Calloused

4

"Sky? Hello? Wake up. We got company here." Niall's voice woke me up. I opened my eyes and yawned.

"Ugh, what time is it?" I groaned, rolling over.

"Time to get up, the police are here. They found your boss." I shot up as soon as his words registered in my brain.

Fuck.

I ran into the bathroom and washed my face. I hurriedly threw on a pair of pajama pants. I didn't care if Niall saw my underwear, it wouldn't of been the first time anyways.

"Great, it looks like you've been sleeping. The perfect alibi." Niall smiled, patting me on the back. I exited my room first, Niall followed close behind. I reminded myself to act normal in front of the cops.

I took my time down the stairs, a yawn coming from my mouth once more.

"Good morning Ms. Rivera. I'm sorry to wake you up like this. But I have some terrible news." Sheriff Rigbee apologized. I knew him pretty well from seeing him patrol town regularly. I gave him a confused look.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I asked eagerly. From all the years of practice, my acting skills had been on point.

"Well, you see, there's been a murder. Bruce, your boss was found this morning when a customer came in to buy a few things."

"W-what? N-no, that can't b-be true!" I cried out, letting all of the emotions flood back in from last night. I couldn't cry on command but I could cry if I thought about things that hurt me deeply. Like losing Bruce.

So my reaction to the news they were giving me wasn't completely fake.

"We're very sorry for your loss Ms. Rivera. We all know how close you two were." Rigbee continued.

"We're doing everything we can to figure out who did this. Is there anything you can tell us that might help? Do you remember if there were any upset costumers recently?" He asked.

"N-nothing that I can think of at the moment." I said shakily, tears falling from my eyes.

"What time did you leave the store last night?" He continued to question me.

"I left a few hours earlier than I was scheduled till. M-my brother was coming into town to visit me." I frowned, motioning to Niall who stood next to me. He had his hand comfortingly placed on my shoulder.

"It's true sir, I drove here from New York." Niall smiled sadly, he put on his best American accent.

"Oh man, I'm sorry." Rigbee sighed as he pulled out a small pad of paper and started scribbling a few things down.

"Is it s-safe to stay here?" I asked, sounding as scared as I could. It wasn't a complete lie, a part of me feared for what Vincent would do to the rest of the town in order to find me.

"If it was me, I'd leave town for a few weeks, just until things calm down." Rigbee answered honestly. I swallowed hard, my eyes watering a bit. I nodded in understanding.

"A-are you sure? I can pack a bag and go back with my brother for a while, you have my number i-if you have a-anymore questions." I sniffled.

"Absolutely. I haven't seen you leave town in over two years, you should go. I will call you if I need anymore information." Rigbee nodded, placing his sheriff hat back on his head.

"Nice meeting you...?"

"Noah." Niall nodded to Rigbee.

"Noah. Safe travels to you both." Rigbee smiled, closing the door behind him. I looked at Niall in surprise for a few seconds before looking around in confusion.