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writethehousedown · 4 years

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And The Livin's Easy, Chapter Seven (Multi) - Zyan

a/n: I DID IT! kinda at the last moment, but here she is. we’ve reached yet another end. thanks for reading fellas! sideblog for crying about the ending with me is @chachkisalpaca - a million thanks to frey for beta-ing this.

Summer of 2021, a year later.

Vanessa launches herself into Crystal’s arms when she sees her step foot onto the beach.

“You came!” She screeches so loud it hurts her ears. But she doesn’t complain, she’s missed Vanessa a whole lot. Crystal just hugs her tighter, lifting her up.

“Of course I came! I missed you, bitch,” she exclaims, settling her on the ground again. Vanessa takes her hand and guides her where she and Kameron are settled. “I gotta say though, if you made me stop on my way back home after losing to Shea Couleé in Hawaii, just to see you lose tomorrow, I’m done being friends with you,” Crystal deadpans, and Vanessa briefly lets go of her hand to playfully smack her.

Hawaii hadn’t been half as bad this year compared to the last one, considering she ended up in the fifth place, so the second place was an upgrade, and she did spend a great time while she was there — though Vanessa didn’t join her, preferring instead to stay in California in order to practice for an upcoming competition she was sure she would excel in thanks to most surfers being in Hawaii, but she still had April and Jaida to hang out with.

Things with Jaida were cooler now; they had managed to become actual friends and whatever awkwardness from the past was resolved. She still was her usual self, though this time around she seemed goofier and way more laid back. Crystal wonders if it has to do with that contact in her phone —“Babe” with three purple hearts— and the fact she’s also making a stop in California before returning to Milwaukee.

“Shush, you know I’ll win,” Vanessa says with a cocky grin, and her confidence makes her think that she’ll indeed destroy the competition.

They make small talk as they navigate their way back to Vanessa and Kameron’s blanket; Crystal asks how life is going since they moved in together on their one year anniversary, and Vanessa looks oh so radiant as she tells her how every morning and night is better than the last one, and that family reunions with Brooke aren’t as awkward as they could be thanks to them getting their shit together and talking things out.

Crystal asks if Plastique and Brooke are still a thing, and Vanessa shrugs, says she hasn’t talked with Brooke since the summer’s started, but last thing she knew was that they were visiting Plastique’s family in Vietnam over the summer and that the tickets were already paid for. Or that’s what Yvie told her, anyway, when she made a quick stop in California before heading to Hawaii to see her girlfriend.

Kameron is as strong as ever and almost crushes Crystal in a hug that leaves her breathless.

“Always a pleasure to see you, Kam,” she says, and Kameron laughs wholeheartedly upon seeing her expression.

“How are you, Crys? Where’s your surfboard? I thought I could get some cool photos of you and ‘Ness,” Kameron inquires, reaching for her professional camera carefully tucked in her backpack.

“Ah, I left it at my hotel room. I was having lunch when Vanj told me y’all were here already, and the restaurant was a few streets down, so.” She shrugs, taking the hair tie on her wristband to try and collect her short hair in a low ponytail.

“Aw, d’you have money to rent one? I wanted to beat you like Shea Couleé beat you in Hawaii, so I can have a taste of how it’ll feel to win tomorrow,” Vanessa teases her, placing her head on Kameron’s shoulder. Crystal rolls her eyes, both due to Vanessa’s cockiness and how disgustingly cute they are.

“You talk a big game, but I’m sure that I can beat you harder than Shea Coulee beat me!” Crystal retorts, earning a loud laugh from Kameron and Vanessa. She laughs too, and proceeds to tell Vanessa she has enough to rent a surfboard for maybe an hour. Vanessa claps excitedly, grabbing her hand and guiding her to the rental shack, before giving Kameron a quick kiss, promising to be back in a second.

Crystal rolls her eyes again. She can’t stand affection right now, not when she told her latest girl she was leaving yesterday and she stood her up at the airport, not even bothering to send her a goodbye text.

It’s disappointing, because she thought maybe this girl was like Gigi and she cared the tiniest bit about her.

But Gigi is unique. There probably won’t be anyone like her ever again, and Crystal is at peace with that for some odd reason.

