Eveline

2: Will

"Thompson! Why are you late?" The captain says to me as soon as I walk into the door of our department. I woke up late today. I briefly close my eyes on my way to my desk when I hear him. His voice is stern and impatient and I cringe. "Sorry Captain, I was having car trouble this morning. I should have called. It won't happen again." I respond. The glare he gives me makes me want to set a thousand alarms every day so this doesn't happen again. I wait but he continues to glare and says nothing more. He turns to go back into his office and shuts the door.
I let go of the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Thankful for his silence. Or should I be even more worried?
"Smooth." My partner tells me from her desk which is right front to front with my desk. I take off my jacket and throw it over the back of my chair and take a seat letting out a sigh. "Yeah thanks." I mumble. I don't need her reprimand too. I turn on my desk computer. The prehistoric device takes forever to boot up so I lean back staring at the ceiling.
"You good?" She asks. I look down and meet her eyes. No one knows you like your partner at work. Especially when you work more than anything else. "Yeah Ashe. I'll be fine. Melissa will be out today and I'll be off the couch and back in a bed tonight." Ashe looks at me sympathetically. "No working it out this time?" "No not this time." She doesn't say much else knowing I need a few minutes of silence.
The few minutes is cut short when Captain Douglas opens his door. Great. Here we fucking go. I mentally prepare for the piece of work walking toward me and Ashe. He approaches holding a file. He drops it onto the meeting sections of our desks. I open it to find blank reports. "You two get going. You two have patrol duty today." I look over at Ashe and she looks like she wants to punch me in the face. Its her least favorite thing to do for full days on the clock. When the Captain walks away I mumble an apology to her. We both know it's because of my tardiness. She walks by me and says, "Buy me a coffee and shut up."

As we patrol we bullshit the usual. Thankfully Ashe avoids the subject of my breakup today. She knows its been a rough few weeks for me. But it's almost over. Melissa should be out tonight and I'll have my apartment to myself again. Better to be alone than fighting every second of my free time. Sometimes things just aren't meant to be. Ashe stays single for the same reason. Its just easier that way for her.

Nothing is happening in little old Spring Willow, Colorado. It's a relatively small place it's not surprising. That's why patrols are always the worst. I guess the bright side of it is seeing the views. This town is small but a beauty. Mountains all around as if the town were in a bowl made of them. Dense forests just out of city limits. Population just over 6,000 people now. An easy day for us but that makes the time slow down. I'm too tired for this.

I turn to Ashe and say, "What do you say we head towards the lake?" She glances to me and then focuses back on the road. She says, "What for?" "Because it's a nice day and nothing is happening in town. Its our Friday and I want to stretch my legs. Come on, what do you say?" She hesitates because we both know the lake falls just outside of city limits for us meaning it isn't our jurisdiction to be patrolling. She looks out of her window and then to the clock on the dash. It reads 2:45pm. We are off the hook at 5:00pm. She sighs and turns into the parking lot of a gas station and turns around to the other direction, towards the lake. I smile. Ashe says "I could still knock you out for being late again and making us do shit patrol all day." I laugh. She's right though. She has to deal with this breakup messing my priorities up almost as much as I do since there are times it affects her too.

I don't say anything else and neither does she. Its a quiet drive. The trees get taller and thicker the deeper we go into the mountain roads. Its the best drive in town if we are honest. There are a lot of locals out. They are parking in camping areas and setting up. Some of them are just relaxing after a day of hiking. Sometimes families drive up here just to get out of the house and let the kids loose. Maybe do some fishing.

We park at the designated parking area on the side of the road just on the lake front. Its a gorgeous view. The midday sun is shining and glistening off the surface of the lake. Gentle waves from the lake splash over the larger rocks at the waters edge. Its so peaceful up here. I would never leave if I didn't have to.

We sit on the tiny boat dock that sticks out into the lake. We don't talk and that's fine. We don't have to. Ashe is my best friend. There is no awkward silence between us. She lays back on to the dock and crosses her legs. She puts her arm over her eyes to shield them from the sun and lets them close. She will probably fall asleep. She may be hard ass but she's a sucker for a nap. I giggle inside. Some things never change. She could nap anywhere if she has the chance.

I look across the lake into the trees. They are so full I don't see much more than the first few feet into them. I see a couple entering at the side of the road on that end of the lake, into the walking trails that go through there and around the lake. They hold hands. I continue to scan the trees hoping to see the wildlife here. There are ducks floating at the edge of the lake but that's about all.

As I continue to sit in silence and take in the view, I see a woman standing at the edge of the trees across the lake. She's dressed weird but it's a weird time we live in. I feel like she's watching me but the distance is too far to make out her face. I let a few minutes pass but she's still there when I look again. She hasn't moved. I hesitate and then decide to wave my arm briefly. Maybe she will wave back. She takes a step forward. Just outside of the line of trees now. I wave again. She lifts an arm and slowly waves at me back. I move my head in acknowledgement and then the woman screams...

.. it's so loud and it startles me. I jump. I turn to shake Ashe awake and turn to look back at the woman. The scream was short and she is gone when I look back.

My heart is beating so fast I can hear it in my ears and feel it in my chest. Ashe says "What do you want Will?" She wants to know why I woke her and I'm still looking around searching for the woman. She's completely gone. She is no where to be seen. Did I imagine it? What the fuck is going on? Am I losing my shit? I apologize to her and say, "Sorry I thought I saw something." She looks at her watch and says its time to go. I look at mine and it's already 6:15pm. The temperature is starting to cool down.

We head back to the car and I glance back at the trees. I still don't see her.