Once again, I just want to thank everyone for the feedback on my second chapter. I'm thrilled you all are interested in this story so far!
Get ready, this one is kind of a long one. It's over twice as long as the last chapter, I thought about breaking it up into two parts, but decided against it. Hope you all enjoy :)
Chapter Three
Kelly scuffed his boots against the pavement, glancing down at his watch once more to check the time. He blew out a breath, realizing only three minutes had passed since he last looked. The cool October air nipped at his skin as he watched officers barrel in and out of the 21st district, his impatient nature getting the better of him as he kicked his foot along the ground again.
After nearly half an hour of waiting, Severide came face to face with the person he'd been waiting for, seeing Antonio climb from the blacked out SUV with Voight.
"Severide?" Kelly could hear the confusion in Antonio's voice, clearly not expecting the Lieutenant to be there.
"Can we talk for a minute?" Kelly asked, eyeing Voight as the two cops came to a halt in front of him.
Understanding he wasn't needed for this conversation, Hank gave Severide a nod, patting Antonio's shoulder before heading for the door. "Don't take too long." His deep voice called out as he walked up the steps, neither man giving a response seeing as his back was turned to them.
Kelly turned back to face Antonio, noticing the detective staring at him expectantly, his arms crossed over his chest.
"You never answered my text." Kelly finally spoke up, mimicking Antonio's stance.
"Is that really why you came all the way here?" Antonio replied, less than impressed with his reasoning for showing up at the district.
"Well, it's been three days and I figured texting you again wouldn't get me anywhere."
Antonio glanced around, wanting to make sure no one else was in earshot. "What exactly are you looking for, Kelly?" He asked with a sigh, taking a slight step closer to the other man. Kelly scoffed in reply, knowing Antonio was well aware of why he was here right now.
"You called me up out of nowhere, wanting to know if we'd heard anything from Gabby, when we all know if anyone still in Chicago would be hearing from her, it'd be you. And then as soon as I let you know no one's heard from her, you don't respond. Something's wrong Antonio, you wouldn't have called me if it wasn't. What's going on?" Kelly kept a hard stare on him, hoping it would show the detective he wasn't planning on leaving without some answers.
"Nothing's going on, Severide." Antonio bit out harshly, Kelly rolling his eyes in response.
"Bullshit. You wouldn't have called me wanting to know if Matt had talked to her if something wasn't going on." Kelly stood his ground, watching as Antonio looked away from him, his hand coming up to rub over his mouth.
"I was hoping you'd heard from her." Antonio spoke softly after a few silent moments, Kelly's eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"What?"
"It wasn't that I was thinking you might have heard from her, I was hoping you had."
Kelly stood there quietly for a few moments, trying to understand what Antonio was saying. Antonio watched as Kelly was digesting his words, and he took that as an opening to get away before having to explain any further.
"I have to go, but please Kelly, if you or Matt, or anyone hear from her, call me." Antonio spoke, taking a few steps backwards.
"Wait- Antonio, what happened?" Kelly felt a nervousness wash over him as Antonio's words finally settled.
"Kelly, I have to go." Antonio deflected, speaking as he turned away from the firefighter.
"You need to talk to Matt." Kelly tried a different tactic, seeing Antonio's forward progress stop as he got up the first step. He turned back around, Kelly speaking up again before he could protest.
"You might not want to tell me what's going on," Kelly took steps towards Antonio as he spoke, "but you at least need to tell Matt. Something's going on with Gabby, and by the way you're acting I'm guessing it's something bad. You don't have to tell me, but Matt deserves to know."
"You really think he'd care?" The tone of Antonio's voice told Kelly the detective wholeheartedly believed the words coming out of his mouth.
"That's not fair, Antonio."
"No, what's not fair is how you and Casey, and probably everyone else at that damn firehouse, have been walking around for the past five months acting like Gabby is the only one at fault for this." Antonio spoke bitterly.
"She left us Antonio, what did you want us to do?" Kelly fired back, not appreciating how he was turning this around on 51.
"Do you even know why she left in the first place?" Antonio's voice had softened substantially as he spoke. Kelly furrowed his eyebrows, clueless as to why Antonio was asking him such an obvious question.
