A place for people to find my writing without going through a billion reblogs and for me to stay organized. Main @james-stark-the-writer. Come join my discord link at James's WIPs server
hey, y'all sorry for basically vanishing for half a year but I was severely creatively burntout and I had hit a roadblock with one of the povs so I could barely get anything done. But! there is a new chapter of A Year At The Opera up to read as promised! It's about 5.5K words so it's shorter than my usual stuff but it is a fun little read. go read it here!
Read Chapter 22: Rippled Reflections and Emotional Damage from the story A Year At The Opera by JamesStark612 (James St...
Here's that chapter I promised, y'all! And it's a good sized chunk (8.2K words) and a big piece of the puzzle in terms of the plot so I hope y'all enjoy it! It's got a new povđ, a bunch of plot stuff, some answers about Carson and even some development on the spell front! Anyway, I don't wanna spoil anything but this was honestly one of my favorite chapters to write (mostly because I'd been planning parts of it for almost 3 years now) but yeah! go read!
Read Chapter 21: Trouble Don't Stop Looking For Prey from the story A Year At The Opera by JamesStark612 (James Stark)...
I know I've been gone for like 2 months but with finals looming overhead it was hard to get anything done but now that the semester is over, I'm writing properly again and it's been pretty productive, I got 8K words and a whole chapter written just yesterday so y'all will be getting more content soon but for now, the new AYATO chapter is up, y'all!
this is just a tiny interlude to get Nate's overarching story really going but I hope y'all have fun reading it! episode 7's intro will be up soon, once I edit chapter 21. should be done and up in a few days as well!
Read Interlude Seven: Whispers In The Dark from the story A Year At The Opera by JamesStark612 (James Stark) with 3 rea...
hiiiiii, everyone!! A new chapter of A Year At The Opera is up to read!! Sorry this one took a little longer than expected but this was a very hard chapter to nail down, especially bc we have a new character POV!! I hope y'all enjoy it!! Go read it here!!
Read Chapter 19: Things To Look Forward To from the story A Year At The Opera by JamesStark612 (James Stark) with 1 rea...
I'm working on the next chapter rn and I have it all planned out unlike this chapter so hopefully it'll go much smoother!! Anyway, it should be out sometime in a month. Y'all know my process. But I hope y'all enjoy this chapter!! Let me know what you think about it!!
The next chapter of A Year At The Opera is up to read! Sorry this took so long I took an unexpected hiatus over the summer but I'm getting back into the groove of writing again so that's fun. Anyway! We're beginning episode 6 of 9 and we've just gotten the first of four chapters out! Chapter 18 is up to read and I hope y'all enjoy it!!
'When you're sixteen, everything is a soap opera.'
Summer is finally over. The town of Athea can once again return to i...
Sorry this took so long I completely forgot to actually hit upload on the chapter!! But here it is!!! I'm working on the next chapter right now which is officially part of episode 6 so we've finally finished episode 5!! We're over halfway there!! Anyway, here's the link to the chapter and I hope you enjoy it!!!
Read Chapter 17: Minor Mendings And The Laws Of Attraction Part 2 from the story A Year At The Opera by JamesStark612 (...
I finished editing chapter 17!!! So it's 5.6K words rn and I will put it up in a few days. It didn't need too much editing to be readable because I liked most of what I'd written so that's good at least!!
I know it's been a while since the last update but what else is new with me? But seriously, figuring out the dynamics for this took so long bc the character dynamics just didn't feel right to me but I think they're at least tolerable now so!! New content coming your way soon!!!
Here's the rest of the book so far if you want to catch up!!!
'When you're sixteen, everything is a soap opera.'
Summer is finally over. The town of Athea can once again return to i...
