The day goes by without any special occurrences. Molly's boss welcomes the new, tighter protective measures, and Luna also seems to get along quite well with the staff assigned for the day.
Molly gets a text message from Chris around noon. "I am assuming girls' night is canceled, right?" Molly tilts her head, contemplating what to do for a moment, and then dials Chris' number. After she picks up, Chris has no chance even to say 'hello' because Molly starts right away.
"Why would you assume we have to cancel? Whoever gets the night shift can be at the door or keep their colleague in your apartment company. -Around here, they are guarding the door from the outside and let me work in peace."
"Are you sure that this will also work at home?" Chris sounds almost hopeful.
"Yeah, right. And just to be safe, I'll quickly call Jim. You'll see, we'll have fun tonight."
Molly doesn't miss the fact that Chris takes a short, sharp breath.
"Okay, then surprise me. And write me what we're doing." Chris ends the conversation and goes back to her work.
Even if it might get uncomfortable, she actually hoped to be able to speak openly with Molly tonight. It wasn't as if she'd kept it a secret on purpose. It just didn't matter. Why should they have talked about Street anyway?
But now? Yes, now she might have to say something after all.
But definitely not if one of his co-workers or God forbid Street himself was standing in the room and listening to every word.
Chris feels a bit guilty that she doesn't think it will work and that maybe this case will just resolve and she won't have to deal with all this awkwardness and tension anymore. But she also knew that Molly probably already suspected something, and if she was sure of one thing: Molly would not give up.
Chris inevitably has to smile when the message comes from Molly: "Okay, Chris, you're my shadow tonight. We're getting a door guard for my apartment, and the condition was that we didn't climb out of the window. 😊"
"Deal, we aren't teenagers anymore. They do realize that, right? 😉 "
Chris is a little nervous when it's time to go over to Molly's place, but she also knows that nothing bad can happen to her there. She nods briefly to the man observing the screens and then leaves her apartment.
Molly opens the door with a smile, and Chris almost laughs when the bodyguard leaves the apartment with a stupid grin.
"What did you tell him what we're doing here now?" she shakes her head.
"Nothing at all. He only had instructions to leave when you came by. What he thinks now, because I've cooked and two glasses of wine and a bottle are on the table, I can't change that." Molly winks and rolls her eyes briefly. Chris also has to laugh and is happy that the situation is not as tense as she first feared.
While eating, Luna tries to beg for scraps, although she knows very well that none of the women will give her anything.
When they both have finished eating, Molly takes the lead in their conversation and asks, "Chris, be honest. Is everything okay?"
Chris looks down briefly. She could try to lie and deny everything or tell the truth. She thinks about both options for a moment, but when she looks at Molly, she knows that lying now would only hurt her friend more.
She swallows hard for a moment and then says softly. "I don't know. Having Street here is a little weird."
"Why? What happened last year? I mean, you were such good friends, and now ... I have no idea .. " Molly shrugs her shoulders. She doesn't know how to describe the behavior of the two of them other than evading each other.
"I... where do I start?" Chris sounds desperate and feverishly thinks about where to start without hurting Molly.
Molly slides a little closer on the sofa and puts a hand on Chris' thigh.
"Hey, don't forget to breathe," she says gently and waits until Chris looks into her eyes. "Maybe you tell me what happened from your point of view. I mean, I know that Jim left LA after his mother's death. But I don't know why it hit him that hard. I still remember how adamant he was about never seeing her again. "
Chris starts sweating a little and feels the blush rising on her face. But Molly just squeezes her hand gently.
"At some point, the hospital called very persistently. And Street ignored everything, but after a case with two girls who almost had to go into foster care, he called them back. Karen was doing very badly. Her liver failed, and her one and only chance was a transplant. " explains Chris and hears Molly holding her breath in between.
Chris has to swallow when she thinks about the following events. "Somehow, she did it. Jim went to visit her, and the doctors then told him that Karen actually had no chance of getting a transplant ... you know, the drugs. He got tested and ..."
as Chris again falters in her sentence, Molly suddenly pulls her into a hug. "Hey. Calm down," she whispers in her friend's ear and rubs gentle circles over her back.
"I guess he got tested and was eligible to be a donor," Molly says quietly, and Chris just nods. "And then?"