"Well yeah, Chief Hatcher approached her about doing some relief work in Puerto Rico, and she said yes." Kelly said, Antonio releasing a sigh as he took a step down the stairs to be directly in front of Kelly.
"No, that's not what I meant. Do you know why she left." Kelly's silence was answer enough, Antonio continuing his explanation. "She told Hatcher no, when he first asked her." Antonio caught the look of surprise that covered Kelly's face.
"Do you know about the last conversation Brett had with Gabby? How Brett was yelling at her, essentially telling her she didn't want to be partners anymore." The look on Kelly's face told Antonio all he needed to know. "Or what about the last conversation between my sister and Matt? Hell, I still don't even know what all happened with that one, I just know after their conversation is when Gabby went to tell Hatcher she wanted to go. And then I got a call from her. She was crying, talking about how she wasn't sure Matt loved her anymore, and how she needed to get away from everything for a little while." Antonio drew in a breath, willing himself to calm down as he could feel himself getting worked up. He looked back at Kelly, and he could tell the man knew none of this before today.
"That day she called me, after their fight… I haven't heard her that upset in a long time. Probably since Shay died." Antonio said quietly, Kelly swallowing the lump in his throat that formed at the mention of his late best friend.
"So you can see why I don't appreciate everyone around here acting like they've done nothing wrong. Acting as if Gabby just left without a reason. Yeah, she's the one who chose to stay over there. But there was a reason she went over there in the first place." Antonio told him, turning around to head back to the steps.
Kelly stood there, momentarily stunned by the information he'd just been given. But watching Antonio walk up the steps snapped him from his daze, realizing he was losing his chance to say one last thing.
"Antonio!" Kelly called just as the man reached for the door handle. The older Dawson turned around to face him, Kelly running his tongue over his lips before speaking.
"I still think you need to talk to Casey. Whatever happened between them, whatever fights they've had, none of that matters. Because you and I both know that if there's something wrong with Dawson, he needs to know." Kelly waited for a second, waiting to see if Antonio was going to try and fight him on this. When that fight never came, he continued. "You haven't seen him Antonio. He's been trying to hide how much this is hurting him, but any time she's mentioned it's like he shuts down. I know you think he doesn't care about her, that this hasn't affected him, but I also know that deep down you know that's not true. You were one of the ones who saw firsthand just how much he loved her, that hasn't gone away."
Kelly took a slow, deep breath in as Antonio remained silent, clearly thinking over what he had said.
"Just think about it... You know he'd drop everything in a second if she needed him."
Kelly was now the one to turn and walk away, leaving Antonio at the entrance of the 21st district as the firefighter made his way to his car parked across the street. He only hoped that his words had sunk in, that Antonio at least listened to what he said.
As he sat in the driver's seat, his mind was running through everything he'd just learned over the past fifteen minutes, thinking over everything that's transpired the last five months. As much as he hates to admit it, he hadn't really focused on how Gabby was in all this since she left. He was worried about Casey, about how his friend was handling her leaving. He never stopped to think about what was going on with her.
He should've known there was more to it than Gabby just wanting to leave. He should've seen there was more going on. The Gabby he'd known over the years would never just up and leave her entire life. She wouldn't leave without a fight.
But based on what Antonio told him, that fight had happened. Casey never said a word to him about any fight before she left, granted he had no obligation to. But finding out now they'd had a blow up, to some degree, things were starting to make a little more sense. No matter how stubborn she may be, Gabby wouldn't just up and decide to not come back home, unless she thought there might not be anything to come back home to.
During her last shift, when she told the house she'd be leaving for a few weeks, he'd noticed how distant and upset Matt had been. At the time he just thought it was because she was leaving in the first place. He never thought there might be more to it, that there might be another cause for the animosity between the then-married couple. After she'd made the announcement, Kelly had followed a stomping Casey back to his quarters, asking him what this was all about. Casey blew him off, saying she wanted to go help and he'd support her with whatever she wanted to do. So Kelly left it at that.
