Officer Matheson

{Zoe}

I woke up, excited about my lunch date with Officer Matheson. I texted him last night and we agreed to “hang out." I envisioned us not leaving my bedroom, but Officer Matheson could have other ideas like actually having lunch and wanting to get to know me, which was not something I was looking forward to. I enjoyed being single, and I wouldn’t be ready to seriously date someone for a couple more years but in the meantime, I would have a hot girl summer all year round.

Huh. English is not in bed with me. That's odd.

English tended to sleep a lot longer than I did, and he never left the bed before me.

Maybe he got bold and decided to use the doggy door that I had installed for him yesterday?

I completed my morning routine and dressed casually in a school athletic tank and cutoff shorts, and went hunting for my beloved pup. Ten minutes later, I had checked every single nook and cranny of the house and couldn’t locate English. The doorbell rang before I could make it to the backyard. If that was Officer Matheson, then he was an entire hour early, and low-key that annoyed the shit out of me.

What if I were still lying in bed looking like Medusa with crust in my eyes and drool on my face?

“What does this pasty motherfucker want now?” I lowly growled, staring at my neighbor through the peephole. I swung open the door and gave him a not-so-friendly glare. “The fuck you want?”

“Wow. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Elijah remarked.

“I’m not sure what you’re here for, but I need you to move this along,” I growled as I placed my hands on my hips. His eyes traveled up and down my body, resting specifically on my lower half. “Are you done eye raping me?” I asked in disgust a few seconds later.

“Yes-I mean no-I mean, I’m sorry, here,” Elijah said, shoving a bouquet of flowers towards me.

“What is this for?” I asked, cautiously eyeing the yellow roses. “These aren’t some crazy jungle Amazonian roses that’ll kill me, right?”

“Why on Earth would you think they would kill you?”

“I don’t know they could have thorns with some crazy toxins in them that enter your bloodstream once you’re pricked, and we are sworn enemies.”

“You must still be drunk from yesterday,” Elijah scoffed. “They are simply yellow roses from the local florist to convey friendship, and if you don’t believe me, I can show you the receipt. I feel horrible for the way we got off, and I was hoping you would let bygones be bygones.”

I squinted my eyes at him skeptically. Elijah appeared to be genuinely sincere, but his sudden desire to make peace was unnerving to me. “So, can I call you Eli now?” I teased.

“Uh, I don’t think we’re there yet.”

“Okay. I understand, Eli,” I said dismissively as I inhaled the roses. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I need to go and look for English.”

“Your dog?”

“Yeah. I woke up this morning and he wasn’t in bed, and I haven’t been able to find him in the house. I was just headed to the backyard to search for him before you came,” I explained.

“I’m sure he’s just exploring his new home and you two just keep missing each other. He’s probably tucked under the bed or something.”

“You don’t understand though. English and I have been inseparable since my grandparents gifted him to me,” I snapped.

“I’m sorry. I’ll let you get to it then,” Elijah apologized. “For what it’s worth I hope you find him.”

I spent the next 50 minutes looking for English, both inside and outside. By the time Officer Matheson arrived, I was in a full-blown panic. I hadn’t even taken the time to acknowledge the Chinese food he picked up from my favorite Chinese eatery. My panic turned into pure despair when Cole found a hole in my fence that was big enough for English to get out of.

I spent the next hour bawling my eyes out while Cole went and searched the area near my house and asked the neighbors if they had seen English. Once I finally got myself together, I jumped on my computer and made missing pet flyers. Brianna and Samuel came as soon as their classes were over and canvassed the neighborhood with us, but there was no such luck.

I sat on my porch steps with Cole next to me and stared up at the stars, praying that wherever English was that he was safe. “I’m sorry that this day turned out different than you planned,” I apologized as I felt his knee bump mine.

“It’s okay. My job is to protect and serve, right?”

“Yeah, but you’re off the clock, so that doesn’t count.”

“A police officer is never off the clock.”