Christie sat on the edge of the large kingsize bed, watching her best friend sleeping peacefully. They had both been investigating the murder of Gail's Tattoo Artist recently, trying to out scoop each other like the old days and when Gail had not turned up for work at her usual time, she had become concerned and decided to look for her.
She had half expected to find that Gail had finally gone back to her husband, leaving her alone once again; however, the blood red Mustang was unmissable parked outside of her friends previous residence and she had been relieved when she saw her friends car, after the concerning stories she had started to uncover abouther friends husband in her travels.
Christie was happy to find that the spare key was still in the usual spot and when she let herself in, she had expected to run into Matt; however, when she entered the property and looked around, it appeared that most of his things were gone. She spotted Rocky asleep in front of the ground floor bedroom and quickly located her friend in her old bedroom. Christie became concerned when she spotted the amount of empty wine bottles dotted around the room and was careful not to knock any over, which would no doubt wake up Rocky.
She watched Gail for a few more minutes, as she lay comfortable asleep in bed then decided to take action and shook her gently. 'Come on sleepy head, time to get up and start the day' Christie ordered, ignoring her friends protests when she touched her.
Gail shrugged off the intrusion and pulled the covers up over her head, happy in her warm safe place and wanting to drift back into a deep sleep. She had spent all day yesterday looking into what Selena had warned her off the previous week and after she had discovered some disturbing information, she just wanted to have a break from the bad karma that followed her and wanted to be left alone.
Suddenly Rocky heard the commotion and ran into the room. He dove onto the bed, then began digging at the covers to find a way into her warm place. Gail let out an agitated sigh at Rocky's attempt to get at her, when she had shut him out of the room the previous night. She rolled over and peaked out of the covers, hoping he would leave her be when she found she was alright and closed her eyes tight when Rocky began licking her face.
'Glad to see you kept him in the separation' Christie said sarcastically and laughed as she watched Rocky burrow under the covers and settle on his Master.
Gail could not help but laugh at the unwelcome intrusion, then glanced under the covers in confusion when she noticed she was still wearing her clothes from the previous day. 'What time is it?' she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and holding her delicate head when she became aware of the dull pounding.
'You don't wanna know, just get up and get dressed before people start talking in the office about the Sheriff's wife being spotted at her previous residence' Christie ordered, making her way to the closet and throwing her friend some suitable clothes to wear.
Gail sat up and glanced around the room, ignoring Christie's comment and shook her head in annoyance with herself at how much she had drank. She was not impressed with how she had handled herself, due to the information she had uncovered and it was not like her to bury her feelings with alcohol. 'What did you tell Mark?' she asked, dragging herself up and staggering towards the bathroom to make herself presentable.
Christie followed her cautiously, picking up the clean clothes she had thrown onto the bed and watched as her friend jumped into the shower quickly. 'I told our Editor that you drank yourself into a stupor after family time went wrong and now you're wallowing in your own self pity' she said sarcastically and waited for Gail's reaction.
Gail popped her head around the shower curtain and shot her an irritated glance. 'Family time's old news, what else you got?' she asked sarcastically, then grabbed the soap to wash the smell of alcohol off of her as it was making her nauseous.
Christie smiled for a moment, then let out a long sigh. 'You can't let yourself be seen like this just because...'
'My husband's cut me off?' Gail interrupted, then reached her hand out and nodded her thanks when Christie passed her a large towel.
Christie shook her head, then laughed at the question. 'It can't be that bad Gail, clearly you're just being dramatic. You survived without a man for years before this, since when do you need a man to keep you going?'
'He's not a man' Gail stated bluntly, then stepped out of the shower and headed towards the bedroom to avoid further conversation.
Christie let out a small laugh, as her curiosity spiked about their Sheriff at the comment and shook her head. Christie had her suspicions about a lot mysterious incidents that had taken place recently, including the death of the Tattoo Artist who no-one had any cause to dislike, apart from the man who took offence at his wife being marked.
She was determined to figure out what was going on with their Sheriff and his link to the strange happenings in this Town; however, she would not alert her friend to her investigation until she had something concrete to report.
Lucas sat behind his desk in his office, drumming his fingers on the hard dark wood. It had been a week since he had put his foot down by withdrawing his services and Gail had not spoken to him since. On the plus side she had stayed clear of that man Dylan, indicating she had heeded his warning and was in fact still listening to him.
Although this situation was not ideal for him, the switch in power was exhilarating and his pent up urges were not half as bad as they used to be when she was withholding from him. He could sense her frustrations the longer she went without a proper release and the amusement of her suffering made his easier the handle. This had now become a challenge of who's willpower was stronger and he was not about to lose, now that he was finally in control.
His day to day life was starting to become more difficult, Gail had made it her mission to uproot his usual work routine and was gunning for him on a professional level. It appeared she had taken the death of the Tattooist quite personally and was determined to find some evidence that linked him to it. He was not worried and did not believe she would actually publicise a crime that he had been involved in, not after all that they had been through previously; however, with Christie back by her side, his love appeared to have returned to her old Reporter ways and she was like a dog with a bone.
A small knock came on the door and Ben popped his head around, he appeared nervous until Lucas signalled for him to enter and sat down on a chair in front of his desk. 'Have you read the Guardian this mornin'?' he asked, not wanting to be the one to broach this subject with him.
'You mean how my wife is callin' us all incompetent for not yet makin' an arrest in the Goat Town murder? You want me to bring someone in Benji? As that won't be a problem' he asked sarcastically, wondering what poor soul he could get to take the fall for the crime.
