The voice scared me at first, taking me by complete surprise when I’d been oblivious to everything around me for so long. I jolted a little, looking up at who was speaking to me. Raven hair with a deep blue sea for eyes. “Holy fuck, you scared me. Officer Blake?”
He wore his uniform, holding a cup of hot coffee. He shifted on his feet before clearing his throat. “Yeah. Didn’t really expect to see you here.”
“Well, I do live here. ”
“I know that.” I watched as his eyebrows pulled together, and he shook his head a bit. “I mean, I remember that you lived in this town. That sounded kinda weird.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle a little at him. Nothing more than a simple huff through my nose at his stumbling words. “It did sound weird, actually. I know what you meant, though.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Thank god. How have you been doing?”
I frowned. I hated that question. Mom and Dad always asked me that as if the answer had changed from the day before. Cres and Elio still asked on the daily since I bothered them on the daily. They always offered to help me out, go do stuff with me, and have even recommended therapists to me. I always declined and insisted that I was fine. Even Star asked every time we were on the phone together, always calling out my bullshit answer of being fine.
What the fuck else was I supposed to say? The truth? Fuck that. I was Moon Miller—the happy, sort of weird dude everyone expected to be bright and bubbly and laid back. It was in my name alone. I was meant to be the light, no matter how dark it was. Nobody needed to worry about me, or feel pity for me, or any of that shit. I was strong. I had to be strong. The real victims here were my baby brother by blood and his boyfriend, who grew up with us and became a part of our family. My brother by choice, and one day, by marriage.
I put on a smile, hoping Officer Blake wouldn’t be able to see through it. “I’m doing fine, thanks. What are you doing in Heaton Springs?”
He kept looking at me for a second, as if he was scrutinizing my words and face, making sure they matched. “I got transferred to the precinct here. Instead of sending rookies over, they sent me and a couple of others who’ve been on the job for a while.” He shook his head as he sipped his coffee, making a face when it touched his lips. “Fuck, that’s hot.”
“You’re the reason they have warnings on the cups, you know.”
“I didn’t think it would bethathot.”
Hewas pretty hot. If he hadn’t seen me covered in another man’s blood on the worst day of my life. He looked different now that I had my head on straight. Or, I guess, straighter than it had been the day he’d taken me in for questioning. His blue eyes had haunted parts of my nightmares for a while now, though they were the reprieve from the evil inside of them. They always showed up at the very end of my nightmare, right before I’d wake up.
Officer Blake set his cup down on the table I was at, looking me up and down once more. “You’re still covering your neck.”
A statement, not a question. An observation, not an assumption. I wanted to react poorly, but how could I when hewas just stating the obvious? Jude’s claw marks still marred my skin, having dug straight through the flesh there as he’d hung onto me within the last inch of his life. I couldn’t handle looking at them. I couldn’t handle someone else seeing them. “Yeah, I do. What about it?”
He dug around in one of his front pants pockets for a second, pulling out a white card. “I know you probably don’t want to talk about it in a public place like this, but here’s my contact information. I’m here if you need to talk. Seriously.”
“Why?” It was the only thing I could think of saying. Sure, he was being really nice right now, but why? Why give so much of a shit about a murderer, in defense or not?
“Because I can see how much this has weighed on you, whether you admit it or not. I wasn’t there when it happened, but I was there for the aftermath. I’m always here to listen. So, just think about it, okay?”
I took the card from his outstretched hand, looking over it like it was some sort of golden treasure I’d never seen before.
Officer Emerson Blake
The material was textured, with bold, light-blue writing against a white background. It felt nice in my hand, but abnormally heavy for what it was. I tucked it into my pocket and nodded toward him, fighting a sudden lump at the back of my throat. “Sure. Thanks. Um, my brother works here, and he’s going to be coming to join me anytime now, so…” I trailed off, hoping he’d get the hint.
He picked up his coffee, holding it to his chest. “Yeah, of course. I’m serious, though, Moon. Anything at all, or if you just need to talk, let me know.”
I watched him walk away and out the front door. He was a little blurry, which had nothing to do with the state of my eyes. Nope. Not at all. I refused to believe I was tearing up in the slightest.
Crescent came around the front just as the door closed, sliding into the booth in front of me. “What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. Why?”
“You got a dumb look on your face, that’s why.”
“That’s just my face, asshole.”
“Most certainly is.” He opened up his lunchbox, pulling out his signature sandwich.
I had half a mind not to reach across the table and tug on his ponytail. “Is that any way to talk to your big brother?”
He’d barely started chewing when he smiled at me. “If you’re that big brother? Yeah. If it were anyone else? Nah.”
