Past the Veil: A Detective's Vow

Chapter 1

 I woke up ruffling my hair and yawned as I stretched out in my bed. I reached over to grab my phone to stop the alarm, before turning my attention to Al as he jumped onto the bed to greet me. Albert Whiskers, officially, is my Russian Blue cat and closest confidant.

"Good morning to you too." I smiled at him as he nuzzled his face against mine. After a few minutes of cuddling, I finally willed myself out of bed, flexing my toes on the carpeted floor.

Al jumped off the bed and followed me into the main room of our small apartment, jumping up onto the counter. "You're always so impatient." I smiled at him as he meowed in response, waiting for his breakfast. Scooping the bowl off the ground and setting it on the counter next to Albert, I then pulled his food out of the fridge. Few things disgust me more than his wet food, but I force myself to stomach the smell and look for my love of Al.

After making sure he was fed and starting a pot of decaf coffee, as caffeinated makes me too shaky, I head into the bathroom for a nice hot shower, despite it being summer. I glance at myself in the mirror as I strip down to my skin. Every freckle in the right spot on my pale skin and every curly red hair out of place, as usual.

I take a quick shower, changing into a cute outfit, long cargo shorts, and a crop top tank top showing off my pierced midriff, once done. I walk into the main room, grabbing my notebook, and jotting down the story idea I came up with in the shower, before pouring myself a thermos of coffee and placing both next to my bag.

I make a quick breakfast and water my plants on the windowsill next to a chattering Al who's watching the birds. Nearly ready to leave, I toss on my headphones, putting on some In Fear and Faith, before collecting my things and heading for the door. I throw Al a goodbye before leaving my apartment and heading towards the library to start my shift.

The walk is only five or so minutes, depending on how many lights I get caught at, but it's never too long of a walk. I make way walk through the back and start working, putting the books into their spots and sorting them. I honestly prefer to stay in the back when I can, as to not have to talk to people, but can't always get away without it.

Between sorting books and cataloging the returns, time passes quickly until it's my lunch break. I take out my ramen and pour some hot water on it, taking a seat to wait while the noodles soften at the small table.

"Hey, Riley." I look over to watch my co-worker Katie walk my way. She is heavily pregnant somewhere in her third term, if I remember correctly. "How are you today?"

"Fine." I shrug slightly, watching as Katie sat down across from me at the table, a salad and dessert cakes for her lunch. "How's the baby?"

"Good." Katie smiled widely, beaming even.

"I can bring dinner over tonight. If you're not busy."

"Oh, and I can show you the nursery! My cousin painted it for the baby."

"I'd love that." I nod with a small smile. "I'll be over around six thirty or seven, if that's cool."

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After I finished up at work, I walked to the closest grocery store to buy some ingredients for dinner. With my bounty in hand - or in bags, I headed home. Once there, I began making dinner, one of my favorite meals from childhood: a buffalo chicken casserole, with the chicken. While cooking, I turned on some metal and danced around some, feeling the most myself at home.

Now finished with dinner, I packed my things up once more and headed on a bus downtown as near to Katie's apartment as I could. During my ride, I listened to Bring Me the Horizon's new album and worked on my writing, doing my best to look inconspicuous, hoping no one would strike up a conversation. Thankfully, I finished my bus ride with no one talking to me and walked the rest of the way to Katie's. Riding up the elevator, I couldn't help but compare the place to their own apartment complex. They are nothing alike, whereas Katie's seems much nicer than my own.