The clock on the wall in the living room signaled that it was 22.41 when Jay woke up abruptly with a strangled gasp escaping his dry mouth. With his eyes narrowed, he looked at his surroundings, his living room, and it didn't take long for him to understand he was in a safe place.
Jay was used to having nightmares, he'd been dealing with them for years, especially when he and his team had to work on a particularly triggering case, but this time it was sort of different.
What he'd dreamt involved the usual scenario of him being overseas—it was like he could physically feel the weight of the military gear he used to wear—except, this time Hailey was with him.
She was being tortured, while Jay was forced to watch without being able to save her, or at least try to.
He knew it was just a result of his subconscious playing some evil tricks on him, but the feeling of uneasiness his body was pervaded with felt and was real.
The collar of the blue t-shirt he was wearing was drenched in sweat, his hands slightly shaking.
Jay slowly got up from the couch, emitting a heavy sigh, and pulling his short hair—a gesture he did only when he was in undeniable distress.
In just a few steps he was in the kitchen. He quickly filled a glass with some cold tap water and chugged it down, repeating the action once more, trying to calm down.
It wasn't easy, though. In the back of his mind, Jay was reliving the nightmare he had, and the images of Hailey being hurt were so clear and vivid and hard to forget.
From afar, he glued his now much darker green eyes on his phone, which was placed on the coffee table.
Jay bit his bottom lip, feeling indecisive. He wanted to call Hailey to check if she was alright, but he knew she was out with Vanessa and Kim and didn't want to interfere, especially if it was because of some paranoia his mind had created.
Jay was in his house, in Chicago, and Hailey was at Molly's, having fun with her friends. They were safe, she was safe.
Was she, though? Jay had to make sure.
He walked back to the living room and bent over to reach for his phone. As he was sitting on the couch, he unlocked the device and tapped the screen to go to Hailey's contact.
Jay was ready to dial her number, only he hesitated. He didn't want to sound desperate—maybe he didn't want Hailey to notice that he was indeed desperate to hear her voice—and then decided to go for a text message instead.
Texts were less complicated, they didn't reveal the many implications that words have.
Hey. How're you doing? Everything ok? Jay typed.
He read and re-read those few words for a full minute, hoping they were as neutral as possible and didn't reveal the real nature behind those questions—his worry—and when he was convinced, he tapped on the "send" button, freeing a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
Hailey was laughing at one of Kim's jokes when she felt her phone in the front pocket vibrate three times, telling her she just received a text.
She quickly took it, knowing the girls wouldn't mind, hoping it wasn't anything work-related. She almost imperceptibly raised her eyebrows, biting her lips, as she read Jay's message.
The subtle change in her expression didn't go unnoticed by Vanessa, who was sitting across from her, attentively studying her face.
"Jay?" the brunette asked. It wasn't a real question, though, because her answer was the pink color in which Hailey's cheeks had just turned. Only Jay was capable of making her blush like that, whether it was something she was aware of or not—Hailey was so obliviously obvious!
Hailey bit her lip, blushing even more at her friend's question. She tried to busy herself by answering the text:
Yup, we're having fun here. Are YOU ok?
"So?!" Vanessa kicked her foot under the table, while Kim was looking at the two of them with an amused expression. She enjoyed seeing Vanessa teasing the hell out of her roommate about Jay.
The blonde rolled her eyes at Vanessa's persistence. "Yes, Vanessa, it's Jay," she answered. "Wanna read the text, too?"
It was a rhetorical question that Vanessa took very literally. She looked at her with a straight face and, "Well, if you insist…" she mumbled, feigning an innocent look.
"Vanessa!" Kim exclaimed, nudging her with her elbow and chuckling at her antics. They all knew the alcohol they were consuming was not to blame for her shenanigans, Vanessa was just bold like that.
Hailey shook her head and let out a frustrated groan, her cheeks now red. "He's just checking on me, and…" she paused as she read the upcoming text, "He says hi," she told them both, omitting the part in which Jay asked her if she needed him to drive her home, knowing they were going to make a big deal out it.
Nope, I can handle myself… won't be drinking much 😉
She replied to her partner and then put the phone back in her pocket, proceeding to give her whole attention back to her friends.
They were at Molly's for a simple girls' night out. It wasn't anything overdone or fancy (they were still in their work clothes), but it definitely was needed. Not that they didn't like being around their partners, but it was nice to just enjoy the company of other fellow women from time to time.
The place wasn't fully packed, maybe because it was a regular day of the week. Behind the bar counter, Stella and Herrmann were serving the few clients, but mostly chilling and having a conversation of their own.
Vanessa raised her hand to catch Stella's attention, making a thumbs-up, silently telling her she wanted another Cuba libre, to which the other woman replied with a smile and a nod, immediately going to fix her drink.
