Hello, how are you?
It's so typical of me to talk about myself, I'm sorry
I hope that you're well
Did you ever make it out of that town where nothing ever happened?
It's no secret that the both of us
Are running out of time
So hello from the other side
I must've called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call you never seem to be home
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart
-"Hello" Adele
Santa Barbara: 2014
Juliet stood at the doorway and looked into the dark room. Oddly enough Mother Nature seemed to read her situation as rain poured down behind the open door. Earlier that morning she'd received a quick visit from Henry with a note from Shawn and news that his landlord planned on throwing whatever was left in his apartment into the dumpster the next day. After putting the unread note in her jewelry box Juliet grabbed her keys and drove over to Shawn's apartment to collect what belongings she may have left at his place.
Exactly a week ago they'd been cuddling on the couch in front of her watching 'American Horror Story' and just being a couple. Now she was single and he was gone. The guilt was slowly starting to eat her away. It was her fault Shawn was chased from the city. If she hadn't gone to that bar and ran into Declan… maybe she would have forgiven him and they'd be together again.
Juliet shook her head and finally stepped away from the door. A crunch under her foot and she stepped away, a picture frame. She frowned but ignored it and headed into the apartment. The detective side of her brain quickly noticed the essentials and various personal belongings gone. His bedroom, which had once been littered with color and clothes, was dark and clothing free.
She hadn't seen his cycle down in the parking lot meaning he had ridden it out and couldn't have taken all these things with him. Someone else had come into the apartment before her, probably Henry.
Not wanting to be there longer then she had to Juliet quickly gathered what few of her things were there and began to leave his apartment. A quick glance around the bare living room and she was finally ready to leave the room for good, until a glint caught her eye. She set down the box she'd found and grabbed the silver chain that had shinned moments before. Holding the chain in her hands Juliet shut her eyes to keep the tears at bay. Getting up, grabbing the boxes and keeping the chain in her pocket and Juliet left Shawn's old apartment for good.
Santa Barbara: 2019
Chaos reigned as Buzz was taken from the room on a stretcher and the dead body of Donald Mike laid in a puddle of it's own blood. Shawn sat motionless in the observation room while Juliet talked with Carlton and a few other members of station. Juliet was covered in blood and the front of Carlton's shirt was vaguely stained from when he'd had to pull her away so the paramedics could get to Buzz. He would be taken to the hospital and as of now wasn't in too much danger.
"Spencer you ready?" Carlton knocked on the wall. Shawn turned his head towards the man and gave a nod. "We just need you to give a statement of what you saw."
"He slit his throat." Shawn said leaning off the table and beginning to head towards Carlton.
Carlton sighed, "I need more than that. Details. Use your head. The press is already outside, the vultures." Shawn stopped walking.
"He knew I was in there." Shawn said quietly, "He looked right at me through the one way mirror. Directly at me Lassiter." A hand on his shoulder gave him more confidence. "There's no way he could have known I was in there unless he was told I was in there."
"You think there's another mole?" Juliet asked taking her hand off his shoulder.
"How else could he have known?" Shawn turned to her.
"A guess. He could have guessed." Carlton spun on his heel to look at the pair.
"I don't think I like this…" Juliet met Shawn's eyes uneasily.
"He's dead." Carlton reminded them, "What a pity he wasn't useful enough to catch us the real killer."
"You didn't think he did it?" Shawn looked at Carlton in surprise.
"Of course not Spencer, I'm not an idiot." Carlton scoffed. "I'm going to go and make an announcement to the press. Donald Mike killed himself after confessing the identity of the real culprit."
"Old fashion scare tactic. Chase out the killer, not bad Lassiter." Shawn nodded.
"I want your statement, then you both may leave. O'Hara you better be at your desk by seven o'clock tomorrow morning. I'm going to need all hands on deck." Carlton turned away and disappeared into his office.
"I'll take your statement at the house Shawn." Juliet crossed her arms over her chest.
"Are you allowed to do that?"
"I don't care I want to change." She looked down at her blood-soiled shirt.
