18

The headache that plagued Miss Parker upon waking up was unprecedented. No amount of vodka had ever sufficed to lead to a hangover quite as bad as this concussion. She felt slightly sick and quite dizzy when she made the grave mistake to try to sit up.

Only when she had fiercely blinked her eyes a few times, she noticed Jarod who was slumped on her bedside, head resting on his arms, eyes closed in deep sleep. Despite her desolate state, Miss Parker smiled to herself. He looked years younger resting like that and she couldn’t resist the temptation to reach out and run her hand through his unruly hair.

He mirrored her movements from moments ago, shook his head, blinked his eyes and smiled groggily.

“Your neck must feel like hell,” Miss Parker observed and Jarod craned said neck, then winced.

“You’re right. It’s not a position I should sleep in more often.”

He looked around the room and his eyes found the alarm-clock on Angela’s bedside table. It was just after six in the morning. Jarod stifled a yawn and Miss Parker reached out her hand for his to pull him towards her.

“It’s still early. Maybe you should come and lie with me for a moment.”

He obeyed and slipped under the covers with her. She slowly turned, grimacing at her headache and cupped his cheek with her hand.

“Don’t run away on me again, will you?” she asked.

“I try not to,” he grinned. “Or if I will, I hope Parker will find me again.”

Miss Parker looked confused, but he didn’t elaborate. That moment in the bar had been enlightening, but he rather had Miss Parker thinking that he hadn’t needed someone else to tell him that he was better off going back.

“Is your neck very sore?” He liked the way her voice was raspy from sleep and nodded.

Miss Parker leaned forward and began to massage his neck with her hands. He felt his muscles relax almost immediately and a groan escaped his mouth when her lips followed her fingers and she gently began to kiss his neck.

“You should stop doing that,” he finally announced because he couldn’t imagine any scenario in which sex would help Miss Parker’s concussion. And if she went on like this, he couldn’t account for himself not jumping her.

She smiled and stopped, then kissed his lips softly. “You deserve every amount of torture.”

He grinned. “You always know the right thing to say.”

“Of course.”

They fell silent and remained so for a moment while Miss Parker searched for a position in which she could comfortably rest her head on Jarod’s chest, then gave up and returned to the pillow.

“That bad?” Jarod asked and she raised an eyebrow.

“It’s okay. I am going to kick Marcus’ ass for that as soon as I feel up to it again. I knew he was weird and I also thought he was hiding something, but I’d never...”

“Neither would I have.”

Jarod watched her eyes flutter shut again and wondered how he would ever explain to her that Marcus had also been about to suffocate her with that same pillow she was now resting on. He stroked her cheek and she gave a content snort.

“Stop that,” she said and the lack of conviction in her words couldn’t have been more obvious, so he went on and watched her fall asleep.

“Good morning, lovebirds.” Angela stood in the doorway, looking drained, but she still smiled.

Jarod sat up and helped Miss Parker do the same. The color of her face had improved just like the amount of wincing had lessened.

“Are you feeling better?” Angela asked and put a tray of food down on the bedside table. Miss Parker immediately looked sick again, but Jarod patted her shoulder encouragingly.

“Don’t try to make us believe that you don’t like toast and honey.”

Miss Parker gave him a harassed look but began to chew on the piece of toast as if someone had just tried to force her to drink a bottle of vinegar.

Angela and Jarod exchanged a knowing look and Jarod slowly rose from the bed.

“I am going home to shower and get us some new clothes.”

“You mean you’re driving back to my house.”

“I am still your tenant, remember?”

She snorted but he could see the grin pulling at the corners of her mouth.

Angela watched their exchange and the brief kiss Jarod placed on Miss Parker's forehead. At least her cousin’s actions had brought about one good thing: These two seemed to be at ease with each other again.

Jarod walked out and Angela sat down on the chair next to the bed, watching Miss Parker. The other woman noticed her gaze on her and put the plate aside. What followed was completely unexpected: “How are you feeling?” Miss Parker asked, almost softly.

Angela smiled sadly.

“I’ve been feeling better. I just... I just still can’t believe...” She interrupted herself. “Let’s not talk about it now.”

Miss Parker accepted her refusal and took a sip from the cup of tea Angela handed her.

“Have you found a name for that little boy, yet?”

“I am considering howler monkey since he’s been crying all night.”

Miss Parker smiled. “Sounds exhausting.”

“I couldn’t sleep anyway. Carrying him around took my mind off... things.”

“I know other ways to take my mind off things, if you get my drift.” Miss Parker winked and made a drinking gesture. Angela shrugged.

“Tried that. Been there, but alcohol never gets me drunk when I try to numb my senses.”

“Hear hear.” Miss Parker took another bite of the toast. “Thanks for the breakfast and for letting me spend the night.”

“That was the least thing I could have done.” Angela gave another sad smile.

Miss Parker hesitated. Giving comfort was none of her strong points. She was much better at intimidating and making people feel useless. Still she had the strange urge to say something nice. The problem was just, that she had no idea what to say.

