Hailey’s stomach groaned so loudly, she swore anyone within 30 feet probably heard it. She sat on the concrete wall outside the Newton Police Station, swinging her legs and staring at her phone. It was the first time she’d been here since onboarding, but instead of her uniform, she was in yoga pants and a Star Wars t-shirt. She’d glance at her phone, look away, and then check it again. Over and over.
Emily had texted her, inviting her to one of the pop-ups she’d mentioned the day they met. Hailey was trying not to let her excitement get the best of her... but she was failing miserably. She’d gotten here an hour early and was now anxiously waiting for Emily to show.
In her time since onboarding, Hailey had been working her assignment in Upper Fens. The area had charmed her, especially places like the Ink Pot. Working third shift, though, had been... interesting. The area had its share of teenage troublemakers. She constantly got calls about kids sneaking into Eden Cemetery after sundown. No matter how many times she responded, she always managed to get turned around in there. Then there were the trips to Mottershead Park, and worst of all, the old Mottershead Asylum. Twice she’d had to respond to kids running out of there, screaming. Thankfully, she hadn’t had to set foot inside—yet.
That was life lately—filing accident reports and chasing after teens to return them to their wealthy parents. It wasn’t exactly the work she’d envisioned when she joined the force, but it was a step in the right direction.
The door to the station opened, and there was Emily. Hailey jumped down from the wall but didn’t exactly stick the landing. She stumbled, and in an attempt to cover it up, bent down to tie her shoes... only to realize she was wearing slip-ons. She rolled her eyes at herself, muttering under her breath, “She didn’t see. It’s cool. It’s cool.”
Straightening up, she forced a smile and turned.
It was always interesting how plans could get out of hand. Evolve would be more accurate. Emily hadn't meant to go from meeting Hailey by chance at the Newton precinct to going out for food with her, but here they were. She'd caught wind of a pop-up nearby for Mexican-Korean fusion food and the rookie officer was the first person to come to mind.
If she was being honest, Emily was mildly pleased by the development. It was out of her comfort zone, but she'd been doing a lot of that lately, so the prospect was exciting. Was this a new era for her, she thought with amusement, as she pushed out the front door and into the cool fall weather. Perhaps, perhaps. Maybe next, she'd try something wild like buying a plane ticket to anywhere. Take actual flying lessons... She could use that with her broom.
The whole thought process had Emily smiling to herself. She caught sight of Watts perched on the concrete barrier, and lifted a hand to give her a short wave as she descended the front steps.
“Watts,” she greeted amiably as she approached, one thumb hooked under her purse strap where it was slung over her shoulder. “How's it going?”
She's dressed so nice! Hailey winced inwardly as she glanced down at her own outfit. A Star Wars t-shirt—not even her best one. Just a generic, fake vintage shirt that anyone could pick up from a box store. While she mentally debated the merits of her Star Wars t-shirts, Emily greeted her.
“Hey, Sergeant Reyes! It’s, uh, going. Not bad—it's not going bad. I'm fine. You look nice. Professional, I mean.” She gestured awkwardly at her own outfit. “I’m not on duty, so... yoga clothes. Third shift. It’s... interesting.” Her words tumbled out faster than she could rein them in. “How are you? How’s your day?”
She was rambling. It was always worse when she was tired, and after weeks on third shift, she still wasn’t used to sleeping during the day and being up all night. The sleeping pills she resorted to left her groggy, and the slight bags under her eyes gave her away.
The exhaustion reminded her of boot camp—those early days when sleep deprivation was part of the process, breaking them down as civilians to rebuild them as soldiers. She’d kept a level head through it back then, but that kind of sleep deprivation was temporary, a controlled challenge.
This... this was different. Third shift was a long-term adjustment, and it was wearing on her.
Hailey gave Emily a weary smile, both embarrassed and exhausted by her own rambling. So pretty. The thought flickered unbidden through her mind, followed by a quick mental reminder: But so taken. Something Hailey would have to remind herself of often as the day progressed.
As Watts started chattering, Emily found she couldn't help her smile in return. The way the other officer rambled wasn't nearly as off-putting as she seemed to fear--in fact, Emily found it somewhat comforting that someone else could be as socially awkward as she often felt--but she didn't try and reassure her with words. Instead, she tilted her head down the sidewalk, warmly inviting her along for the walk downtown.
“I'm doing well,” she sighed, sharing Watts' weariness. They worked long, often thankless hours, but these breaks were certainly refreshing. “Interesting about covers it. Sounds like you're settling in though?”
She glanced over at her lunch companion, lifting her eyebrows in clear interest. Easthaven was your typical city, with weirdness both mundane and supernatural. Any of it made a pretty good story.