"You know that's not coming out right?" Shawn followed her gaze.
"I guessed as much." Juliet nodded. Shawn took her hand and gently led her out of the station. He drove the way back to the house as Juliet could barely keep her eyes open even though it was just hitting two in the afternoon. After getting out of the car himself Shawn opened her door and watched as she sluggishly got out.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired." She leaned against the vehicle and rubbed her eyes.
"Daddy!" Shawn heard Zuri yell.
"Mom!" Shawn motioned to Zuri. Henry grabbed Zuri before she could make a run towards him. "Take her… somewhere. Out of the house." Shawn said loudly. He didn't want Zuri to see Juliet's bloody shirt and he knew Juliet needed to retire to bed soon or else she'd pass out so upstairs wasn't an option.
Thankfully his parents saw the look on his face and soon his mother and Zuri were driving away. Shawn put his arm around Juliet's waist and legs then he lifted her up and carried her into the house.
"What the hell happened?" Henry questioned.
"Mike killed himself and stabbed Buzz in the chest." Shawn explained, "Juliet tried to stop the bleeding. That's why she's covered in blood." Shawn sat her down on the couch.
"Is he alright?"
"He was taken to the hospital but the paramedic said it didn't hit anything vital." Shawn sat next to Juliet on the couch.
"How did he get a… knife?"
"Glass." Juliet whispered putting her head on Shawn's shoulder.
"Glass, into the room in the first place? All suspects are supposed to be frisked and handled." Henry sat across from them onto the recliner.
"We think there's another inside man. It explains how the glass would have gotten by and how he knew I was there." Shawn put his hand in Juliet's hair.
Henry frowned, "He knew you were there?"
"I think this involves me somehow. I don't know why or how but Mike knew I was there. He looked right at me while he slit his throat." Shawn put a hand on his own throat and closed his eyes. The memory was still fresh and with his gift the image flashed again and Shawn could've sworn he was watching the incident in flesh.
"Don't say that Shawn." Juliet shook her head.
"If that's true we need to find the connection." Henry stood up and walked over to the hall closet. From inside he pulled out a small kickstand and a white board and set it up. With a black marker Henry started writing the names of Turner, Fisher and Mike with arrows going back and forth.
"You have a whiteboard in your closet just sitting around?" Juliet asked.
"You're talking to the man who never retires and was a cop for like a hundred years." Shawn looked down at her.
"No, Shawn." Henry shot a quick glare towards him. "Turner and Fisher are cousins." As Henry spoke he wrote on the board.
"What's the connection to Mike and them?" Shawn rested his head on the back of the couch.
"Background research came up with nothing. No criminal records can match them." Juliet added.
"Medical?" Henry ran a hand down his face.
"Nothing in the files."
Henry sighed. "Shawn you knew Turner right? He sold you alcohol?"
"Wait. If Turner and Fisher were cousins and in jail around the same time it's more than plausible that they were in business together." Juliet pointed out.
Henry gave a single nod with a smile, "When were they in Jail?" Shawn asked.
"Early 2000 I think." Juliet answered.
"That's near the time I was in school." Shawn stood up and took the marker from Henry. "What if Turner and Fisher were partners?" Shawn made a connecting line between the two names.
"It wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume Mike was related to that business." Henry added.
"We can't assume something like that." Juliet said, "That's a big connection if it's true. It needs to be factual."
"She's right Pop." Shawn leaned an arm against the board.
"Think Shawn. Try and see if you can picture Mike anywhere." Henry turned to Shawn.
"Well… there may have been one incident." Shawn whispered.
"What happened?" Juliet turned all her attention on him. Shawn closed his eyes and thought back.
Santa Barbara: 1995
Shawn raced up the wood steps and opened the door. The sudden smell of booze and pounding music hit him all at once. Where the couch should have been in this house was a small makeshift stage where a new band was blaring their music. Shawn entered the room fully and squeezed through the room of people trying to find his friends.
"Bonnie!" He yelled catching a glimpse of his friend's trademark purple hair-streak.