Okay, so quick update on the writing thing. I'm really not going to be able to finish the second half of chapter 16 of AYATO by tonight so here's what I'm doing. I'm adding a tiny pov to the end of chapter 16 as a episode cliffhanger and both parts of interlude six, which follow Nathan as he goes to court, will be going up right now because I am going to stop the chapter in between (we stopped at a decent emotional resolution anyway so it works out well) and then we'll pick back up once the interlude is done. And then I'll put up part 2 of chapter 16 in a few weeks after spring break is done and my midterms are over. And then we're done with the episode!! I just made some minor edits to the interlude to make sure it's up to date with its info, and it's up to read!
I hope you have fun reading!!!
Read Interlude 6, Part 1: To Be Judged from the story A Year At The Opera by JamesStark612 (James Stark) with 16 reads...
Hey, everyone! The next part of A Year At The Opera is up to read! Chapter 16 follows multiple people as they try to repair their relationships and the first half is officially up to read! I hope you have fun reading it!!
This was a really fun chapter to write!! part 2 will be up soon next week bc I'm still working on it but part 1 is still a good chunk of content!! So go read it!!
Read Chapter 16: Minor Mendings And The Laws Of Attraction from the story A Year At The Opera by JamesStark612 (James S...
So I'm working on Chapter 16 at the moment and I'm almost done with half the chapter so it will probably be out sometime next week (that's after the upcoming Sunday) but!! Chapter 15 is up to read!! It's officially past the midpoint of the book and now I finally have faith I can finish this draft by the end of the year if I find some motivation!!! Book 1 could be a fully finished product by next year!! I just need to work a little harder!! Anyway, the point is that Chapter 15 is up to read and is the first turning point of the story from being more slice-of-life into being more mystery (although ofc we'll still have slice-of-life stuff) since I do want to wrap everything up as neatly as I can since I do want, at a minimum, Season/Book One to be able to be read standalone and feel like you got a full story. Chapter 15 follows the Chaudhary's as they report a missing person and Chapter 16 will explore some aspects of the investigation (but it is mostly a slice-of-life chapter which leads to Chapter 17 which is mostly a investigation chapter)!! You can read Chapter 15 on Wattpad!! here's a link!!
'When you're sixteen, everything is a soap opera.'
Summer is finally over. The town of Athea can once again return to i...
Alright besties I know I've been gone for... Well, like 6 months for a lot of reasons that are not important at the moment but!! I have so much content for y'all to read! Figuring out how everything in the book fit together took a lot of work and I'm still working on figuring out a satisfying conclusion but! I have a ton of stuff figured out and a ton of content up for y'all to read! I left off with the first bit of Chapter 14 which has since been finished and the next interlude and chapter are all up to read! It's around 15K words of content that's new and there's another 18-20K that's coming in the next few weeks!! So now is a great time to catch up with A Year At The Opera!! I really hope y'all have fun reading!!
'When you're sixteen, everything is a soap opera.'
Summer is finally over. The town of Athea can once again return to i...
Sorry Iâve been gone a while but I have been working and I've finally put up part 1 of Chapter 14 of A Year At The Opera up for you to read! We're beginning a new episode & I can't wait for y'all to see the things I have in store! Here's the beginning of the episode/new part! Go read it!
This is still mostly a first draft and I might add more stuff to it later as I need to but this is a pretty complete piece :)
Chapter 14, Part 1: Thea
Thea arrived home around 4pm. Like every day before, she unlocked the doors, stepped in and headed straight for the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed the triple chocolate ice cream cake sitting right in front.
Sheâd eaten half of it last night and she intended to finish the rest today. She opened one of the drawers, grabbed a spoon and took a bite.
As it slowly dissolved in her mouth, she wandered into the living room and waltzed over to the thermostat. She lowered the temperature to 50F and took a seat on the couch. She stretched out her feet on the center table and let herself drown in the cold comfort of the couch as she took another bite of the cake.
As Theadora continued to reminisce on her day today, the door opened and her mother stepped in.
Ah, Haley Rockwell, retired actress now turned real estate agent, married her co-star Nicolas Belfry about ten years ago and had since then been the bane of Theaâs existence. Haley Rockwell had everything Thea hated in a person: her holier-than-thou attitude, her complete lack of self awareness, her perfect figure, her âloveâ for Theaâs dad. Most of all, Thea hated that her dad seemed to love Haley more.