"I'm not dragging you outta here if you can't walk straight," Hailey fake-threatened her roommate, even though they both knew it wasn't going to be the case.
Every time Vanessa got face-drunk, Hailey had actually taken good care of her, almost treating her like she was her child—which, in the brunette's mind, worked out perfectly, since she had this weird theory about Hailey and Jay being her parents in this far, alternative universe.
"It's fine, Kevin's gonna pick me up," she declared casually, catching Kim gasping at the new piece of information. But before she could say anything, "So!" Vanessa raised her voice, "You and Jay…"
"Oh, there's a you and Jay now, I need to catch up," Stella shamelessly jumped into their conversation, and Hailey kind of started regretting not going home.
The blonde dramatically took her head in her hands, her elbows pointed onto the table. "I'm so gonna murder people tonight," she mumbled to herself but made it loud and clear, even to the firefighter who had quickly gotten back to doing her work, giggling.
Hailey sighed as she raised her head to look at her friends. Sure, they'd found a way to make fun of her, but she knew they—especially Vanessa—came from a place of genuinely believing she and Jay should be more than partners, best friends, or whatever they defined themselves.
"We're just friends," she stated truthfully. Friends was all she and Jay were. Anything else, anything more had not been discussed. Contemplated? Sure—at least from Hailey's part—but there was no point in complicating something already good and risk for it to not be so good anymore.
Kim glanced at the blonde briefly and perhaps it was the fact that she had definitely drunk less than Vanessa, or the fact that she was always the voice of reason in the group, but it took her just a few seconds to sense that Hailey was telling the truth.
"Just know that if it becomes something more–" Kim started but was interrupted by Vanessa.
"Which it will!" the younger inserted, earning a glare from Kim.
"In that case, we're going to support you."
"Ship you," Vanessa corrected her again.
Hailey chuckled at Vanessa but ignored her, shaking her head. There was no point in trying to contradict her.
She gave Kim a little nod and silently told her that she appreciated her words, shooting a tight-lipped smile her way.
"So, now that we've covered the Upstead topic," Hailey cringed at that name, even though it wasn't the first time she'd heard it coming from Vanessa, "Kim, how are things between you and Adam?" she asked with an evil grin on her lips.
Kim almost choked on her drink, not expecting Vanessa to put her on blast like that. She started coughing, making Hailey release a relieved chuckle—she was glad she wasn't the center of attention anymore.
"How come you always wanna know about us, but you never tell us about who you are sleeping with?" Kim asked in a smart-ass tone, pursing her lips in a smirk.
Vanessa cocked her right eyebrow. "Oh, so you're sleeping with him, cool cool cool," that was all she took from Kim's answer.
Kim dramatically gasped, looking at Hailey with wide eyes, probably asking for support. The blonde vehemently shook her head, "You deal with that," she raised her hands in surrender, ready to enjoy their banter.
She chuckled at them, a genuine smile on her lips.
Vanessa and Kim were so different, from her and from one another. The younger one was louder and didn't hold back in showing enthusiasm and gratitude for the little things life had blessed her with, while Kim was quieter, more level-headed, but a great observer—she didn't talk on things much, she was better at silently analyzing them.
And they fit so well in Hailey's life that, as time passed, it was getting harder and harder to imagine a life without the two of them being part of it.
Hailey turned off the engine once she'd parked in front of her house. She took her phone from the passenger seat and double-tapped on the screen.
Alright then. Well, text me when you get home.
Hailey read Jay's text and she was glad Vanessa and Kim weren't there because she could tell she was blushing, she could feel a rush of blood going up straight to her cheeks.
Jay always managed to show her he cared about her with the simplest gestures, and it made Hailey feel some type of way that she couldn't really rationalize, or properly put into words. She just knew it felt good.
The blonde took her keys from the pocket of her jeans and exited her vehicle, locking it and quickly walking towards the entrance of the tall building she'd been living in for the past six years; it didn't take her long to arrive in front of her apartment and unlock the door.
As soon as she stepped in, a content sigh escaped her lips, she was happy to feel a warmer temperature against the skin of her face.
Hailey swiftly got rid of her jacket and placed it onto the coat hanger. She unlocked her phone and replied to Jay's text, telling him she was home safe and sound and that he could go to bed now, wishing him to sleep well.
She noticed that the numbers on top of the screen signaled a way too low level of the battery, so she walked towards her bedroom and slightly bent over to take the plug and insert it, then placed the device onto her bedside.
"Well, that's certainly a nice view."
Hailey jumped as she heard that unfamiliar, husky voice, but wasn't even given the time to properly react because while she was trying to turn around she felt her arms getting blocked from behind.
She could smell the nicotine on the callous fingers that reached for her chin, tightening forcefully.
Hailey tried to get free from the man's strong grasp, frantically kicking his legs, sometimes failing at aiming them.
She managed to get his right knee, making him slightly lose the firmness with which he was keeping her close against him.
