I have to warn you. This chapter is quite emotional. I wish I was fluent enough to write it in the way I had in my head :)
Really hope you''l like and as always, I can't wait for your reviews.
Stay safe and have fun!
The ride was awfully quiet. From the moment Hailey texted her mother and volunteered to bring hr some supplies, tension took over her body.
There was no need for Jay to read her body language, all he had to do was read her eyes, and they were screaming in agony. Apart from the occasional social call, she hadn't visited her parents in over two years. As soon as she turned 18 she ran away from that life. That is why she chose to live almost an hour away from them. The only thing that kept her in Chicago, was her love for the it. Otherwise, she would have easily moved to another city.
She went to the market the same morning, picked up a few groceries and a couple of more supplies. She didn't have to ask from Jay to accompany her. That was one of the many things she loved about him. He always knew what she needed without having to verbally express it.
So, there they were, parking outside a suburban house. Her parents moved away move Greek Town after the Restaurant was closed. Hailey was relieved! Sure, she remembered the Christmas parties, birthdays and barbeques. But all those were haunted by dark memories of her father yelling, her mother screaming and her two brothers crying.
Jay and Hailey stayed in the car for a few minutes, contemplating whether this visit was a good idea after all.
Jay took her hand in his and gently squeezed it in support.
"I am here for you. If you feel like this is all too much just give me a look and I'll know. I'll take you the hell out of here," he held her hand and squeezed it softly.
Hailey looked deep into his green eyes and all she saw was love. Just one look from his was enough to make all her fears disappear. He was her lifejacket.
"I am sorry I am putting you up for this. I apologize in advance for all the things my father is going to say. He is not a good man. He will seek ways to provoke you," she warned him worriedly.
She was well aware that Jay had his own unresolved father issued and dragging him into her own screwed up family was selfish.
"Hey, I am with you. I will always be with you," he brought her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss.
I am ready," she let out a deep sigh. "Let's get this over with."
Thankfully, her mother answered the door and fell into her arms as soon as she saw her daughter.
"Oh God I've missed you," she muffled as she buried her face into Hailey's hair.
The blonde detective answered with an awkward "I've missed you too mom," and stepped back to introduce her to Jay.
"This is my partner, Jay," she pointed to him as he battled to hold all the grocery bags and give Hailey's mom a handshake at the same time.
"Nice to meet you Mr Upton," he charmingly said.
Jay looked at her and shook his head in surprise. She was nothing like he expected. No blonde hair, no slim figure, bad ass feminist vibes. Nothing gave off that she was his partner's mother. Just an ordinary middle aged woman, with stray grey hair and evident wrinkles on her face.
"Well well, look what the cat brought," a throaty male voice was suddenly heard from the distance.
Hailey unconsciously jumped at the sound of him and slowly turned around to see her father walking down the stairs. Her heart was beating like a bomb ready to explode.
This was only the beginning but Jay could feel the tension building up. He gently placed his hand on her waist as a form of support. A simple gesture like that was enough to make her heartbeat return to its normal rhythm.
She took a deep breath and finally managed to utter in absolute sarcasm "Nice to see you too dad."
"Come to the kitchen, I have fresh coffee in the pot," her mom said in her most cheerful tone but it was obvious that she was straggling inside.
The next two seconds were more than enough for Jay to study her father. A 60+ old man, with grey hair and slightly overweight. His left eye had still the marks from the stitches he got all those years ago. His posture screamed Alpha. Even though he wasn't that tall, the way he kept his shoulders high and his chin up made him look like a confident, strong man.
That façade would probably work on his fellow peers, but not on Jay. He could see right through him. All he was, was a miserable old man with inferiority complex. Just thinking of all the things Hailey had endured at the hands of this man, made his blood boil. He had to control his temper though, for his partner's shake.
Awkward silence surrounded the room as Hailey's mother served the coffees while they all sat on the round wooden table, overlooking the back yard. Hailey and Jay sat right to each other and her father opposite to them.
"So," Mrs Upton broke the silence. "How long have you two been partnered up?"
"Almost three years," Hailey looked at Jay and smiled.