They tried to stay in contact once they left Honolulu, but life is hectic, and it was becoming quite hard to juggle college, her job, and texting a girl half a country away on the regular. The last time they talked was on Crystal’s birthday, a simple “Happy birthday, babe!” with a heart and a globe emoji attached to it. Crystal liked the message and replied with a polite ‘thank you’, and that was it.

She tries to remember where in California Gigi said she was from. Maybe, if there’s the tiniest bit of coincidence that she lives near, they can have a movie-like reunion and revive those three weeks together, but she doesn’t get her hopes up.

Maybe Gigi doesn’t hate beaches that much after all.

Well, she can’t say that right now, not when she’s the only one without a girlfriend to spend summer with — Brita is going out with a girl from her class, after she spent all year long complaining about her and her shit attitude, Jan has a long distance girlfriend whom she talks with every day and swears is coming to see her before summer ends, and Jackie and Nicky are so sweet together it’s disgusting.

She feels left out, somehow. Probably because all they talk about in recent times is their partners and love lives, and Gigi hasn’t had a proper date since April, when they set her up with a senior called Pearl and their date went awful. She’s pretty sure Pearl is now dating someone else, though.

“Geeg, do you wanna come with me to get a smoothie?” Brita asks, sounding only a little bit impatient. Gigi cocks a sly brow when she notices it’s the second time in the hour she’s going for a smoothie.

“Brita, for the last time, Aiden is working and you shouldn’t be spending all your money on smoothies. The chemical bathrooms are a mess,” Jackie scolds her, briefly stopping running her fingers through Nicky’s hair, who’s lying across Jackie’s lap.

Brita folds her arms, saying, that ‘for the last time, it has nothing to do with the fact Aiden works there’, when suddenly Jan shoots up and runs off, leaving all the girls surprised.

They call for her and try to follow her as well as they can, when they spot her running into a woman’s arms, and the woman lifts her from the ground, spinning her around. They kiss while Jan is in the air, and Gigi can’t help but to roll her eyes.

Great, another pair of lovebirds she has to put up with.

Jan meets them back at their spot after kissing her girlfriend for what felt like a lifetime and introduces her as Jaida. Gigi vaguely remembers her from somewhere else.

“We met last year in Hawaii, and went out while Jay was there! We’ve been texting a lot since then, and remember that I went to Milwaukee for winter break?” Jan explains excitedly, snuggling closer to Jaida with each word she speaks. Gigi tries not to roll her eyes when Jan tells them, for maybe the hundredth time, how Jaida asked her to be her girlfriend when she visited her over winter break. Jan kisses Jaida’s cheek once she’s done talking, and Jaida just smiles brightly.

“I couldn’t pass the opportunity! You had me hooked since the moment I met you, and since this was my senior year, y’know, I thought we could make it work once I graduated,” Jaida says, bringing Jan closer by her waist and kissing her forehead.

“What were you studying?” Nicky inquires.

“I’m a communications major, and as of now I’m trying to get a job around here, so I can finally move out of my little town. And, ‘sides Jan, the beach here is always a plus. It’s a surfer’s dream,” Jaida explains, chuckling softly, and soon she’s bombarded with questions about her sport.

The fact she’s a surfer makes Gigi think of Crystal. She could’ve also had a surfer girlfriend if she tried hard enough to make it work, but she guessed that just wasn’t meant to be like Jaida and Jan.

She thinks of asking Jaida about Crystal, but decides against it. She still has Crystal’s Instagram and follows her page religiously. All she has to do is send her a text, but she doesn’t have the courage to do so after so much time having passed.

“Hey, girls? I’m gonna get ice cream, I’ll be back in a moment,” Gigi announces, grabbing her phone and shoving a couple of dollars into her phone case. She’s running away from the lovey-dovey couples more than anything, though she could also use some ice cream to help her cope.

She walks aimlessly around the beach, trying to remember where she saw the ice cream stand, avoiding children that are running around with water guns in their hands and screeching like banshees. Some beach balls are thrown her way, and she kicks them back with ease, dismissing the people that scream ‘I’m sorry’ towards her.

Gigi has learned to appreciate the unique chaos of the beach, even if she still gets annoyed at little things like the long queues to buy ice cream, and the disgusting chemical bathrooms. In the end, these are little details in the grand scheme of things.

Crystal taught her that.

