[Police Station]
"HELP!"
A shaky voice yelled, alarming the whole station. The air stood still as everyone's eyes turned to her, frozen in their places.
"PLEASE! ANYONE! HELP ME!"
The woman swarmed her head left and right in agony, seeking anyone's aid.
Her white tank top was ripped out to a tee revealing patches of bloody skin; her pink skirt was colored with mud and blood stains. Her neck was carved with red lines, as if firm nails had dug deep into them. Bruises were on her face, proving herself to be a victim of a brutal attack. Her hand was covering her arm as it stubbornly bled out; her leg was limping as she attempted to walk to the receptionist. Careless tears streamed down her cheeks.
No crying sounds were escaping her lips—just pleading for help.
Finally, after the trained crowd registered the fact, an officer swiftly placed documents on his desk and rapidly rushed to her, being the first one to take action.
"Ma'am," His voice so firm yet gentle, "Ma'am please calm down." He held her shoulders as she trembled in fear.
"P-Please, help me..." She pleadingly stuttered in her soft cry as her eyes met with his.
"Calm down, please, take a seat." He sat her down on one of the chairs next to the entrance. "Bring her some water!" He turned and ordered the officer behind him, then turned back to her.
She heavily breathed as she looked into the officer's dark orbs-her eyes revealing her trauma without permission. Her fragile body trembled as her lips quivered.
An intense fear dominated her, the officer realized.
"Here." A uniformed underling behind him hands the victim a glass of water.
"Easy, easy." He rubbed her shoulder as she chugged the water down—as if hydration was something she had longed to meet. "Don't worry Ma'am, we're going to help you. But please, try to relax."
She let out a long shaky sigh as she nodded her head as tears escaped her chocolate brown eyes.
"OK..." The officer speaks. "The first thing we're going to do is take you to the infirmary. Your injuries need to be treated." He addressed, observing the bruises and bumps on the young woman's skin.
Just what has she been through?
She shook her head in refusion,
"N-No...please, I need you to listen."
The officer met his eyes with hers intensely, grinding his teeth in stress as he kneeled down to her level, holding her hand with both of his in the process.
"Tell me."
A moment of silence passed as she visited her memories—her lips still quivering and her breath still shaky as more tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Someone...someone tried to kill me."
.oOo.
[Unknown POV]
She knocked on the Don's office, eager to alert him of the news she just received.
He definitely won't be pleased, but I have no choice.
"Come in." An authoritative voice spoke out from the other end.
She twisted the doorknob and opened the door, slowly walking in as she took sharp breaths.
"What is it?" The man behind the desk looked into her soul with his intense gaze, sensing the news she carried was not a good one.
She froze, looking at him in disappointment due to the position she was in.
How can I even say this?...
"She survived, didn't she?"
Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights.
With her lips zipped, she brought her head down apologetically.
Understanding her silenced response, the man sighed and looked away, turning his majestic chair as he rubbed his chin in deep thought.
"Interesting..." He finally spoke.
He's not angry?...
"What are you thinking?" she questioned.
Silence filled the room for a couple of moments before he took in a deep breath and stood up from his chair.
"I'll have to do it myself."
"Are you crazy?!" she reacted.
He smirked,
"What makes you doubt that?"
"You're the head... you can't get your hands dirty in this business."
"People can't seem to get their jobs done around here." He picked up a pen and a black notebook from his desk. "The girl needs to die."
"But-"
"Her name." He demanded, ready to note down all relevant information.
She sighed in defeat, knowing damn well that when he sets his mind to something, nothing can stop him.
"It's...It's Lucy Heartfilia."
.oOo.
1 Week Later
She hissed as she ripped her bandage off her arm, ready to wrap a new one. The doctors had to stitch it, but it was still stubbornly bleeding for some reason.
It was going to be a long day at work today and she couldn't be late again. She hadn't told anyone about what happened yet, so her life went on as usual. Like... how is one supposed to speak of such a thing? It was better to keep it to herself, especially since she didn't want to worry anyone.
Journalism also wasn't as easy as people think it was... so it had been really stressful at work.
Now that she was freshly showered, she took off her robe and walked naked over to her bed, where she had today's outfit laying on it-laundered and ironed.
I need to stop by for coffee before anything, this headache is going to kill me any minute.
After sliding into her white jeans and a red blouse, she sprayed on a floral-scented perfume. She was ready.
Her manager, Kyra, basically ruled over life. She was the best boss anyone could ask for, in her opinion. At least in her experience in the writing industry. She let her write about whatever topics interested her, then took her writing pieces and finalized them with edits and publishing.
