Colleagues

Chapter 9 | Sadie

The screaming on Sunday night was the worst it had ever been. Even with loud music blasting through my headphones, I could hear the fighting from the apartment next door. I debated just leaving the complex altogether, but some strange part of me wanted to stay, to make sure she was okay. As if I had any control over that.

I cringed as I turned up the volume on my headphones, leaning against my chair when the music was loud enough to drown out the awful noise. I already knew I wasn't getting an ounce of sleep tonight.

The shouting continued, and I could make out the angry and condescending voice of Margot's boyfriend. Christian. Who was this man on the other side of my wall? I tried to produce an image of him in my mind, but I couldn't picture a person without devil horns or vampire teeth.

I jumped as the sudden sound of glass shattering pierced my ears. That's it, I thought to myself as I got up from the chair. I was going to put an end to this madness. I approached my door quietly, pressing my ear against it. Dead silence. I slowly turned the knob and stepped out, gasping as I found myself face-to-face with a tall man.

I knew instantly it was him. There was just something about the man in front of me I couldn't explain that made my blood curl. He had feathery blond hair combed in a perfect mess. His dark brown eyes gazed into mine with a mixture of surprise and guilt, but I could sense something sinister about him lurking right underneath his startled facade.

Surprise quickly turned to annoyance as he brushed passed me and continued down the hall, disappearing out of sight. I turned to the closed door of Margot's apartment, debating whether it was justified to go inside. Something was definitely wrong, I knew that. Was she okay? What if she was seriously hurt? No, nobody would leave their girlfriend behind like that. Right?

I held in a breath, approaching the door slowly, my hand reaching for the knob. Every single inch of my body was screaming to see if it was unlocked, but still my brain protested against it. What was I doing? I hardly even knew her. I sighed finally, turning back to my own apartment and entering inside.

"Coward," I whispered to myself as I walked back to my laptop, the sound of glass shattering still ringing in my ears.

~~~

I walked in my cubicle the next day, attempting to avoid Margot's gaze as I entered and sat at my desk.

"You're late, Brooks," she mumbled under her breath with a quiet laugh. "I'm honestly amazed. You're usually 15 minutes early. What's up?"

"Nothing," I said, clearing my desk and preparing to start the day's work. I was still doing everything in my power to avoid making eye contact.

"Okay," Margot stated softly. "Nice jacket, though."

"Thanks," I replied, adjusting the borrowed blazer on my shoulders. I figured if nobody was going to claim it, I might as well. A secret smile formed on my face.

Margot was as enigmatic as a person could be. No one would ever guess the conflict that had occurred last night from her expression right now. Her mood seemed to fluctuate constantly, and I could never predict her next move or action. It was simultaneously annoying and alluring.

"WHAT'S UP SADES?" someone shouted into my ear as I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. I let out a small yelp in reply, blushing as Marcus chuckled behind me.

"Hey Cody, hi Marcus," I said with a sigh. "You scared me."

"Anytime Señorita," Cody replied coyly as he spun my swivel chair around to face him. "Jesus Sadie, you look like you need this more than I do," he stated, placing a cup of coffee onto my desk. "You look tired as hell."

"Thanks, that's just what I needed to hear right now Cody," I muttered, rubbing my eyes instinctively.

"No problemo. But what the heck, Sades? Did you party all night long before work?"

I looked up in time to see Margot tense up across from me. "No- actually it's this Earl Wilson case. It's been a rough weekend."

Cody nodded understandingly. "Well, I'll leave you to it," he replied with a wink, turning to Marcus. The two of them soon disappeared. I went back to my work, relieved that the conservation had finally ended.

I heard Margot clear her throat. "Sadie... Did you hear me and Christian talking last night?" Talking? It didn't sound anything like talking to me.

I felt trapped as I struggled to come up with a cohesive answer. Should I lie? I felt like she would see right through me. But the truth would make things even more uncomfortable.

"You did, didn't you," Margot said quietly after a moment.

"Not much."

"But enough," she guessed. After I didn't reply, Margot narrowed her eyes. "I can't tell if you are judging me or not."

"Trust me, I'm not," I reassured her. At that moment, there were so many things I wanted to say. I so desperately wanted to ask her if she was alright, if she wanted to talk about what had happened last night. But my mouth refused to open, and the words remained unsaid.

"Look, things between my boyfriend and I are not the best, I'll admit it. But that is completely normal." As Margot spoke, her confidence seemed to slowly fade away and she appeared uncharastically small and vulnerable. I wasn't sure who she was trying convince anymore.

"Yeah," I said, my mind again searching for the right words to say and coming up empty.

"You get it, right? I'm sure you're dating someone right now," Margot said with a tight smile.

I didn't appreciate the turn this conversation was taking. "No, I'm not."

"You don't have to get all defensive or anything," she replied with a short laugh, her secure demeanor returning as quickly as it had gone. "I meant it as a compliment." It sure didn't sound like it.

"Thanks," I mumbled uncomfortably.

Her expression softened. "Look Sadie, I get it. We got off on the wrong foot. But if we're going to work on this case together, we should get to know each other. Right?" How utterly ironic. "Wait, did you just roll your eyes at me?"

"Maybe," I replied sarcastically. "It's just, I didn't want us to be colleagues that don't get along. The only person getting off on the wrong foot was you."

"As confusing as that sentence sounds, I get it. I'm not the most friendly of people to be around. I'm not like Cody or you. I don't have many friends at work as you probably have noticed," she said with a dry laugh.

The part of me that wanted to stay annoyed at her faltered. "No, I get it too. It's work, not a freaking sleepover."

"My entire life is my work," she said quietly.

"I get that too," I replied.

A small smile formed on Margot's face. She had a little dimple on her left cheek.

"Look, I'm clearly not good at this. But, could we start over? I think I want to try this again," she said.

I smiled back, extending my arm out to her. "Hi, I'm Sadie."

"Margot," she replied, taking my hand in hers. "Welcome to Parker and Johnson."