It’s stupid how often she thinks about Crystal. When she starts forgetting the sound of her voice, she replays the audio messages she sent her. And sometimes, if she concentrates hard enough, she can feel the ghost of a kiss burning on her neck.

Perhaps she should download Tinder again and get a grip.

Gigi finally finds the ice cream stand she was looking for and buys the biggest cone there is, with scoops of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. She likes to keep it classy.

She’s slowly making her way back as she licks the Ice cream, wondering if her friends would believe her if she said she has a headache and is going home. Gigi really has no will whatsoever to sit through an entire evening of her friends rubbing their relationships in her face, while she’s painfully—

“Gigi?”

Gigi freezes mid-movement, looking for that voice she’s heard one too many times through audio messages. She finds the owner of said voice standing a few feet away, with her hair, that was once long and ebony, cut above her shoulders, dyed in a deep green that looks almost black, wearing a stupid yellow Hawaiian shirt over a red bikini, holding a surfboard under her arm.

She blinks repeatedly before realizing it’s not her mind playing a trick on her. It really is Crystal who’s approaching her.

“Crystal,” she manages to say, staring at her. Crystal’s smile is still the same, and her plump lips are as kissable as ever. She has a new piercing in her belly button; Gigi thinks it suits her. “It’s— I didn’t— You’re in California,” Gigi blurts out, and Crystal smirks.

“I am, yeah. I arrived this morning,” she says, a blush creeping onto her cheeks, but Gigi decides to think it’s a sunburn. “I was gonna, uh, I was gonna practice with Vanessa for a bit. She’s got a competition tomorrow, here,” Crystal comments awkwardly, making Gigi wonder where has the cheeky Crystal she knew gone.

“Are you participating too?” She asks, licking her melting ice cream.

Crystal shakes her head no, much to Gigi’s surprise.

“Oh, no, I’m sitting this one out. I didn’t have the time to sign up for this one; I was in Honolulu for another competition, like every year. I came in second. I did get a consolation prize and some money, though,” Crystal explains, going from excited to disappointed, and excited again in the span of a few seconds. Gigi giggles; she’s missed Crystal’s enthusiasm.

“How long are you staying?” Gigi asks, with a tinge of hopefulness in her tone. Crystal smiles softly, tapping on the surfboard.

“Like, three days,” she replies, biting her lower lip. Gigi’s heart sinks for a moment, but she continues. “You think that’s enough time to catch up before I’m back to Missouri?” Crystal asks, sounding way too sheepish.

A smile spreads on Gigi’s face, immediately thinking of all the things they can do together while she’s in the city, and a squeal of happiness escapes her mouth before she realizes.

��Oh my God, yes! I mean, it’s not as much time as I would want, but we could make it work,” Gigi assures her, and Crystal nods, giving her a toothy smile.

“We can make it work,” she repeats. Gigi nods dumbly, licking her ice cream again when she feels her hand get sticky with the melted cream. Crystal stifles a laugh. “I have to catch up with Vanjie, but, uh, do you wanna go for a swim together when I’m done?” Crystal asks, as if she didn’t know Gigi would say yes.

Gigi nods, and Crystal is already turning around to go to her friend, when Gigi tugs on her arm. She turns around, careful as not to smack any kid with her surfboard, and before she can say anything, Gigi steals a kiss from her.

“I’ve missed you,” she breathes out against her lips, and she can feel Crystal smiling before kissing her back.

“Summer’s way funnier with you,” she mumbles in response, forgetting about Vanessa, who’s waiting for her. The only thing she can think of right now is Gigi and how much she’s missed her lips.

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artificialqueens · 4 years

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The Goode Case, 14/14 (Multi) - Juno

Chapter Summary: Jaida, Brita and Jackie try to plan for the three of them to go bowling. Of course, that might not work out quite as planned!

(A/N: So ….. this is the end of TGC! It’s the epilogue, and I wanted to give them all an ending, so here it is. I’ve been so blown away by the support I’ve received for this fic, even though it’s completely insane and no one asked for it! Thank you to everyone who has left me a like, kudos, comment, or just read it and enjoyed it. It really does mean the world! xo Juno)

Tuesday 14thNovember

7.09PM

Brita:Do u want to go bowling this Friday? Xx

Jackie:The three of us??

Jaida:I don’t think three is quite enough sis. Not for a good game. We’ll be done in half an hour!

