Chapter Eleven. 'This lesbian shit is intense.' Truer words were never spoken. Thanks for all your support. I hope you enjoy. As I've been going back and reading through past chapters I'm findings typos that annoy me. I'm trying to correct that. Anyway, let me know what you think. I know this thing is escalating but I warned that it was a rollercoaster. Thanks again.
Beer. Just one or two. Just to de-stress after the emotional events of the day. Making Chloe cry had a bigger impact on her than Gail would have liked. She kept picturing the scared, confused girl and her heart ached. Gail decided that she absolutely hated being a good person who had real friends. Caring sucked.
The Penny was nearly empty (not quite five o'clock pm on a Tuesday will do that) and Gail was glad to see it. She pulled a stool up to the bar, ordered her usual micro-brew and sighed. Getting caught up in other people's drama was not something that Gail was used to. She didn't regret broaching the subject with Chloe; she knew that it was necessary even if it was temporarily painful, she just hoped that it was the shortest kind of temporary, for Chloe's sake.
In the four years that Gail had known Chloe, she had never seen the bright, sunny girl so broken up. Her pain was evident, had been emanating from her in the interrogation room. That was not something Gail ever expected from the girl. Chloe had gotten broken up with, divorced, shot and stuck in a burning building but Gail had never seen her as scared or upset as she had today.
"I think your friend's here," Louie, the old bartender said casually, setting down her beer and tearing her from her thoughts. He motioned down the bar and Gail followed with her eyes.
At the end of the bar, alone, sat Frankie, staring into a glass and seeming smaller than Gail had ever seen her. Obviously engaged in her thoughts, it seemed as though Frankie didn't realise that anyone, let alone Gail, was even in the room with her.
Gail resisted the urge to say, 'Oh, she's not my friend,' to Louie and opted for a simple, "Thanks," instead. She looked down the bar for a moment in an attempt to assess the situation. Three empty glasses in the area of the bar around Frankie. A nearly empty glass in front of her, her hand around it. Her eyes cast downward, into the glass, staring off blankly. Whatever the circumstances, they weren't good.
Gail sighed heavily to herself. She had come to the bar to momentarily forget about the drama of others. It would be so easy to sip her beer and pretend that Frankie wasn't even there; the woman certainly wouldn't be seeking her out anytime soon. She could finish her beer, buy a six pack and slink away and Frankie would be none the wiser.
But that would be wrong.
Damn caring.
"What's up, Anderson?" Gail asked casually as she and her beer made their way to the seat next to Frankie.
"Oh," Frankie sighed out, nodding slightly at Gail.
"Now that is a warm welcome," Gail chuckled, seeing something beyond irritation in Frankie's eyes.
"Sorry," Frankie said blankly.
"Seriously, what's wrong, man?" Gail was beginning to get genuinely concerned. The last time she had seen Frankie today, she and Chloe were happily sitting at her desk, smiling, laughing and touching as usual.
"Mind your fucking business, Peck! Haven't you gotten it through your head yet?!" Frankie turned like a rabid animal. Her voice was quiet but held enough malice to frighten Gail a little.
"Frankie, you and I used to sleep together," Gail said flatly, not letting Frankie's defenses get to her.
"I know, Gail. I was there."
"We may have never really liked each other that much, but I still know you," she told her, gaining an eye roll and the final swig of her drink in response.
"Yeah, right," Frankie spat.
"I know that you're hurting right now. I don't know why you're hurting. But you get extra mean when you're hurt, not when you're actually angry," Gail told her.
"What was that I said about minding your fucking business?" Frankie said facetiously, most of the venom gone from her voice. She raised her hand, signaling for another drink.
"So what happened? Last time I saw you everything seemed good."
"Nothing is ever good, Gail. You of all people should know that," Frankie told her, gulping her fresh Long Island.
Gail was contemplative for a moment. This was bigger than she knew. Possibly bigger than she could handle. She wanted to get more information from the detective but knew that it wouldn't be easy. Such a dramatic change in her demeanor in less than an hour could only mean one thing: Chloe.
