RISKY AFFAIR

Chapter 1

I wish Daniel would turn his stupid music down!

He’s been blasting it for hours. It’s getting ridiculous now. I need sleep before I go back to work, but all I’ve heard all day is the banging bass vibrating through the flipping floor.

I wouldn’t mind, but he knows that I work weekends down at the custody suite. Booked on for twelve-hour shifts, yet I always end up getting collared into seventeen-hour shifts because the force is short-staffed.

Throwing the quilt off me, I storm to the door.

I’m at my wits' end. Dealing with this adult child is pissing me off now. The only reason he’s even under this roof with me is because he split up with his ex. She booted him out because he’s a useless waste of space. I always did wonder why she would say that. Now I see why.

My parents told him he could stay with us as long as he wants, but I’m regretting ever agreeing with their decision. He doesn’t work. He just has parties and gets drugged up all day when they are on holiday.

Zero respect, yet he always questions why I’m in a foul mood. He can’t blame me for that when I’m living with the most arrogant bastard known to man. I’m sure he wasn’t this bad when we were younger.

“Daniel, can you shut the fuck up!”

As per usual, he can’t fucking hear me.

Sighing, I step out of my room and slam the door hard, trying to get his attention. It might actually make him think... shit, my bad. But it doesn’t work. Nothing ever does.

I wait patiently to see if he will turn it down, but the second I hear that banging again, I fucking lose it.

“Daniel!” I scream at the top of the stairs.

Ugh, killing him is on the cards. It won’t be long until the family is carrying him out of the house in a casket. I’m this close to going down for murder.

Storming down the stairs, I stop at the door and cross my arms, waiting for him to turn around and see me.

“What’s up Stel?” His best friend Apex asks, ruffling my hair as he slips past me.

I shove him away from me and roll my eyes.

“Oh, shut up. Get Daniel.”

Laughing, he casually strolls across the room to get Daniel’s attention. Smacking his arm, he talks in his ear and Daniel turns to me with a cocky grin on his face.

“What?”

“Turn your shitty music off. I’m trying to sleep.”

Daniel holds his hands up, looking around the packed room.

“It’s a party.”

I don’t give a flying fuck if it’s a party or not.

Why the hell did my parents agree to this before they left for holiday?

Yeah, they went away and left him in charge of the house. What a stupid idea. You know... older brother and all that. Still, I’m always the one who suffers because of him. Granted, he brings back muchies for me when he goes to the shop, but it doesn’t make up for missed sleep.

Daniel laughs.

"Relax, sis. It’s not that bad.”

Not that bad? Sure it’s not. Who's he kidding? Certainly not me.

I walk to the stairs and grab the bannister. “I don’t care. Have a party elsewhere.”

Storming up the stairs, I stomp my feet. I’m close to throwing him through the fucking door. I’ve had enough.

"Stel,” Apex shouts after me.

I stop halfway up the stairs.

“Go away.”

“Stel-”

I spin around so fast he tenses.

“Did you not hear me? I said fuck off.”

Laughing, he holds his hands up.

Of course, he laughs. Nobody in this house gives a single shit about my mental health. Not one.

“Wow. No need to be like that.”

I shake my head, ignore him and walk to my room. Slamming the door, I throw a pillow across the room.

I hate everyone in this place.

I have work in an hour. A flipping hour and I’m running on no sleep. My eyes are stinging, my head is close to exploding and work expects me to still attend. I still need a shower, food and sleep. Not that I can get much of that around here.

There’s a knock on the door.

Who could possibly want to destroy my day even more?

Why can’t they leave me alone for one flipping moment? Just one?

My teeth clench... hard; they nearly break.

“Go away.”

The door opens anyway.

Apex steps inside, closing it gently like that makes it better. His eyes sweep over the mess of clothes I threw everywhere, the bed of blankets and items I didn't bother to move when I got in. My life in pieces.

“What’s up with you?” He asks, tiptoeing around my crap like it's landmines.

I sit up and sigh, but I don’t answer.

“Come on,” he leans against the wall instead of coming closer. “Tell me.”

Staring at the floor, I shake my head. I’d rather not. If he can’t see the reason behind my mental breakdown, then there’s no point in telling him. Plus, telling him wouldn’t change a damn thing, so what’s the point in bothering?

“Stel-” he warns and I throw my head back because I can’t help myself. I need to share my problematic life drama with someone else and he's put himself in firing range.

"Fine.. I was in work last night and all I wanted was some sleep. Now I have to get ready for work and I’m shattered. That’s it.”

Throwing my hands up, I shake my head. But then I blow.

