Chicago Love ✔️

Chapter 57: A Cup of Coffee

Erin takes the cup and sets it down before Alex, watching as he takes a sip of the hot black liquid inside. She noticed his face immediately, and chuckled a bit with his reaction. It didn't matter how much you liked or drank coffee, there was nothing that could prepare you for what police station coffee was like.

"Not the taste you were expecting?" Erin questions as he nods his head, setting it back down on the table before him. "Yeah, can't say we have the best tasting brew here or any police station for that matter. I thought the FBI would have better tasting coffee while working for them, and boy was I wrong. It tasted much worse. I think I found myself dumping half the jar of sugar into the cup." 

She then allows her eyes to watch him more closely, noticing he was focused on the cup and not a single word she was saying. It wasn't like they knew each other anyway. It wasn't like they had ever shared a conversation before. Truth be told, she was once worried that his teammate would cost her an investigation that she had been chasing for months. 

"Are you okay?" She finally breaks the silence that had come over the room, catching his eyes in return of the question. She tried to get a read of him, normally able to read people as soon as she laid eyes on them. It was one of her best qualities as a detective as she could always use it to get the information she wanted. It wasn't like she was feeling too good about what she was seeing in return. 

"Should I be worried about what Adam said?" He questions, his voice barely above a whisper. The coffee didn't matter. The room didn't matter. The company didn't matter. The comment made by Adam was the only think he could keep thinking over since he was ushered into the break room by Erin, after Hailey had been called to Hank's office. What if there was a matter of truth to those words? What if that was what Hank and Hailey were discussing next door? What if this trip had been worth nothing? 

"Truth be told, I don't know...." Erin lets out a sigh as she sits down, thinking back through the past couple of months. 

She and Hailey initially were good friends and started to form a bond when she joined Intelligence. Of course, Erin leaving Chicago shortly thereafter broke any chance of that happening. It had also hindered the relationship, in Hailey holding a resentment towards her in what followed with Jay after she left. 

Of course, did it help matters now that Erin and Jay were back together? Probably not. They tried to pretend it did not affect them and did their work together in the unit as they would prefer. They tried to pretend it had no affect in the conversations they shared. However, they both knew they were lying to themselves the entire time.

"I haven't been close with Hailey since I came back to Chicago," Erin confesses as she thinks back to the couple days spent at Alex's house. "You remember she ran out of your place that morning and headed back to Chicago after Jay confessed to her that he was still in love with me. Things have not been the same between us since then." 

"She blames you for the break-up and the divorce ultimately," Alex concludes, to which Erin stops herself from reacting much in return. She did not want to force a wrong feeling on her shoulders just based on what she was feeling in her gut. "It makes you wonder if things would be different. Would they be together if given the chance? What are her feelings for him?" 

"That's for you to talk to her about, Alex. You need to ask her how she still feels about Jay and everything that happens if you are so curious and don't know those answers." Erin takes a deep breath, wishing someone else would burst through the door right now. This was just every level of awkwardness. Kim was excited about meeting Alex from all the stories Hailey had shared. Where was she right now? "If Adam's words are getting under your skin, then you need to talk to her about that. You need to tell her that they bothered you. You need to get her to tell you her feelings. You need to find out where she stands about you and this relationship." 

"I thought our relationship was going well and great. I thought we had a future together. She was actually looking at possible job opportunities in North Carolina a couple weeks ago in my office. What if that was wrong?" She watches as he takes a nervous deep breath, keeping her eyes focused on him. Seeing the look on his face, she could only think about the look she had seen on Hailey's that morning compared to moments ago.

"She walked into the office today determined, ready to solve the case, get to work, but yet missing a piece of her it seemed. When she walked up those stairs with you by her side, you could see her light up immediately in being excited to see you. That has to say something, right? The fact she is thinking of taking her life across the country to be with you more and the fact that you change her whole attitude have to mean something." He nods his head in agreement, liking the assurance he was finally feeling from Erin in return to his nerves and worries. Maybe he was panicking for nothing.

"I didn't mean to throw this all on you toda-"

"You don't need to apologise. We all have things that make us anxious and panic. I have my own triggers with regards to certain cases and certain people that cause me to act the same way. Don't ever apologise for being you, Alex." Her comment brings a small smile to his face as he finally looks at her straight in the eyes for the first time since being handed the cup of coffee.

"That's a two-way street. I've heard that your life hasn't always been easy. Don't let that change who you are. If Jay cares about you the way he does, then you have to be awesome."