chapter twenty-one
━━ CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE / chase snyder
episode three, part four.
Waking up in Lockwood's bed was normal to Demi and she felt his warmth pressed against her back. It made her feel safe and when she rolled over at the sound of the alarm, Lockwood was dozing half-awake, half-asleep. Demi had switched the alarm off as she looked up into his eyes and he opened them sleepily. A sleepy, adorable smile on his face.
"Anthony," Demi said softly. He let out a mumble of 'yeah' in response before she lifted her hand up to his face. Her actions were anxious, nervous as she let her hand rest against his cheek. His smile grew into a sleepy grin, "Are we going to be okay?" It was such a vulnerable question so quiet and he let his eyes open fully.
"Of course we will," He responded. Her words and tone seemed to have woken him up as he placed his hand over the top of hers, his thumb rubbing across the top of her hand, "I won't let it happen again." It was a promise and when he looked into her eyes, she could tell he meant it. She smiled and let her head tilt down. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before wrapping his arms tightly around her.
"Thank you."
-
Somehow, despite all of them being up long before they were meant to be at the station, they were running late. And Demi had to sprint up to her room, taking the steps two at a time to grab something from her desk. She slipped it into her backpack before she switched her light off and bounded back down the stairs as the boys shouted at her to hurry up.
"The taxi's here! Dem!" Lockwood called up the stairs. They could hear Demi's footsteps thundering down as she swung around onto the last set. Lockwood stood at the door and Demi grabbed her rapier on the way out. He locked the door and she jumped in the taxi, Lockwood followed behind and they were off.
-
The train journey was comfortable enough but Demi was glad to be back on her feet when they reached the station. Her backpack was firmly on her shoulders but George had picked up her kitbag - insisting that he could carry them both. Demi's back had been playing up all morning and they'd noticed so he was just trying to be nice.
They headed up the stairs to get onto the other side of the station where the station house was. The car park - they had been told - was on the other side and that's where they'd meet someone who would take them to Combe Carey Hall. It was all a little chaotic but Demi was just glad to be out of London. It had been too long and the country air was nice. The quiet was nice too, even though she couldn't enjoy it quite yet due to the train trundling away.
"Wow! There's a lot of green," George commented as he walked behind the trio. An amused smile appeared on Demi's lips as she glanced back at him.
"Never been outside of London before, George?" Lockwood asked, half-teasing, half-curious as they took the steps down to the platform.
"I visit my gran in Sidcup," George responded and Demi rolled her eyes. The two of them were ridiculous but she had missed this. George not coming out with them for the past few cases had been disappointing. He was a stress-head but his presence always added a lightness to the investigation when he was calmer.
"Sidcup is in London," Lockwood responded as they reached the platform. The train was heading out beside them and it was disrupting the peace of the countryside but Demi didn't think much of it as she glanced around the platform. It was so pretty.
"Then you have your answer. Doesn't look like I've missed much," George responded as they continued off down the platform. Demi adjusted the strap of her backpack on her shoulders before she let her hands rest in her jacket pocket.
"I can't believe we're going to Sir John Fairfax's house," Lockwood said, the wonderment still infecting his tone. When they had spoken about it the previous night, he had been so excited. A little worried considering what they were walking into but excited nonetheless. It was ridiculous. He was like a kid in a candy shop.
"He's just a man. The history of the house is more interesting," Demi responded and Lockwood looked at her. A hint of disbelief but also the smile was still there. She smiled right back.
"You've got a real hard-on for him, haven't you?" Lucy interrupted the pair's loving looks which only made Demi snort. Her hand pressed over her mouth in an attempt to quieten it.
"If you wanna put it like that. You know he's succeeded in everything he's tried. Publishing, show business, He didn't even start smelting until he was in his thirties. Now look at him." Lockwood was rambling while George had come to a stop. Holding both his bags and Demi's had become too much and she sighed.
"George, what are you doing?" She asked as she came to a stop too. She pulled her hands out of her pockets and reached out for one of the bags but George swatted her hand away.
"We have too much stuff," He responded. Demi reached out for the bag again and when George swatted for her hand, she snatched his wrist and pushed it back. She let out a mumble of 'give it to me' and wrestled the bag off of George but paused when Lockwood spoke.
"Is that Hammy?" He asked. George furrowed his eyebrows and Demi snatched the bag, keeping a tight hold of it as she twisted around.
"Who?" She asked. George then began to shuffle around the bags he was holding now. One moved onto his shoulder and he kept the other two firmly in his grip.
