Veil of Crimson

Life has a funny way of playing with people. You can try to do good, be selfless, give and try not to take too much. But in the end, someone out there is going to f**k you up nonetheless. No matter how ‘nice’ you are. The worst part is you have to learn it the hard way. And even if the fall itself doesn’t feel that bad … Hitting the cold, hard ground hurts like hell. “Gauthier, you can sort those out tomorrow. Go home. Celebrate. You've earned yourself that promotion,” a man’s voice calls out, making me turn my head over my shoulder. Lieutenant Williams is staring at me with a stern gaze, but at the same time, I can see a hint of pride inside it. I close the file with a small sigh, nodding at him. “Alright boss. I won’t argue with you, it’s been one hell of a day,” I agree, making the man smile in response. I don’t usually agree with him immediately, so that’s probably the reason why he’s so amused. He reminds me of my Papa in that way. We never see eye to eye either. “Now that’s a first one. Really, though. Congratulations and I’ll see you tomorrow … Detective,” he responds warmly, making my smile widen. He’s right. I have something to be proud of today. And it does call for a celebration. “Thanks. See you tomorrow, Lieutenant,” I greet him back, then finally put the file on a gigantic pile of papers that’s resting at the side of my desk. I can hear my boss walking away, while I start looking for my car keys. I know I’ve left them lying around somewhere, when we got back to the station. “Yo, El! Ya ain’t going straight home, are ya?” I hear another familiar voice call out from somewhere behind me. I glance over my shoulder again, my face falling as I suddenly have a feathery scarf wrapped around my neck. I start shaking my head. “Didi, there’s no way you’re making me go out with dat,” I copy her dialect. “And yeah, I’m going straight home,” I then continue, making her sigh. She’s an officer, just like me. We’ve been to the academy together and we got a job about at the same time, just not at the same office. I’ve been working at the center of New Orleans since the beginning and she’s transferred here from Gretna about a year ago. She’s a certified fire investigator and she’s been a great addition to the department. We worked together occasionally, but my department is homicide. She rolls her eyes at me now and pulls the boa off my shoulders. “Fine. But ya fiancé better gives ya a ton of sugar tonight. The guy has ya on a leash, El, I don’t like that,” she informs me, making me sigh. Yeah, I’ve heard that one before. “He just worries about me,” I ensure her, deeming the subject closed. Though, I haven’t heard from him today yet. Maybe he’s stuck in the office. Criminals are getting more and more crafty these days. I’m sure his head is already hurting from trying to figure out how to defend another drug dealer. Didi’s name isn’t really Didi, obviously. She hates her real name, and that’s why she’s sticking with her nickname. She’s actually called Greta. Don’t ask me where that nickname came from, because I have no idea. I asked her one time, why she doesn’t change her name if she dislikes it this much, but she told me she doesn’t want to hurt her parents. Anyway, she’s the closest thing to a friend that I have. Other than her, I don’t hang out with many people. Apart from Brandon. You know, my fiancé. We’ve been together for five years, engaged for one. I’m trying to get us to tie the knot this summer, but he still doesn’t want to hear about it. That he has way too much work at hand. He’s going to give in one of these days, I’m sure of it. He’s just getting cold feet, but I know that he loves me. He wouldn’t get me a ring, if he didn’t, right? As I leave the station, I get awaited by a joyful sound of music, coming from somewhere down the street. We’re located near the center, so we get that kind of treatment a lot. New Orleans is alive with music on every corner. We’re supposed to help keep the noise down, but I never try to break up a party. I live for this city and I love to see it thrive. Besides, I’m a homicide officer … I mean, detective. I have no jurisdiction for noise violations, unless they involve gunshots. I sit into my car with a smile, music blasting through my window as I drive by. Once I get further away from the center, it all gets a little more quiet. I don’t have far to my house, but I still use the car to get to work and back. These streets aren’t the safest to walk, no matter how bustling and lively this city might be. I don’t want to use my gun in the off hours. As I drive up to the house, I notice a dim light coming from the top left window. Right where our bedroom is. We live in an old apartment building that’s been here since the eighteen hundreds. There’s four more apartments downstairs and in three the same floor as ours. Our neighbors are really friendly and I can see that most of them are home. But I feel a hint of doubt cross my mind as I stare at that dim light, coming from our bedroom. Surely Brandon isn’t in bed already? Or maybe he just put the light on, so no one would think that the apartment is empty. He’s probably in the bathroom. I can’t wait to tell him about my