After trying to distract myself with everything possible, mindlessly scrolling through social media since I didn’t have my TV set up yet, I decided it was time to figure something else out. I was too keyed up to function the way I wanted to. Actually, I didn’t want to function at all. I needed to sleep, even if I wasn’t working.
I took a peek outside of one of the windows, noting how light the rain was now. It’d slowed down considerably, and I didn’t mind getting rained on if it meant I could get out of my head. Mind made up, I grabbed everything I needed, slipped on some tennis shoes, and headed out on a run.
When I ran, nothing else really mattered. My brain calmed down, the ringing in my ears didn’t bother me too much, and I was able to simply enjoy the world at the surface level. I had one goal in mind: put one foot in front of the other. Sometimes, I went faster. Sometimes, I slowed to a leisurely walk. That was all I had to think of, aside from making sure I didn’t run into anyone or anything. Running was my favorite form of exercise. Yeah, I lifted weights and did all sorts of other stuff to keep my physique and health in check for the job, but there wasnever anything quite like it otherwise. I liked the way my calves would still burn even after years of running almost daily. It was something I could look forward to—a constant when nothing else was guaranteed in my life.
I nodded and waved to a few pedestrians on my way down the sidewalk, smiling at them in a formal way of introducing myself to the world. Maybe if they got familiar with my face, I could blend in better. Maybe I’d start feeling like I belonged here.
Before long, I started to come up on Muffin Haven, my favorite place in the whole town so far. I’d come to a point where I needed to catch my breath anyway, so I stopped just beside the front door to take some deep breaths, trying to level out my heart rate. They didn’t look too busy from the windows, only one person standing in line to order, and just a couple of people sitting at tables and booths.
I pulled open the door and walked in, only realizing how much rain I was tracking in as I got a few steps into the shop. The woman at the counter looked to the side as I came up to her, glancing at the floor I’d gotten all wet. “Sorry about the mess.”
She shook her head. “Oh, no worries, Officer Blake. It’s rainy out; we expect some water to come in. I just need to get someone to mop it up.”
Was it bad that I came in so often, she knew my name? I tried not to think about it too hard, instead ordering a nice, warm latte and a blueberry muffin to go with it. Once I had my order, I checked my phone one more time before walking over to take a seat at one of the empty tables.
“Officer Blake.”
I turned my head, looking for who’d said my name.
“Over here.”
To my right, Crescent Miller was sitting at one of the booths, a lunch spread out in front of him. I smiled as I walked over, nodding to him. “Crescent, it’s so good to see you.”
He returned my smile and gestured to the seat in front of him. “Likewise, Officer. I didn’t recognize you the other day, but I saw you talking to Moon in here.”
“Please, call me Emerson. But, yeah, we keep running into each other. It seems we both really like coming here. Are you on lunch?” Stupid question, but I wasn’t exactly the best at making conversation outside of work.
Sighing, he set his sandwich down and pulled an earbud out of his ear. “I am. Moon usually comes and sits with me during, but I guess he won’t be joining today.” Shaking his head, he twisted and turned the drink in front of him absentmindedly. “Actually, this is probably a long shot, but have you heard from him today?”
“Moon?”
“Mhm. Our sister walked to our house all upset and hungover, saying her and Moon got into an argument. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him, and neither has Elio since then.”
“Uh, yeah. Did Star not mention me to Elio?”
“Not that I know of. Why would she have?”
“Oh.” It was my turn to fiddle with something, and it seemed I’d picked the muffin wrapper. “Well, yeah, Moon had called me, and I actually went and got Star from the party she was at.”
His eyebrows turned down into an assessing squint. “That was you? I wondered how she’d gotten to Moon’s, but from what Elio said, she didn’t specify that.”
“Yeah, she wasn’t in good shape at all, and Moon was really worried. I sped up there as fast as I could and brought her to his apartment so she could sleep it off. I was with them until a couple of hours ago. I didn’t know Star had gone to your house. Moon had been lecturing her a bit when I left.”
“Damn. Thank you for getting her and being there for him. It means a lot. I just worry about him lately, and he isn’t the type to not show up or respond to us.”
NowIwas worried. He still hadn’t replied to me, he hadn’t replied to his brothers, and he didn’t show up when he usually did? None of that sounded like good news to me. In fact, a deep, familiar churning had started in my stomach, only growing with more concern by the second.
If there was anything I’d learned over the many years of being a cop, it was that my gut was trustworthy. And right then, my gut said something was wrong. “I know where he lives now. I could go check on him if you’d like and text you that he’s okay.”
“You would do that?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t know how much he’d like that, honestly. He’s been a bit…prickly as of late. He might yell at you.”
I couldn’t help the smile on my face. “I’ve been a cop for eighteen years. I can handle some yelling, especially from Moon.”
Crescent studied me for a second, tilting his head to the side. “Are you guys friends or something now?”
