Tabula Rasa

Chapter 4

Matt slumped on his couch, his head tipped back, and a bag of frozen peas resting on his elevated leg.

He'd had to admit defeat tonight and cut his patrol short. He'd wrenched his ankle the wrong way landing on a fire escape over on 59th, and now the joint was swollen and red and throbbing with a dull gnawing pain.

It had been a stupid miscalculation - a rookie error. But extreme weather had always affected his senses in a negative way. The intense heat trapped within the concrete alleyway and the waves radiating from the hot metal stairway had...blurred...his perception for a moment.

But a moment of true blindness was all it took to cause injury.

Not a serious injury, thankfully. He could sense the ligaments were strained, but none were torn. A bit of ice and rest - and maybe a session meditating - and he'd be back on the streets.

Luckily, the neighbourhood had been relatively quiet tonight. During a heatwave, even the criminals seemed to prefer staying within range of an air conditioner rather than stalking the city looking for trouble.

Which left him at home at midnight, completely unsure how to pass the time. He'd normally be out for another 2-3 hours at least. Having this much free time felt...unnatural. It was too late to call Foggy to get a drink and Karen had left the office looking forward to, in her words, 'soaking in a cold bath for approximately nine hours.'

Going to bed was out of the question; these days he was struggling to fall asleep even in the early hours of the morning, after exhausting himself physically out on the streets. Trying to go to sleep at midnight would be completely futile.

Which left him with nothing to do.

He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

He could read a book. Maybe listen to some music. Or listen to something else...

Someone else.

His mysterious next door neighbour.

Just to see what she was up to. Just out of curiosity.

Not suspicion.

He was giving her the benefit of the doubt, after all.

His justification didn't exactly alleviate the tug of guilt he felt at invading her privacy...but he was feeling weak enough to ignore it tonight.

As he opened up his senses and tuned them to the woman across the hall...he was suddenly hit by an onslaught of adrenaline. He jerked upright, and the bag of now only half-frozen peas fell to the floor with a wet splat. It went unheard - his entire being focussed on what was happening across the hall, ready to rush over there if she was in danger.

But he could only hear one heartbeat - hers.

And it was racing.

Her breathing was shallow and fast, and he could smell the salty tang of sweat. So different from the sweet sea salt fragrance of her perfume. She radiated fear, the cortisol heavy in the air.

Then he heard the click of a lamp, the rustle of sheets, and a sigh of relief.

He recognised the signs - even if he used a different method than light to orientate himself to the present after waking up in a panic.

She'd had a nightmare.

Matt breathed his own sigh of relief and tried to settle back against the couch now that the threat of danger had passed.

But he couldn't relax when the scent of her distress filled his senses. His fist clenched by his side as he listened to her still-shaky breathing as she moved across the room.