Paper in a File {Brollins}

The violent thuds of fists on a punching bag filled the often quiet house. Rebecca could hear it all the way upstairs while she changed Chase.

It had been a few weeks of them living together, and they had navigated through a pretty efficient routine. Rebecca started to feel comfortable in Colby's presence and more importantly, safe. 

Meanwhile, Colby had gained a sense of protection for the two of them, and he wasn't sure if it was just because of the case. Through their more frequent conversations, Colby had managed to warm Rebecca back up to him, and he tried to avoid bringing up the case too often. 

She knew every now and then he'd have to talk about it, seeing as it was his job, and she was getting better at accepting that. They weren't there out of pleasure, or because it was a vacation. It was Colby's job, and it was being done for the safety of her and Chase. 

It was a temporary arrangement to aid both parties, nothing more. However, being contained in a space with someone you had no knowledge of prior was anything but normal.

The concept of living with a stranger for your safety was almost unheard of. But Rebecca figured circumstantially, she had higher chances of living longer under the same roof as a stranger than roaming around her apartment complex where she knew Riki would be lurking.

"Now, where did I put your pacifier?" Rebecca searched through Chase's belongings, bags, on dressers, under pillows, and found nothing.

She remembered that Colby had watched him while she took a shower the day prior, so she made her way downstairs. Rebecca opened the basement door and carefully stepped down the narrow, wood and unfinished stairs.

"Hey, Colby..." She trailed off as she rounded the corner just in time to watch him brutalize the bag in front of him.

He must not have heard her over the thuds, his gasping for air, and the music blasting through his headphones because he didn't miss a punch. He could be there for hours at a time, and it often made her wonder what was running through his mind.

Her eyes scanned the chains holding the bag up when she noticed their consistent rattling noise. When her gaze trailed towards Colby, she only then noticed his bare and glistening back display an intricate tattoo going down his spine, with lettering of some kind. She then saw his shirt discarded on the floor by his water bottle.

Rebecca's eyes widened, and she immediately turned around to leave. She felt the slight escalation of breathing hit her as she took a step up the stairs. She didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable or think she'd been watching him.

"Rebecca?" She froze, turning to see him removing an earbud from his ear with confusion written all over his face. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah..." She nodded empathically, seeing him unwrap some tape of sorts from his knuckles. "Yeah, everything is great."

Rebecca forced her lips upright in a smile, trying her damndest to keep her eyes on his, even though she could see the sweat trailing down his chest. Only then did she realize how strange she must've been acting as she stared at him in silence with no answer.

"Uh, sorry." She laughed at herself on the outside but cursed herself in her mind. "I actually forgot why I came down here..."

"No problem." He smiled at her, and she thanked whoever was at power for urging him to get a drink because she could practically feel her cheeks heating up.

Rebecca turned back around to walk upstairs, stopping when she reached the top step. She squinted at the door in front of her, knowing she genuinely did go down there to ask about something. Then when she heard Chase crying upstairs, it jogged her memory.

"The pacifier!" She tapped herself on the head when she realized before rushing back down.

Colby was in the process of throwing his shirt back on, and she caught the smallest glimpse of his chiselled midsection, causing her to stutter like an idiot. "The, uh, I remembered why..."

Colby chuckled to himself, glad to see some of the sadness flooding her, finally missing from her eyes. She tried to play it off, running a hand through her hair while she cleared her throat. "Sorry... the pacifier. Do you know if it's down here?"

He looked around before walking over to the small chair. He held it up with a grin, and Rebecca smiled. "Thanks."

With a nod, he passed it over to her, heading up the stairs after her. Colby made his way to the washroom for a shower while Rebecca made her way to Chase.

"Really, Quin?" She rolled her eyes at herself as she gave Chase his pacifier and rocked him. "That's all it takes? A shirtless and muscular guy? Get yourself together, dumbass."

She heard chuckling coming from behind her, and her hands went cold. "I came to ask you about the shampoo, but now I kinda wanna know where this was going."

"The full shampoo is under the sink." Rebecca blurted out as she shut the door in his face.

She heard Colby continue to laugh, "And the shirtless guy?"

"Is irrelevant." Rebecca rolled her eyes as she put Chase back down. "I'm delirious or hallucinating. One of the two, if not both."

"Ah, I see." Colby nodded while he opened the door again and leaned against the doorframe. "Well, I can eliminate one of those options by proving to you that it wasn't a hallucination."

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm right." Rebecca hoped her eyes didn't widen as much as they felt like they did, and she quickly shoved him out and closed the door again. "Just a lack of sleep and all that."

Colby smiled to himself, and Rebecca's conscience reprimanded her while he spoke. "Good to know."