Thank you for all the support so far! I hope you like this chapter. I also forgot to mention that this story takes place around seasons 3/4.
Please leave a review or send a PM to let me know your thoughts :)
Jay felt himself start to panic at the one-word reply. Was she against this decision? Had he already fucked it all up? Had he read the entire situation wrong? His mind filled with self-doubt. He may not have been there for her much in recent years, but that was going to change and would take some adjusting on all fronts. "It's all going to work out, Alex," he said with full confidence, even though it was faux.
"Ok," the youngest replied simply with a nod, not sure what she believed herself. She took a sip of water and nervously felt the need to crack a dumb joke to break the awkward silence, which she instantly regretted, "As long as you don't arrest me, I'd say we'll get along just fine."
"As long as you don't do anything stupid to make me arrest you, then we'll be fine," he quipped playfully with raised eyebrows as if to convey a fake threat before cracking a smile.
Alex felt her eyes instinctively float over to her messenger bag resting on the floor beside the couch where she'd laid it. "Well, I should get some stuff ready for tomorrow," she announced distractedly. "Can I take a shower?"
"Yeah, of course. You don't need to ask," he replied as he went to grab a fresh towel from the closet.
"Cool," Alex replied as she grabbed her toiletries bag out of the suitcase. "Be ready at 7 tomorrow. I don't need you making me late to school," she instructed with a no-nonsense tone that took Jay by surprise.
"You got it," he replied as she disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The second that the water turned on, she stepped beneath the showerhead and let the water fall onto her face. The weight of the evening was now overwhelming and she wasn't able to contain it anymore. It felt like her legs were about to give out, so she slowly sank down and sat on the shower floor. Thankfully the water camouflaged the tears that streamed down her face as her hand covered her mouth to keep her cries from escaping.
As soon as Jay heard the shower turn on, he made an immediate beeline to the kitchen and opened the cabinet above the fridge to retrieve a bottle of whiskey. He poured himself a small glass and downed it like water in the Sahara to calm his thoughts before pouring himself another large serving to savor as his thoughts took him elsewhere.
Alex watched the building come and go out the window of the train on her way to school. She had always preferred a quiet ride where she could listen to whatever music matched her mood that morning and not talk to anybody. She was not a morning person to say the least. While she had tried to listen to some rap to drown out her thoughts from yesterday, Jay had other plans once they settled into their seats. He had gone on and on about his plans for the day, a few things they needed to do, and asked some questions about her routine, which she tried to answer in as few words as possible.
They'd finally made it to their stop and had to walk about three blocks to get to the main school entrance. "Okay, so you'll text me when you're on your way back, right?" Jay wanted to confirm for the third time that morning.
Alex groaned loudly to make sure her annoyance was known—and it was, but he didn't care. She was under his responsibility now and with all the crap he'd seen in Chicago, nobody could blame him for being cautious. "Yes." She sighed. "Why don't you just put an app on my phone to track my every move and save me the trouble?" she retorted in full teenage sarcasm.
Her father had been pretty far from hands-on in the last few years, so she wasn't used to being suffocated and supervised like this. She had come and gone as she'd pleased, and it was never an issue with her dad where she went as long as she made it back before the next morning and didn't wake him when she came home. He didn't care to ask for any details, much to her benefit, and she obviously passed on sharing any with him. She'd had quite a bit of independence, which was what most likely led to her making a few poor choices along the way.
At her snide remark, Jay held out his hand, palm upward as they continued walking. "Works for me," he replied, waiting for her to hand over her phone but fully knowing that she wasn't going to do it. He didn't dislike the idea of giving himself peace of mind, but she clearly gave him a signal that it wasn't happening. Jay chuckled. "You know, if you keep rolling your eyes so much, you'll go cross-eyed one day." The comment just elicited another exaggerated eye roll at his stupid joke.
They'd finally made it to the school, where they headed straight for the principal's office. Jay hadn't been back to this high school since he graduated himself, but not much had changed. Brown lockers still lined the long hallways of the old building with a few random paintings of saints sprinkled in here and there.
In the office, the secretary had instructed them to wait in the seats along the wall until the principal was available. Alex nervously bounced her leg as she carefully watched who walked by the office out of the side of her eye. The last thing she needed was the class gossips to see her sitting here with Jay and then start asking questions or spreading stupid rumors. After a few minutes, the bell rang, meaning that first period was going to start in five minutes.
Jay could tell that, for whatever reason, the kid was anxious to get out of here, so when he heard the bell rang, he motioned for her to go. "You better get to class. I can take care of this on my own."
"You sure?" she replied instinctively.
"Yeah, you better get moving." It was probably for the best anyways—it would make the conversation he was about to have with the principal a lot less awkward if she weren't there.
Alex stood up and adjusted her messenger bag and started out the door without another word before stopping suddenly. Well shit. She had to say something, right? They'd never been a pair to really say bye or anything. Typically, a head nod or small wave was all Jay received when he'd leave the apartment after stopping over for dinner. But something felt different about this one—the whole situation was uncharted waters and she didn't want to appear to be an ungrateful bitch. So, in true teenager fashion, she turned and gave him a small wave and said a quick, "See ya," before disappearing into the hallway before he could even acknowledge it.
Jay couldn't help but smirk at it. He'd forgotten just how damn awkward teenagers could be sometimes.
Jay hadn't gotten the responses he'd hoped to have with the principal, but at least it was progress. You would think that they'd trust the detective's word when he said that he should be the new main point of contact instead of their father. However, the school wouldn't make any updates in their system until they received confirmation from Pat. The conversation with the principal was cut off after that.
Frustrated, Jay walked back toward the L as he ran a hand down his face. Fuck. He hadn't really intended to speak with his father anytime soon, especially after the final words they'd exchanged last night, but of course the universe liked to torture his soul more than it already had.
Before he could think through his plan, his phone started ringing in his pocket. He saw that it was his partner (in more ways than one), Erin. "Hey," he answered.
"So you are alive! I was beginning to worry," she joked. "I never heard back from you last night."
"Shit," he muttered out loud. With everything that happened, he'd honestly forgotten to text his girlfriend back. "Yeah, sorry about that," he apologized.
"It's okay. I figured you were having a nice time with your family or something."
Jay laughed. "It was anything but that."
"Oh?" she pried.
He looked up at the intersection where he was. "Can you swing by 37th and Normal and pick me up?"
"What are you doing over there?" she asked, confused as to why he'd be in that area this early in the morning.
"I'll explain when you get here," he replied. They'd confirmed details, and she was set to pick him up in about 5 minutes as the Catholic school was actually only a few miles from the 21st district precinct thankfully.
As Jay stood on the corner waiting for his ride, he looked back at the school a few blocks away and then he stared up at the sky in almost complete disbelief at the situation he found himself in right now. What had he gotten himself into? He didn't know what to expect with this new arrangement or how to not only deal with but also be responsible for an awkward and moody teenager.
Quite frankly, he was overwhelmed by the changes that he knew were about to come. But he was a strong man of his word, and he wasn't going to let his mom down—not now, not ever. He took a very deep breath—one that he'd taken many times during his time in the army that would calm his anxiety and allowed him to refocus on the mission. After he exhaled, he realized that there was one thing that was immensely clear to him at that very moment.
He was in it for the long haul.