THIRTY-THREE... it's a cold, dark place

                                        

                                              
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
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The ride home is one of the dreariest car rides they've ever had as Kie drives JJ and Collins back to her house.
They were still ridden with this sort of sickening turn in their guts over the fact that they'd witnessed a man die that night. No matter the fact that his body had vanished and the crime scene had appeared like nothing had ever happened, they still had the memory of it to exist in their minds. They definitely could've felt much worse if they hadn't figured out what to do next, especially after all the work they'd put into trying to put Ward and Rafe away for good, only to come up short. They could still cling onto what little hope they had and put it into their need to find that gun, but it was hard to not be pessimistic when they'd failed so many times. 
"Bright and early tomorrow, guys." Pope reminded them, his voice monotonous as he said it. They were so drained. A good night's rest was in desperate need. 
"See you." Collins climbed out of the car after JJ, shutting the door behind her and waving goodbye before Kie drove off down the road. She looked back and walked alongside JJ as they dragged themselves up the footpath to her front door. "Charlie must've followed the party after last call."
She said it in regards to his missing bike which was usually parked in the front yard. He should've been home, normally he would be. But it wasn't uncharacteristic of him to be out late when he worked a bar shift. Collins figured that he must've been having a good time with some of his patrons and decided not to end the night so soon. However, it was also way past his normal hours. Time could sometimes get away from him.
"Lucky me." JJ sighed in relief. "Instead of tossing back beers he'd be tossing bottles at my head for bringing you back past curfew."
"Like you care about curfew anyways." Collins sneered as she rolled her eyes at him. She unlocked the door with her keys and pushed her way inside the dark, empty house. There was nothing else that Collins wanted more than to change into her pajamas and fall into bed so she could sleep away all of her stress. 
As he kicked off his shoes which would need a good drying from the rain overnight, JJ nodded. "You're right, but only because the one person who'd be keeping me out late just so happens to sleep in the same room as me."
Collins fought the smile from spreading across her face. It's crazy how they can joke like this after what they'd been through that night. It almost feels wrong, like it was immoral for them to be okay after someone's life had been lost. 
"Touché." Collins headed straight for the bathroom and turned on the shower to warm up the water. It felt like an eternity before she felt the steam start to rise and the heat fill the room. 
JJ appeared in the doorway, shaking while rubbing his hands together in an attempt to generate some warmth. He stepped into the bathroom and sighed in relief. "Fuck, it feels good in here."
Fidgeting uncomfortably in her damp jeans, Collins said, "We should probably get out of these wet clothes." Immediately, she wanted to eat her words. She hadn't intended for it to sound so provocative when the words left her mouth. Her gaze flickered over at JJ, her lips parted in disbelief of herself. "So you know, we don't catch a cold. That's what I meant."
JJ enjoyed the innocent gleam in her eyes, deciding to tease her with a suggestive comment of his own. "I can get on board with that." He smiled with a hint of mischief as he moved closer to her, his hands going for the hem of her shirt that was still damp from the rain. He tugged it up to momentarily expose part of her stomach before her shirt fell back over his hands, which when they touched her skin, covered her in goosebumps from how cold they were. Collins could've easily mistaken the heat of his breath for shower steam if he wasn't so close to her.