Tic Toc

Eight

Hi everyone! I apologise for the delay! Other than not having much inspiration for this one, I've been distracted really easy lately. So here is eight, and nine will follow in a couple hours or so.
Also, it's coming out the same right? Like the POV titles and how they're arranged?
Eh... Nevermind.
Enjoy!

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Chris
Utah
Police Department

Escort Exemptions were a tricky thing. If you had too much time on your watch, then it could be deemed as an abuse of power. If there wasn't enough time on your watch, then they would say it's too late.
Not in so many words of course.
I waited in the car for Ricky. I tried to go in with him, but he was worried about me flipping my lid. I didn't blame him. It was a struggle to contain my irritation and worry as I sat there. My leg was twitching and I was drumming on the dashboard to a song I barely remembered in my head. He had gone in over thirty minutes ago. Why should it take so long?
Just when I was about to get out of the car and bust through the door, Ricky came out smiling. Immediately the tension drained.

"We're in bidness, baby!" He said as he turned the car on.

"Where's the cop?" I asked. Usually we'd get one of those stick on lights and an officer would have to ride with us.

"I'll do you one better."
He said nothing more as he pulled behind the building. We came to a security fence that guarded the department's vehicles. The gate rolled open and we passed through. We drove the length of the parking lot and turned left.
I gaped at him.
"The airspace is closed." I told him.

"Not for cops."

We got out of the car and grabbed our bags. I wasn't sure it was real as I followed him onto the landing pad. The beast of a helicopter was olive green. US Army was stamped on the side of it. The propellers started to turn and a crew member took our luggage while another waved us into the passenger hold.

"They were borrowing it. It just so happens that it belongs to a bad in Las Vegas." Ricky yelled over the noise. "it shouldn't take more than an hour and a half to get there."

"Helloooooo, gentle man and gentler man," The pilot goofily said on the intercom while he turned to face us. "My name is Ryan and I will be your carrier pigeon for today. Puhleeze strap your assessment to the and for the sake of clean sidewalks, do not lean out the open doors. Noooo, we cannot close them."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Providing that your co-carrier pigeon enters the vessel within the next ten seconds, we should arrive at our destination when we get theeeerrree! So please, relax and refrain from tossing peanuts at the below zoo animals. Enjoy the flight."

This Ryan character smiled at us as he hung the radio back on it's hook. A few seconds later, another man with almost curly hair popped into the copilot seat. My humor deflated as he leaned forward and pecked Ryan on the lips.

"Where's – oh." He had started to ask a question but stopped when spotting us. He looked guilty and embarrassed for having kissed his match in front of me. I offered a smile even though panic was creeping in; there was no reason to make him feel terrible for loving.
Ryan picked up the intercom again.

"Puhleeze ignore my dunce for a match and prepare for lift off. Starting in three, two, one!"

He pulled up and we began to hover. He let the radio hang by the cord this time as he maneuvered us into the air.
I sat back and watched as buildings got smaller and the dark got lighter. I was fixated on watching the street lights shut off when Ricky nudged me.
I looked.
He pointed.
"Jesus." I breathed though I couldn't even hear myself.
Have you ever seen the sunrise by the ocean? It's beautiful. So many colors on the horizon. Now imagine being part of the horizon, and all those beautiful oranges and reds are close enough to touch.
The ocean sunrise was absolutely nothing compared to this.
Ricky got out his phone— I had no idea where mine was— and took some pictures.
I glanced to our pilots. Our 'co-carrier pigeon' reached over and slipped his fingers into Ryan's, obviously trying to be discreet about it.

God, I thought to myself. Please let that be me.

Stephanie
Nevada
Home

There are many different relationships when it comes to matching. There are many couples that decide to make the best of everything and end up loving each other so completely it seems like a fairytale. With others it's more of a strong friendship. Then of course, there's the ones that hate each other and beat each other up because life didn't give them what they wanted.
I have none of those.
My relationship with Jack is a bit tricky. We don't hate each other by any means. But we can't be categorized as a friendship. He yells sometimes, and he's so hard on Remington. But he's never hit any of us. It took me years to figure it out, but I finally realized that he cares in his own way. It doesn't make any damn sense, but he cares.
At least that's what I keep telling my middle child.

"Stephanie." Jack called from the living room. It wasn't a bark, but his tone was firm. I turned off the tap and dried my hands before going to him. He ran his fingers through his graying hair as he handed me an empty glass.

"Some more soda, please?" He asked.
"Sure thing."
Yes, I waited on him hand and foot, but he wasn't mean about it. I went back to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I scanned our soda collection.

"What kind?" I yelled.
"You decide." He replied.

See, he can be nice. Almost loving at times. I just wish he showed our son the same side.
I poured some mountain dew and took it back to him.

"Thanks."

I felt that nagging at the back of my brain. The nagging that pissed me off when he was so nice to me when just a few weeks ago he was screaming at our son.
I knew at this point there was no reasoning with him. It was far too late to negotiate any kind of middle ground between them; Jack has said far too many hurtful things.
I left the room to avoid starting a fight this early in the morning. Just as I was getting dressed for the day my phone rang. Remington was video calling me.
I tapped accept and expected to find him and Alex smiling at me. Instead, he looked like he was at his wits end while the teenager cried.

"Oh thank God you're awake!" He said.

"What's wrong?"
"We can't find it!" Alex wailed.
"I know, honey." Remington pulled her into his lap and kissed her head. "we will."
"Find what?" I asked.

"We can't find the ring you gave her. Remember the black one you used to wear all the time?"

"Oh no!" It was my favorite ring. I got it when I was 14 at some hippie shop. It wasn't expensive or any family heirloom, just a simple black band with a tiny, red, glass bead on it.
When Alex was little she was fascinated with the thing. I had planned on giving it to her on her 16th birthday. But a few months ago she was having such a bad day I decided to give it to her early.

"We've looked everywhere but she said she wasn't wearing it when we got on the plane. Can you look at the airport?"

Was he insane?

"Are you insane?" I asked. "If it was laying around it'd be long gone by now."

"Maybe someone put it in the lost and found. Can you look, mom pleeeease? She loves that ring so much." Remington was pleading as Alex cried into his shoulder.

How could I say no?

"Okay baby I'll go look. Hey Alex?"

She turned to look at me, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be upset, honey. I'm not mad, okay?" I tried to assure her.

"Okay." She whined.

Aw. My poor babies.

"I'll look now. I was going out anyway." I lied.

Remington blew me a kiss and Alex waved as we hung up. I tossed my phone on the bed and sighed.

"The things I do for these kids of mine." I shook my head.