Chicago Love ✔️

Chapter 39: Bruises

The week had come and gone, and the pair were reunited - just like they wanted to be, this time in Miami, Florida. The week had gone quickly for Alex with not a lot of responsibilities. 

The same could not be said for Hailey, as she wished the past 48 hours had gone by a lot quicker and easier. She had not shared the reasons with Alex, not feeling as they would be the best to share over the phone either by text message or phone call. "He'll start panicking and worrying too much," was what she kept telling herself. It was why she hadn't shared the events of the past week with Intelligence with him, but knew he would find out eventually. 

She feels his arms wrap around her as soon as they enter the motorcoach together, sinking into his arms with ease as she felt so safe so close to him and away from everything she knew. But yet she couldn't but feel a bit of apprehension in the slight tension she was feeling, the ache creeping in more with having not relaxed all-day between catching her flight and hanging around on pit road through practice and qualifying.

"Are you okay?" Alex asks, noticing the difference in her behavior immediately. Normally by now, both of them would have removed each other's clothing and tossed it over every single inch of the motorcoach with a promise to clean it up later. But yet they seemed to be moving a lot slower than normal. "Is there something that you want to talk about? Is something wrong?" 

"I'm fin-" She goes to say, but everything about how her body flinched against him tightening his grip in the hold around her told him that was a lie. His anxiety was pegged as he looked into her eyes, seeing a storm brewing. He could see pain laced in there. He could see concern. He could see anger. Had he caused all of those emotions? What was going on? What had he done? 

"No, something is going on. You have flinched against my touch ever before, Hailey. Please tell me what is going on..." Alex felt his own breathes begin to come faster, so many thoughts flashing through his mind. He could already see her leaving the motorcoach in a fit of tears. He could already see his heart broken into a million pieces. Why couldn't he had left things be? Why did he have to push the envelope and ask her to be his girlfriend? They were fine a week ago before he asked that.

"It has nothing to do with you. You have done nothing wrong, Alex. My feelings about you haven't changed one bit. I love you just as much as I did last week, the week before, and all of this time we spent together." Alex heard the words coming from her mouth. He wanted to feel those in his heart, tell his brain that was the truth he was hearing. But all he saw was the stormy eyes before him that told him that was not even close to the truth.

"Then what's going on? Something has changed in this past week..." She nods her head in agreement, as she takes a deep breath. 

She then slips her hands beneath her t-shirt, slowly pulling it up. She then winches a little as she pulls it up over her head and tosses it aside. She then turns her back to face him, taking a deep breath as she does so in awaiting the reaction she knew was to come in a matter of moments once he laid eyes on the marks that remained from the week that was. 

"Hailey..." was all that escaped him as his eyes scanned the full length of her back, noticing the red trail of bruises that ran from her shoulders down to her waist line. Some of them darker than others. He knew what back pain was like. He knew how bad it could be. Every bit of sympathy poured from him as his eyes looked on in pure horror. "What the hell happened? Who did this to you?" 

"We were chasing a susp-"

"Please tell me Hank kicked his ass for this!" That brought an immediate smile to her face as she remembered the scene that unfolded once Hank found her and the suspect together, realizing what he had done to her. There was one thing everybody knew - you did not lay a single hand on any one of the members of the Intelligence Unit. If you did, you would be answering to the boss and he did not play nice.

"He did not just get a few punches from Hank, but I'm pretty sure Jay almost knocked the guy out when he grabbed him. The bruises came when he caught me off-guard slamming me against a set of stairs, followed by picking me up and slamming me against a wall numerous times." Alex could only shake his head in disbelief as he finally allows his hands to reach out, slowly running them down her back. He feels her flinch a bit against her touch, knowing he was the same way when she offered him a massage after his wreck. It was the fear of not wanting anymore pain in knowing that could not be handled, but yet relaxation in knowing what could be offered with a set of tender hands.

"Why didn't you tell me? How am I just finding out about this right now?" He then begins to lightly rub her shoulders, followed by using the very tips of his fingers to run down her back in wanting to offer a bit of comfort. "When did this happen? Is that why you haven't texted me, except to confirm you were coming to Miami?" 

"I didn't want to worry you more than I had to. I knew you would panic about it in not being able to be there with me, and truthfully, it's part of the job. I'm okay, Alex..." He wasn't about to accept that as he knew she was just trying to make it easier for him to handle. The stormy eyes from earlier, and the flinches told him more than she could in those words.

"You're lying to me, and that's okay. Because no matter what you say, I am going to take care of you tonight."