Brita:LOL if that’s a hint then yes u can ask Jan xx

Jaida smiled to herself. If she hadn’t been thinking it before, she definitely was now. She was having a great time getting to know who Jan was, and what made her tick, these past ten days or so. Hearing Jan’s unbelievable singing voice at full pelt in Jan’s little Fiat 500. Playing around doing lay-ups at the basketball court and normally losing to Jan, even thought she was the shorter of the two. Getting their legs tangled in the sheets at the end of the day …

Oh yes. Jaida had enjoyed every minute.

Jackie:Ok, I don’t need to read minds to see how this will go……..

Jaida: lmao really? X

Brita:Enlighten us Jacqueline xx

Jackie:Obvs we three want to go

Jackie:Jai invites Jan

Jackie:Brita wants to invite a gf if Jai is inviting one

Jackie:So now Aiden is coming

Jackie:Aiden always brings Crystal

Jackie:Crystal always brings Gigi

Brita:Aiden isn’t my gf

Jaida:and Im Oprah

Jackie:LOL!

Brita:shush Jai xx

Brita:we just had a couple dates so far thats all xx

Jackie:Ok so I actually laughed

Jackie:Heidi & Nicky heard me

Jackie:So they invited themselves

Jaida:oh that’s cool no problem x

Jackie seemed to see more of Heidi than Jaida did right now. Jaida might have felt strange before, the thought of her friend and her colleague mingling, no careful divide in her mind; but that was fading fast. Nicky had started teaching Heidi some useful French, rather than just more swearing, and now they were organising for Nicky to come into Heidi’s kindergarten class with some basic French for the kids.

As for Brita … well, if there was one thing Jaida had learned about her through the Goode case, it was that she often had a slightly devious ulterior motive in these innocent suggestions. And although Jaida still didn’t feel as if she knew Aiden very well yet, she’d noticed that Brita had never spent more time daydreaming in the office; prompting a few pens being thrown at her by Jackie all last week.

Brita:How many is that? I suck at math lmao

Jackie:is that nine?

Jackie:one more to make it even??

Jaida: Dahlia, I said I would organise something with her

Brita: sis u cant invite Dahl without Rock xx

Jackie:Ok look

Jackie:We can’t have eleven

Jackie:That’s an even weirder number than 3!!

Jackie:Maybe we should stick to us 3

Jackie:No friends

Jackie:no gfs

Jackie:No psychics

Brita:no psychics? So we not going either?? LOL

“Hey, Jaida.” Widow came out of her room, waving to Jaida on the couch, as she walked past to the kitchen. Jaida gave her a smile and a wave back.

Widow was still walking a little slower than usual, but finally getting back into a routine. She’d flown back from KC on Sunday night, but even the week before that, she’d seemingly made some progress. She had even started coming to talk to Jaida, feeling a bit more comfortable sharing things with her.

Jaida was struck with inspiration.

Brita:also Jackie why cant u just type a message in one line Xx

Jaida:I got it, my housemate Widow to make it 12 x

Jackie: Who?

Brita:yeah u may not have met her yet

Brita:Jai I thought u said she doesn’t like big crowds xx

Jaida: something tells me things may change x

Friday 17thNovember

7.25PM

“Child, I still don’t get why it’s called football.” Jaida teased Jan, as they sat waiting for their turns to come back round. Heidi was lining up her shot in the distance, but neither Jaida nor Jan knew the scores at this moment. “They don’t even use their feet! They use their hands! And it’s not a ball! It’s an egg! Hand-egg!”

“Jai, if you insult my precious Patriots one more time, I’ll –“

“Jan! Focus!” Heidi was calling her. “Your shot, boo!”

“Be right back after I hit a strike!” Jan reached over to kiss Jaida gently on the lips.

“Oh, so you’re not coming back?” Jaida tutted, unable to stop the grin spreading across her face. Jan playfully slapped her arm and grinned back at her.

The aisles were only good for six people each, so they’d booked two beside each other, and it looked like couples’ night in the opposite lane. Brita’s impressive round of strikes and spares was almost matched by a few strikes from Crystal, all of which she claimed were flukes. She hadn’t stopped laughing all evening, clinging to Gigi, who smiled coolly and pushed her hair out of her eyes whenever Crystal did so. Gigi herself was making a respectable score behind the two of them, claiming to just have a magic touch.

