Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Returning home had become an oxymoron in its own right—a safe heartache.
Home had the connotations of safety, and, as Lee unlaced her boots and threw her jacket over the coat rack, she exhaled, taking comfort in the fact that the mask could fall away.
And yet, its contradictory nature came into the fold the second that she acknowledged that her home was also the place in which she had made the decision to don the mask in the first place.
She made her way over towards the bathroom first and foremost, releasing water from the tap as she splashed her face with it. She exhaled gradually as the cool liquid dripped down her face, over her chin, and back into the sink.
Lee Holmes reminded herself at that moment that today was Monday, and Monday was often kind to her.
It was kind to her in the respect that Monday was the day of the week in which she opened up her group chat with Sienna, Kat, and Natalie on her laptop, turned on the television, and watched, and commented on their favorite reality TV show.
She had decided to use her laptop exactly two Mondays after this routine had started, acknowledging that her opinions came to her too quickly to keep up with her thumbs as she tapped away on her phone, and her typing speed was considerably faster on her keyboard after years of working as a journalist.
Throwing her laptop down onto the couch after retrieving it from the bedroom, she made her way towards the kitchen, retrieving a few snacks in the process as an impromptu dinner and a can of cheap orange soda from the fridge that somewhat resembled a more expensive brand.
When she finally sat down on the couch, she let out an embarrassing moan of relief, grateful to finally be off her feet as she grabbed the remote control, using her other hand to power on her laptop in the process.
Lee felt more at home now than she had all week, watching her phone vibrate with notification after notification, the conversation having already started without her.
She took a quick glance at the screen without paying too much attention, her eyes predominantly focused on scrolling through the electronic guide on the television in order to find the channel that broadcasted their favorite show.
The news channel, namely, the last channel she had watched previously, played in a small square in the left-hand corner whilst she did so.
Sienna 5:51pm: I literally have a ring of snacks around me right now. Kat’s looking over at me with an intense judgement that I’m not sure I can handle for the entirety of the episode.
Kat 5:51pm: ok, she’s literally lying. i’m not judging her at all but also it’s not even THAT many snacks.
Kat 5:51pm: Kat sent a photo.
Lee Holmes paused her scrolling for just a moment, this time picking up her laptop now that it had booted up in order to take a look at the photo Kat had sent.
She shook her head as if the group could see her, but they had opted to stop video chatting after week three when Natalie had taken her phone to the toilet with her and they had all seen more than they would have liked to have seen. She began clacking upon her keyboard.
Lee H 5:53pm: Sorry, Sienna. I’m with Kat on this one. Anything below seven variations of snack is not a surplus, I’m afraid.
Natalie 5:53pm: Agree to disagree. If I ate that many snacks, I’d call you bitches just so you would have to watch me on the toilet for several hours. Again.
Lee laughed whilst Sienna sent a GIF of a cartoon character she didn't recognize throwing up.
As the chat continued to flourish, she resumed her scrolling through the television guide.
It was only when the news anchor began reeling off a new story that her thumb removed itself from the remote control completely.
There was an invisible force in the room, sucking all of the air out of it, injecting the atmosphere with a fear that filled Lee’s lungs as she gasped for any sense of relief.
She was grateful at least to be sitting down, her legs trembling as her heartbeat thumped through her ears so loudly that she could barely hear the television.
Police officials have discovered a body at Carrington Park, confirmed to be that of forty-three-year-old Oscar Tippits.
Tippits was found in the early hours of the morning by a cyclist on the 13th of September.
The victim is believed to have been subdued by strangulation, followed by multiple stab wounds in order to end his life.
He was recently released from prison after serving two years for possession of indecent images concerning a child.
Detectives are looking for any information that may assist with the identification of the perpetrator, alongside any witnesses that may have seen, or even heard, anything suspicious in the area within the last week.
Forensics believe to have found partial DNA on the body, which they are hoping will prove fruitful in discovering the identity of the attacker.
