Midnight Rain; Cordell Walker

vi. cordell

As Cordell watched Celisa close the door with her body, holding tightly onto the crate of work, he bit the inside of his cheek and waited until she walked the sidewalk to where her apartment was. When she was out of sight, he started his truck back up again and backed out of the parking spot and left, thinking back to that night a month ago.

It was the night he came back from bringing back Micki from her case when she was undercover. He had just gotten home when his phone started ringing and Celisa's contact came up on his screen. She never called him for anything. He didn't answer it at first and told himself that if she called again he would. As soon as he declined it, she called again, so he immediately knew something was wrong.

He was indifferent when he answered, only demanding why she was calling, until her breathing trembled from crying and she started to explain what happened.

Billy was Cordell's friend from school. Billy eventually went on to date Celisa when he knew Cordell liked her. Cordell didn't like her anymore, but when he did, he was pissed. It's not like he could do anything either. Celisa only knew him as the guy that hated her for no reason.

So Cordell had no choice but to let them be together, which would eventually lead to them getting engaged. Shortly after getting engaged, Celisa fell pregnant and that's when reality hit that Cordell was never going to have her, so he moved on and found his feelings towards Geri.

But when she called, she had been sobbing more than anything about how Billy was angry at her and she needed help. How something happened and she needed to be taken to the hospital. Cordell didn't waste another minute before running out of the house and towards his truck that night.

He'd often think back to that night she needed him. It was the first time he had actually seen how much she trusted him, how much she really needed him. It wasn't that she didn't rely on her family for stuff, because he knew that she relied on her extended family, but she decided to rely on him. Him, that obnoxious guy who picked fights with her any chance he got, who annoyed her like crazy.

When he remembered that night, it made him wonder just how much he had changed, and how much Celisa had changed, too. The fact that she relied on him when she usually didn't rely on anyone was so surprising to him.

❀❀❀

By the next day, he was grumpy that he had to leave his house so early, but dealt with the deck he was given. He leaned against his truck, watching as Celisa she came out of the complex. He gave her a shit-eating grin, not moving as she grimaced upon approaching him.

"You look a little too happy to see me," she comments, crossing her arms. "What's the occasion."

"You really couldn't give me that little moment before you started questioning it?"

"Since when do I let you have that?" Celisa questions in return.

"You're impossible."

"And you're holding up my day. Let's go, chingado."

"Yes, ma'am," he grumbles, leaning off the truck and opening the door for her before walking around the truck to his own side.

During the drive, they both remained silent, only watching the road. He kept to himself, tapping his thumb to the beat of the song playing on the radio before he began the way to the Side Step. "Gotta make a pitstop," he comments, turning onto the road.

"The Side Step?" She questions. Of course she would know the way to get there. Her and Geri are practically glued to the hip when she's not working.