The Person- Eric DeSantos Myers, the Intermittent Police Officer

Chapter 9- ERratIC

Xxxxx

2004 Corinth Ct.
Angel Grove, CA

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Predictably, my alarm clock erupted with its loud gesture. I did so, and I gazed it. '6:30 AM', right on the dot. As expected, my first stop was the kitchen. Three scoops of coffee grounds entered the clean filter, which I always replaced after I made my morning sludge. Yes, sludge, since I liked the hot drink to be dark with no added artificial flavoring. Maybe once in a while, I would splurge with a cup from my dumbass brother's place of work, or the high priced place called Starbucks. Not that spending ten dollars for a venti latte- now that's an overstatement, but in reality, it seemed to cost an arm and a leg to buy their aromatic dragon's blend- wasn't worth it; I would rather save my pennies by making a throwback kind.

I remembered when the coffeemakers were on the rage, and everyone and their mama plus the cousins that were twice removed wished for one. Now, there was no point, since there was a Starbucks on every corner and a Coffee Bean to counter each one. Damn this economy, but at least I had a well paying job.

Shortly after my little amusement of the morning, my piping hot coffee was inside of the canister. That was wonderful. I began to drink with gusto, after of course blowing the steam away. Tricky little thing, since it still resurfaced.

With energy flowing through my body, the warmth I particularly liked, since it was winter, I headed to the living room. I had at least an hour before I had to head to work, so this was my routine. Wake up, have a cup of coffee, watch some television, take a shower, place my uniform on, and then I would be out the door-en route with the police vehicle I got to take home. In a day's time, I would've at least arrested 10 to 15 guys and then slathered on top of that 10 police tickets.

So my partner, Wesley 'Wes' Corbett-Collins, mused that I was insane, though I disagreed. We still held a mutual respect for one another. Sometimes he wished that I would lighten up on the delinquent thugs out there, but alas, none of us could ever do that.

My brother definitely needed a good ass kicking, once in awhile. He always attempted to hide his drug use for me. Thankfully, he never kept that stuff in our apartment, or else I would kick him the fuck out. That stuff was like my kryptonite, instantly able to can me for not following the rules ordained by California and the Angel Grove police department. Shit, if he was smart, and sometimes I believed he wasn't, since it's obvious between the both of us, I got the good looks and the brain, he would stop his use.

Okay, so marijuana wasn't the worst kind of drug he could be in a convoluted relationship with, but it was still illegal. The dispensaries definitely resided throughout the LA county, but a police officer and his place laced with marijuana, sounds like a conflict of interest there.

Instantly, I sat down on my comfy leather coach, only to hear a grunting noise and I was forcefully pushed off.

"What the hell?" My brother irately scolded, as he tossed to his opposite side.

First of all, he has his own room. Even though he's a jerk and dumb and crazy, he did have a great job, which meant he paid for the rent. He's an acclaimed baker, and where he obtained that talent, both of us didn't have a clue. Second, his room was not too far from the couch's location, and third, why the fuck was he still sleeping! For some anomalous reason, he had a bike. Not a car, he didn't utilize our wonderful joke of a transit system, he could walk to the next town over, but that would take an hour and fifteeen minutes as deemed by Mapuest, so he owned a bike. That realization-right there- should give him the motivation to wake his lazy ass up right now!

That's when I saw it regrettably. The epitome of paraphernalia in the form of a red and blue glass pipe. There was a design on it, I was sure of it, however, in this partly dim lighting, there was no way to corroborate it.

Fuck, the television set, I mumbled to myself, since my little brother ruined any dreamy opportunity to have some peace and quiet before my job.

"What the fuck is that?" I angrily hissed, as I pointed to the unique item on the ground.

"What the fuck is what?" His voice was elevated to a higher octave, and he still didn't respectfully face me.

As his elder, damn it, I demanded the deference, since I hold a higher title than him. "Why the hell are you getting upset with me for! If anything, I should be upset with your lousy attitude and irresponsibility by holding that damn drug item!"

"Know what?" He questioned me with the rigidity that I hated. The only person that could be like that was me. "Fuck you! You are a pompous, egotistical jerk, and no wonder no one wants your ass!" He malevolently huffed, while he turned over. He got up, and I swore he was about to sock me. I was ready to counter his fist with my own. "Eric, you suck!" He picked up his piece and headed to his bedroom.

"No, you suck. Your ethics suck, your attitude sucks, and the only thing you have going for your life is the fact that you make good money as a baker. Even though it is a girly job." I quipped self righteously. I gave my self a proud pat on the back for that one.

"At least my big dick gets sucked by a woman, and I never had to introduce the five finger special to it. Unlike you!" He shouted at me with lividness.

Even I was appalled by his words. "Get ready for work, you jackass!" I roared, as I headed to my personal shower.

My morning had just barely started, and I had already been in a fight. With no more bashing remarks, I undressed and entered my shower stall. In the midst of the refreshing hot shower, I affirmed my life was cursed.

Our mom was a single parent, since our dad was sent to prison and we haven't seen him since.

