"Goa? For how long?" Katie had practically gushed over the phone line, sounding a little less exasperated than she felt.
It wasn't so much the Campbell bitch, for the speech in the shed and many ones afterwards had helped her understand her sister's relationship a bit better. It was more about the fact that she and Emily hadn't been apart in ages. Most people thought that it was only Emily's co-dependence at work, but anyone who had witnessed her subsequent reaction to Emily's little shag with JJ knew better.
Katie needed her twin, just as much as Emily needed her. They made up for each other's faults, like a ying and a yang, and apart it just felt… empty. A part of her was rooting for a quick packing session and a tag along, but another really, really didn't need to see that side of her twin.
She wasn't an idiot; she knew what that getaway was for.
Pondering on the much better places that she would have picked, Katie's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She was housesitting for Naomi and Emily, so she could only begin to guess who it was. The blonde had had warned her about communal living and Jesus look-a-likes, but Katie hadn't paid much mind to it then.
(Now she was beginning to wonder if maybe she should have…)
"Look, if you want a quick shag and breakfast, I suggest—"
But she stopped mid-sentence as a tall male cleared his throat and extended a clipboard. "Naomi Campbell, I presume?" the cheeky little postman asked, emphasizing the name with a snicker.
Katie quirked a brow high on her head and repressed the urge to lodge a heel in his throat, if only because they were new. "You remind me of an ex," she began, giving him a careful once-over. "Only much less fit and with a receding hairline."
The postman touched every fault as it was mentioned, offering her a scowl as she signed for the small box and a letter.
Snatching them from his grasp, Katie smirked with a flirty wink and turned on her heel, slamming the door before he could try his charm on for size again. She was fairly certain that it was as small as his prick.
Letting herself fall rather gracelessly onto the couch with a plop, her manicured fingertips began exploring the sealed box. She shook it gently, trying to figure out what it was. Meanwhile, the letter lay haphazardly on the edge of the coffee table where it had been carelessly tossed.
Then the thought occurred to her that the lezzer had ordered something—a something that might scar her for life if she opened it—and once that thought crossed her mind, the aforementioned box went flying to the other side of the couch with an audible scoff of disgust. The brute movement caused her knee to hit the coffee table, making the letter fall off the edge as she muttered curses under her breath and finally retired to the kitchen.
There, she found obscene sticky notes on the counter and the table, causing a loud growl from the Fitch, one that wasn't all that comforted by Emily's cutesy handwritting on the one on the fridge door. It read, "The lobster apologizes for the cheese xoxo."
Pet names? I mean, really?
In Katie's mind, they were acting like a sickeningly cute newlywed couple with a sex drive on overload and very little common sense. But at least Emily still dotted her I's with hearts, so it wasn't like she had changed completely.
Still, Katie felt the familiar pull of jealousy low in her stomach at the thought that Naomi was even remotely taking her place. She knew it was silly, but Emily was the only stable factor in her life. Yes, Katie was overbearing and often selfish, but it was for Emily's own good!
Well, most of the time.
Reaching for a box of garibaldis, the brunette rolled her eyes at the note: "I've licked them all. x N." Walking back with a plate of the 'squashed flies' that she had been introduced to after her family's eviction, her dark brown eyes finally noticed the letter lying on the floor.
Usually, unless it was addressed to her—or in the rare case, Emily—Katie wouldn't sneak a peek. But under the excuse that Naomi had already broken her sister's heart once or twice, the elder Fitch carefully held the envelope up to the light and was able to make out one name:
Effy Stonem.
This caused her eyebrows to furrow, as the rest of the envelope remained completely anonymous.
After Freddie's death and Cook's conviction, Effy had disappeared once again. The last time it had been with Cook, and Katie thought that maybe she had run off with Panda this time, but then she remembered that Panda was studying with Thomas. JJ had never really been Effy's friend and he was still trying to make it work with whatsername and the baby.
So essentially, Effy had nobody.
And as much as Katie refused to acknowledge any similarities between them, it was something she could relate to. Grabbing her coat and keys, Katie headed towards the one place that still made all the sense in the world: Freddie's shed.
It hadn't changed much since Freddie's impromptu birthday party, she noticed, as she moved through the backyard. The house had been in foreclosure for a few weeks now, so the shed was still the shed, save for the old strips of yellow police tape. Carefully stepping over them, she pushed open the door slowly, the loud and drawn out creak not helping her nerves.
