WARNING: The rape will happen in this chapter. It's towards the end if anyone wants to read up until that part. Nothing too graphic will be included in the chapter. If this is hard or upsetting for anyone please don't read.
This sign * will indicate that the scene is starting for anyone who wants to skip.
Song (On Wattpad): So Cold by Ben Cocks
Chapter One: Something Bad
"Once a thing is set to happen, all you can do is hope it won't. Or will-depending. As long as you live, there's always something waiting, and even if it's bad, and you know it's bad, what can you do? You can't stop living."
― Truman Capote, In Cold Blood
Breakfast was usually a joyous occasion at Firehouse Fifty-One. Most of the time everyone's in a good mood as they start their day. They all tell stories and events from their days off and discuss plans for the next small break from work. Severide and Casey usually gather by the coffee pot and discuss all that needs to be done this shift, while whoever's in charge of making breakfast gets that done, and Mouch and Herrmann are most likely arguing on whatever recent game was played the night before.
Brett smiled at the scene in front of her as she walked into the kitchen and made her way over to sit by Foster and Kidd at the table.
"Hey, there she is!" Yelled Kidd as she quickly waved Sylvie over and pointed to Ritter and Gallo who were trying to teach Cruz how to make a fire hydrant shaped pancake.
All three girls laughed as they watched Cruz try to flip the pancake that landed directly on the floor.
"Come on, Cruz!" Called out Herrmann.
"Yeah, we'd like to eat sometime today!" Chimed in Mouch as he took to petting a very impatient Tuesday beside him on the couch.
Everyone laughed and went back to their conversations shortly after watching Cruz shove Ritter and Gallo out of the kitchen.
"So, Ms. Brett what are your plans for this weekend?" Asked Stella before she picked up her steaming black coffee and began sipping it.
Sylvie shyly smiled and shook her head at her two nosey friends, "Well, I may or may not have a date lined out for this weekend."
"A date?!" Squawked Kidd before she froze, noticing how her loud comment had gained everyone's, including Chief Boden's, attention in the kitchen. "Sorry." Called out Kidd before she turned and laughed with her girlfriends.
Sylvie did a quick facepalm before she turned back to her friends, "Gee, Stella. Thanks for announcing my dating life to the house."
"Oh, whatever. Who's the guy? Where did you meet him?" Quickly asked Foster as she slid her hand, which quickly got slapped, over to Stella's plate and stole a piece of toast.
Sylvie smirked before she looked across the room and caught eyes with Matt. They were both looking at each other and smiling so intensely that Sylvie had to shake her head to turn her attention back to her friends.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Both Stella and Emily looked at each other and shook their heads. 'Why can't those two love birds just get it together already?' Thought Stella before she repeated Foster's earlier questions.
"Ughh, his name is Owen, and I met him at my gym. He's really nice; he asked me out to dinner tomorrow night."
"Owen what?" Questioned Foster as she immediately started thinking about all the friends she had at CPD that could do a quick background check.
Sylvie laughed and shook her head, "Sorry, but I'm not telling you two because you're both crazy, and quite frankly I don't trust the two of you together."
Stella and Emily pretended to not know what she meant which resulted in all three girls laughing at the table and getting weird looks from both Herrmann and Mouch who were clearly not in a good mood this Thursday morning.
The girls were unaware that their not-so-private conversation had an eavesdropper who hadn't purposely been trying to eavesdrop, but he just couldn't help it! Yes, Matthew Casey was guilty. But how could he not be? I mean he was going to the coffee pot to get a refill, and it just happened! He heard everything! Who was this guy? Owen something. 'I mean, what kind of name is Owen? Owen and Sylvie?' Silently thought Matt as he made his way back over to where Severide was standing with Chief Boden.
"Hey Case, when do you think Engine will be ready to run those new drills with squad?"
Casey didn't hear Severide's question because he was too busy staring at the laughing blonde across the room. 'Maybe, I should have made a move sooner. I mean, things have definitely been different since she came back to Chicago, but how do I know that she feels the same way?'
"Casey." Roughly said Chief Boden trying to get the young fire captain's attention.
Casey whipped his head and was about to respond to the two men in front of him, but before he could he was interrupted by the alarm.
