“Get up, I wanna go back to my place.” Jason says.

“But the party’s not over babe, also I thought we’d hangout another night, I wanted to go back to my dorm maybe..” Nelly sets down her red cup on the kitchen island. She looks on at Jason with big puppy eyes hoping to persuade him to stay a little longer.

“I said, let’s. Go.” He retorts back as he grasps her wrist and begins to pull. By the way she winces, I can tell he’s trying to bruise.

“Jason stop, you’re hurting me!”

“Then get moving!”

He leads her to the front door and out onto the porch, much to her friends dislike as they come trailing after her.

I get up from where I’m seated to follow the small group when I get pulled back by my partner, Will. “Don’t rookie. You know we can’t interfere with their actions, only witness the events that precede. That’s your job as a Watcher.”

“That man’s going to hurt her, I read tonight’s report, you don’t expect me to just sit here and watch her die do you?” I say trying to free myself from his grip, but he only persists by tightening his hold on my shoulder.

Will walks in front of me to block my view, “Look, you’re new and I get it. I used to feel the same way when I died and got assigned as a Watcher, but not getting attached to our assignments makes the job easier on us. You need to learn to let it go and do your job, for your own mental sake.”

I hear her giggle as she exits while waving to her friends on the way out, Jason’s grip still tight on her wrist. She stumbles a bit as they walk into the darkly lit streets away from the party.

Will releases his grip on my shoulder, straightening his suit while pulling out his notepad and pen. “Alright, come on. Let’s get going, we need to trail them until 2:08am, when it..happens…so we can fill out the report, we’ll be done for the day after that.” He swiftly leaves out the front door as the couple did, and makes a slow stride down the street in their direction.

I follow in pursuit at a fair distance, trying not to think of what we’ll see tonight. The acts we’ll have to witness as another person leaves this miserable world. I think of all the assignments after tonight, all the heinous reports we’ll have to make. I think of how many nights it’ll take for me to become as numb as Will.