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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Shady Oaks, Virginia
Present day
The slam of the front door awoke the sleeping man on the couch. Startled, he sat up, inflicting pain upon himself in the process. Frustrated, Sydney listened silently to the three voices he heard approaching him.
The woman he considered his daughter came into sight first, "Miss Parker."
"Sydney," she replied, embracing him eagerly, "how are you?"
"I'm fine, Miss Parker. Don't worry about me. How are you two, well three now?" he answered when he saw Jarod and Emily shyly make their way into the room. Jarod smiled and placed an arm around her shoulders.
"Syd, this is my sister, Emily. Emily," he directed to his former teacher, "this is Sydney. He's the one we've been telling you about."
"Its wonderful to finally meet you, Emily," Sydney greeted in his welcoming Belgian accent, "I have heard a lot about you as well."
Emily smiled in return and punched her brother playfully, "Good things I hope."
Sydney chuckled, "Wonderful things."
She nodded and sat down next to Jarod on the edge of the fireplace, Miss Parker occupying the plush chair in the corner.
"Where's Molly?" Jarod inquired curiously while picking at the fringe on the carpet.
Sydney looked both ways, "To be honest, Jarod, I don't know. We had a bit of a scuffle and ever since then, she's been quite distant."
"What kind of scuffle, Freud?" Parker piped up, intrigued.
Sydney's eyes shifted to the coffee table, "Oh, its nothing you need to be bothered with."
Her eyebrows raised, "If my saintly sister thought it was important enough to blow some steam over, I think I have a right to know as well."
"You're right, you do," Molly stated from the open doorway mysteriously, then looked at Sydney expectantly, "how long do you think you can keep this up?"
He shook his head and slumped back against the armrest of the couch, grumbling, "Molly."
"What is he talking about, Sydney?" Jarod whispered much like he did when he was a child in suspense.
Sydney looked into those childish eyes he had known for years and realized that he could no longer lie to this man he trusted more than anyone he had ever known, "I have something to tell you, Jarod, and you as well, Miss Parker. Things that I should have told you both years ago. I'm so sorry."
"Sydney, what is it?" Miss Parker moved to sit with him on the open space on the couch.
Molly walked over to Emily. "Let me help you get some more appropriate clothes," she said, gesturing to her Centre style attire. Emily nodded and followed, leaving Sydney and his 'children' alone.
"Sydney," Miss Parker's eyes dared him to go on.
"Well, for starters, I know who your true father is, "he paused and glanced at her apprehensively, "and it is not Mr Parker."
The young woman's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights while Jarod looked between the two expectantly and just as curious as she herself was.
*****
"Thought you could fool me did you?" Lyle's voice erupted a domino effect of chills down Mr Parker's spine.
"What are you talking about, Lyle?" he studdered out gruffly.
Mr Parker sat with his hands clutching the tips of his imported leather armrests, staring at the gun pointed between his eyes from an approximate three feet away. His office was dark and cold save for the one source of light on his desk just a few inches away.
"I'm not stupid!" his eyes flared and the gun trembled in his hand, "I'm not like Miss Parker!"
"She's your sister-" Mr Parker cut in, confused. The look in Lyle's eyes was cutting him from inside with a lethal twinge.
Lyle dismissed his comment and continued as if in some sort of trance, "And most of all, I am not like you. No, not like you at all. I have no idea who the Hell I really am anymore!"
"What are you talking about? You are my-" once again he was interrupted.
"Don't! Don't even say 'son'. I know the truth now. I know it. And I will not live this lie anymore," his breath grew deeper and more rapid as he prepared to pull the trigger, then he whispered eerily, "So long, Mr Parker."
Before anyone could do anything, Mr Parker had snatched the lamp by his hand and smashed it over Lyle's skull. The sound of the brass crashing over his head left a deadly silence looming once Lyle had collapsed to the floor, gun still in hand. A few lone shadows covered Mr Parker's face, but his electric blue eyes were left illuminated as he whispered into the silence, "life goes on." Shivering slightly, he walked out of the room leaving the man lying on the ground.