- ALL RESPOND - VEHICLE PILE-UP ON WINSTON CIRCLE - AL RESPOND
Everyone put down their plates, cups, clipboards, and whatever was in their hands before they all ran out, suited up, and took off.
The scene when they got there looked like something straight out of a movie. There were at least eight different cars that had crashed into each other with at least three of them that had rolled over.
"Okay Squad, free everyone trapped in those three vehicles over there by the guard rail. Herrmann, get to hoseing that vehicle over there down. Engine, get those people out of those rolled vehicles. House twenty-nine has been called out and should be here any minute to assist." Directed Boden as he and his team took in the scene around them.
Everyone nodded and went off to their assigned spots to begin completing their tasks. Casey yelled to Brett as he peaked in one of the rolled vehicles and saw a trapped young boy screaming trying to free himself.
"Hey, sweety." Smiled Brett as she practically had to crawl half-way into the vehicle to assess the little boy, who ignored her and continued to cry.
"What's your name? My name's Sylvie."
"I...want...my...mommy," Cried the little boy.
Brett nodded and started looking the boy over for any obvious injuries, "I know, hun. Your mommy is fine, though. My friends had her go to the ambulance so they could make sure she was okay."
The boy nodded and started to try and calm himself, while Casey, who had been watching the whole interaction in front of him, smiled in amazement at watching Sylvie break through and get the boy to calm down.
"My name's Boyd." Whispered the boy.
Sylvie smiles and listened to his chest, "Okay Boyd, you see that firefighter out there."
Boyd looked at where Brett was pointing to Casey and nodded his head.
"That is my friend, Matt. He's going to help you get you out of here when I crawl out, okay."
Boyd shook his head and started crying again. "No, don't leave me!"
Brett took her hand and gently gripped Boy's foot that was closest to her, "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna be right out here the whole time, and when he gets you out you get to ride in an ambulance with your mommy, okay?"
Boys sniffled and nodded giving Brett the chance to slowly crawl out and turn things over to Casey who felt mildly guilty for finding her very sexy right now.
Casey shook his head and got back into Captain mode right after Brett hopped off the ground.
"Kidd, get the cutters!"
It took about three minutes before Boyd was out and running to his hysterical mother who was on a gurney in the ambulance with Foster. They left for Med a couple of minutes after that.
The clean up took a couple of hours, but as soon as the fire truck pulled back into the station Casey hopped out of his seat and walked over to Brett who was busy doing inventory of the ambulance.
"Hey," He called out as he walked up not wanting to scare her.
"Hey," She smiled looking up from her clipboard.
"Ughh, how was that boy and his mom when you all got them to Med?"
Brett smiled thinking about how cute Casey was always checking up on their patients, "Ummm, I think they're both going to be fine. Boyd had a couple of cuts and bruises and his mom tore her shoulder up pretty good trying to get him out of his car seat, but Dr. Halstead said she'll be fine."
"That's great." Nodded Casey immediately thinking about how good Brett was with Boyd. "Hey, you were great with him, by the way."
Brett bashfully tried to hide her face from him, "Ehh, just doing my job."
"Well, I think you're pretty good at your job." Called Casey as he walked off back to the firetruck.
Brett stared at his back as he walked off and thought about how good he looked fresh from a call. I mean, yes the man was sexy when he was nice and put together in a suit, but Matthew Casey with fire suspenders, helmet hair, and a wrinkled white captain's shirt was something that Sylvie definitely wouldn't mind on a calendar.
"Hey, maybe when we finish here we can get a smoothie." Yelled Foster as she made her way over to Brett and caught her staring at the Captain's back.
Brett's face turned pink at being caught. She immediately picked her pen up and started checking random things on her clipboard. "Sure, Foster. Smoothies sound great to me.
Foster smiled and started making her way to the kitchen to get a bottle of water, "I'm sure they do."
The rest of shift seemed pretty peaceful. Noting too big happened after that call and before they knew it, it was Friday morning and they were all in the locker room getting ready to leave.
Brett took a little longer to get ready that morning, so when she came out to get her stuff Casey was the only one in there zipping his bag and getting ready to drape it over his shoulders.