Thea swore Haley had just married her father for the money but Nicolas refused to hear it.
âEating again, are we?â Haley remarked coldly as she slipped out of her trench coat and gently placed her St. Louis purse on the couch.
Haley loved that purse more than her own life. On occasion Thea had considered burning it or trashing it as payback for ruining her life but had stayed her hand for the appropriate time. She didnât want to waste the opportunity if she could avoid it.
âWhat do you care, anyway?â Thea replied just as coldly, barely bothering to turn her attention away from the plate of cake in her hand.
She took another bite and faked a moan. She held the cake out to Haley. âWant some?â Thea asked, putting on her best baby voice and puppy dog eyes.
Haley scowled, walked over and slapped Thea. Thea barely flinched. This was nothing new. No, in fact this was practically routine.
Haley turned around and grabbed her phone from her coat.
âGuess thatâs a no, then.â Thea smiled cheekily.
She knew Haley couldnât have the cake anyway. Poor little lactose intolerant Haley.
âIâve had an incredibly stressful day, I do not need your fucking sass, Thea.â
âOh, why donât you ask dad to buy you something then?â Thea replied.
Another slap. This one hit harder. Blood pooled under Theaâs cheeks and her skin felt warm.
âWell, at least youâre getting better at something in life.â Thea said, taking another bite of her cake.
Haley groaned angrily. âIs this the fucking antartic? Why is it freezing in here?â She walked over to the thermostat.
âItâs hot out.â Thea replied.
âDo you want me to get frostbite?â
âItâs 50 fahrenheit. You literally canât get frostbite.â
âOh, youâre so smart, arenât you?â Haley grit her teeth.
âI like to think so, yes.â Thea remarked.
Haley exhaled sharply, shook her head in frustration, turned the corner and fucked off to her room.
Thea smiled contentedly, taking another bite of her cake. She grabbed the remote and flipped the TV on, finding a boring reality show to distract her. No matter how bad life got, she could at least remind herself she wasnât like the pathetic bitches of rando city.
All the whining and bitching and crying. Thea almost felt bad for them. Theyâd never learned what true power felt like, locked in their terrible marriage in their stupid town.
Thea was determined to be better. She was determined to be smarter. Sheâd sworn to never let a man affect her and yet, last summer, sheâd slipped. Thea was not the kind of person to get angry. No, she just got even.
But last summer, as the news dropped, Thea distinctly remembered feeling rage inside her and letting just a little bit out. Thankfully no one had seen her or figured out that the messed up classroom and the shattered green-board was her doing. Her reputation was still intact, even after last summerâs events. And she planned on getting revenge.
As the TV droned on in the background and the hours passed by, Thea spent her time planning out how things would go when she would finally get her revenge. There had to be some weak link in their relationship she could exploit.
Her interactions today with Mason practically spelled it out for her: they were having relationship issues. What she couldnât figure out though was the best way to do it. She could make them turn on each other or turn the class against them (she figured that would be the easiest given how everyone pretty much already considered them freaks) or perhaps the situation would need a gentler, subtler approach. She couldnât let anyone figure out she played a part in it or they would just get back together again. No, whatever needed to happen needed to be public and damning. She wanted to make Ingram the outcast. So much so even the losers wouldnât associate with him.
She played all the scenarios over in her head, wondering which one would do the most damage. She imagined herself standing in the cafeteria, watching Ingram and Mason confront each other about something and then breaking out into a fight. Embarrass themselves publicly, certainly at least as humiliating and public as it was for her.
It was so vivid in her head it was practically a movie. The people would surround them, like they had on the first day of the semester, during the fight. They would publicly breakup and in his lowest moment, separated from everyone who even thought of loving him, Ingram would crawl his way back â wait that didnât sound right. What she meant was: heâd feel completely and utterly destroyed and feel just like she did. Hurt and angry⊠Theaâs eyes widened as if sheâd had an epiphany. It was not the first time she had thought about Ingram hurting like she had but it was the first time the thought had struck her in a different way. Why had a man made her feel weak, hurt? Almost jealous?
