was inhibiting his own.
Jarod frowned at the young man’s expression.
Jay walked right out of the room and Marc and Jarod could hear him walking up the stairs with firm and somewhat angry steps.
Jarod looked over to Marc who was about to get up from his seat and go after the boy. He had an angry expression on his face and Jarod saw that he was furious even though Marc tried to hide it. The older man stood up.
“Let him be,” Jarod said calmly.
Marc’s gaze snapped over to where Jarod sat. “He didn’t look at us. I don’t think he even saw you sitting here. I want him to come down and at least say hello.”
“That wouldn’t do any good and he saw me. He knows that I’m here. Give him time to grasp that fact and get down from his trip,” Jarod shook his head. He had seen his younger twins eyes dart towards him very briefly. If he hadn’t been observing Jay’s movements closely he would have missed it. He had also seen the surprise in Jay’s eyes.
What he had also seen in the young man’s eyes and what was that puzzled him most, was the anger and coldness that flared up at the recognition.
Marc had settled back into his chair, mumbling something along the lines of: “If you think so. But I wouldn’t count on that!”
Jarod leaned back in the chair again as well, replaying the moment once more and trying to sort through the brief memory. He suddenly got the feeling that there was more to Jay’s behaviour than met the eye, and that it would take him more time and effort to break through to him than just walk into this house and into the young man’s life.
To be continued…