"Hey," He smiled.
Brett immediately smiled back and said, "Hey."
"So, you got any plans this weekend. It's the first time in forever that we get a three day weekend since third shift had to make their whole shift up that they missed last week."
Brett smiled, "I know! I'm pretty excited. I think I'm just going to relax this weekend. I have a date tonight, but that's about all I have on my agenda."
Casey nodded and picked his bag up, "Well, I hope you have a good time."
"Thanks," Whispered Brett as she gave him a small wave and watched him walk out.
A couple hours later, everyone had gathered at Molly's for a night of relaxation and winding down with friends. Everyone was so happy that it was Friday and they didn't have to go back to work for a shift until Monday, especially Mouch who was giving out ten percent off coupons, much to Herrmann's dismay.
Casey laughed at Herrmann's aggravated face before he walked over to Stella to get a refill.
"Another beer, Captain?" Yelled Stella over the insanely loud music Trudy requested they now every Friday night at Molly's.
Casey nodded and took one of the two empty seats left at the bar. "Thanks, Kidd. Hey, have you heard from Brett? She normally comes out with everyone after a shift."
Stella looked over at her fire captain and smirked, "Yeah, she said she had a date tonight and didn't know if she would be able to make it out."
Casey visibly shrunk back in his seat a little. How could he forget about her date tonight? I mean she told him about it in the locker room this morning and he heard the girls talking about it yesterday morning when he was secretly eavesdropping.
"Oh, yeah I forgot. She told me about that this morning."
"She did?" Asked Stella with wide eyes as she continued to dry glasses and stack them behind the bar.
Casey was about to respond with a nod to Stella, but before he could he felt his heart start to flutter. She was here. That was her laugh commandeering the whole bar, and breaking through the annoyingly loud music Trudy insisted would bring in more customers.
Casey turned in his seat and immediately smiled at seeing her. She was beautiful tonight. I mean she's always beautiful, in his opinion, but tonight she was glowing. She was wearing a small black shoulderless jumpsuit with a small gold belt around it and brown neutral looking wedges.
"Hey," She smiled as she walked up and took the only empty seat at the bar next to him.
Casey almost choked on his beer when she sat down and started talking to him, "Ughh, hey! I didn't think you were gonna make it out tonight."
Brett let out a small laugh, which was extremely beautiful and sexy to him, and shook her head, "Yeah, I didn't think I was going to either but my date stood me up tonight, so here I am."
Casey looked at her with wide eyes not believing what she was saying. What guy in his right mind would stand up a girl like Sylvie Brett? Was he sane?
"Sounds like a winner?" Commented Casey as he took another sip of his beer thinking that he would never stand her up in a million years.
Brett nodded and asked Stella for a Rosé, which Stella filled immediately and sat down in front of her.
"So...um where did you meet the guy?" Asked Casey, trying to make polite conversation as they sipped their drinks and continued to laugh at Herrmann and Mouch's bickering.
"The gym." Sighed Brett thinking about how she had spent all day getting glammed up, only to stand outside of a packed restaurant for thirty minutes.
"Ooofff," Laughed Casey, causing Brett to send him a dramatic and playful questioning look.
"What?" She asked, admiring the way his face looked so relaxed when he wasn't on shift or worrying about anything.
"It's just those typical gym addicts are usually always players."
Brett laughed along with Casey and almost immediately agreed with him. I mean Antonio was pretty addicted to going to the gym.
They both spent the majority of the night laughing, drinking, and telling stories with each other.
It was almost eleven o'clock when Sylvie started yawning and shivering. Matt saw both and quickly took his jacket off, which was hung across the back of his chair, and draped it over her shoulders before he got up and started paying his tab.
Sylvie pulled the jacket tighter around her and got up to follow him in paying her tab. She was pulling her credit card out of her clutch when Matt told her that it was already taken care of.
"Casey, you didn't have to do that."
Matt smiled and waved at Kelly who was leading Stella out. "No, I didn't have to, but I wanted to; you kept me company and saved me from having a group of women hound me all night."
"A group?" Questioned Sylvie with a small smile.
"You get the picture." Smirked Matt before he took one last swig of his beer and tucked their chairs in. "Hey, I'll walk you to your car."