*****
Broots shivered slightly as he walked down the halls of The Centre in quick short steps, eyes darting left and right then left again. He hated coming here at night alone; he suspected that this was when the most evil projects went on. Then again, the most evil projects never really stopped. The balding man needed to get the laptop he had left here with his most recent research, the one at the cabin had been Jarod's.
Clutching the inside of his pockets nervously, he finally reached his door and unlocked it after a couple attempts. Once inside he found his laptop and turned around to leave. Suddenly a crash caused him to fling his body around spastically to see the airvent cover pop off and clatter to the ground.
"Angelo?" he questioned in surprise, then lowered his voice, "w-what are you doing here?"
"Sydney's secrets and lies!" he roared repeatedly, but then the soft childish whisper replaced it as he started crying in a little ball on the floor, "gone now."
"Angelo," Broots hesitantly placed a hand on his back, "what's gone?"
"Pain!" he snapped up and bolted across the room in a panic. His face was laced with fear and sorrow that only he could understand, if that. Broots shook his head, wishing he were anywhere but here.
*****
"What do you mean you know who my father is?" she enunciated each syllable carefully. A strike of lightening flashed in her eyes as she immediately rose and backed away from him deliberately.
Sydney sighed, knowing this was how she would react, knowing how much this was going to hurt her. "I know. And I'm sorry I never told you before. I should have, but I, I was too weak."
"You're damn right you were weak. Now tell me who my father is!" her voice cracked desperately. Jarod reached up for her hand from the fireplace, but she pulled it back, never losing eye contact with Sydney, "Now!"
"My brother," he whispered solemnly as the thought of Jacob entered his mind just like every other day.
"What?" she whispered, this answer being the last that she would have suspected.
"Jacob, it was Jacob. I am so sorry, Miss Parker. I really am. You have no idea how much it has hurt me to see you suffer at Mr Parker's hands over the years."
"Hurt you?" she attempted to grin through her misty eyes and let out a soft maniac-like chuckle. There was silence. "How long?" she asked slowly.
"What?"
"How long have you known?" she spoke quickly, annoyed.
"Catherine and Jacob both had told me during seperate sessions, Jacob first when you were just meeting Jarod for the first time and I had spoken of you. Your mother told me later, only a few months before she vanished. I tried to convince them to tell you at first, but eventually all three of us agreed that you were safer as long as the Chariman believed that you were indeed his daughter," he paused, allowing her to gradually absorb the idea, "they made me promise to never tell you until you were safe. I suppose I've never truly thought you to be safe, but you were just always searching for the truth. I thought maybe Jarod would figure it out and then I wouldn't have to tell you. You must also know, that Mr Parker has no idea. He truly believes you are his daughter."
"I've never tested any blood, Sydney. It would be impossible for me to tell her anything," Jarod reminded him.
"There are ways," Sydney mumbled, "in the Centre bodily fluid storage room. There must be blood of your- Mr Parker. And with my own and yours, we could have figured it out."
"How was I to know that it would be right under my nose the whole time and the one person in that cheese factory that I actually trusted, was keeping it a secret from me!"
"Miss Parker," Sydney begged.
"Save it, Sydney! Save it for someone who will listen," she said and then turned, attempting to hide the tears, hastening her steps as she fled out of the room.
Jarod stood and looked on after her as he heard the door slam. Sydney looked up at his young student, who returned his stare.
Jarod mumbled, "Well after that bombshell, I'm wondering what you have in store for me."
"Jarod, please. Talk to her for me," he asked calmly, "you're the only one she'll listen to now."
His former pupil nodded, "Me, and her sister. If she is her sister."
Jarod walked out of the room following Miss Parker's trail of settling dust. Sydney simply sighed and leaned his head back against the couch, closing his eyes in an attempt to relieve himself of the burdensome guilt that had webbed itself into every aspect of his life for years. A hint of a tear might have been seen in the corner of his eye.
