Leo
Nighttime is descending over the city. The flickering lights of the buildings are starting to come on, and the streets are relatively quiet. The air feels fresh and cool, and I’m actually glad to have been called away from my latest conquest. Nothing gets me out of tricky situation with a girl than a call from work. You can’t ignore that, right?
Bobbi has just picked me up after we got a page about some crime. What’s new, right? There’s always something going down on these streets and for once it might be more than a pile of paperwork, though doubtless. I never get sick of my job. Bobbi, thankfully, is the best partner a guy could ask for. In fact, without her assistance I could’ve been in a lot of trouble many times. She’s saved my ass and I’ve done the same for her, so we’ve got a great connection. We know each other so well. When you’re staring life and death in the face it just has to be like that. Trust is so important. It’s takes a lot for me to trust somebody, but through our trials I’ve come to more than trust Bobbi, I rely on her. And for me to rely on someone is rare. She’s giving me shit right now, though.
"Leo, I know you just came from a sex session. Get what you want?"
"Shut up, Bobbi, what else am I supposed to do?"
"Um, settle down?"
"Yeah right, can you see me tied down like that? Besides, I've never met anyone even close to worth it."
"Well, you can't continue fucking every waitress you see."
"Why not? Besides, you should take your own advice."
She laughs, "Noted."
I know we’re both struggling with this whole sleeping with too many women thing, and I’m glad to call Bobbi not just a partner, but a friend.
We’re driving to our latest assignment It sounds like some woman with a burglary issue or something. Bobbi knows the way, and I’m just taking the opportunity to relax. We never know what we may be up against in this job, but this perpetrator has already left the scene and I know we’re just going to talk to the woman and to gather evidence.
"So, Bobbi, tell me more about this case?"
"There's not much to say yet. This woman called in all terrified about noises in her garage. There’s not much to go on yet; burglary, potential stalking."
"Okay, well, I hope it’s a quick one and doesn't take too long. Maybe it is a damn raccoon, or some really stupid intruder we can grab and go."
"Yeah, it should be real quick, so you can get back to what you were doing!" She laughs like my sex life is just hilarious. We pull up to a house that's on a quiet street. And to my total surprise, sitting there on the porch is the last person on earth I ever expected to see.
"Fuck, Bobbi, I know that girl. I think that’s my sister-in-law."
"Wait, what? No way, man, it’s gotta be somebody else. Let’s just go see."
My thoughts are lost now. Could it be Elena? That would be amazing, and she’s definitely someone I’m excited to see. She's fucking perfect in every way, and a part of me will always be sad that I didn't meet her first. What she sees in my idiot brother I'll never know. I've only met her once before at her wedding. I haven't seen my brother since our dad’s funeral. He raised us because our mom passed away years before when we were little. I guess you could say now we’re orphans. Too bad we can’t rely on each other for support, since Barry and I haven’t been on good terms in years, not since college. In fact, I learned that it was this perfect woman, Elena, who insisted I come to the wedding because I was family. I never forgot that kindness she extended to me. My brother and I are still at odds and it's never felt like family again, but I always thought what she did was a classy move. Barry still didn't want me at his wedding, but she did. And that's the only time I've seen her. Up until now.
“Dude, you’re related to her.” Bobbi breaks threw my thoughts and says the thing I should be thinking about.
“Not really,” I say, distractedly. I can’t take my eyes off of her now. A passion’s arising in me with force. "No, my brother Barry still wants nothing to do with me, and you know what? I couldn’t really care less."
I'm done trying with Barry. He's been such a disappointment to me as a brother. But right now I'm wondering where the hell he is and what's going on. Why is Elena standing by herself outside? If I find out he’s had the negligence to leave her alone and that something happened on his watch, I’m gonna be so pissed.
“So, why is she alone then?” Bobbi’s got the same question in mind as me.
“I have no idea. But we’re about to find out.”
I'm judging Barry in my mind for not being here to defend her. What kind of guy leaves a woman like that alone for even a second? She looks so beautiful, but scared sitting there alone on her porch. I instantly feel like I want to protect her. This case suddenly got a lot more serious for me. I’m actually nervous to go see Elena. I wonder if she’ll recognize me or not? If she doesn’t, I wonder if I should say something? This might not be my case anymore if she feels it’s awkward or a conflict of interest for me to be working on it. Fuck. What am I going to say to her when I see her?