Wait For Me

Truth Hurts And Lies Kill

A/N Thought I'd post 2 seeing as I might not get a chance for a few days ☺️
Days moved slowly as Connie finally started to work more hours, finding anything to distract herself from the truth that awaited her each night when she went home. The empty house, the memories on the walls, everything she wished had never changed.

Closing her eyes, she rest forwards against the desk letting her head fall to her hands. She was exhausted though she'd never admit it to anyone. A gentle knock at the door caused her to look up as Elle appeared. "Dr Gardner-" "Sorry to interrupt, do you have the files for Mr Hansen? He's been calling for the last hour and is threatening to come down. I thought I'd save you the visit."

Connie flashed a brief smile as she pulled the desk draw open taking them out, her eyes however lingered on what had been uncovered beneath them. Swallowing quickly, she looked towards Elle holding them out. "Here." "Thank you, I'll get them up to his office now." She nodded before looking back to the draw as Elle shut the door behind her.

Reaching into the draw, she lifted the smashed frame from within it. Moving towards the bin, she tipped the glass into it before removing the photograph that it had held. Wandering back to her desk, she sat down staring at the image. The smile upon their faces a far cry from the expressions they wore around one another now. Running her thumb over the picture she closed her eyes turning away feeling the tears build behind her eyes.

"Jacob! I'll be sick if you carry on-" "Okay, okay..." He laughed placing her back down to the floor, standing before her with a smile. Reaching down he took hold of her hands, lacing his fingers through hers as he looked to her. "You really are beautiful sweet cheeks." Colour flushed through her cheeks as she dipped her head to avoid his eyes.

He laughed before looking up across the field. "So when do I stop being your boyfriend and start being your colleague?" "In about half an hour." He smirked as she finally looked up at him, her hair falling in loose curls down her back. Lifting a hand to her cheek he stepped closer to her closing the space between them, his lips pressing down against hers.

Connie moved her arms around his neck as she deepened the kiss, happy in the moment with him. All the stress of the world around her didn't matter whenever they were together. He made everything seem so easy, so simple. She knew that no matter what, she could always rely on these moments with him to reassure her.

The knock at the door pulled her focus back from the photo. Hastily running her hands across her cheeks where the tears had fallen, she pushed the photo onto her desk out of sight. "Come in..." Looking to the doorway, Charlie came inside and took a seat opposite her desk. "Time to talk-" "Charlie there's nothing to talk about." "No?" He raised a brow as she continued trying to lie, but knew that it wouldn't be any good with him.

He watched her carefully before pointing to the image on her desk. "If there's nothing to talk about, why is there a man out there who clearly cares for you feeling like he's not good enough, while you're sitting in here saying you don't care but looking at that." Connie closed her eyes briefly as she leant against the desk. "I don't want to talk about it Charlie-" "I'm sure you don't Connie, but hiding away from everything isn't going to help."

Leaning back in her chair, she caught a glimpse of Jacob standing beside the nurses' station. She wanted to go out there and talk to him, she wanted to somehow make things right between them but that would never be possible after everything that had happened. "I can't Charlie-" "The truth might hurt Connie, but lies can kill you. If you keep telling yourself things are fine, they're only going to get worse."

Swallowing past the lump in her throat she ran her hands over her face. "I want to talk to him, but it hurts too much Charlie. He's just a reminder of everything from before the accident, everything I lost. I can't do that, I can't keep bringing it all up because it's all that I see whenever I look at him."

Charlie watched her sadly, wishing there was something he could have done to help. "Connie, let us help you..." Looking to the window, she saw he had disappeared from where he had been standing and she felt his absence. Looking back to Charlie she shrugged. "I want to forget him, move on but every time I think I might be doing that I want him back."

He smiled briefly before Connie frowned. "You know what that is?" Rolling her eyes she shook her head. "Love." Lifting her eyes back to his face she wanted to argue with him. She wanted to fight and say that she didn't love him, that he was wrong but she couldn't. "And how do you stop it?" "Oh, if we knew that then there would never be any heartbreak in the world." Connie nodded gently as she glanced back to him.

"I wish things were different Charlie, but they're not." He nodded as she ran her hands beneath her eyes as though she were catching the tears before they fell. Noticing the time, she coughed clearing her throat before standing up slowly. "I should be getting back up to Grace." "Want a friend's company?" Inhaling she was ready to shut him out before she released it gently, nodding. "Okay..."

Wandering out of the department, she knew she needed to begin letting people back into her life. It was becoming impossible to do it all alone, and she didn't want to anymore.