My Ex's Ex

SEVENTEEN (Part II)

"Jamie?" Lily said in shock.

"The gardener?" James, Charlotte, and Newt said in unison. They were equally shocked.

They watched as Jamie chased after Lily for a few minutes before he was finally able to stab her. At the third stab, James asked Newt to turn off the feed.

It was gruesome to watch, for everyone.

Immediately,  James and Charlotte and 3 other officers went to arrest Jamie. They found him in his apartment eating when they arrested him.

He was absolutely shocked when he was arrested. It was quite obvious he didn't expect to be found out anytime soon, which just made the whole scenario even more infuriating.

"Mr Jamie Gerard. You're under arrest for the murder of Miss Lily. Anything you say will be used against you in the court of law," James said as he cuffed him.

Jamie just scoffed in response and asked James what proof he had to arrest him.

"You'll find out," James said and tightened the cuff more than he needed to.

.

.

James couldn't stop thinking about how Lily's killer was her gardener.

Why? What prompted him to kill her? What did Lily know? Why did Lily get herself killed? What was she involved in?

It was a whole lot for James to wrap his head around. It was too much for him to understand.  Having arrested the killer with irrefutable evidence still didn't answer all the questions James wanted to answer Lily.

Recently, he'd been wondering if her death was his fault in some way. Maybe if he never left, she would never have died. He couldn't help but feel like he could have protected her.

Seeing that feed broke James' heart more than he thought possible.

He was currently on his way to the cafe Dazzle worked at to get food. He needed to take a break before he broke down. He felt nauseous and lightheaded after they apprehended Lily's killer.  So, he told Charlotte he needed a break.

He thought seeing Dazzle would make him feel better, but on his drive there, he realised he'd not really healed from the breakup with Lily and the murder. It was a whole lot, and he hadn't properly addressed it yet. Trying to get into a relationship with Dazzle would be extremely selfish to her because he knew he was yet to heal from his past relationship.

Even though they hadn't put a label of any sort on what they were doing because there wasn't enough to put a label on, he still needed to let her know that there was a very low probability of getting into a relationship anytime soon.  She was great, and he knew she deserved to find someone better for herself.

So what was first a desire to take his mind off things turned into him having to let go of her because he didn't want to lead her on knowing he was emotionally unavailable.

.

"Oh hey," Dazzle said, throwing James a smile that corresponded with her name. "This is the first time you've come here in a day."

"Yeah, it's been a really tough day," James responded. He found himself half smiling at her even though he wasn't in the mood to smile. She just had that effect.

"Oh. One of those," she said, looking at him with an understanding sympathetic look. "The usual?"

"Yeah," he responded.

"I'll bring it to your table."

"Thank you," James said as he made his way to the table.

.

"Sorry, it took me a while.  The manager was being extra snarky today."

"It's alright, " James replied as he began unwrapping his sandwich.

"So what's up?  Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?" Dazzle asked, looking concerned.

James felt sick to his stomach due to what he was about to do. He didn't even know if he was doing the right thing.

"Not really." He said with a small smile.

"That's okay." She responded. "Anytime you think you want to talk. I'm here, though. Even though we've not known each other for long. I mean that." Dazzle said.

"Actually," James started, "I do want to talk."

"Oh. I'm all ears." Dazzle said though she looked surprised.

"I'm working on a case right now. A young lady was murdered. We finally found who the killer was today." James said and stopped talking.

"Well," Dazzle started unsurely, "Isn't that great? "

"It is. It's just.." James stuttered, "She was my ex."

"The victim or the killer?" Dazzle asked, looking puzzled.

"No. The victim. Of course." James responded slightly taken aback by the fact that she even considered that the killer was his ex.

"Oh. I can imagine how strange and stressful the whole scenario must feel for you." Dazzle said with a look of concern on her face.

"Yes indeed. I don't quite understand why I feel so many emotions all at once. I don't understand why I feel those emotions. " James stopped grateful to Dazzle for not interrupting him. "I mean, of course, finding out someone you once knew and even dated is dead can be very difficult, especially when..."

"Especially when you are still in love with her." Dazzle completed for James.

James just stared quietly, not having the courage to deny what she said.

"I just left the station immediately we apprehended her killer. I don't think we're allowed to do that, but I didn't care. I just felt so nauseous and overwhelmed and just needed to get out of there." James paused. "I went to her funeral, you know. It was ... a lot."

"I just think deep down somewhere. You believed that you would still end up with her. Finding out she wasn't here anymore disappointed you greatly. But you need to understand that you'll be fine. You will heal and get over the pain." Dazzle said and gave James an encouraging smile.

James smiled back, and this time, it was genuine.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it. "James said.

"When you feel better mentally and emotionally and still want something to happen between us. You can always give me a call if I'm still available. I understand."

James couldn't stop staring at Dazzle. She was perfect, too perfect for him. He hoped that whoever she ended up with in the future was deserving of her.

Thank you all for reading

Tag for the chapter:  ang3lbites