Prologue
Monroe Grace
In my world, nothing ever went right. If something was too good to be true, that's exactly what it was. The other shoe dropped in the end, without fail. Which meant, I would be a waste of space. At least, that's what my mother always told me – I one hundred percent truly believe she was the one who hated me the most, out of everyone. I was destined to always be the disappointment to my family. I would never make any of them happy, no matter how hard I tried. Oh, and how I did try. They never saw it or didn't care to show any kind of affection towards me if they did. I was the black sheep, or in this case the red sheep. The freak. The one who didn't belong.
Honestly, it seemed the only person who liked me was my brother, but I knew one day that would someday change. As I grew up, I decided to stop fighting it and come to terms with the fact that I was going to be the resentment of everyone who thought it wise to give me a second glance. I'd live my life, alone and keep to myself. I would protect myself from the heartache and hurting the people around me. I would be just fine on my own.
So, in the end here I was. Living my life as a Dispatcher at the 21st district in Chicago, Illinois. Day after day I work here and I think I finally convinced myself that I was happy, and I was… right?
Hello, my name is Monroe Grace Ruzek, and this is my story.