All On The Table

Chapter Thirty-Four | All On The Table

Parker continued to feel pressure all around him. It shifted from time to time, but he couldn't command his body to react in any other way except to give into the darkness again and again. Parker's senses were still on high alert. It was like a weird dream where he could hear and feel but had no control over himself. All he could do was wait and listen until this nightmare came to an end.

And, thankfully, it did.

When Parker finally gained control over his eyes, he forced them open and groggily looked around at his surroundings. He was on top of something that felt like a washcloth, and he felt completely and utterly drained. His blurred vision sharpened, but he wished it hadn't because of what he saw.

Looming above him was Lyn. She was holding something in her left hand and a pair of scissors longer than the length of his body in her right hand. It sounded like she was cutting whatever she was holding, making Parker shiver.

He didn't want to know what she was doing. Was she cutting up his tools and clothes? Was she preparing strips of tape to strap him down to the desk? Parker didn't care.

The one thing he wanted to know was how to get out of there and away from this place.

The teen clenched his fists, which sent a shooting pain up his arm. The miniscule wince he gave was enough to gain Lyn's attention. Immediately, those pensive green eyes locked onto him, and all color drained from Parker's face.

He needed to act, and now.

With what little energy reserve he had left, Parker forced himself to roll over and stumbled onto his feet. A quick survey of his surroundings revealed he was on her corner desk. He'd seen it before when she did a room tour with him months before, so he knew where the electrical cords and books were – both being perfect hiding places.

Sucking in a pained breath, Parker lunged forward and dove toward the safety of the space behind the books. He slammed into the wooden back and spun into the shadows. Sadly, the electrical cords Parker remembered were no longer there; or, rather, they were behind a few new books he didn't recognize. They were blocking his path and he was left trapped.

"Parker? Parker, hey. It's okay," said Lyn. Parker didn't feel like he could believe it. Nothing felt real. This whole thing felt like a nightmare, and it wasn't ending. The Borrower teen tried to move the books out of the way, but he was too weakened from his fight earlier.

It reminded him of how insignificant his strength was. It made him realize how easily his will could be overridden. All he wanted to do was hide in the walls away from everyone for the rest of his life.

Could he trust no one?

Parker slumped down and brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. It was only now that he noticed that there was part of a bandage on his arm. It was poorly placed, but it was helping him not bleed all over the books around him.

"Parker? Please, it's me. It's Lyn," she said again. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Tears filled the teen's eyes. Was it true? Was it a lie? Was Lyn just like her sadistic sister, Rachel, and trying to get Parker out so she could torment him with those scissors? A choked sob erupted out of Parker as he shook his head defiantly.

"No!" he shouted. "No! Just leave me alone!"

He heard a slight shuffle beyond the books, and it sounded like Lyn sighed, which wasn't a good sign for Parker.

Was she getting frustrated?

Was she going to go after him? Pull the books away to reveal his hiding space?

Instead, she continued speaking in that same gentle tone Parker had come to know and love about her.

"Parker, I promise you're safe with me. I was worried when you weren't in class and didn't respond to my messages. I thought something was wrong, but nothing like this," said Lyn. Parker felt a pang in his heart.

That's right. I had class. I missed a day of school, and maybe more with me leaving the way I did.

Regret didn't begin to cover how Parker felt, but it was a start. Parker pressed his back against the back of the desk and looked up at the sliver of light he could see from the gap the books provided.

Then, Lyn said something that made Parker's blood run ice cold.

"If… if you're worried about me telling someone, don't worry. I know the rules. I won't tell your secret to anyone; and I know you're not supposed to talk to humans or anything like that, but…."

Parker didn't hear the rest. His ears were ringing too loudly.

Rules?

Speak to humans?

Secret?

Not tell anyone?

Parker felt himself threatening to pass out again as he slumped against the books, but he managed to stop himself. The Borrower teen's mind was racing, but his impulses took over and forced him once again to his feet. Despite his instincts thrashing against his decision, Parker staggered forward and peered out from behind the books to look at Lyn.

The moment their eyes met, he knew she was being genuine. When he looked at her, the sense of imminent danger began to slowly subside. It felt like how it used to with his mom. His instincts hadn't steered him wrong before, and for once it felt like someone who wasn't directly involved in his life and history had answers.

"W-wait… do… do you know… what I am?" asked Parker. Lyn's eyes widened ever so slightly at seeing Parker hiding behind her stack of books, but her features softened sympathetically as she nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, it wasn't confirmed until now, but I had an idea that you were a Borrower," stated Lyn. "A lot of us did, actually."

