Hi all :) I am so excited to begin my new story! This is more of a prologue than a first chapter, just something to see if you like it and want me to continue!
I will OF COURSE be writing an Epilogue to Bless the Broken Road - I just want to make it perfect before I post it! And who knows... maybe I will post a sequel down the line :)
Chapter 1,
Breathe. Just breathe.
Brooke Davis could feel the walls closing in on her.
When she closed her eyes, it was like she could feel his fingers. The way they had been clammy and cold against her neck, the way they just wouldn't let up. The way they squeezed her even as she struggled against him.
Even as she gasped, trying to fill her lungs, only to result in ragged, strained breaths.
Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered the feeling of the wind being knocked out of her, the sharpness of the kick of his steel boot into her abdomen.
Every time she closed her eyes, she could see the bruises that marked her skin. The dark lines that traced where his fingers had squeezed her neck, her arms. The evidence of his punches that settled deep in her eyes.
Breath.
That's why she kept her eyes open.
Boom, boom, boom.
Because there was more; there were the injuries that stayed long after the physical evidence was gone.
Those were the ones that kept her up at night.
Boom, boom.
So her eyes were open. Open and trained on the paper outline of the man at the end of the aisle.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
Five holes in his head.
Five holes in his heart.
Yes, her eyes were open now.
She sucked in a deep breath of air, removing her finger from where where it was positioned at the trigger.
She knew she needed to stop.
The attack had been five years ago.
She was fine. Everything was fine.
The bruises had faded, as had the sleepless nights. Long ago. She had clawed and fought her way through until it had become just a faint memory.
You're fine, she thought, continuing her inner monologue and trying to convince herself that there was truth to it.
She was just feeling unsettled from her move.
She had left everything that was comfortable behind, and she was essentially starting over in a new city. She was just letting the feelings of uncertainty blur until they reappeared as feelings of fear.
But she had nothing to fear.
But then, she remembered the note. The small white piece of paper, no bigger than the side of an index card, that laid tucked in it's torn envelope at the bottom of her Clothes over Bros purse.
The note with four words written haphazardly across the lines, strewn and sloppy like the author had written them quickly. Erratically.
Fuck it, she thought, placing her fingers squarely back on the trigger. She let the feel of the cold metal and the weight of it against her hands relax her, before she pulled against in again.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
She hit the target in the center of the chest.
Because even if she didn't have anything to fear...
It was better to be safe than sorry.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
Jay Halstead removed his goggles before pressing the button that moved the paper offender into to view.
He smiled when he saw that he hadn't missed his mark. All five bullets that he had discharged had fallen into a straight line, straight down the center of the body.
For recertification, it was a requirement that all bullets to fall into the center. But today, he was just shooting to blow off some steam, and he preferred to hit each black line until it tore apart, creating a tear in the smooth ink, breaking the smooth, round circle.
"Rough day?" He heard Antonio Dawson's voice as he removed the ear protecting head phones that had been covering his ears.
He put the safety on the gun and placed it down on the counter before turning to face his former partner. "You could say that," was all he said, because he honestly didn't feel like getting into it.
He had woken up two hours earlier this morning, trying to release some of the tension before another long day at work. But it wasn't exactly working like he had hoped it would.
Maybe tomorrow he would go to the boxing gym. Maybe sparring against someone would lift his mood, or at least get out of some of his aggression and irritation.
"Want to talk to about it?" Antonio asked, holstering his weapon against his pants. Jay hadn't expected to run into anyone this early in the morning at the gun range, but knowing Antonio, he probably had come for recertification.
He never needed to let off steam like this.
What did it say about Jay that the time he had spent the gun range wasn't enough? That he needed to visit Dawson's boxing gym because right now he just felt like punching something?
Nothing good. Of that, he was sure. "Not really," he answered, as he pressed the button once again to slide the paper target back into place.
But, Antonio was one of his best friends, and he wasn't about to let up that easily. "You'll find the right fit."
Easy for you to say, Jay thought, as he placed the goggles back over his face. But he refrained from saying it out loud, knowing it wasn't exactly fair. Antonio had been called up to work at the district's attorney's office. He had worked hard, and really deserved it.
And it wasn't Antonio's fault that Hank Voight had assigned him awful partner after awful partner.
So instead, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I hope so," before recovering his ears.
Jay's last partner, in a long string of new partners, had put in his notice to switch units yesterday afternoon.
It hadn't been Jay's fault. The young officer hadn't really understood the way the Intelligence unit was run, and it just hadn't been the right fit.
So Jay may have encouraged him to switch units.
Okay, pushed. Jay had pushed him.
But, so what?
He was just looking out for the young male officer. This guy was so positive and happy. He was a newlywed, he had a baby on the way.
He just didn't belong.
He had been doing him a favor.
But of course, Hank Voight hadn't seen it that way. He thought Jay was just cycling through another partner, waiting and hoping for Antonio to return.
And that wasn't it. Well, not exactly.
It was just...
Jay knew this unit would ruin him.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
Of course, this unit fit Jay like a glove.
He had known that since his very first case. He remembered the brutal double murder, the way the second body had been beaten and battered until it was barely recognizable.
He had known since he first watched Hank Voight throw a suspect into the cage, pinning him against the metal chained wall. He had known this was the unit for him, that he would thrive there.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
Because you see, Jay had already been ruined.
xo
Let me know what you think ;) Thanks for reading!
