How It Should Have Been

Chapter 3

Hailey rolled over in her sleep, wanting to get closer to her boyfriend, when she realized it was empty. She passed her hands over the mattress and found it empty and cold. She sat up and checked her phone for the time, 8 PM. Looking around the bedroom, she found no signs of Jay. His phone and watch were gone, and the T-shirt he had slept in was thrown over the bench at the end of her bed. She got out of bed and went to the kitchen to look for Jay. The living room was empty, and Jay's keys were gone. He must have gone out for a bit. Hailey rummaged through the fridge, looking for anything to eat. She was not in the mood to cook anything and just wanted something easy to heat up. She gave up and settled on a granola bar. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and read through some news and emails. She had a few texts, but they were mostly useless. She came across a text from Adam.

Adam Ruzek: Hey! I don't know what happened after you dropped me off at Kim's, but I sense you know something about Roy or where he is. Voight still won't pick up my calls, and you were the last one to see him. What happened?

Hailey froze. She didn't know what to say. She hadn't told anybody what had happened and was scared too. Voight had told her he would handle it. What did that mean? How was Voight going to make this situation any better? The team will soon realize Hailey is hiding something, especially Jay. She didn't know how long she could hide this from everyone. Hailey soon realized her finger was hovering over Voight's contact name. She needed answers. Voight couldn't keep her in the dark with something this big. Hailey clicked on his name and put her phone to her ear. Voicemail! Damn it. She tried again. Straight to voicemail.

"Hey, you're awake." Hailey jumped. She spun around and saw Jay placing his keys on the table with a bag in his hands. Hailey tried recovering from the startle, but Jay had already noticed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, I just didn't hear you come in." Jay walked towards her, giving her a kiss on the forehead, and placed the bag on the table. "Where did you go?" Hailey asked with a soft smile.

"Dinner run. You literally had nothing in your kitchen that was appropriate for dinner."

Hailey chuckled, "Yeah, I have to go to the store tomorrow."

"How long have you been up?"

"Not long, maybe a half-hour." Hailey watched Jay as he unpacked their dinner. "How about you?"

"I got up around 5, but I didn't want to disturb you so I got up and went for a run."

"In the burning sun?" Hailey asked sarcastically.

"It wasn't that hot, plus I have been working on my 'golfer's tan'." Hailey chuckled and played with her phone in her hands. "Anyways, I got back, showered and decided to go on a food run." Hailey nodded. Jay walked towards the fridge to grab a drink. "You want a beer?"

"Umm.. actually, I think I'm gonna take a shower before I eat," Hailey said.

"Oh okay. I guess I can wait for you."

"I'll be quick." Hailey got off the stool and disappeared into the bedroom.

She must have lost track of time cause when she got out of the shower, she realized she had been in there close to an hour. She quickly got dressed, changed into a hoodie and sweats, and headed out to the kitchen. Jay was on the couch sipping a beer as he watched the rerun of the Cubs game from earlier.

"I thought you said you would be quick," Jay said with a grin.

Hailey shrugged and started reheating their food. "Sorry, I must have lost track of time."

Jay got up and helped her grab stuff for dinner, and the two settled onto the couch, watching the remainder of the game. They ate in silence, focused on the game and the food in front of them, but Jay would glance at Hailey here and there. He knew that they needed to talk about everything. The case, Kim in the Hospital, the proposal. They had a lot to talk about, but he didn't know where to start.

"Is everything alright?" He finally asked.

Hailey turned to look at Jay with a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we haven't really talked about what happened these past few days. Are you okay?"

Hailey knew what he was asking. She was hiding something, and he wanted to know what it was. Hailey knows she can't hide a secret this big from anybody, especially Jay. Jay is the one person that can read her very well. She knows she has to tell him eventually, but what if telling him will ruin things. What if this secret is what breaks them, the relationship, their partnership, their friendship? So instead, she smiles. "Yeah, I'm, okay?"

"You sure, cause you seem quiet ever since you got back from your search with Voight. Did something happen that I need to know about?"

Does he need to know about what happened with Roy? Possibly. Eventually, she will; she just has to wrap her head around what happened in the warehouse. Before she tells him what happened, she needs to talk to Voight and ask for the whole truth. She needs to know that whatever happens, she doesn't hurt Jay or anyone else. "No, I'm okay. I guess I'm just trying to wrap my head around the past few days." Jay nodded, but he seemed to understand that she was hiding something. They both went back to the game and stayed quiet for a while.

"Does your quietness have to do with the conversation we had in the hospital?" Hailey looked over and stared at him. "The Proposal?" Hailey sighed. "Because if getting married is what you want, then we can...." Jay was cut off when Hailey kissed him. It was quick yet sweet.

She backed away and grabbed his hand. "I promise you, my quietness has nothing to do with the proposal. In fact, I thought about it more, and I think you're right. Maybe me asking you was out of fear, a reaction from everything that happened." Hailey smiled. "Jay, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Jay smiled and squeezed her hand. "But getting married is a big thing, and we shouldn't be making any big decisions right now, not when we're high on adrenaline." Jay chuckles and kisses her.

"I love you." Jay pulls her closer, and she snuggles closer to him, laying her head on his chest.

"I know." She knew that there was still a lot to talk about regarding Roy and Voight, but right now, she was happy that Jay was still here holding her. And the rest they could deal with later.