Parker felt his head swirl. Whether it was because of the loss of blood or because of the realization, Parker suddenly felt his knees buckle and his vision darkening again.

"Parker?!" Parker registered Lyn sounding alarmed before landing on something soft. There was another moment of weightlessness as his senses came back to him. Parker felt something moving his body, maneuvering it so he was once again on his back, but it wasn't until he opened his eyes that he realized he was back on the washcloth. Lyn's fingers were mere inches from him, which made him flinch away.

The Borrower teen pushed himself up onto his elbows as he craned his neck back as far as he could to look up at her. Lyn looked genuinely concerned. There was obvious hesitation in her eyes, like she wanted to help and offer a hug or touch of consolation while also refraining because Parker obviously looked uncomfortable.

"I… I'm sorry. Are you okay?" asked Lyn. Parker shook his head and pushed himself up further, sitting in a crouched position and trying desperately to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth.

"No… I'm… not," he said in between breaths. "How? How… do… you… know?" Lyn obviously shifted, disquieted, but continued explaining.

"It's… just something some of us talked about. Remember me telling you about all of the Discord chats I'm a part of? Some of them follow you and your writing on, 'Welcome to My Little Life,' and, well, there's been speculation on multiple occasions that you were a Borrower. Your profile picture shows a massive phone behind you. Some of the things you talk about with your experiences and dreams just seemed a little different. Even the name of your channel feels like a hint.

"You've also never come into class physically and none of your school friends have ever met you in-person. Your clothes fit, but the stitching is a bit off, and you can see if you look hard enough that it's handmade. Plus, some of the things set up in your room are miniature versions of things I've found on Amazon and other craft stores like your journals on your bookshelves," explained Lyn. Her eyes narrowed as she examined Parker's features, which were filled with shock and disbelief.

"You… noticed all of that? How? How did you know, and I didn't?" asked Parker more to himself than to Lyn. He slumped forward and caught his head in his hands, entwining his fingers in his hair as he fought the urge to vomit all over himself. The teen's ears were ringing louder than a foghorn blast.

Parker heard Lyn get up and leave the room. He momentarily considered making another run for it, but why would he? He finally felt a little safe after being out in the open and then brought within inches of death, and someone had additional answers which he could learn from. He elected to stay right where he was.

What more could happen to me?

What else could bring me down?

Lyn returned after several minutes with a tray and said nothing as she set it down on a clear part of her desk. Parker's nose could smell something delicious wafting through the air, which confused his senses more. He was starving and sick at the same time. The thought of food made him nauseous, but he felt like he could finish the entire bowl of whatever was steaming nearby.

"Here. Put this on your neck," Lyn instructed as she dipped a piece of cloth into another bowl nearby and brought it close to Parker. "Can… I get this close to you?" Parker registered the cloth in her hands and forced himself to nod. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen, so he might as well accept it and try to get better as fast as possible.

What Lyn placed nearby was an ice cold damp cloth, which instantly made Parker feel better when he slid it onto the back of his neck. His senses started coming back to him and only now did he realize how banged up he was.

There was a massive slice across his right palm where he had grabbed onto the lizard's nose and mouth. His left arm was basically one big bruise with evenly spaced gashes in them. The bandage that was on his arm couldn't hide the blood stains and the still seeping wounds. His pants were also torn in four distinct tare marks that undoubtedly came from the claws of the bearded dragon.

"Parker? Do… you want to get cleaned up? I can bring you to the bathroom and give you some privacy," suggested Lyn. Parker thought about the suggestion for a moment. On one hand, he probably needed to clean the wound to keep it from getting infected. On the other, he would have to rely on Lyn to get him from place to place, which wasn't the worst thing in the world.

At the end of the day, Parker came to one simple realization. Covered in mud, blood, and sand, Parker thought he probably looked like a complete wreck. His mom would undoubtedly lose her mind if she saw him in this state.

Just the thought of his mom seeing him like this was heart wrenching. Not only was he now missing for several days, but she would see him severely hurt. Tears sprung to his eyes again and he tried hiding his face in his undamaged hand. All of the thoughts from before about his mom not wanting him came back to mind. She was looking for him, but it didn't stop Parker from worrying about whether or not his mom would forgive him.

"Oh… oh no… Parker," said Lyn. "I'm sorry. Um… here… let's get something to eat first, yeah? I made some chicken barley soup yesterday for meal prep and stuff. It might sound weird, but I like soup this time of year. Would that be okay?"

