“I can't really talk long, mom. I'm supposed to be meeting a friend-”

“No, not Oliver. I really need to go-”

“I already told you, mom. He and I are having some problems. I know you like him and-”

Polina sighed, shaking her head as her mother cut her off again. While a part of her was growing frustrated by her mother's constant 'advice', she didn't want to get angry or snap at her... Her mom was just trying to help, after all.

And it wasn't like Poli could tell her what was really going on.

“Ok, I love you too, mom. I'll see you for dinner tomorrow.”

With a sigh of relief, Polina hung up the phone. While it had been over a month since she had 'The Conversation' with Oliver, she still didn't know what to think. Or what to do. Yeah, he had lied to her, and hidden what he was actually doing when he 'went to work'... And he had even admitted to murdering several people- bad people, sure, but it was still murder. The Justice System existed to deal with people like that... and Oliver, if she was being honest with herself, though that was an uncomfortable thought...

She paused, hand on the door leading into the bar, as she thought about how uncomfortable she really was with the idea of him being arrested or prosecuted. While he was technically being paid to kill people, she knew that wasn't why he did it. His morals were definitely not normal, but still clearly defined in a way.

He made a distinction between good people and bad people. And he would never hurt good people.

But did that make him casually killing people ok? Even if they were murderers and domestic terrorists, did that excuse his actions?

Unfortunately, she knew it wasn't an easy judgment to make. As a cop, she had seen the other side of things far to often. Times when the system failed, where the bad guys went free on a technicality. Or from a lack of evidence, even when it was clear that they had done it.

And cases of the cops making deals, letting people go free, only for them to go straight back to whatever they were doing before. Just so the Department could bring down a 'bigger fish', even if there was always someone ready to slide right in to the opening that was left... And the alarmingly high number of crimes that are never solved- or never reported in the first place.

It got harder to condemn that sort of vigilante justice after seeing everything that she had seen. And that was all without even considering how much corruption existed within the system- as evidenced by one rich man calling in favors to ruin Oliver, and make her life more difficult just because of their association.

Yes, Oliver had actually made Carl Jr. disappear... But that didn't make it right for some asshole to try to ruin their lives, her life, based solely on suspicion. She nearly lost her job! And, while it would be easy to blame it all on Oliver... He had no control over the corruption in the system. He may have been the initial catalyst...

No, he wasn't even that, really. He wouldn't have done anything to Carl if he wasn't attacked first. And, even then, he only made the decision he did because he knew that letting the little jerk go would definitely cause more problems.

He just miscalculated the trouble that getting rid of him would cause... And he never wanted her to get dragged into it anyway.

That fact was equally frustrating. While he had lied to her and hidden things, she could see that he only did it with the intent to protect her. While that didn't make it right, she understood it... Especially when all the really weird stuff was added in.

Magic? Monsters? Fighting a vampire that had threatened his friends?

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

For a moment, Polina felt powerless in a way she hadn't felt since her grandfather died. She became a cop not just to honor his memory, but to help people. To protect people... And now she knows that there are things even the cops can't protect people from.

Unfortunately, one of those things is the system itself- seeing the Police themselves used as a weapon against her boyfriend had nearly broken the last shred of faith she had had in the system...

With all of that in mind, she had no idea how to resolve the conflict raging inside her. On one side was all the deception, and the dark side of Oliver... And on the other-

“I thought we were meeting inside?”

The concerned question cut of Polina's racing thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile before turning to face her new friend and neighbor. “Hey, Lyn. Just got distracted for a second.”

Lyn was odd, if friendly. Nearly a full head shorter than Poli, the woman played into her petite build rather than be embarrassed by it, regularly wearing what looked like a goth style but in bright colors- she called it 'Pastel Goth', which Polina had never actually heard of until they met.

She had to admit, it was a good look on the tiny woman. Even if it did make her look too young for the bar they were heading into.

“I thought you said 'casual hangout'? I wouldn't really describe that outfit as casual...”

Lyn smiled sweetly, brushing a hand across the frills of her dress. “What? It's casual to me. Besides, not everyone can rock jeans like you. I would kill to have an ass like yours!”

Polina shook her head with a chuckle at the contradiction her tiny friend presented- she looked small and innocent, but that was clearly just the surface. Lyn was the most outrageously flirtatious person- bordering on lewd- that Poli had ever met... To the point Poli had already lost count of how many times Lyn had propositioned her. It was a bit flattering, even if Lyn didn't actually mean it.

She was pretty sure that Lyn didn't mean it...

“Thinking about your boy-toy again? If you want, we can go back to my place and let me take your mind off of him for a bit.” Lyn said with a grin. “Or your place. Or the car. Or a back alley- actually, not the back alley. Those are always dirty as hell, and I don't want to ruin my new outfit.”

Polina let out an amused snort. Her friend really had no filter. She would tease and flirt at the drop of a hat... But she was also oddly insightful at times, and supportive. Though that could also be confusing... Lyn seemed equally inclined to sleep with her as she was supportive of her getting back with Oliver....

“Just call him already. You're just torturing yourself at this point.”

Taking a seat at the bar, Polina shook her head sadly. “It's not that simple, Lyn-”

“Yeah, you told me. He hid things and lied, trying to protect you. Then he sat you down one night and told you everything- you still haven't given me all the details, but that was the gist of it.”

Lyn propped her elbow on the counter as she turned to face Polina. “Look, I'm not asking you to tell me everything. Just answer one question for me, and I promise you'll know what you have to do.”

“After everything- even the stuff that you haven't told me, of which I am sure there is plenty... Do you love him?”

Polina froze as she realized she was already nodding 'yes' without even thinking. It was obvious, even if she hadn't admitted it to herself. “Yeah, I love him... I don't know how we could fix-”

“No, no. Just... No.” Lyn cut her off quickly. “You can't 'fix' anything yourself. It's a relationship; you're supposed to fix things together. From what you've told me, that man would do anything for you. Including working on whatever the issue is. So just talk to him!”

Polina sighed softly. A part of her did want to fix things... “I'll think about it Lyn.”

Lyn patted her on the shoulder reassuringly, a mischievous smirk on her face. “Good! And since he'll do anything for you... How about you ask him if he's cool with sharing? I bet the three of us together could absolutely wreck a room!”

Laughter bubbled out of Polina at her friends antics. She still wasn't sure if Lyn was serious or not, but a part of her was curious... Lyn was pretty cute, after all.

“I'm sure you could wreck a room all by yourself, Lyn, but I don't know if Oli would be into sharing. Honestly, he wasn't really big on relationships until... Well, until he and I got together, I guess...”

Polina trailed off as that thought really struck her for the first time.

Oliver didn't really have much of a relationship history... And he didn't really care about most people... But he made an exception for her.

She was still uncertain, but... Maybe she should talk to him?