Never Going Back/NOT EDITED

Chapter 17

     It was all so...different. I walked into the cafe, and the whole cottage core vibe had changed. When Hailey told me that Lila's relatives would be taking care of the cafe it gave me hope. Like her legacy would be carried on, but this just wasn't Lila's cafe anymore.

     They had changed the antique chairs to sleeker grey ones and they put an ugly piece of modern art where the book shelf used to be. The cafe used to remind me of a fairytale. It sounds cringe worthy, but you could smell the coffee wafting through the air. It was unique and now it was like every other cafe in Chicago. All you could smell was the lemon-scented cleaner.

     "Hey, I'm Cleo. I was friends with Lila", I walked up to the lady at the counter hoping she was one of the relatives.

    "Hi, I'm Shilo. I'm Lila's sister. The Detectives told me everything you did to try and save her. Thank you.", she extended her hand out and I accepted.

     "It's the least I could do especially considering all the good memories she gave me. I hate to be a bother, but my parents are out of town and I broke my phone. Do you mind if I use the landline?", Lila never talked about Shilo, so I'm guessing she had no clue about me or my life. Lying on the spot always came in handy.

     "Oh, hunny it's the 21st century. I got rid of that old thing. Here, you can use my cell", she handed me her iPhone which was of course the latest model.

     I walked into the bathroom and locked the door. Hailey picked up after the phone rang twice.

     "Detective Upton."

     "Hailey, it's me. Listen my boss won't let me meet up at the hospital and I don't want him getting suspicious. Do you remember when I called you to Lila's cafe after she was shot?", I didn't know why I asked. Who could forget that?

     "Yeah, I remember. Why?", she sounded intrigued, but there was also a hint of worry in her voice. I didn't want her to think I was backing out.

     "We can meet here. In a week, so my boss isn't suspicious. I mean... as long as that's okay", my leadership instincts kicked in and I felt bad for giving Hailey orders.

     "Yeah that's fine. It's actually really smart." Smart. Nobody had ever used that term to describe me. I was used to broken, bossy, gang banger, and even slut. I don't know how I received that last one considering I'm 19 and have only been with one guy.

     "Thanks. Oh and one more thing. The lady that works here is Lila's sister, but she doesn't know anything about my past. The only reason she let me use her phone is because she thinks I'm talking to my parents. I think it's a good idea for you an-", Hailey cut me off before I could finish.

     "Cleo, Jay and I have been undercover as much worse than parents. We can do it. See you in a week at 8 a.m. Stay safe okay Cleo?", I could hear people talking on the other end. They must've had a case. 

     "I will. See ya then", I hung up the phone even though I weirdly didn't want to.

     After the call I gave Shilo back her phone and ordered a macchiato. I didn't want anyone asking why I left and if I came back with a coffee they wouldn't. I have two obsessions, books and coffee and everyone in the gang knew that. 

     I didn't have to walk in the alleyways for once. I knew cops wouldn't be following me. I took it all in even though there wasn't much to take in. We were in the outskirts of Chicago and a lot of gangs lurked around here. Still, I could see myself in a couple of months. With a job, with Nathan, and getting to see all the beautiful parts of Chicago I never got to experience.

     Don't let the stress eat at you. Will's words lurked in my head. I wasn't worried about the stress eating at me. I had been dealing with it for awhile, but Nathan hasn't. I could tell his nerves have been at an all time high, and me being distant wasn't helping. You're protecting him. That's the only thought that keeps me going.

     I got back and no one even noticed I had left. There was nothing going on and even if there was I wasn't allowed to "work" until the boss knew I was okay. It was really to make sure I wasn't snitching though.  I decided to read. My books had been collecting dust for so long and I hated it. I loved reading, but recently I haven't found the time.

     I got two chapters in before Nathan walked in.

     "Reading?", he asked as he sat next to me on my bed. "Isn't that gonna make your headache worse?"

     "It hasn't yet and honestly it's nice to read. I haven't found the time recently and I'm glad I finally have. How about you?", I asked and Nathan raised his eyebrow. "What's something you love that you haven't got to do recently."

     "Don't make fun of me", he looked serious.

     "Promise I won't", I held out my pinky and he accepted.

     "I like to play guitar, but as long as I'm in the gang I won't be able to play. We all know the boss hates the noise", Nathan looked outside my window as he talked. It had started to snow.

     "First of all, why would I laugh at that? Second of all, I may be able to pull some strings. You may have not heard, but most people seem to think I'm the boss's favorite."

     "That's because you are", Nathan started laughing as I punched him in the arm.

      "Seriously, though I can try to convince him", what Nathan didn't know was that I'm not gonna convince the boss. He'll just have to wait a week to two until he's completely free from this. Until we are free from this.

     "You're amazing", he put his arm around me as I laid my head on his shoulder.

     "I know", we laughed.

     I spent the rest of the evening snuggling up to Nathan as I read my book.