Disclaimer: “The Pretender” and its characters do not belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don’t sue because I have no money.

Author’s Note: This is kind of based on my other story Sold. Sometimes the truth is a very bitter pill to swallow.

Truth and Lies

Jarod glanced around him to make sure that everything was in its place and there was nothing to lead the hunters to where he was going next. He grabbed his bags and walked out the door and into his car.

He had left some clues about Miss Parker’s past in his latest lair and he would call her soon to hear what she had to say to him. As he merged into traffic on the freeway he wondered about his own past, or lack thereof.

Driving for what seemed like forever he pulled into another hotel room on his stop to his next destination. He was tired and it was getting dark already. He slipped the key into the lock and walked in leaving his bags on the floor where he dropped them. He shut the door and then went to sleep after changing into his sweats and a shirt and went right to sleep, but it wasn’t a restful sleep. He woke up from a nightmare and got up, grabbed his phone and dialed a familiar number.

“What.”

“Well, hello Miss Parker. Did you read what I left you?”

“Why do you keep on digging up the past? Why can’t you just leave it alone?”

“At least you have a past. And I can’t leave it alone because every time I look for my past there’s your past too.”

“Just leave the past in the past Jarod.”

“I can’t Miss Parker. I have to find out who I am and why I was taken.”

“Goodnight Jarod.” She said as she hung up.

Jarod stared at the phone. Why can’t she understand? She has a past and he didn’t. His whole life was shrouded in mystery.

The next day bright and early he got into his car and drove some more.

----

A month later

Jarod walked into his latest lair that he had just moved into. He had yet to buy newspapers to see if there was anybody to help. He grabbed a snoopy pez dispenser and ate some of the candy that was in it. He then turned to the computer and let it boot up. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a cup of water and drank it. He washed it, dried it and put it away. He turned back to the computer when it chirped that he had a message. He wondered if it was from his father. He glanced at the sender and wondered what Angelo was sending him. He opened it and stared at it in shock.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles

Our agreement of the kidnapping of Jarod and the amount of the money still stands. You will get your money the day after your son is gone and inside the Centre walls.

Mr. Raines.

This one outlined the details of his kidnapping and the amount of money that was given to his parents when he was taken. He wondered why his parents would sell him and his brother? All they wanted was money. It didn’t make sense. Why would they do this to him and his brother? They made their lives a living nightmare all because of their greed.

He slammed the lid of the laptop down, got up and stormed outside. He looked around and started running. He didn’t stop until his lungs hurt and he couldn’t run anymore. He sat down on the nearest bench to rest.

----

Blue Cove, Delaware

“Jarod sad.”

“Sad about what?” Replied Miss Parker as she glanced around as Angelo was going over Jarod’s things trying to get a hit on him.

“Truth. Truth hurts.”

“Truth about what?”

Angelo was busy looking through one of the red notebooks not replying to her. She got mad and got into Angelo’s space.

“Truth about what?”

“Lies and truth. Find Jarod.”

“Find him how?”

“Trust your inner sense.”

“What do you mean, Angelo?”

“Trust your inner sense. Find Jarod. Jarod hurting.”

Getting nowhere with trying to get anything from Angelo she walked out of the lab and into her office and sat into her chair. She looked at the photograph that was of her as a baby and her mother holding her. She picked it up and stared at it. Sydney had met with her to help her with her inner sense and she had gotten better at it, but she had stopped listening to her inner sense because it hurt too much. To have to listen to her mothers voice and not having her here. Suddenly she could her, her mother’s voice. It was telling her where to find Jarod. She got up and walked out of the Centre and into her car.

----

Jarod’s Lair

She got out of her car and looked around. She walked up the walkway and to the door. Knocking on the door she got no answer trying the door she found that it was unlocked. She waited a second before she opened the door. She had her gun out not wanting any surprises. She stopped in her tracks as she looked around. The house was a mess. Cans, paper and plates were littered everywhere. One of the lamps was overturned and one was shattered into tiny pieces. She carefully avoided the mess on the carpet and walked inside. The inside was dark and she saw that all the drapes were covering the windows, but there was a tiny bit of light coming through the draperies. She glanced once more around and found Jarod sitting there in the dark. He was curled up in a fetal position on the ground near the wall. A gun was mere inches from his hand. She wondered what happened to him that would make him be in this kind of state.

“Jarod.” She spoke to him hoping not to spook him.

She saw his eyes open and he turned his chocolate brown eyes to her. They were full of pain.

“Jarod, what’s wrong?”

He glanced at the gun before looking back to her.

“Go ahead, shoot me. You’ve threatened me before. This is the perfect time.”

“What’s the matter?” She said as she put her gun away.

“Why do you care? How did you find me?”

“It doesn’t matter how. I care.”

“You don’t care. All you care about is taking me back to the Centre to make your daddy proud.”

“Tell me what happened.”

He glanced at her, studying her to see if she could be trusted.”

“Laptop.” He uttered as he glanced at the contraption.

She got up and opened the laptop. Looking at the two objects in question closing her eyes she sighed. There was no way that she could take him back to the Centre. Not when he was in this state. No wonder Angelo told her to find him.

“I’m so sorry, Jarod.”

“All I ever wanted was to find my parents, to have them back in my life and now I find that they never wanted me. They sold my brother and me and made our lives a living nightmare. Only because they were greedy and wanted the money for themselves.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“You were right, Miss Parker. About letting the past stay in the past. I should of never started looking.”

“Do you honestly feel that?”

“Yes.”

“No, no you don’t. Even with all the stuff that you find about my past. Even with all the complaining that I tell you, I would rather know than not know.”

“You do?”

“Yes, Jarod. I’m sorry for telling you that. I would rather know instead of living in the dark. Even if it hurts I would rather know.”

He got up and sat with his back to the wall. She sat besides him watching him. She glanced at the gun again.

“Did you think of what Sydney would go through if you decided to use that?”

“Sydney just thinks of me as a science experiment.”

“No, he doesn’t. You should hear him sometimes.”

She talked to him some more trying to cheer him up.

“Thank you, Miss Parker.”

“For what?”

“For talking to me.”

“Your welcome. I’m not taking you back to the Centre right now, but the next time I will.”

“Understood.”

“Take care of yourself, Jarod.” Feeling confident that he was in no danger to himself. She got up and walked out of the house. She knew that he would be okay now. She could feel it and because her mother had told her.

The End