I shot up in bed, wisps of hair sticking to my cheeks from tears and the cold sweat that'd dripped from my hairline and down my face.

Just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. Just a nightmare.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and rest my head on my legs, squeezing my eyes tightly.

So much blood.

The clock on the wall read 4am and I groaned.  Falling back asleep was out of the question and based on the four hours I got- this was going to be a rough day.  I swung my legs over my bed and stood up. 

My notes were still sprawled along the desk where I'd been pondering over them all night.  I swiped them all into my bag before heading downstairs.  A floorboard in the hallway creaked loudly and I winced.

"Kathy?" I heard Lucille before I saw her stick her head out of her room, "What are you doing awake?"

"I'm just getting a glass of water." I said quickly.

She raised a brow but closed her door.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I made my way downstairs and to the kitchen.

With a glass of water in my hand, I stood against the sink; looking out the window.

What were we to do? Was another woman or man going to be murdered today? Who would be the next victim? Would there be a next victim?

I shuddered and put my glass in the sink and headed back upstairs quietly.  I heard the noise before feeling the sinking sensation in my stomach.  The sound of my window opening.  I stood on the other side of the door and pressed my ear against it.

Am I imagining things? Do I yell for father? The police?

The small thunk! of someone landing on my floor shook me from my thoughts.  I grabbed a candlestick from the shelf on the wall and braced myself for whatever was in there- softly sending prayers to the heavens.

I slowly twisted the knob on my door; feeling the knot in my stomach tighten.

Can I do much damage with a candlestick?

On a silent count of three I shoved my door open; wielding my candlestick and a scream ready.

Before I could even open my eyes my wrist from my hand that held the candlestick was grabbed and a finger pressed against my lips.

"Geez Katherine!" I heard a whisper- a familiar one.

Jack took his finger off my lips and I closed the door behind me, still gripping the candlestick tight enough that my knuckles must have been the same white color as it was.

"What in the name of-"

"I couldn't sleep." Jack mumbled.

"So you came here?!" I whisper-yelled, "How do you even know where I live?!"

"Davey."

I rolled my eyes.  Jack let out a small laugh and I eyed him fiercely.

"What?"

He raised the hand that still gently held my wrist.

"A candlestick, Plumber?" He chuckled, letting it go, "That's your weapon of choice?"

"And just what household weapon would you have chosen?" I growled.

Jack shrugged, "Something a bit more useful."

I heaved a sigh and cocked my hip out, "Remind me just what you're doing here?"

"Remind me just what you're doing awake." He said without missing a beat.

"Can't sleep either.  I just woke up."

"What, with an alarm? Or are you just crazy enough to get up this early?" Jack grinned.

"I don't want to talk about it right now Jack. . ."

"Well," He took the candlestick and placed it on my desk, "since we both can't sleep, why don't you join me out on the fire escape?"

"Oh how romantic." I said sarcastically.

"Part of my charm."

Jack stepped out the window and I followed.  Being on the fire escape in your nightgown was at least a little less scandalous than your bedroom.  I shut my window and sat down next to Jack; leaning against the wall.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a bit.  I admired the stars still twinkling in the sky.

"Do you think we'll ever catch whoever is doing these crimes?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of the sky.

I could feel Jack shrug from where his shoulder barely touched mine, "Let's not talk crime just yet.  Let's talk- Jack and Katherine."

I could hear the smirk in his voice and turned to him; finding him already staring at me.

"What about Jack and Katherine?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, let's start with the basics.  How old are you?"

"Nearly eighteen." I replied.

"When's your birthday?"

"January 30th."

I figured I might as well repeat his questions.

"How old are you?"

"Just turned eighteen." He replied, "And the birthday is August 2nd."

I pondered for a bit, wondering what to ask now.

"Do you draw a lot? I've seen your sketches of, er, the bodies and they're really accurate."

"Yeah.  My mother was an artist and taught me what I know today.  Drawing became a passion of mine.  You have a whole world to create just with a paper and some charcoal." Jack said, seemingly off in his own world for a few seconds.

"My mother was a journalist." I smiled, "She's the one who got me into writing- especially for the crime section."

My heart sped at the look Jack gave me.

The "moment" was interrupted by a crash below.  Jack and I jumped up and he put an arm out in front of me, keeping me at the wall as he looked down before sighing in relief.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Spot Conlon." Jack muttered, "He's always seemed odd to me.  Always out late at night or in the early mornings."

I could almost feel gears whirring in my head.

"He's already on the suspect list." Jack said as if reading my mind.

I nodded, letting out a small breath I'd been holding in both surprise and anxiety at what had happened.

The sun was beginning to slightly peek over the rooftops; the stars still visible against the lavender colored sky.

"Well m'lady." Jack said with an overdramatic bow, "I'm thinking you should be going to get ready for the day and I'm sure I'll see you later."

"Yeah," I said, holding back a smile at his gesture, "I'll see you later."

"It's a date then, Plumber."

"Shut up."

"You're not saying n-"

"Get out of here."

The smile made its way across my lips and matched his flirtatious grin.  He suddenly stepped forward and I felt his smooth lips press against my cheek.  I could felt my cheeks turn scarlet under his touch and was frozen in place.

Jack climbed down the fire escape without another word, hopping down the last few rungs of the ground ladder.  He tipped his cap at me and walked back down the alleyway.

I finally found my mind once more and let out a shaking breath.  I climbed back into my room and shook my head.

Impossible boy.

•

1155 words whaaaaat!❤️ Hiya all!👋🏻 We now have our first suspect do we?😏 Katherine's birthday was actually hard to find online? There's not a lot of documented records about her.  There was only two sources with her birthdate listed so I was like eh, we'll go with that.  I had to make up Jack's.  Can you guess what significant date it is?

Anywho! Hope you enjoyed and ill see you in the next chapter! Be waiting my dear children🌚