Circuit City

Chapter 12

"Ding!"

I stopped my pacing and went over to the microwave where my snack was heated and ready to be devoured. Taking out the hot mug of toasted flour with honey, I grabbed a packet of chocolate sticks from the cupboard above the microwave and made my way to the couch in the living room where I'd spent the morning holed up under a blanket. Or the little time in the morning that remained after several hours of pacing around the apartment.

After I'd come home with Dawnett from the hospital last night my mind had been a mess along with my emotions. She had noticed that something was off but I just threw out a lame excuse, putting her at ease by saying that I was simply tired and perhaps was coming off with a cold. She'd told me to rest, an advice that was completely ignored since I had walked around in circles the entire night in order to reach a conclusion on whether to call Ehren and scream at him for lying to me or just ask him for permission to disappear off the face of the earth.

It was safe to say that I still hadn't come up with a firm decision.

"I can't believe this," I muttered for the 6th time and slammed the phone Ehren had given me on the coffee table, "I ask him if there are any news on the Circuit and he tells me nothing. That's right, another human being just got killed but that is apparently of no meaning to him!"

The screen of the phone lit up, as it did every fifteen minutes, to show the amount of power left in the battery. A feature that the cops probably had installed to make sure that I wouldn't run out of battery whenever I went out because apparently, they didn't trust the charger stands that were placed in literally every single dinner table around the city.

Sitting down on our beige sofa, I continued to eye the phone for a couple of more seconds. "Should I call him?"

I reached out my hand to grab the device but it stopped mid-air, before falling back to the sofa again. "No. I don't really want to talk to him."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I let myself fall back onto the pillows behind me while looking up at the ceiling. "But I really want answers..."

The struggle was real.

Slamming my fist into the pillow next to me, I bolted up and grabbed the phone again. "I deserve to know!" I decided, before pressing the speed-dial button to the precinct. I bit my nail, hoping that the call wouldn't come to an unauthorized officer, where I'd have to lie in order to be able to talk to Ehren.

Wait, how could I even ask for Ehren if I wasn't even supposed to know his name? 

Right before I pressed the button to hang up, a small rustle was heard on the line and suddenly a deep, emotionless voice breathed out, "Ehren's speaking."

"You are?" I blurted out, still not over my previous thoughts and then I blinked. "I mean- hello. It's Suri. Suri Tesseth."

"Is there a..."he made a small pause, as if he was distracted by something else, "... a problem, ma'am?"

"Yes! I mean, not an urgent problem but still a problem nonetheless." I rubbed my forehead as if that would make my mind catch up with my mouth. "You lied to me yesterday."

"Mind making your accusation a little bit more specific?" he sighed as if the mere sound of my voice was boring him to death. The rustling of papers was heard in the background and a small creak was heard, followed by the muffled sound of footsteps.

"I asked you if you had found anything new on the Circuit and you told me you hadn't. Well you see, there is a dead guy was lying in our ER with the exact same cuts and marks as me."