It reminded her of how she felt around her father: ignored, betrayed. Perhaps it was precisely why she was so angry. What Ingram did to her was what her father had done toâ
âAre you gonna lay there all day?â Haleyâs voice yanked Thea out of her stream of consciousness and back to reality.
Haley stood in the hallway, arms crossed, glaring Thea down. âWhat do you want?â
âTheadora, get off the damn couch and go do your homework or something.â Haley chided. âYour father doesnât need to worry about you anymore than he already does, you waste of skin.â Haley spat from her crimson lips.
Thea groaned as she stood up. Her ass felt numb and she hadnât even realized how long it had been. Probably over six hours, as the TV had switched off. She stretched her arms and let out a yawn. âIâm just gonna go sleep.â
Haley turned around and sauntered back to her room.
Thea sulked her way up the stairs and into her room. She pulled back her chair and opened her laptop.
Sheâd closed the laptop last night while shopping for the Halloween dance party next month. Sheâd had her eyes set on a gorgeous lavender silk dress with an intricate see-through lace front, although the price tag had made her hesitate. She loved Halloween and she wanted to be the best dressed but, even for a hand sewn dress, thirty thousand dollars was a lot of money. Which meant she would have to ask her dad.
Thea immediately rolled her eyes at the thought. She rarely found him alone; all the time that he was actually home and not at work or out golfing with some client he spent by Haleyâs side. Thea couldnât even remember the last time she had seen him crack a smile. Even on his birthday last February, heâd come home an hour early from work, downed half a bottle of whiskey and gone straight to bed. Not a single word to anyone. He was always the stoic, quiet man for as long as she could remember. And the thought of asking him to buy something for her, especially something that expensive, in front of Haley was a lecture Thea didnât need.
Haley would play the naĂŻve fool whenever Nicolas was around. Thea would point the slightest bit of criticism at Haley and Nicolasâs mood would automatically sour.
And so, putting aside the thought of buying the dress, Thea scrolled through the website, looking for more stuff she could actually get.
And as she scrolled through the countless dresses, Thea found her thoughtâs wanderingâŠ
It was suddenly last March â the day of the final exam and Thea had just handed in her exam. She grabbed her stuff and placed her hand on the door handle.
Just outside, the cacophony of inescapable and unintelligible chattering filled the entire sound space. Thea turned the door handle and stepped out. A sudden wave of dread passed over her. She could feel the wind change, as it were.
But she didnât know why she was suddenly feeling like that. It couldnât have been the exam; sheâd done excellently and she was pretty much guaranteed an A+. As she took a few more steps, turning to walk to her locker, she noticed peopleâs subtle glances. She was used to being looked at in awe, in pure deification even â but these were very different glances. Just quick looks here and there, thinking she wouldnât notice. These were curious glances. These were almost malevolent glances. She even thought she heard a few people whispering about her as she passed by.
No, it had to be her imagination. These low-lifes would never dare talk about her, certainly not like this.
Thea turned the corner and disappeared into the crowd as she walked to her locker. She opened her locker and grabbed her phone from inside. She reached to unlock it.
âStop!â Thea heard a familiar voice and turned around.
The lean figure of Chrissy sprinted over and caught her breath. âStop.â She bent down and caught her thighs.
âWhat is it?â Thea asked.
âDonât open your phone.â She said.
âWhy not?â
âYou deserve better.â
Thea scrunched her face. âBetter what, exactly?â
âLook, letâs just go somewhere a little private and Iâll tell you everything.â
âTell me what, Chrissy? Youâre scaring me, you know?â
âJust put your phone down and come with me. Please.â She pleaded.
âFine.â Thea groaned.
âCome on, over here.â She grabbed Theaâs hand and gently led her away.