"He's talking about Erin," Lucy responded as Demi's eyes searched the platform. She couldn't immediately see the girl so it only served to confuse her more.
"Erin's here?" She asked. Lucy nodded and Demi glanced back at George who was still fiddling with the bags. She shook her head disapprovingly at him and reached to help George again but he practically kicked her away. The pout that took over Demi's lips was hard to miss but George only gave her a sarcastic smile in response.
"With her agency," Lockwood suddenly said and Demi's head snapped around. The sudden movement made her back hurt a little and then she spotted them. The Snyder Agency. Erin was drowning in the team's kit bags while Chase Snyder sauntered around like he was God's gift.
"Oh not that prick." Demi was practically seething at just the sight of the man. Her old supervisor. The owner of Snyder Agency and the biggest arsehole that she had ever come across.
"What? Who are you talking about?" Lucy asked as she looked between the three. George had finished with the bags now and was standing beside Demi who was a little in front of Lockwood and Lucy. The annoyance was etched across her features. Chase Snyder looked across the platform and when he met George's gaze, the boy looked away.
"Chase Synder," George explained as he looked at the girl. Demi watched as the Agency moved across the platform. The group of four weren't carrying a single one of their own bags and Erin was barely able to keep herself up. It only made Demi more frustrated.
"They're not even helping her," Demi snapped as she turned her head to Lockwood, hoping that he would do something. Or at least, give her permission to go over. Lockwood's face stayed neutral which only served to frustrate Demi further,
"Erin!" Lucy has called before any of them can do anything. She nudged past George on the platform and walked over to Erin who had smiled back at the brunette. Demi followed close behind Lucy, "Aren't they helping you carry their stuff?" Lucy asked, naively. But rather than Erin responding, Chase suddenly moved to stand in front of her. And Lockwood sped-walked to be stood behind Demi. One hand hovering close to hers, ready to pull her back if he needed to. He may have been double Demi's age but she had enough rage to take down an army when it came to Chase Snyder.
"Er has offered to assist her team... Her family, in any way possible. She's being polite." Chase responded, answering for the girl. Demi scoffed and glared up at him, narrowing her eyes.
"Oh, I know how you treat family, I guess some things never change." The venom laced her tone and despite the way her back ached, Demi was ready to throw a punch. Suddenly she felt protective of Erin. Suddenly every anxiety over what the Erin Hampton would think of her vanished and all she wanted to do was throw Chase off the platform and bring Erin with them to keep her from the toxic, vile man that lorded over them.
"So, the bitch finally got her bite," Chase responded, practically snapping and Lockwood watched as Demi's hand curled into a fist. He moved his hand towards hers and gently wrapped his hand over the ball. It was a tricky situation and he knew this wasn't a good idea. Not now. Not when she was this injured and not this publicly.
"I got a lot more than a bite, you arsehole." Demi's words held enough venom that she managed to keep herself from doing anything stupid. And then the train to London trundled onto the platform and it seemed that the Snyder Agency were about to return to London.
"Come on, we have a train to catch," Chase said. His words directed at the other four members of the Agency that had been watching the two snap at each other without any clue what was going on. Lockwood and George were the only two that understood what was actually going on. Lucy and Erin were completely in the dark and they exchanged confused looks before Erin was pulled away to board the train.
Demi twisted around, knocking Lockwood away with her shoulder as she stormed towards the station exit, "Dem, you are still injured. You can't start a fight," Lockwood said as he rushed to catch up with her. He reached out for her hand but she broke away from him. The frustration was running through her body and the last thing she wanted to do was take it out on Lockwood.
"Give me a minute," Demi said, waving her hand out. Lockwood sighed and he ran his fingers through his hair before he turned around. They were standing on the inside of the station house and Demi let out a few deep breaths.
"How do you even know him?" Lucy asked. Demi chuckled humorlessly and adjusted the bag in her hand before she continued walking out of the station. The trio followed behind.
"Long story." It was a very dismissive answer but she didn't really want to talk about it. She had enough to think about without her past crawling its way back to the surface.
Once they were out of the station and into the car park that was basically just a mud patch in the middle of nowhere, a car was waiting for them. It was an SUV. With enough space for six people, probably because they had dropped Snyder off. Which made no sense. But Demi dismissed that thought. Too wrapped up in her anger that they had tried to take their job to think about it all logically. It was too much.
"Welcome. I'm Ellie, Mr Fairfax's assistant. This way, please," A woman said. Her voice took Demi by surprise and when she looked up, she was the same woman from the office. With the perfume that smelt the same as the intruder that had broken into their house. Demi was frozen for a moment but George practically shoved her which got her moving.
