Chapter 7

Nora cross her legs uncomfortably, which was weird, considering that this had been her home for eighteen years. She stared at the pictures sitting on the fireplace. Her father, Edwin Grey had done a good job taking out every picture that had her mother in it. They divorced when she was eleven, because according to her dad, 'the station is not a place for a lady', and when her mother wouldn't quit, the fighting started. They couldn't be in the same room without raising their voices at each other. Her mom had finally had it, she filed for a divorce. During that period, she hated her mom and blamed her for everything, that was before she realized what a douche her dad was. He had remarried when she was fifteen and he treated his new wife like shit, she divorced him and took half his property. They were married for two years. The next year was when she ran away. When her dad had no one else to slave around, he turned to her, she regretted not going with her mom. One day, she had enough, packed what she needed and moved in with her mother. Life with her mother was glorious, her mother too had remarried, to Mr. James Thomas. James was a nice guy, nicer than her dad at least, he encouraged her mom and welcomed her into their family. James already had children, so they agreed not to have anymore. Staying with her mom was what made her join the force and her father was not happy about it, it took time for him to finally accept it and she agreed to visit him five times each year. This was her third visit and she already knew what was coming, but she was never prepared, but he was still her father, deep down she still cared about him, hopefully he cared about her too.

"so you still haven't caught the killer huh?" he asked taking a sip of his coffee

She hated his mocking tone "not yet

"this is why I was against you doing this in the first place, apart from the dangers a woman cannot be a detective"

She cringed at his misogyny, he knew very well that she had been awarded many times for her bravery and competence, yet whenever there was the slightest bit of failure to be sensed, he belittled her.

"that would have made sense if I was the one leading the investigations"

"whoever is, she's doing a bad job"

"it's Sterling" Edwin went silent. He Idolized Sterling, she wanted to see how he'd get out of this one

"it's probably because you're not helping enough. He must be stressed out, the poor guy. I wonder how he handles having a woman on his team"

She had had it, she forgot that her father always seemed to attribute every single problem to her. He loved every single child except her, well they were mainly guys, but that pissed her off more.

"that's it. I've only been here a few minutes and I already feel suffocated. I'm tired of your sexist's statements, this would be my last visit for the year" she walked towards the door

"I'm sorry darling…she stopped; he had never apologized before, not to talk of calling her darling…. you're right, I'm a sick person, but I'm trying, and I promise to try harder"

She turned towards him, he looked sincere enough. "it's alright dad, I…."

He laughed, she stared at him in confusion, she didn't understand what was funny, 'what did she say?'

"I cannot believe that worked…he said in between laughs…. I'm sorry I couldn't hold it any longer, women are so easy to fool"

She clenched her jaw, a hurt expression imprinted on her face, nodding her head in acceptance she stormed out.

"I'm guessing the visit to your dad's didn't go well" Shirley said as she poured Nora a glass of vodka

"is it that obvious? She nodded, giving her a pitiful look…. every time I feel he's improving; he always proves me wrong"

"give your dad a break, he was born in a time when that was normal"

"even grandpa wasn't that old. If he was so great, why didn't you give him a chance?"

"touché…. she said chuckling as she clinked her glass with Nora's…. I wasn't born in that time tough" she gave her a wink as they both laughed

Nora loved the times she was with her mom, she appreciated it. She had always been awkward with her and her mother being the chief didn't exactly help. They hardly spent time at home together but when they did, it was wholesome. At work, she was her chief but at home she became her mother, the transformation was always beautiful.

Parker looked around for Nora, they were supposed to meet an hour ago, and she was late. He took a sip of his water, his stomach grumbling in disagreement, he hadn't ordered yet, he was waiting for her. They had been friends since they were in the academy together, and they sometimes met up alone, especially since Sterling never wanted to join them. They had gotten closer over the years and told each other everything. He smiled when he aw her and waved, bringing her attention to where he sat, she sat down, a heavy sigh escaping her lips.

"so, how was the visit to your dad?"

"awful. I would say he's still the same asshole he used to be, but that wouldn't do justice to him. He's a worst asshole"

"shit, that bad huh?"

"yup. He doesn't seem to be affected by it. It's like seeing us suffer makes him happy"

"try arresting him"

"for?"

"a hate crime"

"badass" she laughed. She knew it wasn't possible, yet the thought of it warmed her. Her father's respect for her would be off the roof if she did that. It'd be a case of 'who's boss?'

"if it makes you feel any better, I'm meeting my dad later too. Something about my brother"

"it does actually. Cheers to having the worst dad's"

"it's funny how what we have in common apart from our jobs is our terrible fathers"

"well life's beautiful isn't it"

"what's up with your brother anyway?"