Hailey walked alongside Emily, trying to piece together everything that had happened since the last time they’d seen each other.
“Settling in? Yes and no,” she said with a shrug. She’d fallen into a routine—not one she’d created herself, but one shaped by the predictable flow of "crime" in Upper Fens.
Every evening, she’d punch in and pick up her cruiser. She was on solo patrol—not entirely sure why. Maybe the area didn’t warrant partnered officers. Or maybe the force was struggling to find people. She couldn’t imagine the latter. It was a good, respectable job where you could do some good in the world. And yet, some nights, Hailey couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t making much of an impact at all.
Once in her car, she always made her first stop at the Ink Pot for a cup of coffee. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t spend all her money there, that she’d bring her own coffee from home. That resolve lasted about a week.
“I’m tired, like, all the time,” Hailey admitted with a laugh, glancing at Emily. “The Ink Pot is about the only thing keeping me coming to work most nights.”
Her nights usually followed the same pattern: a few hours of pulling people over for running stop signs, followed by the inevitable call to Eden Cemetery.
“Eden Cemetery gives me the creeps,” Hailey said, her voice dropping slightly. “I swear the statues move—” she sighed, “or maybe it’s just because I’m not sleeping well.” She rubbed the back of her neck, offering Emily a sheepish smile.
“Have you ever worked that part of town?” she asked, curious if Emily had any stories to share.
As they walked and talked, Emily abruptly decided she liked that Watts filled the conversation. A quiet, austere person by nature, she was more prone to listening and observing, rather than contributing, which meant her conversational partner often needed to be quite talkative. Hailey was nice to listen to, had a lot to say, and ended it on a very intriguing note.
Of course, Emily had to laugh softly at the reference to the Ink Pot. She was a frequent visitor there too, but without working in the area, it was more out of her way. In that, she envied the other officer’s posting. As for Eden Cemetery though… Emily made a low, intrigued noise.
The statues moved at night? The thought had her lowering her voice, as if they were sharing in a conspiracy, although she’d hadn’t heard that story in particular. “No,” she admitted, a little shiver tickling down her spine. After all she’d seen and done, she could hardly say that Hailey was pulling her leg or had an overactive imagination. But maybe it was a trick of the eye? She laughed a little too, thrilled at a being a little spooked. “I hadn’t heard that about the cemetery, but is there… A particular section where that happens?”
Hailey slowed her pace, her expression a mix of concern and amusement. “Section? I didn’t know there were sections! How big is that place?” She stretched out the word each time, emphasizing it with an exaggerated look as if Emily had just unveiled some great mystery.
“I just roll in, flash my lights, the kids run, and I get the heck out of there,” she explained, picking up her pace again, as though recounting some sacred survival strategy.
She looked to the Detective Sargent, serious as a clam. “I should have been patrolling the cemetery this whole time, shouldn't I?”
For the most part, she stayed alongside Emily, but Hailey prided herself on her sidewalk manners. Anytime someone approached, she instinctively slipped into single file, her mom’s voice echoing in her head about “sharing the space.” When a row of three girls—linked arm-in-arm—made no effort to move, Hailey shot a glare at the back of their heads. Unbelievable.
Turning back to Emily, her expression softened into something more thoughtful. “Wait, do you believe in ghosts?” The question lingered in the air for a beat before she frowned slightly, the thought catching up to her. “Wait… do I believe in ghosts?” She huffed out a laugh, shaking her head.
Emily’s lips parted as she mulled over the size of the graveyard. She hadn’t given it much thought, but she knew the whole place was quite old, with sections being practically historical monuments from colonial days. Watts went on though, she tabled the thought for when she had a chance to look it up.
Assuming the question about her patrol route was rhetorical, Emily just chuckled, and shrugged. That would’ve been up to her superior. Hailey went on, sweeping Emily up in a pair of questions that had her huffing another laugh.
Keeping her composure, and her expression fairly neutral on the thought, she realized that she couldn’t tell the truth on the question directly. Not until she had a better sense of Watts’ experience, she thought.
Fact was, she didn’t believe in ghosts, she knew they existed, and she wished terribly that she didn’t. But this was just reality—there were ghosts, and they were unfriendly. She decided on taking the long way around the topic. She hummed in thought.
“There’re rumors of ghosts in the subways around that part of town, since they’re near the graveyard. People like to carry those little deli packs of salt in their pockets before they head down to the platform.” Emily shrugged and shook her head, glancing over at her companion with a wry smile. “I don’t think that works, or if the rumors are true, but I at least like to believe there’s an afterlife.”