As they continued to drift past people, Thea noticed even more people staring at her.
âWhat are you all looking at?â Thea shouted and everyone turned away.
âWhat the fuck is going on, Chrissy?â
âThereâs a big problem.â She stopped outside an empty classroom. âIn here.â
She opened the door and led Thea in.
âWill you just tell me already?â Thea asked, annoyed.
She closed the door. âOkay, I want you to try not to freak out but Sarah Schulmanââ She gulped.
âSpit it out already!â Thea yelled.
âSarah Schulman saw Ingram making out with a guy in the bathroom!â She covered her mouth like she wanted to stop speaking.
Theaâs jaw dropped. She could feel the blood rushing out of her brain and into her balled fists. âShe what?!â
âShe told everyone.â She said calmly.
Thea couldnât even process the thought. Thea felt lightheaded and stumbled backwards. Chrissy outstretched her hand to grab Thea but Thea brushed her away and leaned against the table. âLeave me alone.â Thea whispered through gritted teeth.
Chrissyâs legs shook uncontrollably as she nodded and sprinted out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Thea looked up at the ceiling, trying to get the thought through her brain.
Ingram Shaw. Kissing a boy. And everyone at school knew. Before she did. Maybe if heâd told her himself, she couldâve broken up with him, saved herself⊠but now all she could think was to break something.
She grabbed one of the chairs in front of her and threw it at the green-board â it shattered like a mirror and the chair clattered to the floor. Thea put her arm up to her mouth and let out a scream.
All she felt was betrayed and hurt and angry and all she could think about was what everyone would say about her. She would have to control the situation before it spread anymore. A tear streaked down her cheek and she wiped it off. She couldnât afford to lose her head right now. She had to fix this.
She took out her phone and walked out of the classroom.
Thea shook her head and just like that she was back in her room, scrolling through dresses again. She scrolled for a while more, found some she liked and closed her laptop. She quickly finished up some schoolwork, answered some texts from Kitty about going out shopping and then climbed into bed. Tomorrow could not come soon enough, and Thea couldnât wait to get to scheming.
-
It was September the 12th and a warm noon on a Wednesday, aka the next day, when Thea finally found an opportunity to get more information. There she was, grabbing her stuff from her locker at the end of school when everyone was shuffling out and Mason Carmichael was standing outside the gym.
She cleared her throat, checked her breath and quickly caught up to him.
âMason!â She placed a hand on his shoulder and he jumped.
âOh, Thea. Itâs you.â Mason said, taking a deep breath. âI thought you were someone else.â
âWhy so jumpy?â She asked.
âNah, just nervous.â He leaned forward and looked down the hallway. âYou know, first real session of the year.â
âCome on. now. Whatâs there to be nervous about? Youâre like our Kobe.â Thea took a step back. Even with her heels, Thea had to look up to talk to Mason.
âItâs nothing.â Mason said, leaning against the wall.
âWell, you know if it is something, you can talk to me, right?â She said innocently.
âYeah, Iâm fine.â Mason took out his phone.
âWell, good luck, then. With the game.â Thea said, turning around.
Well that was fucking useless. She would just have to try again later.
So I know Iâve been silent for a while but Iâve been working out all the ins and outs of a massive chapter with a lot of time and characters to keep track of. so, basically-
Yeah, I am suffering. Plus online classes have started and they are annoying as fuck and really stressful and time consuming so shit is going to be slow but on the upside, I am almost done with the first POV of the chapter. Donât know exactly how Iâll structure it yet with the rest of the chapter but I have most of the stuff down so weâll see how it goes. Hopefully I will have at least some content for you by the end of next week. Anyway, i hope this isnât too sad lol. Time delays are nothing new with me but hopefully the content at the end is worth the wait. talk more soon xx
sorry iâve been silent for a while but iâve been writing and i wanna update yâall on some stuff!! this is a lot obviously but im gonna be posting more snippets here again once i figure out chapter 14 so weâll see how that goes. anyway, at least you get to read the latter half of Chapter 13 tomorrow!
