Invisible String

Chapter 1: Sacred New Begginings

"Barefoot in the kitchen, sacred new begginings that became my religion, listen..."

🦷

The day started with a surprise before Erin Lindsay could even take a sip of her coffee.

She had just poured two cups, for her and for her boyfriend, when the doorbell rang. Jay was still at their bedroom getting ready for work and shouted for her to get the door.

Uncertainly, Erin unlocked the front door. Usually, people looking for her or Jay would go to the district or call first, while their friends would just knock and walk in rather than ringing the doorbell. Maybe it was that nice but weird lady from downstairs that was always asking Erin or Jay to investigate who stole her succulents from the hall, or the one that seemed convinced that someone in the building had cats, which was against the rules.

As she opened it, she was faced with a young woman waiting on the other side, tapping her foot. Her hair was coppery and tied back in a long braid and she had a bag hanging from her shoulder. Erin thought she looked a bit anxious, but then her blue eyes focused on Erin and opened a bright smile.

"Can I help you?" Erin politely asked.

"Hi. Uh, does Jay Halstead live here?" She asked. Something about the woman looked oddly familiar, but Erin still hadn't figured out exactly what. She was dressed for the summer, with a green plaid dress and boots, totally unprepared for the crazy winds that Chicago had to offer.

"I'm Lizzie." she introduced herself, still smiling, and offered her hand for Erin to shake. "You must be Erin."

The detective raised an eyebrow, not willing to confirm or deny anything before knowing more. Just as she opened her mouth to ask more questions, Jay stepped out of their bedroom.

"What 's going on? Is that neighbor with the cats again?" He asked, but then froze in place. "Liz?"

"Jay!" The woman who had just showed up at her door dropped her bag on the floor and walked into their apartment like she did that a million times before and jumped on Jay for a tight hug, giggling while doing it.

It took a while for Erin to process that Jay was hugging her back and laughing too, despite the initial shock.

"Liz, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to California!"

"Too much sun." She joked. "And how about 'Hey Lizzie, how are you?' before turning the detective mode?"

"Jay?" Erin called softly, waiting for someone to explain what was happening.

They both turned to her, still half embraced in their hug. Lizzie blushed and offered Erin a tiny smile, suddenly reminding that they didn't really know each other and Lizzie was already invading her apartment.

"Sorry about that. I should have called before. It's lovely to finally meet you, Erin. I've heard so much about you." She grinned, offering her hand for Erin again, and then it finally clicked.

Lizzie and Jay had the same smile, that annoying smile that Erin always loved on him. They also had the same blue eyes, the dimples that appeared when they smiled. And while Jay's hair was dark, she had the coppery waves that clearly were shared with Will.

"I'm sorry?" She tried to formulate a question.

"Babe, this is Elizabeth, my little sister."

🦷

Her coffee was cold, after all, so she threw that in the sink to pour some more and added a third mug. Jay's sister liked her coffee with no milk and lots of sugar.