Ben saw the devilish look in his eyes and shook his head. 'I just didn't know whether you wanted me to canvas the area or somethin' he shrugged, hoping Lucas would not take the matter into his own hands.
Lucas stood up and casually walked around the desk, then perched himself on the edge in front of Ben. 'Don't you worry about some trash story, focus on your weddin'. I'm sure Rita's excited about finally tying the knot, she let you get away without puttin' a ring on it for far too long' he smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
Ben narrowed his eyes at the unexpected gesture, then smiled back. 'She's tearin' her hair out with it all, but she's happy' he advised, then stood up and started to leave the room.
'Ben' Lucas called from his position on the desk, after pondering for a moment.
'Yes?' Ben asked warily.
'Bring around the car, I guess we should look like we're at least tryin'' Lucas sighed, then stood up and reached for his jacket.
Gail stared out into the rough water beneath her, as she stood on the edge of Jackson's Bridge and wondered how it would feel to finally let go and just jump. It had been a long day and after having no new leads with her story, she decided to come out here and clear her head. It was late in the evening and Lucas refused to allow her to take Luke from his home; therefore, she was free to roam wherever she wanted and the Trinity River always made her feel at ease.
The air was cool and the feel of it on her skin caused goose pimples to form. Usually she would attempt to wrap up when coming out to a place like this; however, she welcomed actually feeling something on her skin and let out a long relaxed breath, allowing the water to soothe her busy mind. She thought back to the night before and why she had drank so much, she had finally managed to corner her old friend Holly's Mother a few days ago and the woman had provided some interesting information about Dylan, which led her to a long list of women.
Gail had sensed his warmness was too good to be true; however, she had ignored the signs due to her ongoing battle with Lucas and now she felt disappointed in herself for being so trusting. It turned out Dylan had lulled Holly into a false sense of security when she was younger and took advantage of her. After following Holly's Mothers advice and speaking to a few more women, it turned out Dylan was known as a predator by many women in these parts and he liked to prey on weak minded individuals. Thankfully she was not weak and had instantly shut him out of her life, even though it killed her to obey Lucas' order.
It appeared that she was not destined for any normal relationship, whether it be friendship or otherwise. It had come to her attention that Christie was enquiring about Lucas again and knowing her friend as well as she did, this meant she was suspicious about something in particular and Christie would not let it go until she found the answers she required. It did not take a genius to narrow down her suspicions to the Tattooists death and Gail knew Christie's suspicions were partly due to her own recent portrayal of her husband, which she should have been better at keeping hidden.
As usual, Christie's possessiveness of her shone through and Gail did not know what she was going to do to fix it this time. Her darkness had subsided a lot since she had chosen to leave Lucas and their home, she did not want a repeat of the last time it reared it's head to correct the situation with Christie and the matter was beginning to cause her anxiety.
An uncomfortable feeling of being watched suddenly came over Gail and she stopped in her tracks. Before she had the chance to summon her darkness, she heard Dylan's soft voice and turned towards him, unimpressed by his sudden presence. 'Are you following me?' she asked casually, not allowing her distrust of him to show.
'You stopped answering my calls and this was the only way I had of seeing you' he smiled cautiously, when she saw her on the edge of the bridge and closed the distance between them.
Gail inhaled deeply in an attempt to hide her irritation, then forced a warm smile. 'I stopped answering your calls as I have a job to do and children to care for. I can't be at your beckon call every moment of the day' she said sarcastically and watched him carefully.
Dylan continued to smile and pulled his arm from behind his back, to reveal a bouquet of flowers. 'I thought I might've done somethin' wrong and wanted to apologise' he advised, pushing the flowers towards her.
Gail could not hold in her laughter and shook her head at the bouquet of red roses in front of her. At least Lucas had the brain span to mix it up and try to give her something unique. 'I've done nothing to deserve these, you should give them to a nice girl who isn't married' she smiled, not hiding the judgement from her tone.
'I don't care that you're married and you're a nice girl' Dylan advised, stepping closer to her.
'Far too nice for me' Lucas stated abruptly, as he approached the pair and shot Gail an accusing look.
Gail sensed his fury and rolled her eyes at the obvious betrayal he had imagined this meeting with Dylan to be, then stepped away from the edge and closer to her husband. Before she had a chance to explain, Lucas closed the distance between them and stared down at her dominantly.
'You know what I look for in a companion? Loyalty' Lucas advised, as he stared deep into Gail's eyes angrily and shook his head at what she was forcing him to do. He could not allow this betrayal to go unpunished and now he was required to take action to make it clear to his townspeople that his property should not be coveted.
'Listen man, nothin' happened and we were just talki...' Dylan started, then felt a hand shove him hard and he fell sideways off of the bridge.
Lucas watched bemused for a moment, as Gail's arm came out and shoved Dylan hard when he was in mid sentence. He stared at her cautiously for a moment, then smiled devilishly when he saw something dark pass over her eyes.
'I have no issue with loyalty, do you?' Gail asked flatly, ignoring Dylan completely and turned around, then began walking away as if oblivious to the seriousness of what she had just done.
'Gail?' Lucas called after her, unsure of what she expected from him but amused at her unexpected action.
Gail stopped for a moment, glanced over the side of the bridge casually and smiled when Dylan emerged for a moment, then sank back down into the water as if being pulled. 'Clean this up won't you soulmate?' she asked sweetly and walked back towards her car, not wanting to be near any of these men right now.
-To be continued-