Garda - Welcome to the Realm (19 page)

“So what has he been working on with you?” We turned to start the long walk back to our building.

“I was learning to follow him. Hide and seek Montgomery called it.”

“How’d you do with that?”

I laughed, “Pretty good. Once I figured out how to find his energy pattern, I found it easy to do.”

The laughter that came from him was so full of joy, “I’m not surprised. Everything is easy for you.”

The image of tears on Mitch’s face came to mind, “Not everything.”

David stood beside me and reached out to touch my arm, “Coralenna, I know it’s hard. It’s hard to leave the living world behind, but it will get easier.”

“When?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it is just harder for you because you remembered it all so quickly and you were able to go back and see the people you cared about when the pain was fresh.” His hand rubbed up my arm, the warm feelings of friendship and caring traveling into my heart and mind.

“Most of us don’t remember for a long time, by then we have been in training for a while, and we have come to terms with our death. When we are finally able to leave the Realm, our loved ones have learned how to deal with our loss and have moved on.”

I don’t want him to move on, I almost cried out.

“You need to let Mitch go, Corey. He has a life, a family. He needs to move on with that.”

I scrunched my eyelids tightly closed to fight back the tears that threatened, “I know.”

“You’ll see him again, and I bet when you do, he will be putting his life back together and thinking positive thoughts about the memories you shared.” He cupped my cheek, and I leaned into his hand.

“Thanks, David,” I smiled tearfully up at him and he pulled me into a hug.

After a minute, he leaned back, holding onto the top of my arms, “So, you want to see if you can follow me?”

“Try to lose me!”

He flicked my nose with his finger, “Okay, here it goes.” He phased away quickly. Taking the feel of his energy inside my body, I searched for it. I found it easily and followed, landing in my bedroom.

David was walking into my bathroom.

“Um, David,” I called out to him as I heard him turn the shower on, “what are you doing?”

David grinned as he walked back into the room, “Shower first, and then we will play. You need one after your run.” He waved his hand under his nose and scrunched up his face.

“Are you trying to say I stink?” I lifted my arm and sniffed, “Whoa, okay, shower then play.”

“I’ll meet you on your balcony when you are done. I’m gonna go grab one myself,” he turned as he was walking out of my room, “unless you want to conserve water?” He hiked up his eyebrow mischievously.

I laughed, “Yeah, like that would go over well with someone.”

David matched my laughter, “Yeah you’re right. Brock would probably have a fit. See you in a little while.” Before he reached the door, he was gone.

I walked into the bathroom and stopped in front of the sink thinking about what he had just said. Why would he bring up Brock’s name?

“Like I care what Brock thinks,” I called out to the mirror as I pulled my T-shirt over my head. I don’t care, do I?

~ Mitchell ~

With dread, I knocked on the door frame of my chief’s office.

He lifted his head from the papers he was holding, his gray eyes meeting mine over his reading glasses. “Come in, Officer O’Reilly, I’ve been expecting you.”

I entered, trying not to appear nervous. Normally, it was rare to get summoned to the chief’s office. Unfortunately, this was the second time in a month for me.

“Close the door and have a seat,” he called out as he shuffled his papers and put them aside.

I closed the door and walked to the beat-up old leather chair in front of his large mahogany desk.

“You wanted to see me, sir,” I said as I sat down, my ankles crossed, my back straight and stiff.

His face was tight, his lips pursed as he assessed my face and body. I tried to hold a blank expression on my face, the one we use on the street so people couldn’t read our thoughts.

His hands held his reading glasses, and he tossed them to the desk. I watched them bounce once and slide over the desk blotter.

“I didn’t expect to have to call you back into my office after our last conversation.”

A pregnant pause ensued between us. “I didn’t expect to be called back, sir.”

He leaned on his desk, resting his elbows on the wood. “Then can you tell me why I just received another complaint on you?”

I tried to keep the embarrassment from warming the skin on my face. I knew what he was talking about, how could I not?

I considered my hands folded in my lap for a second as if they might have the right answer, “I’m sorry sir. I just got a little frustrated.”