âOh god not them.â Ryan muttered under his breath as he turned to see who had just arrived. âAnyone but them.â
âWhere is he?â Asked the most-likely leader of this group of leather wearing men with chains around their waistâ fuck this was a gang wasn't itâŠ
Fun fact about Athea: they barely have a police force. Athea does not have a fucking gang. And appropriately, Aaron didn't even have the slightest idea of how he could process this.Â
âYou are not welcome here.â Ryan walked up to the man.Â
The other five men took a step forward but the leader motioned for them to stay back.
Aaron had never seen his dad so angry. He was practically fuming: nostrils flaring, hand balled into a fist, ready to throw a punch. This was so insanely out of character Aaron could do little but stare wide eyed. He'd barely ever seen Ryan snap back at someone or raise his voice. This had to be really fucking bad.
âHe was more my family than he was ever yours. I have more right to be here than you do.â The man spat.Â
Ryan clenched his jaw, the words little more than a whisper. âDon't make me throw you out. Do not fucking ruin my brother's funeral, Holton.â
âTry putting a fucking finger on me and it'll be cut off before your next breath.â
Ryan narrowed his brows. With every word out of Holton's mouth Ryan seemed to get angrier and angrier. âWho even fucking told you this was happening?âÂ
âYou thought you would hold a funeral for one of our brothers in this town and I wouldn't find out about it?âÂ
Ryan took a step closer to Holton. Ryan was tall and fairly well built but Holton looked like he lived in a gym, almost comically oversized biceps and pecs big enough to rival the best big titty goth girls around. Holton would fucking down Ryan Ina single punch if it came down to it.Â
But Holton took a step back.Â
âLook,â Holton began. âWe both loved Joe and I don't want to make a scene. None of us do. We just want to pay our respects. For everything he did for us.â
Ryan unclenched his jaw and his fist, relaxing a little. âYou get five minutes. Then I want you and your goons out of here.â
âThank you.â Holton said.Â
The chains on their side rubbed against their jeans as they walked up to the casket.Â
âHey, Mary.â Holton whispered.Â
âHey,â She said. âThat could have gone better.â
âEh, I can handle Ryan.â Holton chuckled.Â
Ryan stood in place, staring them down from afar.Â
Holton turned to casket. The thin, almost lanky, man next to him asked, âDo we know what happened?âÂ
âWell, Ash, they're refusing to give out any details but they're saying it was a leak at the plant.â
âWell someone must know what happened.â Another man spoke from the group.
âWell if they do, they're not talking.â Mary replied.Â
âPromise me you'll find out who did this.â Holton said, choking up.Â
âIf it was an accident, there's nothing to find.â
âSomeone is responsible for accidents too, Mary. Just promise me you'll do whatever you can to find who did this.â
âI promise I'll do what I can.â She sighed.
âThank you. I knew I could trust you.â Holton said.Â
Holton reached for the casket handle but Mary stopped him. âThere's nothing to see.â Holton withdrew his hand. âThere's a reason it's closed.â
âJust promise me you'll find whichever son of a bitch did this, okay?â Holton growled.Â
Mary nodded.Â
As if on cue, the priest announced, âIts time.â
âUh, actually, if you don't mind, we'd like to carry our fallen brother.â Holton said.Â
Mary looked at Ryan who just shrugged.Â
âAlright then, let's uh, go outside.â Holton turned to Asher. âGet it from the other side, boy.â
Ash rushed to the other side and picked up the casket. Two other men besides Holton picked up the lower end of the casket. The other two provided light support in the middle and with the directions of the priest they all began to move outside.Â
All Aaron could even do was just sit in his corner and watch it unfold. He'd stopped processing things a while back. All Eleanor could focus on was the way Asher's shirt slightly lifted up as he carried the casket away, revealing his abs. But as he disappeared out her door along with everyone else in the room, Eleanor could finally put her attention back to Aaron.
