The First Drop Of Rain

Chapter Fifty Six

Officer Derek Jack's POV

Morning of July 4th

The clock read a time far too early for a holiday, but alas I was pushing myself out of bed. With a sad glance at the right side of a bed that seemed to only get bigger as time went on I shoved my feet in my slippers and shuffled out of my bedroom door. The less time I could spend in that room the better, even if that meant crashing on the couch and breaking my back, but sometimes you just needed your bed. Everything in the room on her side was still the same as it was three years ago when she had hurriedly gotten ready. Her perfume didn't fill the air anymore, but it sat on the windowsill right where she had absentmindedly set it that morning.

The walls were still lilac purple, just as she had painted them three weeks before we brought Arabella home. Her slippers still sat haphazardly in front of her full length mirror, which was draped with the flannel she always slept in. It really looked like she might come walking back in the room joking about forgetting her sunglasses, which sat on the dresser just an arms length away from her mirror. The vanity she had painted white sat in the corner, still untouched after she helped Ari do her makeup and hair for picture day that same day. The drawers of the vanity holding just as many memories as the delicate flowers she and Ari had painstakingly painted on one random summer day sat vibrantly against the stark white. The only thing I had changed was now those drawers didn't hold the letter I had given Arabella on her sixteenth birthday.

Despite the sameness of the room over the last three years, something felt different about today. I wandered down the hall and heard the brief stumble of Arabella tripping in her room, a smile tugging on my face just slightly as I imagined her sleepy steps about her cluttered room. The sound of muffled talking filtered through her door, and I figured she was likely on the phone with Edward. Those two always seemed to be talking to one another, some nights I could swear I heard them talking until she fell asleep. On one school night in particular I could hear her speaking to him in a hushed tone and I had had half a mind to confiscate her phone and laptop just so she could get some sleep. Unfortunately, I was acutely aware of how well she did in school despite the odd late night, so I would let it slide on the rare night I heard her muffled words filtering through the shared bedroom walls. Kids deserve some secrets and privacy too.

As I made it down the stairs officially, I gazed into the living room where the unfortunately outdated family photo hung, taunting me with old memories. Shaking my head I made my way into the kitchen and started up the pot of coffee, waiting the prerequisite amount of time before quickly swiping the pot off the burner and filling my cup. After a few sips I sighed and gave in to the desire that seemed to overtake me like a horrible beast. The cap was off the bourbon before I realized what I was doing, and suddenly my morning coffee had the kick to it that I seemed to function best under these days. Any real regret I held about drinking was numbed by the drinking, and so I sat myself at the kitchen table and waited for my ray of sunshine to step through the door.

"What's the plan for the parade today?" I asked with a smile, realizing I hadn't asked her for the specifics.

"I'm going to meet Gaia at the school, get ready there, and then after that Edward and I are going to watch the fireworks and have dinner." Her smile was already bright, but with Edward's name it seemed to radiate. "Are you working the parade today?" Her eyes widened in the way they always did when she was nervous, and it seemed like she was barely containing it, but I chose to not say anything on the matter of her mannerisms and chose to simply answer her question.

"Yeah, Charlie put me on parade duty so I could be home for the fireworks." I fought to hide my smirk, raising my coffee and resting it against my lips while taking a small sip, leaving the mug there long enough to regain composure.