As she sits on the edge of the awful salmon color bath tub. She stares off blankly, the crimson red letters spelling out 'I found you' written on the wall in her bedroom at Hank's house, its all she can think about, the image burned into her memory. The timer on her new phone goes off, breaking her from thoughts momentarily as she stands to rinse her hair. Once she's done, she rubs her towel back and forth quickly all around her head. Then she looks at herself in the dimly lit motel bathroom. She decided to dye her hair, from the natural brunette color, to a dirty blonde. She also cut a few inches off, so it came to rest on her shoulders, instead of going past them. She'd hoped it'd help hide from him. The whole reason she was doing this, was to get away from him. She just hoped their plan of getting away would work, and he wouldn't find her. She grips the edge of the sink so her knuckles are turning white. She feels sick, she's nervous, and scared. She takes a deep breath, before she walks out of the bathroom, to find Hank; a man who has been like a father to her for the last ten years, is talking to a guy she's never met before.
"Erin, this is Antonio, I worked with him when he was a rookie, back in Chicago, until he decided to move with his family here. He's good police, and I trust him. He'll be taking you the rest of the way." Hank says
"How long do I have to stay there?"
"Erin we've been over this, you'll stay there until we catch Charlie." Hank answers, he walks over to where Erin stands next to her German Shepherd, Chance. The ninety pound dog has never liked Hank, or any man for that matter. Erin blamed Charlie and his friends for tormenting him when she first found him as a malnourished puppy, five years ago. Chance had never bitten anyone, and usually stopped growling, when Erin would say his name. But tonight he wasn't having it and wouldn't allow Hank to come too close to her.
"Alright, I'll stop here." He says to the dog now standing between them.
"I'll keep in touch with Antonio, we won't stop until we get him."
"Ok, I hope you find him soon."
"We will, just think of this as a little vacation."
"You know I've always been a home body."
"I know, but this is the safest option for you."
"Yeah."
"Take care kid, I'll see you soon."
"Thanks Hank." She says, tears in her eyes, being a street kid, not much scared Erin, but this, leaving Illinois, leaving her life, and going to northern Wisconsin, scared the shit out of her.
XXXXXX
Erin's POV
I try to take a nap, in hopes that when I woke we'd be there, and the seven hour drive would be over. But between Chance's panting and Antonio not so light singing, I can't seem to calm myself enough to just close my eyes and go to sleep. His singing isn't bad, but the song he's singing along to isn't exactly a lullaby. I let him finish the song, before I reach for the volume and turn it down.
"So Antonio what do I have to look forward to in…"
"Hayfield, and it may not seem like much at first, but it's a nice town, it's pretty small, so everyone knows each other." He says, and I gulp, not liking the idea. 'Its just temporary Erin' I say in my head.
"I know it probably sounds scary, but everyone will accept you quickly. It only took my family and I a few weeks to fit in."
"How long have you lived in Hayfield?" I ask
"Five years."
"I feel like this going to be exactly like being the new kid at school." I say and chuckles.
After that its quiet again, and I turn the radio back up a little. I tap my fingers, against the door, to the beat, as I look out the window. At some point I fall asleep. Unfortunately when I wake up we are stopped at a gas station. When Antonio gets back in the car, he looks down at his phone intently.
"Hey how was your nap?"
"Ok thanks, umm how much longer do we have to go?"
"You were out for a while, so we only have about a hour and a half left, and then you'll be at my partner's house."
"Partner? I thought I'd be staying with you or Al."
"No sorry." He says, and I was hoping he was going to elaborate on why, but he doesn't.
"But at least he's a Halstead." He adds after a few minutes of silence.
"What does that mean?"
"The Halstead's pretty much own everything up there." He says, and I just nod, still not quite sure why that matters to me.
XXXXXX
"Are you serious? Come on Uncle Al, why are you punishing me?" Jay said as he walks into his Uncle and Sergeants office
"Oh I don't know, maybe because you've averaged totaling a car a month, and you've only been on the force three months." Al answers
"Only one of those accidents was my fault, and I was in pursuit of a suspect, I was too caught in the moment to remember to put the car in park."
"I don't care whose fault it was. Either you watch this girl, or you can ride the desk. Its up to you nephew." Al says to him, and Jay rubs his face letting out a frustrated groan.
"Who is this girl again?"
"Erin Lindsay, same age as you, she's my old partner from Chicago's daughter."
"And why is she being brought here?"
"She's been being stalked by her ex boyfriend, he was supposed to be serving a life sentence after killing Erin's best friend 4 years ago, Erin testified against him."
"Ok so if he's in prison, why does she need protection?"
"You don't listen, he was supposed to be serving, but he escaped about a month ago, and they haven't been able to track him down. He's left notes at her apartment, made phone calls, wrote in blood on her childhood bedroom wall….Its just until they catch him Jay"
"Got it. Where am I babysitting?"
"The cabin."
"What?"
"She'll be safest with you at all times."
"Fine, is that all?"
"Here's all the files, read up, Antonio text, ETA is nine, that gives you an hour. I'll be by later to check on you." Al says, and with that Jay leaves the station. He drives home to what used to be his grandfather's home, a place he always loved growing up. He likes to believe that's why he left it to him, when he moved out. As he walks into the cabin, he's greeted with his Collie, Carly. He places the files on the counter, and says hi to Carly before he goes to take a shower. Once done, he throws a pair of sweatpants, for going a shirt until his guests arrives. He dives into the files his uncle gave him, and skims through them as he walks to his room. He sits them on the desk, as he sits on the chair next to it not taking his eyes off the paper. He's almost through all the papers when his phone rings, and Carly tilts her head at it, as it vibrates next to her. He walks over to where he left it on the charger on his bed. Antonio's flashing across the screen.
"What's up Dawson?"
"Can you come open the door, we're freezing out here."
"Yeah." I say hanging up, and walking through the house to the front door. I open it to Antonio, and standing right next to him, is a beautiful and petite women, with dirty blonde hair, and hazel eyes. She stands there with two duffel bags, and a large German Shepherd.
"Uh come in." He says, opening the door a little wider, allowing for the three of them to walk in.
"Jay Halstead." He says as they get into the living room.
"Erin Lindsay, and that is Chance, I hope you don't mind." She says shaking his hand with one hand and pointing at her dog whose busy sniffing Carly, with the other.
"It's cool, Carly will enjoy the company."
"Well I'll let you settle in, I'll see you around."
"Ok thanks Antonio." She says as he makes his way back to the door, and leaves.
"You're probably tired from travelling all day, I'll show you, your room." He says, and picks up the duffel bag that she let drop to the floor. She follows behind him, as he shows her around, before opening the door to what he keeps calling her room. Her eyes widen, as she takes in the room that's bigger than her whole apartment back in Chicago.
"This room has it's own bathroom in the corner. If you need me I'll be just down the hall."
"Thank You." She says, and he nods at her; leaving the room.
She takes a shower, letting the hot water relax her. It seems to work, and when she shuts her eyes letting the water cascade down her face, she sees the blue eyes, and muscular torso, back, and arms of her new housemate. 'Maybe this whole safe house thing won't be so bad after all' she thinks to herself, as she steps out of the shower.
XXXXXX
A/N: I don't know if I should I continue this or not. Please review, let me know your thoughts.