Don't Open the Door for Strangers

Matt was pacing in the living room when Jimmy walked in.
“Do you want to explain this to me?” the police officer demanded, holding up the spiral notebook.
Jimmy’s stomach dropped, and anger flared up inside of him.
“You snooped!! You said you would never do that!!” Jimmy yelled at his guardian.
“I didn’t intend to! The cop in me took over.” Matt explained.
“That’s not an excuse! You invaded my privacy!” the teen yelled.
“It’s a damn good thing I did!! Im not letting my sixteen year old go on a wild goose chase for some psycho, and you’re not even sure if he really is the guy who murdered Shelly!!” Matt replied.
“How would you know! You weren’t even there! You’re not my mother, and Im not your fucking son!!” Jimmy yelled back, and took off upstairs.
Matt reeled. That stung. It was almost as if the teen had actually assaulted him. Matt felt tears well up in his eyes, but he held them back. He was a grown man for christ sakes.
He and Jimmy had had their differences over the years, but never had they been this hurtful. Both men had a short temper, which never ended good. Usually it was Matt who flew off the handle, but this time James had beat him to it.
Once upstairs, Jimmy slammed his door shut and jammed the knob with his desk chair. He grabbed his back pack and shoved as many articles of clothing into it as he could. He also retrieved his num-chucks from beneath his bed and threw those in the bag. He then threw open his window and climbed down the side of the two story house. Once on the ground, he sent out a text message to Jack and Austin.
It read, “meet me at the pier in 10.”
***
Jack and Austin sat on the pier, their feet dangling towards the water and waited. Neither knew what was going on, and weren’t sure what their best friend was up to.
“Wab do yuh fink Jibbeh wabts?” Austin attempted to say, his mouth full of hot dog.
“Dude say it, don’t spray it!” Jack shouted, wiping chewed up hot dog off of his face.
Austin swallowed and spoke again.
“I said, what do you think Jimmy wants?”
“No idea. But I hope its something exciting! Im bored.” Jack replied.
Jimmy stepped onto the pier and searched for his two best friends. There was barely any life to the warm spring night, but Jim spotted two tall and slim figures sitting on the edge of the wooden dock.
Austin Carlile was the, next to Jack, closest friend Jimmy had. He was seventeen, had chin length brown, almost black hair, a couple tattoos and was almost six feet tall. He had lost his mother as well, but in a less aggressive way, and later in life, and was almost a brother to the black haired teen.
"Guys, over here!" Jimmy shouted.
“Hey Jim, What’s going on?” Austin asked, running over to him.
“Matt found my notebook and tried telling me I could find this guy.” Jimmy explained.
“Well Jimmy you gotta admit, this is a little crazy.” Austin stated.
“Maybe, but I'm not going to rest until this asshole has paid.”
A dark look fell over Jimmy’s electric blue eyes. The look concerned Jack and Austin.
Jimmy lead the boys down off the side of the pier and onto the warm sand, they walked under the board walk and to a small shelter.
Walking underneath the beam, Austin hit his head, causing Jimmy and Jack to bust out laughing.
"Fuck!" Austin cried, rubbing his noggin.
The guys sat down and Jimmy emptied his bag onto the towel covered sand.
"Dude! I didn't know you could use num chucks!" Jack exclaimed excitedly and twirling the wooden bars around, then hitting himself in the head with them.
"Jesus, can't we go one night with out likely some brain cells!!" Jimmy yelled, beginning to get frustrated at the lack of progress.
"Jim lighten up. We aren't gonna catch him tomorrow." Austin offered, trying to calm his friend down.
The sixteen year old sighed and turned away from the other two.
"you don't think I don't know that? I can dream can't I?" he said brokenly.
Austin threw his arm around the man he thought of as his little brother.
"Jimmy, you're not the only one who's lost his best friend." he sighed. "My mom was my everything."
"I'm sorry guys. So are you with me?" Jimmy asked.
"Hells yeah." the two other boys said together.
***
Matt laid in bed, wallowing in the hurt his adopted son left him with.
What could he do to fix this?
In the cop shop today, he had searched the records for 'men with scars' and had printed off a few pictures that matched Jimmy's claims.
Sure, when the accident happened, the police had takes a sketch, but where that had gone over the years nobody knows. The case wasn't even underway, having been so long ago. But Matt never forgot about it. Never. He wanted the fucker who killed Shelly Sullivan to rue the day. She deserved that.
Shelly Sullivan had won over Matt's heart the day she walked into the 3rd grade. With her long chocolate waves, strawberry scent and green eyes, she sat next to the little boy Matt.
"Hi, I'm Shelly." she said sweetly and smiled.
Matt melted under her pearly white smile and beautiful sea green gaze.
Throughout elementary and middle school Matt followed her around like he was on a string. He beat up many guys, and watched as his best friend developed curves of all sorts and turned into the dame he loved with all his heart. But it would never be his. He took her to homecoming 9th grade year, and that's when Brian Haner walked in with his shiny tuxedo and spiky dark hair. He left Matt fuming on the bench while he spun Shelly around on the dance floor. Then they disappeared afterwards. Matt knew, but chose not to acknowledge, the heinous activities they did after.
Ever since then, Matt could never win over Shelly Sullivan, not that he ever could. Then after they graduated, she got married and moved away. But Matt always kept tabs on her. When she got a divorce and moved away with her son, he moved to her city and enrolled in the police academy. One day, he showed up on her door step in uniform after a late shift.
He remembered it like it was yesterday.
"hi Shelly."
"Matt?" she gasped.
"Hey." he simply said, blushing.
She giggled. "I missed your dimples." she poked him in the cheek.
He grabbed her in a hug, enveloping her in his huge arms and she snuggled into his chest.
"I'm sorry Matty." she whispered.
He turned her face towards his and did something he'd been longing to do for almost 10 years, he kissed her, with so much passion he was sure the street lamps behind them would burst.
She took his hand and lead him to her bedroom, where they did the unspeakable, something Matt wished they could've done a long, long time ago.
They fell asleep wrapped in each others arms.
The next morning at the breakfast table, he met Jimmy. Her beautiful blue eyed, black haired six year old boy. He went to play in the living room, and Shelly sat a big plate of waffles down in front of the police officer.
"Shelly?" he asked shyly.
"Yes Matty?"
"I love you. I've loved you since 3rd grade." he spoke with all of his heart.
She dropped her sons plate of cut up waffles.
"Matt I think you need to leave."
The words were like a slap in the face. His heart broke in two.
He gathered his uniform and left, leaving behind the love of his life.
The next day, she was murdered.
Matt shook himself from the memory, tears streaming down his cheeks. He put his face into the pillow and cried himself to sleep, something he hadn't done in ten years.