“Look...” she paused. “Sometimes someone we’ve known all our live turns out to be an entirely different person.”

Tears sprang to Angela’s eyes and Miss Parker felt panic rise inside her. She was not good at giving words of comfort, but dealing with somebody who was crying was infinitely worse.

Angela seemed to sense her discomfort and stood up.

“Well... enjoy your breakfast and give me a shout if you need anything.”

She bolted for the door and left a confused Miss Parker behind.

“I’ll just drop by at the supermarket and get us some dinner. I am pretty sure you haven’t stocked up on food while I was away.”

Miss Parker gave Jarod a dark look that he ignored while he pulled into the parking-lot. They had been to the hospital where a few tests had been run on Miss Parker to make sure that she hadn’t suffered anything worse than the concussion that she took great pleasure in complaining about. The doctors had declared her fit to go home if she rested and so Jarod was taking her back to her house.

When he had parked the car, he was surprised to see that Miss Parker reached for the handle of the passengers-door.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

“I am coming with you. I don’t want to waste away in the car while you are absorbed in the candy department. And I don’t care for fast food, so I will have an eye on what you’re buying.”

Jarod rolled his eyes.

“You’re not really stable on your legs, remember? It wasn’t such pretty a sight when you swayed and nearly walked into that nurse at the hospital.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Miss Parker growled. “Now help me out of the car.”

Jarod sighed and walked around the car to help her to her feet.

“I don’t really think this is a good idea, Miss Parker.”

“We seldom agree on anything, Jarod,” she said sweetly and he decided that being careful not to let her walk into someone or something would be less trouble than trying to convince her to stay behind. And on the upside he now had an excuse to let his arm slip around her waist and leave it there.

“You’re some force to be reckoned with,” he told her, whispering into her ear and enjoying the smell of her recently washed hair.

“You bet,” she replied and bit his earlobe playfully, sending a shiver down his spine. How could he have ever considered staying away from her? Maybe they’d hurt each other, but they would probably hurt each other - and themselves - much more if they kept apart in the first place. He had no idea how to conduct that relationship when this pretend was over, but right now he didn’t really care. This situation seemed almost ordinary: A couple shopping at a grocery store.

He kept his arm around her waist and she didn’t object, which was a small miracle in itself.

They walked past the cornflakes and Miss Parker waited impatiently while he picked his favorite brand. When he had finally found what he was looking for, the mild annoyance in her eyes had given way to something between shock and grief.

“Are you okay?” he asked when he returned to her and touched her face with his palm.

“They’re still selling these?” She had taken the box from him and stared at the red box that sported a little green cartoon dragon. Tears came to her eyes and Jarod’s confusion grew. What was wrong with her? Had the blow to her head been worse than he’d thought?

“It’s just...” she actually held on to his arm as if to steady herself. “My mom brought me these that day... from the supermarket you sent me the surveillance tape from. They changed the design a bit, but... I’ll never forget. I hated them. It wasn’t the brand I liked.”

“I’m sorry...” Jarod said and was about to put them back when Miss Parker firmly put them into their trolley. “No. It’s okay. I finally have to come to terms with what happened back then. Even if I’ll never understand why it happened.”

Jarod pulled her into him and gave her a soft squeeze.

“We can try to find out if you like.”

“No...” she whispered. “I think some secrets better remain buried.”

Broots turned around, startled by the sound of the telephone. His hands were shaking as if he’d been caught doing something forbidden although the only reason for his being in Miss Parker’s office in her absence was a file she had requested research on during their earlier conversation on the phone.

The phone went on ringing and he crept nearer, unsure as to whether he was going to pick up the receiver or not. Finally annoyance with the tune - and curiosity - won.

He was about to say something upon picking up, but he was cut off immediately.

“Darling! You know damn well that I’ve been saving this spot for you for aaaaages! How can you dare not turn up? That’s just not you!” The voice on the other end of the line sounded like a parody of a gay man, but somehow Broots knew that it was not.

“Um... I’m sorry. Miss Parker is not here. She has gone on holiday.”

“Holiday!” The voice exclaimed. “I can’t believe it!”

He never asked who was there, answering her office phone, but rambled on.

“I am booked for eternity! Can you imagine? And she’s so into her hair! I can’t believe she’d forget to cancel our appointment. That’s just not her! She’s always been so very... Wait. Who’s there?”

Broots smiled despite himself. “My name is Broots. I’m a colleague.”

The voice on the other end burst into laughter. “Broots! I feel like I know you already! Good to hear you. Well, you don’t have any hair but if your daughter ever needs a haircut, send her round.”

Broots swallowed. Miss Parker had obviously been discussing him with her hairdresser. Damn, this was awkward.

“Well...” he began.

“Now, Sweetie. Got to get going. Some lady wants her hair dyed orange. Whatever. Tell Miss P she needs to call me asap so I’ll see whether I can squeeze her in.”

The line went dead and Broots remained certain of two things: Firstly he would never send Debbie round to see Miss Parker’s hairdresser or he would probably tell her a thousand embarrassing details about him and secondly: Miss Parker probably wasn’t on holiday.