"Did something happen with Chloe?" Gail asked softly, knowing it would be the absolute wrong question to ask, one way or another.
"Yeah. You made her cry," Frankie said sternly, not bothering to look away from her drink.
"I didn't-" Gail sighed loudly. "I didn't make her cry, Frankie. I didn't mean to..."
"I know," Frankie nodded. "I was ready to whoop your ass but she swore it wasn't your fault. Said you were being a 'good friend'," she added with finger quotes. She downed the rest of her drink and shook her head, hard, eyes watering. "I fucked up, Peck," she said, so quietly that Gail barely made it out.
"How?" she asked, equally quietly.
"She..." Frankie swallowed hard, shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut, motioning for another drink. "She was so sad, you know? And like, scared. And she actually admitted it and I just...froze."
Gail knew fully well that she ultimately had no idea what had transpired between Frankie and Chloe. Evidently they had seen each other after Gail spoke with Chloe, though. Had Chloe admitted that she was afraid of whatever it was to Frankie as well? That's what Gail understood but Frankie was getting more and more intoxicated and she didn't know what to assume anymore.
"What do you mean, you froze?"
"I couldn't... I couldn't say anything. I couldn't react. She just, like, she threw me for a loop or whatever. I... I didn't think-" Frankie stopped, looking to the ceiling for a moment. Gail followed her gaze but couldn't seem to find what had caught the woman's attention. She waited. "I didn't think she'd bring it up. Maybe ever." Frankie finally admitted. "And then she did. And I wasn't prepared. And I didn't know what to do. So I didn't do anything."
"What did you say to her?"
"Nothing. Not a goddamn word. I tried. Nothing came out. And she got so upset. And then she didn't say anything. And she cried harder and she just ran away," Frankie chugged some more liquor and rested her head onto the bar.
What the hell had Gail gotten herself into?
xxx
Normally in this situation, one person would comfort the other; put an arm around them, offer a hug, anything to show their support for a sad friend. But Gail and Frankie were not 'normal' in any situation. Gail was at a loss.
The moment was (happily) interrupted by the sound of The Penny's door opening, two familiar police officers entering the bar. Their eyes immediately went to Gail and Frankie (not that they would have known Frankie, as her forehead was still flat on the bar top) and they approached.
"Hey, we know you," one officer said cordially, walking up with his buddy. "Fifteen, right?"
"Loud and proud," Gail said dryly. She wasn't a fan of small talk as it was, particularly not in this situation. Frankie hadn't even lifted her head yet.
"Yeah, that's what I hear," the other officer chuckled.
"Witty," Gail rolled her eyes. "Twenty seven, I assume?" she asked, knowing the attitude and reputation of the division.
"'Loud and proud'," one of them mocked. "We sent you guys Price a few years back."
Gail noticed that Frankie lifted her head slightly at the mere mention of the girl's name.
"You did. That was a good trade," Gail told them honestly.
"Yeah right," the second officer scoffed. "We were trying to give her away."
"To whoever was stupid enough to take her," the other officer added.
Frankie was sitting straight up at this point, her back still to the officers. Gail tensed at the energy she was emitting alone.
"We're just glad the dumb bitch waited until she was at Fifteen to get shot in the neck."
Before Gail could blink, before the sentence was fully out of the officer's mouth, Frankie was on her feet, in his face, hand around his throat.
"What the fuck did you just say?!" she growled, her intoxication no match for her anger.
"Whoa, Jimmy, we got a live one here," the officer who wasn't being accosted chuckled at the skinny girl wrangling his partner.
"Don't touch me, bitch," the officer spat, smacking Frankie's hand away from him with ease.
"You need to watch what you say and get the fuck out of here," Frankie told him, backing him up with each word she spoke. She may have been skinny but she was scary when she was mad.
"Frankie..." Gail said quietly, knowing that no matter what she said Drunk Frankie was in no mood for rationality.
"Price is a good cop. And she's a good person. The fact that her name even came out of your mouth disgusts me," Frankie said, pushing him hard in the chest and causing him to stumble backward.
