***
“Okay, first thing you need to know, is where the scanners for the different zones are.” Charlotte leaned over the desk, pointing out each of the radios which squawked and buzzed with activity even at midnight. She went down the line slapping a label on each radio with what areas of the city the they were tuned to. As she went, she explained the importance of each area to Kennedy, the former production assistant that would be taking over her role as overnight assignment editor in just a few days time. “This is the radio for most of zone seven, there are some outer edges of that area that we don’t get too clearly, but the manager at that communications center is pretty responsive to calls for information, so don’t be afraid to ring her if you have a question about something.”
Just the mention of Trey’s territory squeezed her lungs and heart to the point of pain. It had been four days since he walked from her apartment without even a backward glance. She hadn’t heard a single word from him. Complete and total radio silence, despite Charlotte having texted twice. And called once.
But training her successor was a great distraction, and she focused back in on the task at hand. The truth was, her job wasn’t terribly complicated. Most nights were quiet, you made a few phones calls, searched social media for story ideas, made sure the overnight photographer was kept busy, added any late breaking news to the assignment rundown for the next day, and that was about it.
Maybe her mom was right. Maybe she was a glorified secretary.
Well, that all was about to change. Each time Charlotte thought about her new position and the challenges to come with it, her brain ran at double speed with ideas on how to increase reporter’s efficiency, on how to make new connections with important contacts, or stories they should investigate.
Including the arsonist. The fire department finally came out and admitted they had a potentially dangerous criminal setting fires around the city, and the rest of the stations had spent the better part of the week trying to play catch up to what WQUZ had already reported the week before.
But aside from the updates on the injured firefighters and the arson rulings, the fire bug had been quiet. No new fires in a week. Some intuition inside Charlotte told her something big was on the horizon though. An unsettling in her gut that she knew was somehow connected to the story she had so relentlessly been pursuing. Because it made her feel closer to Trey.
After walking Kennedy through rounds calls, and letting him take the lead on the last calls of the shift, Charlotte gathered her things and headed out. On time for once.
“Hey, Char, wait up!” Bekah came jogging over in dangerously high heels, a huge smile on her face and an equally huge cup of coffee in her hands. “How’s it hanging?”
“Okay, just heading home for some shut eye. What are you doing here so early?”
The biggest yawn Charlotte had ever witnessed ripped from her friend’s mouth, making them both giggle.
“I had a meeting this morning to pitch the powers that be my traveling doctors story. I had one of the docs tag along to better help illustrate what the story would look like. We had to do it at this insane hour to accommodate his surgery schedule.”
“And? How’d it go?” They reached Charlotte’s car, and both leaned their backs against the sun-warmed metal.
“Awesome. They agreed to let me do the story.” Bekah took a healthy swallow from her coffee before continuing. “It will take a few months to get everything in place. But the hospital is going to sponsor the entire series. They’re paying for my airfare and everything.”
“Holy shit, that is amazing.” Charlotte bumped her shoulder to Bekah’s giving her what felt like the first genuine smile she’d managed in days.
In a rare show of humility, Bekah kept her stare glued to the pavement under their feet, her teeth biting back a grin. “We’re friends, right? I can tell you a secret?”
The question knocked Charlotte off her axis. Were they friends? Since the sleep over, Bekah had made it a habit of sitting at the assignment desk after her shift and chatting with Charlotte. They’d texted back and forth a few times. Charlotte hadn’t put too much thought into all that. It just happened. But she realized that yes, Bekah had set out to win Charlotte’s friendship, and it had worked. “Yeah, we’re friends. I can keep a secret.”
“I’m not just going down there for the story. I’m also going to try and find out about my birthparents.” Finally tearing her eyes away from the ground, she swung her gaze to Charlotte. The fear and sadness lying behind her dark brown eyes was completely uncharacteristic of the normally bubbly reporter. “I was adopted from an orphanage there when I was four. My parents are amazing, and I love them, but they wouldn’t understand why I feel the need to do this, to find out about my heritage. You’re the first person I’ve told.”
“Wow. That’s heavy.” They both stood silent for a moment. Nearby stray cats ambled through the gated parking lot, completely unconcerned with their presence. Suddenly, Charlotte didn’t care about going home and crawling back into bed. She wanted to talk with her friend. Find more out about the relentless woman that had refused to let Charlotte continue to hide behind her shyness. Tell that same friend about what had been going on with Trey and his radio silence. “I know you’re already holding a cup of coffee, but want to go get more? Have breakfast?”
Bekah’s eyes lit up like the sky during a fireworks show. “Yes. I’ve been dying to get this stuff off my chest. And I want to hear all about you and your man of course.”
“Yeah, this is going to be a long meal then.”
Both jumping in their cars, Charlotte and Bekah headed to the local artisanal donut shop. Once they had about a week’s worth of calories sitting in a box before them, they dug into all the details about what had happened with Trey.
“So, let me get this straight.” Bekah took a huge bite of her salted caramel donut before continuing. “Dude like hard core pursued you for weeks. Jumped through all your hoops for that first date. Went super slow for you…”
“Um, waiting for the second date is not super slow.”
“Pfft, yes, it is. Then after three days of the most amazing sex ever, plus taking your virginity, he totally ghosts you?”
Charlotte’s shoulders slumped down and she nodded slowly. Even the half a strawberries and cream donut she shoved in her mouth couldn’t raise her spirits.
“Something’s not right there. Unless he is a total cherry chaser, no guy goes through that much work to just up and walk away.” Bekah spotted a guy in the corner who had been watching her and sent him a wink before refocusing on Charlotte.
“What is a cherry chaser?”
“Guys who only have sex with virgins.”
