Snapshot

By Samantha

Part 4

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Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but Life or Death has been taking up a lot of my time recently. I've been reading my past fics for days, trying to get inspiration to write something else. I watched an ep of the Pretender today, and it got my creative gears to cranking. Hopefully this will be a good next part. ~~Bethe

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One week after Jarod's mysterious late-night phone call, Parker was walking in a cemetery, carrying a bundle of flowers. Once she reached the right grave, she knelt and laid the bouquet neatly at the stone's base. She simply looked at the words engraved on the headstone in silence.

She *had* loved Thomas; there was no denying that. His death had been very hard on her. A tear fell down her cheek. Then more followed, blurring the name in front of her. She sighed and closed her eyes. It had been three years, but the pain was still as fresh.

Her cell phone chirped, breaking the silence. Parker sniffed and pulled it out. She pressed a button, put the phone to her ear, and whispered, "What?"

"It's still hard, isn't it?" Parker laughed incredulously.

"You must have a big set to call me on this day, Jarod," she remarked venomously.

"Don't you think it's hard on me, too?" he asked. "Thomas didn't deserve to die."

"I should know that just as well as you do," she whispered.

"Parker," he said with a sigh, "I didn't call to start a fight. I simply wanted to offer a friend's sympathy." Parker was defeated by his gentle words. She lowered the phone slightly and sobbed, putting one hand up to cover her mouth.

"Miss Parker?" Jarod asked, concern displayed by his tone. She only cried harder, moving to sit down. She began to rock back and forth slightly while her sobs resounded loudly over the line.

"Why did you send him to me?" she asked, her throat choked by all the tears.

"You needed someone to love," she heard Jarod's voice answer behind her. Parker gasped and turned around. There he stood, phone in hand and a sorrowful look on his face. He hung up his phone, then knelt and took hers out of her hand. He then sat beside her and took her into his arms. "You needed someone true, someone you could trust. Thomas Gates was that person. I wanted you to be happy," he ended on a whisper. Then he simply held her while she cried. Eventually the tears subsided, and she pulled back enough to look him in the eyes.

"Why are you here?" she asked. Jarod cocked his head slightly and wiped her cheek with his thumb.

"I didn't want you to be alone today. I wanted you to know that someone shares in your grief." His words were becoming too much for Parker. Her eyes began to well up with tears again while her jaw trembled from trying to hold them in. Jarod adjusted his position until he was on his knees and whispered, "Hey." He cradled her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "Please, don't cry. I'm not worth the tears." This only made her sob aloud.

Jarod held her close to him once more and whispered, "Parker, what's wrong?" It was a long time before she answered.

"I loved him," she whispered, "but. . ." she took a shuddering breath, then left the sentence hanging. Jarod rubbed her arms.

"But what?" he asked, hoping she would say what he thought was coming next.

"But I never let him close," she continued. "I never let anyone close," her voice drifted off. Jarod sighed and gently ran his fingers through her hair.

"Not true," he remarked lightly. "Look at the distance between us. We're close."

"Jarod," Parker scolded. "You know what I mean."

"Parker," he replied seriously, moving back to face her, "I'm the only one who knows you loved Thomas. That's close, isn't it?" She bit her lip.

"Not close enough," she whispered, getting up and walking to her car. Jarod watched her leave, then looked at the grave of his old friend.

"What do I do now, Tommy?" he asked, eyeing the flowers at the foot of the headstone.