“Frustrated? You call slamming a kid up against the wall and calling him a raging asshole, then telling him he should have kept his dick in his pants if he didn’t want the responsibility of raising a kid being a little frustrated?” He shook his head and picked up a pen. He leaned back in his chair again and clicked the lid of his pen on and off for a moment. I listened to the tic-tic of the cap, watching his fingers move back and forth slightly.

“What’s going on with you, Mitchell?” he asked sternly but quietly.

I glanced up from his pen to his face, looked away and shrugged.

I felt his sigh from across the room, “Is this about Officer Hamilton?”

My stare shot back to his. “No,” I answered tersely.

He regarded me with a tight expression. “Somehow I don’t believe you. You’ve been with us for over three years with not a mark on your record, but now your performance has gone down, and we’ve had two complaints on you this month. Your sergeant is worried about you. Hell, I’m worried about you.”

“I’m sorry sir. I’ll do better,” I replied, hoping that would be the end of it. My feet shifted apart, ready to stand and leave if he said I could.

“How are you dealing with her death?”

My throat tightened when I tried to respond, my swallow more pronounced. He glanced at my throat, not missing a beat. “I’m dealing.”

“I don’t think you are.” He crossed his left leg over his right at the ankle and leaned back further in his chair. “See, I’ve heard the rumors. I know that you were involved with her.”

“I wasn’t sleeping with her, Chief,” I blurted out, angry at the turn in the conversation.

“I didn’t say you were, Mitch. Whether you were having a physical or emotional relationship has nothing to do with it. You cared about her. You watched her die. I know that it has affected you.”

I visually explored his office, unable to meet his stare or deny my feelings.

“Do I need to send you for counseling?”

I shook my head, “No, sir.”

The room grew quiet. “It’s been five months since the incident. You need to move forward. You still have a long career in front of you, and if you keep going the way you are going, then you are going to lose that. Do you understand?”

We focused on each other, “Yes, sir.” My anger was bubbling under the surface, barely leashed. He had called it an incident—an incident!—like it was just another routine stupid call. I locked my jaw down, grinding my teeth.

“Just so I make myself clear, I’m going to allow you to deal with this a little longer on your own. If I get another complaint against you, or your sergeant tells me your performance is not coming back up to par, I will,” he paused for effect, “put you on suspension and require you to attend counseling.”

He leaned forward for emphasis, “Do you understand me, Officer O’Reilly?”

I relaxed my jaw and cleared my throat so I could speak, “Perfectly, sir.”

“Fine. Now get out of my office and don’t come back here like this again.”

I pushed up on the armrests of the chair, only too happy to be leaving his office, “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

As I reached the door, the chief cleared his throat, “And, Mitch.”

I was almost free. I blinked twice before I turned to face him.

“You need to let her go. You have a family, here and at home, that needs you.”

My voice would not have worked if I had tried, so I merely nodded to him and opened the door, stepping quickly out of his office and walking to the locker room.

Inside, I rested my head on the cold gray metal. Five months—if I can’t get past this in five months, can I get past it in five years?

My fist met with the steel door of my locker, the sound echoing through the room to my ears alone.

Corey, damn it, Corey, I miss you so much.

~ Brock ~

I felt the weight of his fist as it met the hard metal. I stood with my arms tightly crossed over my chest leaning back on the opposite side of the locker room.

I wasn’t supposed to be here, but I couldn’t stay away from him. He wasn’t dealing with this very well, and I dreaded thinking about Corey coming back to find him like this.

It would be only a matter of time before his voice would call out to her and she would once again hear it. None of us knew when, but I knew that her time was coming.

The Maker would send her to help him. Mitch was falling hard in the wrong direction, and I knew that the Maker did not want to lose this man to the other side. I didn’t either.

I was so tempted to reach out to him and comfort him, but I knew if I did, the punishment that I had already been dealt would become more severe. I had promised to stay out of it, to allow Coralenna do what she must do, even if it destroyed her in the process.

I winced as Mitch slammed his locker shut and walked towards the door, just as it opened from the other side. I stood straighter, tensing.

