𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣. Evan Buckley ²

forty four

LET YOU DOWN.
chapter forty four.

SITTING IN THE ARMED OFFICE chair, Hunter had her boots thrown up to rest on the top of the wooden desk as she blew a breath out of her mouth. Her head was thrown back, looking at the ceiling as she tapped her fingers— annoyingly so.

"This is just wasting time, boss," she sighed, her head raising to look at her captain with a tisk, "just ask my high school principal how these things normally turn out."

"I should have seen it coming," Bobby didn't even acknowledge her words as he shook his head, "he didn't love you like a friend— not when we found you will a gun shot wound on that trail."

Hunter sighed, sitting up, "you know, I'm not the best at this, but I think it was before that," she cocked her head to the side as she thought to herself.

"I'm sure it was."

The Callahan sighed out again, her fingers twiddling with the ends of one of her braids as she went back to staring at the ceiling.

Her captain clenched his jaw slightly, trying to hide his amusement and focus of the actual matter at hand.

"What are you thinking?" He asked her.

The blonde cocked her head to the side, "thinkin' that I've been held hostage by the Taliban and even then I wasn't as uncomfortable as I am now," she admitted although it only caused Bobby to roll his eyes slightly.

"You know why we have to talk," he stated, Hunter shot him a look as if to say she didn't understand, "is it going to be a problem— in the field?"

"Hasn't yet," she told him before pursing her lips slightly and closing her eyes, "never been a problem for me to separate those things, I did it for seven years in Afghanistan."

"This is different," Bobby leant forward slightly, his elbows resting on his desk, "you can't tell me you're not— that you're not afraid of..."

He trailed off, trying to find the delicate words to fit the situation. Hunter let out a somber scoff as she nodded her head, knowing what he was trying to say, "that what? That I'm scared of turning over another body in the field and seeing it's a man I love? You think I haven't thought about that?"

"I know you have, and that's the problem," he softly told her, "I don't need you worried—"

"Have you ever seen me worry?" She joked lightly but quickly straightened her crooked smirk once seeing the look Bobby had given her, "I don't let those things bother me— I can't."

"It's okay to have fears, to worry—"

Hunter refrained from rolling her eyes, "as long as it's not coming to work."

He hadn't meant that, not completely. Bobby shifted his eyes slightly, thinking to himself as he tapped his foot against the polished concrete of his office floor. As a captain, of course he was worried for the sake of his team and the arbitrary consequences that could come from this. But as a friend, as a family member, he worried for her more importantly.

Hunter wouldn't understand that concept, Bobby putting her mental well-being over the 118 as a whole— to an extent. Hunter only understood having a job, and getting it done. Cut plain and simple, she was taught years ago in basic training that when it came down to it, her safety and health wasn't all that important to her.

"I won't keep you guys a secret, that's not my job," Bobby quickly changed the topic, giving a pointed look to the younger woman.

The blonde woman narrowed her eyes, cocking her head to the side as if she was delivering a silent challenge, "you..." she trailed off thinking of the word to say, "bastard," a hearty laugh left her lips as a soft smile overtook her face while her captain simply shook his head with a chuckle.

The captain let out a sigh, still smiling slightly, "always a pleasure talking to you, Hunt."

The Callahan rolled her eyes slightly, moving to stand, "killed forty seven minutes in here today, Cap, almost a record," the woman observed as she looked around the office and winked briefly as her hand hovered over the door knob.

"I'd be fine never having to call you in here again," Bobby pointedly told her, also rising to his feet as he stepped out from behind his desk. "Before you leave..." he trailed off, "how's he doing with Maddie gone?"

Hunter sighed out, pursing her lips, "better than Chim, I guess," she replied, "I mean, it's his sister— how's he suppose to take it?"

Buck tried to pretend he wasn't worried for Maddie. He knew she was safe, physically, but he still couldn't help but think of her in passing moments. Maddie had already left him once, that's how he thought of it as— just another member of his family abandoning him with little to no words before hand.

Chimney, on the other hand, was a mess. He couldn't believe she'd up and leave with nothing more than a mere video. Now, instead of a happy family of three, he was a single father who hardly ever showed up for his shifts at the firehouse. Not that anyone could blame him, they could all see him tearing himself apart from the inside out.

The two had left the office, the man clasping a hand over the shoulder of Hunter as patting slightly as their boots echoed unsynchronized across the oddly pristine floor of the firehouse. "Do me a favor," Hunter started, letting a breath out, "can you try and scare him when you bring him in?" Bobby had known exactly who he was, it was glaringly obvious as he rolled his eyes but slyly nodded his head nonetheless.

sorry !! I know it's a short chapter :(

Potentially moving updates to
every other Tuesday, haven't
quite decided. I just don't have
that much time to write right
now.

I also want to go through and
rewrite beautiful mess eventually
(keeping the plot the same) just
because I feel my writing had changed
for the better since I started that
book.