Dahlia, however, kept sinking almost every ball into the drain and sulking as she did so, going into the sixth round with only seven points on the board. Aiden, whose twelve points were almost as bad, ended up insisting on the fences being raised after her third straight round of hitting nothing, prompting Rock to hit trick shots for the rest of the evening, bouncing her bowling balls between the fences and making her turns take twice as long.

It was Widow who came to sit in Jan’s empty seat, the mischievous glint in her eyes slowly returning as the days went on. Jaida returned her smile, and Widow reached and rubbed Jaida’s forearm.

“Thanks for inviting me, sis,” she muttered. “It’s – it’s a good night.”

When Jaida had asked, Widow had hesitated in coming out as part of a large group. Following Tori’s funeral the previous weekend, Widow had insisted on a quiet time all week. But the crowd brought her straight in, particularly Heidi and Brita, who she had already met. She even seemed to click with Jackie almost immediately, both of them shrieking with glee at discovering a mutual love of Overwatch and swapping Xbox names to link up later.

But Jackie and Widow were already competing. On the scoreboard in their lane, Widow was leading the team, but only by two points, with Jackie right behind her, almost matching every single strike. Jaida was enjoying seeing them show competitive sides that they rarely did, both of them playing up the competition by pointing menacingly at each other after each turn. Jaida, Jan, Heidi and Nicky were all lagging behind them, all in a cluster, but none of them minded; they were far too amused by Jackie and Widow to care.

Jaida looked at all their names altogether on the scoreboard, and the other names on the other lane. It still felt a little weird, but Jaida was actively trying to focus on it, and tell herself that it was all good. The separation she’d held onto for so long had crumbled, and here they all were – friends, colleagues, housemates, girlfriends – all in the same space.

And bringing her friends together, into one space in her life, made Jaida feel a lot more complete.

She grinned at Widow and turned to watch Jan, who was picking up every spare bowling ball and testing their weights, before commenting on the balls all being too big and settling on the lowest weight. Jackie, next to her, was giggling at her comment.

“You like them, now that you met them?”

“I hate to admit it, but yeah,” Widow chuckled. “They’re all really, uhm –“

“Exuberant? Energetic?”

“Loud,” Widow chuckled again. “I’m getting a headache. But – they’re all so nice as well.”

They were interrupted by a whoop of joy and a leap in the air; Jan had somehow managed a strike with her tiny ball and was twirling on the spot, her blonde hair spinning a whirlwind round her face and shoulders.

“Your girlfriend – Jan – is she your colleague as well?” Widow motioned to Jan.

“No, I met her through Brita.”

“And the three students? Sorry, I can’t remember their names.”

“I can’t discuss the case, but I met them through work.”

“And the girl with blue hair?”

“That’s Dahlia’s girlfriend, Rock.”

“Rock?” Widow repeated. “As in, rock solid? Rock ‘n’ roll?”

“Yeah,”

Widow’s eyes moved between them all on the opposite lane. Gigi was lazily twirling a finger through one of Crystal’s curls, while Crystal gazed enraptured at the scoreboard, for once still and silent; Gigi seeming to be the only person able to quieten her. Aiden, whose turn it was, held a bowling ball to her torso and was trying to keep a straight face as Brita, stood next to her, held another ball and was somewhat innocently demonstrating which fingers were best to use for the holes.

In their own lane, Jan and Jackie were calling to Nicky, whose turn it was; but Nicky was curled under Heidi’s arm in the booth next to them, her long legs swung over Heidi’s lap, holding her phone and scrolling down while they both stopped for a few seconds, chuckling at whatever was on the webpage they were going through.

Jaida smiled at Widow’s bemused expression. “You’ll get used to them.”

——

THE END

17 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 4 years

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The Goode Case, 6/14 - Juno

Chapter Summary: Forensics have some news, prompting Jaida, Brita and Jackie to visit the guest house in the daytime. What will they find in the light of day?

(A/N: I really appreciate all the supportive words that have come through for this, thank you!! Here is part six.)

Monday 30thOctober

9.46AM

Jaida gulped down her third cappuccino from the vending machine. They always came out lukewarm, while Jaida normally liked hers hot, to burn her throat and remind her she was awake. Especially today, when her mind was still foggy from the events of the weekend.

