After his father's death, Jay starts forgetting which way is up.
Riley wants to be there for him, but is overwhelmed with her fears and the uncertainty of their future together.
Will their relationship be strong enough to overcome all the obstacles...
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A YEAR LATER
It was well into October and Riley couldn't be any happier with the weather. The leaves were falling down slowly but surely after making for the prettiest scenery for weeks. She felt like her wardrobe was made for this weather and so was everything she liked. With her favorite fall drink in hand, she walked up the stairs of the precinct and greeted her coworkers as soon as she stepped foot in the office.
It was different, not having Adam rushing to her side to ask for a sip of her drink - one that he claimed he would never buy before he got a taste of it because of it being too pricey. For the last few weeks, no one asked her for a sip and no one joked around with her about it. It was different here.
She got used to it, she kind of had to considering she'd been there for a while and probably would stay here for some more time. Especially given the circumstances.
And so she sat at her desk, dressed in a fancy new suit with recently cleaned and freshly waxed high heels. She had a new case to chase on her desk so Riley got to work right away. The cases here were also very different from those she worked on in Chicago but different is good, right? At least that's what she told herself each day, trying to see the silver lining in it all. If she wasn't sure before, now she knew that all the fancy stuff - for the very exception of her favorite fall drink - wasn't for her.
Everyone around her knew, but after everything that happened - she needed to find out for sure.
"Hey, Riley." A voice brought her back to reality, a head popping through her office's door she always left slightly ajar. She didn't like having a closed office - she never did, not even when she was a social worker. Riley never needed complete silence to focus so she never found it useful.
"Hey."
"Boss needs you in his office." The young man told her, his light brown eyes looking at her. She smiled at him, thanking him before grabbing her things and heading to her boss' office as asked. He walked alongside her, his office being practically next to their boss'. "How's the boyfriend?"
She looked that at the floor, a shy smile on her lips. "He's doing good. I'll talk to you later." She told him, offering him a sincere smile before stopping in front of the boss' office.
"Hey, Sarge." The young woman greeted, knocking on the opened door. Her boss raised his head, signalling for her to come in. She closed the door behind her, knowing that he would've asked either way. "Chavaro told me you wanted to talk?"
"Yeah, sit down Mitchell." She followed his orders, sitting down with her back straight. "I got a call this morning, after the case I put on your desk this morning - you're good to go back to Chicago." He told her and her heart dropped, she hadn't been prepared to hear that. She thought she'd be here a hell of a lot longer. "You did good work here, Mitchell, very good work. I spoke to your Sergeant back in Chicago and we decided to make your registration for the Detective exam and put out two letters of recommendation. You'll know in the next week or so if you were taken and it'll take place in Chicago, hence why I'm sending you back."
She was surprised to hear that. Riley didn't know why her two bosses would've done that for her, but she was grateful. It was something she always wanted but probably would've never done herself. There was no way they knew that's something she wanted to do - she had only told one person about it.
"Thank you, Sergeant. That means a lot." She thanked him sincerely, slightly at a loss for words.
"The only way to repay me, Riley." He began, leaning forward in his seat. "Is to nail that detective exam." He winked at her jokingly as he shot her a smile. This must have been the friendliest she had ever seen him.
She chuckled lightly and nodded her head. "Will do, boss." She shook his hand firmly, thanking him a final time before going back to her own office to work on what just became her last case in New York.
She wasn't sure how she felt about it, about going back to Chicago so soon.
-
As she drove back home, she stared at the ring mark on her ring finger - rubbing it with her thumb like she used to do whenever she fiddled with the ring that used to be there. Riley sighed at the memory of it, unable to think about it much longer as her phone rang through the bluetooth system. Her finger pressed the button, answering the call.
"Hey, babe." The voice spoke through her speakers, making her forget all of her worries.
"Hey, how was your day?" She asked, a smile on her lips that her boyfriend could undoubtedly hear through her tone.
"It was okay, how was yours?"
"Much better, now." He chuckled at her words, the sound making her heart skip a beat.
"Always so cheesy. When are you coming back?"
"I'm actually on my way right now." She stated, knowing he wouldn't actually believe her as she never got home as early.
"Yeah, yeah." Her boyfriend told her sweetly with a slight chuckle, "I love you, can you call me later."
"I love you, too. I'll call you in a little while." She answered, hanging up shortly after.
The rest of the ride was spent thinking about what a day it had been. Riley learned that she was going to be doing the detective's exam and going back to Chicago. It was a lot to process. Although, she did miss Chicago ; the wind, the food, her apartment, the district, her friends and colleagues, all of it. There was only one person she wanted to share the news with.
But she couldn't.
______________________________________ hiiiiiii welcome to SAFE PLACE. thank you SO much for reading. i hope you'll stay along for the ride! i'm quite excited for this one.
the chapters will be much longer than this one, I just had to set the table.
What do we think will happen in this book? What do you want to happen?