But all these months later, it just now occurred to him he never went to Gabby to ask her. Even before she left, he only checked in on Matt. It was no secret Matt was his best friend, and probably the person he's closest to at 51, but Gabby was his friend too. Yet he never asked her why she was going. He wasn't even sure if anyone from the firehouse ever asked her. The focus shifted to Casey pretty much from the moment she said she was going to Puerto Rico.
As Kelly looked over to the now deserted entrance to the police district, Antonio's words finally sunk in. And they hit him like a ton of bricks.
He was right. Everything he said, there was some truth to it. Maybe not to the degree Antonio believed, but the bare bones of his statements were true. Gabby left because of them, she needed to get away from everything here. It might not have been because of the entire house, but if the fight between her and Brett was as bad as Antonio made it seem, and her fight with Matt left her questioning his love for her, it might've been enough to help sway her decision to not come back home.
A feeling of sickness washed over him as his thoughts cleared. He should've paid more attention to Gabby. He should've seen it, that something was wrong with her. Her last shift, she was distant from everyone at the firehouse. He should've known there was more to it than her just wanting to go help.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, Kelly went to his contacts, searching for her name and clicking on it. If the desperation from Antonio was any clue, Kelly was sure she wouldn't answer when he called. But he still needed to, even if this call was coming five months late.
The endless call tone buzzed through his ears, until her voicemail message started playing. He wasn't sure why he was surprised when she didn't answer. Maybe it was him hoping that whatever had Antonio so worried wasn't serious, that she'd pick up the phone and everything was fine. He wasn't able to try and figure out any more reasons as he heard the beep that signaled him to leave his message.
"Hey Gabby, it's, uh, Kelly. I know it's been awhile, but if you could call me when you get this, I'd appreciate it. Hopefully I'll hear from you soon. Hope you're doing okay. Alright, well...bye- wait. If I know you at all, I know what you're probably thinking. Nothing happened to Matt, that's not why I called, he's fine. Well, not fine, but he's- you know what I mean. Alright, sorry. Bye." Kelly hung up the phone, tossing it into his passenger seat as he felt a sense of frustration wash over him. He was frustrated with Antonio, for not telling him what's going on. He was frustrated with Matt, for leaving out some pretty important information as to why Gabby left. But mostly he was just frustrated with himself.
Bringing his truck to a halt, Matt shifted into park and took his foot off the brake, blowing out a long sigh as he leaned his head back against the window. His hands were gripped tightly to the steering wheel, Casey finding himself taking long, slow breaths as he stayed in his car. He'd been at the Johnson's all morning and early afternoon, the older couple having a seemingly endless list of projects for him to do around their home. Although he didn't mind, he'd been doing work for them for years, and they were two of the nicest and accommodating people he'd ever met, but he was exhausted.
And it never helped that every time he'd go over there, they'd always ask him about Gabby.
He started working for them right before he and Gabby first got together, and they knew most of the history of their relationship. Except for the fact that she left him, and they got divorced. The first time he went over there after they'd gotten married, the couple was ecstatic, to say the least. Mr. Johnson had spent more time talking to Matt than letting him work, and when he was finally able to leave, Mrs. Johnson had shoved an entire bakery full of goodies into his hands, Matt declining initially but she wanted to give him and Gabby something, so he ultimately accepted the treats, even though they were given more than he or Gabby could ever finish.
So he couldn't bring himself to tell them she left. Not just because they were so clearly invested in his and Gabby's relationship, but because he thought having to go through the entire story might actually kill him. And the couple would want to know exactly what happened. He hadn't told anyone the entire thing. No one knew about them trying for a baby, and the news Gabby got from the doctor. Her willingness to put her life on the line just to give him a baby, even though he didn't want that. Him going behind her back to the adoption agency, and their inevitable blow up that caused her to leave in the first place. No one knew of any of that, and as far as he was concerned he'd be better off never having to go over every painful detail of how his and Gabby's life together fell apart.
Tapping on his driver side window caused his eyes to snap open, bringing him from his thoughts as he looked and saw Naomi standing outside his truck, a wide smile covering her face. He gave her a small smile in return, pulling the keys from the ignition. She must've been waiting for him, he just hadn't noticed when he pulled up.
"Hey, how are you?" Matt asked somewhat sheepishly as he stepped from the truck, knowing he hadn't been excellent in the communication department lately. He hadn't seen her since she was here a few nights ago, and he hadn't talked to her much either, his mind elsewhere.