Her mind shut down, immediately going into defense mode.
The blonde raised her arm, hitting his nose with her elbow, and turned around to face him, to see who was assaulting her.
"Son of a–" the man groaned, his breathing got more ragged as one of his hands immediately went to the injured part.
He didn't focus on it, nor did let go of Hailey. He was taller and visibly stronger than her—making his nose bleed was the maximum pain she could strive to inflict upon him, and it seemed like they both knew that.
The man wore a balaclava so the only body parts she could see were his eyes and his blood-stained mouth, but due to the closeness of their bodies, Hailey's nostrils were filled with a smell she was familiar with. It was the smell of metal, of blood.
It made her almost gag and it became worse when the man wrapped his hand around her neck, his lips in a smirk, easily overpowering her and attempting to prevent her from breathing by choking her.
"What now, blondie?" he spat as her face got red, the veins on her temples prominent, like they were ready to burst any minute, due to the lack of oxygen.
Hailey was visibly struggling, her blue eyes wide and matching the ones of her opponent—the only difference, his eyes were wide out of enjoyment.
The moment she thought he had some mercy, loosening the grip around her neck, she was instantly proved wrong. In fact, the man extracted a cloth from his pockets and, as Hailey was trying to gather some air to inhale, her mouth and nostrils wide open, he pressed the cloth against her face to make sure she couldn't breathe. And not only that.
Hailey could tell the cloth had been soaked in some sort of chemicals, an intoxicating one.
She tried to reach for the man's face, his arms, any body part would've been good. But she felt her strengths slowly abandon her like they were fading away. It was getting hard to even be on her feet, as her legs were starting to feel weaker and weaker.
The main struggle, though, was to keep her eyes open. Her eyelids felt heavy, keeping them high, and vigilant was proving to be a mammoth task.
A single, lonely tear escaped from the corner of her eye, getting quickly absorbed by the cloth still pressed on her face. She managed to emit a muffled sob, her body trembling in fear of what was going to happen next.
The man who was holding her still shook his head at that, his lips still curled in a smirk. "No, it's okay. Don't cry, Kelly," he mumbled softly, reaching for a strand of her hair and curling it in between his fingers, staining it with his own blood.
Hailey's eyes widened for one last time the moment she heard the name she'd been called with, but it was like that simple gesture absorbed all of the remaining strength her body was saving.
Her trembling eyelids slowly shut down, her body gave up on her as it collapsed between her assaulter's arms, "That's it, Kelly, good girl," he muttered as he slightly crouched to lift Hailey's unconscious body and carry it on his shoulder. "Sleep tight, detective."
(pray for light of day, right away)
So. This happened. I'm sorry..?
Ngl, I'm kinda excited for this new journey. I have no idea how long this fic is gonna be, but it's not gonna be super lengthy… maybe..? I don't really know, because if some crazy idea pops in my mind and fits into the story I might use it… we'll see, right?
Also, I don't know how often I'm gonna update. It will be every other day, I guess ahahah The general idea of the plot is there, but I have to write it down while doing some research on some details, technicalities and stuff like that bc I want things to be as accurate as possible. And the editing part too, I'm more comfortable with writing in English but I have my limits too and sometimes I have to reformulate concepts in a "less Italian" way LOL*
Anyways, what do you guys think? Jay is kind of a prophet, isn't he? He subconsciously jinxed stuff to happen, yes he did!
And, tell me, who is the man who kidnapped Hailey? What does he want from her? I kinda gave you a big clue already👀
Writing the action part was a bit of a challenge because if you read my other stuff, you'd notice that I'm more comfortable with writing long descriptions, super long sentences (*) and yeah, I had to cut that down for the fight part to be more effective. The result? Eh, let's say I tried ahahah
Title of the fic is from Wolves by Kanye West, it's a dope song, point blank period. I love it and I think you should listen to it. It features Sia and Vic Mensa, but there's a version with my man Frank Ocean in it too.
The title of this prologue (+ the few lyrics at the end of the chapter) is from Stay wide awake by Eminem and yk I usually recommend songs that inspire me during the writing process… well, that will not be the case this time.
I don't know if you're familiar with Eminem's lyricism, especially pre-Recovery Eminem, but yeah his songs are too much sometimes, definitely problematic.
I'm just gonna say it: the flow of the song is amazing in my opinion, but the lyrics are super creepy and fucked up on too many levels and yeah, just don't listen to it. Trust me on that😅
I talk way too much in these Author notes, it's getting annoying, I really need to work on that…
Anyways, let me know what you guys think of this first glimpse into this fic, I hope you like it and are even just a little bit curious to know how it's gonna unfold (maybe we'll figure it out together, yeah?) I wanna know you guys' opinions.
As always, thank you for reading, it truly means a lot.
Stay safe, I love you all!
Fanta Enrica xx