Parker swallowed dryly as his stomach rumbled hungrily at the mention of food. He'd been too anxious to eat before, and now it was all he could think about.

"Yes, please," he said quietly. Lyn smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as she grasped a small bowl in between her fingers as well as a small plate with crunched up crackers on it. There was something that looked like a dollhouse spoon in the bowl, but that was far from Parker's concerns at the moment.

Right now, he decided to focus on one thing that he could control at a time, which was finishing this bowl of soup. He blew away the ribbons of steam and sipped on the broth, which immediately ignited his appetite. Eating slowly didn't feel like an option, but the heat of the bowl forced Parker to pace himself.

For nearly thirty minutes, the two of them ate in silence before Parker had his fill. The sense of nausea finally went away, and his senses started coming back to him. His vision was less blurry. His smell was sharpening. The ringing was finally subsiding. Sadly, with his senses came the intensification of his wounds.

The pain started like a dull throb but soon began to get a pulse of its own, making his muscles twitch and ache. On the bright side, he was starting to feel a little more at ease. He felt like himself, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. Parker glanced at the contents of the rest of the tray and noticed other medical supplies like Peroxide, rubbing alcohol, bandages, Neosporin, and a few other miscellaneous odds and ends.

"I… thought you would want the full care package." Parker jolted back to the present as Lyn spoke for the first time, breaking the silence between them. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. That's why I was cutting the bandages earlier. One massive bandage was too much like a cast on your arm, so I was making a smaller wrapping by cutting the wrap."

"N-no, that's… erm… that's good," mumbled Parker as he dusted the crumbs off of his legs. "But… um… do you… think I could wash off first?"

"Yeah, absolutely. Would the sink be okay? Or do you want a bowl of water here, so you don't have to be carried. Or I guess the tub would work too," said Lyn. It made Parker smile seeing her slightly flustered. He was never able to get her off of her game during class or when they were working on a project together, but now she seemed nervous.

For just a moment, he felt like his old self and felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. She was still cute, and he still liked her, which he took as a good sign.

"Sink would be best, I think," he replied. "If… you don't mind that is."

"No, not at all," smiled Lyn nervously. She placed her hand palm up on her desk and waited patiently. Parker could practically see her pulse from where he was standing on the desk. His nerves were also going through the roof. He had imagined meeting his crush in person for so long, and this was never a scenario he had played out in his mind.

Though he had imagined being held by her.

Parker shakily stepped onto her hand, hearing her disbelievingly exhale at his touch, and crouched, giving a nod that he was ready. Lyn was already prepped and ready to go. She lifted her hand carefully, stabilizing it with her other hand, and walked down the hall to a full bathroom.

She set Parker down on the seashell themed counter and quickly filled various soap container lids with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. It took no time for her to sacrifice a few of her hand towels for a body towel for Parker and for some washcloths to be cut into perfect strips for him to use.

"In case you feel faint or anything, I can sit over here on the floor for you; but it's whatever you want," stated Lyn. The offer was a thoughtful one, and one Parker felt like he should take her up on. In the few minutes she was preparing everything, Parker felt himself get woozy three times to the point where he felt like he needed to sit down.

"Um… if you don't mind. But no peeking! I'll… I'll give a shout when I'm done and in the towel," directed Parker. Lyn smiled as if she already knew his answer and sat down after setting the water temperature on the faucet.

Parker's heart was fluttering nervously as he slid down the edge of the sink into the main basin under the wide band of water. Taking his time pealing his ruined clothes away from his tender wounds, Parker finally managed to strip nude under the water. He looked at the deep bruises and punctures one his body. He was definitely walking away with scars. He couldn't even begin imagining what his mom was going to say.

Now under the water completely, Parker let the warmth soak into his body. He let the worries of what his mom would think and the events from recent days wash away like the dirt and blood on his body. The feeling was refreshing and reminded him of his shower at home. Everything was starting to do that actually. The food. The feeling. Even being around Lyn was making him think about his mom and how much he missed her.

Parker knew he couldn't do anything about it now and spiraling trying to solve the problem now while he was nude in his crush's sink wasn't going to help either. Instead, he focused on one simple task at a time. Scrubbing the shampoo into his scalp. Running his fingers through his unruly hair. Carefully scrubbing away the dirt and grime, careful with the wounds to make sure they were thoroughly cleaned to prevent infection.

Some of them reopened, leaving pink stains on the washcloth as he pressed it against the wounds. His entire body was stinging and tingling from his injuries. They seeped sluggishly, looking like red ribbons oozing out of him. Each little gash eventually stopped bleeding long enough for Parker to feel comfortable with getting out.

