Every one of Kenny’s limbs ached in protest as he pushed open the doors to the Messina complex that night. It was the heavy, bone-deep ache of being rushed off your feet all afternoon. Kenny had been volunteering for whatever menial task came his way or onto his desk, happy to be busy, as opposed to Call-Me-Hayley who continually filed her nails or took personal calls instead of doing paperwork. The precinct had become his own personal hell now that his chances had doubled of running into Harvey. He desperately needed to get away from the other man, whose eye he kept catching or who he was sure had quirked up the corner of his lips after he’d tripped over Call-Me-Hayley’s feet for the third time that day.
Kenny shook his head, pushing the anxiety-inducing thought from his mind as he headed for the elevator. He kept his eyes cast politely downward as Will fumbled to push the button for him, hoping to avoid an awkward interaction. There had been a few occasions where he’d tried to be polite to Jane’s best friend, but the university student always stumbled over his words, or cut conversation with the officer short. Tonight, still clad in his uniform, Will seemed more tense than ever. Kenny merely gave him a friendly nod, smiling slightly as he dipped into the elevator and up to his floor.
Reaching his and Jane’s flat, Kenny fumbled with his keys, attempting to balance a stack of papers as well as his bag as he unlocked the door. He presumed the living room would be plunged into darkness, certain Jane would be in bed at this late hour. He knew for a fact she had a shift at the aquarium tomorrow, and would be curled up in bed. He was therefore surprised to find their living room bathed in light, Jane sitting sleepy but upright at the table that dominated most of the kitchen space.
“Hello, you.” he echoed her greeting slightly, moving toward the table. He lazily slung the strap of his bag over the back of the un-occupied chair, dropping the files too before gravitating towards Jane’s side. As he leaned down to brush her cheek with his lips, he caught a whiff of her shampoo, and the aquarium. He couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, but he suddenly occupied with the fanciful idea that perhaps Jane had been a mermaid, or something of the sort, in a past life.
“Certainly. What’s eating you?” he tried to joke, sinking into the chair across from her. He took up the steadily-cooling coffee, raising it to his lips without drinking. He choked down multiple cups of coffee at the office all day, but he knew Jane was only trying to be kind. At least hers didn’t taste like thick sludge, like you were choking with every swallow. Although Kenny didn’t like to complain.
He studied her face quietly, trying to decide how serious the issue was. Jane was impassive.
“Is everything alright?” he questioned.
Jane picked subconsciously at the rim of her coffee mug, the smell of the brewed coffee strongly hung in the air. She didn’t know how crucial the situation was realistically but it was enough to make Jane feel rather uncomfortable at her work place. It had been something that had been brewing for the past two weeks, give or take and she was near the boiling point of her sanity. She needed advice on how to handle it.
“I guess,” she paused, “I don’t really know.” Jane shifted her body to face more towards him, tucking one leg under the other as her side was pressed against the backrest of the chair, with her arm laying gently on top. “I love the aquarium, obviously, it’s my pride and joy.” She began, “I think I just need an outside opinion on whether or not I’m being oversensitive or paranoid.”
It all started nearly two weeks ago, Jane had been working a feeding with the dolphins, then her next stop was working with the seals. They had a new apprentice, though not assigned to her, had started following her around. Jane wasn’t authorized to do shadowing or training for new employees, per her own request. The idea of training someone else gave her anxiety. But every now and then she would catch the new guy watching from a window, which would have been fine had it been once or twice. She’d remind him that he needs to be with the worker that was training him and shoo him away. Then it started to seep into her break times, he would come in and try and speak with her, which again would have been fine until the conversation started to sound as if he was trying to control her life, tell her what she should and shouldn’t do, who she should and should not see.
“We have a new guy at work and I think I’m just at a loss at what to do. He makes me dread going to work if I know he’s there.” She mused, took a sip of her coffee before reading Kenny’s face, making sure she was starting out properly.
“That’s kind of why I’m up, still. I couldn’t sleep. He’s going to be there tomorrow and I just feel anxious. Decided to make a pot of coffee and if you were up to it, get your advice?”
She trusted Kenny, just as much as she trusted Will and Nathaniel. Kenny was a brother to her. “He started being overbearing, followed me around, tried to dictate who I hang out with and what I do on the weekends, mind the fact that I hardly know this guy. And it’s just been a continuous event since then. I tried talking with my boss and he’s, well, his nephew so I can’t really do much about it.”
Jane was half tempted to call her boss, tell him she wasn’t feeling well enough to go into work that morning. She was more than on edge. She hated it, she hated the idea of not wanting to go in to work regardless of the fact that she truly adored what she did for a living.
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