It's Always Been You

Chapter 18

-2 weeks later-
** Chanel's POV **

Kelly and I walk into the firehouse hand-in-hand. The second we cross the threshold into the doorway, we let go of each other. We scurry into the locker room and get ready for the day.

After I'm dressed and ready for work, I make my way out of the locker room and grab a bite for breakfast.

"Hey!" Shay says happily as she sits down next to me. "Listen, I know a lot has been going on. I don't exactly know what because neither you or Kelly will tell me," She sneaks in with a sarcastic tone to her voice. "But I say we get together for a drink after shift."

I look over to her and smile. It's hard to not crack a smile at Shay's sarcasm because I totally understand it. I guess that's part of why I cherish her friendship so much.

"Well good morning to you too." I reply with a chuckle as I shove a forkful of eggs into my mouth. "And that sounds great, but can we do it at my place? Pop open a bottle of wine and watch a movie with the kids or something?"

Shay rolls her eyes. "Ugh, you're so old and mom like." She pauses and looks across the room at Kelly then back to me. "But I miss you guys so.." She smirks and I can tell that she sincerely misses us. "I guess I can do the whole mom thing for a night."

"Sounds perfect to me." I smile at her and lean back in my chair, tipping the front two legs of the chair off of the ground.

"So when are you going to tell me what's going on? Why don't you guys come out anymore and why hasn't Kelly left your place in weeks?" Shay fires off her questions one at a time in rapid succession.

I look directly into Leslie's eyes. "The less you know the better, trust me." I say it in a way that makes Shay not badger me about it any further.

"Fine, but you'll tell me eventually." She sighs then takes off and goes to sit beside Gabby.

I chuckle to myself at Leslie. She's quite the character, but I don't want her to get wrapped up in the problems that are my life. I appreciate Leslie Shay because she's the kind of the person that lets you come to her. She's not pushy, and she's pretty good at keeping herself from overstepping other peoples boundaries. Other than Kelly's. Kelly is obviously a different story since he's basically family to Shay.

As I sit and eat my eggs and toast that Peter Mills made, I watch Kelly from across the room as he talks to Matt Casey. They're both laughing quietly and sipping on coffee.

I smile to myself as I watch Kelly's grin finally make its way across his face. After a few seconds of taking it in, I look down at the table and grab a copy of the morning paper. On the front page is an article about the latest spree of killings across south side Chicago.

What creeps me out is seeing the two women who have been victims so far. They both look just like me. With Robert still on the loose, I wouldn't put it past him to have been the one to kill these two innocent girls that I'm reading about in the morning paper.

"Hey, are you alright?" Kelly's voice catches me off guard and I jump a little as I look up.

"Uh, yeah.." I sigh as Kelly pulls a chair out and sits down next to me. From his posture, I can tell that he can tell that I am not okay.

"You have to know that I know you by now, Chanel." He teases as he shoots me a small, lop-sided grin. "Now, come on, tell me what's up?"

I roll my eyes and smile at him. "I should've known better than trying to keep you in the dark." I admit and hand him the newspaper. "Another girl is dead, Kelly. Another girl who happens to look just like me."