Jade
My Tuesday morning started better than I expected it to. First, Perrie got me her famous chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, Hatchi cuddled with me for a good thirty minutes, chief Thompson was in a good mood when I came to work, and Jesy had come back from her two week-long-vacation in dreamy Bahamas.
Five hours into my shift, still nothing had happened. It had been a quiet day at work, which was appreciated. It was nice hanging at the station, drinking coffee and go through case files. A quiet day was what we all needed every once in a while.
Jesy and I sat by our desks, drinking our fifth cup of coffee while we discussed the case files we worked on. I dealt with a sexual assault case, whereas she dealt with a break-in. Apparently, the thief stole a TV worth £8000, a quad, and jewelry for over £15 000. Yeah, it was a rich family that got robbed.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to move forward with this. The family don't know who did it and the thief didn't leave any fingerprints."
She ran her hand through her hair in frustration. A deep sigh slipped from her lips.
"Hey, why don't you put the case aside and take a break?" I suggested.
"I can't afford to take a break. I've been away from work for two weeks" she said.
"Yes, but you can't overwork yourself. That's not the way to go if you want to solve a case."
That seemed to make sense to her. She closed the file, put it aside, and took a well-needed sip of her coffee. I figured I would do the same. I'd worked diligently since I came to work this morning. I was well-deserving of a break.
"So, how was Bahamas?" I asked curiously.
"Fantastic. We both needed to get away and we got to know each other on a deeper level, as well, which only made me fall in love with him even more" Jesy said dreamingly.
"You're cute when you're in love, Jessica" I smiled.
"Enough about me, what about you? How does it feel being engaged?"
Where do I begin? In all honesty, I'd never been as happy as I was now. I woke up with a smile, fell asleep with a smile. Actually, I seemed to smile all the time. Colleagues, family, and Perrie herself pointed it out frequently. Neither of them were used to seeing me so happy. I wasn't used to being this happy, either.
"I'm happy all the time. Nothing can seem to bring me down. And I feel really safe in what Perrie and I have. Making her me fiancée was a good move" I chuckled.
"About time you put a ring on her finger. Leigh and I were getting impatient" Jesy smiled.
"You were getting impatient? Let me tell you, there has been so many times where I've wanted to propose but never did because I let fear get the best of me. I was getting impatient too" I said.
"Now neither of us have to be impatient. You finally are engaged. The Jerrie-wedding is what we're all waiting for now" she said softly.
"We won't get married any time soon. We want to be engaged for a while, take our time" I said.
"Take your time to do what?" She questioned.
"To enjoy a happy time of our life together. We don't want to rush anything" I said calmly.
"No, of course not. Rushing into things is a bad idea. Especially when it comes to getting married. Marriage is a big step in a relationship and shouldn't be taken lightly" she said wisely.
"I like this side of you" I smiled.
Our heart-to-heart ended there. Chief Thompson threw the doors to his office open and power-walked over to us.
"Officer Thirlwall, officer Nelson, there's been a murder in Lambeth. I need you to get there. The address is 91 Lollard Street. You'll find the right flat the minute you get there, there are police cars outside!"
We followed his order, didn't protest. I got the keys for our car, then we jogged out of the station. Buckling up for the ride ahead, I put the key in the ignition, twisted it upwards, and roared the engine to life. Though it wasn't necessary, I turned on the sirens. With them blaring, civilians would get out of the way and let us through, meaning we'd get to the crime scene faster.
Approximately fifteen minutes later, we arrived at 91 Lollard Street. Just like chief Thompson said earlier, there were police cars parked a little here and there. We got out of the car and walked inside flat number nine.
The flat was crowded with police officers and CSIs. This place was definitely not for a claustrophobic. Even I, who didn't suffer from claustrophobia nor had problems with crowded/small spaces, had a hard time breathing in here due to all the people.
The first thing we saw when we came upstairs was a blonde girl with piercing blue eyes. She had a thick rope around her neck. Our CSI Rachel stood above her body, taking pictures.
"Hey, Rachel" Jesy greeted.
