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Chapter or Story
3/10
"A wound heals, but the scar remains." – Anonymous
By RRP
Lyle walked through the Centre's main doors for the first time in two months. His arm was still in a sling, and a few scars still remained upon his back, but other than that, no sign of the beating was left. He stepped onto an elevator and pressed a button.
He wandered aimlessly through the halls of SL-5 in the early morning hours, blocking any form of thought at all, trying to push the visions of Aimee -no, Emily-away. They still plagued him. Two months, and he couldn't stop thinking about her.
"Mr...Mr. Lyle!" Broots exclaimed, as Lyle walked into the Techlab. He looked up, startled.
"Oh..." He realized where he was, and tried to shrug it off. "Good morning, Broots. Awfully early, isn't it?"
"Miss...Miss Parker wanted me to get an early start today." Broots thought Lyle seemed rather distracted, and in light of recent events, felt sorry for him, in a way. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
"Um..." Broots paused, not sure that what he was about to do would be a good thing. "She's sent a few pictures of her and Jarod...Would you like to see them?" He didn't have to specify who she was. Lyle's eyes brightened, and he nodded.
"Yes, please!" Broots pulled the pictures out of a nearby file, and handed them to Lyle. Emily's hair wasn't blonde anymore, and many things about her looks had changed. But Lyle found himself trapped within her gaze, though it was only a picture.
Broots watched the man's face carefully. Miss Parker had been right. Lyle was in love with Emily.
Lyle pulled his eyes away from the photos, and handed them back to Broots. Broots took one out of the stack, and handed it back.
"Keep it. I'll tell them I lost one." Broots refused to meet Lyle's eyes, as he slid the remaining pictures back in the file. Lyle whispered a weak 'Thank you', and was gone. Broots smiled. His day was off to a good start.
"Broots, there's a picture missing." Miss Parker announced, going through the files absently. He turned around, and plastered his best innocent look upon his face.
"Really? Hmm..." He reached for the photos, and counted them, and acted surprised. "Oh, I wonder..." His face reddened dramatically, and he cast his eyes downward. "Oh, yeah.."
"Oh, yeah, what?" Miss Parker demanded.
"Well, I spilled some coffee this morning...I wasn't quite awake, and well...I guess I threw it away." Broots offered weakly, forcing a pathetic smile. She glared at him, then sighed.
"We still have the other four..." She murmured, and Broots hid his shocked look. She wasn't going to yell at him? "Have you found anything?" She asked, changing the subject abruptly.
"Um...yeah...there's a Jarod and Emily Runnings, staying at a hotel in Dublin..."
"Germany?"
"No, Ohio."
"Get Syd and Lyle. We're going to catch some Pretenders." Miss Parker left the room, and Broots stood up, following briskly.
"Emily, Emily, come on!" Jarod threw the last bag in the car. "They'll be here soon."
"Can't we stay?" Emily begged. Jarod blinked.
"Stay? Of course we can't stay! Get in the car!" Jarod pleaded, and Emily sighed, as she climbed into the car. "Out of curiosity, why do you want to stay?" Jarod asked, starting the silver SUV, as snowflakes began to fall.
"Never mind..." Emily looked down at the road, moving faster and faster underneath them. Jarod frowned, as he watched her. The Emily he first met had been full of life, exuberance. Now...now, he was lucky to see her smile. She was quiet, secluded, and sad. Jarod knew what pain was, it was a burden he had come to live with his whole life. But the pain he saw in Emily's eyes was unlike his own. It was a longing, for something out of reach, a longing for something lost. Jarod had been striving to place this pain for weeks, and he almost slammed on the brakes as it hit him like a punch to the stomach.
"You want to see him!" He accused sharply. Emily looked up at him, as he continued. "But you swore it was over! You..." Jarod's voice faltered. "You want to risk our freedom to see him." Emily nodded sadly, refusing to look up at him. "Why?" Jarod asked in a small, rejected voice.
"Jarod, you can't kill love. What was that you told me about never forgetting love?" Jarod sighed.
"'Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it.' Thomas Fuller. Why do you have to continually turn my quotes around on me?" Jarod asked, somewhat playfully, trying to cheer her up. His efforts where in vain. Emily sighed and looked down at the floor.
