I See You

CHAPTER 12

My feet dragged behind me slowly as I finally made it to the on call room. Exhausted hadn't even begun to describe how I felt after being at the clinic for almost 48 hours. 

There was no other reason for me to still be there other than a pit at the bottom of my stomach. Something felt off and I didn't want to leave in case I missed it. 

However, nothing had transpired in the full 48 hours that I was there for. Easton went home long ago, needing rest just like everybody else. Aaliyah left for a while, but came back early that morning. I was beginning to wonder if it just had something to do with the conversation I had with Easton about Jax. 

It brought back a lot of unwelcome memories of mine, which could excuse the dread I felt. I wasn't sure, though.

It seemed like more than that. Regardless, being at the clinic for so long was wearing me down. I had already spent another few hours with Jax—intermittently—to work through his fear of needles and even helped some of the nurses with other patients just to pass the time. 

If nothing was going to happen, I could at least sit in the on call room for a while to get some rest. 

The couch creaked under my weight and I immediately took off my sunglasses as I rested my head against the back of the it. Just as I had closed my eyes, I heard the door open.

"Goddess, Finn, why are you still here?" Aaliyah.

I glanced at her and noticed that she seemed tired as well, but still had much more energy than I could deal with right then. Her dreads were up in a bun on the top of her head and she had on gold stud earrings to match the little chain around her neck. She only wore jewelry when she knew she wouldn't be working with any patients that day. 

Aaliyah was in a pair of scrubs, but not the clinic's standard pair. They were a pale purple and I found that they clashed somewhat with her red hair. She still looked stunning, though. 

Something about seeing her eased the tension in my shoulders and I let out a heavy breath. 

"Just keeping busy." I evaded her question, as always, yet it seemed like Aaliyah wasn't going to let me get away with it that time. 

Her shoes clacked against the tiles as she came over to the couch. The other side dipped as it now held both of us and she gave me a look, eyebrow raised and mouth in a slight frown. 

"What for? You look wrecked."

"Thanks." Then it was silent. 

I rested my head back in the same spot as before and closed my eyes again, basking in the stillness of the room.

We sat there for a few minutes, not doing anything other than existing. 

Aaliyah eventually started to reposition herself, garnering my attention as she pulled a leg up underneath her other one and turned slightly toward me. 

"Easton told me about earlier." She whispered the statement, waiting for something. 

I just shrugged my shoulders and looked toward the ceiling. 

"Finn, I don't know what happened for you to build so many walls around yourself, but please know I'm here for you. No matter what, do you hear me? I care about you, and I want nothing more than to see you happy. Please, just consider giving Easton a chance. I'm not blind. I see how you look at him."

Tensing, my eyes find Aaliyah's again and I'm shocked to find that she's genuine. 

Aaliyah and I had known each other for years, but I never let her in. I don't do that, and there's a very good reason for it. However, as little as we had interacted over the years, I found myself growing increasingly fond of the woman. She made me feel seen in a way not many people ever had before. 

But, hearing her say that she cared about me wasn't something I ever thought would happen. No one was ever able to get to know me well enough to say they cared, yet there she was. It felt weird. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." I could almost hit myself for immediately shutting her down, but it became instinctive after so long of doing just that. 

"Yes you do." She replied simply, gently. Like she knew what I was doing. 

I narrowed my eyes at her, but for the sake of wanting the conversation to end, I just replied with a breathless, "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask. Now, please go home before you keel over somewhere in my clinic. I don't need any dead bodies out in the halls." Holding back a smile, I decided to ignore the unease I still felt and just listen to Aaliyah. I was exhausted and honestly just wanted to be home. 

Standing at the door with my hand on the knob, I looked over my shoulder at the woman. 

". . .Thank you." I left before she could respond. 

Before long, I found myself walking up the stairs to my apartment. It was just reaching 3 in the morning, so I made sure to stay quiet. 

The unease I had been feeling all day increased tenfold as I finally reached my floor. I had no idea why, so I just chalked it up to being tired and uncomfortable with what Aaliyah had said. 

However, when I reached my apartment door, I knew something was wrong. 

The hallways were dimly lit in my building, which I usually loved, however it made it hard to notice at first. The door to my apartment was cracked open, light from inside spilling out and freezing me to my spot. 

Did I leave the door open? And the lights on?

That would be weird for me. I hated having the door unlocked in general, let alone when I wasn't home. And for the lights to be on, that was rare. I had lamps all around my apartment for softer lighting so I hardly ever had the main lights on. 

Finally able to move again, I hesitantly approached my door. It creaked softly as I pushed it open, inspecting the knob as it went. 

My breath hitched when everything slowly began to make sense. 

Someone had broken in to my apartment.