Born To Die | Vanessa Afton

18

It was Thursday and you had two more days of work until you had to start working alone again. Obviously, it was terrifying for you to do so. You had the weekend to think of a plan to do something. One option was just to fully quit, something you were actually debating doing and just working somewhere else or just packing up and leaving just like your parents did, but you finally had a friend.

You drove into work on your own today, your car finally getting fixed since you had just gotten paid. Pulling into the station, you stayed in the car for a minute, contemplating everything that has happened over the last couple of weeks and how everything is pretty much going back to normal for you.

Opening the car door, you went in, still five minutes before your shift. The weather was miserable, raining down, making you feel worse than before. Rain had always made your mood worse, it was one thing you hated. You shook your thoughts off as you entered the almost empty police station. One thing you noticed was that Vanessa wasn't there yet.

"Hey." You said, quieter than intended, to the lady sitting at the desk, a notepad and pen in her hand as she scribbled down some name's frantically. You noticed her face was stressed out. Eventually, Vanessa came to join you by your side and the lady finally looked up, smiling at you both only when Vanessa joined you. You shook it off as she ripped the page she was writing on and passed it to Vanessa.

"Five kids. We need their files to hand over to a bigger police force who are looking into the disappearances again. I don't know why they bother." The lady shrugs, not seeing to care that much. You watched as Vanessa picked up the paper when the receptionist had turned around. Her hands began to shake a little as she read the list.

"Did you know them?" You muttered as you went into the massive file room, it had been cleared up since you had been in there last. Vanessa gulped quietly, but you noticed, why was she so terrified? A small, clearly fake, smile spread on her face as she placed the list on the table.

"Something like that." She replied, her voice shaking slightly as she turned away and started to look through the files. You sighed.

"Do you want a coffee or something?" You asked quietly. Her body turned towards you and she nodded.

"That would be nice, thank you." She replied and you left her alone, hoping it would be better for her to compose herself on her own. You knew that it worked for you when calming yourself down so you just hoped that it worked the same way for her. You approached the front desk and moved towards the coffee machine.

"Y/n?" The receptionist says, watching you make the coffees. You place the cup under the machine and let the coffee flow as you turn to answer the lady. "How well do you know Shelly?"

It was odd hearing her last name for once. It was a good question and to be honest, you didnt know if you knew the answer yourself yet. Sure, you had some kind of crush on her and she had almost kissed you so the feeling must somewhat be mutual, right. You ended up shrugging.

"I mean we've worked together almost every day for a couple of months, so pretty well... why?" You questioned, switching the cups in the coffee machine to make your own coffee, you made Vanessa's coffee how she usually asked for it when you went to the coffee shops on your breaks, one sugar and a little bit of milk.

"You like her, don't you." The sudden statement made you look at her in surprise for a moment. Was it that obvious? You heard a light chuckle as you adjusted your coffee. "Don't worry, I won't tell her. But you are very obvious about it."

"How am I obvious?" You asked her, coming forward a little bit with the two coffees.

"You were practically staring as she came in. Plus you should see the look on your face." She said, going back to her computer. You rolled your eyes, laughing slightly to yourself. You didn't know the receptionist very well, you didn't even bother learning her name but she knew a lot about you due to the amount of trouble you'd cause on a daily basis.

As you entered the room, you passed Vanessa her coffee and she gave you a small smile to say thank you before taking a sip. "How did you remember my order?" She said with a laugh.

"Its not that complicated, plus you order it every time." You say, smiling, knowing she had cheered up somewhat in the two minutes you were gone. The room filled with silence as you picked out some files and sorted them to see if you needed them.

"Thank you." Vanessa finally broke the silence

"For what?" You muttered, you hadn't done anything particularly worth a thank you in the last few minutes.

"For everything. No ones been so nice to me." She said, turning away. You smiled widely at her sudden confession. God, you really like her.