"The lies of blind love skim the surface, and the truths are buried underneath. What brave souls do dare journey past the lies, to face the truth? It is not the brave at all, for nay, they do not exist. It is but two fools, blinded by their affections, that will dive below and face the pain that awaits. And together, they brave it, only to find that the affections have fallen. Instead, the blind affection is replaced by a burning love, a fire that none can put out. No matter how far apart they travel, they linger on the other's mind, until at last, the only hope for survival of sanity, is to see the other again. Love is not a speechless fascination of a body. It is an undying thirst for the wholeness of soul on both parts. Lovers hold not the others hand, they hold the half of heart the other was missing from birth. A Tribute to Lovers, Jacob Stanley Scott, 1897." Emily quoted beautifully, and Jarod was stunned.
"I've...I've never thought about it that way before." He realized suddenly. Emily gave him a weak smile.
"Neither had I, Jarod. Until he came into my life." Emily did not need to say which 'he' she was referring to. Jarod knew.
They sat in silence, not even noticing the brightly colored sign on the side of the highway.
You're leaving Dublin, Ohio. Please come again!
Miss Parker stormed around the room impatiently, looking under things, for any type of sign that their two Pretenders had actually been there. Broots helped search, but Sydney watched Lyle, who wandered somewhat aimlessly around the parking lot as the snow fell softly, trying to make it look as if he were busy. But, every few moments, he would gaze off down the highway, sigh, shake his head, and begin walking again.
"Miss Parker." Sydney stated simply, turning to her.
"What, Syd?" She snapped, continuing to search. He grabbed her arm, pulled her over to the open door, and pointed to Lyle. She stopped suddenly, and watched him for a minute, all harshness falling from her face.
"You and Broots keep looking." She ordered. "I'll be right back." She left, and headed for Lyle without a second thought. Broots stood next to Sydney, and watched curiously. When Miss Parker led Lyle to the limo, and calmly climbed in after him, slamming the door shut, Broots turned to Sydney.
"What the heck has gotten into them?" He asked shakily.
"Emily." Sydney replied simply. "Emily." Sydney turned away, and began searching the room, as Miss Parker had said. Broots, however, remained at the door for a moment longer, and he could have sworn he saw Lyle leaning his head against Miss Parker, and Miss Parker just holding her younger brother close.
Lyle trudged down the sandy, deserted beach, the sun setting in the western sky. The sand was cold and unforgiving, the water was frothy, white, and a chilly gray. He brushed a bit of snow off a bench, and sat down, the sun still setting behind him. He stared out over the ocean, blinking at the harsh salty wind. He tugged his purposely thin coat tighter around his shoulders, and shivered despite the effort to stay warm. He closed his eyes, and let his mind play over the event that had taken place the same day, over twenty-six years ago.
The crack of chain, and the sickening, dulled snap as metal link cut into human flesh echoed in his ears and mind. With his eyes closed, he could once again see the event, feel the fear.
He watched, as his own arm reached for the lady across the room, watching blankly, eyes devoid of any emotion. His own screams for her help slapped him mentally, as he realized, that, as always, she wouldn't come. He couldn't see the face of his captor, yet he knew who it was.
The man he had called father for so long.
Another scream, precisely mirroring the actual event, was so horrific and begging that Lyle's eyes snapped open. The scene faded from his mind, but the echo of the screams remained, torturing him, haunting him. He gazed out across the sea, with it's unrelenting waves.
The irony of the spot struck him. How often he would come and watch the waves, he didn't know. But it wasn't until that moment that he made the connection. The waves, always bringing things back, never forgetting or letting go. Much like his own past.
"Lyle." The whisper caught him off guard, and he whirled around. His jaw dropped, and he was unable to speak. The figure moved a step closer, and he turned angrily, and stared hard at the waves, fighting the tears threatening to fall.
"Go away, Emily." He ordered, though his heart wasn't in the command.
"I can't, Lyle." She replied softly, sitting down next to him. He turned away from her, refusing to meet her gaze.
"Why not?" He demanded, the tears on the brink of falling. A single tear over spilled, and made it's way down his cold face, leaving a warm, wet trail to the edge of his mouth, where it left a salty, bitter taste.
