The Process Of Solving A Mystery
Rating: This series will be rated as PG13 and may include scenes that can be traumatic for some.
All content is mine
Note: Merry Christmas @studypsychballet !! I hope you enjoy this 💜 I can't wait to start talking to you properly. Ps the next chapter will take a while because finals. I'm sorry this is so choppy but here it is :)
Prologue
I was just walking down the road, minding my own business when it happened.
Alright, I'll be honest. I wasn't minding my business. I was following a hot headed ex classmate of mine who, frankly, I suspected of a kidnapping.
I know what you're thinking! Woah Xiana, when did you get involved with stuff like this?
I didn't want to get involved!... Okay maybe I did want to get involved, but that's not the point! We all have a secret detective inside of us, and I didn't have a choice in the matter anyways.
You might also be wondering, why exactly did I suspect this ex classmate of mine of kidnapping? It certainly wasn't a light accusation. Don't you worry, I'll tell you the whole story.
It all started on Christmas.
The snow was falling lightly as I walked into a coffee shop, humming the song I was working on under my breath. The aroma of coffee and freshly baked muffins hit me as my eyes landed on my friend, Shea.
She waved at me, giving me a cute little smile and I made my way over to her, taking in the menu options as I walked. Hey, say whatever you want but I was famished.
I reached her seat and plopped my bag down on the table, quickly holding up a hand so she wouldn't start talking like always.
She arched an amused eyebrow at me as I pulled out a small tape from my bag. I grinned at Shea as I handed her the tape, “Merry Christmas!”
Her face broke out into a goofy smile as she accepted it, “Aw, thanks so much! What's in the tape?”
“All your favourite songs, sung by yours truly, the great Xiana.”
She giggled and shook her head, pulling out a small package from her bag,
“And here's your favourite book. I didn't write it unfortunately, but I did scribble a cute note inside!”
Taking the gift, I pulled her into an over the table hug, being careful not to knock over her coffee,
“Aw Shea you're the best! Anyways I'm guessing Christmas isn't why you asked to meet up? What has my favourite troublemaker been up to?”
Instantly Shea’s demeanour changed. She looked around nervously, eyeing down every person that was within listening range of us. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed nervously and wiped her palms on the tablecloth, gesturing me to move closer. I did as she asked so I can hear her, albeit barely, when she whispers,
“I think I'm in trouble.”
My eyebrows furrowed and I pulled away to look at her with worry imprinted on my face,
“What kind of trouble?”
“The kind that makes you scared for your life.”
I looked at her, alarmed as I shook my head, holding up my hands
“Wait what? What happened? Is somebody threatening you?”
She nodded, biting her lip, looking around once more before leaning in once again,
“I found out something about someone that they didn't want me to know. My friend is a detective and he-”
Shea was abruptly cut off by her phones loud ringtone as someone called her.
‘Sis is calling you’
She gave me an apologetic glance, mouthing ‘one sec’ before she picked up, her eyes widening as she heard her sister speak on the other end.
She stood up abruptly, ending the call and grabbing her bag off the floor.
“I'm sorry Xiana, I need to go.”
“Wait!”
She smiled at me and brushed a small kiss across my cheek that left my skin erupting in goosebumps.
I looked at her in surprise and moved to grab her arm before Shea could leave but she was rushing out of the door before I could get another word in.
With a sigh, I dropped down on the chair, ignoring my tingling cheek, and pulled out my phone, sending a quick text to Shea
Xiana: When whatever that was is over u owe
me an explanation
Xiana: btw I'm calling u every other hour to check up on u because u just made me worried asf and I got nothing better to do!
Shea: ur so sweet. I'll call u after I'm done w this bs ok
Xiana: be safe
Shea: no promises sea xx
I sighed at her last text, shaking my head and laughing. This girl was going to be the death of me.
My eyes were automatically drawn to the menu as I looked up, my stomach rumbling in anticipation. Hey, I was already here! Why not enjoy some baked goods?
-
As I walked home, my stomach full and warm from my rampage at the coffee shop, I saw a figure standing on my doorstep, hands in his hood, his shivering barely controlled.
When I saw who it was, I broke out into a huge smile and ran forward, tackling the poor soul in a bear hug,
“Oh my god I can't believe you're here Jasper!”
My older brother smiled and hugged me back,
“I'm only here because it's Christmas. Now please, let me go before you strangle me to death!”
I giggled and released my brother as he ruffled my hair fondly, smiling as I avoided his hand.
“Stop it! You're gonna ruin my hair!”
“Oh girl, that's supposed to be a hairstyle? I thought you just woke up or something and had bedhead.”
I glared at him, slapping his arm lightly,
“Let's get you inside joker. You must be freezing”
He nodded, rubbing his palms together and tossing me a roguish grin. I opened the door and let him in.
The next few hours of Christmas were spent catching up with my lovely brother and making sure he didn't empty my fridge completely. He'd just excused himself to take a shower, when I took out my phone.
Still no text from Shea.
It'd been a couple of hours and I was starting to get worried, so I quickly typed out a message to her, ignoring my brother yelling for shampoo in the background.
Xiana: u okay?
Another hour passed, and I let out a sigh, heaving myself up from the couch with determination.
“Where are you going?”
Jasper called out from the couch, the television still playing our Harry Potter marathon.
“To check up on a friend. And please, pick up the towel that you threw on the floor”
He nodded, ignoring my comment about the towel and went back to watching the movie. Who could blame him? Tom Felton was simply irresistible.
I called Shea as I grabbed my keys off the counter, getting ready to head out into the cold. I frowned when she didn't answer the call, throwing my phone into my bag. That was unlike her. She usually picked up within a second.
Giving my brother a small wave, I headed out into the cold, already regretting my choice.
I probably would've turned back if it hadn't been for the fact that Shea’s house was so close to mine.
Two minutes later, I was shivering at her doorstep as I waited for her to answer.
Huffing impatiently I knocked rapidly on the door, letting out a little scared ‘eee’ when the door drifted open on its own
Well that was never a good sign.
I walked in tentatively, looking at the Christmas decorations surrounding the empty house.
“Hello?”
The only thing that answered me was a faint tinkling of music coming from upstairs, where Shea probably was, hopefully just sleeping like the couch potato she was.
As I made my way upstairs, a realisation struck me, it was my voice that was singing, presumably from the tape I had gifted Shea.
'So come all ye unfaithful’
I walked into the room where the music was loudest, opening the door and stumbling backwards in shock at the ruin in front of me.
‘Don't be left out in the cold’
The room looked as if it had went through a hurricane. Books were knocked over, a chair was lying upside down, papers were scattered around and the blanket was half on the floor, as if someone had pulled it. But there was no Shea in the room.
‘You don't need no invitation, no’
But there was a note on the table. A note covered in blood with a single word written in wide scrawling letters.
Help me
‘Your ticket is your soul’
*song is Christmas with Satan