“Hey, Mitch, how did it go with the chief?” Joe asked as he walked into the room, unsnapping his gear belt.

“Just freaking lovely,” Mitch grunted at Joe’s back.

Joe laughed and turned towards me, the evil sneer on his face as our eyes met angered me enough that I wanted to fall the distance to the living arena and punch him in the face.

“You wanna go grab a beer?” Mitch asked as he washed his hands.

“Sure. You look like you can use it.”

Mitch’s laugh was almost painful, “Yeah, I can.” He dropped his paper towel into the trash.

“Anything to help a friend,” Joe said as he dropped his duty belt into his locker. “Give me ten to shower and change, and I’ll meet you at Harry’s.”

Mitch was opening the door when he threw out his response over his shoulder, “Fine.”

“You going to stand there and watch me change or follow him around for your girlfriend?” Joe said as the door closed behind Mitch. “Hmm, ironic that you both love her. I wonder which one she will choose.”

“You know nothing about it.”

He pulled off his shirt. “I might know more about it than you think. Obviously, I must be doing my job and making you nervous if you would risk watching over him.”

“Whatever, Joe.” I phased before he could respond with another snide comment. He was right, I was concerned.

I landed in the common room of our building just moments before Montgomery joined me.

“You’ve been hiding,” he said with amusement as he sank to the couch and leaned back, crossing his legs out in front of him.

“No, I haven’t.” I sat on the arm of the opposing couch, crossing my arms.

He laced his hands behind his head, “And you were just with him.”

I stared down at his relaxed but intense position. “I was just checking on him.” I swung my foot slowly back and forth.

“And how is he doing?” he asked, genuinely interested.

“Not good. Joe is moving in on him, and Mitch hasn’t let go of her at all. It’s making him easy game.”

“Is it really that bad?” concern etched his voice.

I nodded, “Yeah, it’s that bad.” I stood up and dropped full onto the couch, slouching back. “I don’t know, maybe I made a mistake by taking Coralenna so soon. Maybe I should have allowed it to take its course.”

“What do you mean, ‘Taking me too soon’?” Coralenna appeared in the room just as I spoke the words.

Montgomery and I exchanged quick glances. “Nothing, we weren’t talking about you.”

“Yes, you were, Brock, I heard my name. What did you mean by taking me too soon? When I first got here a few people made reference to that.”

 She stood defiantly in front of me, arms crossed. I wasn’t surprised she didn’t forget the remarks someone had made when she’d entered the Realm.

“Wasn’t it you that told me lying was a sin?” Anger vibrated in her tone.

I turned to Montgomery for help, he shrugged, “Might as well tell her.”

I stared at him like he had two heads, my mouth slightly parted. Did he have any idea how bad this was about to turn?

“Yeah, might as well tell me.” She straightened her back further.

What the heck was I supposed to tell her? I tried to find words that would make it sound less horrible. Sorry I took you because I wanted you to be here with me. Yeah, that was not going to work, but that wasn’t the only reason.

“Speak, Brock, I’m waiting.”

I stood up and faced her, her pulse was beating fast in her neck, she was nervous.

“Have a seat, Corey.” I stepped away from the couch to allow her my spot.

“No, thank you, I’m fine. Speak.” She tapped her toe. “What do you mean about taking me too soon?” She actually air quoted the taking-me-too-soon part with her fingers.

I continued to watch her. She held my gaze, unwavering. My heart sped to match hers.

Montgomery slapped his hands down onto his lap, expelling a loud breath. “Coralenna, dear, Brock only means that he brought you home just a short time before you were actually supposed to come home.”

Her head snapped towards him, her eyes moving into slits as she did. “Do you mean I wasn’t supposed to die?”

“Yes, well, no. You were supposed to die, just not that day.” My anxiety caused the words to rush out of my mouth.

Her neck twisted back to face me, “What do you mean, I wasn’t supposed to die that day! You took me away from my life before my time?” Her voice rose as she spoke.

“Corey, look, it’s not what you think.” I stepped closer, my hands out and palms up to plead with her.