"Actually, I have to call an Uber. Foster dropped me off at the restaurant and Owen was supposed to drop me off at home since my cars been broke down for the last week."
Matt nodded and thought about how much of a jerk this Owen was for leaving her stranded and having to pay for a car to get here, "I'll just drop you off at your apartment."
"Oh, Casey you don't have to do that; I'll just wait here. An uber shouldn't be too long."
"You know, you could call me Matt when we're not on shift."
Sylvie smiled her beautiful full smile at him and blushed a little, "Well, Matt I really don't want to impose."
"Come on." Replied Matt already leading her out of the bar and to his truck.
The ride to her apartment was just as pleasant as the rest of the night. They laughed and smiled at each other as he told old funny stories from his academy days. Neither of them wanted the night to end.
"Well, Matt.." Enunciated Sylvie laughing as she did it and proving him wrong that she did know his first name when they weren't on shift, "I had a really good time tonight. Thank you for the drinks and for driving me home."
Matt smiled, admiring how good she looked in his truck with the glow from the streetlamps. "It was my pleasure, Sylvie. We should do it again."
Sylvie smiled and nodded her head, yes they should do it again. "Good night, Matt."
"Good night, Sylvie." Whispered Matt as he watched her unbuckle her seat belt and step out of the truck.
He stayed parked where he was until he was sure that she had gotten into the building safely. Both were smiling like children the minute they parted for the night.
When Sylvie got ready for bed that night and laid down, all she could think of was him and the way he made her feel. No one had ever made her feel that way, not Antonio, Kyle, or anyone. Only him
Matt's thoughts were similar to Sylvie's when he got to Kelly's loft and retired for the night.
Both were fully refreshed and smiling when they woke up the next day which was a Saturday. Sylvie smiled as soon as she opened her eyes and rolled over in her big bed. Did she have dreams about a certain fire captain all night...maybe.
She was getting ready to go to her spin class when she heard her phone go off signaling a text.
'Hey. Again, I am so sorry about last night. What do you say to a do-over tonight? xOwen (Gym Guy)'
Sylvie looked at her phone and sighed. What did she do? I mean after the night she had with Matt should she say yes or no? She contemplated it for a minute before she responded.
'Hey! Good morning! I hope you had a good night, even though you said you had to pull an extra shift at the hospital. I'm actually not free tonight, but maybe we can plan it for another time. xSylvie'
Sylvie thought she was good with that text. I mean she let him down easy, what more could she say? Right?
'That sucks. I was actually hoping I could talk to you about my shift last night; I lost a young boy in the ER. I know our jobs are kinda similar in that aspect and figured you would be much easier to talk to instead of the hospital shrink. Lol. Next time I will demand to be taken off of the call-in schedule. xOwen (Gym Guy)
Sylvie groaned out loud as soon as she read that text. He guilt-tripped her! Straight out guilt trip!
'Dang. So sorry to hear that; I definitely know how hard that can be. Maybe we can meet up tonight for drinks. I'm sure I can move my plans around for tomorrow.' xSylvie
'Great! I'll pick you up tonight around seven. I still have the address you sent me.' xOwen (Gym Guy)
Sylvie felt so bad for agreeing to that. She really was hoping to go to Molly's tonight and catch Matt there, but it looks like that plan just went down the drain.
'Hey, I just realized I don't know your last name. I only have you in my phone as Owen (Gym Guy). Maybe we should know those before we go out tonight, lol.' xSylvie
Sylvie waited for about thirty minutes but she never got another response back from him. She threw her head back on her pillow and sighed. Maybe, this could work out. I mean he seemed like a pretty nice guy at the gym. Right?
She laid there for a few more minutes before she looked at her bedside clock and noticed that if she didn't leave right now she would be late to her early Saturday spin class. So she jumped off the bed and raced for the door.
On the other side of town, Casey had just finished his third cup of coffee for the morning. Yes, three cups was a lot, but he had construction work to do today. Just because it was Saturday didn't mean that he would lay around and be lazy all day.
"Good morning." Smiled Stella as she made her way into the kitchen and towards the coffee pot in one of Kelly's old CFD shirts.