promotion. As soon as I walk upstairs and insert the key into the lock, something tells me to be quiet. So, I am. I enter the darkness, not turning the light on. I close the door silently, realizing that there’s light dancing on the walls. I pull my gun out. This isn’t like Brandon. He never leaves the TV on. Something could be seriously wrong. I think someone’s in the house. My heart is thumping against my chest like crazy and I carefully walk forward, gun at the ready, just in case I come face to face with a dangerous criminal. I can hear a faint grunt coming from somewhere around the corner, freezing in panic. Is someone hurting him? I turn the corner, ready to shoot, only to come face to face with an explicit scene on the TV. I scrunch my face in disgust. Oh, gross, seriously? He’s been watching porn? I can’t believe this guy. I thought we talked about this. Then, I notice something else. There’s an open bottle of wine, resting on the coffee table. And not one, but two glasses. Both of them used. A thousand thoughts rush through my head in that moment and my chest tenses up to the point where I think it’s going to burst. Now I know what that grunt was. And it wasn’t coming from the television either. Then, I hear it again. And a loud moan, clear as the sky in the middle of a summer day. “Ah, Brandon!” a woman’s voice calls out. I suddenly see red as I rush into the bedroom, knowing exactly what the dim lighting is about, too. I’m not thinking straight. I don’t even bother to use the doorknob, I simply kick the door off its hinges. It lands on the ground with a loud bang and I’m left with a scene that breaks my heart into a hundred pieces. My fiancé is buried deep between a familiar woman’s legs, and they both freeze in shock at the sound. “You damn bastard,” I hiss through the tears, pointing my gun straight at him. His eyes widen in horror and he jumps off his coworker sooner than I could say ‘coward’. He rolls off the bed and lands on the ground, while she squeals in panic as the gun is now pointed at her. But despite being hurt and mad with rage, I know that I can’t jeopardize my future like that. Not when I just became a detective. As sad as it sounds … That job is now the only thing I have left. There’s no way I’m marrying that lying, cheating bastard! “Come out, coward!” I yell at him, shoving the gun behind my belt. He carefully peeks from behind the bed, while Grace or whatever her name is, keeps screaming. “And you shut up, or I swear to God I’m going to shoot you!” I bark at her. As Brandon realizes I’ve put my gun away, he gets up and starts apologizing. “I’m sorry, El, it meant nothing, really, you know that I love you-” “Hey, you told me that you only care about me!” Grace protests, making me send her a murderous glare. I’m only still standing there, because I can’t get the damn engagement ring off my finger. Brandon glances at her shortly, but he’s not fazed by her protests. He notices what I’m trying to do, clearly panicking about it. He keeps trying to persuade me, but my nerves are now hanging by such a thin thread that I’m sure they’re going to snap if I don’t get myself out of here. “You have to believe me, I would never-” “f**k you, Brandon! We’re done!” I shout at him, not giving a damn about our neighbors hearing me. Scratch that, it’s his neighbors now, not mine. Then, I change my mind about the ring. “And just so you know, I’m selling this and keeping the money!” I inform him, waving my hand around, before turning around and walking away. “Elise, wait, you’re being completely unreasonable!” he keeps calling after me, but I turn around and pull my gun out again. He freezes, putting his hands up in the air. I glare at him angrily, trying to ignore the gut-wrenching pain that’s enveloping my chest. “Leave me alone. If you keep following me, I’m going to shoot you. I swear to God,” I tell him. I wait for him to nod, but I still keep my gun out, pointing it at him. “Tomorrow, leave the key with Mrs. Norbert. I’m going to pick up my stuff and I don’t want you here. I don’t want to see you, I don’t want to hear from you, I don’t want you anywhere near me. You’re going to stay the hell away from me,” I continue. I keep waving the gun around with every word that leaves my mouth, seeing how panicky he’s getting. Finally, I put it away and turn around, leaving my whole life in there. The farther I get, the more my breaks start to give out. Until they’re finally cut loose. As soon as I get into my car, I break down, my heart breaking over and over again as that scene flashes through my mind. I let out an enraged scream, hitting both my fists against the steering wheel at the same time. The car horn lets out a loud beep, making me flinch in surprise. I wipe my tears away, knowing that this has attracted unwanted attention. I need to get out of here. I need to find myself a place to sleep at tonight. I quickly turn the car on and drive away, forcing myself to keep it together. I drive to the other side of the city, parking right in the center. I’m still wearing my officer’s uniform and I don’t have any other clothing with me. I sit in the car, watching the bustling street. This is going to be a disaster.