Help Me Heal

Chapter 15

Hank had calmed down by the time Kalinda arrived. Calm or not, he wasn't going to quickly forget the way Erin had lied to him. It was totally out of line on her part, and out of character too. At least, out of character for the Erin he had known years ago. In her defence, he did believe that her apology had been since, so in time they would be able to move past it.

For now, it was time to put that unpleasantness out of his mind. Kalinda had just sent him a text to say she was outside. It didn't escape Hank that she had chosen to do that rather than come to the door. Perhaps the frosty interaction between her and Erin a few nights ago was the reason, he suspected. There was another owed by Erin for that incident.

Positive thoughts, Hank told himself. He didn't want to spend the evening with Kalinda in a bad mood.

"Have a nice time," Erin said, seeing Hank off at the front door. There was still some awkwardness between them after the heated bust up earlier.

"I will. Have a good night," Hank replied as he grabbed his leather jacket and headed out the door. There was a car parked a couple of houses up the street, headlights on. The lights flashed, confirming that it was Kalinda's car.

Hank walked over to the car, putting his coat on along the way, and got in. He was greeted with a warm smile by Kalinda, along with her ever-delightful accent. "Hello. You look very smart this evening."

"And you look... stunning," Hank replied, feeling unhappy because the word he had chosen hadn't done her justice. Kalinda's makeup was on point, and she was dressed in a smart dark blue winter blazer and black pants. Sadly the other leather items this time were boots and gloves, but that was a lot better than nothing. The frustrating hairstyle persisted. He thought that he was simply going to have to get used to that. Seeing it let down would need to be considered a special treat.

"Thank you. Although you didn't sound sure," Kalinda was saying with humour as she got the car moving.

"Oh, I'm sure about how you look. It was an adequate word I was struggling for. Didn't find one."

Kalinda glanced at him with a cheeky smile on her face. "There's a romantic in there somewhere, Hank."

"Not much of one," he assured her. "So, what can you tell me about this apartment we're going to see?"

"Did I tell you it's owned by a friend of my friends who I'm staying with?"

"You did. And you said he's making sure you get first refusal on it."

"That's right. He called me today and said he'll offer me a lower monthly rate too, plus the place comes furnished. The guy's really doing his best to help me out. That's ideal for me as my previous place was furnished also. I don't have much stuff of my own. With all that taken into account, I don't think it'll be easy to turn this place down, unless its a real dump."

"Then we'd better have a careful look over it to make sure it's not a real dump with a coat of new paint over it."

Kalinda glanced at him and smiled. "Exactly why I asked you to come. No doubt you have a better eye for it than me."

"I'll give it my best shot," he promised.

-----

The journey to the apartment block in question took less than ten minutes. Hank had known that ahead of time thanks to the car's satnav display. The location was quite convenient, making it easy for him and Kalinda to drive to see each other whenever they wanted to.

It was a relatively small apartment block, only three storeys high. Maybe twenty years old, Hank guessed. Not in the best area of the city, but certainly not the worst. It was on a relatively quite side street too – a big bonus when living in a city.