An Unfortunate Mix-Up ✔️

Chapter 34: A Word of Advice

Alex was about to leave the room, knowing they were scheduled to leave Chicago soon to return back to North Carolina. He couldn't wait, knowing it'd be just pure amazing to be back in his own bed once again - surrounded by those pesky pair of furballs.

"Alex!" Jay's call out of his name catches his attention, causing him to stop and turn on his heels. He wasn't about to ignore the words of the man who had saved his life. "Can I offer you a piece of advice before you go?"

"Absolutely," Alex replies, feeling slightly curious yet confused at the same time. What would Jay want to offer advice on, and what specifically? Did it deal with the injury? Did it deal with just having escaped an evil genius?

"I know everything that happened those 36 hours may not seem like anything, you may just brush it off as being nothing. But there's things that you witnessed, felt that you should never go through. Whether you want to admit it, it was a traumatic experience. So do me a favor and talk to somebody, anybody." Alex simply nods his head in response, as he takes a deep breath. He hadn't thought back to that time they spent, not allowing those moments to replay in his mind - the fear that it was the end. Did anybody want a reminder of that?

"Oka-"

"I'm not joking here. Whether it's a friend, a colleague, a professional - someone. Get those feelings out because they will manifest themselves." Jay glances towards where Hailey had returned to the room sitting in the corner, taking his own deep breath as he remembered a conversation they had a while back. "I thought I was strong. I thought I could just fight off everything by myself, get through whatever it is and not have to do anything. I went off the rails on some decisio-"

"He dated a drug dealer that he met in a case," Hailey cuts him off, causing Jay to roll his eyes immediately. How was he supposed to know Camilla's true intentions? He had never seen her deal or do drugs - except the one night in the club when she snorted a little. 

"I didn't know at the time she was a drug dealer until she was involved in the DEA's murder," Jay clarifies, still causing the shocked expressions across the room by those who hadn't heard of the full details. "That's beside the point, oka-"

"You still fucked up maj-"

"The point is my boss referred me to see a psychiatrist to talk about everything in seeing that I was spiraling out of control. I brushed off the first meeting, thinking it wasn't for me, it wouldn't help, I was beyond that." Jay smiles a little as he lets his eyes land back on Hailey once again, "Hailey told me if I didn't take it seriously, that I may need to find a new partner. The fact that I liked working with her - and maybe a little crush, I listened. I went back to the psychiatrist and I started talking. Three, four, five sessions in and I was spiraling out details that I hadn't even thought of. My point is no matter what you think, talking about stuff like this helps. It hurts like hell, and it brings up bad wounds, but it helps. I don't want you to go off the deep end or something because of what happened, because of the world I dragged yo-"

"It wasn't your fault as I told you," Alex insists once again, as Jay nods his head. He wanted to believe those words, knowing that everything fell on Derek's shoulders. However, the guilt in knowing they were targeted because of him still was there. 

"My point is please listen to my advice. Don't battle the tortured mess of this by yourself. Don't deal with the nightmares, the flashbacks, the..." Jay takes a deep breath, as a bunch of things flash before his own eyes, mix of things that had happened. "PTSD is not something that should be taken lightly, and that's why I am putting this out there for you. I know you athletes pride yourself on being tough as nails to the competition, but it's okay to admit that you need to talk to someone, to do something." 

"You don't have to worry about me. I actually have someone that I talk to regularly." Alex takes his own deep breath, knowing he hadn't admitted this out loud much in the past. "I deal with a lot of my own anxiety and panicking over racing, believe it or not. I get myself worked up before races sometimes that I cannot even eat. I get myself bothered by what happened afterwards that I cannot sleep. I went through it brutally when I first started. I finally said something and HMS has people on staff just for that reason. So I speak with them whenever I need to. So when it comes to this, don't worry, I know..." 

"Good." Jay could see the glance that he was getting from Hailey in the corner, knowing he'd be getting a reminder of his own after Alex left the room. 

"Just promise me that you'll do the same thing and talk to somebo-"

"I'm the one giving you the advice here, not the other way around." Alex nods his head, having gotten that clear. However, the glance that Hailey was offering, combined with the let me cover what I am feeling vibe he got from Jay was not stopping his words right now.

"You need to hear it yourself, too. I know you are the cool dude, capable of handling it all, did what you need to do in that moment, took everything. But you cannot tell me that is not bothering you at all. So please do us both the favor and handle it accordingly...." Jay lets out a sigh, knowing that Alex was right no matter what they both wanted to say about the topic. 

"Alright, it's a deal."