Arlington: Break Room Discussions

I got back from the train wreck with enough time to take a shower in the locker room. Still feel nasty after it. And I don't even have my hair dryer to fix my hair properly. Proceeding the shower, the day was filled with page after page of paper work. I guess this is what it's like doing my job instead of dressing up at night. A few hours in, I go to the break room to refill my coffee and to get a snack. I didn't actually get any lunch earlier. Hell, don't remember the last time I did. I haven't really been eating much lately. When I became obsessed with something, I tend to go on a coffee diet with a tiny snack sufficing as meals for breakfast and lunch. As the coffee maker finishes brewing my coffee, Kitch comes into the breakroom. "How've you been. Y'know, with the Pyg thing happening to you last night?"

 

"I'm fine. Thanks to that Azazel guy."

 

"You mean Azrael?"

 

"Yeah, him. Never get that right. Didn't get any sleep last night, but that's how most nights are on the force. That's why most of us don't keep our wives. We're never home."

 

I don't respond.

 

"Arlington, you alright? Ever since Mike's passing, you've been, well, not yourself. Then the Pyg thing happened. There is no way you and your family could be okay after that. I mean, Pyg may have almost gotten me too, but I'm single. But you, you have a family. He violated your house."

 

"I'm fine."

 

He puts a stern look on his face and looks me dead in the eye. "Look, you're my partner. If anything is going on, I have to know. If you need a physiatrist or something, you know the force has one. We risk our lives every day out there, and now is no time to keep secrets. We have to have each other's back."

 

"Kitch, I said I'm fine."

 

"Alright. Just be careful."

 

I grab my coffee and snack and walk back to my desk, not giving Kitch a "see you later" or anything. And great; I'm out of oxycontin.

Done