Friends

Chapter t h i r t e e n

The door opens to reveal Ralph. I want to spit at the sight of his greasy face. I wouldn't put it past him to murder his ex wife. That explains why I never heard about him leaving. He never left this town, and instead decided to prey on his wife. And he even had a child.

"What do you want?" He snarls at us. August stands in front of me, defensively. Ralph notices. "Don't worry, Detective Pretty Boy, I won't mess with your girl." I decide it's not in my best interest to reveal that I'm not 'his girl.' August doesn't say anything.

"You need to step out of your house, or shack if you'd call it." August says, looking it over.

"You can't come in here." Ralph says, putting a hand over the doorway.

"Actually," August says, cockily, "we can access your house in any way we see fit, and I'm sure my lovely Amy would happily arrest you. Plus, if you have nothing to hide, why don't you let us come in?" He gives Ralph a fake smile, and pushes his arm down.

Ralph steps out of the building and down the steps. He looks at the doorway, confused. I turn my head to the doorway.

"What?" I say, looking back. I see Ralph sprinting across the grass, and down the street. Oh boy, this will this be fun. I grab my gun out of its holster and sprint after him. He turns the corner and my feet pound on the pavement.

I hear a loud sound like a gunshot, and I almost stumble. I follow the sound of the shot, and come upon Ralph. He's bleeding severely from his chest. Killer or not, I can't let him die until he's gotten what he deserves.

"I'm at forty-seven Greens Avenue. Requesting immediate assistance. We have a perp who is likely." I say into my Walkie Talkie. My head perks up as I see someone disappear into the bushes.

I bite my lip at the conflict of pursuing the shooter or focusing on Ralph. I can't leave the scum, no matter how much I want to. I realize there's a dying man in front of me, and rip off the corner of my uniform.

I press it to the wound, and Ralph gasps and sputters in pain. I hear footsteps behind me, and look up to see August.

"What the f*** did you do?" He shouts.

"It wasn't me, I couldn't chase after the shooter. I had to stay with Ralph. EMT will be here soon."

"There's no way he'll survive that long," he tells me gently. "Whoever shot him knew what they were doing."

"I have to try and help him." I say. Tears start to form in the corners of my eyes. I can't even remove my hands from him to wipe them away. I probably look like a deranged sniveling mess.

By the time the EMT's show up, Ralph is gone. August pulls me away gently, and I stumble back into him. Where has the playful jerk gone?

August briefs another officer on what went down, and I just stand there, staring at the ground. He jerks me out of my thoughts several minutes later.

"Come on. Let me take you home." He grasps my hand, and twitches at the contact. "Let's get your hands warmed up. They're freaking freezing."

He leads me into his car, and closes the door behind me. He gets into his seat and starts up the heat. He ignores the fact that it's not very cold outside, and rubs my hands. "Are you a vampire?" He starts. Oh no. "Because I'm dying to be with you."

"I personally would have gone with a cold hands joke instead of a pick up line. Not your best work." I retort. He grins.

"Glad to have Miss Stickler back in business." I slap his arm.