“It’s that loud Apex... It’s vibrating the fucking floor,” I point downstairs.

Nodding, he walks to the windowsill and opens my jewellery box, his finger twirling the ballerina. He’s always loved that thing. Maybe I should just gift it to him for his birthday at this point. I don’t need it.

“I’ll get him to turn it down.”

Better had.

I stare at the back of his head, waiting for him to turn around, but his phone starts ringing.

He answers it on the third ring, keeping his back to me.

“Yea, I know. I’ll head out in a few. Grab him and meet me there.”

I sit forward trying to listen in, but I can’t hear a damn thing.

He ends the call and turns to me.

“I’ll tell him before I leave, alright?”

I nod.

Apex always follows through with his promises. He’s been making promises with me since I was six. I remember the first time he offered me his pinky finger. He showed up at the house after school with Daniel. That was twenty years ago now, but he still hasn’t let a single promise slip through the cracks.

Apex walks to the door and pauses, glancing back at me.

“Take care of yourself, yeah?”

“Always,” I grin.

Leaving my room, he closes the door behind him, and I lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

I miss Jack. He’s been gone three months now, and it feels like an eternity. I just want him back home so we can grab slushies together... Like old times. Unfortunately, we had to grow up, which pulled us apart. He will always be my bestie, even when working the oil rigs. The last call I received from him was two months ago and that only lasted five minutes. But what could I do? Nothing. Just wait and hope he returns.

I close my eyes and imagine Jack home with me for a fleeting moment, not that it lasts long. It feels like minutes because I fall asleep and when I wake up again, I have to get ready for work quickly with only fifteen minutes to spare. Damn it!

Hopping in the shower, I scrub my skin so hard I cut myself. But I don’t have time. I have to wrap my hair in a plastic bag to stop it from getting wet. I couldn’t imagine working behind that desk under the air conditioner with soaking wet hair. No. I will wait until tomorrow to wash it.

Throwing jeans and a top on, I grab a bite to eat from the fridge and leave for work via the back door, so I don’t punch Daniel in the face. It’s only a sausage roll, a pint of milk and a pork pie, but it's enough to keep me full for a couple of hours.

I break the law by eating it while driving. I have to improvise since I'm not allowed to eat on shift. Needs must.

The drive to work takes a couple of minutes. I manage to listen to one song playing on the radio before I reach the carpark. All cars are out on jobs and the spot closest to the door is available. So, I take it.

Rushing up the steps, I tap in the code and step inside, taking a moment to listen out for any noises. It's surprisingly quiet, which is far from normal for the station on a Saturday night. Throwing my uniform on, I take a second to breathe. Here we go...

Pushing the door to the reception open, I stop.

Helena is sat behind the desk with the phone to her ear.

I don’t see any blood or anything. The chairs are perfectly aligned, and two empty cups of coffee sit on the desk. Looks like two officers had to leave in a rush. I wonder who it was? No doubt it was Arwin. He loves to sit around with his feet up in the reception area. He has this addictive laugh that keeps me entertained for hours on slow nights. But when he gets a call, he's straight out. Drama Queen.

Helena places the phone down and pushes to her feet.

“Alright, here’s where we’re at,” she says, grabbing her bag. “Two in the cells... one calm, the other still kicking off. Three units out on a high-speed chase. And we’ve got two officers doing house to house on a near stabbing.”

I nod, stepping behind the desk to take over.

Rubbing her forehead, she jerks her chin towards the hallway as someone shouts down the hallway from one of the cells.

I slip into the seat.

“And that’s the third fight tonight,” she adds. “He’s still resisting. You’re up.”

She doesn’t wait for a reply, just hands me the clipboard and walks off, leaving me with noise, tension and one hell of a mess.

Surely, it can’t be that bad... can it?

Sighing, I lean back, listening to banging on a door as a man swears at it.

No doubt he will get out tomorrow with a slap on the wrist. That’s all they ever get. It's rare for criminals to get time for what they get arrested for and that's the most frustrating part of the job. Knowing that those who should get time will always manage to walk free when they should be kept behind bars.

Still, my opinion doesn’t matter. Neither does anyone else’s.

The door opens and I jolt back in my seat, heart slamming in my chest. Why didn't the door bleep?

Rogga and Travis walk in with a man cuffed between them. He isn’t tense or angry like the usual suspects. In fact, he’s calm and... looks amused. Why is he grinning?

They drop him on the seat opposite me and I focus on the computer screen, logging myself into the system, ready to take his details.

“Name?” I ask.

He gives me nothing.