Disclaimer: Jarod and the Centre do not belong to me, but they do belong to Steven Long Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle. Only Shania Blankenship, her relationships with everyone, and the plot are mine. So please ask before using them (Ok, so not really the concept of the plot). This is a work in progress, so please bear with me for however long it takes to finish.

Reasons

By TweetyPie82

Chapter One: The Meet

(Houston, TX; A few months later)

The dark haired gentleman with a mole on his right cheekbone stood on the sidewalk holding a small red notebook in his hand. Across the street from where he stood, a brunet female child gazed out the curtained window in a heart lurching, sad way. Behind her sat a baby grand piano, the keyboard closed and a very expensive looking locket hung from her neck. The man looked on for a few moments before opening up the notebook to reveal a newspaper clipping, the headline reads:

TWELEVE YEAR OLD PRODIGY GIRL ORPHANED IN MYSTERIOUS STAGE ACCIDENT

The man thumbed through some more pages of clippings before finally stopping and looking at the girl in the children’s home across the street. After a few moments the girl turned away from the window to face the piano behind her. He watched as she tenderly ran her hand across the keys before taking a seat at the bench. He could feel her close her eyes as she began a flawless, but sadden, rendition of “Gaspard de la nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d'après Aloysius Bertrand”. He listened for a bit as the sad notes flowed to him, and his heart felt for the girl. After listening for a moment, he turned and walked away.

(Houston, TX; Children’s Home)

“Shania, there is someone here to see you,” the nice lady, who was in charge of her group, announced to the room of children. Their outside time had been moved inside due to the nasty weather. A brunet girl snapped her head up as her name was heard. The child got to her feet and walked up the caretaker before following her down some halls and around some turns. After a few minutes, they arrived to an office and the caretaker opened the door before ushering the girl inside.

As Shania walked behind the caretaker, her nervousness and anxiety rose with each step she took. Since she witnessed the stage implode under parents with fatal consequences, she hadn’t said much of anything to anyone or had a decent night’s sleep. She felt guilty for not insisting on inspecting the structure as she normally did. Just before everything came down, she remembered seeing a device or two strapped to the support beams. Her mind and focus returned to the present as soon as she approached an office door and was soon usher in. She felt a bit uneasy as she looked over the well dressed man before her. His suit and tie looked like they came right off the rack at a department store, and the glasses he wore didn’t help either. She also noticed the mole on his cheek, and it furthered her unease. She swallowed visibly, portraying her uneasiness, and then he spoke. She watched as he got down to her and smiled gently at her. “Hi Shania. My name is Jarod Keller, and I’m your new social case worker.” The man introduced himself to her. Something didn’t feel right, and she instinctively knew what it was.

“No. You are not a social worker.” Shania replied quietly but with a hint of authority. Just like that, she saw right through him. However, she couldn’t get his angle. She normally saw what it was that deceitful people wanted, but not this man. She sensed that he wanted to help her, but she didn’t understand why he had to deceive her as well.

Jarod stood there, taken aback at how quickly this girl before him had seen through his pretend. Most adults never suspected a thing, and yet a young female teen took less than a second to figure it out. Instantly, he knew he had found the girl that the Centre wants and more importantly why. He was about to say something, but he was stopped by a familiar voice from out in the hall. “We’re here for the Blankenship girl. Here is our paperwork.” The voice had a hint of malice that was completely unmistakable. Jarod knew that the sweeper named Willie would succeed in taking Shania and him as a bonus if they did not leave quickly.

Shania was waiting for a response from Jarod, but instead heard one from out in the hallway. She quickly recognized the voice, and literally froze in place. When the door knob rattled to admit someone into the room, she began to frantically search for a way out. Her mind calmed as she spied the window, and she started to run toward it. However, she didn’t make it half way there before a strong arm snaked around her waist halting her advancement toward safety. Next, she found herself being carried in the other direction.

The reaction Shania had to Willie’s voice was not lost on Jarod. He saw as she raced toward the closed window in an attempt to escape the ruthless Centre sweeper, and he knew there wasn’t enough time for a clean escape. Instead, he grabbed her waist and half carried and half led her in the opposite direction. He had seen what must have been a closet at one point while waiting for her to arrive. His plan was to hide in there until the ghost was clear, and Willie and team were gone.

Next thing Shania knew was that she was stuffed into a small closet with the man who had tried to be her social worker, and she didn’t like it. “Just what do you…” a hand that didn’t belong to her clamped over her mouth, effectively stopping her question. She resisted the urge to bite down on it, just as soon as she heard footsteps enter the room. She froze once again as that voice demanded in the same tone as before.

“Where is she?” The two hiding in the closet began to hold their breath as the sounds of searching began in the room on the other side of the door. They could feel each other’s nervousness as those terrifying sounds got closer to the door. Then just as the door knob started to rattle, the caretaker spoke up.

“Her social worker was here with her a few moments ago. Perhaps they took a walk?” The nice woman asked, and Jarod & Shania heard her get shoved out of the way as all too familiar footsteps left in a hurry. After a few moments of silence, Jarod carefully exited the closet with Shania in tow. The two of them stopped in their tracks as they noticed the nice caretaker observing them from the doorway. “I suggest that you take Shania and leave quickly, sir. I don’t trust those men, even if they did have the appropriate papers to take her. You sir, I trust.” She told them as she ushered them out into the hall and down to the exit.