"Very strange,"
Shirley Woodley took another sip of her matcha, grimace before she looked back at her boyfriend's beaming face.
She had to admit Julian Stewart was adamant when it came to the things he genuinely wanted. This eerie case in Willow Creek was what he'd wanted to crack for years. Now an opportunity surfaced from the blue, Shirley knew nothing could ever change his mind.
She wished she could.
"And you're not dumb enough to dive in to play Sherlock Holmes just yet?" She set the cup aside only to drizzle some maple syrup on his pancakes.
"I'm just a journalist," He chuckled amusedly.
His attitude was the perfect header she sought. Cracking this case would take months, she didn't have all the time to wait, Brianna from the sisterhood just got married. She had to be the next blushing bride lest the Sorority Sisters think she couldn't keep a man.
"How long would getting to the bottom of this case going to take?"
"You know how this goes, babe," he flashed her another broad grin before his gaze fell back on the computer on the island.
She sucked in a quick breath, shoved the pancakes on the plate closer to him, "Most girls don't have all the time in the world to wait."
If Julian heard her, he didn't respond. This attitude riled her up every time.
"I'm going to Willow Creek."
He announced after a century-long painful silence. He could've sworn he caught the scorn on her beautiful face. Her crimped features suggested he was in for a row.
The one thing that he didn't want. Not now, not ever.
"You go everywhere." She mumbled.
It wasn't what she said but how she said it that tightened a band around his heart. He never wanted her to feel that way.
Traveling was an integral part of journalism, she knew. So why now?
"It could be a fun trip for us..." He tried but failed woefully.
He watched her snatch what was left in her cup to the sink, empty it, and turn the faucet, her eyes glued to the sink until the last trace of green was gone from it.
"Nathan and Brianna Cooks just got married…"
If slapping him in the face was her intention for bringing this up, then she nailed it. It was no news, right from their engagement six months ago to their wedding a fortnight ago, she never failed to remind him.
But marriage wasn't on the cards for Julian at the moment, they were young, fresh out of college. It was the time to chase a career and not waste away picking diapers and infant formulas from Target.
He barely considered the nastily made pancakes on the plate he moved to the sink where she stood, and wrapped his arm around her but she instantly broke from his embrace, face hardened and beautiful blue eyes laced with spite.
"I want to know if it'll ever happen between us." She tugged a stray strand of her blonde tresses behind her ear.
"You said you never wanted to get married, what changed?" His tone raised but he didn't want to rock this edge. He dreaded this moment filled and clipped with perpetuated narratives and manipulative remarks. She was best at both.
"Have the best time in Willow Creek then."
There she went again. She knew just how to hurl him into this uncomfortable position. She moved from the sink, snatched the plate of pancakes, gave it a sullen gaze before she emptied it in the trash.
"What'd do that for?"
"I'm not going to keep making your bed and meals and have you toss me aside for some crappy case that was prolly made up by the entire community or worse, by you."
How could she say that? She knew exactly what was involved in this case. She knew how connected to everything that had happened in Willow Creek two decades ago.
"Babe, I can not believe you'd say a thing as low as that." Emotions clogged his throat as he moved back to where he'd been working all morning, slammed his computer, fighting the war waging inside of him he turned out of the kitchen.
She towed him.
"Everyone wants to know when I'm getting married. My family, friends, and the Sorority, I want to know if it'll ever happen between us… I am fed up..." She spluttered all in one breath, going like a moving train.
This wasn't the time for his sanity to get tested. If ever he must be at Detective Jones, Willow Creek sheriff's meeting the next he needs to be in a great mental state.
Julian whirled around to face her, winning the war against his emotions, his hardened features softened, face inscrutable.
He took cautious steps towards the flustered girl before him, her puckered lips and stance suggested she was all out for this confrontation. She was dying to know if she was the next blushing bride, bathed in confetti and pride.
He loved her. Julian knew that he'd loved her from the second he met her at the freshman's party but the timing just wasn't right for an engagement and wedding. Was it ever going to be right?
"We have careers to secure. What's the rush, darling?"
"Sounds like a loser thing to say. It's a now or never thing." She folded her arms across her chest.
"Can we deeply discuss this when I'm back from this trip?"
"What if you never come back?" She chuckled bitterly, tears settling in her eyes, "You're putting yourself out for a crime that's not worth it. Let things go, focus on Greekside Papers, build a family who will always show you love. Spend some more time with your daughter, can't you see how much she wants you over?"
Of course, he wanted to spend all the time in the world with Rayleigh, his six-year-old daughter. He stopped by to visit her over at Meredith, his mom's house but there was simply a lot to be done lately that he consoled himself with the phone calls.
Shirley knew just how he felt missing out on his daughter's life. She was vastly aware of just how much he wanted to be there for the girl and even more, make Shirley her stepmom but the time wasn't right yet.
"A little more time is all I ask then I can promise you to—"
He went abruptly silent when she flailed her hand in the air. "I don't want you to go on this trip. You're a mere journalist with zero experience, what makes you think there's a chance for you in Willow Creek?"
It wasn't what Julian wanted. He was much more than this. His silence said it all.
Even as he watched the furious Shirley stomp up the stairs calling things quit he knew they both needed a minute to their careers, well, except she didn't have anything going for her, not yet.
He did. He was just starting a promising career and couldn't let things crumble before they even started.
They deserved this break. He deserved this break to chase this lifelong dream. He definitely would miss her but hopefully, this distance between them would only patch things between them. He looked at things from a brighter perspective.
He was willing to give it all up just to unravel this one mystery. Every second of his life was dedicated to finding the truth about what exactly happened that night in Willow Creek.
Giving it all to chase this dream now became so much of a risk, was it worth these sacrifices?