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But what I saw can’t be explained any other way than supernatural.

As humans we’re taught something and forced to believe it to be true. Hell, we spend years of our lives in school being fed facts to remember. To come to the realization anything could be a lie, and our history books could be so off base is a wild thought.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out with a smile I can’t seem to stop.

“Yes?” I cross my arm under the elbow of my other that holds the phone to my ear. Silence greets me. “Hellloooo?”

“I miss you,” a sappy voice croons from the other end.

“Zavier.” I pinch my brow. “I just left.” I can’t help but chuckle at his demeanor.

“My non-existent heart hurts when you’re not here. Just come back home. Who needs work?” Zav pleads. My heart jolts at his use of the word home like it's our shared space.

“I think you’ll live. Aren’t you used to it with hundreds of years under your belt?” I mosey over to my desk from the window I’ve been standing by. “It’ll make it that much sweeter when I get back to the apartment.”

“I’ve never had the patience for edging. But I’d love to do it to you.”

Just like that I’m hitting the end button, but not before a zap of desire hits me.

My phone buzzes again, but I ignore it this time.

Needy vampire.

I have to work and Zavier is just going to have to deal.

I plop down in my chair, and scoot in to be closer to my computer screen. Jiggling the mouse to wake it up I type in my password and do my initial read through of my email. A message from Detective Waters pops up reminding me I need her to brief me on the movement of the Vex case. I scan the email, my eyes latching onto the wordsnew evidence.

“Hey, Ava!” My hair swishes as I quickly turn to call to my friend but she’s nowhere to be found.

Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her yet this morning which is odd.

Walking over to the captain’s office I knock on the doorframe so as not to barge in. Captain Barnes looks up from the paperwork he’s filling out.

“Did Ava come in yet?” I question.

“Yes.” Captain gives a quick nod and gets back to his work. I don’t envy the huge stack on his desk and take it as a sign to leave. I doubt he’d know exactly where she is anyway.

I check her usual spots; the lounge, the front window she likes to look out of, and her desk once more to see if she returned while I was looking elsewhere. I’m passing by the bathrooms when I hear an almost inaudible sniffle come from the women’s restroom. Backing up slowly, I stop and lean in waiting to hear it again. A louder sob comes out but is quickly stifled like whoever it is doesn’t want others to hear.

Walking as quietly as I can, I nudge open the door and look around the corner. A rose gold head of hair hangs down, shoulders drooping, and a stash of used tissues sit on the counter next to her. I debate for a moment on whether I should interrupt or not, I’ve never been that good at comforting people, but this is Ava. I’m her best friend and need to make sure she’s okay.

For her to hide away like this and cry it must be something big.

“Ava?” I walk toward her as if approaching a frightened bunny.

Her head jerks up and the red splotches on her face giveaway the fact that she’s been in here for a while. I can tell she’s embarrassed when she tries to push the pile of tissues into the trash can and primp her hair like nothing’s out of the ordinary.

“Are you okay?” Stopping right in front of her, I wait for her to respond not wanting to push too hard. Her mouth opens and closes a few times like she’s attempting to reach for the right words.

“No,” she squeaks out and dives for me.

Her delicate arms wrap tightly around my back and the smell of her floral shampoo tickles my nose. I respond in kind and hold her back as tightly as possible. Whatever’s got her so upset is hurting my own heart.

“What’s going on?” I pat her back soothingly. Her sniffles start up again and I wait once again for her to feel comfortable enough to talk.

“It’s Spencer,” Ava cries, and holds me even tighter if possible. Her anaconda grip borders on painful.

“What did he do?” I bite out. “Did he hurt you?” Spencer didn’t seem the type, but if she’s this distraught anything is possible.