She saw something in her when she was just a beginner almost two years ago, and she nurtured it through time.
She could not disappoint her.
She glanced over at the clock hung on the wall and read 7:34 AM.
She sighed in relief,
"Good. I still have an hour to spare. Might as well get that coffee." She mumbled to herself as she slid her house keys into her purse.
Before she could leave, she felt her cell phone vibrate in her back pocket. She slid it out and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lucy," a familiar voice spoke out from the other end of the line.
"Loke," she smiled with a sigh of relief as she bounced sitting on her bed. "Thank goodness it's you."
Loke was her lawyer. She gave him all the details of the incident and hasn't heard from him in a week. He had been handling the case for her. For free.
He told her to sit back and relax.
He promised her he would catch the people who tried to... just thinking about that word gave her the chills.
"So I got the investigation team all ready. They want to come Wednesday. They'll look for fingerprints and identify blood splatter prints and take some pictures of the crime scene." He said. "You still haven't gone into your backyard. Right?"
"Of course not. I know I'm not legally allowed to go there for now."
"Good." He said. "They don't want you accidentally playing with evidence."
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
He sighed,
"How have you been feeling?"
Loke wasn't just her lawyer. He was her childhood friend. They had been through thick and thin together. He always stood by her through her worst days, even when she lost her mother—she was only 10 years old then.
She couldn't think of a better person to call after what happened.
"I've been better. But it's okay, I'm holding on."
"You know I'm always here to talk." He said, and she slightly nodded as if he could see her. "I'm going to stop by tonight."
"You're always welcome." she smiled.
With that, he hung up the phone.
She placed her phone back in her pocket and headed out of her apartment, locking the door behind her.
.oOo.
"I'd like a coffee macchiato please," she ordered her drink from the worker behind the counter.
"Alright." He responded as he tapped his touch-screen computer.
"That'll be $4.23."
She handed him her credit card.
"Lu-Chan!" She heard a girl's voice calling her name from the entrance.
She immediately recognized her tone and her natural-scented perfume that flourished all around the small coffee shop. She turned to face her, giving her a surprised smile.
"What are you doing here, Levy?" She asked joyfully as the petite bluette approached her.
"Did you forget that we're neighbors? This is my go-to coffee shop too." She giggled as she embraced her in a brief hug.
"Right. Aren't you a chef though? You have unlimited coffee in the restaurant you own," she pointed out with a chuckle.
"It tastes different when someone else makes it, trust me."
"Here you go, Ma'am." The worker handed her her hot coffee.
"Thank you, sir," she grabbed her drink from him. "Right. Well, I gotta head off to work. I'll catch you later?"
She smiled and nodded as she gave her a soft hug. "See you!"
Looking back at her as she headed out the door, she bumped into a muscular figure, causing her coffee to spill all over her laundered fit as she gasped in fright.
Two arms grabbed her shoulders as she was losing her balance, keeping her still.
She breathed heavily at the sudden movement.
"Oh great," she said. "Just when I thought I was having a good day." She looked down at her coffee-stained red blouse, feeling every bit of anger building up inside of her. Frustration.
"My fault." A husky voice spoke out.
She drifted her gaze up and locked eyes with him. His jade eyes pierced through her brown ones like a laser. The intense look exchanged between them could be cut by a pair of scissors.
He was sharp.
His salmon hair ruffled smoothly through the wind as he gave her a gentle smile.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
She could see the sharpness of his teeth as his lips moved.
She couldn't respond. She was flustered by his attractive and charming look to even mind the hot liquid dripping off her clothes.
"I'm fine," she gathered herself up to say, finally looking back at her clothes with a sigh.
He slowly drifted his arms away from her,
"No c'mon, I'll buy you a new blouse." He turned to stand side-by-side with her, urging her to walk with him.
"N-No it's fine, really," she said.
"I just ruined your morning. Let me do something to help." He insisted.
"I have to go to work now anyway or my boss might get worried, don't worry about it."
"How are you gonna go to work like this?" He glanced at her outfit with a sarcastic smile.
"Uhhh." She stuttered, looking down at her clothes helplessly.
"C'mon, there's a shop right across the street. Let me just buy you a new blouse or I won't forgive myself." He smiled, knowing he cornered her with his choice of words.
She let out a sigh,
"You're really stubborn, aren't you?"
He chuckled as he placed his hand against her back, leading her to walk with him.
"Just when I wanna be."
He led her across the street.
"I didn't catch your name?"
He looks at her with a smile,
"It's Nathan. Nathan Dryer."