Pauses
Sorry about yesterday, just, stop being so odd OK? –Molly 08:09
Had five days of pretending to be other people, don't blame your Jimmy. –Jim xx 08:11
Right. –Molly 08:12
Honest (you know me I can't lie.) Look out for post, I'll make it up to you again. –Jim xx 08:18
In the POST?- Molly 08:21
;) –Jim xx 08:23
No bodies arrived at work that day, and there was nothing from Jim at home, either.
After that, Molly couldn't get in contact with Jim for six weeks. This happened fairly regularly, but six weeks was rather longer than normal. Molly remembered his late night bloodstained appearance those years ago after an absence of contact. It seemed a long while back.
Meanwhile, Molly continued her daily routine with a resigned monotony; no more bodies as presents, no emails, no communication at all. Her texts began to bounce after the third week: 'Message not sent,' so she didn't text again. Jim had always been the kind of person to get in touch with you anyway, and not the other way round.
After three weeks of isolated silence Molly even tried dating someone to liven up dull weekends. She wondered somewhere in the back of her mind if that would trigger Jim's return into her life. It didn't. The other man was fine, average height, average good looks, brown hair, good teeth and just a little older than her, but Molly wasn't like Jim. The constant act of normal, lively, and interested became a drag so she broke it off with vague but plausible excuses. Toby the cat missed him. The only thing Molly missed was the sex.
It was a six weeks to the day since Jim's disappearance when Sebastian arrived at her work.
Molly was called down from upstairs as there's 'some bloke with a parcel that's, like, specifically for you.' Bloke was such a funny word to describe Sebastian with. He was round the back entrance to the lab in a uniform with a parcel, looking ridiculous in the delivery company jacket. It reminded Molly of those strippers you can hire for people's parties to embarrass them. She mentally scolded herself but couldn't help greeting him with a smile, though of course she pretended not to know him.
Sebastian's mouth almost twitched into a smile too, while at the same time looking incredibly irritated. Molly couldn't tell which half of the expression was real, and which half was acted. He thrust a small parcel at her, "I presume you're her."
"Yes." Molly smiled sweetly. "Do I need to sign for it then?"
They went through the charade, in case anyone saw them, Sebastian leaning casually on the metal door frame. Behind him was the ally and the bins. The corridor they were standing in was brightly lit but scruffy; for deliveries.
Molly pocketed the parcel in her long white lab coat's pocket and Sebastian turned to go.
Molly suddenly thought and stepped forwards, catching his jacket with her fingertips, "Wait a second- do you want to have lunch?"
At that moment she heard the footsteps behind her of a colleague- the dull click of heeled shoes -so Sebastian smiled especially dully, fakely, "Sure. Where?"
"The Café opposite? Percie's? At One?"
Sebastian smiled, nodded, left.
Molly turned round to find Linda watching her with a sardonic smile. She was maybe fifty, with thick mousey greying hair cut short and thick framed glasses. "That was very forward."
Molly smiled coyly, "Well," she gestured upstairs to the morgue, "life is short, and he was hot."
Linda seemed a little surprise and raised an eyebrow, but it was underlined with a smile that was almost with admiration. Molly smiled back, faking embarrassment quite well, awkwardly grinned as she took leave from Linda, "Sorry I'd best get-"
"Oh of course-"
Molly even thought she heard a murmur, 'he was rather' as she went.
In the stairwell and out of sight, Molly paused as she heard Linda's footsteps retreat down the corridor away from her. Molly smiled, and was for a moment proud of Linda's admiration and jealously, but then remembered that actually she only wanted to ask Sebastian what happened to Jim. Because of Linda's presence she couldn't elicit a promise from him, and Sebastian might not turn up.
Irritating.
Molly turned to go back upstairs, but the parcel in her pocket bumped against her leg as she climbed another few steps, so checking she was still alone, she stopped and took it out. It was reasonably light. Molly wondered what kind of thing Jim would send her, if it wasn't a body.
The package was marked with a fake postal stamp and the address, brown paper, very neatly wrapped. It took a few seconds of intent picking with a fingernail to get under the tape. Inside was a phone, black, shiny, thin and touch screen. Molly had never had a touch screen phone before. She didn't know anyone who did, well, Jim must do by now. He did love computers and gadgets.
She located a button top and pressed it on, the screen flashing to life in blacks greens and blues. Molly leant against the stair rail and waited for it to load, slipping the paper wrappings back in her pocket. It look her some cautious tapping to out how to navigate the welcome screen and find out how to stop the 'message' icon from flashing at her. It was a text, that she opened. The contact was labelled unhelpfully, 'me,' thought of course she didn't need a name, but she might want to save her own number on there at some point in the future. The text read:
Don't text me trivialities, but ring this number if anything weird happens. Stick to your old phone till I see you. Xx
From Jim. Two 'x's, as always.
There would be plenty of questions to ask Sebastian at lunch. Molly pocketed the phone and ran up the stairs, knowing her colleagues would be full of questions about the package. Molly knew that the best lies however, are based on the truth. Friend, present, apology.
0o0
Sebastian was folded up in the tinny cheap metal chair outside the café, on the street. His longs legs were bent awkwardly under the dull metal slats of the seat, and his shoulders were hunched, his whole posture radiating irritation and boredom. He had a cup of tea in front of him, which Molly found quite funny. He looked like he should be drinking black coffee, as if all beverages should reflect their drinker like in story books.
Molly sat down opposite him. Her knee tapped the shiny table which set it wobbling and Sebastian's tea tipping precariously close to spillage, as the table legs or the pavement were unequal or uneven.