But rather than moving with the group, she went straight to Lockwood, "I need to tell you something." Her words were quick and panicked but before he could get out a response. Someone else walked out of the station.
"Erin?" Lucy asked and Demi's head perked up. She followed Lucy's gaze to Erin. The dark-skinned girl was walking towards the group with purpose, "Aren't you leaving?" The confusion was obvious in Lucy's tone and Demi's face scrunched up. Her eyebrows pulled together as Lockwood let out a soft huff. He hadn't liked Erin since the day they had met her and Demi just wished that she knew why. It couldn't have just been about the money or his pride.
"I just thought I should warn you. This place is dangerous. Not even our best agents could handle it, I don't want you guys to be wasting your time or getting hurt," Erin explained as she glanced back at the station and then back to the group. Her hands dropped to rest by her side, "They told me stories about what happened." The frown spread across Lucy's face and she glanced back at Lockwood and George. Demi's hands moved to push her fingers through her hair. The weight of it was crushing her. She needed to tell Lockwood about Ellie.
"We hired Lockwood & Co because we saw more opportunity with their success then yours Ms Hampton," The response from Ellie was snippy. And Erin practically glared in response while Lockwood grinned cockily, leaning against the side of the SUV. Demi looked at him but he didn't seem to notice the panic that was coursing through her veins.
"You've been in the building before, right Hammy?" Lockwood asked curiously. The girl turned away from Lucy and to him, crossing her arms over her chest. There was an obvious sense of annoyance at the nickname but Demi's head was spinning with other things. Too many other things.
"No Tony, my team sent me away." Demi didn't miss the way that Lockwood's teeth gritted at the nickname. He crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm a liability without any Talent. But they told me the layout and I sketched a blueprint of their stories. Here," Erin explained and she dug into her bag and passed a few drawings over to Lucy. It was a slightly crumpled messy pile but it was everything that she had been told.
"Why don't you stay another night but at a haunted house? We can always use the expertise of our favourite artist, aye Luce?" Lockwood asked. He had moved off the car now and gently nudged the Carlyle girl. Lucy scoffed in response.
"This is dangerous. We already nearly killed her once," Demi mumbled from where she was standing. Erin nodded and looked from Demi to Lockwood.
"What use would I be?" Erin asked, cocking an eyebrow. This was ridiculous. What Lockwood was suggesting was completely ridiculous and Demi didn't know how to stop it. Suddenly everything felt like it was moving too fast and she couldn't stop any of it.
"I was wondering the same question," George chipped in.
"I don't want to put her in harm's way," The concern laced Lucy's tone, mirroring how Demi felt internally.
"I don't know..." Erin trailed off, glancing around. Then she glanced back. The train would be leaving soon and then she heard Chase's voice calling her. Demi had clocked out of the conversation, reeling from the panic, the worry, the glimpses of drawings that she had seen. It was all too much and then they were putting their stuff in the car and Ellie was talking about an old war wound.
An old wound that Demi was sure was in the same place that the intruder had been hit. The intruder that had thrown her off the bed and hurt her and wore the same perfume that she could smell on Ellie right now. It was too much and she reached out for Lockwood's arm.
"Lockwood, I really need to talk to you about something," The girl practically tugged on it as she looked up at him. He held his hand out for her bag and she passed it over.
"When we get to Fairfax," He said simply. Demi shook her head before she pulled her backpack off which Lockwood also took and placed with everyone else's things in the boot.
"It's more important than this." Her tone was insistent but Lockwood wasn't really noticing. He wasn't thinking. He just wanted to go. Get this done with. And everyone else was in the car. It was just Lockwood and Demi stood at the end of the car, looking at each other.
"We need to get going," Ellie called from the driver's seat and Lockwood closed the boot. He grabbed Demi's hand and pulled her to the car.
"It'll have to wait," He said simply and the two got in. But Demi couldn't let it wait. They were certainly about to walk into a death trap and the more she thought about, the more anxious she felt. It was a bad thing to feel when she was about to walk into a very dangerous, very haunted house but it was lingering like cheap perfume.
Every part of her was telling her to run, run for her life or she would end up dead. But she couldn't. There was no way she could abandon her Agency and there was no way she was going to let a Hampton die. Because of course Erin had come along for the ride. It was all too much for Demi and while Lockwood held her hand the entire journey, she stared out the window of the car and prayed they would get out of this alive.
-
NOTE
the trauma has begun... and it's only gonna get worse from hereeee
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