Let the Floods Cross

Liezel groaned aloud when her phone went off in the midst of her entrance to Zack and Rian’s loft. She shook her head in frustration and pulled out the cellular device from her front pocket. After checking the caller ID, she faked a smile and picked up.

“Hello, Detective Kovacs!” Liezel said in a singsong voice.

The other end of the line is filled with laughter, and not necessarily Ace’s laughter. It took her a few seconds to realize that the other detectives are laughing along with her friend.

“Ace, you did not put me on speaker phone!”

“Sorry Beckett, we just want you to come on over to the precinct before we head back to the tennis club. And we also want to share some recent information with you. Where are you right now?” Ace asked.

Liezel contemplated on whether she should tell everyone on Ace’s force about her whereabouts. It is better if she kept her private life and concerns to herself. First, she didn’t know Ace as well as she used to; and second, the other detectives are strangers to her.

“So what did you guys find?” Liezel stopped just in front of the door to the loft and decided to enter right after the phone conversation.

“Basically Watson is not the killer.” A voice she recognized as Iverson’s spoke.

The tennis player perked both eyebrows in mild shock.

“No?”

“We questioned him; he was only in the girl’s locker room to check on some wedding ring he stashed in his girlfriend’s locker. He said he had to make sure that it was still there, and he happened to have seen Taylor there in the locker room.”

Liezel paced around the front porch uncomfortably at the mention of a wedding ring. Her mind suddenly reverted back to Alex and how she might have screwed things up between the two. She finally understood why Alex is so angry this time around; she blew him off on his chance to propose to her and she didn’t even give him a chance to explain.

“Hey Ace, I’m going to have to call you back later okay? I have something important to do.”

“Actually, go straight to the tennis club after your business. We need to do more questioning and more run-throughs at the crime scene in case we missed anything the other day.” Ace informed.

Liezel agreed to do just that before she hung up the phone. After the phone conversation ended, she knocked on the door several times in hopes that either Zack or Rian would be home—and better yet, with Alex. She needed to find him and have this serious conversation with him.

“Beckett!” The door opened, revealing Zack.

“Hey!” Liezel greeted enthusiastically, or as enthusiastic as she can be.

The bass player smiled kindly at her before stepping aside to let her into the house. When Liezel walked inside, she noticed that Ace’s little sister, Breck, is here as well. Raising her eyebrow, she turned to Zack with a confused look. The quiet man acknowledged it, beckoning her over to the kitchen to have this conversation.

“Obviously, Ace isn’t going to be dedicating time to be in her company and take care of her. Rian thought it would make sense to have her over.”

Liezel gave him a look of disbelief.

“Not just Rian; I know you still care about Breck, Zack. Even if you are not with Ace anymore, you can still be what you used to be for her. She needs you now and since Acacia is as busy as she always has been, it is vital that you are here for her.”

She had always liked the idea of Zack and Ace. They had massive sexual tension during their high school years, and Liezel was always rooting for the two to be together. When it finally happened, they were twenty and out of high school. Ever since they dated, Zack had always been a big part of Breck’s life.

He had never been as big of a father figure as Rian, but he tried his best to help. Breck loved Zack like family and learned to depend on him more than her own sister. However, the bond broke gradually after his last-year fallout with Ace.

“Beckett, it’s not as easy. I don’t know how to act around Breck. I’m not dating her big sister anymore, okay? When I was dating Ace, it was easy to take care or look out for her. If Rian was busy, I’d have no problem taking her to school or picking her up; but now it’s just different. I have no right.”

The tennis player almost had to strain her ears in order to get every single word Zack said. He is very quiet and speaks very mutely so catching every word from him is not the easiest of tasks.

“Zack, all of this shit with Ace does not matter right now. What matters is that Breck has someone to lean on, okay Zack?”

Zack hesitantly nodded at her before gesturing for her to follow him into the living room. Breck is sitting on the couch, looking at the TV. Liezel walked closer to the television set and noticed that Breck is watching a gossip channel. She rolled her eyes when she identified Dale Levine on the screen, walking down a runway in some silver cocktail dress.

Shaking her head, Liezel scanned the room for any other living souls and is disappointed to find out that there is no one else in the living room area. She sighed and looked at Zack in exhaustion. The bass player appeared beside her.

“Is Alex here?” She asked.

“No, Beckett, he’s at the studio with Jack and Rian.”

Liezel is so confused. If Alex is at the studio right now with Jack and Rian, then where was he last night? She threw her hands up in the air, clearly frustrated at the fact that she cannot get ahold of her boyfriend. It is a time of emergency and she is unable to reach him.

“What’s wrong?” Zack sensed something wrong.

“Was Alex here last night?”

Zack tilted his head.

“No?”

She closed her eyes, tired of dealing with this problem.

“You know what? I am just going to head over to the tennis club to help Ace solve a murder and then go practice at the court. I will worry about this tonight.” She gave up.

Zack didn’t say anything but watched in confusion as the tennis player started heading out the door. He opened his mouth in an attempt to console her but decided against it because he did not know what to say. In most situations, he never knows what to say. Instead, he let her walk out of the loft without another word and decided to focus on the grieving teenager on his couch.



“Yes, thank you for talking with us, Miss. Jenkins.” Liezel said politely.