Stay tuned for more information as we receive it.
Our next story involves a fire within a residence at Grisham Avenue…
Lee Holmes muted the television, but didn’t turn it off, allowing the silence to envelop her for just a moment as vivid images of a home burning to the ground haunted the screen.
New York was an exceptionally large place, and yet to assume that someone other than Morgan would have killed a child predator so close to home would be an incredibly ridiculous assumption to make.
It was almost humorous, she thought, as she sat there, sinking into her couch as if it were made of quicksand.
Her mind had been buzzing for weeks, plagued by the idea that both she and Morgan could be discovered, and now that the possibility of that happening was more likely than ever, her mind was simply… quiet.
Her gaze began to blur as she realized that she hadn’t so much as blinked for approximately the last fifteen seconds.
Her mouth was half-open, as if forgetting to close it, or no longer being sure as to how to do so, she wasn’t sure.
She acknowledged the birds making noise outside, the very distant car alarm from another street perhaps perpendicular to hers, as if her senses had been heightened, as she simply sat, her arms laid out flat at either side of her, and did nothing.
An eerie silence lingered after that for ten minutes or so, until Lee Holmes broke it with laughter.
After being unable to do anything besides breathe previously, she suddenly found herself unable to control the cackling sound as it spilled out of her, tears rolling down her cheeks in a sweet delirious state.
Her phone vibrated to the left of her, pulling her out of her hysteria for just a moment as her background illuminated the screen once again, visualizing her trip to Paris with Morgan, and it sent her over the edge for a second time.
The room erupted with chuckles as she pictured herself and Morgan packing a suitcase and fleeing the country.
They had always said they wanted to return to Paris, after all.
Lee Holmes understood that her amusement was temporary, and that the shock was still setting in, but at present time, she wielded it like a drug inside her veins and savored every last second of it.
When the laughter had dissipated, so too had her newfound energy. The last thing she remembered was her phone slipping out of her fingers, as she herself slipped into a state of unconsciousness, falling asleep upon the couch.
Lee Holmes awoke to a door closing which she recognized immediately to be towards the front of the apartment. The tears of laughter had settled around her eyes, upsetting her makeup, leaving a feeling of dryness around her cheeks.
The first thing she truly noticed upon waking up was that she no longer felt like laughing.
The room had become darker now, the television illuminating the small space in blues and greens, and various other colors.
When the nearby light flickered on, Lee winced at the brightness, focusing her attention afterwards towards the woman who was presently standing in front of her after having turned on the light.
“Baby?” Morgan said, practically whispering, taking a seat beside Lee on the couch. “Are you alright?”
Lee shifted her position in order to immediately retract herself from the situation, using any remaining strength inside of her to stand.
Her eyes burned through Morgan's own as she attempted to force out a sarcastic cackle, although she truly had used up all of her crazed madness for one day, it seemed, when nothing came out. “Tell me,” Lee said, a certain shakiness in her voice that she desperately wished would perish as quickly as it had arrived. “Tell me that they won’t find your fingerprints on the body of Oscar Tippits, and that we have nothing to worry about. Better yet, tell me you had nothing to do with his murder at all.”
When she was met with nothing but silence, Lee’s lip quivered, and she cursed herself for it.
Even when her girlfriend was panicked, or worried, she always had an air of mystery about her—a cavalier attitude that she herself wished she could adopt.
Morgan Finch might very well be a dragon running out of fire, but she was a dragon, nonetheless.
Lee Holmes never wielded any fire to begin with.
Morgan Finch huffed, her head in her hands as she gazed towards the floor.
She stayed that way for a few seconds before finally rubbing her hands over her face and flattening her hair.
After she was done, she set her arms firmly at her sides, and looked at Lee.
“I wish I could tell you that, Lee, I really do.”
“But you can’t?” Lee asked.
“No, I can’t.”
“Well in case you weren’t aware, his fucking body has been found.”
“I know.”