A Kitchen Surprise
Miss Parker woke up. She felt dizzy. Distant
memories of her most recent dreams crept through her mind, slightly too blurred
to focus upon them. Following an old habit, she glanced at the watch sitting on
her nightstand. 3:22 in the morning.
Her mouth felt dry and so did her throat. She was thirsty. Still feeling a
little disoriented she groped for the water bottle that stood next to her bed.
After a few seconds she found it. While she lifted it, she gently shook it.
Empty. Damn.
With a sigh she got up. It was no use to try to sleep again. First she had to
drink something. Slowly she felt her way through the darkness of her bedroom,
then she opened the door. There was little light in the hall, but it had to be
enough. She didn't want to turn on the lights - that way she'd only get even
more awake.
For a second she thought about simply going to the bathroom and drink some
water, but then decided against it. Now that she was up she could as well go to
the kitchen. Softly she padded down the hall. Halfway to the kitchen she stubbed
her toe against the small table that stood in front of the mirror.
"God damn it!" she cursed under her breath. "That damn
table..." Her voice trailed off. She winced at the slight pain in her foot,
wishing she had never left her bed. How could it be that she ran into her own
furniture though she knew exactly where it was situated? Granted, it was dark,
and she was probably way too tired to remember every obstacle between her bed
and the kitchen, but she was still angry.
A little bit more careful she went on, reaching the kitchen without any further
incidents. Sleepily she felt for the light switch, giving up after only a few
instants. There'd be enough light once she'd reached the fridge.
On her way there she ran into another obstacle. This time there was no pain,
since whatever she'd hit was much softer than the table.
"What the...", she begann, jerking backwards when she spotted a
movement in the darkness.
"Uhm... what?" a sleepy voice murmured.
Miss Parker stared into the darkness. As far as she could tell, there was
someone sitting at her kitchen table. Stunned, she moved backwards, until she
reached the doorway. With one of her hands she reached for the light switch, the
other searching frantically for something she could use as a weapon.
Finally she found the switch and turned the light on. From one second to the
other light exploded in the kitchen, blinding Miss Parker. Annoyed she shut her
eyes, slowly opening them again to look at her nightly visitor. The brightness
still hurt her eyes, but she was able to recognize the man who was sitting right
there in her kitchen. She blinked, stared unbelievingly at him, then blinked
again.
"Jar...?" was all she managed. Her mouth felt so dry. Miss Parker
decided that she first needed something to drink before she would do anything
else. Without taking her eyes off of him, she walked over to the fridge, opened
it and grabbed a bottle of juice. Then she fished a cup out of the sink and
filled it. Almost greedily she swallod the cool liquid, finally putting the
glass away.
A dream. It had to be a dream. Surely Jarod wouldn't be as dumb as that.
Besides, he had no reason to sit in her kitchen, had he? Miss Parker remembered
the pain when she had stubbed her toe just a few minutes ago. The pain had been
real, and so was this. So was Jarod.
He still sat there, staring at her left hand. Curiously she followed his gaze,
surprised to see that she was holding a pan in her hand. Oh, right, she had
planned on using it as a weapon against the intruder. Miss Parker put it away.
If she wanted to defend herself against Jarod, she would need more than that.
She peered at him more closely. On first sight everything seemed just fine, but
Miss Parker knew the signs. She'd lived through enough sleepless nights herself.
There was an almost haunted look in his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, finally finding enough strength
to voice
her question. Miss Parker felt strangely vulnerable with him sitting in her
kitchen in the middle of the night. Though he hadn't spoken a word yet the
situation felt so... intimate. Just like he belonged.
"Uhm, I..." he began, but fell silent again. He was clearly
embarrassed. His eyes were restless, first focusing upon her, then wandering to
his hands. Miss Parker felt a strange mixture of anger and pity well up inside
of her. How long had it been since she'd last seen him so insecure? She couldn't
remember. During the last three years he had always been the one in control.
Even when she'd thought she'd caught him he had still seemed so confident, so
determined.
"Jarod?" she insisted. He raised his eyes, looking into hers. She
wasn't quite sure if she was willing to see what was in those dark eyes of his.
His eyes were so deep and more than once she'd been on the verge of getting lost
in them. Miss Parker prayed that he didn't know the power his eyes had over her.
"I was just sitting here", he said very softly.
"I know that", she responded, holding back her anger. His tone told
her that he thought this to be explanation enough. Suddenly a suspicion entered
her mind. "This is the first time, isn't it?" she asked sharply.
"No."
His voice was so low that she'd almost missed his answer. Miss Parker took a
deep breath, making one step in his direction.
"Let me get this straight. You're sitting here in my kitchen, only a few
yards away from my bedroom? With half the Centre on your heels, me being the one
who's supposed to bring you back in? We're hunting you all over the country, and
you sit right here? In my damn kitchen... For how long?" she demanded.
"Two", he said.
"Two nights?" Miss Parker asked.
"Weeks", Jarod mumbled.
"What?"
"Two Weeks", he repeated. "I've been here every night for two
weeks."
...
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© 2001 by Miss Bit