"I'm good, how are you?" She asked, giving him a quick peck on the lips. Matt didn't respond to the gesture, nor did he really have time to as her lips were off his in a second.
"Fine, been busy. Between the firehouse and construction, it's been pretty time consuming." He told her, hoping to get his message across, as he locked up the truck and headed for the back door entrance to his place. Naomi followed his path, both of them stopping so he could unlock the door.
"You don't have to explain yourself, you know." She spoke, earning a confused glance from him. "You, explaining why you haven't called me back, or at least I think that's what you were doing." She said with a grin. "We're not a couple, you don't owe me an explanation." Matt released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. At least they were on the same page. He just gave her a nod, not wanting to go near that statement.
"So, what are you doing here?" He asked as they got inside, Matt dropping his keys on the island in the kitchen. Naomi shrugged, leaning her elbows against the countertop.
"Well, I originally came to see if you wanted to grab something to eat. But right now, I need to go to the bathroom. I was waiting longer than I thought I'd be." She said, Matt nodding and holding his arm out down the hallway towards the guest bathroom. He didn't give a verbal response to that either as she walked away, part of him wanting to know just how long she'd been waiting around outside his apartment for him, but the other part of him not wanting to ask.
As he heard the door shut, his thoughts drifted to Naomi and the time they'd spent together. She was nice company, but he couldn't help but think, despite what she says, she's expecting something from him. That this means more to her than it is. He doesn't want to be that guy, that is stringing her along if she is thinking they're something more than they are, but up until the past few days, he thought they were on the same page. This was just supposed to be fun. Casual, somewhat meaningless, fun.
It wasn't just an excuse, him saying he'd been too busy to call. That was true. But he didn't exactly make time to call her either. Essentially, he'd been radio silent since she was over here a few nights ago, and he didn't love her showing up here unannounced. Like she said, they weren't together. The last thing he needed, or wanted, was a serious relationship. He wasn't sure when he'd be ready for that, but he definitely was not right now. Not after how everything ended with Gabby.
And she's not Gabby.
He pressed forcefully against his temple as those words invaded his mind. They'd been creeping up on him, over and over, and he couldn't get them to stop. Anything she did, he found himself comparing her to Gabby. And that really wasn't fair. She wasn't Gabby, he couldn't expect her to be Gabby. She never would be.
Naomi was headstrong and determined in her work, but the similarities stopped there. He's not blind, he knows the initial reason he found himself attracted to her was because of how self assured she was. She reminded him of Gabby, so he found himself seeking her out. But the closer they got, the more he understood she was nothing like Gabby. That no one could ever be Gabby.
And that was another thing altogether. Gabby.
Since his conversation with Severide last shift, and clearing out her locker, he hadn't been able to get her out of his head. And while that hadn't been an uncommon occurrence over the past five months, it seemed to be happening more frequently. Everything reminded him of her. Every time he walked in his home, he'd be met with a memory of her here. Or anytime he was in his office the rest of last shift, memories of her seeking him out would invade his mind. No matter where he went in the firehouse, memories of her there took over his thoughts. She was creeping back into his head any free moment he had, and he didn't know what to make of it.
He knew he missed her, he always missed her. He missed her soft smiles, the lingering looks between the two of them at work, the lazy kisses he'd wake up to in the morning, the defiant look she always wore during their arguments, he missed it all. He just missed her.
But he also knew she was gone.
His blank gaze moved over towards the living room, flashes of their last moment together playing in his mind. Their last words echoing through his head, their last kiss forever implanted in his memory. Part of him regrets not going with her that day. He regrets not packing his bags, stopping by the CFD to turn in his resignation, and heading to the airport with her. She stood there and pleaded him to come with her, so they could continue their life together as they always intended. It was a chance for them to get away from Chicago, away from all the bad memories they'd accumulated over the years. It was their chance at a fresh start, but just like he did with her, he let it slip through his fingers.
