Nicole Haught set down her phone. She felt guilty not calling Waverly, but she was too damn embarrassed to even speak to her. She was afraid of hearing the pity in Waverly's voice. She sent a simple text.
"Thanks for checking on me. Working through some things. I'm ok."
She was ok, physically that was. She turned on the shower in the locker room of the small gym. She thought back to her training at the police academy. She had excelled there. And had never backed away from the challenge of fighting a stronger or faster recruit. She knew that in real life there were no timeouts. She thought back to her kidnapping as she stepped under the hot spray of water.
What could she have done differently?
She shook her head and rubbed at the small scar on the inside of her right hand. She flexed it then made a fist. Her knuckles were raw from the heavy bag.
As she washed her brain was running wild. She felt an unnatural pull to the town of Purgatory. She knew that a larger city would offer her more money financially and more experience as a police officer. Hell most of her classmates from the academy and her family gave her a lot of grief over taking the small town gig. She just knew however that this was where she belonged.
She recalled the first time meeting the Sheriff. She had been out with her academy classmates at a bar. As she leaned against the wall near the dart board her eyes spotted a very drunk and very vulnerable looking brunette headed toward the bathrooms. She was closely followed by a man who appeared to be just as intoxicated. Her "cop" instincts flared and she followed closely behind them. The girl almost fell to the floor just outside of the bathrooms. Nicole pushed past the drunken man and helped the girl to her feet.
"Hey!" The drunken frat boy protested.
She never said a word and with one hand holding the girl's arm and another wrapped around her waist she walked them into the cold night air, the wolf whistles and catcalls of her classmates trailing her out the door. The cold helped snap the brunette out of her stupor.
"Please call my dad." The girl said as she shivered. Nicole took her jacket off and wrapped it around the girl's shoulder.
"Ok." Nicole said. "I'm Nicole. You're safe now."
The girl handed off her phone and slumped heavy onto Nicole's side. Nicole walked her further into the parking lot. Soon she was joined by one of her classmates.
"Hey Haught!" He called as he jogged out to her.
"Hey Diaz. Help me with her." Between the two they got the girl seated in Nicole's Ford F-150 pickup.
"She's schwasted." Diaz commented. "I'm glad you got her out of there. Frat Boy Ken doll was following her all night. I saw you snatch her outta there. Good work."
"Thanks buddy." She said with a smile.
Nicole began scrolling through the IPhone looking for a contact marked "Dad." She found one and pressed the send button.
Several rings later a gruff and sleepy voice answered. "What's the matter kiddo?"
"Sir- my name is Nicole. I have your daughter here. She's. Well she's had a bit too much to drink and..."
He cut her off. "Where are you?"
She rattled off the address. An abrupt click sounded in her ear.
Diaz handed Nicole a bottle of water and she in turn got the girl to begin slowly sipping the drink.
After a while Nicole heard the sound of sirens approaching. The girl began to come around again.
A Purgatory Sheriffs SUV pulled to a stop in the lot. Nicole waved as the man got out. He approached wearing jeans and a jacket marked with the name Sheriff Neadley on the right chest.
He shook his head as he took in the state of his daughter. "Don't you kids know how the hell to Slow down with the booze!? Some friends you are."
Nicole stood up straight. "We don't know your daughter Sir. We just saw her in some trouble and stepped in."
The man looked at Diaz. Diaz held up his hands in mock surrender. "It was all Nicole Sheriff. She saw your daughter in a bad spot and got her away from the drunken guy following her into the bathroom."
Sheriff Neadley sighed heavily. With a career in law enforcement he knew how dangerous that situation could have been.
"Thanks then. To both of you." Between the three they got the girl into the SUV.
"So you two military? You seem that way." The man asked.
"No sir, we are about a week away from graduating the police academy." Diaz answered.
The Sheriff smiled. "I could always use good officers in Purgatory. It's not the big city, but it's a hell of a challenge. Not many places where you know you might be the only person on the road at any time. And you can really make a difference there."
He handed them two business cards. They accepted them.
The Sheriff then stepped forward and shook Nicole's hand.
"Thank you." He said sincerely.
"Yes sir." She answered.
As he drove away she put the card in her pocket. She wanted to make a difference. And she knew small towns usually got the short end of the stick when it came t academy graduates.
Diaz patted her back. "Nice job Haught stuff." He teased.
"Stuff it pretty boy." She joked back. The walked back into the bar.
A week later Nicole was graduated and headed straight for Purgatory. The Sheriff greeted her warmly and offered her a job on the spot. She accepted. She was ready.
Nicole returned home only once to tell her family of her new position and to pack her belongings.
From that moment on she swore to keep Purgatory, her new home, safe.
She returned from the memory as the water grew cold.
As she dressed in jeans and a v neck sweater she promised herself to be the cop she was destined to be. She picked up the phone.
"Hey Diaz. How's life in the big city? I need some intel on motorcycle gang activity in the Ghost River triangle. And anything you got on their movements in your city. There's something weird going on in Purgatory and I think I might be sitting on a powder keg."