"You two have been screwing, haven't you?" her dad uttered with a smirk of disgust in his face.
"Nik," Mrs Upton exclaimed in shock before she could join them on the table with her coffee in hands.
Hailey scoffed and shook her head. Of course he would make an inappropriate comments like that. And this was just the beginning.
"Yes dad, he is my partner at work and he is my partner at home. Is there a problem?" he voice was harsh and defensive.
"Was that the best you could do; a cop? Guess nobody else wanted you," he was so good in psychological attacks.
"Your daughter is one of the greatest Detectives in this city sir. I am proud she is my partner and I am damn lucky she chose to be with me. She deserves the best and I will do anything in my power to provide it," Jay jumped in, his eyes locked on Mr Upton the whole time.
"Jay, right?" he asked diminishingly. "What is your last name?"
"Halstead sir," he firmly responded.
"So, you're Halstead," Mr Nik smirked with a hint of evil in his eyes. "You are the cop that killed that black girl a couple of years ago and got away with it."
Hailey glared at him, fire coming out of her eyes. She was used when his insults were directed at her. But he had no right treating Jay like that.
She knew how much that death weighed on Jay. She remembered how devastated and broken he was. Slamming that in his face was a dirty move, even for her dad.
"That unfortunate incident was an accident. You have no idea how many people Jay has saved at the risk of his own life. You have no idea what he has sacrificed for this city and for this country. He is a hero. When was the last time you volunteered to help anyone huh? Give your righteous crap to someone who doesn't know you, not to me,"
The scared little girl that walked into the house a few minutes ago was gone. She was back to being herself. She had been running away from her father for far too long. It was time she showed him what she was made of.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that," he yelled slamming at the table with such force the entire room trembled.
"No you listen to me," Hailey stood up, her jaw clenched in anger. "I am not that frightened little kid anymore. I see you for what you truly are. A pathetic, useless sad old man. You became this violent person because you couldn't be anything else. As long as Alex, Mike and I worked at the diner, it thrived. As soon as we left, it all fell apart. "
Her father laughed ironically "You can pretend me to hate me all you want, but I know deep down you love me. I created you. I turned you into the person you are today. I made you tough. Remember when that guy attacked me at the Restaurant? The cops at the hospital were going on and on about how worried you were about me. You always love me."
Hailey looked at him and smirked. "I was worried, yes! But not because I was scared that you couldn't make it. It was because I was scared that you would. I wanted you to die! I prayed that you'd die. "
Her blue eyes that resembled the ocean, now looked like ice. She felt relieved saying it out loud. The years of terror were over. Yes, she wanted him dead.
"How dare you talk to me like that in my own house?" he screamed so loud that most likely the neighbors heard him.
He stood up in anger, his hand clenched in a fist ready to attack his own daughter. As expected though, Jay's reflexes kicked in. He jumped on his feet, nearly crossing over the table and grabbed his fist in the air, twisting his arm behind his back.
He was done being calm. The hair on his neck rose like an animal prepared to attack. All he could think about was how he had hurt Hailey. He could picture her with bruises all over her body, hiding behind the closed doors of her room. He wanted to hurt him, break his arm and his would have if her mom's cries hadn't waken him up from his trance.
"You're hurting him, let him go," she pleaded as her husband was on his knees groaning in pain.
Hailey was standing there in complete apathy. She enjoyed the scene that was taking place right before her eyes. But as soon as she locked eyes with Jay, she knew they had to end it. That man was dead to her either way.
"Come on, let's go," She placed her hand on Jay's shoulder and prompted him to follow her.
Jay released his arm and let him drop on the floor in pain. Then, he lowered to his level and whispered.
"If you ever come near her, if you ever look or touch her, I will make sure they will never find your body."
With that simple statement he stood up and walked outside to meet Hailey. In his line of job he had threatened more people that he could count. This was the first time though, that he actually meant every word. He would die for Hailey, but he would also kill for her.
As soon as they reached the car her mother walked outside yelling frantically.
"Why did you do that?"
Hailey turned over to face her mother. "You are seriously asking me that?"
