Two Edges of One Sword (Carlisle Cullen/Reader/Charlie Swan)

VIII

"(Name)?" Charlie waves a hand in your face back-and-forth.

You blink at him and the several other people surrounding the two of you. The body-bag rested at your feet, still open and still reeking that god-awful smell. Your eyes dart between him and everyone else and you feel your breath getting stuck in your throat.

Charlie had called some folks over after you told him who it was that was in the bag. It was strenuous not to feel intimidated by all the different badges in front of you now, all of their eyes flicking between you and the bag. You recognize the woman from before, the Lieutenant, intertwined with the rest of the group. However it was Charlie who was directly in front of you, leading all of them. You tried to swallow the lump in your throat and ease your nerves, telling yourself that it was silly to feel this way. There was nothing that you had to hide.

Charlie clears his throat and one hand soars to his hip, the other gesturing towards the bag, "You said you this guy... mugged you last night?" He tilts his head and grimaces.

"...I-I can't say for sure, but..." you stare back down into the bag and see the dead face. His head is lulled in the bag, his jaw is slightly hanging open, and when you look deeper you can see his tongue rolling into the back of his mouth. Your body shudders at the sight and you quickly blink away. You definitely remember that face being only inches from your own, it felt like only twelve hours ago.

Charlie's face doesn't move, his eyes only falling right beneath his eyebrows. You can almost feel him analyzing your every niche movement. He huffs out, "(Name), you know you've got to be sure."

You gulp at his astringent tone and feel your forehead beginning to pool with sweat. Only last night had you finally had that first, true conversation with Charlie that you had been yearning for. Now this second one felt like you were walking on a thin tightrope.

"My coworker," you nervously point a thumb towards the building, "we have cameras here, look!" You point a finger to the three cameras resting on the side of the building. You nearly gasp out a sigh in relief as your brain clicks the puzzle pieces back together, attempting to push down this newfound anxiety. "Whatever happened last night probably happened on camera, even if it didn't happen here we can see who dumped him."

Everyone's stare peered over to the side of the building where you had been pointing, Charlie the first one to do so. You catch a side-peek of him rolling his tongue in his mouth, clearly deep in-thought. The array of people whisper amongst themselves, and Charlie doesn't say anything for a few moments. Finally, he goes, "I need you to take me to talk to your coworker."

Your head nods before he even finishes his sentence. He takes a step forward and for a split second, three other officers from the throng stepped out alongside him, however Charlie turned around, lifting a hand and saying, "I've got this, talk to the other employees." His voice slightly bellows when he speaks again. "No stones unturned."

The cops froze before slowly doing as he said, dissipating amongst themselves and leaving only you and Charlie. You felt something rise in you at the sight of it just being the two of you again, but whatever it was was quickly extinguished when you saw his indignant face. It was beginning to hit you now that whatever energy you two had shared last night was completely gone now. You wanted to wither at the thought of it. You couldn't have expected any of this to have fucking happened!

"I need to see those tapes, (Name)," is all he murmurs out. He points to the building, and you only find yourself leading him through and in-between all the people to get to the backroom, where your coworker had probably been waiting for you for some time. When you get to the back-entrance you find that it's taped off, and you halt at the sight of it. You sit there for a moment, unsure of what to do.