Parker's brother, who just graduated high school was the family's golden child, unlike Parker, he always got in trouble with their father. His father was retired from the force and had a lot of medals to show for it, so he put a lot of weight on his shoulder to be as good as his father. His father only made things worst by showing his disappointment each time he saw him. Parker was so sure that the day he was born, his father looked at him, his head tilted with a disappointed look on his face and told the nurse 'no thanks'. If he could sell Parker, he probably would

"I don't know. They probably want to praise him and rub it in mt face or maybe take me to his game to watch his 'success'. Whatever it is, they want me there out of spite"

"at least your brother cares about you"

"I guess, he's a good kid"

"mmhm[Offa Bass1] , my siblings don't even want to talk to me"

"step siblings, and they're just childish, I mean it's been years already, they're meant to understand that their parents didn't get divorced because of your mother and you're not even James child"

"yeah, but I understand though. I was in their shoes once"

"yours was different, your mom escaped an abusive relationship and you were too young to understand, but as you got older, you understood her"

"I still wished they'd talk to me" she leaned more into her chair

"let's forget about our families for now. We've identified the victim, so by tomorrow we can continue the investigation"

Parker rolled his eyes as he watched his parents coddle his brother. They had called him because Miles had gotten into Harvard and was ready to leave. Correction, Miles had made them call him. He stood up and went to the fridge, taking out a can of beer.

"that's all you know Horace, drinking"

"come on dad, give him a break. He's here for me remember?"

"I don't know why you wanted him here dear, you could've just called" his not so good mother said

"I wanted to say goodbye to the whole family, that includes Horace"

"he's right darling, Horace is his brother"

"well, he can say goodbye without touching my beer"

Parker had already slipped to the sitting room without them noticing, they were scolding thin air and yet they somehow didn't realize it. He gulped the beer, letting out a sigh as Horace sat beside him

"I'm sorry Horace"

"it's okay, I'm glad you called"

"aren't you driving? I don't think you should drink that much"

"don't worry, I'm stronger than you'd think…. he took another gulp….so, Harvard eyy? Nice"

"yeah, I can't believe I got in"

"you've always been the smarter one"

"and you've always been the best, make sure you come visit me okay? And don't forget to call"

Parker nodded, smiling at him. He helped him with his bags and waved as he got into the cab. He sighed as he watched the car leave. He was going to miss the kid. He got into his car and called Nora

"up for another drink?"

"meeting with your parents didn't go well?"

"mmm"

"where are we drinking at?"

Sterling's glances at the rearview mirror, his eyes glued to the image of a black car. He felt like someone had been watching him from home and now it seemed like the car was on his tail. He tried to ditch the car, putting two cars behind his, the car wasn't fazed, he was just being paranoid. Ever since the pictures, he kept looking over his shoulders, not going to work put him in mental distress now he had to worry about being followed. Most times he was right, and the person would disappear before he could get them. The guy was smart, his distance from Sterling was always safe. Sterling, not trusting the black car that was now four cars behind him used a different route.

He sat uncomfortably, unsure whether he had made the right decision, he watched as Farleigh came in and made her way to her desk.

"it's nice to see you again, smart moth"

"excuse me?" he looked at her confused "that's very unprofessional, don't you think"

Farleigh was taken aback from his statement, Sterling then and now was very different, his aura too. He had gotten from annoyingly playful to cold and serious

"I'm sorry Mr. Sterling"

"it's detective Sterling, I'm sorry, don't you know how to do your job?"

"huh? Sterling if you're here to teach me how to do my job, you might as well leave"

"I'm sorry Dr. I'm here because I have some questions stuck in my head that are unanswered and you may have some of those answers. And thank you for seeing me earlier than our appointment"

"that's better, there's no problem, ask away"

He stared at her, wondering if she was this informal with all her patients

"I don't remember making any appointments with you. I woke up this morning to a reminder of this appointment, but I don't remember ever making it. I looked through my phone and I noticed that I've had a few sessions with you, problem is this is my first time ever meeting you"

"Sterling, what do you mean you don't remember" she looked at him concerned

"that I don't, I saw our texts, but I never sent them. It's not just this, it's with my whole life. I wake up and realized I said or did this thing, but I don't remember when, I've been having blackouts everything seems more like a dream. Whenever I try to remember all I get is this brain damaging headache. Most of my life, it's like I'm not the one living it. I found out that I've been let off a case I don't remember ever working on, it's crazy. I don't even remember doing what they said I did. I never even remember up to half the day and sometimes I wake up from the blackouts in a different place"

She looked at him, wondering if he was telling the truth or just messing with her. If he wasn't then her diagnosis would be right, she feared to be right. She looked at him reassuringly, switching back to her therapist mode she reached for his hand, but he withdrew. She sighed and folded her arms.

"I think you might have a personality disorder, and it's either, they're taking over your body or you're taking over theirs. How about this, you can record everyday of your life and we can fix another appointment. Bring the tapes with you next time"

"what if before I get home, he takes over?

"whenever it's you in this body just do it, we can't be sure though"

"what of private things"

"my patient's information is always safe. We believe in confidentiality"