𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕: 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩

Vanessa Vaughen

Okay, let's practice one more time... Matthew I'm sorry.

Vanessa looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and planted a forced smile on her face.

"It'll be fine," she repeated for the seventh time since she's been in there. Pacing her steps slowly, she kept the apology mantra in her head.

Just apologize, get yourself together and do your job.

Vanessa was determined to do the last part of the short list but it seemed easier said than done. She walked the rest of the distance and slowed when she reached the hallway to Matthew's office.

She took a breath before knocking on the door but it opened as she raised her hand.

"Oh, hey," he paused mid-step out of the door.

Vanessa was only inches away from him and could smell his dewy cologne wafting in the thin air between them.

"Hi," was all she could mutter.

Being this close, she noticed things about his appearance that she hadn't before. Three top buttons on his white collared shirt was left loose, not his usually two, but three. Was that done on purpose? It appeared as he also hadn't shaved this week as the stubble had become more apparent, Vanessa had calculate before that his usual shave happened once to twice a week. There was also a scratch right on the edge of his jaw near his chin, it wasn't new but was healing already. Vanessa wondered how someone could get a clean-line scratch that way and was about to point it out.

"What's up?" He looked at her puzzled but his lips slightly curved upward. Vanessa snapped out of her observations.

She sighed. "I just wanted to apologize..." she looked up at him, prepared for the worst, "for my teeny outburst earlier."

Matthew rose his eyebrows but smiled, he started to step out of his office. "That's okay," he said, "I'm used to it by now." He started toward the hallway.

Vanessa stood in place. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Apology accepted by the way," he looked back and winked.

She started going after him, quickly pacing. "What do you mean you're 'used to it'?!"

He shrugged, still walking, "I mean, this isn't the first time."

She huffed, "Listen I know I have a lot on my plate right now, and I know sometimes I can..." she tried looking for the right word.

"Lose it?" He stopped and turned around.

"Well... yeah," she looked everywhere but at him. It may have been the truth, but of course she wasn't proud of her recent behaviour.

There was a pause. The office was quiet today. Luckily there was nobody around to hear their conversation. Still, there was a silence that was only between them. They were both thinking but nobody really wanted to say anything out loud. It wouldn't be appropriate.

"You have had a lot on your plate recently," his voice sounded more gentle, his eyes softened.

"Well, so have you... with your windows and stuff," she smiled.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he nodded and smiled back. "Oh, that's true."

"Things have changed a lot, huh," she felt a little bit lighter after saying the words out loud.

"Tell me about it," when he looked at her this time, the smile was almost gone. Enough was said, his face expressed everything.

"Have you heard anything about those kids we dealt with a few months ago?" Vanessa was relieved she could think up of a topic change.

Matthew's facial expression changed, more lively this time. "Oh yeah, well, you know Blake's working here as an intern."

"Oh yeah, I've heard. Is he doing good?"

"So far he's still getting used to things, but I think he's taken a liking to it."

"That's good," she remembered the last time she saw him, how much he had grown and changed after the case closed. It was good to hear he was getting better and in a place that was full of opportunities for him.

"Can't be easy with Bourne being his mentor, though," Matthew said playfully.

Vanessa shook her head, "Yup, I remember those days, nothing like being a rookie. But I'm sure he'll survive one way or another."

Matthew chuckled. "Yeah. He still visits that Jacob kid. Apparently he's in therapy just down the road, I guess he's enrolled in a special program."

Vanessa's eyebrows rose. "In New York? Doesn't his family live over on the west coast?"

"Yup. And that's where his cousin Julia is right now. Although I don't remember hearing how she's been doing for quite some time."

Vanessa shrugged. "Well I'm sure it's not easy bouncing back to normal after what she's been through, especially since Jacob's all the way here, still."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I just remember she seemed to be hung up on that blonde kid... what was his name again?"

"Carmen? Yeah, he was interesting to say the least," she remembered his face clearly. The last time she saw him there were dark circles under his eyes, his hair was a mess and he was clothed in all orange. She didn't know how to feel about the kid or his situation at the time.

Matthew lowered his voice although nobody was around, "I heard the court put him in a psych ward."

Vanessa was surprised. "Really? Why would they do that? I thought he was in jail."

Matthew shrugged, hands still planted in his pockets. "I guess there was more than meets the eye. The kid was practically raised by a psychopath. Everything he knew about life was coming from a man who was this agency's most wanted criminal for years."

Vanessa folded her arms. She kept remembering her conversations with the kid. He seemed traumatized yet some sense inside of him led to the saving of three innocent kids lives. She definitely wasn't an expert, but he didn't seem like a psychopath. He was just a kid that wanted another chance to a good life. Going from jail to a psych ward seemed a bit odd for his case.

"I just hope they're all doing okay," he sliced through her thoughts.

"Yeah, me too..." Vanessa was looking off somewhere in the distance. The wheels started to turn inside her head.

"What are you thinking?" Matthew was getting good at looking right through her.

"You think they would want to help me out with a little experiment? It could possibly help us with our case."

Matthew winced at those last words.

A/N

So far I'm not doing very good at keeping up with my New Years resolution. But someday...

I have plans for this story yk?