Akilah woke up that morning with a smile on her face. At first, she didn't remember anything about where she was or what had happened the night before or what problems, if any, she may have had. For a second, she could barely even remember who she was. The morning was still and quiet, and for just a second, Akilah barely existed inside herself. It was as if she had ascended from her earthly problems, and she only existed in that feeling of bliss and tranquility.
But of course, that moment wasn't to last, and she crashed back into herself. But it wasn't necessarily a hard crash. Even after the crash, the tranquility of the moment didn't leave her. It just didn't exist at such a cosmic level anymore. And, slowly, everything began to fall into place. The bed she was in was unfamiliar to her, but that didn't mean she didn't know where she was. She just hadn't been in that bed- or that room, or that house, for that matter- before the previous night.
From where she was, she could watch the window where morning light was just beginning to seep in. She could tell by the level of light in the room that the morning was still fairly new; she could tell that the sun was just beginning to rise. It was no surprise that she was naturally up early. Ciara woke up at 6:30 in the morning practically every day, and on the days she didn't, she was never asleep later than 7:00. Even if Akilah didn't stay awake, she always woke up at least once to Ciara wandering about the apartment.
A look at the clock on the nightstand told Akilah that it was just past seven in the morning, and she sighed in content. She might be able to get more sleep yet that day, but she wasn't sure if she actually wanted to. Normally when she woke up, she was greeted with the sound of whatever Ciara was doing at the moment. But that morning, the room was quiet- the only sound being the steady breathing of the sleeping man next to her.
She reached a hand up and touched the cheek of the man next to her, wondering if she would wake him up. But even as she started to lightly stroke his cheek, he only smiled softly in his sleep, and she laughed quietly to herself. For a few seconds, Akilah just laid there, watching Morgan sleep. That was where she stayed: in that moment of content and bliss and tranquility.
The night before had started out so normal. But, as it played out, it turned into something special that Akilah hadn't been prepared for, but at the same time, she knew she would never forget.
Once they had gotten home from Wyoming, they had quietly discussed what the plan for that night was. It was Friday, the night that had become their usual date night. It was still early in the night, so they had decided that Akilah would drive Ciara home so she could start on her nightly routine and so Akilah could grab/drop off a couple things. Maybe even change into something a little more comfortable- her work clothes were nice and all, but they weren't very suited for a night out on the town.
Once all that was done, and she had said goodbye to Ciara, she had driven to the spot that she and Morgan had picked out in advance, expecting just a normal date. And that's what it had started out as. They mentioned the case they had just gotten home from only once- when Morgan asked if she knew what was going to end up happening to Katelynn now that everything was over. Fortunately, Akilah knew the answer. She was going to stay with Kathy and Frederick for the meantime, and if they couldn't find any other family that would take her, she would just stay there.
That was the only time they were going to mention the case, as they had made a promise not to mention work while they were out. They were doing their best to separate their work and personal lives. There was no need to be muddling that separation with talk of the case and what it entailed. It was over, and they were no longer there. There was no use thinking on it anymore. That was how Akilah survived some of the things they saw: by pretending the cases- those people, those crimes, those horrible endings- only existed while they were, and once they left, they ceased to be.
Out of sight, out of mind. When it came to the cases, Akilah had never let herself have any object permanence. That was how she got through it.
Of course, there were one or two that Akilah had let herself think about a time or two afterward. There had been a time or two that she had given her business card to a victim, a formal invitation to contact her if they needed to talk. Adriana Wickham had been one. Katelynn Whittle was another one. After all, Akilah knew what it was like to have to suddenly move on without her family. She knew what it was like to have to make her own way in the world, seeing as- aside from one letter- she hadn't had any contact with her father or any of her sisters since that dreadful night when she was twelve.
But, of course, Akilah wasn't going to think about any of that. She couldn't, not when she was on a date with the only person that had ever actually been able to reach into her heart. And that night, she had realized just how much of a hold he had on it- and, perhaps, how much of a hold she had on his heart, too. As the minutes had gone on and the twilight had given way to night, he had asked her a serious question, one that she had never heard before.
He had asked her to be official with him. He had asked her to be his girlfriend.
For a few seconds, she had just sat there, wide-eyed and confused as to how to answer. In the past, she had casually dated, sure, but nothing serious had ever become of it. A few dates here and there, some one night stands, but she had never really let herself become attached to someone, and no one had really seemed to want to get attached to her. Maybe they could tell that she was damaged. Maybe they could tell that she had been broken, beaten, and betrayed. Maybe they thought she would be scared of commitment. And maybe they were right.
But with Derek Morgan, she wasn't so scared anymore.
