Breaking Cosmos - A Midnight Mafia Novel

SIX

              I left for school both an excited and nervous bundle. A part of me was so nervous I actually hoped Lia would find a new focus to obsess over but when I got to school she was definitely still focused on me.

"He's going to be pissed if I can't get this make up and I come home wearing it." I stated as she dolled me up.

"I've been thinking." Erin started. Lia dabbed and the lip gloss on my lips to perfect it. "I mean this guy is a cop right? That means he's like, older. How old is he?"

"Age is just a number." Lia shrugged. "Charlie is almost an adult and can legally do whatever she wants. Who cares?"

"Well, I mean, he might."

"Not if he doesn't know. She'll just tell him later, once he's already smitten." She capped the lip gloss and fluffed my hair.

"I guess..."

"Relax. It'll be fine. Besides, maybe she'll go and under the fluorescent lights in the station he'll look like a troll and it won't even matter."

"He's not a troll." I piped up. Lia smirked. "What if he's not even there, what if he's out on patrol or something?"

"He'll be there."

"How do you know?"

She shrugged. "Fate or whatever." She said in a way that had me sure it was totally not fate. She arranged for an uber to meet me two blocks from the school. Before the start of second period, I slipped out of the school, took an uber into the city, and found myself standing in front of the police station trying to remind myself that Dad pushed me to this.

I realized after only a few minutes that standing outside here was incredibly suspicious. I had already left school, changed my clothes and make up and come 40 minutes of traffic to be here. So, I finally pushed myself forward and into the station.

The walk way was carpeted with an industrial carpet runner which served to muffle the heels I wore despite Doc's orders. It was bright, and busy. Dad would so kill me for being here.

"I'm here to see Officer Morgan." I said placing one hand on the counter and leaning slightly over it to speak to the receptionist behind it.

"Can I help you?"

Fὑckking fate.

I turned around slowly, keeping one hand on the desk still to see him. He was not a troll.

He was gorgeous and something about the way he stood with his hands on his belt made him ten feet tall. He was giving me a queer look, but after a moment recognition flashed and I felt a wave of relief and excitement come. "You were the girl with the red heads!"

Squash.

I was squashed.

I opened my mouth to reply but he waved a hand quickly to stop me. "That came out wrong." He looked over my shoulder. "I've got this." He said to the receptionist and officer behind the desk. He waved me forward.

Grown up and professional like, I clutched my purse and followed as he showed me to his personal desk. I smoothed out my pencil skirt before sitting down.

"You really shouldn't have run off like that." He started very sternly, super professional like.

"I know, we were just so scared!"

"Well." He softened, just a little. "I understand that Miss..."

"Turner." Two for two on lies today. Didn't need the sexy police officer tracking me back to the homicidal mobster father. I forced a smile.

"Officer Morgan." He said offering me his hand. "I understand your fear but we really needed a witness statement Ms Turner." His handshake was strong and sent tingles up my arm.

Keep it together woman!

"Charlie. You can call me Charlie. And that's why I'm here. I...I tried to come down before, it's just every time we tried we got so choked up thinking about the whole thing. I couldn't even convince my friends to come at all."

Softened slightly further.

I needed a cover story to be here of course. I couldn't just come and say sorry but you're insanely attractive and I felt literal fire when we touched so I kind of need you now. Lia had come up with the statement idea and it made sense.

"It's important we have statements, if you feel your safety is compromised of course your first priority should be seeking safety but you should call 911 once it has been established." He said, in a professional manner and he riffled through a messy desk drawer, he glanced up, slightly flustered. "I'm not, uh, not usually here." He admitted more softly. "Sorry." It was cute, the slight disorganization, the moments it took him to find a simple notepad, and it was not until the third pen that he found one that worked. He seemed much less cop, and much more human sitting in front of me now. "So Ms Turner, let's get a statement."

"Did you catch those guys?" I feigned concern. Of course I knew he hadn't, they were at the dinner table just last night after all.

"No." He admitted. "But a proper statement and description of the suspect will help with that."

"Whatever I can do. We've hardly gotten a wink of sleep in winks."

I gave a fake description, with a fake explanation of the night and what had happened. I did my best to make it sound like we had a lot of reason to be afraid without suspicion that we were actually being stalked. He was reassuring, and friendly, and we occasionally let the conversation steer this way or that. I got a first name.

Officer Logan Morgan, perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect piercing eyes that didn't look at all concerned about the twins when they looked at me.

I lost count of my perfect lie, I had to be like 40 for 40 by the time this was all over. I gave him my number, for the investigation of course, and then just like that, I was back on my way to school only this time I was on a cloud instead of a car.

"He was so dreamy." I groaned as I changed from out of the pencil skirt Lia had given me an back into uniform hidden only by a few trees some ten feet away from the school.

"Contact established." She said handing me my shirt next. "Good first start."

"And what's next?"

"Nothing. You let him simmer of course."

"I let him simmer." I repeated skeptically.

"Yep. In fact, not just simmer, let him boil over all together."

I snorted. "How many statement do you think he's taken? I hardly think this one is going to have him boiling. He seemed way more concerned about my cousins anyway, they were like the first thing he asked about."

"There's four boobs between them and two on you. It's natural. Remember quality over quantity matters too Charlie."

I looked down to my chest as I came out from behind the trees.

"We can get you a push up." Lia promised reading my mind.

They had the quality too. Fake it till you make it I guess. We went back to class and while it was thrilling, and exciting, having snuck out of school and gone to see the cop there was still that realistic part of me who knew that this was just a game we'd all grow bored of eventually.

Unfortunately for me, no one was a more skilled player than Dad.