Her Eyes

Chapter 18: CONFESSIONS

Then came the day Alex had been dreading for a long time. The Kyle Miller hearing. He hated being unsure about Blair Watson's murder, but after four months it needed to close and Kyle Miller was the best candidate. He stood in front of the mirror tying his tie. The last time he wore a suit was Keith Summer's funeral. He sighed at the thought. He filled his briefcase with paperwork and headed out the door over to his SUV.

            Norma was watering the hanging plants. He tried not to notice her, because noticing her caused him to relive the viewing he had gotten the previous nights. "Hey, Sheriff Romero." Her voice brought him out of his somberness. "I wanted to ask you something."

            "Yeah." He continued over to the car and opened the door, placing his briefcase inside. He walked closer to her, leaving the door to his car open—he was in a bit of a hurry.

            "Can I call you by your name? Seems a little stupid at this point...'Hey, Sheriff Romero'." Did this mean they were friends now? She eyed him up and down, smiling widely. "I've never seen you in a suit."

            He felt the same pain he always gets around her start to form. He looked down at himself awkwardly as if he forgot what he was wearing. "Yeah, I'm on my way to testify in the Kyle Miller hearing so," he admitted. Did she like what she saw? He didn't want to think about it—he had somewhere he needed to be. "Is that what you wanted to ask me. Yeah, you can call me Alex." He started turning to leave. He needed to be on his way. He needed to leave before he said too much.

            "No, actually I wanted to talk to Mayor Woodriff about giving me Lee Berman's seat. I was wondering if you had some tips on issues to cover," she stated. The man had just died and she was already itching for his seat.

            "You're not gonna get that seat." It came out a bit ruder than he had intended.

            She was clearly offended. "What is it with you—"

            "I know what you're up against," he cut her off. He didn't want to lose the friendship they were beginning to form. "That's how these things work. It's very political...in a war sense." He didn't want her to have that seat. It would only cause them both a great deal of trouble.

            "Well my friend Christine Heldens got me a meeting. I don't think that could've happened if there was no chance," she confessed. She seemed disappointed in him.

            "Well good luck. I hope it goes well." She didn't believe him. "I do." He didn't mean to be rude, but he wasn't the best at being supportive. He turned to leave, but stopped himself halfway. If she was going to run for city council she needed to stop undressing in front of the window. He turned back and looked up to the house for reassurance. He would hate himself afterwards, but she needed to know. He walked as close to her as he could allow himself to—he didn't need other people knowing. "Uh, listen. Little awkward, but I think you should be made aware of it," he mumbled nervously.

            "What?" Her voice was drenched in concern.

            He looked at her, trying not to smile out of nervousness. "Well sometimes at night." The images of the previous nights flashed through his mind. His body stiffened in response. "When you have your light on in the bedroom." She stared at him confused. She had no idea. He nodded up to the house. He needed to get it over with. "You can see right through those curtains."

            She looked at him completely horrified. He knew telling her was a mistake. "You can?" The look on her face looked as if he had taken her last bit of innocence away.

            He felt bad. He didn't want to lose her. "Yeah," he said through gritted teeth. Her eyes turned to daggers. She knew exactly what he had seen—exactly how much he had seen. He backed towards his car afraid of saying anything further. "All right." He turned and finished the walk to his car, closing the door behind. "Shit." His voice echoed throughout the car. He put it in drive and drove off, completely mortified at himself. He'd be lucky if this woman would ever speak to him again.