She put her cup in front of the vendor and poured a fourth, hoping that this would be the one where she started to feel the magic.

It was now four days since any confirmed sighting of Gigi Goode. Reality was starting to bite that the longer this went on, the less likely it was that Gigi would turn up alive. The anklet that the two students had turned up had been the only clue as to her whereabouts. It was unlikely that Gigi would still be there, but there may be more clues.

She took her coffee back to the chair, at her laptop, smoothing down her shirt. She had barely logged back into her account when Brita approached her.

“I don’t want to talk about it yet,” Jaida said, not looking directly at Brita.

Brita ignored her. “Forensics report that they found some DNA evidence for Gigi, fingerprints which match those on the clasp of the anklet, on the railings on the staircase and the walls downstairs. No other evidence though, no body fluids, no blood. Gigi was in the house, but it’s not clear for how long, or that she stayed there.”

“Alright then.” Jaida continued her typing.

“I know you’re pissed at us, sis,” Brita’s tone changed, softened, “but we do need to go back to the guest house. Chief wants us to look in more detail for more clues. The parents have confirmed that it’s definitely Gigi’s anklet, even though we already knew that from Crystal. So, we’re going back.”

Jaida nodded. “When?”

“Eleven. I’m driving. Daylight will make it less … weird. We’ll just be able to do our jobs.”

“I’ll be ready at eleven then,” Jaida said, pushing her braids behind her shoulders. “You and me? And Jackie too?”

“The three of us,” Brita confirmed. “Be ready for ten to eleven.”

Jaida just nodded at her, bringing her coffee cup to her lips and chugging it down as fast as she could. She might need another – it was shaping up to be a long day.

She was contemplating whether a fifth cup would make her too jittery, when Jackie came out of her training meeting and flopped into her chair.

“Lovely day,” she began, pointing at the dark grey clouds out of the window.

“Beautiful,” Jaida replied, without looking up. She focused on making her mind not think of anything but the report she was writing up, the progress report for Chief. That was more important, at this point, than talking to Jackie about whatever psychic thing she had on her mind this time.

Jackie didn’t seem to take the hint. “We didn’t get much yesterday evening, did we?”

“I think we got enough.” Jaida pointedly typed a little louder.

“Jai, how many times am I going to have to apologise for not telling you, before you at least look at me?”

Jaida rolled her eyes. “I’m not angry at you, or Brita. I’m just feeling a bit …”

“Disorganised?” Brita offered with a chuckle. She was coming back to her seat, mug of coffee in her hand. “We know you like things to be nice and organised. Come on sis, you even have different ringtones for me and Jackie.”

“Yeah,” Jaida mused. “I guess so.”

Brita had a point. Things has become a little disorganised the last couple of days. Her mediumship, which was now slipping into her work life. Brita and Jackie, who now felt closer as friends than ever. And Jan Mantione, who Jaida had found had entered her own dreams last night – much more pleasant ones than she’d had on Saturday night, anyway.

Like the tones on her phone, the portions of her life that she’d always so carefully separated, for fear, or embarrassment; or for a modicum of privacy and self-preservation; even for no reason at all – were all beginning to collide, the defined mental lines blurring, fizzling into nothing.

Jackie was watching her, Jaida met her dark brown eyes. As private and orderly as Jaida liked to be, Jackie was the total opposite; she couldn’t have hidden anything on her face, her earnest expression giving away everything she was feeling. Jaida didn’t need telepathy to know that.

“What?” Jackie smiled a little awkwardly at Jaida’s stare.

“I think I’m going to change your ringtone to match Brita’s.”

11.22AM

Even in the daytime, the guest house looked foreboding, even more so with the yellow hazard tape around the fences.

Brita immediately turned on her torch once they were inside, for even the light of day didn’t show everything, and led the way through the front door. Jackie pulled her glasses from her pocket and slid them over her nose, before switching on her own torch. Jaida, the notepad and pen in her left hand, trailed them without a torch, relying on Brita and Jackie’s lights to show the way.

“Where was the anklet found?” Jackie asked.

“At the foot of the staircase,” Brita replied.

Jaida looked at the entrance to the kitchen, which was to their right, as they filed to the hallway, and saw the woman again. Her hair that remained was light brown, but her skin that was exposed was completely black, clothes charred, eyes white with dust.