"Jesus Christ, lady! Calm the fuck down," the officer said, straightening his shirt and looking around, embarrassed. He may have been an asshole but he knew not to hit a woman. Right now he wished he didn't have those morals.
Frankie groaned loudly as a searing pain shot through her skull, her eyes beginning to water.
"Just watch your fucking mouth," she said, much more quietly but still with hatred.
The two officers made their way to a table, mumbling about 'Crazy bitches from Fifteen' as they wandered away.
"Assholes!" Frankie grunted, punching the bar top way too hard.
"Anderson, calm down," Gail said, trying to think of ways to diffuse the situation. "I didn't know you knew about Chloe getting shot," she added calmly, hoping to distract the fuming woman.
"Scar," Frankie said quietly, running her finger across her own neck, exactly where the scar fell on Chloe. She dazed out for a moment before snapping back, punching the bar again, just as hard.
"Detective, you're going to need to either calm down or leave," Louie said softly. He had watched the exchange between the two divisions and was going to let it go but he couldn't have anyone damaging his property.
"Yeah, Frankie. We should get out of here," Gail said, watching as Frankie's knuckles swelled, although the detective didn't seem to notice.
"No. I'm finishing my drink," Frankie shot, picking up her almost full (and seventh) drink.
"Frankie-"
"I said I'm finishing my drink, Peck. You wanna go, go. You're not my fucking babysitter."
"I can't leave you here like this," Gail reasoned stupidly.
"I got here myself, I'll leave myself. When I want," Frankie told her, back to staring at her drink, her leg shaking uncontrollably.
"You fucked up your hand..."
"Fuck my hand!" Frankie yelled, punching the bar top again.
"Alright, we're going," Gail said, tossing a few bills onto the bar and standing, putting her hands on Frankie's shoulders in an attempt to guide her.
"Don't touch me, Peck!" Frankie spun around, losing control as her head reeled.
Gail closed her eyes and sighed deeply. This wasn't something that she knew how to control, at least not from Frankie. 'What would Chloe do?' she thought to herself. Chloe was the only person that could handle Frankie. Gail bit her lip, annoyed with herself. She intentionally calmed and turned back to Frankie.
"Alright, I'm going to go to the bathroom. Give you a few minutes alone to chill out, okay?" Gail told her, watching as Frankie stared off and drank some more.
"Whatever," Frankie grumbled.
Gail made eye contact with Louie, silently saying 'Watch her', and he nodded in response. She walked to the back hallway, phone already in hand. She hated herself for doing this. Not as much as Frankie would hate her, but she could live with it. She didn't have any other choice.
Chloe's phone rang five times and then went to voicemail. Of course. If Frankie was in this state Gail couldn't imagine what Chloe was going through. She dialed again. Five rings. Voicemail.
"You need to text or call me right away. I'm at the Penny and Frankie is a mess. Literally. And I think she has broken knuckles." - Gail texted directly. She imagined Chloe getting that text and freaking out but that was something that she'd have to worry about later.
She dialed again.
"Gail", Chloe answered on the first ring, obviously having read the text.
"I'm sorry to do this to you, I just don't know what else to do," Gail said, exasperated.
"Take her to the hospital," Chloe said plainly.
"I can't take her anywhere, Chloe. She's like a rabid fucking elephant!"
"I can't help you, Gail."
"What do you mean, Chloe? What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"Look, if she's that upset, me showing up is only gonna make it worse. You know that," Chloe told her sadly.
"No, I don't know that. She needs you, Chloe. She fucked up with you today. She told me she did-"
"She did?" the girl interrupted, surprised.
"Yeah, and she almost choked out a guy from Twenty Seven for talking shit on you." Gail heard Chloe chuckle through the line. "No, Price. I mean she had her hand around his throat, almost choked him out. It wasn't an expression. I need you here."
"Shit..." Chloe trailed off, no longer finding it funny. The line was silent for a moment as she took it all in. "I'll be there soon."