*ON HOLD* Control | An Edward Nygma Story

Chapter 5

  After work, I met with Lauren outside the precinct just like we had planned. We decided to go to this small coffee shop uptown and, since Lauren had gotten a taxi to work, I offered to drive us. I was a little nervous going out with her, but she was so bubbly and cheerful, I couldn't help but feel the same.

We arrived at the coffee shop and settled in a booth near the window after ordering our drinks. Conversation came easily to us after working together for 2 months. We were laughing and joking together in no time. We just felt so comfortable around each other. It felt good to have someone who genuinely appreciated having me around. Usually, people had no choice but to talk to me since I worked in forensics and even then, they only did if they absolutely had to.

  With Lauren, though....she actually liked me. Even from day one, when she barely knew me, she didn't treat me as if I were different from everyone else. And even as she got to know me, her view of me never changed. In fact, she grew to like me more, as was evident by our coffee date.

  I was pulled out of my thoughts as Lauren suddenly stopped talking. Her eyes widened and she grew noticeably paler. Her gaze was fixed on something just past my shoulder. I turned around to look, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  "Lauren?" I asked, forgoing the formalities. "What's wrong?"

I looked back to her and saw her looking down at the table. She met my eyes only for a moment, but a moment was all I needed to see that she was struggling to hold back tears.

"My ex-boyfriend, Jackson, just walked in," she whispered hurriedly. "And I...I really don't feel comfortable in the same place as him."

  I turned around again, trying to pinpoint which one might be Jackson, but it was impossible since I knew nothing about him.

  "Then let's leave," I said, turning back to Lauren. She looked up at me, her blue eyes wide with surprise. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

  "You don't mind...?" She asked timidly.

  I shook my head, giving her a gentle smile. I got out of my seat and offered my hand to Lauren. She took it gingerly and I led her towards the door. I felt her grip tighten momentarily as we neared the door.

Once we stepped outside, however, she completely broke down into tears.

I don't know what came over me, but immediately, I pulled Lauren into a close hug. She welcomed the contact, her hands gripping the back of my coat tightly. She buried her face in my chest and I rubbed her back soothingly as she cried.

  I noticed from the corner of my eye somebody was watching us from the large picture window in the coffee shop. It was a man, tall and built with a mess of curly blond hair. His eyes were fixed on Lauren and I and the fist clenched at his side didn't go unnoticed. I held Lauren a little tighter, turning my gaze away from the man in the window.

Well, now I knew what Jackson looked like.

Lauren suddenly pulled away from me, frantically wiping away her tears. She gave a shaky laugh, seemingly desperate to lighten the mood.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'm sorry, this...this wasn't how I wanted things to go."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I understand," I replied with a reassuring smile.

Lauren sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I guess I...wasn't as healed from the breakup as I thought I was," she admitted quietly, more to herself than to me, directing her eyes to the sidewalk.

I hated seeing Lauren so upset. It wasn't fair she had gotten cheated on because she was the most amazing woman I had ever know. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I gently tilted her chin up to meet my eyes, smiling.

"Since things didn't go too smoothly today, how about we make things up? Come to my place tomorrow evening and we'll have dinner," I suggested.

Lauren seemed to brighten up instantly at that, that cheery smile of hers I had grown so fond of making its way onto her face.

"Mr. Nygma, I would love that," she beamed. "I'll definitely be there."

  "Great," I grinned. "And now, may I drive you home?"

  Lauren giggled and I swore I felt my heart flutter. I could never get tired of hearing her laugh.

"Yes, but only if you promise to test my riddle solving skills on the way," she said, walking towards my car.

"But of course, Miss Hatfield," I replied with a chuckle, following her.

I opened the passenger door for her and as I waited for her to get in the car, I couldn't help but cast one more wary glance towards the coffeeshop window. I expected to see Jackson still there, with that unnerving unwavering stare, but he was gone. I strained to see if I could find him somewhere else through the window, but I couldn't. He was gone.

Good, I thought. I hoped we'd never run into him again.

"Getting a little paranoid, buddy?" Chimed in an all too familiar voice.

I resisted the urge to sigh as I shut Lauren's door, making my way to the driver's side. As I got into the car, I decided to just ignore him.

Surprisingly, that actually kept him quiet as I drove Lauren home. She had given me her new address since she wasn't living with Jackson anymore and we talked the whole way. I made sure to test her with a few riddles here and there. She did abysmally at figuring them out, as always, but she always gave her best effort and had so much fun trying to solve them. I loved seeing her scrunch up her nose when she was thinking, so it was always worth it for me.

  Before I dropped her off, we made sure to set a time for our dinner date the next evening and I gave her the directions to my apartment. We said our goodbyes and as I watched her enter her apartment building, I couldn't help but smile.

  I was the happiest I had ever been in my life and it was all because of Lauren.

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hello my lovelies! <3

sorry for the wait on this chapter lol

personally i think this chapter's really cute!

lemme know what you think! i love hearing from you guys☺️

stay tuned for more :D