Not that Katie fucking Fitch was scared… just cautious.
She had been expecting to find cobwebs and bare walls, but instead the shed was as if it had never been abandoned. The pirate portrait of the brotherhood was missing—probably taken as a memoir by Freddie's sister or JJ—and instead the walls were lined with notebook paper. Taking a couple more steps inside, Katie moved closer to read the writing.
"I love her" was scrawled over and over in Freddie's messy handwriting, covering every inch of the page. It reminded her of the lines that teachers made kids repeat if they misbehaved. Had Freddie thought it was a punishment? Loving someone who couldn't love you back?
Her sixth sense made Katie freeze in place, feeling another pair of eyes on her from across the room. Turning slowly, dark brown met crystal blue and a gasp left her lips involuntarily. It felt like she was staring death straight in the face, goosebumps surfacing on her fair skin.
"E-Effy?" she muttered, her lisp returning as the other brunette took a few steps closer.
One, two, three.
The fourth was almost too close. She didn't smell like she usually did, like alcohol and cigarettes. Instead, she smelled like lavender. Her hair was free of tangles or knots, a little longer as it rested on her shoulders. She didn't have her usual dark, smoky makeup, but there were dried tracks of tears on her face.
"The one and only," finally came the raspy response and Katie was quick to notice that it sounded like she hadn't spoken in a while, lacking its usual luster. She didn't know much about Effy's past, or the dark periods on her life where she came off as a mute. Katie didn't know about Tony, or much about what happened to her since the party.
Katie wasn't much of an openly affectionate person. In fact, she was more intimidating than friendly. So wrapping her arms around the lankier brunette probably surprised her more than it did the recipient, who slowly but surely returned it.
Maybe Katie just needed a little proof that the last couple of years had really happened. That Emily finally embraced herself and found someone that made her sweetly miserable. That her parents had fallen out and rekindled their love to grossly high pda levels. That James had… well, remained James.
And that she had her shares of unrequited love, realized that she couldn't have children, and got hit over the head with a rock.
At the last recollection, Katie abruptly released Effy and shifted a bit in her spot, covering up her embarrassment with crossed arms defensively over her chest and a quick look around. "So, how long have you been holed up here then?"
Noticing the shift of the focus, Effy simply stared at Katie for a long moment. "Since the burial." This instantly made Katie feel guilty for even pointing it out, an emotion that she didn't recognize often.
Katie Fitch was never sorry. She was unapologetically blunt and…
"Sorry."
The word was out before she could stop it. Effy noticed the slip and offered a lopsided smile, one crossed between sadness and 'I don't want your pity.' An uncomfortable silence loomed over them, before Katie pulled the letter out of her pocket and held it in her hands. Effy's icy blues darted to the object, a wave of understanding crossing her features.
"That's illegal," she muttered, catching the other brunette's bewildered expression. "Going through people's mail."
Katie scoffed at this, shaking her head gently.
"You're still impossible."
Effy smirked. "You're still stubborn," she replied without missing a beat. But Katie had noticed that some of Effy's steely resolve was missing, and that although she smiled or jeered in good sport, it didn't reach her eyes. She looked tired, worn out, and exhausted. Yet Katie was still amazed—and even enraptured—by the mysterious essence of Effy Stonem.
"You can't stay here," Katie said quietly, noticing the way the other girl averted her eyes.
"I know," Effy replied simply, pulling out a lighter and flicking it a few times.
"People will move in and… what are you doing?"
Effy had reached over behind Katie and grabbed a small tin of spliffs, remembering how much Freddie treasured it. It had long been empty, letting Katie guess what the lighter was for.
"Let's go," was all Effy said, following the brunette to the door.
Looking back over her shoulder, the blue-eyed mystery tossed her lighter and watched the flames crawl across the floor, creeping up the walls in haste. It was only then that Katie noticed the empty liquor bottles and her dark brown eyes widened. Grabbing Effy's hand, she pulled them across the street and out of harm's way as the writings on the wall turned a golden brown, before disintegrating into ashes as the shed collapsed into itself.
A/N: Okay, so the first three chapters of this were tucked away in an old notebook. I haven't written in ages (and usually when I do, my attention span is horrible for longer fics), but it's Keffy and we can always use more of them in this fandom. Cheers (: