Into Folklore | W. Halstead

Almost

"Oh, that does look good," Olivia spoke, trying to force the excitement into her voice, probably failing but she didn't care much. It wasn't like they were going to pick fun at the fact she wasn't jumping for joy over breakfast foods after the last few days they had.

Though there was the tinge of guilt that she could possibly be bringing their mood down without meaning to but from the way they carried themselves and considering she was pretty good at reading people, it felt like they didn't mind. Truly.

Which made her feel the slightest bit better as they pulled up to the cute building. It was tucked between two major stores, a bit stand out-ish amongst the brick but the pink paneling was so inviting that they were decently busy even at this time of day.

Olivia and them sat at a table by the door, picking the spot that was easiest to get to so they didn't have to swerve around people. "I'm leaning so heavily towards these crepes, they look delicious." Stella spoke, the laminated menu in front of her.

Hailey hummed, "I'm definitely getting waffles cause I am absolutely starving." She laughed, Kim agreeing and commenting about the last time she had been there. Which was apparently not that long ago considering how new of a place it was.

The quieter girl looked over the menu, too much of it looking appetizing and not enough of it sounding appealing. Her stomach tended to shut down when she was in her own mind. And in that moment, it felt like if she ordered any of the stuff in these pictures she'd end up bringing over 75% of it home.

Which was better than all of it in a way, so she went with regular crepes, they were smaller and lighter so she wouldn't have to worry about throwing up if her stomach decided that enough was enough.

"Alright ladies, what can I get started for you?" The waitress' smile was so sweet and never fell while they were ordering, writing everything down. Including the order of water that Olivia got for a drink which made Stella tilt her head.

Since when did she not get coffee with breakfast? She was going to ask her but the other detective started talking before she could, bringing up something about the movie they watched last night. Whatever it was, was washed to the back of Olivia's mind as she mindlessly circled patterns onto the table with her finger.

"No seriously it was funny I just-" She was cut off by three loud pops coming from just down the road. "Call 911, I don't have my radio." The girl cut herself off, running out of the building with Kim and Olivia right behind her.

Their guns were already drawn, spreading themselves out as they went in the direction. "Body," Hailey, who was still slightly ahead of them said, Kim dropping to her knees to check. "I see him, he just ran into that blue house." She glanced at the kneeling officer.

"Go, I'll wait for backup."

Olivia nodded at Hailey, jogging to the house. "Go around back, he'll probably run out, I'm gonna cut through, make sure he doesn't try and hide out inside." She spoke quickly and quietly, creeping up the few cement stairs to the front door.

With a dramatic huff, she pushed the door open. He didn't even bother to lock it behind him, and swept her eyes across the house. Nothing seen in the living room to her right or up the stairs to her left. At least she hoped.

The hardwood hallway led to an open kitchen, nobody there either. Slowly, Olivia turned back, deciding to go up the stairs. Just as she stepped off the last step, she was knocked to the ground. The other day flashed in her eyes as she grabbed his wrist, trying to keep the gun in his hand out of her direction.

Hers had tumbled down the stairs when she fell, now sitting at the bottom as she tried to push him off. He got a good hit to her face, making her hands on him falter as he pointed the gun at her. "If you move I'll shoot you." He threatened.

"Okay, okay. I won't just, just relax." She tried to speak but he shook his head, tightening his grip on the gun. "You don't wanna kill me. Not a cop. That won't end well for you I'm sure of it." Olivia locked eyes with him.

They always say, if you're staring down a barrel of a gun to look the person in the eyes. No matter who it is, there's some sort of human love and sympathy that will show itself. She wasn't lucky though. Before she even knew what was happening, his index finger was on the trigger and pressing it. Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, a loud gasp coming from her mouth as she flinched back.

Click .

Olivia opened her eyes, the man hitting the side of the gun giving her the perfect chance to smack it out of his hand and flip the two of them over. Not without him shooting the gun off and her whacking the man's back against the wall.

She managed to handcuff him in seconds, her heart racing as she yanked him up, guiding him down the stairs, only stopping to pick up the black gun she had dropped. Hailey, who had trouble getting into the backyard when the gate wouldn't open, met her out front, eyes wide.

"What happened in there?" She questioned, glancing over both her and the man, neither of which had a gunshot wound even though one had gone off. Her entire life just flashed before her eyes. What she still wanted to do. What she still wanted to see. Everything she was missing out on. That's what happened.

A patrol car was already in front of the house, thanks to Stella calling, the officer coming up to take him off of her hands. Her hands were shaking as she handed him off, stuffing them into her jean pockets before Hailey could see.

"He was hiding upstairs. I tackled him and he shot his gun off as I did. Only took so long cause I was clearing downstairs first," She half lied, voice slightly wavering. Olivia knew she shouldn't. But she just couldn't bring it to herself to admit what really happened.

That she almost died and that her thoughts were actively trying to kill her.

The day was over before it had even really started. The girls heading straight to the precinct, Olivia regularly disappearing halfway through the day, hiding herself in the bathroom when she needed a break. And she was surprised that nobody caught on.

Instead she just went back to her desk like nothing happened, avoided Kevin's concerned looks and moved on. It was like that for the next couple of days. Her mind swirling. She'd called out at least twice in a row now, too scared to put that badge on again.

Her stomach growled, so loud she was surprised they didn't hear it over in Indiana. At one point, she could have sworn she heard someone outside her door, maybe even a faint knock but when she got up to look nobody was there.

And that would have scared her if she wasn't already so deep in her mind that practically everything she thought of was a bad thought. She thought about her job. Her love life. How badly she wanted to do things. To leave Chicago, see the world. How badly she wanted to be with Will.

So badly.

And it just picked at her, ate at her every atom until she just couldn't stand it anymore. Olivia was tired of pacing her apartment for 48 hours in a row. So, in her tired and hungry state, she grabbed her keys and left the house.

Her phone had been going off so frequently that she shut it off, leaving it tucked into the top drawer of her nightstand. She wouldn't need it where she was going. She knew how to get there and who knew when she'd be coming back.