The Jazz Club

Chapter Two

unedited
-

20th October 1919.

Denial hit Julia like a ton of bricks. The thoughts and dreams of Irene walking through the front door plaguing her mind.

Julia could see it in her mind.

Irene entering through the door, a bag of Julia's favourite food in her hand and her usual sweet smile spread across her petite face. She would scold Julia for leaving her coat thrown across the back of the sofa, but would brush it off quickly enough too. They'd enjoy the food before Irene would have to go back to work again and Irene would always make sure that Julia locked the door behind her.

And she always promised to return.

But this time, this time out of the thousands of times she made that promise...

She broke it.

She didn't return. She didn't return home. She didn't return back to Julia. She left Julia to fend for herself in the wide world. When Julia said she was almost an adult she lied. Julia needed her big sister around, the only family she had. Her role model, her protector and the only thing she knew.

It took a lot to get Julia out of bed that morning. It had taken a lot to get Julia out of bed ever since it happened, but today was the day that made it ten times worse. The black dress hanging there on the front of her wardrobe staring at her, mocking her. The hug at her heart strings making her want to roll over and hide away in the blanket as she prayed for everything to be a bad dream and that she'd wake up the next minute and Irene would be there with her.

But like how Irene didn't return, Julia didn't wake up as this was not some bad dream that Julia could wish away. Apart of her life was now empty, like a part of her utter existence had disappeared that night along with Irene as she died.

Julia blinked, sighting away the tears that were starting to form in her eyes and she pulled her blanket away from her face. At first, she didn't want to sit up, but soon she did. As her eyes moved around her bedroom, she jumped slightly in shock at the sight of herself in the mirror. Her tight brown curls stuck up in all different directions with patches of dried tears scattered over her face.

Trying her best to run her fingers through her hair, she gave up after a few tugs and pulled her blanket from her legs. The cold air instantly making her regret it and the voice in the back of her mind didn't help by telling her to stay in bed.

She went to the bathroom, showered, brushed her hair, her teeth and let out a sigh at the end of it. Julia didn't look the same, she didn't feel the same as before and she felt like it had suddenly became ten times more obvious.

She was a girl pinning for her older sister to be back with her. But to Julia she was no longer a girl.

She was a mindless wonderer, lost with no way back home.

-

Two weeks.

It had been two week since the night that took Irene's life and here Julia was, sat in the police station, blinking away tears as she stared at the constable who was sat across from her.

No updates, no suspects.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything further to tell you" Constable Edwards sighed as he linked his finger over his large stomach. Julia shook her head, the fragments of hope inside her heart slowly being chipped away.

"It's okay," Julia mumbled, as her eyes glazed over. "I mean, of course, it's not ideal, but you're doing the best you possibly can to find out what happened to her"