“I’m sorry, Eddie. I really shouldn’t have called while you were at work. We don’t need to have this conversation right now,” I said.
“It’s okay. I’d rather just get it over with since we’re already on the phone. It’s a little late to back out of it now, no?” he chuckled.
“I guess that’s true.” I sucked in a breath. It wasn’t like I was breaking his heart. I think he knew just as much as I did that this thing between us wasn’t going anywhere. We had been seeing each other for months at this point, and we hadn’t gotten past the kissing with some light petting stage. It was respectful and sweet, but the missing passion was a bit lackluster. “Eddie. I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you, but I don’t think I see this going anywhere. I’m really sorry. I don’t think we should keep seeing each other.”
“Did you write that out beforehand?” he asked. “That was quite the formal breakup speech.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. He was taking it just fine. I didn’t think it came as a huge shock to him. He had to feel the lack of connection too.
“No. But I figured you would like the formality of it.”
“How thoughtful,” he laughed softly. “I understand though. And I appreciate you calling me and not just ghosting me.”
“You’re a really good guy, Eddie. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“Thanks, Scarlett. You too.”
We ended the call, and I lay back on my bed. I had already found what I was looking for, and that was a problem all of its own.
* * *
I strolled into the station that afternoon with Matt right behind me. His eye was black and blue, the swelling in his cheek was red, and his bottom lip was about twice the size it should be, but only on the left side, creating a very unsymmetrical appearance.
He leaned forward to open the door, and I couldn’t miss the wince in his face when he stretched out his arm. I held back the smirk as I strolled past him, thanking him for holding the door for me. It wasn’t that I wanted to pick sides. This wasn’t my fight. But if there were sides to be had, I was on Team Luke, no question.
The man himself was standing next to Officer Brimleyat the front desk. His smile when I walked in disappeared a second later when Matt filed in behind me. Luke’s eyes narrowed, his scowl deepening as his gaze darted from Matt to me. The cut above his eyebrow was bandaged, and his cheek had a bruise the size of an orange. The effects of the fight contrasted with his neatly pressed uniform and well-put-together look.
I put my lunch bag in the kitchen area and poured myself a cup of coffee to start my shift. Luke was waiting for me by my desk when I came back into the room.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him.
“I’ve been worse.” He shrugged. “And you have to admit, I look better than he does, right?” Luke deadpanned, his raised brow the only indication of his joke.
“Always,” I said. I realized as it came out of my mouth that he was talking about the cuts and bruises, not a general comment about their looks. I opened my mouth to cover up my slip, or clarify what I meant, or make a joke… anything so it didn’t sound like I was talking about my opinion on his attractiveness, but nothing came out. The worst part about being fair-skinned was that the blush that covered my cheeks was stupidly evident.
“Good answer.” He smiled, the dimple in his cheek puckering. “Well, I better get out there.”
“Stay safe,” I told him.
He turned and started for the door at the same time as Matt. Both of them squared their shoulders, chin tilted up like they were getting ready to throw down again. Luke shifted his weight to stand in front of me and gestured for Matt to go first, catching Matt by surprise. He waited for Matt to leave before he stepped away to head out for his shift.
The afternoonwas as eventful as ever, meaning not eventful at all. I watched some videos on my phone of epic rock-climbing stunts while I tried to kill time. Every once in a while, the officers would check in with a traffic stop or to let me know if they were stopping to help someone.
The static sound of the radio filled the silence.
“This is zero-nine-zero-five. I have a five-eighty-six on Juniper Road.”
“Ten-four, zero-nine-zero-five. Do you have a plate number for me?” I replied over the radio.
“It’s an older-model Subaru Forester, dark blue. Vehicle is double-parked outside of 45 Juniper Road. Getting the plate now.”
My phone chimed with a text alert as Matt was providing the information. I checked it quickly while I waited for him to respond with the plate number for the illegally parked car.
Luke: Is he fucking serious? That’s Earl Tutino’s car. He’s at his daughter’s house, who just had knee surgery.
Luke: If that asshole gives him a ticket, get it to me. I’ll take care of it.
“Plate number is six-Adam-Peter…” He listed off the rest of the plate, and despite Luke’s text, I ran it through our software. As usual, Luke was right. The vehicle belonged to Earl Tutino, no violations on his record, no warrants out for his arrest. I relayed the information back to Matt.