After dinner Miss Parker and Jarod were upstairs in the bedroom, next to each other on the bed. “How’s your head?” Jarod asked, eager to divert his own attention from her hand on his stomach.

“Better,” she replied and smiled up at him viciously. “Something the matter?”

She could see his obvious discomfort at the notion of her touching him like that and she enjoyed teasing him.

“Everything’s fine,” he replied, his voice a bit strained.

She felt the muscles of his stomach and sighed, aware of the fact that it didn’t make things easier for him. He looked good with his ruffled hair and faint stubble on his chin and she longed to pull him on top of her, but she knew he wouldn’t have it while she was still suffering from that damn concussion.

He sat up quickly and she remained in her very position, looking up at him through her lashes.

“Stop that!”

“What?” she asked innocently.

He just gave a look that conveyed that he knew perfectly well what kind of game she was playing.

“Revenge revenge,” she sang, sitting up herself.

There was a moment of silence when he kissed her. When they broke apart, Miss Parker reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair from his face.

“This pretend is almost over, isn’t it? Amanda is better and her captor has been found.”

“We don’t know whether the person who threw the stones is actually her kidnapper, too.” Jarod objected.

“But it’s very likely. The paper was taken from the children’s home and Marcus had access to it.”

Jarod nodded thoughtfully.

“So this mystery has been solved.”

“And I need to go back to the Centre. I’ve been away for too long. They might be getting suspicious.”

He looked at her, searching her eyes for some clue as to whether she would agree to stay with him, but she remained silent, then pulled him towards her and kissed him.

“We can do it, if we’re careful,” she whispered into his ear and traced the muscles of his back with her fingers. He was well aware of the double-meaning in her words and responded to it.

“You could get hurt if something goes wrong.”

“I want you enough to be willing to take that risk.”

Jarod began to kiss her neck and she moaned quietly, leaning back into the pillows and pulling him with her.

“And I won’t get hurt. I am stronger that I look.”

He laughed. “I know.”

He paused in his movements and looked at her, prepared to be explicit this time: “If the Centre finds out that we’re having a relationship...” he trailed off. God knew what they’d do.

“Nobody expects us to live in a house with a white fence and have two kids and a dog,” Miss Parker replied. “You’re a Pretender and I am smart. We’ll manage somehow.”

What if he wanted more than that? What if what he wanted was what they had here? A home together, doing trivial things like shopping and talking about things that concerned both of them, away from the looming presence of the Centre?

But it was too early for that, he knew. Even if she was in love with him, she needed time. Miss Parker wasn’t someone to allow a man - even if it was Jarod - into her life so completely and readily at a time. She needed small steps before she could fully open up and he understood. Rushing things might destroy the fragile bond between them.

“Okay...” he finally murmured and was rewarded with a sparkling smile that was so out of character that he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Edward Kerley had learned to ignore the guards around him, but when it came to his phone calls, he was very well aware of them and of every utterance he made.

“Hello,” he said in a silky voice when the phone was picked up. “How is my daughter?”

“Still silent as a grave,” the voice on the other end replied, always on the edge of humor.

“Very well. How about Jarod?” He smothered the hatred that threatened to seep into his voice. No need to alert the guard. “Is he still playing up?”

“I don’t think so. Things are going well for us.”

Edward smiled bitterly at those words: “Things are never going well for me as long as I'm in here, but at least they’re not going well for them either.”

The hand he did not need to hold the receiver grabbed the edge of the small plastic table he was sitting on.

“Make sure she remains as she is-“ he emphasized. “Silent. If she doesn’t tell them, they’ll never know.”

“Miss Parker doesn’t talk to me and I don’t have Jarod’s number. You need to warn them, will you do that?”

The attorney nodded solemnly. “I’ll do my very best.”

“Sure I will.” The voice on the other end of the line suddenly sounded heavy, purring even, as if having been soaked with cigarette-smoke for years. He smiled. That was how he liked his women.

“Ah, you’ve come to inquire about your....” he began, but realized too late what she was holding in her hands. A moment later, everything went black.

“Amanda!” Miss Parker sat down next to the little girl who winced when touched. Jarod deemed it wiser to remain in the hallway and listened through the half-closed door.

“What’s wrong?” Miss Parker asked softly, her hand stroking the girl’s arm. Amanda didn’t talk, just rocked backwards and forwards slightly.

“It’s alright. I’m taking care of you. You can talk to me.”

“They hurt you,” Amanda said in a very little voice. “They’ll hurt you again if I tell you.”

Miss Parker opened her arms and Amanda snuggled into them, tears in her eyes.

“He can’t hurt you anymore!” Miss Parker assured her. “He’s gone to prison- Hasn’t anyone told you?”

Amanda began to sob as she had never done before.

“No...” she whimpered. “No! It’s not him. It’s her!”

“Hot chocolate anybody?” Angela’s voice called from downstairs. “I’ve just come home and I am soaked!”

... to be continued ...