"Because I know what today is, Lyle. You don't need to go through it alone." Emily responded. He turned slightly, his eyes finally meeting hers.
"You remembered?" His question was a mere whisper, and she nodded.
"I love you, Lyle." Her words caught him entirely off-guard, and he glanced at her sharply.
"You left me." He accused.
"I couldn't stay then. You know that. They would have found us." Emily protested.
"I know." Lyle lowered his head. "They. Them. Always getting in the way, ruining lives." He muttered.
"You see it that way now?" Emily asked. Lyle nodded.
"I guess."
"Would you leave?" She questioned. There was silence.
"Yes." He admitted after several minutes. "I would."
"Do you love me?" Emily's inquiry wasn't as much a question as it was a plead. He looked up at her, and studied her eyes.
"I do."
"Say it."
"I....I love you." Lyle stammered, clearly unused to saying those three words.
"Come with me." Emily begged.
"Where?" Lyle's blue eyes lit up, as if someone had resparked his dying flame of hope, and indeed, someone had.
"Anywhere away from them. Preferably Maine." Emily replied with a small smile.
"Maine? With a two story house and four kids..." He echoed her words from months earlier, a faraway dreamy look in his eyes. She nodded.
"We could make a life for ourselves, Lyle. Away from them. Away from the nightmares, and the memories." Emily offered, and Lyle was surprised that he was so ready to agree.
"I'll do it." He paused. "Are you proposing?" He asked suspiciously. She laughed.
"Maybe. Would you like me to? I thought that was traditionally your job."
"Do you want me to propose? What would your answer be?" Lyle asked hurriedly. Emily laughed again.
"Why don't you ask and find out?" Lyle pulled his Class ring off his finger, and held it out to her, not even bothering to get off the bench.
"Emily, will you marry me?" He asked anxiously. A tear formed in the corner of her eye, and she swatted at it furiously.
"Yes, Lyle. I will." He handed her the ring, and she slid it on. It slipped so the stone was facing down, obviously too large for her finger. Lyle smiled at her, as a fierce wind whipped across the beach. He shivered, realizing how cold he was. Emily noticed, and noted how thin his coat was. At the same time, Lyle saw how thick her coat was.
"You're cold." She stated, pity in her tone. "Let's go inside. Maybe get some tea or coffee?" She stood up, and held out her hand. He gratefully took it, and stood to walk down the beach with her.
"Right there." He pointed to an apartment building, different from the one he had occupied months before. "I moved. I couldn't stay there any longer."
"I understand." Emily replied quietly. Silence took charge until they reached the apartment. Lyle swung the door open, to reveal a sparsely furnished apartment, lacking color or decor.
"So, coffee? Tea?" He asked, shrugging off his jacket and moving to the kitchen.
"Whatever you're having." She answered, sitting down on the one couch in the living room.
"Tea, then. Peppermint sound okay?"
"Fine." Emily fingered the ring on her hand. Jarod was going to be mad. Really mad. She had told him she was just going to say hi, and make sure Lyle was okay. She had said nothing about convincing him to move to Maine with her. And marry her. That wasn't planned, although it certainly was welcome, to her anyway.
Jarod was going to be mad.
"Are you crazy?" Jarod shouted, storming across the hotel room. "What do you mean, you're engaged to him? Insane, perhaps? And we are not, I repeat, not moving to Maine!" It wasn't affecting Emily as much as she thought it would.
"Insane. Yes, with love." She said dreamily, twirling the ring around her finger. Jarod froze and stared hard at the ring.
"I can't believe you!" He huffed, throwing his arms up in the air.
"Why not?" Emily demanded. Jarod snapped.
"Emily! He killed our brother!" Jarod screamed at her. Emily flinched. Screaming wasn't the same as shouting. Screaming sounded....painful. As if she had hurt him.
"Jarod-"
"I will not be his brother-in-law. As the oldest present member of our family, I disown you. I swear, that if you do not take that ring off your finger, and send it back to him ASAP, I will disown you. For the whole family." Jarod's tone was now one of silent, seething, suppressed rage. Emily paled.
"Jarod, you wouldn't!" She exclaimed.