Casey looked up from his phone and nodded, "Morning."
"So, you and Brett seemed to have a good time last night."
Casey nodded returning his glance back to his phone, "Yeah, Sylvie and I both had a great time."
Stela wanted to break out into a dance at hearing him call her friend Sylvie and not Brett.
"Alright, well I'll see you all later, I have a couple of jobs to go to today."
"Okay," Smiled Stella, "Hey, if you want to invite Sylvie tonight, Kelly and I were thinking about renting that new monster movie he's been dying to see for weeks."
Casey grinned knowing what Stella was trying to do, "Have a good day, Kidd." He called out as he headed for the door missing her whole dance as soon as he shut the door.
Sylvie had just opened her apartment door and was headed for the shower when she heard her phone beep. She quickly pulled it out and smiled as soon as she saw who it was from.
'Hey. What do you think about coming to Kelly's tonight and watching some movie he and Kidd are going to rent with us? Please, I really don't feel like being a third wheel tonight.' xMatt
"Dang it." Yelled Sylvie as she sat her bag down and sat on her bed with her phone still clutched in her hands.
'Hey! Ughh, I wish I could, Owen texted and we're going out for drinks tonight. Next time, though. For sure! I definitely know what a third wheel feels like around those two.' xSylvie
Matt felt a little disappointed when he read her text. Heck, who was he kidding? He felt a lot disappointed when he read her text. But maybe she'll go out for drinks with this guy and that will be the end of him.
'No worries. But I will definitely take you up on that 'next time'.' xMatt
Sylvie smiled reading his text. Ughhh. She just had to get through her night with Owen and then could test this thing with Matt. Wait...speaking of Owen she had to start getting ready. It was already four in the afternoon. She wasn't expecting her impromptu lunch with her spin class friend to take as long as it did, but oh well.
She jumped off her bed and made her way to the shower. It took a little while, but she was finally ready with time to spare. It was nice outside today with a little chill, so she decided to go with a long sleeve, black sundress that hit right at her knees. She couldn't find the right shoes to match so she went with the same pair of neutral wedges she wore the night before.
She was staring at herself in her bedroom mirror when she heard a knock at the door. It can't be Owen, he texted a couple minutes ago saying he would be a little late. Who is it?
She walks to the door, takes a peek out the peephole, and immediately laughs at what she sees.
"Get in here," She calls out laughing to Emily who guiltily forgot her keys for the twelfth time that week.
"Thanks, B." Smiles Emily before she walks in and pauses right in front of her friend, "Wait? Why are you so dressed up tonight?"
Sylvie sighs before she follows Emily into her room and collapses on her bed, "Owen texted me today and asked if I would go out for drinks with him tonight."
Emily turns and gives her friend a look that Sylvie knows as the 'Girl, why?' look.
"What?" Exclaimed Sylvie while she watched Emily tear her room apart looking for her keys. "He said he needed to talk. Apparently, he had a rough shift last night and figured that I would be a good person to talk to."
"So you let him make you feel guilty?"
"Maybe.." Laughed Sylvie.
"Girl, I thought you would be going out with Casey the way you came home talking about him last night."
Sylvie nodded, "Yeah, what if he doesn't feel the same way, though. I mean it is kinda weird that I used to be his ex-wife's best friend."
Emily agreed and hurriedly filled her overnight bag with clothes, "Hey, you'll never know until you give it a try."
"That's true." Whispered Sylvie as she sat up off of the bed. "Are you going somewhere tonight?"
"Yeah, I'm going to that new club with my friend, Angie, so I wouldn't expect to see me until tomorrow."
"Okay," Smiled Sylvie before she helped Emily locate her lost keys, which were weirdly under Joe's towel in the bathroom.
Emily left a few minutes after that, so it was just Sylvie in the apartment for a while before she heard another knock and opened the door to reveal Owen. He wasn't a big guy, more like Herrmann's stature but he definitely had muscles. He had short dark hair and green eyes. Sylvie thought he was a little underdressed compared to her. It looked like he threw on the dirtiest and wrinkliest pair of clothes he had laying around.
"Ugg, hey you ready to go?" Said Owen when Sylvie opened the door and found him so close to it you would think he was trying to fall in.