He has no idea what would've actually happened to them, had he gone with her. But he knows he would've been happy. He'd be happy anywhere, as long as he had her. But he let stubborness get in the way, as it so often did between the two of them. He felt like she shouldn't be asking him to make that choice, that she should love him enough stay with him, to come back home to him. But even he knew that was a double edged sword, that it wasn't fair to her. If he was expecting her love for him to keep her in Chicago, shouldn't his love for her be enough to move him to Puerto Rico? How could he expect her to do something for him, if he hadn't been willing to do the same?
Except he had been willing. From the moments after she walked out that door, to weeks after the fact, he went over in his head time and time again how easy it would be to just leave. Follow her up on her offer, pack his bags and go be with his wife. He didn't know what would be there for him in Puerto Rico, but he knew she'd be there, ready and willing to continue their life together. To look into how to expand their family. To continue moving forward, together. It all sounded so perfect in his head, but every time he had talked himself into going, that's when the doubt crept in.
Matt had always prided himself on how well he was able to read her, how he always knew what was going on in her head. After knowing each other for nearly a decade, and loving each other for a huge chunk on that time, she was an open book to him, which she undoubtedly hated. Even when they were strictly friends, she was never able to hide her feelings from him. But at some point that had changed. The months leading up to her departure, she wasn't opening up to him anymore. One look at her and he'd have no clue as to what was running through her mind. She'd closed herself off to him, and he wasn't even sure she knew it. And that was what always stopped him. They were having problems before the news from the doctor that inevitably was the beginning of the end, and he couldn't stop himself from wondering if that would just happen to them again. Once the haze of them being together again faded, why would a different city change anything of what was hurting them? Her not being willing to communicate, pushing him away and him letting her, being in a different place wouldn't change that.
So he stayed, despite how much he longed to be with her. His love for her wasn't able to push aside the fear he held that him following her to Puerto Rico would just pull them farther apart in the long run, except then he'd be stuck in a foreign place with nothing and no one. And before he knew it, too much time had passed and the thoughts of him following her left his mind. And that's when the anger set in. He wanted her to come back, he wanted to be enough for her, but he wasn't. Not anymore. And that realization pissed him off just as much as it broke him. At some point he stopped being enough for her, he just wish he knew why. And he wished his anger from that hadn't boiled over into his few conversations with Gabby. When her trip over there still had an end date, they'd talk as much as they could. Even though there was still some anger and hurt left over from their fight, they couldn't not talk to one another. They'd smoothed things over enough before she left to be able to have civil conversations, knowing that when she got back they'd have a real conversation they both knew they needed. But that all changed when he found her in their apartment with her bags packed. Once she was gone for good, their conversations were infrequent, him ignoring most of her calls, and the calls he did answer ended up with them in a fight, admittedly most of which started by him. He wished he handled her phone calls better, that he hadn't snapped at her the way he would whenever she'd call. It didn't take a genius to understand why her phone calls became even more sporadic. Something that should have helped them, two people who still needed each other but were trying to figure out how to navigate life without the other, turned into something ugly, that ended in Matt spewing hurtful words at her. Words he could never take back.
Matt tapped his fingers impatiently on the edge of the couch, waiting for the other person to pick up their phone. He was dreading this call, but he knew it had to be done. He was tired of waiting, tired of her messing around with this, with him. He wanted it done, so he could finally move on.
"Hello?" Her soft voice filled his ears, in the moment easing all the tension out of his body. But that only lasted for a second, as the state of their relationship came back into view.
"Hey, Gabby." He spoke, emotion lacking in his voice.
"Hi Matt." Her voice was almost timid, "How are you?" She asked softly, knowing their last few conversations ended in anger, and she didn't want that to happen today.
"I'm fine. Did you get the papers?" He heard her sigh at his words, before answering him.
"Yeah, I, uh- I have them right here." She replied, Matt hearing her shuffling around.
"Great, did you sign them yet?" He was met by silence, and he felt himself grow more frustrated the longer she stayed quiet.