A little woozy, the miniature teen hoisted himself up onto the counter with a little bit of effort and wrestled himself into the nearby hand towel. It was soft, fluffy, and exactly what he needed as he began drying off his body. After thoroughly drying, Parker poked his head out from the towel.

He could see the top of Lyn's head, which was several feet away. It looked like she was twirling something in her hands, but Parker couldn't see what it was. Regardless of what it was she was doing, Parker knew he needed her help in order to get down. Unlike his old home, he didn't have secure lines throughout the house.

What made it worse was that his clothes were in complete shreds and needed to dry. Just the thought made Parker's cheeks pink. It changed nothing, so he took a breath and called out, "Lyn?"

She immediately looked over and spotted the top of Parker's fluffy head of hair poking out from the top of the towel. She smiled warmly and stood up, turning off the water before addressing Parker again. She even chuckled as she got a full view of Parker hiding in a towel.

"Aww… Parker," she cooed. It was completely involuntary, and her cheeks went scarlet the moment she did it. She looked away, totally embarrassed, as she scratched the back of her neck. "Sorry. I just… that's really cute."

Parker felt his insides flutter and flip. Hearing his crush call him "cute" made him jittery all over. The circumstances were a bit odd, but it still made him smile. Hopefully, she thought he was cute for the same reasons he found her cute.

"It's… um… it's okay," mumbled Parker. There was an awkward silence for a few moments.

"Do you-"

"I brought you some-"

The two of them started talking at the same time, which made both of them chuckle.

"Here, me first. Do you think you could put my clothes over the air vent so they'll dry? Or just tell me where it is and I can do it," asked Parker as he readjusted the towel over him. He felt incredibly warm at the moment, and he was having a hard time concentrating. It felt like only parts of him had a strong pulse, and it made him squirm.

"Actually," chuckled Lyn. "I have some extra clothing items that you might be interested. I usually use them for my photography models and they're going to be horribly big on you, but… well… if that's not weird or anything, you could use those. Um… here."

Lyn held out the thing Parker suspected that she was playing with and set it downright next to him. Sure enough, it was definitely going to be too big. It was a matching pair of sweatpants, t-shirt, and a hoodie combination which were all black. Though the Borrower teen would've preferred his own clothes, he knew his own had been torn to shreds and the alternative was to not wear anything at all.

That wasn't an option, especially with these weird warmth spurts Parker was going through.

He reached out and snagged the pants. They were incredibly soft and well made. It was the same quality his mom made sure he had when he was first learning how to make his own clothes.

"Are… you sure?" asked Parker.

"Yeah, absolutely. I'd say just put on the shirt and pants so we can bandage you up, but it's honestly whatever you're good with," replied Lyn. Parker smiled sheepishly and pulled the clothes into the makeshift tent he had made when drying himself off and slide on the shirt and pants. His muscles ached and twinged as he pulled the cloth over his wounds, but they subsided after a moment or two.

Now dressed, Parker stood up and walked out of the towel. Sure enough, everything was horribly big for him, but it was comfortable regardless. Giving a bashful shrug as he looked up at Lyn, he asked, "So? Look okay?"

It was hard to disguise the look of adoration in her eyes. She knelt involuntarily and made no effort to hide her smile.

"Very good," she grinned. Parker bit his lip nervously. Having her so close was intoxicating. She was even prettier in person than she was over the camera. When her eyes shifted to his arm and she looked nervous, Parker glanced down to see that beads of blood were once again starting to form on his arm and were even starting to drip onto the towel again. "Now, let's get you patched up."

Parker got onto her hand once again, having to shuffle a bit because of where the pants came down over his ankles, and watched Lyn quickly snag all of his clothes and remove all evidence that he was in the sink. Lyn poked her head out of the door, scanning her surroundings and listening for anyone in the house, before quickly retreating back to her room. Her feet were swift and her steps smooth as she whisked herself and Parker away behind her door, which she shut and locked behind her.

Setting Parker down on the desk, she found a small container that would usually be used to store berries for Parker to sit on top of while she worked. It was still a bit unnerving having fingers that were the length of his body approach when they didn't belong to his mom, but Parker's instincts had finally calmed and, from what he could tell, he was no longer in the danger zone.

In fact, he almost felt safer in his crush's care. Applying the salve with the tip of her finger, Lyn's fingers were incredibly nimble and gentle. Even as she wrapped the top part of Parker's arm with the cloth bandage she cut for him, it wasn't too tight, and it wasn't too loose. Parker even helped tie the bandage at the ends when she was done.

