dandelion // h.s.

f i f t y - o n e

Her rabbit heart explodes into a sprint. Lightning cracks in her chest and sends a violent rumble of thunder spiraling through her veins.

All thoughts of work, of responsibility, of preserving the wholesome image that Martha had worked tirelessly to cultivate for Boo are thrown out the window. Her anger blinds her. She is done being intimidated. She is sick of the endless torture at the hands of the police.

She tears the second note from her wipers and drives in a rage to the Jack Creek department. Monroe was a storm to be reckoned with, but the mouth of the river pales in comparison to the wrathful ocean brewing inside of Boo. Eyes ablaze, she storms into the front lobby, her jaw tightened and fists clenched, and barges right past the front desk cop, blatantly ignoring his calls for her to sign in.

The main office is alight with movement, most of which seizes when Boo flings open the wooden door and sends the handle slamming into the nearest wall. Instead of daring to interrupt her tirade, multiple officers stand by and watch in silence as she makes a beeline for Detective Loughton's office.

His door is shut and the blinds are drawn, but as she draws nearer Boo can hear the faint mutter of voices talking. All traces of noise vanish as soon as Boo begins banging her fists on the heavy wooden door.

"Detective Loughton, we need to talk!" Boo hollers, no longer concerned with maintaining her composure. "You come out or I'm coming in!"

Footsteps close in like a fast-approaching thunderstorm. The door flies open after a moment, revealing a livid Loughton and a very confused secretary perched on the corner of his desk.

"What the hell is this about?" Loughton seethes, barricading the doorway to his office with his burly body.

"Am I a joke to you?" Boo cries angrily, brandishing the notes in her hand.

"I could ask you the same thing, Miss Taylor," he barks spitefully. "You have some nerve putting on a display like this."

"If you have something to say to me or Harry, then say it to my face," Boo continues, bulldozing right over what she knows to be empty threats. "Enough with the cryptic notes!"

Loughton's expression wavers for a split second, his eyes going wide and his voice dropping a fraction. "What are you on about? I didn't leave you a note."

Boo recoils, disarmed by the genuine confusion on his face. "You . . . you didn't?"

Loughton pauses to glance at the secretary still sitting on his desk. He motions his head at her before quietly saying, "Abby, give us a few minutes."

Abby nods dolefully before sliding off the desk and sauntering back into the main department. Boo watches as Loughton carefully shuts the door behind the secretary before turning his attention back to her.

"What's going on?" he asks, now sounding merely annoyed rather than enraged. Boo takes this as her cue and lamely gestures to the notes once more.

"Someone left me some threatening notes this morning," she begins hesitantly, not wanting to disclose too much information. One wrong word and Loughton could have more questions about her conversation with Harry than her faceless harasser and their affinity for terrifying messages. "In reference to a . . . private conversation I had with someone last night."

Loughton crosses his arms, his face thrown into an expression of deep thought. "What did the notes say?"

Boo rolls her lips together, internally debating. Before she can choose her words, something changes in Loughton's face and his eyes light up in realization. "Holy shit. Harry told you, didn't he?"

She can feel the blood drain from her cheeks. The last thing she wanted was to help Harry's ex-friend relive the worst moment in Harry's life. "He chose to, I didn't ask."

He chews thoughtfully on the inside of his cheek. "Can I see the notes?"

She knows he can see the doubt on her face. He rolls his eyes and holds out his palm expectantly. "Believe it or not, I don't completely hate you, or Harry. You came to me for help; let me help."

Boo swallows the bitter reply that surfaces in her throat—that that was absolutely not why she came to him—and reluctantly hands him the notes, watching his face as he reads.

"Wow," he muses after a moment. "Someone really doesn't like you. You said you found them this morning?"

She nods. "We were home most of the day yesterday but didn't talk about . . . that until late, like well after midnight. So someone was listening in on us."

Loughton clucks his tongue in thought. "Strange. Why would someone want to do that?"

For the first time in a long time—maybe ever—when he looks at her, Boo doesn't see any shred of ire, only curiosity. Concentration. She can practically see the gears of his mind beginning to turn. Maybe Loughton still has a shred of humanity, of decency, buried somewhere deep, deep inside. 

"I don't know," she finally lies, knowing fully well why someone would be watching her. 

He stares at her for a second, his eyes searching her face for any sign of mistruth, before he hands the notes back to her. "Well if you think of a reason, let me know."

"Sure," Boo answers half-heartedly. Without another word, she turns and exits his office, nearly running headfirst into Abby leaning against the wall outside the office, not even attempting to cover up her eavesdropping. They lock eyes for a moment as Boo passes, but then her gaze cuts to the carpet as she traipses out of the department, not wanting to look anyone else in the face.

quick lil update for yall! i hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy/safe. i found out two days ago that i have covid, so i'm now at home quarantining by myself. don't worry, my symptoms are mild but i'm still keeping a close eye on myself. on the plus side, now i have some extra time to devote to dandelion! wishing you all my best during these uncertain times. xx