"What boxers was the victim wearing?" Ella suddenly asked Damien, who frowned.
"Boxers?" Damien repeated, looking up from the pictures taken by the forensics team at the Parker's house shortly after the homicide.
"Yes." Ella took a picture on her phone of the security tape that was playing on the laptop she had. Something was weird, but it wasn't adding up to what exactly it was that Ella found strange.
At a loss, Damien stood up and handed Ella the picture where you could see the victim's clothes perfectly. Ella smiled, excitedly pointing at the laptop screen.
"Something is wrong. Look." Ella rewinded the security footage while Damien took a seat next to her. "The victim is clearly wearing some black boxers. However, when Mr. Parker bends down, he's wearing red ones. Why did he change?"
Damien moved closer, though it was hard to miss the red fabric sticking out from under his jeans when Parker bent down to pick up something. He then look at the whole outfit, wondering if maybe there was some red cloth they could be confusing it for, but there was none.
"So he changed?" Damien pondered out loud, staring straight into the victim's face.
"Did Jamie tell you anything last time you went?" Ella quietly asked seeing how Damien was very concentrated.
"No," Damien vividly recalled the large disaster that the meeting had been. "She said they fought as soon as he got home. He wouldn't have gotten the chance to change anyway with the time of death." Damien gave out a frustrated huff. He removed his glasses that protected his eyes from being on devices all day long and ran a hand down his face.
"Let's go to the coroner. We can investigate the whole body and cause of death again. Maybe there is something the coroner thinks that the police or Jamie didn't include." Ella suggested, looking at Damien as Damien only nodded. This case for him was quickly turning into some soap opera with the amount of twists and turns as well as lies that surrounded the case.
"Let's book the appointment as soon as possible. It's been months and people are getting restless." Damien agreed. Ella was quick to jot it down on things to do when the door was knocked on.
Mr. Kim poked his head in, smiling brightly. "How are my two favorite workers doing?"
"Really, Mr. Kim?" Oliver's voice could be heard whining in the back.
"You want to come to a company dinner? We're celebrating Katherine's win over the Graham's case.
"That case was given to her seven months ago." Damien panned. Katherine was too slow when it came to defending her clients. Every time she went up against Damien for practice, she would lose miserably in less than fifteen minutes.
Mr. Kim's smile twitched, and he ignored Damien's comment. Ella looked at Damien who was still by her side. "Sure. We'll go." Ella nodded, asking Damien with her eyes if he was okay with going as well.
"Wh-what?" Kim stumbled, a perplexed as he saw Damien standing to pick up his things. "You're both coming?"
Ella nodded, also grabbing her things. Mr. Kim, confused, just stood there watching as Ella waited for Damien to shut down his computer and shut off the lights before they stood at the exit that Kim was blocking.
"Jihye?" Ella called out, looking at him with a smile. It was obvious that he was shocked that Damien was coming along, but Ella had a feeling that Damien was becoming more social and open. "Let's go." Ella linked her arm with Kim's and pulled him out. Everyone else was ready in to go ahead and just walk to the restaurant since it was nearby.
"I saw your brother the other day." Kim mentioned from Ella's left. Damien was quietly walking beside her on her right.
"Did he see you?"
"Not really. All he had eyes for was you that night. He's grown into an intelligent and great man." Kim remembered the night of Ella's attack. He sighed, tapping her arm that was inside the crook of his elbow. He hadn't had a moment to show it, but he was terrified that day. Seeing how pale and hurt she was made him believe that he really was going to lose her that day. He was extra thankful and grateful towards Damien since the kid had taken charge of the situation and taken care of Ella.
"Yeah. He's amazing." Ella nodded, a small, proud smile coming onto her face. "His wife is pregnant, you know."
"Seriously?!" Kim almost snapped his neck to look at Ella from the abrupt news.
"Yeah," Ella nodded, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. "She's in her fifth month."
"So you've been seeing me for almost all the days of the week for about three months now, and only now are you mentioning this to me?" Kim scolded, lifting his finger to tap onto Ella's forehead. "Aigoo," he tsked in his mother tongue. (Goodness)
They soon arrived at the restaurant and were quickly seated since the manager knew them as regulars.
"No, Oliver. Move." Hope yanked Oliver by the back of his tie, choking him out of his seat so that she could sit next to Ella. Mr. Kim sat directly across from Ella, and Katherine and Joselyn sat by either side of Mr. Kim. The only seat that was near Ella was the one to her right, but Damien was already preparing to sit.
