“At least the paperwork will be easier.” Will took a long drink, then put his mug down, shoulders slumped. “What a fucking day.”
“Tell me about it. At least we can actually go home for the rest of the weekend and not live in the station.” Since Rebecca’s initial missing person report, it felt like we hadn’t left the station except to sleep and even that had been limited.
“Awesome. Can’t wait to spend an entire day alone with my thoughts,” Will muttered and took another long drink. He’d already nearly drained his second round while I’d barely sipped at mine. Looks like I’d be the sober one tonight.
“You’re welcome to come crash at my place, if you want. I’m not really looking forward to spending the weekend alone, either.”
Will winced. “No messages from Alex?”
“Nothing yet. I’ll probably have to be the first to reach out, knowing him, but I don’t want to push him, either. I really screwed up.”
I pulled out my phone and laid it on the table, but my text thread with Alex remained exactly as it’d been, without a single new message from him.
“Like I said before, I don’t know much about relationships, but giving him time to cool down has to be a good idea, right? The last thing either of you need is to get caught up in the heat of the moment again and say something you’ll regret.”
“Too late for that, unfortunately. I don’t know how to make this right.” I locked the phone before I gave in to the temptation to text him. “Sorry, we’re supposed to be trying to forget all the bad shit right now.”
“We both know that’s going to be impossible.” Will pulled out his own phone, putting it on the table beside his mug. He pulled up his contact list and scrolled down to one, opening the information. Even reading it upside down, it was obvious it was his parents.
Will didn’t talk about them much, but I’d heard enough in our time as partners to know I wanted to meet them about as much as I wanted to meet Alex’s parents. They were deeply religious and they’d raised their kids in a strict, controlled environment. From Camille, I knew she’d waited to come out until she was a legal adult and could live on her own, which proved to be smart when they disowned her. She’d been no-contact with them ever since and Will had kept his contact to a minimum. He hadn’t completely cut that last tie, though, despite his staunch support of his sister.
“Are you going to call them?”
Will stared down at the screen. The profile picture showed an older couple, just as fair-haired as their children. The woman wore a long skirt and a modest shirt, while her husband was in slacks and a button-up. I got the feeling those weren’t formal clothes, but rather their usual attire.
For a moment, just a fraction of a second, Will’s finger hovered over the ‘call’ button. He stopped himself, though, and instead scrolled to the bottom and, without hesitating, hit the ‘block’ button.
“No,” he growled. The second they were blocked, he shoved the phone away and drank the last of his beer in one long pull. “Fuck them. If they’re too stupid to see the amazing daughter they have, then I don’t need them in my life. We don’t need them.”
It didn’t take a detective to see the pain in his eyes as he said it. I’d gotten lucky with my parents, but I’d seen it over and over again in my line of work, as people were forced to deal with the reality of their loved ones, rather than what they’d hoped they would be. Will was grieving for the parents he and Camille should have had. The ones they deserved.
“For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you,” I said, then headed to the bar to give him a few seconds of privacy. I pretended I didn’t see the tears in his eyes when I walked away and when I got back, they were gone. I slid another mug in front of him and he took it without a word, taking a long drink.
My own drink sat ignored in front of me while Will worked his way through his third, then fourth, drink. I cut him off after that, when he toed the line of being actually drunk.
“Told you we couldn’t forget the bad shit today,” he mumbled. His elbows rested on the table, his head in his hands. “Why does every relationship have to be so damn complicated?”
“I wish I had the answer to that. I really do.” My phone still sat on the table and I tapped the power button, bringing up my lock screen. It was a selfie of me and Alex, taken at my mom’s house in January when we’d visited. He was looking at the camera, his green eyes dancing with laughter and happiness. Me, though? I was looking at him in the picture, and there was no disguising how I felt about him in that moment. It was my favorite picture of us.
“You know it’ll be okay, right?”
I looked up to find Will watching me, surprisingly serious for having four beers in him.
“I hope so.”
“No, it will,” he insisted. “You two remind me of Raina and Camille.”
“Thank you, I think? I’m not sure what you mean, though.”
Will shook his head. “I worried about Cami after she left. She didn’t really settle down after that. She got into catering and traveled all over, but I think she was just looking for something. Then she came through town for work, met Raina, and the next thing I knew, she was calling me to tell me she’d gotten an apartment here.”
“I’ve never heard the full story of how they got together, but I got the feeling it was a pretty fast connection,” I said, and he smiled.
“They met, went on a date, and Camille decided to stay in town after that one date,” he laughed. “I was in Academy at the time and my dad wanted me to join the force at home in Colorado Springs. After Cami called me, I looked up Lowery’s Crossing and saw they were accepting applications for new officers. It felt like a sign, honestly. She seemed really excited when I told her about it, so I applied. Next thing I knew, Chief Cornell was welcoming me to the force and I was apartment hunting here in town.”
“The Crossing has a way of pulling people in when we least expect it,” I agreed. “That’s kind of what happened to me. Is that what you meant, about us reminding you of Camille and Raina?”
“I forgot that was the point I was trying to make,” he admitted sheepishly. “But the point is, the first time I met Raina in person and saw how she was with Camille, I knew they were it for each other. They’re endgame. When I look at you and Alex, it’s the same thing. You two were meant for each other.”