She stood and stared at Jaida as they walked past. Part of Jaida wanted to know more about her, but she turned her face away hurriedly and moved half a step closer to Jackie in front of her. They had a job to do today.

“As the DNA evidence was found on what’s left of these railings, it indicates that maybe Gigi came up here.”

“I said that yesterday,” Jaida muttered. “I told you I saw her upstairs.”

“We going up?” Jackie whispered, pointing to the stairs. Brita nodded grimly.

“Let’s see what’s in the guest rooms.”

Brita and Jackie didn’t notice Jaida’s breath hitch as they climbed the staircase. At the top of them was a man, balanced on what remained of the railing, just at the top of the steps. It was the same man as last night, Jaida noticed and in the light, she could now see noose marks around his throat. Jaida swallowed, forcing herself to breathe normally, watching with rising nausea as first Brita and then Jackie walked straight past him, not seeing him.

When Jaida got near him, he watched her. His face was dark and grey, and his eyes were inconsolably sad. When she reached the top of the stairs, turning right, he dropped off the rail, gliding to settle in front of Jaida, stopping her from going any further. She could see Jackie and Brita vaguely through him, but he wouldn’t let her pass. When she tried to step forward, the man glided to block her.

Then Jackie’s words came into her head. “There would be no point in just seeing someone, they probably want to communicate something with you.”

“What – what do you need?” Jaida’s voice shook as she spoke, unsure what she was doing.

He was the same height as her, and she could look straight at his dulled eyes. His face was a little blurred, but Jaida could still sense the emotion – such sadness that she felt like she could cry for him. The whole experience felt very strange, and a little macabre.

She was vaguely aware of Jackie and Brita turning to watch her, Brita saying something that she couldn’t catch.

“Hello? What’s your name?” Jaida managed to say, her throat dry, almost unable to form words.

To her shock, he raised a hand towards her, to the hand where her notebook and pen were. She lifted hers too, dropping the notebook and pen to the ground; reaching to take his hand, the fear she was feeling starting to dissipate, replaced by curiosity –

It was Jackie who grabbed her hand before he could, and pulled her through this man, Jaida shuddering as she passed through his body.

“Was that a ghost?” Brita asked Jackie, not looking at Jaida.

“Yeah. Just one that Jaida could see I think. I couldn’t see it. Did you see anything?”

“No.” Brita shook her head. “Jaida, you’re going in between me and Jackie now. We’re not losing you to any ghosts.”

Jaida opened her mouth to protest – and didn’t Jackie want her to be more in tune with her ability anyway? – but Brita had already spun back round and was heading down the corridor. When Jaida turned to look behind Jackie, the man was no longer there.

“Jackie,” Brita said sharply, “stop it. I’ve asked you not to.”

“To what?”

“You know what,” Brita hissed. “Stop trying to get inside my mind.”

“I’m – not?” Jackie said confusedly.

Brita turned back to them both, her eyes wild, a look Jaida didn’t recognise in her friend, but she regained her composure and nodded, turning back to the corridor where the two guest rooms were.

The guest house was not big, and there were only the four guest rooms – two on either side of the staircase – plus one larger room at the end of the right hand side. The floor was still dirty from years of neglect, but there were tracks in it now, from forensics and from their own activity yesterday.

Brita crouched to look at the doorknob, on the guest room on the right, which was not as dirty as the rest of the brass on the door – as if a hand had held it recently.

“Jai, was this the one those two students were hiding in last night?”

“No, it was the other one,” Jaida pointed to the left.

Brita straightened up.

“I know we’re not on the best terms with this … telepathic stuff right now,” she muttered, “but Jackie, can you hear anything through that room? Anything that suggests there is a person inside?”

Jackie stood perfectly still, her face pensive, brow furrowed.

“No,” she said finally, shaking her head. “But that student, that Aiden – I mean, I couldn’t hear her either, so …” Jackie shrugged, her expression becoming troubled. “The silence doesn’t convince me, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Well, no time like the present,” Brita announced, reaching to the doorknob. As carefully as possible, she turned it, and the door creaked open slowly.

