Blurred Lines

Chapter 5 - A Problem Named Luke

For the next two weeks, Riley avoided Maddox as much as possible. She volunteered for all of the worst shifts- graveyard shifts, speed traps, crowd control, you name it - anything to avoid being in a confined space with her training officer.

Riley sat on the edge of her desk, arms crossed, as the sergeant rattled off the assignments for the day. The team was deep into a murder investigation, and while most officers were clamoring for a chance to take on the more high-profile tasks, her eyes lit up at a small detail the sergeant mentioned: bags of garbage taken from the scene, waiting to be sifted through for evidence. She immediately raised her hand.

"I'll take the garbage detail," she said quickly, cutting through the murmur of the room.

The sergeant paused mid-sentence, glancing at her with a confused expression. "You want the garbage?" He raised an eyebrow, clearly unsure why anyone would volunteer for such an unglamorous job.

"Yeah, why not?" Riley shrugged, trying to keep her tone casual, though she could feel Luke's eyes burning into the side of her face from across the room. She didn't look at him, didn't need to see his expression to know exactly what he was thinking.

The sergeant blinked, then shrugged. "Alright, Torres. Have at it. Tim," he said, pointing at another rookie sitting nearby, "you're with her."

Tim let out an audible groan. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," the sergeant replied with a smirk before turning his attention back to the group.

As the officers filed out of the room, Riley stood and headed toward the conference room where the garbage bags were stashed. She could feel Luke closing the distance behind her, his heavy footsteps unmistakable. Sure enough, just as she turned the corner, his voice came from behind her.

"Riley," Luke said, his voice low and tense.

She didn't stop walking, didn't spare him a glance. "I'm busy, Maddox."

"Sorting through garbage?" he shot back. "You can't keep avoiding me."

Riley turned slightly, just enough to give him a hard look. "I'm not avoiding you. I'm doing my job. Some of us have work to do."

Luke stepped closer, his jaw tight. "This is about more than just work, and you know it."

Her chest tightened at the accusation, but she forced herself to stay calm, pushing down the simmering frustration she'd been carrying for days. "Not everything is about you, Luke," she said coldly before turning her back on him and pushing through the door to the conference room.

Tim was already there, eyeing the bags of garbage piled on the table with a look of pure dread. "I can't believe we got stuck with this," he muttered, grabbing a pair of latex gloves from the box on the table.

Riley ignored him for a moment, still fuming from her run-in with Luke. She pulled on her own gloves, forcing herself to focus on the task in front of her. But as she ripped open the first bag, Tim spoke up again.

"So, you and Maddox," he began, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.

Riley narrowed her eyes at him. "What about me and Maddox?"

Tim shrugged, picking through the trash with obvious reluctance. "It's just... everyone's noticed you've been avoiding him. And I don't mean just, like, a little. You're actively ducking shifts with him. People are starting to talk."

Riley felt a surge of irritation but kept her eyes on the garbage in front of her. "There's nothing going on. I just don't need him hovering over me all the time. He doesn't trust me to handle anything on my own."