Our dad habitually beat our mother for her not submissively obeying what he wanted. If she didn't have sex with him that night, or if she hadn't washed his clothing correctly, or if she was inappropriately staring at a man without his consent, or if he was in a drunken paralysis, her face, body, anything on her would be accomodated to his strong hands. No way could his alcohol abuse be a justification for his horrific actions nevertheless.

We have witnessed him beat her. Rocky and I were only two years apart. Rationalize this for me, if I was six, how would Rocky have been? See, he probably didn't know the extent of the problem with our dad constantly pounding on our mom, but as he got older, he understood. Part of him was scared, and together, we would hide in our room closet. Once did our father beat us, and oh God, that was our mother's final straw. Our eyes were black and blue, our back was peeling and raw with the amount of belt lashes we got. She immediately placed a call to 911, and the police officers arrested him.

The valiant act of them caused me to become very much interested in the field. I guessed, one could call this the catalyst.

After our father was arrested, she ordered the restraining order, and then we fled that city and relocated to Angel Grove. Our mother got a job in housekeeping, she had limited English, but she saved and worked and saved and worked whatever she earned. As the oldest, I took on the responsibility of being the 'man of the household'.

Initially, Rocky followed after me, and we became closer than ever. That reassured our mother that her little hijos were flourishing into fine men.

And then, I don't know the who, what, when, where, why, and/or how, but the little Rocky, the one that I had known as my devoted brother, disappeared. In a snap, he literally went from, 'hey, you need help with that bro', to, 'you aren't my dad you can't tell me what to do!' Naturally, I was flabbergasted by his drastic personality conversion. Not only that, I believed my brother had lost his virginity way before I did. That's an upstage.

That's how our lives continued. Of course no one could mess with the last born, so our mother ignored his flaws. Yet, I was the one that had to stay on track. I was the one that needed to find a career, I was the one that needed to be the man, and I was definitely the one that needed to keep this family moving. So, I entered college with a scholarship, and I ended up meeting Wes. At first, I thought this kid was a snob and had a golden spoon fed to him. He was of privilege, but, we ended up becoming the best of friends. He helped me to come out of my shell a bit.

Still not finding a balance in my life, I am conditioned to be a ruthless police officer. Even though my ethics were on the positive side, they weren't the least bit any better than my little brother's. Eventually, we'll get there.

Turning off the shower head, I exited and got ready. Rocky had already left, and I wondered if he had even taken a shower. He was definitely an unsanitary kid sometimes. With my regime in place, I shaved a bit, put on some deodorant and cologne, and then I placed on my undershirt and boxers. After that, I dressed into my uniform, and I was complete. I made sure to clean the coffee pot, place a new filter in, and I exited.

Inside of my cop car, I turned on the heater. Angel Grove never had snow, but that didn't stop the frost from accumulating on the windows. And then, the call came in.

"ALL UNITS, THERE'S BEEN A HOUSE FIRE ON 2008 OCEAN'S BLUFF AVE. I REPEAT, THERE'S BEEN A HOUSE FIRE ON 2008 OCEAN'S BLUFF AVE. PLEASE REPSOND IMMEDIATELY."

Shit, I could never get a full break. I turned on my sirens, and I left to the house. On my way there, I phoned my partner.

"Wes, this is Eric, come in." I linked to him.

"Yeah, Eric, this is Wes. Did you hear?" He referenced the incoming warning on our intercoms.

"Are you heading over there?"

"Yup, as of right now. I'll see you there." He ended it.

This must've been an accident caused by a little punk. It's winter, fire places were readily available for use, and with adolescents experimenting with cigarettes and acting careless, I wouldn't be surprised that a freak accident could occur.

Xxxxx

2008 Ocean's Bluff Ave.
Angel Grove, CA

Holy shit were those flames huge. I was shocked by the height of them, and even more shocked to learn a pregnant woman was trapped inside. Immediately, Wes and I jumped out of our police cars, already there were the firefighters and an ambulance on the scene. Emergency personnel, it was great to see the camaraderie.

I knew if I wanted to be killed then I should jump into the house to save her. However, that wasn't my job. That was the captain of the firefighters,Carter Grayson's job. The scene's perimeter had several people surrounding it. I did the natural thing and forced people back. Next, I inquired about what happened.

"Do you know what happened?" I interrogated a neighbor. She shook her head, answering with extra words I didn't care for after her first response.

Wes went to the other side to see if he had any luck. He wasn't fairing any better than me.

I took a different approach and hoped the person behind the call was present. He or she should know a little more information, but then again I was only rationalizing.

"I need to know who made the phone call!" I yelled for their attention, and no one gave me some. I was beginning to get aggravated with the bystanders that were sprawled all over this scene.

"I made the call." I heard a male teen's voice say. The tone of the voice sounded awfully familiar, taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I ended up facing him.

This was just not my day. My douche of a brother placed me in a compromising position by having items that aren't supposed to be in our home- in our home, this gruesome house fire came about, and now, the rebellious kid that spitefully chucked eggs at my ride was facing me. As my God given right, I narrowed my eyes at him. "I remember you. You're the dick that threw eggs at my cop car." He is exactly like my brother, I thought, as he became angered.