Inside, the room was empty, nothing at all to indicate any presence. There was no furniture, no carpet, and only a half-broken faux chandelier seemed to show it had been inhabited at all. The window was boarded up, the boards still in place, much darker even at midday than the rest of the house.

“There’s nothing here,” Brita muttered.

“And look,” Jackie said, pointing to the ground. “There aren’t any tracks. The floor hasn’t been disturbed.”

Brita sighed. “I hate to say it, but … have we been led on?”

“What?”

Jaida looked at Brita, whose expression was unreadable.

“I’m just saying, but there’s definitely no one in this house. Jackie can’t hear anything. Maybe Gigi was never here, or just here briefly.”

“You might be right,” Jackie nodded, “the DNA could just mean that she came up the stairs and then went back down them again when she couldn’t go anywhere.”

“I think that’s the most likely scenario,” Brita agreed, nodding eagerly. “The camera being repaired obviously means we didn’t see her go into this building – or come back out. She must have left again.”

“Guys, I saw her! In that damn room that we couldn’t open!” Jaida cried, pointing to her left to the old living area behind the double doors.

“That could just be coincidence, Jai,” Brita replied.

“It never has been before!”

“Alright,” Jackie held up her hands. “We’ll go and check it out again. Just stop snapping at each other, I still have a headache from yesterday.”

The three of them walked to the double doors, still shut fast from them slamming last night.

“I still don’t hear anything, anything at all, from this room,” Jackie murmured, her ear to the wooden door.

“Any spirits Jaida?” Brita asked.

“No,” Jaida muttered, “just that guy behind us, and that woman downstairs.”

“What guy?” Brita jerked her head sharply to Jaida. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know,” Jaida shrugged, taking half a step back. “Just some guy at the top of the stairs, and some woman in the kitchen.”

“The kitchen,” Brita repeated quietly.

“You know I just saw him here, that was why you wanted me to walk in the middle!”

Jaida watched Brita’s expression become pensive, and then twist in anger. “Jackie, I said stop it!”

“I’m not doing anything!” Jackie put her hands on her hips. “Why are you so jumpy today?”

“Let’s just get out of here,” Jaida said, shaking her head. The last thing they needed was Brita and Jackie at each others’ throats for any longer. She started to walk away from them.

“Jaida,” Brita called, “you’re still going in the middle.”

“What?”

“If you see any more ghosts, you’ll have someone behind you, that’s all.”

As they all turned back to go down the staircase, the man from earlier had reappeared, and Jaida felt her steps slow down. He was still so sad, so very sad, his expression hopeless, the bruising on his neck a gruesome reminder that he was not quite as real as he appeared.

Jackie, ahead of Jaida, must have sensed her fear, as she turned back to her. “He can’t hurt you, Jaida.”

“Is there a ghost?” Brita asked.

Jaida nodded solemnly and walked forward, her legs shaking. She reached a hand behind her, wildly, and Brita took it, anchoring her.

“I got you, sis.”

Feeling a little more emboldened, Jaida walked forwards, and the man’s eyes followed her, but the closer she got, the more Jaida became curious, and not frightened. She slowed to a stop in front of him, frozen in place, while Brita pushed gently at her from behind.

“Come on, Jai, we need to leave.”

“What do you need?” Jaida’s voice was stronger this time as she addressed him, ignoring Brita’s voice. Jackie looked back at Jaida, and then in front to where this man was, but no one else could see him.

“Tell me what you need from me,” Jaida said firmly.

“Jaida!” That was Jackie, her voice frightened. “Come on!”

But Jaida’s gaze was fixed on the spirit before her, her own fear completely gone, replaced by empathy, and a desire to know more.

He raised his other hand this time, towards Jaida’s right, and Jaida felt herself raise her right hand towards his, until they touched –

And Jaida felt a tug at her back, lurching forwards, towards this man, whose hand in her right started to feel more and more solid; her mind spinning, and shutting her eyes tightly as she felt nausea rush through her with the movement.

After a few seconds, Jaida felt her stomach settle and her mind calm. She slowly opened her eyes to this man before her – now very much a live person, leaning on a complete railing.

But Brita and Jackie had both vanished.

#rpdr fanfiction #the goode case #juno #jaida essence hall #brita filter #jackie cox #detective au #supernatural au #mystery #lesbian au #black girl magic fic #s12 #diversity fic #submission #tw suicide reference

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