Jackie wasn't exactly too keen on walking into the bathroom, she had a pretty good idea who it was she went home with and if the scratch marks on her back were any evidence of it, she wasn't entirely sure how she was going to approach this either. How do you handle a one night stand with a man who hates you? If it was Kevin, it would be in her house and the fighting would likely start after an uneasy breakfast, once the girls were out of the house and couldn't hear them anymore. If it were Coop, as soon as she woke up she would have been out of there, gone home and washed every inch of her body. And that wasn't because she didn't like him but it was a professional likeness, she tolerated him. But she knew, once she'd really started to think about it, where she was. Even though how she got there was still up in the air a bit.
Cruz had taken her by the arm and her immediate reaction had been to hit him, though of course she tried not to act on her first thoughts very often, especially when they led to some kind of abuse of a person she worked with. And especially him.
"Have you lost your mind?!" She had exclaimed at him fervently.
"You've been calling my son's phone? Who the hell do you think you are? You are not his mother; you're not anyone of any importance!"
"Yes…yes I've been calling Charlie's phone. The only person who could come anywhere near to where I am in my life was a teenage kid denounced by his father!"
He had looked like he was going to hit her, his brow furrowing though he didn't. And somehow that surprised her; honestly it almost let her down. It had been months for her, the stress with Kevin, the constant badgering from Eddie, her best friend had moved and while she had the attention of a good man she didn't think she deserved him because of everything she was, everything she could be at the drop of the hat.
He took her arm again.
"Get in."
That black SUV again, they rode in silence as he took her back to his apartment. The man had never once tried to figure out where she lived and maybe, as she thought about it now, that was a good thing. When they had reached the condo, he'd gotten out and so had she, he motioned for her to follow him, which she did though hadn't the slightest idea why. Once inside the door the two had stood in silence, contemplating one another, one beast staring down the other before Cruz made the first move. He walked into his kitchen and poured two glasses of straight whiskey from under the counter.
Silence remained between them, she had taken the drink and sat, with that characteristic sideways, though attempt to be comforting, smile on her thin lips, watching the man as he drank. He'd finish one, wait a moment, she'd finish hers, and he'd pour another. This continued until the bottle was empty.
One thing about being an addict is the ability to hold your substances, she was intoxicated but not far gone enough to not be able to walk out of the house yet. Of course, he had driven, so she'd basically be getting a cab home. She had gotten up to move when Cruz had caught her, once more. Though this time his massive hands were in her hair, his lips were on hers crushing them and forcing her into a situation where she felt she had to struggle to catch a breath. She had tried to push him back but there was desperation in her as well. Mike Cruz was just another broken soul struggling to find something that would take the pain in his heart away, even for a few hours. She gave in to him, submitting to him.
The sex was rough, it was violent and by the end of it the two had fallen in a heap of sheets and pillows onto his bed, the silence spreading between them once more.
What now?
That was the thought that hit her as she was pulled into sleep last night and the thought that was in her head now as she walked into the kitchen to find their glasses still on the island, along with his belt and her scrubs' top.
"What now?"