"Bare with him. He was just in a bad mood. This whole quarantine thing has driven him crazy," she desperately tried to justify his actions.
"So, that big bruise under your eye is a result of the quarantine?" Hailey pointed at her mother's face as she looked down to avoid any eye contact.
"Don't divert your look mom. No matter how much make up you out on I can see it. I could always see it."
Hailey turned her back to get into the car but reconsidered. She had too much unresolved issues with her mom as well and now was the best time to end this. Well, now might be the only chance they got to end this. Because once she got into the car, she was not looking back, ever!
"Why?" Hailey asked her with a broken voice.
"Why what?" her mother asked back still avoiding to look into her daughter's eyes.
"Why didn't you choose us?" Hailey sighed. "Why did you choose to stay with that man?"
"I didn't choose him," she said with tears forming in her eyes. "You left me, all three of you left me behind."
Hailey's features stiffened as she glared at her in anger.
"You had 18 years to get as out of that god forsaken house. 18 years! And you just stood there and did nothing. The same way you did nothing today. You never defended me, not once in your whole life. But still, before I moved out, I asked you to follow me. Do you remember what you told me?"
Mrs Upton looked at the grass desperately trying to drown he sobs .
"I love him," she uttered, her voice barely audible. "I told you I still loved him."
"Get in the car," Hailey ordered her.
"What?" her mother looked at her confused.
"If you love me, but most importantly if you love yourself, you'll get in the car," the petit Detective opened the door to the back seat.
Her mom took a step behind and shook her head in fear. "No, I can't do that!" she muttered.
Hailey grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. The same blue eyes that everyone said she got from her mother.
"This is it mom, this is the last chance you'll ever get. This is your way out. You will stay at my place and I will help you get up on your feet. "
Even though it was a cold day, sweat starting forming on her mom's forehead.
It shouldn't be this hard. She was offering her freedom and instead of grabbing it, she ignored it.
Mrs Upton took another step behind and escaped from Hailey's grip.
"I am sorry, I can't leave him. When you truly love someone, you overlook his flaws."
"Mom, whipping you with his belt because the beer is not cold enough is not a flaw," Hailey's tone was harsher than she intended.
"This is where I belong," she whispered one last time and walked steadily into the house.
The battle was over, the war was lost. Hailey just stood there watching her mother choosing hell for the second time.
Jay walked to her from behind and placed his arm around her neck.
"You did everything you could," he whispered into her ear. "It's over baby, let's go. You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved."
He was right, she knew that he was right. Her consciousness was clear. All those years she blamed herself for not trying hard enough to save her mother. All those years she blamed her mother for not trying at all to save her own kids. That was when she realized how different she was from her parents and how blessed she was to have a man like Jay by her side. Their love was pure, not toxic and she was determined to maintain it.
Hailey got into the car and never looked behind. That was the last time she ever saw her parents and quite frankly, she didn't mind. You can't miss someone who was never in your life. And those two, were never the parents that every kid deserves to have.
Again, the ride back home was silent. No words were needed to be spoken. Hailey was proud of herself. For the first time in her life she stood up to her father. And most importantly, she was glad that Jay was with her along the way. As a child, she always dreamed of the man who would protect and save her from the terrors of her home. For once, that man had a face!
Throughout the route, they gave each other subtle glanced when they though one wasn't looking. He was worried about how emotionally affected she might be by today's situation but also guilty because he convinced her to go along with it.
On the other hand, she was worried that Jay would get cold feet. That her dysfunctional family was more than he signed on.
Once they got home they didn't have time to take off their jackets. Hailey pulled Jay for a hungry kiss, unlike any they had ever shared.
At first, she caught him by surprise but he soon understood what she needed.
She needed physical contact. She needed to discard all her past. She needed to feel loved.
Jay placed his hands underneath her knees lifted her and carried her to her bedroom. He touched, bit and kissed her everywhere, his tongue leaving wet trails on the ''conquered'' areas. He moved slowly but rough at the same time, their breathless moans of pleasure echoing in the room.
It wasn't sex. It wasn't carnal desire. It was love. So, they spent the whole night loving each other.