"Damien, why don't- never mind, I'm sorry." Oliver quickly ducked out of Damien's glaring sight and move to sit lower down on the table, next to Katherine.
"What a wus." Katherine murmured under her breath, and Ella shook her head while laughing softly. It wasn't like she was a superstar or really talkative, though she would vouch that she was a really good listener, so maybe that was why people were drawn to her.
Once everyone had ordered and received their food and drinks, the restaurant was buzzing with good energy due to the weekend starting. Even Ella had surprised herself by having two glasses of wine already, even though most of the table had probably had more alcohol in their systems with the exclusion of Damien.
"They're loud, aren't they?" Ella noticed how Damien wasn't seemingly enjoying himself.
Damien look at her with those forest green eyes that had learned to see right through her own hazel ones. "Yes. Very."
Ella laughed, nodding as she poked at her slice of chocolate cake. "Wanna ditch?" She suddenly thought, her eyes brightening up at the idea of leaving the sensory-overloaded place. Damien needed no more insistence as he quickly stood up, waiting for Ella to collect her things.
"Where are you guys going?" Kim quickly quipped, his ears red from the beers he had.
"Just for a walk. See you Monday." Ella waved, lifting from her seat.
"Wait! I wanna go, too!" Oliver pouted, trying to stand up from his seat but due to his lack of coordination with alcohol, he fell right back on it.
Damien shook his head in disappointment at seeing all of his colleagues being a mess. Instead, he grabbed Ella's hand and tugged her out of the restaurant, back out into the fresh and breezy air of August.
"It feels so nice to be out here." Ella sighed, stretching her neck back to rid of the tension there. Damien nodded, observing her. He noticed an adorable rosy tint covering her cheeks and nose. He smiled before tugging her closer and beginning their walk down the busy streets of nightlife in the city.
"Are you tipsy?" Damien wondered, and Ella shook her head.
"I actually have a high tolerance level for alcohol." Ella was almost proud to say that. It wasn't like she had practiced or trained for it, but for some reason, it just didn't affect her the same.
"I can totally tell." Damien teased, lifting his hand to tap her blushed nose. Then, funnily enough, Ella turned even more pink. Damien stayed quiet, knowing that she was blushing from his little act.
They then quietly wandered through the streets. While they were quiet, though, the city wasn't, and Damien and Ella kept their grasp on each other's hand before they decided to head back to the basement level of their work office to pick up their cars.
"Ella," Damien hesitantly called after her once she was walking to her car. Ella turned, pushing back a curled lock of hair that had fallen onto her face. "Tonight... actually..."
How on earth was Damien supposed to ask her? It had been years since he had first had a girlfriend, but after Vincent and Kim, he couldn't bare the idea of another women holding such a great deal of power over another human being. Seeing Ella, though... he could clearly see that she wasn't anything like his deceased friend's ex or Kim's ex-wife. Seeing Ella made him want to try.
"I would like to get to know you more... on a more... personal level," Damien finally said the words. He watched as Ella turned a visible pinker shade even in the dark, and he chuckled. She was pretty cute for a twenty-four year old woman.
Ella opened her mouth to speak, but as soon as she did, loud conversations began filling the basement. It would take no genius to figure out that it was Kim and Oliver singing really, really badly while Katherine and Hope laughed loudly.
Damien looked at Ella anxiously. He needed her answer now; he felt like this was his first court appearance in front of a judge with Ella being the judge of whether his feelings were good enough to accept.
The singing got louder, and Ella smiled nervously. "We'll talk later!" She hushed out before getting into her car. Damien huffed, running a hand through his dark hair before also getting into his own vehicle. Neither one really wanting to deal with their drunk and noisy coworkers.
Ella, shamefully, had also used that as an opportunity to leave. It wasn't that she was going to reject Damien, at least, she didn't think she was. It was just very sudden, and she hadn't really had the time to stop and think carefully and diligently about her feelings. A relationship was something serious, and that was what Damien had meant, right?
I would like to get to know you more on a more personal level.
He was referring to a relationship, right?
"What are you mumbling about?"
Ella jumped. She had been stuck inside her head for the rest of her drive home that she didn't noticed her brother's vehicle was parked in her driveway or notice him opening her car door.
