Another Lifetime

Chapter 3

DeAnna Kastell

"So tired," Frank complained as he pulled up outside Jessie's house. Her house was far too loud for two very tired Kastells, due to her many younger siblings of varying annoyances, with Jessie being the most normal and least annoying.

"More coffee?" I offered and poured more from the thermos into his 'World's greatest Cop brother' mug before he could say yes because it was going to be yes.

"Need caffeine," he agreed and took the mug. We were working off little sleep and coming down from a sugar high, only high I got these days, so we were both in a two word only kind of zone.

"Coffee good," I agreed as I poured more into my 'Maths + Art = Da Vinci Art + Maths + Genius = Me .'. Me>Da Vinci'  mug that Frank had given me as my specific car mug when I moved in with him. I liked the car mug system because it meant that half the house supply didn't end up in my locker or the precinct and we'd definitely forget to take them home from their new places.

Jessie barrelled out of her house, still putting on her makeup. "Wow," Frank muttered, wow meaning 'how the hell is she not ready before we got here when we told her a time twenty minutes earlier than we planned on arriving here?' which was just a special Jessie characteristic you had either love or hate except for Frank, he just found it confusing but Frank is just a different kind of special and I love him for it.

"I know."

Jessie climbed into the back of her car and I handed her the car mug we'd gotten for her after she kept getting rides with us; hers said 'designated crazy friend' and she'd bought it for herself as her car mug before we got something more neutral. "Camp out or dance party?" She asked us, blowing the steam from her coffee. Jessie would have a go at me if we had a dance party without 'the lord of the dance'.

"Camp out," we answered as Frank pulled away from her house. I leaned against the window, trying to get five minutes sleep before we arrived at hell.

"So how many hours do I have to deal with two word Dee?" She asked and I shrugged my response, turning up the music to stop questions. I used to be really good at surviving with little sleep when I was in New York and when I was using but new life included changing my sleeping habits so ruined my ability to stay up all night several days in a row and not be tired.

Frank pulled up outside the school and I filled my mug with more coffee before getting out the car. "Later bro," and I walked off without a response from Frank. I didn't expect a response from him because he needed to focus on getting his words for work.

"Come on, lets go get you a flask of coffee from the café," Jessie said and gently pulled me along, being careful not to spill precious coffee or she'd release the hell beast, a part of me that would never go away forever. A part of me that had helped me survive my criminal life.

"Hey babe," Brian said and kissed my temple then noticed the mug in my hands. "Want me to get you more coffee?" He asked me and I just looked at him with as much evil as I could manage, "on it," he said before rushing off to go get me more coffee.

"This is why BriAnna is my OTP," Jessie said as a familiar car pulled up in the lot, one I'd had a lot of sex in before I left New York. "Must be Griffin's car," she noted and we both stopped to stare at him get out his car.

He spotted us and Jessie waved him over; he looked to me for a second and I nodded my response. I wanted him to act like we were strangers but that didn't mean we couldn't be seen together at all because that was way more suspicious than us interacting like we hadn't met.

"What's with the mug?" He asked us and I lifted my coffee to my lips again. It was going a little cold but caffeine is caffeine, hot or cold.

"She didn't sleep last night," Jessie told him and our phones went off. It was a facebook notification and it was a photo of my hurt art.