"Spencer!" She reached across someone's face and grabbed his hand pulling her to him.
"Fuck what's with all the people?" Shawn looked around and couldn't see the wall on the other side.
Bonnie shook her head and held onto his hand tight, "I have no idea. I think it's because Tolkin got so much booze."
"Man, let's go find Jessie." Shawn led Bonnie out of the kitchen and into the pounding living room, which housed the dance floor.
"I don't see her." Bonnie stood on a small table to get a better look. "No, she's not in here." She reported.
"Are you sure she's even here at the party?" Shawn shouted over the music.
"She came here earlier with Max…" Bonnie met his eyes.
"Max!" They both yelled. Bonnie carefully jumped from the table and crossed the floor meeting Shawn at the back door. He opened it and the two piled outside looking around.
"Hey Max!"
"He-ey Shawn!" Max nodded at Shawn with a smile.
"Max have you seen Jessie?" Shawn asked.
"Nah man… Well not since she went with that dude." Max nodded his head with the beat from inside and pulled a cigarette from his jeans.
"What dude? Max?" Bonnie smacked his checks to get him to focus. Max pointed in a direction towards the small grove of trees next to the house. Shawn jumped from the porch and barely remembered to wait for Bonnie's smaller legs.
"Wait." She grabbed his arm to stop him, "Maybe we should call your dad."
"Are you kidding me?" Shawn turned on her, "If we call my dad he'll just arrest me again."
"Jessie went off with some random guy Shawn. What if something happens to her?" Bonnie knew the reason why Shawn was afraid to call his dad and she couldn't blame him, hell she was scared of his dad.
"We can find her. Look," He pointed at the ground. "Car tracks." Shawn picked up a medium trot and followed the trail. They slowed to a walk and soon the noise of music grew distant until they couldn't hear it at all. After a mile or two the bright embers of a fire became visible. "Shh." Shawn bent behind a bush Bonnie following his example.
"You idiots!" A voice laughed.
"That sounds like Jessie." Bonnie whispered. Shawn moved his eyes around the sight looking for their friend. It wasn't hard to find her. Jessie was sitting next to the fire with a bottle of liquid; Shawn assumed was some sort of alcohol, and a cigarette in her hand.
"Stay here." Shawn told Bonnie standing up. "Jessie," He called walking over.
"Well, well, well. Looky what we have here?" A man stood up and staggered clearly drunk.
"It's time to go Jessie." Shawn told her without looking at the man.
"C'mon Shawn." Jessie slurred. "Join the-" She hiccupped, "Party."
"Yeah Shawn." The drunken man put his arm around Shawn's shoulder. "Join the party."
"No thanks," Shawn shrugged the man's arm off and forcefully grabbed Jessie's wrist pulling her up, "You're going home with me now." Jessie didn't attest to the movement and instead followed. Bonnie came from around the bush and placed her jack around Jessie's bare shoulders.
"Don't move another inch." Shawn froze at the sound of a cocking gun, he'd know it anywhere. "If that girl don't wanna go with you she ain't gotta go." The man's voice was thick with a Texan accent.
"She's not protesting is she?" Shawn retorted his shoulder's squaring.
"Bitch is too drunk to make a choice for herself." The drunk make said making a humping motion.
"Hush up Marshall, you too Timothy." The Texan man scolded the roar of laughter from the dunk man and the other man whom Shawn hadn't even seen. "That's no way to treat a lady."
"Look man I'm just trying to get her home, that's it. I promise." Shawn said still not having moved.
"Go on, get." The Texan finally said after a few minutes. As Shawn and Bonnie hurriedly ushered Jessie away he heard the Texan yell for another man.
Santa Barbara: 2019
"You wait 'till now to tell us this?" Henry yells at Shawn.
"I completely blocked this night out dad. We got Jessie home then Bonnie and I drank some of her father's liquor." Shawn rubbed his hands together.
"Do you remember the name of the man the Texan shouted?" Juliet asked leaning towards Shawn.
