Note: For disclaimer and warning, check the first part. On with the show...I mean story...LOL
Chapter Two
About twenty-five minutes later, Jarod and Miss Parker stood in the bedroom of Jarod's beautiful two-story house. As Parker gazed around the room, she got the feeling that this was his domain. There was a door leading to the master bathroom to the left of the bed. The Pretender looked at her.
"Do you need anything?" he asked.
A drink and a reality check. She thought.
"Do you have any pain pills?" the woman asked.
Jarod nodded and went into the bathroom. She could hear him rustling about in search of the pills. He reappeared a minute later with a pill. After handing her the pill, he left the room and went downstairs. He returned with a glass filled with water.
"Thank you." murmured Parker, swallowing the pill and drinking the water.
She handed him the glass and he put it on the end table beside the bed.
"Lay down." Jarod instructed her.
Parker did as she was told and got into the king-size bed. The bed had a goose-down mattress and she blissfully sunk down into the bed. She then watched as Jarod took off his jacket, shirt, socks, shoes, and pants. He crossed the room and shut the door and turned off the light. He got into the bed.
An awkward tension filled the air between them. Why is he doing all of this for me? She wondered, Then again, he's always been good to me, despite the fact I nearly shot him a couple of times.
"Jarod?" she said her voice small.
"Yes, Miss Parker?"
"Will you hold me?"
"Did the pain pills kick in already?"
"No, but I don't care."
Jarod moved closer to her and, as gently as he could slid his arm around her waist, embracing her in a spooning cuddle. Parker instantly felt the safety of his arms and the comfort of his touch.
"Thank you, Jarod." she whispered, "For everything."
He placed a feather soft kiss on the side of her neck. "You're welcome, Michealina."
Then, the pain pills kicked in and Parker drifted off into an unconscious-like sleep. Jarod breathed out heavily, knowing that this was the only chance he had to be this close to her. Reveling in that fact, he fell into a, surprisingly, peaceful sleep.
The Next Morning
10:35 a.m.
Jarod was awoke by the sounds of a phone ringing, but it wasn't one of his phones. He groggily remembered Parker had taken her cell phone with her. He moved his hand and reached into her pocket and removed the phone. All the while, the woman in his arms slept peacefully. After reading the caller id, he answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Jarod?!" Sydney's voice was completely shocked, "Why are you answering Parker's cell phone?"
"It's a long story. And it's not mine to tell." answered Jarod, "All you need to know is that Parker is taking a few days off. My orders."
Sydney sighed. "All right, Jarod."
"Bye, Syd."
"Good-bye, Jarod."
The Pretender hung up and yawned quietly. He placed the cell phone on the end table and got out of bed. Walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him, he removed his boxer and started the shower. Getting in, he let the warm water run down his body. Yawning once more, he quickly washed and rinsed his hair and body.
Getting out of the shower, he got a towel out of a cabinet beside the sink, and wrapped it around his body. Opening the door, he walked into his bedroom. He smiled as his gaze fell upon Parker's sleeping form. Going to the closet, he got out a pair of faded blue jeans and a white tank top. He re-entered the bathroom and dressed quickly.
This time when he exited the bathroom, he found that she had awakened.
"Morning." he said.
Parker yawned in response.
"How do you feel?"
She looked about, almost dazed. "Like hell."
"That's to be expected." Jarod answered, "That man you refer to as a boyfriend, must be a hell of a fighter."
Parker winced as she tried to sit up.
"Lay back down." Ordered the Pretender, "You're in my care now."
A smile touched her lips. "At least I know that you care."
"I always will." He assured her, sitting down next to her.
"What's your plan for today?" Parker asked through a yawn.
"For you to rest and for me to dig up information on your 'boyfriend'."
"But I don't want to rest." Complained Parker.
"You're going to, doctor's orders."
"So now you're my doctor?"
"Damn straight."
She laughed slightly and collapsed back down.
"Why do you care about me so much?" she asked.
"Because." Jarod's head swooped close to hers; "You still are the only person I can call my best friend. And remember the promise we made?"
"Which one?"
"The one where we promised that we would always care about each other, no matter what."
Parker briefly searched through her tangled mess of memories. "Oh, yeah." She smiled.
"Are you hungry?" asked Jarod, standing.
She shrugged.
"Yes or No."
"…Yes…"
"What do you want? I can make anything."
A smile. "Coffee. And maybe a piece of toast."
"Do you ever eat in the morning?"
"Depends on how I feel in the morning."
Chuckling softly, Jarod left the room, leaving Parker to deal with her thoughts. How will I be able to go home? She wondered sadly, Brian would hurt me even worse…what the hell am I thinking? I'll tell him I was called into work…yeah, that should do it…hopefully. She sighed, as she feared more abuse. The Pretender entered the room, carrying a tray with a cup of coffee and some toast. He set the tray on her lap.
"Eat." He said.
With a little bit of reluctance, Parker ate the food. When she was finished, Jarod took the tray from her lap and set it on the floor.
"Now what?" asked Parker.
"What do you want to do?"
"A shower would be nice…"
"A bath would be better." He informed her, "It would relax your body more."
She sighed. "You're the doctor…"
"For today." He smiled.
Parker got out of the bed, wincing with every move. Jarod sighed deeply and scooped her up into his arms.
"Hey!" she said, "I was doing fine by myself."
"My ass." Stated the man as he carried her into the bathroom.
He set her on her feet, then moved to the bathtub and turned on the water. As the water filled the tub, he opened the cabinet door that was underneath the sink, and rummaged through it. Parker gazed around the bathroom. He had both a shower stall and a huge garden tub. A second later, he shut the door and walked to the tub, carrying two vials in his hands.
Jarod stood beside the tub, opened the vials and poured the contents into the water.
"What are those?" Asked a curious Parker.
"Bubbles and oil."
"What kind of oil?"
"The kind that helps with relaxation. Anymore questions?"
"Yeah…"
He looked at her, awaiting her question.
"Um…will you help me get undressed?"
Jarod deadpanned. "You sure?"
She nodded and he moved in front of her. As he removed her clothes, he did it carefully so he wouldn't cause her anymore pain. Once she was completely undressed, he picked her up, set her in the tub, and shut off the water. He then moved to the door.
"Thank you, Jarod." She called after him.
"You're welcome."
He left the bathroom. I can't believe I just did that. He thought as he made his way downstairs to the den. Once inside he sat at his desk and opened his Haliburton laptop. He turned it on and logged on-line. As he waited for the connection, he turned in his chair and turned on the stereo that sat on a self behind him.
Almost instantly, loud rock music filled the room.
Sit back, bare you cross to me
Oh won't I listen
Goddamn, have I burned my hands?
On what's been missing
I feel…unreal
Everytime I try to stop and feel
Pick me up my friend
Let me start again
You fucked with me
Behind the garden
Don't Fuck with me
Long before I could even see
You're what was missing
Twisting deep inside of me
Forever missing the glistening
I feel…unreal
The Internet was finally up and Jarod logged onto the FBI's home site. He put Brian Stanton into the search. No matches were found. On a hunch, he went into the L.A. Police department home sites and put in Brian's name again. This time, his name popped up. Jarod clicked on the profile and began reading.
Brian had been arrested in L.A. for abuse, assault with a weapon, and drunken driving. How in the hell did Parker find this guy? He wondered, his eyes skimming the rest of the profile. His eyes caught something at the end of the profile. Note: Suspect in murder (charges all dropped due to lack of evidence.)
TBC…
BTW: The lyrics are: "Unreal" by Soil. The lyric belong to them, I'm just obsessed with the song.