"Oh hi, officers" Rachel smiled.
"What happened here? Did she commit suicide?" I asked.
"No, she was killed. We found the killer's fingerprints on her body and on the rope" Rachel said.
"Who is she, then?" Jesy asked curiously.
"Phoebe North, 21. She studied political science at Cambridge, she was home for the week due to her little sister being locked up in a mental hospital for her depression. Phoebe's mother, Nora, found her an hour ago" Rachel explained.
Observing Phoebe a little closer, I thought that she looked a lot like Perrie. Her blue eyes, her blonde hair, her facial features...A shiver cascaded down my spine. Just the thought of my girl being the victim, lying dead before my eyes, made me cold. I couldn't imagine my life without her. Good thing she was still alive, though.
"Where's the mother now?" I asked.
"They took her to the hospital. She's in shock" Rachel said.
"You said you found the killer's fingerprints. Do you know who did it?" Jesy asked.
"Uhm, I think you guys already know. Look."
Rachel moved Phoebe's body so she lied on the side. She pulled up her shirt. An all too familiar symbol was engraved on her back. This time, the symbol seemed so much more murderous, hateful...Something about it gave me bad vibes, which was strange considering the other symbols never made me feel this uneasy. I had a feeling something terrible was gonna happen.
"Sam" Jesy and I said in unison.
"We also found this note. It was attached to her teeth" Rachel said, disgust lacing her voice.
Taking it from the skilled CSI I'd worked with since my first day on the force, I read the words written on the tiny but wet note.
You are next, officer Thirlwall 😈
The letters were written in blood, probably the victim's. I felt like throwing up. The message made me nauseous. He could mean anything with that, it either meant he'd come after me or hurt Perrie, which I couldn't allow to happen. I had to do everything in my power to protect her now. I couldn't let Sam get to her, couldn't let him hurt her. I had to protect her at all costs.
**
Perrie
"Your homework for tomorrow is to finish chapter 13 and 14. I expect you guys to read this time. Have a nice rest of the day."
The students said their goodbyes while they headed out the door. Once they were all gone, I packed my things in my bag.
"Am I interrupting?"
Looking up, I spotted Leigh-Anne standing in the doorway. A huge smile was plastered on her face. I flashed her a smile in return. It was lovely to have her come visit my classroom. She didn't do that very often, which was a little sad.
"What's on your mind, Leigh-Anne?" I asked curiously.
"Oh nothing, still trying to process the fact that you are engaged" she said warmly.
"Yeah, it's truly amazing, isn't it?" I smiled.
"You look happy" she said softly.
"I am happy, Leigh, very happy" I said sincerely.
That's true. Though I had spent many years with Jade, these past couple of days had been my happiest. Being engaged really made you happy. So did the ring on my finger. I loved to look at it. It reminded me of Jade and the magical moment she popped the question.
"I'm glad it's Jade you're with. She loves you more than she loves herself, she cares for you, she supports you...She buys you expensive things. I can see that she makes you happy" Leigh continued.
"Are you gonna start crying again?" I asked carefully.
"Maybe" she grinned.
"Don't, you'll only get me started" I chuckled.
She released a deep sigh. She averted her eyes from me and stared out the windows. I could read her like an open book. Something was definitely bothering her. Leigh was never down unless something bad had happened.
"Is there something else you'd like to share with me, Leigh-Anne? You look bothered" I said.
"Jordan and I had a huge fight yesterday" she sighed.
"Uh-oh, sit down."
Prepared to be there for her in her time of need, I offered her my black mid-back desk chair. She gladly accepted it. With a sad look painted across her pretty face, she released yet another sigh as she sat down.
"What happened? Tell mama Pez" I said softly.
"Jordan wanted to be intimate last night. He had cooked us dinner and put rose petals on our bed. I thought it was a romantic gesture, and told him I appreciated it. Then we ended up on the bed and we kissed, we kissed a lot. Jordan wanted to take it to the next level, so he started touching my boobs and kissing my earlobes, since he knows I like to get kissed there. I told him I didn't feel like having sex, so I ended whatever we had going on and left the bedroom. He got really mad because of it. He said I never wanted to be intimate with him, that we wasted our time being together because we don't act like a couple anymore. Then he accused me of cheating" she explained.
