The Truths We See

Chapter 16

Jimmy sipped at the coffee his hands were wrapped around. His eyes were half-open and, for the first time since he came back, he looked like he'd just rolled out of bed. Which, I suppose, he had. After all, we were sitting in the diner at eight in the morning. Not to mention I called him at seven-thirty and woke him up.

"You never said why you wanted to meet me here," he told me once he'd drained his coffee. 

I cocked my head. "Do I need a reason to see my boyfriend?"

He ran his fingers through his hair - probably trying to fix it, but he was only making it cuter - and raised an eyebrow. "No, but you demanded I meet you. Why the demand?"

I sipped my coffee and looked out the window. "Remember when I said evidence pointed to a news person and some officers being in on the theft? I know that because I have security video from Invested showing two officers and the reporter from the news at the scene well before the alarm went off. Thing is, the two officers in the video? Turns out they're the officers assigned to the case. They're the ones investigating."

Jimmy now looked wide awake. "How do you know that?"

"I'm friends with an officer at the station. I showed him the video and he told me."

"Do you trust him?"

I nodded without hesitation. "I do."

Jimmy nodded and sat back. "So what are you going to do?"

I sighed and stared at my mug. "All I can really think to do is try to find the footage from Rob's office. There's a camera in there and I just know it recorded what happened that night. If I can figure that out, then I'll know what to do."

"You really think the solution's going to be that simple?" He sipped at his coffee, eyeing me over the rim. 

I shrugged, trying to not become defensive about it. I knew nothing was guaranteed - I had to look no further than my own parents to know that - but I had a feeling that the key to it all was in that video. "Nothing's ever simple," I said, barely keeping the edge out of my voice.

We sat in silence until our breakfast came. Then we ate in silence. "Is there a way I can help?" Jimmy finally asked about halfway through our meal.

I sat my fork down and looked at him. "I don't know yet," I said honestly. I really only needed a person to talk to besides Kev. "I'll let you know, though. Thank you." We lapsed back into silence, but this time, it was a comfortable silence. 

Like I've said before, quiet gives me time to think, and I value that time. Except the ambient sounds in the diner made me think about home. Not where I live with Ben and Lilly, but my home, where I lived with my dad. Coming home and hearing him in his office. Hearing him in the kitchen in the morning, making coffee and breakfast for himself. 

Then the time he didn't come home.

"Are you okay?" I heard Jimmy ask from somewhere far away from where I was in my head. 

In my head, where I was hearing the phone ring and hearing Dad tell me he was at the station. His words were slurred and I could tell he was drunk. I was concerned just from that, but nothing in the world could have prepared me for his next words: he was in an accident and someone died. I remember feeling the world begin to crumble around me, knowing what that meant. 

Someone distantly put an arm around my shoulders and I could hear someone saying my name, but I could still only see myself sinking to the floor and feel the tears flowing down my face. Feeling lost and devastated and worried sick all at once. 

I choked out a sob and leaned into Jimmy's embrace, turning my face so it was pressed into his chest. He held me and stroked my hair and rubbed my back while I cried on him. Again, I was amazed that I was so comfortable in his presence.