Unbreakable

Chapter Three - I'm Fine

The smell of coffee brought me out of my sleepy haze. I blinked my eyes as I took in my surroundings. I'm still in the office, I fell asleep at my desk. Looking up through sleep filled eyes I saw Nathan standing over me, holding the cup of coffee that smelled absolutely heavenly right now.

"Hey." I grumbled through my sleepy voice.

"Hey, I figured you slept here last night so I brought you a coffee." He set the coffee down on my messy desk, sitting in the chair thats placed in front of my desk. I took the first sip of the coffee. Letting the flavors roll over each of my tastebuds as I leaned back into my chair. "Mmm, cream and two cubes of sugar." I smiled to myself.

"Of course!" He said, almost amused. "After four years of being each others partners, I think I have your coffee order down by now." He chuckled as he watched me hold the cup of coffee close to my chest. I could feel the heat from the cup warming up my breast bone.

"Have I told you that you're my best friend lately?" I whispered, before downing another mouth full.

"Not nearly as much as you should, and it hurts!" He placed his hand over his heart and bent forward dramatically. Always so dramatic. I rolled my eyes at his performance. "Idiot." I murmured. To which he took a graceful bow.

He looked at me for a moment before finally speaking, a sincere tone taking root. "But seriously though, are you okay Spencer?" Nathan knew of my childhood and experience in high-school. He was one of the first friends I ever made when I moved to D.C. to pursue my dream of becoming a Federal Agent. He helped me overcome my stutter, taught me how to stand my ground, and helped me overcome a lot of the anxiety that town left me with. Always patient and understanding, I honestly don't know where I'd be in life without him. He has had my back since day one. A kindness I'm not sure I'll ever be able to truly repay.

"I'm fine Nate, it's not a big deal."

"Are you sure? You always said you'd never go back to Jacksonville so I -"

"Nate!" I interrupted him. "Look I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. That was years ago, It doesn't get under my skin anymore." That's a lie, it does get under my skin. Just the thought of having to go back actually makes my skin crawl. The thought of having to see my parents, see the people who tortured me in high-school, it was all just to much to process. Jacksonville was the kind of place that just sucked the life out of you. For whatever reason, most people didn't leave Jacksonville. You're born there, and you die there. That wasn't going to be me, I always had this nagging gut feeling that I was destined for bigger and better things than Jacksonville could offer me.

"Besides we're going there to investigate. It's not a social visit, we're there for an assignment. Nothing more, nothing less."  I stated matter-of-factly, hoping he would just drop it then and there.

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" He shot me a sympathetic smile before sipping on his own coffee.

"I'm not worried Nate. It's just another assignment." I smiled, although the fact that my chest was tightening every time I thought about it told me that this wasn't just any other assignment, but I'll be damned if I let my insecurities get the better of me.

"Great! Then you won't care that our flight is first thing tomorrow morning then." He arched his brow at me.

"T-tomorrow?" I breathed out. My stomach turning with a twinge of nausea at the thought of it. He nodded his head with an amused look on his face. "See you at the airport, partner."

****

I flopped onto my bed, staring up at the slow whirling of my ceiling fan letting the dread sink in that by this time tomorrow I'll be back in Jacksonville. I looked over at my packed suit case with disdain. My body felt like it was collapsing in on itself while I processed everything that had happened in the last thirty-six hours. I hopped off my bed and reached underneath it for my shoe box that kept parts of my past inside of it.