She didn't know why she wasn't scared. For all she knew, this could messily fall apart two weeks later. For all she knew, they could go steady for a few months and then have a horrible breakup when one of them caught the other cheating. Maybe that was why she was so scared of commitment: she feared the heartbreak that would come if things ended. But, for all she knew, things could go amazingly. For all she knew, this might be the last relationship she was ever in- this could be the one that lasted the rest of her life. She would be risking her heart, she knew that.
But with him, she was willing to take that risk. And so, after a few seconds, and of course asking if he was sure he wanted her, she had said yes. They had sealed the deal with a kiss, and for the rest of the night, they had just reveled in their new status as an official couple. At the end of the night, when they had decided it was about time they left the restaurant, neither one of them had wanted to say goodbye. So Morgan decided they weren't going to and asked her to stay the night at his place. It hadn't really been a hard decision for Akilah.
She simply texted Ciara that she wouldn't be home that night, and had followed Morgan in her own car so that she wouldn't have to worry about going and getting it the next morning. Once they were at his house, they had decided they were just going to watch a movie and that was it. Well, about halfway through the movie and after just a couple drinks, they had ended up making out on the couch and one thing led to another and...
Well, to keep it simple, they had spent a truly amazing night together.
And, to be honest, it was kind of a new experience for Akilah. Now, she was plenty experienced when it came to sex. She had had plenty of one night stands back in L.A. If she felt like it, she could always find someone willing to drop down and tumble with her. There had been good times and there had been bad times. There had been times that she could not wait to get dressed and leave wherever she was. But every time had one thing in common: it had always been casual sex without love.
That was what made everything different with Morgan. There had been, well, maybe not love, but passion. He had actually cared about her as a person, rather than just seeing her as an object to satisfy his own needs, like every other man she had ever been with had. That had been her new experience: having sex to be intimate and close with someone, not just to satisfy some carnal need inside of themselves. It had been magical and passionate and intimate and everything her previous encounters had not.
And that was what led to Akilah waking up that morning next to Derek Morgan wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts that was too big on her. She looked at the clock again and saw that only five minutes had passed during her reminiscing, and she smiled to herself, deciding a little bit more sleep was definitely on the table for her. She didn't know how much more, but she didn't think about that as she just closed her eyes, a sense of comfort and safety quickly lulling her to sleep.
When she woke up again, the clock told her it was just after ten in the morning. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, stretching herself out before realizing that Morgan was no longer beside her. She heard the sound of a shower running, and concluded that that was where he was. She stretched a little more, before running her hand through her hair to see how much of a rat's nest it was. Luckily it wasn't too bad, and a quick comb-though with her fingers would suffice until she got home and could properly take a brush through it.
She slowly got out of the bed, looking around the room to find some of her clothes. She wasn't going to change back into the clothes she was wearing the night before right away- she'd probably wait until she was just about to go before she did that. After all, just the oversized t-shirt was pretty damn comfortable. However, she was at least going to put her underthings back on. She debated for a moment on whether or not she wanted to put her bra back on, but she sighed, knowing she had to. She, unfortunately, was part of the group of women that couldn't quite get away without wearing one.
She slid the t-shirt back on before walking out of the room, just wandering about the house for a little bit. She finally ended up in the kitchen, and she crossed over to the sink, just looking out the window. She wondered if Ciara had already met up with Reid, or if they were going to wait until later in the afternoon. They had never decided on a set time and just went whenever the mood struck them, which had always shocked Akilah. Ciara was never one to just go with the flow. She didn't like surprises and never liked to do anything without at least a basic plan of what was going to happen. But, ever since leaving California, Ciara had been constantly surprising Akilah.
She was broken out of her thoughts by a pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around her waist and she smiled as he gave her a small kiss on the cheek.
"Found you," he said, and she laughed softly.
"Aw, were you missing me?" she joked, and it was his turn to laugh.
"As if I could not miss you," he responded, and she felt heat rising to her cheeks, but thankfully her dark complexion was an automatic blush hider, and he wouldn't have any opportunity to tease her about it. That, after all, was one of the hallmarks of their relationship: they were both sassy people who liked to tease each other. When they were together, there were plenty of jokes to be had. She turned herself around as best as she could since he didn't exactly let her go long enough to make it easy for her to do so. But despite that, she managed to get herself around and facing him, slinging her arms around his shoulders.
"Mm, now that's a better view than the window," she said, and he smiled that damn smile of his, that smile that made her all giddy and happy inside like a besotted schoolgirl. And she was no schoolgirl; she was a grown woman, damn it!