"Woops, sorry."
Molly dropped her handbag by her feet, and ordered a latte and a panini from the bored bleach blonde waitress who had been hovering since she saw a customer approach. Once the café door shut again and they were left alone with the rush of lunchtime traffic and passing pedestrians, Molly looked up at Sebastian.
"Sorry about the lunch thing, but I don't know how to contact you otherwise and Jim said not to text him-"
"-Unless it's vitally important-"
"-Exactly."
Molly sighed and waited for a man with a briefcase to pass their table.
"So where is he?"
"I don't know." Sebastian's face relaxed a little and he reached out to grab his tea to stop it from spilling as Molly rested her forearms on the table which wobbled again. He curled his large hands around the cheap white mug. "He doesn't tell me where, it's safer."
"How about why then?"
Sebastian looked up at her considering. "I thought he'd tell you, but maybe not." He raised his eyebrows with a 'well it is Jim' expression, then took a long drink of his tea.
Molly waited.
Sebastian sighed and rolled his eyes a little, "He sort, lost all of his money."
Her surprise was genuine, "How on earth did he do that?"
"He made a mistake, he was showing off, it's a long and very, very complex story, I get pretty bloody confused too." Sebastian drank more tea. "Basically, he doesn't actually care about the money, he actually thought it was funny at the time although he was a bit-" Sebastian frowned and carried on, "Anyway, he didn't care but he needed to get away from stuff, people, who were," a couple passed close to their table and he froze in mid-sentence then carried on once they were out of earshot, "out to get him. He's fine though."
Molly laughed gently in disbelief, though she really, truly did believe Sebastian. "I guess he's abroad?"
Sebastian shrugged affectedly then finished his tea. The cup made a horrible click on the tin table. At that moment the waitress came back with Molly's food.
The latte looked like milk and the panini was a little dark, but it has been very quick. They both waited till the woman left again and Molly poked at it.
"I didn't realise you literally meant lunch." Sebastian had leant back in his chair which gave a faint metal creak.
"Well this is actually my lunch break, so yes, lunch isn't always code for secret chat," Molly smiled sardonically, then picked up her knife and fort and cut a piece of her panini off with a wobble of the table.
Sebastian watched her eat for a minute, before she looked up at him. Molly suddenly noticed how tired he looked. Not physically tired, but there was resignation in his eyes that she didn't think she'd seen before.
"Are, um, you okay?"
"Fine."
Molly picked up her latte and took a sip, eyes on Sebastian, "What have you done since he left?"
"This and that. Made sure that he can come back, if you know what I mean."
Molly nodded. The latte was foul.
It suddenly occurred to her that Sebastian might be short on money, what with Jim's absence. After-all, Sebastian didn't have a 'normal' job to tide him by like Molly did.
"Has Jim, you know, paid you recently?"
Sebastian's stony features cracked into a smile that made him really quite stunning, "Oh don't worry about that, I got last months wage and to be honest I could live off it for at least six months."
Molly smiled a little awkwardly, "Oh, good. I just thought-"
"I understand."
Molly nodded, paused, then was about to speak but found her words over lapping with Sebastian's:
"I wonder-"
"I think I'd-"
Molly stopped and gestured to Sebastian to continue.
"I'd better be going."
Molly set down her cutlery as a wave of tourists' French washed over them from a group passing their table. She smiled to Sebastian, "Okay, thanks for coming."
Sebastian awkwardly climbed out of his chair, stretching his shoulders back as he stood up. The sun was high and it was difficult to see his expression from where Molly was seated. She squinted up at him. He stuck his hands in his pockets and nodded curtly to her, before turning round and walking down the street away from her, a tall figure with a long stride and a dark jacket.
Molly alone ate the rest of the panini and left the coffee, taking her time, watching the life on the street go past. She even took out the new phone and checked it a few times, but there were no new messages and she didn't want to text him, Jim. It was hard to read the screen in the light anyway.
It was sunny again, and dull. Dull, hazy and polluted weather that encouraged pedestrians to bare their winter white arms and squint enthralled as though they'd never seen the sun before. Molly put her phone away and watched the street, her mind half turning over false stories for her colleagues from her lunch date with the delivery man.
She was sure she would see Jim soon, and that made every lie and tedious day to day okay. Also, the phone must mean he was coming back soon, and she doubted she'd need to contact him anyway: there had been no suspicious men lurking near her flat and she doubted she'd be much good to blackmail Jim with anyway. Blackmail with people on Jim could never work. She knew he'd let her die if he had to.
Molly wondered if their roles were reversed, if she'd do the same to him.
Possibly.
A bus tooted its horn loudly and she jerked back into real life. Molly checked the time and jumped- she had to get back to work.
She paid and left the café, her mind vaguely occupied with how she could be the first one to greet Jim on his return, over Sebastian. She almost laughed at her self for the possessiveness, but nevertheless it occupied her for the rest of the afternoon at work.
Molly got home a little late, fed her cat, and spent another evening alone.
Author's note:
Firstly- sorry for the long absence of new stuff. Final exams coming up, yada-yada. Also, a few things. Firstly about the phone. This is set quite a few years before 'A Study in Pink' so touch screen phones aren't really a big thing yet. Molly's hardly a gadget girl, but I didn't want to give off an impression that she's super backward! Secondly- anyone get the obscure 'Doctor Who' reference? Thirdly- don't worry, this isn't going to be a Sebastian/Molly fic or a Jim/Sebastian fic, I just like Sebastian and Molly interacting, okay? They're funny together, both head over heels for Jim. Poor things.