"Oh my Gosh, what a jerk" I said.
"He hasn't apologized yet. He expects an apology from me" she scoffed.
"What happened after he accused you?" I asked curiously.
"I threw a hair-dryer and a vase at him, then I left. I spent the night at a motel" she said.
"Why didn't you call me? I would've offered you a place to stay" I said softly.
"I didn't want to burden you and Jade. Especially not now when you've just gotten engaged."
"Listen to me, you are always welcome in the Jerrie-flat. As long as you give us a heads-up before you come, it's alright. We don't mind having you there."
With tears forming in her brown eyes, Leigh-Anne got up from the desk chair and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. She nuzzled her face in the crook of my neck as she bursted out in tears.
"Hey, it's alright" I cooed.
"You're my best friend, Perrie" she cried.
"Aww, Leigh..."
Breaking apart, I dried the tears from her eyes with my thumb. My heart ached for the girl as I did so. I hated to see her like this.
"Oh God, my phone."
Leigh pulled away to get her phone from her bag. Her entire body became tense when she saw the caller ID. I suspected it was Jordan.
"It's Jordan. I gotta take this. Thank you for cheering me up, babe" Leigh said softly.
"Anytime, love. I'm always here for you" I smiled.
Leigh-Anne answered the phone, then she disappeared from the classroom. I packed the rest of the things down in my bag, then I walked out of the classroom and locked the door. On my way to my office, I fished up my phone from my pocket to see if Jade had tried to reach me. Which she had.
I had five texts and seven missed calls. All from her. Uh-oh, something must've happened.
Cute dork❤: Hey, babygirl, is everything alright?
Cute dork❤: I have a feeling something really bad is gonna happen.
Cute dork❤: Please, call me. I'm worried about you.
Cute dork❤: Come on, I've tried to reach you for an hour. Call me!
Cute dork❤: I'll come to your school if you don't call me now. I mean it!
As much as I missed the older Geordie and longed for a hug from her, the last thing I wanted was to have her storm the building and yell at me for not answering her texts. I'd rather deal with her rage at home, where my colleagues and students couldn't hear.
Me: Jesus Christ, Jade, I haven't had access to my phone all day. Calm down. Everything's fine, you don't have to worry about me 💗
Cute dork❤: I don't need to send any officers to check up on you? To make sure you get home safely? Maybe you want me to pick you up?
Me: No, that's not necessary. Why'd you ask?
Cute dork❤: Like I said (wrote, hehe); I have a feeling something really bad is gonna happen. I want to protect you the best I can.
Me: You are doing enough, Jade. I'm safe where I am. Promise. Gotta correct and grade some tests now, though.
Cute dork❤: Okay, I'll see you tonight, then?
Me: You'll see me tonight, baba. I love you 😘
Cute dork❤: I love you too ❤️️
With that, I put my phone back in my jean pocket and headed to my office. I had some tests to correct and grade before I called it a day. Besides, I didn't mind spending some extra hours at work. Jade wasn't even home yet, and she wouldn't be for a long time.
When I passed the chemistry classroom, I stopped dead in my tracks. In there, holding a gigantic gun in his hands, was Sam. The Sam. A smirk made its way across his face when my blue eyes met his grey.
Holy shit.
I sprinted for dear life to my office. I'd call Jade and hide there, praying Sam wouldn't find me before Jade and the other police officers come to the school and arrest him. Looking over my shoulder as I ran, I caught a glimpse of Sam walking slowly behind me.
A wave of relief washed over me when I came to my office, I pushed the door open, locked it behind me and went to hide behind my desk. Curling up into a ball with a racing heart, hoping Sam wouldn't get to me, I dialed the number I knew by heart. One signal passed, then Jade answered on the other end.
"What is it, Perrie?"
"He's here."
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Next chapter is the last :)
xxMxx