CHAPTER 1
Something was bothering Alex. Bobby had learned to read her like a book over the past nine years. Although at times he could be as clueless as any other guy and not catch on until after she blew up at him. But usually he was pretty good at recognizing even her most subtle changes in behavior, especially since they began dating a few months before. Now it was like reading a beloved favorite - one you could read a million times and still love it more and learn something new each time. Yes, he could read her, and something was definitely wrong.
Lately, she had left work right after 6, with a quick goodbye and she was gone. When they first started dating, they spent every evening together after work, making up for lost time in a way. But it had been a week since their last "real" date. Of course, they were together constantly during the day, but Bobby loved those stress free moments with just the two of them. He thought she enjoyed them too. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she had finally grown tired of his quirks and had decided she could only take so much at work - forget about volunteering her free time.
Bobby stopped himself. Alex had been trying to break him of his self destructive way of thinking, especially since Frank and Nicole had been murdered, at the beginning of their romantic relationship. But he couldn't help but feel to blame. Alex told him it was out of his control, and he was in no way at fault, along with countless other things that has weighed on his conscience for too many years. He was finally learning to lean on her, and here he was undoing all her hard work, like always. He sighed. They obviously had a ways to go. Alex would tell him if he had done something wrong, right? 'Only one way to find out', he reasoned, as he went in search of his partner before she could get too far.