"Feel good? Not cutting off circulation?" asked Lyn. Parker shook his head and gave his arm a few test flexes.

"Nope, all good. Thank you," Parker said. Lyn beamed as she playfully tapped Parker's leg.

"Good, then let's get your leg bandaged next," she suggested. Parker hoisted the pant leg up and watched as Lyn applied the salve to her fingertip and then spread it onto his leg. The cool gel made the slight burning stop, and the bandage she wrapped around it stopped the tingling. While she worked on his leg, Parker worked on his hand that was cut.

It was only after a few minutes of quiet as the two of them worked on bandaging Parker's bruised body that Lyn chortled to herself and, in a disbelieving tone, muttered under her breath, "I never thought my model clothes would be used on an actual Borrower."

This statement brought Parker back and made him want to shy away. All of those questions started coming back to him, and now he had the energy and presence of mind to ask them.

"Um… Lyn?"

Her eyes flicked up to him as her cheeks pinkened.

"Sorry. I know. It's weird hearing a human say the word and everything; but, like I said, I'm not going to tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me," reassured Lyn. It made Parker's chest clench in relief for one odd reason or another. He figured it had to do with his Borrower instincts, but that wasn't what was important right now.

"Um… that's… not what I was going to ask," stated Parker.

"Oh?" Lyn asked as she finished tying the knot by Parker's ankle for his bandaged leg and started cleaning up all of the supplies she was using. "Then… what did you want to ask?"

Parker swallowed nervously and, after wrestling his pant leg down, played with the drawstring on his pants as he calmed his fraying nerves. "I just… I wanted to ask how you know that word. I mean what I am. A Borrower. Where did you hear that?"

"The word? Oh, from a book series I read when I was much younger. It's by Mary Norton and it's called 'The Borrowers,' which is about little people who live in the walls and stuff. There's a kind of spinoff series called 'The Littles' by John Peterson, but his characters are more mouse-like with tails and stuff.

"There's also a ton of writing and art online from fanfiction about these two major series. There's always been a playful part of the g/t community who want Borrowers to exist and a bunch of other stuff, but no one really ever knows until… well… until something like this happens," explained Lyn. "That's why it came up in some of our Discord chats about you. Well, a few of the Tumblr lurkers out there. I'm pretty sure there's a few other Borrowers online, one being Karl or Karmal and another called Zel, but I don't know for sure. There are just some things that seemed a little different and everyone was laughing thinking how cool it would be if you actually were a Borrower; which, obviously, you are, meaning some of the others might also be."

This was very quickly becoming too much for Parker.

Books?

A community online?

Was all of this true?

"Do… you have these books?" asked Parker. Lyn nodded and slowly pushed herself up away from her desk to a bookshelf by her bed on the far side of the room. She hummed curiously as her fingers danced over the spines of the novels stacked onto the wooden frame. In no time, she found what she was looking for and brought the book back to Parker.

Immediately, Parker felt himself pale. The image right there on the cover looked just like the home of the other Borrower family who was living in his mom's attic. From the thimbles and rubber bands to the hooks by the coat rack, everything seemed to match up.

Parker's racing heart made him shiver involuntarily as a cold chill ran up and down his spine. He sucked in breath after breath, gaining Lyn's attention.

"Parker? Parker? Are you okay?" she fretted. Parker had to calm down for a short time, which Lyn let him do, before nodding.

"I… I think so," mumbled Parker. "It's just… I don't get it. I mean, she hid things, but how could I have missed?" He held his head in his hands as the weight settled over him.

Lyn, on the other hand, looked at him curiously for a few seconds longer before her eyes gleamed with remembrance.

"Parker, you said something earlier. You said, 'how did you know, and I didn't.' What do you mean by that?" asked Lyn.

The unnamed emotions swirled inside of Parker and, now fully rehydrated, felt fresh tears spring to his eyes. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to make him choke up entirely. Silence was his enemy right now, and finally he had someone who he could talk to about everything.

Lyn knew him.

She understood him.

He decided that, of all people, he could trust Lyn; so, he did.

He decided to tell her everything, right from the beginning.

"Lyn, do… you think I could tell you something? And you not get… mad or anything?" asked Parker.

Lyn didn't even hesitate as she nodded and said, "Yeah, of course."

Parker took a breath and, after another moment to brace himself, told her everything. It was time to put everything on the table.

