Truth and Lies

Chapter 21

** JJ's POV **

"He's mad, isn't he." I said when Emily came back.

She looked like she'd been crying. "Yes, he is. He liked you a lot, and I knew that. I betrayed him when I kissed you."

"Emily, I haven't told anyone about this. I guess you may have realized now, but I'm not straight. I'm bisexual."

"Actually, Jayje, there's something you should know."

"Yeah, what's that?"

Emily paused before answering.

"We already know."

I was so shocked I couldn't respond, but Emily saw my face. 

"No, it wasn't like that. It was something you said on camera when you were abducted. John was on top of you and you started shouting at you, and you said you were gay."

My face went a beautiful shade of beetroot red. "I didn't want you to find out like that." I said after a pause.

"We know you had your reasons for not telling us. Morgan didn't take it well at the time."

"I think because I thought that you'd all look at me differently. I know what men do when they see me, I know how they look at me. I just thought that people would treat me differently afterwards."

"Oh, Jayje." 

Emily's arms were soft and comforting as we hugged and she told me that everything was okay. I was starting to worry about something else.

"Emily, are you straight?" I couldn't stop myself.

She broke off the hug and picked at her finger nails before looking back at me.

"Honestly, I don't know. When I was younger, my mom and I travelled a lot so I didn't really have time to properly fall in love with someone. It wasn't until I settled down in Georgetown that I started to really like people. My roommate was a girl called Anna, she was originally from Russia. We got very close and people used to think we were a couple, because we went everywhere together. She left about a year after, her family went into hiding after being threatened by a Russian mafia. I guess I never really thought about my sexuality, because I had no reason to question it. Until now."

We kissed again and I smiled as we parted. 

"Emily, I've been waiting for this moment for so long." I said, and she nodded. "But I have to talk to Morgan. I can't leave him like this."

"He's probably on a mission at the moment. But you can text him and he'll come when he's finished."

"Where does he work now?"

"SWAT. Strauss' idea."

"Section chief Erin Strauss, right?"

She nodded happily. "Yup. I'm really glad you're alright, JJ."

"Me too." 

** Morgan's POV **

My phone vibrated and I sighed. That better not be Prentiss, I thought as I opened the message.

Hi Derek, I'm feeling a lot better now. Do you want to come and visit? I have something to tell you.

J x

I was torn between going and forgetting about her. But I couldn't push her from my mind. As I left the compound, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I realized that I'd driven straight to the hospital so I couldn't really turn back. I still want to hear what she has to say.

"Hey." I said, leaning against the door frame.

"Hi." She said shyly. "Come in, I won't bite." She laughed nervously, and I sat down.

"Jennifer, I..."

"Derek I'm sorry. Emily told me about the video, about what I said. That wasn't how I wanted it to go. I didn't want to tell you like that, and I certainly didn't want you to hear about it from someone else, let alone the internet. It is true, I'm bisexual, but more female-oriented. The only reason that I didn't tell you all straight away was because I was scared that I'd be rejected. It didn't go well when I told my parents, so I was just worried that you'd all look at me differently." She said, trying not to cry.

"Hey, it's alright, Jayje, I'm sorry I left. It was just hard to take in."

"Oh, and don't be mad at Emily. She was so conflicted, and she told me about what you said. I do still care about you, Derek, but not in that way. We're family, and we always will be, okay?"

I nodded and smiled at her, and she wiped the tears from her baby blue eyes.

"Now I gotta get back to work."

"Still kicking down doors, right?" She laughed as I left.

Walking out of the hospital, my heart felt so much lighter, and I could finally breathe properly. Just talking to her and listening to her made me feel so much better.