Present day
The slam of the front door awoke the sleeping man on the couch. Startled, he sat up, inflicting pain upon himself in the process. Frustrated, Sydney listened silently to the three voices he heard approaching him.
The woman he considered his daughter came into sight first, "Miss Parker."
"Sydney," she replied, embracing him eagerly, "how are you?"
"I'm fine, Miss Parker. Don't worry about me. How are you two, well three now?" he answered when he saw Jarod and Emily shyly make their way into the room. Jarod smiled and placed an arm around her shoulders.
"Syd, this is my sister, Emily. Emily," he directed to his former teacher, "this is Sydney. He's the one we've been telling you about."
"Its wonderful to finally meet you, Emily," Sydney greeted in his welcoming Belgian accent, "I have heard a lot about you as well."
Emily smiled in return and punched her brother playfully, "Good things I hope."
Sydney chuckled, "Wonderful things."
She nodded and sat down next to Jarod on the edge of the fireplace, Miss Parker occupying the plush chair in the corner.
"Where's Molly?" Jarod inquired curiously while picking at the fringe on the carpet.
Sydney looked both ways, "To be honest, Jarod, I don't know. We had a bit of a scuffle and ever since then, she's been quite distant."
"What kind of scuffle, Freud?" Parker piped up, intrigued.
Sydney's eyes shifted to the coffee table, "Oh, its nothing you need to be bothered with."
Her eyebrows raised, "If my saintly sister thought it was important enough to blow some steam over, I think I have a right to know as well."
"You're right, you do," Molly stated from the open doorway mysteriously, then looked at Sydney expectantly, "how long do you think you can keep this up?"
He shook his head and slumped back against the armrest of the couch, grumbling, "Molly."
"What is he talking about, Sydney?" Jarod whispered much like he did when he was a child in suspense.
Sydney looked into those childish eyes he had known for years and realized that he could no longer lie to this man he trusted more than anyone he had ever known, "I have something to tell you, Jarod, and you as well, Miss Parker. Things that I should have told you both years ago. I'm so sorry."
"Sydney, what is it?" Miss Parker moved to sit with him on the open space on the couch.
Molly walked over to Emily. "Let me help you get some more appropriate clothes," she said, gesturing to her Centre style attire. Emily nodded and followed, leaving Sydney and his 'children' alone.
"Sydney," Miss Parker's eyes dared him to go on.
"Well, for starters, I know who your true father is, "he paused and glanced at her apprehensively, "and it is not Mr Parker."
The young woman's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights while Jarod looked between the two expectantly and just as curious as she herself was.
*****
"Thought you could fool me did you?" Lyle's voice erupted a domino effect of chills down Mr Parker's spine.
"What are you talking about, Lyle?" he studdered out gruffly.
Mr Parker sat with his hands clutching the tips of his imported leather armrests, staring at the gun pointed between his eyes from an approximate three feet away. His office was dark and cold save for the one source of light on his desk just a few inches away.
"I'm not stupid!" his eyes flared and the gun trembled in his hand, "I'm not like Miss Parker!"
"She's your sister-" Mr Parker cut in, confused. The look in Lyle's eyes was cutting him from inside with a lethal twinge.
Lyle dismissed his comment and continued as if in some sort of trance, "And most of all, I am not like you. No, not like you at all. I have no idea who the Hell I really am anymore!"
"What are you talking about? You are my-" once again he was interrupted.
"Don't! Don't even say 'son'. I know the truth now. I know it. And I will not live this lie anymore," his breath grew deeper and more rapid as he prepared to pull the trigger, then he whispered eerily, "So long, Mr Parker."
Before anyone could do anything, Mr Parker had snatched the lamp by his hand and smashed it over Lyle's skull. The sound of the brass crashing over his head left a deadly silence looming once Lyle had collapsed to the floor, gun still in hand. A few lone shadows covered Mr Parker's face, but his electric blue eyes were left illuminated as he whispered into the silence, "life goes on." Shivering slightly, he walked out of the room leaving the man lying on the ground.
