this book is best read in: times new roman / smallest font & reading mode ⸻ scrolling
" And if I'm on fire / You'll be made of ashes too " TAYLOR SWIFT, my tears ricochet.
When Sloane Hart joined the firefighter academy in Boston after barely graduating from high school, she was desperate to prove herself. Not only did she want to appease her very disappointed parents, who had wanted her to follow in their daunting law career-based footsteps, but she wanted to be living, breathing proof that women were just as capable of working in the male-dominated profession.
She never allowed the snide comments from her instructors and fellow students to weigh her down, powering through the extra exercises and obstacles placed in her way. She refused to allow them to make her a failure, another unsuccessful statistic.
The smirk she wore on her face as she accepted her certificate as the top student in her class at the graduating ceremony was unmovable, even after she eventually realized her parents weren't in attendance.
Soon after leaving the academy, Sloane had been assigned to a nearby firehouse. The acting female Captain there made Sloane feel like she was making the change she wanted to, and the crew she worked with supported each other through everything. They had become what resembled a family to her, filling the hole in her heart that her distant parents had left.
Sloane quickly realized how delicate the balance of life and death was once she started to take on real-world situations rather than the scripted training scenarios. One mistake, one deviance from a person's typical routine, one cruel act of God. Just one push of the scales could cause the once-thrumming pulse of blood through someone's veins to cease.
Too many times had she been victim to watching the life drain out of a patient's face. The unsuccessful calls started to taint her sleep. Her Captain explained that everyone found unique ways to cope, and eventually, Sloane found hers too. Soon, she was sleeping through the night again and taking on calls with a new energy, throwing herself into situations she never would have before to save more lives.
But, when the balanced scales eventually tipped on Sloane's own life with a single mistake, she fled from those same people she had once considered her family. Embarrassment and guilt chased her to the West Coast, yet a mournful understanding fashioned into a shining recommendation for hire from her former Captain led her to apply to the LAFD.