"Matt…" She started, taking a deep breath, no doubt trying to gather her words before continuing. "Do you think we might be rushing this? I mean, it's only been about three months since everything and… I don't know, I've been thinking a lot lately and I think we rushed into this." He could hear the hesitation in her voice, the nerves filling her every word, and he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from lashing out. "Would you mind if we... put a pause on the divorce? It's a big deal, Matt, and I don't want-"
"You think I don't know it's a big deal, Gabby?" He shot back, failing to keep his composure any longer. "You think I don't realize how big of a deal this is? You think I didn't realize that, as I went to our lawyer and told him we needed him to draft up divorce papers. To explain how my wife left me, how you chose something else over me, again? You think during all that I never once thought about how big of a deal this is?" The venom dripped off his words, his anger reaching the point of no return.
"Matt, I-"
"No, Gabby. Just, for once, listen. You chose this. You chose divorce the second you fled off to Puerto Rico. You left no options for us the minute you ran away from your problems, ran away from me, and never came back. So I don't want to hear it, okay? Just save it. You made this choice. Only you."
There was silence on the other end for a beat, Gabby clearly trying to gather herself after his outburst.
"Matt, please. Please, just give me some time to think about everything. I need more time to think about-"
"Are you gonna come back?" But the question wasn't hopeful, he was angry, and it showed in his voice.
"Matt…" She was practically pleading.
"That's what I thought. I don't know what you're trying to gain from dragging this out, but stop. Just stop. This entire thing happened because of you, you did this only thinking of you." He stopped to take a breath, hoping to squash some of his anger. It didn't work. "You're selfish Gabby, and now all I ask is you quit dragging me along with you. That's the only thing I want from you anymore, and you can't even give me that? For once, try thinking of someone other than yourself."
He was met with more silence, his breathing heavy from the loud words he yelled through the phone.
"I'm tired, Gabby. I don't want to deal with this anymore. Can you please just let me be done with all of this? Please, just sign the papers." His voice was still firm, as he waited for any response to come from her. Any sign that she had actually listened to him.
He heard what sounded like her sitting the phone down, and then the occasional flip of pieces of paper. After a few minutes of silence, her broken voice flooded his ears once more.
"It's done."
Letting out a sigh, he dug his fingers into the arm of the couch.
"Thank you." He responded, not getting anything out of her in return. Knowing he needed to do this now, he took another long breath before continuing to talk. "I, uh, I think it would be better if this is the last time we spoke." He waited for any reaction from her, expecting her to argue with him. Surprisingly, the argument never came. "I just think we both need to be rid of this, all of it. You and me. We need to move on, without each other." No response. "It's for the best, don't you think?" He was waiting for any confirmation from her.
"Okay." Her quiet voice barely reached his ears, but it was the acknowledgment he needed to hear.
"Goodbye Gabby." For the first time in a while, there was no anger in his words directed towards her.
He waited for a goodbye in return, but it never came. Instead, the only thing he heard was Gabby choking back a sob before the line went dead.
He sat on the couch and waited. Waited for the relief to wash over him, that this was finally done, that he was finally free from all of this. But that relief never came.
"Matt!" His eyes snapped into focus as he looked over and saw Naomi in her previous position, resting against the counter. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and the register of her tone told Matt she'd been trying to get his attention for awhile.
"I'm sorry, what?" He asked, clearing his throat. He had no idea how long she'd been standing there, or how long he'd been lost in thought.
"I've been trying to get your attention for like five minutes," she explained with a worried look, "you okay?"
He gave her a nod, mustering a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You seem like you're somewhere else. In the car, and then when I came out here… you just seem off."
He opened his mouth to respond, to once again tell her he was fine, but he got cut off by knock on the front door.
"Let me get that." He walked past her, through the living room, his eyes glancing down towards the box of Gabby's things from the firehouse that he'd placed next to desk, her once again invading his thoughts as he made his way to the door.
Swinging the door open, he came face to face with the last person he ever expected to see standing on the other side. Well, maybe not the last person, but they were pretty high up the list.
"Antonio, what are- what are you doing here?" Matt wasn't able to hide how flustered he was. He knew Antonio was angry with him, and Matt reciprocated those feelings just as much. Their last conversation was heated, to put it mildly, and Matt would've never expected him to show up here.
"I need to talk to you about something, I don't have a lot of time, Voight doesn't want me gone long, but this is important. Do you have a minute to talk…" Antonio's voice trailed off, Matt hearing movement behind him. He saw the look that crossed Antonio's face, the look of disgust and hatred aimed towards him. Matt silently cursed, as he glanced back and saw Naomi had made her way into the living room, now looking at the two men standing in the doorway.