"That's not important!" He shouted at me, someone of authority, with disgust. "Look, you need to check who's in there!" I should've sent him to juvenile hall instead of his house that night.

"Go back to where you came from!" I bellowed with no remorse. Behind my back, he could've came at me, he could've tossed the middle finger, or he could've ignored me, fucking shit, I didn't care. I had to get some answers, so I went to the other witnesses.

Gratefully, the woman was salvaged from the fire's wrath. Carter had to be burning in there with his protective gear and the scorching temperatures. Of course, he collapsed to the ground and undressed. If he didn't then he would suffer from heat exhaustion. Something occurred next, and damn it, that made us responding personnel look bad. Carter and the paramedic were arguing, well, rather Carter was scolding the paramedic.

I approached them, leaving the watchers to themselves, and I noted the apparent signs of alcohol use by the paramedic. As I wished to, I headed to my car to get a breathalyzer. His movements were sponataneous, a little too spontaneous, and his words were very incoherent. Before I could issue my little black box, he hurried out of there with the woman in tow.

I turned to Wes. "Are you crazy?" I questioned his motives.

He looked at my gravely. "I know, but there was nothing else we could do. She needs to be there." He guiltily observed the ground.

I placed a few pats on his back, and we worked together to clear up the scene. Carter and his team distinguished the fire as quickly as they could, while Wes and I continued to ask more questions. Eventually, the news crew came, and so did the chief of police. They told us to go back to the precinct, so we could start on the paperwork. We sorrowfully nodded and prayed for the woman and her baby to be okay.

"Hey, maybe I should head to the hospital." Wes offered, and I agreed.

"Alright, I'll see you later." I told him.

Xxxxx

1998 Karovian Ct.
Stone Canyon, CA

By this time, I was starving. My stomach rumbled with those garbling noises, and since my brother's work had delectable goodies, I decided to head over there.

Now, Stone Canyon was actually not far from Angel Grove. The distance was truly only seven and a half miles, and for a bike rider like Rocky he could tolerate it, but for a bus rider or a walker, yeah it did take quite some time. However, for a driver like myself, it was definitely no problem. However, there are people that love to be lazy and have things delivered to them. In my opinion, they are called jerks with no common sense.

On my to the bakery, I noted three people talking. The scene looked rather odd to me, and none of them were screaming or anything like that, but I still stopped none the less. My jurisdiction doesn't uphold here, but I was still an officer.

I got out of my police car, and I approached them confidently.

"Excuse me, is there a problem here?" I asked sternly.

Three pairs of eyes, of various colors, surveyed me. For one of them, the lady with blonde hair and brown eyes, she shook her head and opened up her mouth.

"Sir, there is no need for your help. Besides, aren't you a little out of your jurisdiction?" She questioned, but I felt threatened by her. The tone was so rude.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my pride a little hurt. "I was just asking if there was a problem."

"And I'm taking care of it." She relayed, slightly enraged with my presence.

The other woman and the guy with two toned hair snickered at me. My eyebrow rose at them, and I swore they whispered derogatory names about me. Understandably, my arrogance was definitely shot to the ground with their abrasiveness and the blonde started it. She reminded me of the drunken paramedic. Since, I didn't get to use my breathalyzer before, I exercised it now.

"You, come here." I pointed to the blonde. She then used her index finger and questioningly pointed to herself. I nodded. "Ma'am as on officer of the law and probable cause, I need to subject you to a breathalyzer test."

"Excuse me?" The other man asked, shocked by my words. I nodded accordingly. "You can't do that. All she was doing was her job."

"Yeah." The little woman nodded. "I accidentally hit his car with my car, and she came to check out the damage." She piped up, and I stared her down. If I hadn't known any better, she cowered from me gazing at her.

Of course, I got an intrusive call from Wes. "One moment." I notified them, and I headed to my cop car. They weren't exactly discreet with their words, but I couldn't ignore Wes' need for me. "Officer Myers." I answered, while observing them. They didn't exactly portray hooligans, but their characteristics proved otherwise.

"Eric, you need to come to the hospital." His pitch forlornly updated me on the condition of the pregnant woman.

I cursed under my breath weightily. Without a word, but with lots of obnoxious sounds, I drove to the hospital. I wanted to get to the bottom of this fire. For some odd reason, this woma and her baby were put in severe daner. Another thing I wanted to do was let Rocky know what's happened.. He needed to know that careless acts were preventable, and that we needed to cherish life. He needed to stay on the straight and narrow instead of the beaten path. I had come to be such an erratic person because of our upbringing. In no way shape or form, was I trying to disregard my brother's needs or the people around me. Possibly, it was time for me to rethink my ways.

But damn it, fucking shit, this had to come at the wrong time! I never got my fucking baked goods.

Alright, so I should start rethinking my ways for tomorrow.


Up Next: Chapter 10- Taylor Earhart-Mitchell, the Frigid Middle Child