*****
Broots shivered slightly as he walked down the halls of The Centre in quick short steps, eyes darting left and right then left again. He hated coming here at night alone; he suspected that this was when the most evil projects went on. Then again, the most evil projects never really stopped. The balding man needed to get the laptop he had left here with his most recent research, the one at the cabin had been Jarod's.
Clutching the inside of his pockets nervously, he finally reached his door and unlocked it after a couple attempts. Once inside he found his laptop and turned around to leave. Suddenly a crash caused him to fling his body around spastically to see the airvent cover pop off and clatter to the ground.
"Angelo?" he questioned in surprise, then lowered his voice, "w-what are you doing here?"
"Sydney's secrets and lies!" he roared repeatedly, but then the soft childish whisper replaced it as he started crying in a little ball on the floor, "gone now."
"Angelo," Broots hesitantly placed a hand on his back, "what's gone?"
"Pain!" he snapped up and bolted across the room in a panic. His face was laced with fear and sorrow that only he could understand, if that. Broots shook his head, wishing he were anywhere but here.
*****
"What do you mean you know who my father is?" she enunciated each syllable carefully. A strike of lightening flashed in her eyes as she immediately rose and backed away from him deliberately.
Sydney sighed, knowing this was how she would react, knowing how much this was going to hurt her. "I know. And I'm sorry I never told you before. I should have, but I, I was too weak."
"You're damn right you were weak. Now tell me who my father is!" her voice cracked desperately. Jarod reached up for her hand from the fireplace, but she pulled it back, never losing eye contact with Sydney, "Now!"
"My brother," he whispered solemnly as the thought of Jacob entered his mind just like every other day.
"What?" she whispered, this answer being the last that she would have suspected.
"Jacob, it was Jacob. I am so sorry, Miss Parker. I really am. You have no idea how much it has hurt me to see you suffer at Mr Parker's hands over the years."
"Hurt you?" she attempted to grin through her misty eyes and let out a soft maniac-like chuckle. There was silence. "How long?" she asked slowly.
"What?"
"How long have you known?" she spoke quickly, annoyed.
"Catherine and Jacob both had told me during seperate sessions, Jacob first when you were just meeting Jarod for the first time and I had spoken of you. Your mother told me later, only a few months before she vanished. I tried to convince them to tell you at first, but eventually all three of us agreed that you were safer as long as the Chariman believed that you were indeed his daughter," he paused, allowing her to gradually absorb the idea, "they made me promise to never tell you until you were safe. I suppose I've never truly thought you to be safe, but you were just always searching for the truth. I thought maybe Jarod would figure it out and then I wouldn't have to tell you. You must also know, that Mr Parker has no idea. He truly believes you are his daughter."
"I've never tested any blood, Sydney. It would be impossible for me to tell her anything," Jarod reminded him.
"There are ways," Sydney mumbled, "in the Centre bodily fluid storage room. There must be blood of your- Mr Parker. And with my own and yours, we could have figured it out."
"How was I to know that it would be right under my nose the whole time and the one person in that cheese factory that I actually trusted, was keeping it a secret from me!"
"Miss Parker," Sydney begged.
"Save it, Sydney! Save it for someone who will listen," she said and then turned, attempting to hide the tears, hastening her steps as she fled out of the room.
Jarod stood and looked on after her as he heard the door slam. Sydney looked up at his young student, who returned his stare.
Jarod mumbled, "Well after that bombshell, I'm wondering what you have in store for me."
"Jarod, please. Talk to her for me," he asked calmly, "you're the only one she'll listen to now."
His former pupil nodded, "Me, and her sister. If she is her sister."
Jarod walked out of the room following Miss Parker's trail of settling dust. Sydney simply sighed and leaned his head back against the couch, closing his eyes in an attempt to relieve himself of the burdensome guilt that had webbed itself into every aspect of his life for years. A hint of a tear might have been seen in the corner of his eye.