Chris takes note of the question and tries to decide what to say now.
"I was shocked when he told me he was going to be tested. And I wasn't particularly friendly with my reaction either. I mean, he always said that Karen ruined his life and then ..." Chris shrugs helplessly again. The memory threatens to overwhelm her.
"Chris, she was his mother. And believe me, I often don't understand it in my job, but despite all the abuse and bad experiences, there are feelings that you can't just turn off. They come up again in the most impossible moments." Molly's voice is soft and careful.
"I've tried everything, I even went to Karen ... but he didn't let that put him off and made a donation."
Molly sits back a little while Chris wipes his face with his sleeve.
"Okay, but that still doesn't tell me why you don't talk to each other or why you cannot be in the same room for more than 5 minutes. What happened? That can't be just because of a disagreement over his decision, right?" Molly sounds incredulous and a bit in shock.
Chris is silent again, and Molly thinks about how to get her friend to talk to. Maybe another question will help?
"And after the operation? What happened after that? Or did you stop talking even before that happened?"
Chris hears the incredulous undertone and shakes her head.
"No, we actually talked a lot before the operation. I mean, I didn't agree, but I would have supported him. But I was in Europe at a specialized training and couldn't be here. Street even convinced me to fly to Berlin when I wanted to stay, " Chris inevitably makes a grimace when she thinks about saying goodbye and lowers her gaze.
Molly is watching her friend very closely, and by now, she is very sure that Chris is leaving something out, but before she can ask, Chris continues.
"About a month after surgery, Karen started having more and more complications. If you ask me, she drank or took something again. And she must have died quickly. Street was devastated, but I couldn't just fly back."
Molly sees a small tear roll out of the corner of Chris's eye, and she pulls her friend back into a warm embrace.
"It must have been very difficult for both of you to be so far away from each other," she says softly, and Chris nods. "But I don't understand why that connection broke ... Chris, you were so close." Molly sits back a little and tilts her head slightly. She takes a moment and then continues on a whim.
"Do you remember the day when I first asked you about Jim?" Molly smiles as she remembers her own insecurity back then. "Chris, I could have just asked Jim out and taken the risk, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't inserting myself into a budding relationship."
Chris looks up, confused.
"We were never ..." she tries to argue and immediately falls silent and hangs her head again. "At least not back then," she whispers softly and immediately feels the guilt wash over her as well as tears welling in her eyes. She turns away from Molly.
"Oh god," Chris murmurs, still shocked that she just said that. She is frantically trying to figure out what to do now.
Actually, she just wants to get out of here. But the two residents of the apartment seem to suspect exactly that.
Luna, who previously had laid next to the coffee table, has suddenly jumped up next to Chris on the sofa and nudges hands that are covering her face, again and again.
Molly watches the scene a little tense. She had always suspected that Chris and Street were closer than just their close friendship, but she still did not know what had happened to break their connection. A connection that had been a real relationship from the sounds of it.
She draws her feet up and continues to observe Chris. Molly already knows this much: Chris now has to want to continue to talk, and maybe Luna could help to keep her calm and grounded.
After a little while, Chris takes her hands off her face and wipes the smeared mascara from under her eyes with her sleeve. Luna gratefully accepts the invitation and snuggles a little closer to Chris, and licks her face once to help.
"Ey," Chris lets out with a bright laugh and strokes Luna, which the young Labrador only takes as an invitation to cuddle into her more. "Luna, you are heavy." Chris tries to push the dog away.
"No chance. She feels that you need her now," says Molly gently and looks at Chris. Chris opens her eyes wide again.
"I am sorry," she mumbles and tries to look Molly in the eye. Molly has a friendly face all the time.
"Chris, you don't have to apologize to me. I told you earlier that feelings are mysterious and inexplicable. I just wish you would have told me something back then." when Molly sees Chris' astonished look, she stops for a moment and smirks. "Chris, you have to know how important you were in Jim's life. And I would say you still are."
"No, stop. We haven't spoken since the phone call after his mother's death."
"Maybe you should try that again."
Afterward, Chris refused to speak further about the subject, and Molly accepted it. Both now hoped, for different reasons, that the case would move quickly and, above all, that personal protection would become unnecessary again.