Running with Secrets

Untitled Part 18

"What do you mean?" Heath asked. "Yes Sir. I understand, Sir." He listened to his superior officer on the other end of the line. "I'll see what I can do, but I don't know that I'll be able to make anything out of it, Sir." He listened for another long minute as he was given more instructions. "I'll do. Thank you Sir." He said and cradled his phone. Heath furrowed his eyebrows and looked over his shoulder at Captain Vanderson's office. He thought highly of him, but sometimes he could be overbearing. He closed the file on his screen that he was working on, it was almost finished anyway, so he could go get some lunch. If he took an hour, he could have enough time to check on the ladies, which put a smile on his face. Kristin's bruises were healing extremely well and the cuts on her lips were just about gone.

Again, Heath pushed thoughts away and tried to distract himself. Then he reminded himself of the meeting he and Sally had with Vanderson and Paul not too long ago and how Sally had kissed him. "A distraction, Heath." She had said. "Just a distraction." Well, it had worked and whether or not she meant it, it had affected him. He was certain she had crossed a line that should still be in tact.

Heath opened up the file once more and reasoned that if he didn't get current now, then he'd never get it done. Lunch could wait. Jeanie Pollard could not.

*****

"I can't believe how many cameras the city has." Kristin exclaimed as the two women stepped back inside Sally's apartment. "And I can't believe we avoided them!"

"Yeah, that was important." Sally said. "But what I want to know is how you knew you'd look good with a pixie haircut!"

"Yeah," Kristin followed up. "The look on your face when the stylist finished up and turned me around was priceless. And the way you held your face together when you realized it was me, was hilarious!" Kristin giggled.

Sally retorted. "Yeah? But I didn't know you were thinking of chopping it all off!" Sally touched the ends of the now sleek do on her new friend. "It's like we're new friends all over again! How did you know it would look good on you anyway?"

Kristin shut the door, grateful they hadn't run into Jerry today. Yet. There was enough time in the day still. "I had short hair quite a bit in college during swim season. But I'd never gone this short. I thought if it was short, I couldn't look like any me I've ever been before and I've never had hair this short before, so..." Kristin raised her arms and hands in a 'here I am' motion and let them drop loudly at her sides.

"Ah." Sally said, understanding. "We can always color it too. Probably at a different place than we went to though, and not until really close to when Heath takes you out to visit his grandma."

Kristin blushed. That was the rise of color that meant interest. It made Sally happy to know her new friend was interested in someone. She didn't have to go detecting to figure that out. Even if it was her partner. Even after all the things she had been through in the last little while. It reminded her of the kiss she gave him the other day. It was only for a distraction. And she was never attracted to him in that way to begin with and she started to laugh.

Kristin's insecurities rose without fanfare and she crossed her arms in front of her, posturing all of her weight on one leg. She lifted her right hand to her mouth and sighed, "what's that supposed to mean? Why are you laughing?"

Sally's giggling subsided pretty quickly and she replied, "Oh, I kissed Detective Johnston the other day in the office. He needed a distraction and it was the only thing I could think of that would work. Now that I think about it, it was highly inappropriate though." Sally pursed her lips together, trying to hide another outburst of laughter.

Kristin sort of laughed. "Oh." Her posture relaxed and she moved those twelve steps to the kitchen. She reached the cabinet for a drinking glass and went to fill it with ice and water. Sally saw the sadness in her eyes again, knowing she was either thinking about Matther Benson and what might have been, or how inappropriate it is to kiss one's working partner. She hoped it was the first. She wasn't even interested in Heath.

"Do you want a drink too, Sally?" Kristin asked. "I'm not fancy and I don't drink soda or fruit juice very often. What will you have?"

"Thanks, Kristin. Water is fine." She observed Kristin from the breakfast bar. There was about a three foot counter space before the wall with the cabinets started and the sink and dishwasher took up the space behind that wall. She watched as Kristin stopped on the spot she curled up in the other day, when she found her in a puddle of ice water. It wasn't pretty, nor was it fun for either of them. She moved around the other side and put her hand on Kristin's shoulder. "It's okay, Kristin. You're safe here."

Kristin startled as she felt the hand on her shoulder. "What?"

"You're safe here." Sally repeated.

"I know." Kristin whispered. "I just..." She paused and Sally waited. "It's just that I was going to marry him." She put the tumbler on the counter and turned to her friend's shoulder and began to cry again. Sally just let her.

There was no reason to get upset, she knew it would take a long time, years even, for Kristin to not have episodes. And every episode would be different. She understood as she wrapped her arms around her and let her cry.

It took several minutes. Maybe even fifteen, for Kristin to settle down. Sally never once tried to speed it up. It was important to let her mourn the loss of her past relationship and know she truly was safe. Her phone rang several times and someone had knocked on the door.

When Kristin decided she was fine enough to cope for the day, she said in a soft voice to Sally. "I don't think I'm ready to go swimming right now. I hope you're not mad." She went back to the drink she left on the counter and picked it up.

"No, no." Sally reassured her. "That's fine." She went to the fridge and rummaged for some snacks. She found some string cheese, yogurt and grapes, then went to the cupboard and took out the kettle corn microwave popcorn. "Do you want to watch a movie? That alien one with Aaron Eckhart is pretty good." She took the snacks to the living room and set them on the coffee table before she rummaged her blu ray collection. "I know it's here somewhere." she continued. As she looked, she heard the popcorn in the microwave. She didn't expect Kristin to say anything, or really do anything, but making the popcorn was good. It was still early in the afternoon, but the panic attack she had just now was going to play a big part of the rest of the day.

"I found the movie!" Sally raised the little box above hear head triumphantly while looking at the forty or so movies she had scattered over the floor. She had more than she'd ever admit and never bothered with putting them on a shelf. "It's one of my favorites."

"Really?" Kristin asked, putting two bags of popcorn on the table with the other snacks. "I would have pegged you for some rom-com, or historical fiction."

"Sure, but this is a good one." She turned on the t.v. and blu ray player. "Or we could...no, that one's not a good idea right now."

"What?" Kristin asked, placing their drinks down too.

"Minority Report."

Kristin mulled the title around for a couple of minutes. "Is that the sci-fi Tom Cruise one? With the crime lab people?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Sally replied. "I don't think, under your circumstances we should watch that one. It's a bit--intense--and it might trigger you."

"Oh. She replied. Then what else do you have?" It didn't take long for Kristin to pull one of her favorites out of the pile. "How about this one?" She handed it to Sally.

"Oh, yeah. The Spiderwick Chronicles." She said, turning the case over to look at the back. "I haven't watched this one in for ever."

She set the film up, cleaned up the mess of movies from the floor, and not too long into it, Kristin had to use the bathroom. "Don't pause it, I'll be okay missing some of it." When she opened the door, she heard extra voices in the living room. "Sally, could you come here for a minute?" She yelled from down the hall.

"What is it?"

"Who's here?"

"Oh, it's just Heath. He came by to check up on you. Us. He came by to check up on us." She noticed Kristin get visually nervous. "I'll go get you a hat. He doesn't need to see your hair just yet." She sized up the look on Kristin's face and drew her eyebrows together. "I'll take care of it. You don't have to see anyone today."

"Thank you."