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Chapter 11: Fireworks
Jarod twisted and turned in the bed, not knowing what he should do. Should he go confront Andi or leave her to her own devices? It seemed cruel to just let her stay in the grip of the Centre. He needed to get her out, get her home, so he could talk to her and see what was going on. The idea of her being from an alternate universe was starting to sound more logical by the second.
Giving up on a good night sleep, Jarod switched the light on and pulled out a worn book. It was one of his favorites; Catherine had given it to him on his sixteenth birthday and Jarod had cherished it since. Sighing, he flipped the page over and stared reading. A moan made him look up.
"Do you have to be reading in the middle of the night? Can't you go to sleep like normal people?" Kyle moaned, stuffing his head under a pillow in an effort to block out the light.
"Now where would be the fun in that?" Jarod teased as Kyle sat up and threw the pillow at him. Jarod caught it and threw it into the corner of the room.
"Thanks, bro. Now I have to get up and get it." Kyle complained, getting out of bed and retrieving the pillow. He flopped back down and glanced over at Jarod. "So what's bothering you?" Jarod closed the book.
"Andi and what I should do about her. I need to talk to her, but I'm afraid she won't listen. My Andi is head strong; this woman seems to be just plain stubborn and probably won't listen to me even if I beg."
"You think she had a bad experience with you once?"
"I think so. She said something about chasing me and when we woke up in bed that first morning, she called me "lab rat". I have an odd feeling that where she comes from, Catherine never rescued any of us. In fact, I think she died a horrible death that is forever ingrained in Miss Parker's mind." Kyle nodded.
"So you really believe in this alternate universe theory?"
"Yeah, it's kind of the only thing that explains her weird behavior. And she said it herself; this place is not her home. And with the Centre having dealings with portals, it's easy to put two and two together and see that this might not all by coincidence."
"So, have you decided what you're going to do?"
"Yes. I'm going to go talk to Andi tomorrow night and you're going to stay in the hotel." Kyle moved to protest but Jarod cut him off. "It's for the best. Both of us might scare her. If I need help, I'll be sure to call you. But I need to do this on my own." Kyle became wide awake at those words and his eyes narrowed.
"No, Jarod. I won't let you go alone. Are you crazy? You don't know if there will be a sweeper team or something waiting for you. I'm coming with you." Jarod shook his head.
"It's too dangerous. And if there is a team, better they catch only one of us than both of us."
"You're a fool, Jarod, to walk into this so naively. I am coming with you and don't argue with me about it."
"No. Andi is my wife. Not yours. You don't know the first thing about women and how to handle them." Jarod vented, his anger stirring at his brother's unwillingness to listen to him. "I'm going to do this my way. Either stay and wait for me at the hotel or go back home."
"Do you really care which one I do?" Kyle hissed, eyes flashing.
"No. Just pick one." Jarod stated, reaching over and turning off the light and ending the conversation. "Good-night, Kyle." Kyle did not reply.
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Miss Parker walked into her new office the next morning, excitement welling up inside her. Things were going to be okay. Broots was working on the alternate universe theory and thoughts of Thomas had been successfully buried. She had just gone downstairs to see the techi and had been informed that nothing of interest had been found. A search through the seeable mainframe had reported nothing by the name of "portals" or "alternate universes", so Broots was going to hack into what was termed the "invisible" mainframe. This was where all the dirty laundry supposedly was. He had told her that he didn't know what he would find or how much there would be of it. Miss Parker told him to try anyway.
She sat at her desk and looked around at the room. It looked like her old office, minus personal artifacts. She'd have to remedy that. A knock at the door caused her to straighten the pant suit she was wearing and sit up straighter.
"Come in." She called. Mr. Lyle walked in. Miss Parker resisted the urge to moan. Why was he here?
"Good morning. I was just coming by the see if you had a successful move into your new office."
"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine and ready for work." Miss Parker responded. The look in Lyle's eyes was making her nervous. Something wasn't right.