"Nothing," Ella looked away, collecting her purse from the passenger side and unbuckling herself. "What are you doing here?"
Fransisco stared at her suspiciously. He may not be a psychologist and be as good at reading people as Ella, but he could tell when someone was acting our of the normal, especially when it was family.
"We just wanted to surprise you with dinner and a gift." Erica appeared from Fransisco's car once Ella got out of hers and locked it.
"What? Why?" Ella frowned, looking at Erica through incredulous eyes. "You found the baby's gender." Ella guessed, and Erica's smile dropped instantly.
"Could you at least pretend to not know everything?" Erica extended her hand quickly, no longer excited to tell Ella the news.
"Your envelope is facing me." Ella explained, taking the mini gift bag while pointing at the envelope that had "GENDER" displayed across.
"What?" Erica looked at her hand, hissing out a disappointed breath.
"You had one job, baby." Fransisco laughed, moving to soothe his wife by massaging her shoulders.
"I don't know the gender, though. That's the surprise." Ella soothed, welcoming them into her home.
"Yes. Enough waiting. We were sitting in the parking lot for a good hour waiting for you." Erica excitedly followed Ella in, her smile stretching from ear to ear as she gave Ella the envelope. "Open it now."
Ella laughed at her sister-in-law's eagerness, and without further ado, opened the envelope. Instantly, she looked at her older brother in amazement after seeing the ultrasound picture.
"Finally, huh?" Fransisco tried hiding the tears in his eyes.
"She's going to be so blessed to have you as a dad." Ella whispered into her brother's ear as she hugged him tightly. Fransisco just squeezed her tighter in his arms, grateful to have her unconditional love and support.
After hugging and congratulating Erica, Fransisco went into the kitchen to prepare something to eat for himself. Erica took that time to nudge Ella, who had been entranced at looking at the baby picture, but Erica knew that it wasn't so much about the baby that had Ella preoccupied.
"What's the matter?" Ella's eyes snapped to Erica, confusion clear on her expression. "You've been sort of distracted after the baby news. Is there something I should know?" Erica tentatively asked. She had noticed there seemed to be a deeper meaning to the strong hug that the siblings had given each other earlier.
"What? About what?" Ella looked at her head-on, determined to not let her see through and then have Fransisco feel guilty about his initial disappointment at the news of their pregnancy. After all, Fransisco had been more worried that this would be another failed pregnancy, and he would lose his wife for good this time.
"I don't know. Something like... is Fransisco okay? I think... I just don't know if he needs some help after... my other pregnancies, you know? He's never really been one to share burdens like that to me." Erica drew her lips in, and Ella smiled. Erica had no clue how accurately she had just hit the nail on the head.
"I'm having... romantic issues?" Ella strayed from the previous conversation, and that successfully distracted Erica.
Her eyes were shining with delight and curiosity already. "Are you asking me or telling me?"
Ella sighed, slumping over the breakfast bar, knowing her brother was busy making a ruckus in the kitchen. "Both?" She looked at her sister-in-law through her lashes.
Erica laughed and reached pat Ella on her head. "You're so cute." Erica then straightened up, pulling her coat tighter around herself and looking at Ella. "Tell me, patient. What is the matter?"
"That is not how I talk to my patients." Ella grumbled, tilting her head so that her cheek rested against the cool marble of her high breakfast bar. "I have... he makes me feel giddy, and... he's become more... kind towards me."
"Do you like him or do you like the way he makes you feel?"
"Both." Ella said without a doubt. "He's so intelligent and just... hardworking and nice and handsome." Ella sighed. Indeed, he was a catch.
"Does he not like you back?" Erica was almost scowling. She couldn't imagine a single soul not liking Ella. Ella was warm-hearted, beautiful inside and out, and a smart, mature, young woman.
"I think he does. He asked me permission to get to know me on a more personal level. What does that mean?" Ella sat up straighter, eager for a clear response. She didn't want to mistaken his words for something she thought she heard.
"I mean... maybe?" Erica was frowning, thinking carefully. "How old is this dude, Elle?"
"I think he's like... in his early thirties." Ella laughed, "he's not old, Erica."
"I'm just making sure." Erica laughed, and sighed. "Why don't you ask him to clarify, but honestly... I don't know what else that sentence of his could even mean."
Ask him? Great. Just great.