"Is that so? Well, I very much like my view, too," he responded, causing her to smile and roll her eyes. He put his hand under her chin and tilted her face upwards, bringing their lips together for a gentle kiss. "And, might I say, you look pretty damn sexy wearing my shirt."
"And you look pretty sexy without it. Maybe I should take your shirts more often," she countered, putting one of her hands on his bare chest. "Although I'm still getting used to the idea of you in sweatpants."
"Would you like it better if I took them off?" he asked, a smirk growing on his face.
"Derek Morgan, are you trying to seduce me?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"Is it working?" Akilah raised her eyebrows in amusement, and he just smiled back at her, waiting for her answer.
"You'd think you would have gotten enough last night," she mentioned.
"Enough of you and your body? Never," he replied, and that damn blush came creeping back up to her cheeks. She was still glad that her skin wasn't going to give it away, although she wondered if he still somehow knew what he was doing to her. "Do you have anywhere to be today?"
"Not really. I told Ciara I'd be back today, but then again, she was also expecting me last night and I changed it up on her. I can tell her I'll still be a bit. She won't be terribly happy, but she'll get over it," Akilah responded, shrugging. "Do you want me to stay a little longer?"
"Is your hair red?"
"My phone is back in your room. You'll have to let me go so I can go get it."
"Or I could just go with you. That would make things slightly easier," he said, and she sighed. It wasn't like she wasn't enjoying the situation- she definitely was. And if they actually ended up having sex again- well, she definitely wouldn't mind that, either. Morgan let go of her waist but grabbed her hand, and started leading her back to the bedroom so she could get her phone. Which, honestly, was probably a good thing, because she wasn't sure she would have been able to find her way back by herself.
It took her a moment to remember where she actually set her phone. She was finally able to find it in the pockets of her pants, and she unlocked it, going to her messages. She opened her conversation with Ciara and noticed that she hadn't yet answered the text from the night before, which was unusual, but not completely unexpected. As she started typing out her text telling Ciara she was going to be later than previously thought, Morgan moved her hair away from her neck, before wrapping his arms around her waist again and laying kisses on her neck.
"Babe, just let me finish this damn text, and then I'm all yours," she told him, and she felt him chuckle into her neck. Finally, she sent the text, hoping Ciara wouldn't be too pissy when she finally got home. Well, she'd cross that bridge when she got to it. For now, though...
"You finished?" he asked, and she nodded, gently dropping her phone onto her pants. Morgan suddenly picked her up bridal style, and Akilah yelped, not quite having expected him to do such a thing. He carried her over the bed and slowly laid her down on it, before climbing on top of her. She put one hand behind his head and pulled his face to hers, their lips melding together.
He had just started to push the shirt up when someone started loudly knocking on the front door.
"Maybe if we just ignore it they'll assume nobody's home and go away?" Akilah suggested, and after a moment, the knocking stopped. They had just resumed their kissing when the knocking resumed, louder and more urgent than the time before.
"Fuck," Morgan muttered, sliding off of the bed to head towards the front door. Akilah pushed the shirt down as much as she could and followed him, wanting to know (and most likely have a word or two with) whoever had interrupted them. They quickly got to the front door, and through the small section of glass in the door, Akilah saw a figure that vaguely looked like Reid. Morgan opened the door, and sure enough, Reid was standing there, a panicked look on his face and tears in his eyes. "Woah, Pretty Boy, what's going on?"
"Morgan, I tried to call you, but you weren't picking up, so I-" Reid suddenly stopped talking as he finally noticed that Akilah was there, peeking around Morgan and using his body to hide her mostly bare lower half. Confusion filled his face as he looked back and forth between Morgan and Akilah, and he opened his mouth to speak when Akilah beat him to it.
"We'll talk about this later, okay?" she said, gesturing to her and Morgan on the word "this", and Reid nodded. "Now, what's wrong?" He took a deep breath, that panic filling his face again.
"I texted Ciara to tell her when and where to meet me for our weekly excursion. Now, she usually answers me just to confirm she got the text, but she didn't do that today, which I thought was weird, but I tried not to think about it too much. Well, the time I asked her to meet me at came and passed and she still hadn't shown up, so I called her, but she didn't pick up. I called her a second time- you know, just in case she wasn't near her phone the first time-"
"Reid?" Morgan interrupted, and Reid stopped his rambling and looked over at the other man.
"Yeah?"
"Stop rambling and just tell us what the problem is," he instructed, and Reid sucked in a shaky breath. He looked down at the ground for a second, and when he looked back up, Akilah noticed a tear had slid down his cheek.
"Ciara's missing."
"Someone cannot go missing without someone knowing something, somewhere." -Carolann Hunt