One Hundred Ways to Say ‘I love you’ - 79: “I’ll still be here when you’re ready.”
Thank you all once again for the amazing feedback! It’s really driven me to write this one quicker :) Please let me know what you think - I seriously love reading all your thoughts. It truly makes my day(s).
This prompt is from @queseraone and @glasgowgirl92, and as always huge thanks to@justkillingtimewhileiwait for her beta’ing help :)
Like always - if you have any prompts off this list you’d like me to write, just message me! (That list is also a master post for all the prompts I’ve so far :))
Inhaling deeply, Jay swiped his hands down his jeans before reaching out to knock on the wooden door in front of him. This should have been the easiest part; he knew the women on the other side better than he knew almost anyone else. More than that, he had managed to knock on the front door of his boss’ house, successfully gain entry and even gotten permission to head up towards the sergeant’s pseudo-daughter’s bedroom. So approaching Erin after everything she had done to get him back safely should have been nothing.
Except it felt like everything, especially with the knowledge she was working on beating her addiction and getting sober so she could come back to work. Back to him, or so he hoped. Regardless of what their personal relationship status had been prior to her downfall, or what she would want now. As long as he had her in his life, things would definitely look a lot better than it had over the past few weeks.
Letting out a deep sigh, Jay raised his hand and finally knocked. “Erin, can I come in?” he added when there was no sound or sign of her.
A rustle of paper and the soft padding of bare feet against carpet built up the moment to when she opened her door, eyeing him suspiciously even as surprise masked her features. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought you might like some company,” he answered honestly, eyeing her as subtly as he could. She was dressed in a pair of black leggings and an oversized CPD hoodie, hair swept up into a messy ponytail. With her face devoid of any and all makeup, it was easy to see the toll withdrawals was taking on her with her paler complexion and darker shadows under her eyes. Yet, as she smiled and allowed him to enter the room, his heart still picked up the pace as it always did at her dimples. “And maybe get out of here.”
“I’m not 16 anymore; I’m not climbing out of that window,” Erin scoffed dryly, throwing out a hand towards the old window which rattled gently in the summer breeze.
Jay laughed as he approached the aforementioned window, peering outside to see the roof of the porch directly under the window and leaving no doubt that she had taken that route out many times before. “Let me just state that I’d be fine with climbing out, but I was thinking of using the front door,” he informed her, earning himself a raised brow before he clarified, “Voight said it’d be cool, as long as I had you home by 9pm.” He didn’t add how much it had pained him to bite back a retort about having her on curfew to their boss.
