My Kevlar Surrounded Heart

Murder and Lies

His eyes lit up just like they always do when he laughed, "Now why would I do that?" He got up, and shoved his hands into his pockets, "It'd be way too suspicious. But I do know what the detectives would look for..." he winked at me, a playful smile on his face.
I couldn't help but laugh, "Don't make me turn around and run."
"Oh no, don't do that." I could hear the sarcasm in his voice, "cause I'm totally not taller than you and can easily catch up to you."
I scoffed but couldn't help but laugh, "Alright alright. What's this thing that you have to give me?" I smiled more as I slowly got more excited. Ray has given me things before, but that was for birthdays and Christmas parties at the precinct, it was never out of the blue like this.

"Close your eyes."
"Oh yeah, this is definitely a ploy to murder me." I closed my eyes, a smile plastered on my face. He chuckled, "I'm not going to murder you, Lyra." He took a few steps closer to me, but before I could question anything, his arms wrapped around my waist, and I was lifted off of the ground.
"Ray!" I squeaked out, flailing around as I tried to escape his grasp.
He walked over to the edge of the dock, a smirk on his face.
"Ray, don't you dare!"
"What will you do if I do?"
"I will kill you-"
He laughed more, "no ya won't." and with that, he tossed me into the water. I shrieked as the cold November water cut through my skin.

I wasted no time in swimming back up to the surface, "Raymond. William. Hart."
My anger seemed to just fuel his laughing even more.
I got out of the water and rung my hair out over him; These are the moments I wished I still had my long hair.
He gasped and moved away from me, "Hey!"
"You suck, Ray." I shook out my hair like a dog, "Did you actually have something to give me or was this a trick to get me here?" I wasn't really mad at him; This wasn't the first time I was thrown into the water, nor will it be the last.
His laughing calmed down and the bright smile he had on before shifted to a small sheepish smile, "No, actually." He put his hand back into his pocket and pulled a box out, "I uhm... I thought you'd think it was weird if I just gave it to you, so..." He handed the box to me and turned back to the water. I could have sworn I saw a light dust of pink on his cheeks, and I couldn't help but smile at his embarrassment; I loved that about him. The fact he got embarrassed so easily and how his cheeks would go pink every time he did.
I slowly opened the box, my hand shaking from the chill of the air. Inside the box sat a necklace with a golden key hanging off of it. I gasped and covered my mouth, "Raymond this... this is so pretty." I looked over at him.
"I... I thought you'd like it. I was going to wait till your birthday, but it felt too far away to not give this to you."
"Ray I... I love it. Thank you."

Tears fill my eyes as the memory slowly fades away. That night had been one of the happiest nights, and ever since then, I haven't been able to wear that American flag shirt; Not because it had been ruined for me after his death, but because it holds such a strong memory that I didn't want to replace it with another one or accidentally wash it away in the washing machine.

"Lyra? You there?" Dan asks me.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." I took a step out onto the dock.
He raised an eyebrow but didn't question further, "So what are we looking for?"
"Anything that can tell us that it's really Ray that we're dealing with."
He nods and starts looking around, "How are you handling all of this?"
I just respond in a shrug, looking through bushes, "Right now I'm not thinking about it too much."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm... we're not even sure if it's really him, which it just can't be."
"Are you sure...?"

"Do you really think Raymond would fake his death?!" I snap.

Dan sucks in air as if I just punched him in the chest; we were all close with Ray, so the thought of him faking his death was... a sore subject for all of us, "I don't know, Lyra, all I know is that if this is him, then I'm sure he has a reasonable explanation for all of this."
"Reasonable?! Dan, if this is him, he faked his death and left his friends to wonder if he was dead for 2 years, then showed up because of a murder case!"
"Lyra, I know that it was hard for you, but I know Ray. He wouldn't do anything without a reason."
I scoff because I knew... know ray too, and Dan is right, he has a reason for everything, but I can't think of any reasonable explanation for any of this.

We search for about half an hour with no luck, till Dan suddenly says, "Lyra, you have to come see this."
"What's up?" I walk over to him and gasp as I see what he was looking at; A wallet that was laying on the ground, devoid of money, but a driver's license clearly sitting in the clear pocket

Raymond Willam Hart.

I cover my mouth with my hand as I shakily pick up the wallet, the numbers of the expiration date screaming out at me;

Expires: October 30, 2023

That date... it means he got it renewed last year.
He's alive.

Raymond is Alive.