Hell's Angel (BK 1)

Untold Truths

Alison's POV
(bellamysgirl)

I barely slept at all. I never do when I'm not at home, but especially knowing that we still hadn't found Dani. We still had no other evidence than a good hypothesis and a cell phone. That wasn't much. It was seven AM when I finally decided to call it quits on trying to sleep. My whole body felt stiff, like I hadn't moved in ages, swinging my legs off the bed. But I heaved myself up and ambled into the living room. Matt looked to be in some kind of half-asleep, half-awake state on the couch.

I tried to back track as quietly as possible, tip toeing to the bathroom. Thankfully I'd stopped by my apartment before coming here last night and I picked up a change of clothes—a clean pair of dark jeans and an olive blouse. Button ups were more my speed. T-shirts felt too loose, too lazy. Jeans were fine. I could work with jeans. I instinctively locked the bathroom door once I was in, then started the hot water. I let it heat up a minute while I peeled off my grab-n-go clothes.

It's like the fabric had melded into my outer layer of skin. It made it a bit odd-feeling to pull them off but I managed it fine. As soon as possible, I stepped into the shower. I just stood there, let the hot water pinken my skin, roll down my spine. Then I let it soak through my hair to my scalp. It rolled over my face and for a moment I could blissfully close my eyes. But the moment was soon passed and I had to get going. Chase was still with Mary at Dani's building.

He had to go to school today—there was no way I was keeping him home from school another day, not for this. So I put on my clean clothes and towel dried my hair as best I could, then go to the living room. Matt was sitting up now, staring in the coffee table's general direction with a blank look on his face. He looked almost glossed over. I stopped to stand by the first chair. "Hey. How do you feel?" I asked, gently. It was kind of a stupid question, but I needed to know if he needed pain meds.

He readjusted his position a bit, inhaling. "Physically or emotionally?

"Physically," I loosely crossed my arms.

"I'm alright," he answered, tipping up his chin a bit. "How are you doing, with all of this?" I didn't know how to answer that. I know I should say that I'm doing okay, that I'm holding up, holding out hope. But, honestly, I feel like collapsing and never getting back up. I feel like crawling in a hole and forgetting I ever had any part in this. I shrugged a little. "Fine, I guess," I finally answered.

"Have you talked to Foggy?" he asked, a certain edge of hope to his voice.

I shook my head, sadly. "No. I'm going to check on him later, see if he's drunk himself dry yet." I started past to the kitchen/dining area and stopped at the table. I grabbed my phone off of it and dropped it in my purse before pulling the straps onto my shoulder. "I've got to take Chase to school, check on Foggy, and then I'll be back. Do you need anything while I'm out?" I asked, absentmindedly checking the fridge's contents.

"No, thank you, Alison," he answered, bleakly.

"Okay..." I stopped mid-room, trying to think if there was anything else I needed to say. "If you need me, just call, okay?" I saw him bob his head in a jerky nod and I exhaled. "...I'll see you when I get back." I then turned and hurried out the door. The drive was quiet, being by myself. I had no desire to listen to the radio and I never had any interest in Chase's CDs. So it was a short ride. I pulled up outside Dani's building and cut the engine.

I pulled on my jacket before sliding out, shutting my door behind me, and then hurrying up to the door. It was a bit chilly today—and it looked like it was about to rain—so I pushed through the door. I closed it with a sigh, shaking off my chill. And then it was up the five flights of stairs. Honestly, how big of a building did she need for a PI office?