"Well, that's good." He said, glancing around. A few minutes of silence made Miss Parker even more nervous, so she got up and started glancing through files in the cabinet. Everything about Jarod and Centre projects had been placed in there for her to get acquainted with. After a few minutes, she slammed the cabinet door shut and spun around.
"Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Lyle?" She growled, hands going to her hips.
"Now that you mention it, did I ever tell you that you have really sexy legs?" He said, letting his eyes wander down her body. Miss Parker decided she'd had enough.
"If that's all you came to tell me, then I'm sure your attentions will be better suited elsewhere." She tried to reach for the door to let him out, but he stopped her.
"Come on, Parker. I can call you that, right? Good. You're the daughter of my boss and I've seen the look in your eyes."
"What look in my eyes?" She asked, anger mounting up inside her. Oh she was going to kill her brother in a minute.
"The look that says, 'You're a handsome guy, Lyle. And I'd love to go out with you sometime.'" Miss Parker laughed a dry laugh.
"Dream on." Lyle's hand came up and caressed her face. Miss Parker pulled back. "Get out, Lyle, before I call in my new sweeper. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with putting a bullet through your head.
"What a pity." Lyle replied. "Well, I guess I'll catch you later, Parker." He smirked, bent down, and placed a kiss on her lips. "Bye." With that, he walked out of the office.
Miss Parker slummed down into her chair and rubbed her temples. Her ulcer pained her and she made a mental note to go by some Pepto-Bismol. She hated her brother. Really she did. Wiping the last remains of his kiss from her mouth, she reorganized herself and got on with work.
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Miss Parker walked into the apartment and threw her bags on the coffee table. Work had been stressful today, especially with what had happened with Lyle. Her brother was seriously giving her the creeps. Stopping by to talk to Sydney before leaving had done nothing to relieve the stress she felt. Hopefully, her brother would leave her alone. Turning, she put her jacket in the closet. Upon turning back around, her gun was in her hands and she was glaring at the figure sitting in her chair.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed, keeping the gun trained on him.
"I'm here to convince you not to do this." Jarod whispered, watching every move she made. "You shouldn't have run away. We could have helped you."
"Yeah, like you've been so helpful in the past. No thanks, Jarod. I'm tired of having to deal with your sick little games."
"I play no games with you, Andi. I love you." Miss Parker winced. "I know you don't believe this. I know you don't believe anything I say. You must have had a bad experience with me in the past. I can't figure what it was, but I know you did. This isn't your world anymore, Parker. And I'm not your Jarod. I'm a completely different person."
"Prove it."
"I don't know how. All I can say is that I don't play games, especially with you. You need to leave the Centre. It's dangerous and you could get hurt."
"Like my father would ever hurt me. He loves me and that's more than I can say for some people. No, Jarod, for too long you've ruled my life by making me distrust everything I hold dear. I won't let you do that here."
"Parker, would you just listen to me?" Jarod pleaded. Miss Parker shook her head.
"Get out of my house, Jarod, and never come back." Jarod jumped up out of the chair, his temper flaring.
"I'm your husband for Pete's sake. You can't turn me out of your house. Now will you sit down and listen to me or will I have to take drastic measures?" Miss Parker cooked the gun.
"If you don't leave, I'm going to shoot you." Her voice was dangerously low, hinting at a woman about to loose it. Jarod glared.
"I can't believe this." He whispered, pain flashing in his eyes. Miss Parker chose to ignore it.
"And I can't believe I married you. You're no better than any of them. Now get out!" Jarod made his way to the door under her watchful gaze. Well this had turned out well, he thought. Nothing he did anymore seemed to be the right thing.
"Your mother and I love you, Parker. Please come home." Miss Parker shook her head.
"Not until I get some answers." Jarod looked at her, one hand holding the door knob.
"I have the answers, Andi. Trust me." He offered her his other hand but she swatted it away.
"You always have the answers, don't you? But this time I'm going to do it my way on my own terms. Now leave." Jarod opened the door and left.
Outside in his car, Jarod leaned over the steering wheel and wept. Inside her house, Miss Parker crumbled onto the couch and cried. And in a car across the way, Willy smiled as he turned the recorder off. Mr. Raines was going to love this.