Parker told Lyn that he always thought that he was a human. He explained that he had lived with his mom, Amanda, all his life and that he genuinely thought that he had an extremely rare genetic condition called Parvi Homunculi Syndrome. He lived as a human boy, homeschooled and under the care of his mom for the past decade.

It wasn't until someone, a girl named Kit, thought that he was in danger and tried to "rescue" him that his entire world had turned upside down. He explained that he had talked to an entire family of Borrowers who told him what he actually was and how another Borrower named Kers had actually been keeping a close eye on him for he past four years.

He told her about the nightmares and how they all made sense with the drowning and being left behind in a storm. Parker confessed he had these odd impulses and instincts that let him sense things and anticipate movements, but that he had always attributed it to his so-called condition.

Then, and only then, did he tell Lyn about all of the awful things he said to his mom when he confronted her about keeping everything a secret from him for so long. He told her that he had run away from home and had been missing for the past few days. This is why he was at the park, and this is when that girl, Rachel, had taken him.

It was only at the last part that Lyn's eyebrows raised, but she still said nothing as she listened to Parker's story. After everything, Lyn stayed quiet for what felt like an unbearable amount of time until Parker couldn't stand it anymore.

"Please, Lyn… could you… say something? Am… am I wrong? Am I crazy?" asked Parker.

Lyn immediately shook her head dismissively. "No, you're not crazy or wrong, Parker. I... I'm sorry. I had no idea. So… you… really didn't know?"

Parker shook his head. "No. I didn't know. And it turns out my mom actually put search restrictions on my computer to keep me from finding out on my own. I just…" Parker pulled his legs up close to his chest and pressed his face into his knees. "I don't know if I can trust her, but I miss her so much. And I said such horrible things to her."

Lyn didn't say anything for a few more seconds. Then, quietly, she reached forward and carefully pressed her fingertips against Parker's back. The warmth of her fingers spread through Parker's body, and then impulse took over. He turned around and threw his arms around Lyn's fingertips, gripping as tightly as he could as he felt ears welling over the rims of his eyes.

Lyn's thumb brushed against Parker's back as he let himself cry. It wasn't until Parker turned around, wiping his eyes with the cloth on the back of his right hand as he looked back up into Lyn's thoughtful features.

"Thanks," he muttered, overwhelming gratitude apparent in his voice. "And… I'm sorry. You didn't need all of this."

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" grinned Lyn. "And it's okay. After everything you've been through, I'm impressed you're holding yourself together so well." Parker let out a choked chuckle but nodded.

"Hardly," he mumbled. "I don't feel like it."

Lyn shrugged and shook her head slowly. "I'm sure it doesn't feel okay right now, but you can start doing things now to make everything right."

"Right?" Parker sniffled.

"Yeah, like letting your mom know that you're safe and sound," said Lyn. Parker felt himself involuntarily bristle, and Lyn noticed. "I know what you're saying about trusting her and everything, but you have to see it from her perspective. She didn't know about the series and I'm sure she didn't want to tell you something wrong. Your mom was trying to protect you, even if it doesn't feel like that now."

"Protect me? She lied, Lyn! She knew the truth and kept it from me. She knew what she was doing. She… she could've just told me," Parker said defensively.

"I'm sure she could've, but she didn't. She thought she was doing the best thing for you, even though it seems wrong now," reminded Lyn. "Think about it. You're both very similar, but also very different. She probably didn't want you to feel any different than any other kid just because of your size. It was a judgement call, and she probably could've told you something, and she did. She told you that you had a genetic condition. She just was calling it Parvi Homunculi Syndrome instead of being a Borrower."

Parker thought about Lyn's words and, slowly but surely, felt acknowledgement seeping into him. He had already thought of these things before, but there was saying someone was right and then accepting they were right.

Despite everything, Parker realized his mom had done everything she could to help him be the best person he could be.

And, just like the decision to tell Parker he had some made up genetic condition, Parker had made the wrong decision when he ran away from home.

He swallowed dryly and nodded.

"I… I know. I just… don't know what she's going to say. Will she forgive me? She was looking for me, sure, but… do you think she's forgiven me?" asked Parker.

Lyn smiled and nodded without hesitation, saying, "I'm sure she forgave you the moment you said it, Parker. She loves you, and that's never going to change."

Relief, like the warmth of Lyn's fingers, spread through Parker's body and made him feel secure and warm once again. It was obvious what he needed to do next, and it was well past due.

"Lyn?"

"Yes, Parker?"

"Could… I borrow your phone? I… need to make a call."