Under Pressure - Nace Fanfic Fragments, #2
Start at the beginning HERE.
The Case of the Broken Barometer
Across town at the Historical Society, Bess Marvin was finishing up the cup of tea Addy had brewed for her. She smiled to herself, savoring the tea’s delicate and perfectly un-scorched flavor when her phone’s text tone chimed.
Addy was perched on the arm of Bess's chair, and she was stroking her fingers through Bess's hair in an almost hypnotic, soothing rhythm. Bess was almost tempted to ignore the text, to allow herself to get lost in this blissfully quiet, contented moment.
Her gut, however, had other plans. She couldn't resist reaching out and picking up her phone, turning its screen face-up so she could check and see who'd texted. She blinked down at the message preview on her screen, a gasp catching in her throat.
Ace Can you come over? Could really use my platanchor right now. Something weird just happened with Nancy.
"What's up?" Addy trailed her warm fingers down Bess's spine in a warm, intimate caress that elicited a shiver and a whisper-soft sigh from Bess. She let her eyes flutter closed for just a moment, drinking in the effervescent warmth that lingered in the wake of that unassuming touch.
One day, Bess thought, I'll be able to enjoy moments like these without my heart aching with guilt and longing for Odette.
"Ace needs me. You don't mind if I go and check on him, do you?"
"Of course I don't mind, Bess. The guy is your best friend. Go do what you need to do, and we'll catch up later." Addy leaned down, brushing a whisper-light kiss against Bess's lips before pulling back with a smile and a mischievous twinkle in her warm brown eyes. "Tell your platanchor I said hi."
"I will." Bess stood and gripped the lapels of Addy's coat, pulling her close for just one more heated kiss before she turned and strode out of the Historical Society, pausing on the front porch just long enough to unlock her phone and type out a reply to Ace.
Bess
Be there in a couple of minutes, bestie. Now, are we talking *normal* Nancy weird or...?
Ace
What just happened definitely wasn't normal Nancy weird. It was bad weird.
Bess
Hang tight. See you soon.
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A rhythmic knock sounds on the door of my loft and I jump, half hoping I'll find Nancy on the other side of the door, even though I know it's going to be Bess. My heart rate goes erratic just to spite me as I tug the door open and wave Bess inside.
She pales the second she lays eyes on me, her lips parting on a gasp as she takes in my appearance, the expression on my face. I know Bess can read me like a book, and there's no point trying to put on a brave face with her, so I wince.
Bess shakes her head and pulls me into a fierce hug. I return the embrace with a halfhearted squeeze and try to swallow the lump that's been sitting in my throat ever since Nancy walked out and slammed my door behind her.
"What happened, Ace?"
I can feel my expression crumpling with the effort it takes to get the words out. My eyes burn like I used ghost pepper hot sauce for eye drops, and I look away, blinking furiously as I explain what happened between Nancy and me.
When I get done, I motion helplessly at the shattered barometer hanging on the wall. "The second my barometer shattered, Nancy did a complete one-eighty. I don't know what's going on, or why that set her off, but it doesn't sit right. She was so... cruel, Bess, and that's not like her at all. Not really."
My chest feels like somebody hollowed it out with a melon baller, and I clench my hands into fists at my sides.
Bess slides an arm around my waist and leans her head against my shoulder in a wordless show of sympathy. "So, obviously, there are things Nancy isn't telling us, and we need to find out what. Do you want to send out the proverbial bat signal to the rest of the crew minus Nancy, or...?"
"More like batshit signal at this point, but no." I heave out a sigh, shaking my head. A wave of restless energy bubbles up in me, and I pace as I continue, trying my best to explain. "My guess is we need to tread carefully while we try to uncover clues. I love our crew dearly, but I don't want to show my hand just yet. And I don't want our friends to go on some well-meaning but ultimately meddlesome and doomed crusade to fix things between us before we've figured out what's going on with Nancy. You know how she is, Bess. If she even suspects that we're looking into whatever the broken barometer means, she's going to fight it and pull away even harder than she already has. Better to lie low and stay off her radar for now."
Bess plants her hands on her hips and narrows her eyes at me, looking an awful lot like she's ready to argue. "You know George wouldn't meddle if you didn't want her to, Ace—"
"No, George wouldn't, but Ryan and Mr. D? You know them, and you know Ryan means well, but he's putty in Nancy's hands and he'd blab in a heartbeat if he thought it would help. Same goes for Mr. D. And Nick has a lot on his plate right now. I'd like it if Operation Barometric Pressure stays exclusively a platanchor thing... at least for now."
"All right." Bess nods. "So, I'm guessing you'd like me to look into the archives at the Historical Society and see if we can find any similar incidents in the archives, right?"
"Bingo." I hold my hand out for a fist bump and Bess automatically bumps her knuckles against mine in response.
"What are you going to do while I look into the shattered barometer? And do you mind if I take it with me?"
"Honestly?" I shrug and chew on my bottom lip for a second. "I have no idea. And yeah, you're more than welcome to take the barometer with you if you think it'll help. Besides, it might be a good thing to get that reminder out of the loft."
I reach up and rub at my breastbone, as if it'll help the ache that's wrapped around my heart and squeezing my chest so tight that it hurts to breathe.
"I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm not just going to sit here and pretend that I believe Nancy isn't in some kind of trouble."
