𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 | ✔

Chapter 21

*Erin's POV*

"Jay?" I woke up again and felt the bed next to me, only to relaise that it was empty and cold.
I grabbed my phone and called him but it went straight to voicemail.
"Hank?" My next person to call was definitely him.
"Hey Erin, what's up?" In the background I heard Jay's voice and sirens.
"Where are you?" I wasn't fully awake because it was only 4am.
"Just got a call. That's why Jay isn't home aswell. 'Sargent. We need a statement to what happened between Detective Halstead and the victim'." I heard someone saying.
"Hank. What happened? And where are you?" He just hung me up without an answer and I was totally mad at him.
"What did you do?" I was at the door when Jay came home.
"We got a call. That's it." Apparently he didn't know that he still had blood spatter on his face and his body was covered in bruises.
"You know that I can tell that you are lying and if you would mind to take a look at the mirror you can see that I can even see that you got into a fight." He walked over to the mirror and sighed in resignation.
"It wasn't really a call." He looked at me and made his way over to the couch. I followed him.
"It was that man with the melted face, wasn't it?" He nodded.
"Arny Richardson. That was his name." Jay started talking.
"He said you left him behind, Jay. That isn't true, right?" I was hoping that he would say no.
"I did. Damn it. I thought he was dead. There is no reason I would have left him behind." Jay looked me in the eye and I could see the pain he was feeling.
"Just tell me what happened." All the anger I had felt until just a moment ago was gone.
"I went after him." He paused for a moment.
"I went after him to get revenge. What he did to you was beyond record. We fought, that's were the bruises come from and than I shot him, that's why I have blood at my face." I had got up in the meantime to get him a cloth so he could get rid of the blood.
"All that happened is my fault. If I had gone back then and helped him we would now have a daughter." A single tear ran down his face.
"It's not your fault." I also had something to say.
"That morning I was bleeding and in pain too, but I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to worry. I had already made an appointment at Med for after the shift, but it never got the chance to take it." He opened his arms for me and I put my head on his shoulder and cried. Jay talked to me, but I wasn't really listening, just let his voice calm me down.

*Jay's POV*

"Next Case: The state of Illinois against Jay Halstead. He is facing murder charges." The judge said and me and my lawyer sat down at the small table.
"How do you plead?" The judge asked.
"Innocent, my client acted in self-defense because he was fearing for his life." My lawyer answered the question.
"I decide innocent. Next case." She hit the hammer and I was allowed to go.
"Worked out all good. Congrats." Antonio looked relieved.
The whole unit got up and we left the courthouse together.
"Yes. Worked out." I nodded.
"I mean, how else should she punish you? You only acted because he attacked you." Kim was standing next to me.
I didn't look at Voight or Erin, because they both knew it was anything but self-defense.
"Let's go to Molly's and celebrate." Hailey suggested and we all agreed.
"You did what needed to be done. If you hadn't shot him I would surely have done it." Erin was sitting next to me in the car and was driving towards Molly's.
"I know. But damn, that man was my friend." I thought back to the time were we used to joke around to make the time more bearable.
"I don't mean to say something negative about a dead man, but that friendship was long over. So you didn't destroy anything." She tried to cheer me up a little with her words.