"You won't send it back?" He demanded. She shook her head resolutely.
"Never."
"I am no longer your brother. As far as you are concerned, your parents died at birth." Jarod left the room, and slammed the door shut behind him. Through the thin hotel walls, she heard the car they shared start, and drive off.
Emily began sobbing helplessly, clinging to the bed.
"Let me get this straight, you're running away with Labrat’s sister, and now you're telling me about it?" Miss Parker asked in disbelief, sitting on Lyle's couch. Three duffel bags sat by the door, and the apartment was clean, except for the larger pieces of furniture. The only type of dish left in the house were the two Styrofoam cups that held their coffee.
"Yes. I wanted to say goodbye."
"Well, then." Miss Parker replied, speechless.
"Well what? Are you going to disown me, like Jarod did with Emily?" Lyle asked, almost fearfully.
"He disowned her?" She asked, once again disbelieving.
"Yes. She's been disowned. She has no last name until I marry her."
"Marry her?" Miss Parker practically shrieked. "Does she know about that part?"
"It was her idea." Lyle shrugged. "I was only too happy to agree."
"Well, then. Goodbye, good luck, hope you have fun." Miss Parker snapped.
"Thanks. Your blessing matters the most to me." Lyle replied seriously, not catching the sarcasm in her tone.
"Really?" Miss Parker asked, surprised.
"Really." Lyle nodded.
"Oh." Miss Parker murmured, leaning back on the couch.
"Well, anyway, Dad's probably going to disown me too." Lyle said, a bit regretfully.
"Yeah." Miss Parker agreed softly, staring at the carpet.
"One last thing, before I go." Lyle looked over at her, setting his Styrofoam cup down at the same time.
"Hmm?"
"Listen to the new CD in your car. Track three is a message from yours truly, and Emily."
"Sure." Miss Parker nodded consent.
"Bye, Sis." Lyle stood up, and grabbed the duffel bags.
"Where are you going?" She asked, sitting straight up. He cocked an eyebrow.
"I'm not that stupid. I'll send you a postcard, but there's no guarantee that it'll really be from where we are." Lyle said with a grin. "See you around." And with that, he was gone.
Miss Parker climbed into the small, sleek sports car, and dropped the two Styrofoam cups into the cup holders. Neither was empty, but in each one the coffee was cold. She had sat on the couch for nearly half-an-hour after he had gone, partially in shock and partially just because she need some time to think. She looked over at the passenger seat as she started the car, and a curious CD case caught her eye. What was it he had said? Track three? She had nearly forgotten.
Miss Parker picked up the case, and studied it. The cover was split into two narrow rectangles- the one on the left held a color picture of a red telephone booth, and the right held the words, 'ShakespeareSorrow: Act One, Enter Hero' in a jagged, scrawled font. She popped it open, and slid the CD in, scanning to track three. Music started softly, but grew in intensity- the violins humming faster and faster and the piano nearly flying over the notes. It suddenly slowed, and the words began.
Someone once told me
Told me that love had it's price
I wasn't quite sure that they were right
Now, now I know it wasn't a lie
Now that I'm older
Now that I'm wise
And I feel you falling...
Falling away, falling away from me
Everyone I loved
Everyone I knew
Falling away from me
Just another broken branch/And this is a Portrait
On the family tree/A Portrait of True
Falling away, falling away from me
This is, a Portrait
This is, a Portrait of You
Someone once told me
Told me that you would someday leave
And I played the fool, refusing to believe
Now, now you're really gone
And now I am stronger
Now I am weaker for the loss
And I feel you falling...
Falling away, falling away from me
Everyone I loved
Everyone I knew
Falling away from me
Just another broken branch/And this is a Portrait
On the family tree/A Portrait of True
Falling away, falling away from me
This is, a Portrait
This is, a Portrait of You
And the years have passed
And the years have gone
Did I miss my chance?
I left you alone
And now you're falling...
Falling away, falling away from me
Everyone I loved
Everyone I knew
Falling away from me
Just another broken branch/And this is a Portrait
On the family tree/A Portrait of True
Falling away, falling away from me
This is, a Portrait
This is, a Portrait of You
A Portrait
A Portrait
A Portrait
A Portrait
Of You
