Chicago (A Jay Halstead Story)

Chapter 17

I followed Jay down the hall, stopping at a door at the opposite end. It was a simple room, with a dresser, nightstand, and bed.

"It's kinda boring I know. Feel free to hang stuff on the walls or do whatever you want."

"I hope I'm not here long enough to need to do that."

Jay averted his eyes, his lips in a thin line.

"I just mean. Uh. Cause I hope they catch Marco soon. Then I can be out of your way. Not because I don't want to live with you. I'm super grateful to stay here. And I'm sure you're great to live with. But I don't really know you. We may hate each other after like a day. Especially if we are still working together. Assuming I still have my job at the precinct. And I'm sure the last thing you want is some troubled female living with you long term."

Jay's eyes were wide and he was trying his best to suppress a laugh.

"I talk a lot when I get nervous. So I'm just gonna shut up now." I rolled my eyes. I'm so embarrassed.

Jay set my stuff on the bed. "I get it." He chuckled. "It's not the most ideal situation. And I hope they find him soon. But, I'm serious when I say you're welcome to stay as long as you want. And you working at the precinct gives Voight an easy way to keep an eye on you. Plus he loves you, so I guarantee you still have your job. I wouldn't worry about that."

I mustered up a half smile and nodded. "Thank you, Jay. Uhm I really need a shower before we do anything."

"Right. Let me show you where everything is."

I grabbed my toiletries bag and walked out behind Jay.

"This is where all the towels and washcloths are." He pointed to a small closet in the hall. "And this is the bathroom." He opened a door opposite the closet revealing a bathroom. "Uhm, its tub and shower. I'm not trying to be a perv, I swear, but do you need help getting in there or anything? I don't know how you're feeling."

I laughed at his embarrassed face. "I think I'll be okay. But just keep an ear open in case I holler for you. Deal?"

He nodded and blushed, motioning for me to go in and shutting the door behind me when I did. I turned the water on and stripped down. I'm going to have to go through my clothes and get rid of the ones that's are too big for me now. No point in me keeping them. Jay's bathroom has a huge mirror, which is perfect as I finally can get to see the damage my body took. There were bruises all over me, including a nice black eye. I stepped in the shower and scrubbed hard. I'm foolish to think I can just scrub away everything that happened, but it's worth a shot to try. I scrubbed until my skin was red and raw before finally rinsing off and getting out. I wrapped the towel around me, but you could still see the bruises on my chest. Hopefully I won't see Jay between here and the bedroom. I brushed my teeth and applied some makeup, desperately trying to cover up my black eye. When I didn't think there was anymore I could do, I rushed to the bedroom and got dressed. I put on a smaller dress I had, luckily with a high neck so you can't see the bruises. Pants just didn't seem comfortable with this incision right now. I dried my hair, slipped on my sandals, grabbed my phone and purse and walked out.

"Hey Jay?"

"Yeah in here!"

I followed his voice to the living room where he was sprawled out on the couch watching tv.

"Be honest okay? Can you still tell how bad my eye is bruised?"

Jay stood up and walked over to me, putting his hand gently under my chin and lifting my face up to get a better look.

"You look beautiful." He cleared his throat. "Uhm. I mean you covered it really. Uh really well." He dropped his hand and rubbed them on his pants. "Ready to go?"

I nodded, trying not to laugh and made my way out to his car.

"You like Gyro's?"

"Love them. You ever been to George's?"

Jay grinned. "That's just the place I was going to recommend."

It didn't take us long to get there. We walked in, ordered our food, and sat down at one of the tables. George's has more of this old fashioned diner feel, mixed with a Vegas style kinda thing. But the food is so good.