The woman grinned enthusiastically as she glanced at the tennis player in admiration. She nodded quickly as if she is in some sort of daze.

“Of course, Beckett! If there is anything else you need, please call me and I will tell you everything I know about whatever you ask of me.”

Ace and the other detectives noticed that the woman isn’t even paying attention to them, only to the tennis star. They expected it to happen and depended on it to get people to willingly answer their questions.

Miss. Jenkins left the tennis club with a duffel bag in tow and the detectives sighed loudly in defeat. They did not find the information they needed to find a lead to this case.

“Alright, let’s go back to the precinct and we will do more research on events that could possibly have happened outside of the tennis world. Maybe the murder is unrelated to tennis and a bit more personal than that.” Ace explained to the detectives.

They each murmured their agreement as they started heading out of the tennis club. When everyone else left, Liezel pulled Ace back from the others. The detective shot her a look.

“Ride with me, I’ll drop you off at the precinct.” Liezel said.

Ace looked confused but still agreed to the tennis player’s offer. She followed Liezel out of the door and to her silver colored Volvo. It has been a while since they had their individual bonding time, which prompts for her to become a bit suspicious. The black haired woman opened the door for Ace, smiling at her shyly as she watched the detective enter.

When Liezel got into the driver’s seat, she started pulling away from the club parking lot. Once the car pulled out into the street, the tennis player started talking.

“There are two important things I would like to talk to you about.” She started, eyes focused on the road.

Ace did not know what to think. The two were pretty close in high school, bonding over college application anxiety and the academic pressure of senior year. They had each other to lean on when they stressed out over the progress of their last year of high school, and then after they went their separate ways after graduation, they just never were as close as they used to be. Now, they are spending quality time together, and Liezel is attempting to make some important confession.

“Sure, what do you want to talk about?” Ace asked anyway.

“Firstly, do you want to consider taking some time off from this case?”

The detective turned to her suspiciously.

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Your sister, she needs you right now. She’s obviously upset over her girlfriend’s death, so don’t you want to embrace her instead of catching the killer? Your team seems capable of doing that.” Liezel reasoned.

“That’s what Rian is here for.” Ace said impassively.

Liezel looked away from the road briefly to give her a look of confusion. She knew Ace loved her sister dearly, and always looked out for her. Her job makes everything harder, but she does put in the effort. Now, it seems like Ace fails to see her responsibility when it comes to her baby sister.

“What about you? You are her sister!”

“Look, Beckett, I understand the fact that I should be putting in more effort to be a part of Breck’s life, but she already prefer Rian over me. He always has her back and never fails to let her down. I have many times, so I might as well let him take up the role of Breck’s essential parental figure.”

Liezel thought somberly about this situation. Ace is already used to letting Breck down that she gave up getting on her good side. She just lets Rian take over because she knew that he is the more responsible of the two.

She suddenly regret bringing the topic up.

“Anyways, something else is going on in my life, and I don’t know who else to talk to. Jack doesn’t seem to care enough, and he’s always on Alex’s side. I need someone who I can confide in.” Liezel stopped the vehicle in front of a red light and took the time to examine her friend.

Ace pushed a few strands of her blonde hair out of her face and nodded solemnly to allow her to proceed.

“So what’s up between you and Gaskarth, trouble in paradise?”

Liezel sighed loudly and looked away from her friend. When the green light appeared, she started driving her vehicle.

“Something like that; Alex was planning to propose.” Liezel murmured.

The blonde gaped at her, placing a hand over her open mouth. Her eyes widened in great shock at the revelation, since she could not believe that it would happen. It is true that Alex and Beckett were always the power couple, but it is hard to believe that Alex would even think about the concept of marriage so soon.

“Propose, like asking for your hand in marriage?” She asked in shock.

“Yes, and I am not sure how to approach this situation.”

Ace rolled her eyes.

“I do; say yes!”

The black haired woman closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. She turned to the driveway of the precinct and drove to the front entrance. Her vehicle stopped by the entrance.

“I’m not sure if I want to get married.”

“Beckett! What are you talking about? It is obvious that you guys are going to spend the rest of your lives together! You guys always end up back together every time there is a fallout. It is a bit annoying how consistent you guys are when it comes to each other!” Ace exclaimed.

Liezel thought about her words for a few moments. It is true; they always make up every time they get into an intense conflict. But she is not sure if she is up for the commitment. She knows that she cannot live up to his expectations for her. When she is engaged to him, she will have to sacrifice some time off of her tennis career for him, and she is unwilling to do that.

“I’m not ready for this level of commitment. Is it okay that I feel this way?”

Ace sighed as she started opening the car door.

“You have a right to feel this way if you do. Just tell him the truth, you know he will be okay with it, he’s Alex.” She said genuinely, patting on Liezel’s shoulder lightly.

Liezel smiled and watched as the detective left her car.

“Just tell him the truth.” She whispered to herself as she drove off.

Notes

First of all, sorry I took forever to update. Last week was midterm week and I had a shit ton to do. Now that I can chill out again, here's the chapter.

I know there's been a crap load of Liezel and Zack interactions, and I do it oh-so-intentionally. It is building up to something major later, just you wait! And the Liezel/Ace friendship is being rebuilt ;)