âDude, holy shit.â She sat down next to him on the floor. She drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on it. âThat was so much.â
âYou're telling me.â
âYou didn't tell me your uncle hung out with Legion?âÂ
They're called Legion? God, please pick a worse name.
âI didn't know either lol.â
âWell are you okay?â She asked sincerely.Â
âYes, I'm fine, I just need to process the last ten minutes. I'll be okay.â
âGood.â She smiled, stretching her legs.Â
âGo.â He said, turning to her and giving her a half smile.Â
âWhat?â She asked, confused.Â
âGirl, I saw you looking at him. Go. Before he's gone.â
âDo you know that I literally love you.â A statement. Not a question.Â
âYes, now go, dumbass.â
El giggled as she stood up. âI'll be right back.â
She gracefully walked out of the room and shut the door behind her, leaving Aaron alone with his thoughts. Exactly what he needed right now.
After getting the information, Joe spent the next three hours painstakingly interviewing everyone in the accounting department and getting their alibis and learning basic things about Carson. Hereâs the main points. Almost everyone genuinely seemed to like Carson, even the newbies who hadnât even been here for long. No one he asked knew of anyone who hated Carson. Certainly no one who hated him enough to kill and then bury him.Â
Everyone he asked said Carson didnât like mixing personal life and business and no one really knew anything about him other than what little he told them. So, basically, if all these people were to be believed, this was practically a waste of time. But he still had to verify all their alibis so he couldnât rule them out just yet.
After this exhausting day, all Joe wanted to do was go home and sleep it off and now, after an exhausting almost 2 hour drive back home, Joe felt relieved as he stepped into 5467, Patriot Street.Â
His apartment building lay silent tonight and he heard barely anything but jangling keys as he turned his lock. His apartment was small but he liked it that way. In fact he'd downgraded just a few years ago from a townhouse to his current two bedroom apartment. He'd soundproofed (?) his walls the day he'd moved in and so patterned black foam covered almost every inch of every wall. He needed his silence but he also liked knowing people were around him more. And this was the best compromise.Â
He tossed his jacket on the couch and placed his holstered gun next to his key tray. He undid his pants â the relief of them not suffocating his stomach felt amazing. He always did his belt a little too tight and it got really uncomfortable really quickly but he'd learned to live with it. He flung them off to the side and walked into the bathroom.
After quickly washing his face, it was straight to lying face down in bed. He couldn't even think another thought.Â
-
It was 8am when Joe was awoken by his phone ringing.Â
âHello?â He asked, still half asleep, wiping saliva from the edge of his lips. His eyes stayed closed.Â
âBossman! It's me, your favorite annoyance!âÂ
âGod, Trey what fucking time is it?â
âI'm not sure honestly. I think it's like early morning. I didn't wake you, right? Sorry about that.â
âUgh, it's fine.â Joe grumbled, turning on his side. âWhat do you want?â
âI have good news! Remember that coin you had me analyze from the crime scene?â
âYeah? What about it?â
âWell I finished the analysis last night and I got some partial prints off it. Nothing seemed too viable but I let it run through the database to see if it matched anything we've remotely found before and there's absolutely no matches. None at all.â
âHow is this good news, Trey?â Joe had to sit up at this point. He rubbed his eyes open. A singular column of light shone in from the gap in the curtains but it was enough to light up the whole room.
âWell it means it's no one we have in the system so it's not a repeat offender. And it's one less lead for you to chase.â
âOkay, that is actually good news.â Joe said. Less work was always good news especially when it was as dreary as paperwork. Thankfully Trey loved doing paperwork. He was a good kid. Ambitious, talented and surprisingly optimistic.Â
âAlright that was all, bossman. See you at work!âÂ
âYeah, okay.â Joe cut the call and fell back into bed. Work was going to be really boring today. He had to go around and verify the alibis of everyone he even remotely suspected as being involved which was going to be exhausting. And he needed all the rest he could get.