"Antonio…" Matt started to explain, but the detective put his hands up, signaling he wasn't going to get into this now.
"You know what, nevermind. Don't let me keep you." Anger dripped from his words, Antonio turning on his heels, stomping off down the hallway. Matt followed after him, grabbing his shoulder as he got halfway down the hallway. He wasn't necessarily in the mood to have whatever conversation Antonio needed to have, but Matt knew he came here for a reason.
"Antonio, why are you here?" Matt asked as his former brother in-law turned back around to face him, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Forget it, Casey. It wouldn't matter to you anymore anyway."
"Antonio-"
"Just forget it, Casey!" He said with more force, the firefighter taking a step back. "Go have fun with your girlfriend, it doesn't matter." Antonio spat, walking away from the man who used to be family without another word.
Matt sat quietly in the chair in his living room, nursing his second beer of the night, thoughts of today running rampant in his mind as he sat in the quiet of his apartment. Shortly after Antonio left, Matt asked Naomi to go. The confrontation with Antonio left him more angry and confused than he was willing to admit, and he was sure Naomi could tell it wasn't a good time for her to stick around. Although she didn't know who Antonio was, surely she was able to understand her presence in the apartment is what caused the man to storm off. While it wasn't her fault, he didn't want her to be around tonight. He just wanted some peace and quiet.
Downing another sip of his beer, he couldn't keep himself from thinking about Antonio. It wasn't so much that Antonio saw Naomi here that had his mind reeling, it was Antonio being here in the first place, needing to talk to him about something. It had to be important, if he was willing to show up here. Much like with Gabby, the last words he said to Antonio weren't exactly nice either, so if the older man was putting all that aside, the reasoning behind it had to be significant.
He thought about calling the detective, to try and get him to tell him whatever he came here earlier for. But that seemed like a bad idea. With how angry Antonio was at him when he left, a phone call was sure to not get him very far, if Antonio even answered at all.
Matt assumed whatever had Antonio over here wasn't work related. They hadn't worked together in months, and even if it was, he would've just waited until shift tomorrow and gone by the firehouse.
He couldn't find any explanation as to why Antonio seemed so desperate to talk to him, and he probably won't know until Antonio's anger subsides enough for the detective to come back.
Finishing off his beer, Matt stood up from his seat, intent on getting another beer from the fridge. His phone buzzed in his pocket, stopping his path at the kitchen table as he pulled it out. Seeing the number staring back at him, he blew out a frustrated breath.
It was the same number, still no Caller ID attached to it. They'd called him once more since last shift, but Matt had missed the call as he was in the shower.
After the day he'd had, he wasn't in the mood to deal with this unidentified woman. Whoever she was, clearly she had no actual interest in talking to him. It was the same thing every time, and he didn't want to deal with this.
Debating whether to answer or not, he went against his better judgement, answering the call on what had to be the last ring, putting the phone up to his ear.
"Hello?" Even Matt could hear the annoyance in his voice when he answered, and hopefully it signaled to this woman that he wasn't in the mood to put up with her games anymore.
Unsurprisingly, the caller said nothing. Biting his tongue in frustration, Matt waited a few more seconds to see if they'd finally say something.
"Hello?" He asked again, hearing the soft breathing of the person on the other end.
"Listen, I don't know why you keep calling me, I don't know what you want, but if you're not gonna say anything, quit calling me." He bit out, more harshly than he intended. He heard a sharp intake of breath, almost like this person was caught off guard by his outburst. But still, they said nothing.
"Okay, I'm gonna hang up now." Matt was beyond annoyed, as he started to pull the phone from his ear.
"Matt…"
Her voice stopped him, almost as if he was frozen. The shock from hearing her say his name took over his body, leaving him motionless in the kitchen. The voice he hadn't heard in two months, was soft and quiet, but it was her.
"Gabby…"
He wasn't sure if she could even hear him, her name fell from his lips so softly.
"I just needed to hear your voice."
And there's another one. I'm eager to see what you all think about this chapter. Thanks for reading!