Sylvie smiled and thought maybe he was a little nervous, "Hey! Sure, just let me grab my phone and purse."
Owen nodded and stepped into the apartment after Sylvie went to grab her phone.
"You said you had roommates, right?" He asked before glancing at every visible square inch of the apartment.
Sylvie nodded and made her way back to the door waiting for him to follow, "Yeah, two, both of whom I work with."
"Are they here right now? I'd love to meet them."
Sylvie shook her head and began locking the door, "No, one of my roommates is away for the weekend with his fiance, and the other is out tonight with her friend; and I think they'll be out all night honestly.
Owen nodded and stepped back into the hallway. The night seemed to drag on for Sylvie. I mean yes, it was just a few drinks, but it was so boring. Sylvie thought she was the one doing most of the talking and conversation pulling. For a man that 'wanted to talk' he seemed to barely say any words the whole time they were out. Sylvie even asked him if he wanted to talk about his last shift but he declined and said he wasn't in the mood.
She also noticed that he seemed to be knocking drinks back like they were cups of water.
'Good thing neither of us drove tonight.' Thought Sylvie as she stood by the bar door and watched Owen pay their tab. She just smiled when he walked over to her and put his arm around her. That was another thing, the man seemed way too touchy-feely after he got some drinks in him. Another thing that Sylvie was definitely not okay with. I mean, the man was twice her size, he needed to keep his hands to himself.
And the walk back to her apartment was equally as weird for Sylvie. Every time she would look over at Owen she caught him just staring at her.
"Well, thanks for the drinks tonight. I had a nice time." Said Sylvie as they made their way to the apartment building doors.
Owen smiled and caught her hand before she could reach for the door, "At least let me walk you up to your apartment."
"Oh, no you don't have to do that. I can find my way. I'm sure you're ready to get home and call it a night."
Owen shook his head, still holding Sylvie's hand and opened the door. She wanted to cringe at just how awkward it was going to be to tell him goodnight and close the door in his face. And, the ride in the elevator was just as bad as the rest of the night since neither of them said a word to each other.
Sylvie walked up to her apartment door, grabbed her keys out of her purse, and unlocked the door.
"Thanks again, Owen. I had a nice time."
Owen smiled and brought his hand up to move a hair out of Sylvie's face, "Who says the night has to end right now."
"Well, I'm pretty tired and ready to call it a night." Replied Sylvie as she stepped through the door and turned so she was the one inside holding the door open looking at Owen who stood pretty close outside the door.
"What if I'm not?" Whispered Owen as he placed his foot right in the door so there was no way for Sylvie to close it.
Sylvie felt her heart starting to race and her palms became sweaty, "Owen, I think you need to leave."
Owen stepped back and tuned like he was going to leave, but before Sylvie could get the door closed he turned and pushed through it knocking her to the ground. Sylvie didn't know what to do, so she just screamed praying that one of the neighbors would hear her.
"SHUT UP, BITCH!" Yelled Owen as she slammed the door shut and locked it as quickly as he could.
Sylvie froze from where she was on the ground. What was he going to do? What was going to happen? She didn't have a chance to think any further because before she knew it, Owen was on top of her and had slammed her head onto the ground making her immediately see nothing but black. She laid there for hours, even after Owen had raped her and left. She didn't know how long she was out, but when she opened her eyes everything hurt and ached like nothing she had ever felt before. She cried out immediately after she opened her eyes. She knew he was gone because the door was wide open and no other noise could be heard except for her sobbing.
She didn't know what to do, so she curled in a ball and stayed on the floor beside her torn dress and underwear that had been ripped from her body.
She looked across the room on the floor and saw her cracked phone, which must have fallen to the ground with her, light up signaling a text.
'Hey. Hope you had a good night. Would have much rather spent the night with you than being a third wheel to Kidd and Severide.' xMatt
What did you think!?
I'm so sorry it was hard for anyone to read. Be warned, it is going to be heavily mentioned for the next few chapters.
Happy Easter! Please let me know what you all thought. Sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes, I thought it would be nice to finish this chapter in the middle of the night. Lol.
Stay safe and healthy!