"I think it started with a D…" Shawn trailed off.
"Donald Mike." Juliet pulled out her phone and dialed.
"How many of these parties did you attend?" Henry looked at Shawn.
Shawn shrugged, "Enough to go to take my finals hung-over."
"Carlton we found a connection between Fisher, Turner and Mike." Juliet stood up slowly. "Shawn met them back in '95 but he blocked it out. He remembers them and another man." Juliet paused.
"Did you get a description?" She walks towards Shawn.
"No. Just his voice." Shawn folds his arms.
"Just auditory." Juliet responded to Carlton on the phone. "Okay." She hung up.
"What'd he say?"
"Deal with it in the morning." Juliet sat on the couch and sighed in frustration.
"That's it?" Shawn shook his head. He finally gives information that could move the path along and they put a road block down.
"With everything going on… Carlton can't get on with it. He wants to be a part of the investigation." Juliet explained.
"I'm going to bed." Shawn announced leaving the room abruptly. He walked up the stairs into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. A few seconds later the door opened and Juliet stood in the doorway with an all-knowing look on her face.
"I told myself I wouldn't get into this…" He sat onto the bed running his hands through his hair. "I'm putting myself at risk, putting Zuri at rick… I can't do this. I have a daughter I- I'm not the same." He looks up at Juliet meeting her eyes. "I'm not the man you fell in love with."
Juliet gradually shuts the door behind her and joins Shawn at the edge of the bed, gently taking his hands from his hair. "You're an extension of the man I fell in love with. A gorgeous beautiful man and I don't know what I would do without you."
"No, no!" Shawn jumped up. "You were probably saying that to Declan less than two days ago." He begins to walk around.
"Can't you see it's different? It's always been different. Get that through your thick head Spencer, I've always treated you different than him." Juliet said trying to grab him again but he evades her.
"You got engaged to him."
"You had a kid with your ex."
"It's not like I impregnated her." Shawn stopped to look out the window.
"No you didn't." Juliet agreed.
"You sold me out…" Shawn talked slowly not looking at her. "We could be married. Have kids of our own. Do you ever think of that?"
"Of course I do!" Juliet shouted. Shawn turned to find her right behind him on the verge of tears, "Every girl pictures themselves in the future with their boyfriend. Ours was so clear. I could see it. Married, kids, pugs, maybe even grandkids down the road, I don't know. But I messed up Shawn. I fucked up." Juliet confessed.
"You have no idea how many times I sat in front of this house in my car just trying to get up the courage to ask your parents for your number." Juliet pointed to the street. "I love you, I wanted you." Shawn stepped forward and put his arms around her waist. She grabbed his shirt and gripped the dirty fabric in her fists, "I missed you so much."
"It's okay." Shawn rested his forehead against hers, "It's okay." He says to calm her.
"It's not okay, don't let it be okay." He can feel the tears as they begin to fall from her eyes.
"Look at me," He tries to force her chin up, "Look at me." He commands hooking a finger and lifting her chin up.
"I forgive you Jules. So it's time you forgave yourself." Shawn smiles at her.
"You just called me Jules." Juliet smiles after a few seconds. Without another word Shawn closes the distance between them and kisses her passionately, the final years of distance and longing being lifted. Wrapping her arms around his neck Juliet brings Shawn down with her as he pushes her slowly onto the bed.
"Don't stop, please." Juliet breathlessly says when Shawn pulls away.
"I'm not going to." Shawn promises. "I love you Jules." With his entire body pressed into hers and their last hurdle jumped Juliet flips them over so he's pressed onto the mattress below with her straddling his hips.
"I love you Shawn."
I'm trying to wrap this story up within the next few chapters so expect things to be closing and settling down.
I may be interested in continuing this little family line- by this point you all know Shawn and Juliet are together- in a squeal. Little Shawn, Juliet and Zuri adventures in being a family. Would you readers be interested in that? Or would you rather I wrap everything nicely in this? Your opinion does matter. So leave a thought! Thanks for reading.
