Page 35

CELINE

T he shuffle of papers, low murmurs, and footsteps echoing through the precinct are music to my ears. It feels so nice to be back at work. I’ve never been the type to sit back and mope at home but the break-in rattled me more than I would like to admit.

Zavier wasn’t happy about it when I told him I was headed back to work this morning. The mopey pout he sported, and koala hug he latched onto me with were pitiful. At least he has Midnight to keep him company, plus he’s a grown ass adult ... vampire ... man thing, so he’ll be fine.

I still haven’t fully wrapped my head around the fact Zavier is a vampire. You hear about vampires in myth and lore and think it’s exactly that.

A story.

Not real.

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 words new 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.

If this asshole did something to her, I’ll rip him a new one.

“No! He’d never do that.” She snags one of her tissues from between us and wipes her nose. “A job opportunity came up in California. He wants to take it.”

“Are you leaving me?” Now it’s my turn to hold her tighter.

I’m hit with a wave of sadness when I think about not seeing Ava in my day to day.

Sure, our personalities couldn’t be more opposite but those made for the best friendships.

I considered her a bright spot in my life that kept me afloat.

Whenever I needed cheering up Ava was there.

Now, I have Zav too, as weird as it is to admit.

“No, I ... I think I’m leaving him ,” Ava sighs, and tears stream down her cheeks once more.

“When he first brought it up, I was so excited but the more I think about it the more it doesn't feel right for me and where I want my life to go. I love him, but it just feels like a fork in the road situation. A decision that can change my trajectory.”

I rub her arms up and down and peel her off my chest. Gently arranging her hair so it isn’t a tumbleweed around her face, I hold the sides of her cheeks so we’re looking eye to eye.

“You need to do what’s best for you. Think on it, don’t make any rash decisions, and take a deep breath.

” I breathe with her, sucking in a huge breath through my nose and blowing it out.

She does the same and I can tell she’s starting to calm down.

“Have you talked about your reservations with Spencer?”

Ava fully pulls away from me and holds her arms to her chest. “No. I need to. He can tell something’s up because I’ve been distant.

I need to have the conversation, but I’m scared.

I don’t want to hold him back when he clearly wants to take the job, but I don’t want to leave Chicago.

This is my home.” She rubs her eyes and laughs at the makeup that comes off on her fingers.

“It’s hard to envision finding someone else when I’ve been with him for so long, but my gut is telling me California isn’t where I should be.

It’s like a magnetic pull keeping me here.

” She finally turns to the mirror and jumps back.

“Geez Louise I look like a killer clown.”

Both of us laughing, I help her wipe away evidence of her cry session.

“It’s your gut saying you’d be lost without me.” I wink at her, and she smiles. “Come on girly, let’s get back to work and forget about boys for a little while.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Ava halts in her tracks when I try to nudge her out the door. She gives a sly smile. “Speaking of boys. We need to talk about yours.”

“Or we could not?” I reason and once again try to open the door. Ava slams a hand on it next to my head very much reminding me of Zavier cornering me in the elevator.

“Stop right there and put your hands up.” Ava mock points finger guns at me and I hold my hands up for some reason like I’m in trouble.

“I told you my news, now you tell me yours. That boy is down so bad, I could see it in his eyes the other night.” Her eyes widen comically when she comes to a realization.

“You never told me about your date after everything that went on!”

“Oops.” I guess between the break-in and Zav being around when we were hanging out there wasn’t a chance.

“You only gave me bare bones of what happened, and I need all the deets!” Suddenly full of energy, and color filling her cheeks back up, Ava continues to pepper me with questions. “Please, Celine.” She reaches for my hand. “I need the distraction.” She pouts her bottom lip.

“We might’ve kissed?” I mumble.

“Celine! How can we be best friends and you didn’t tell me you kissed. Did you sleep with him? I would’ve jumped his fine ass so fast, I don’t blame you if you did. You need to get laid. It’s been too long.” She grabs lipstick out of her pocket and applies it in the mirror with quick precision.

“No!” I cry out a tad defensively. “All we did was kiss and just the once. We haven’t done anything since then.”

Ava locks her arm with mine after one last pout in the mirror and we leave the bathroom.

“You’re stronger than me. Spencer and I had sex on the first date.”

I laugh and Ava seems lighter than before.

“Shall we continue this conversation over lunch?” Ava asks as she sits down at her desk outside Captain Barnes’s office.

“It’s a date.” I head back to get some work done before the grill session that I know is coming.