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"Woah this is your place?" Lucy let out as she walked through the front door of Emily's apartment.
When she walked in, Lucy had thought she walked into a large house.
The living space was huge and even had a fire place in the living room. There was even a hallway on both sides of the place which lead to more rooms and bathrooms.
"My dad's, but he left it to me. ." Emily trailed off.
"Did he move?" Lucy questioned as she followed Emily to the kitchens marble counter top and took a seat in one of the stools.
"He died a few years ago." Emily answered honestly. She grabbed two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine.
"Oh- I'm sorry." Lucy let out in a sincere voice.
"He loved this place and the first time I stepped foot into this place was to move in. . He always visited me in Tennessee because he loved seeing the countryside every once in a while. It was his favorite place." Emily let out a laugh. "So I don't know why he decided to live in one of the largest cities, but then again here I am."
"He sounds like a wonderful person." Lucy smiled before she drank what tasted like an expensive wine.
"What did your dad do?" Lucy questioned out of curiosity. If he owned this apartment it had to be a good paying job.
"He was in the Army for a while, but then joined the LAPD and soon enough he became a detective until he could no longer work. He also had his own security company that he ran from home once he lost his job." Emily informed Lucy making her nod her head.
"Wow." Lucy let out. She wanted to know more about her father, but she didn't want to press the information; especially since her dad is dead.
• • • • •
Laughter echoed throughout Emily's condo. She was sitting on the ground in front of a round glass table with her three rookie coworkers sitting on the other side.
After spending some time with Lucy she realized that she was going to like it in this department and wanted to get to know the other two rookies.
So she invited John and Jackson over. The group of rookies were now playing card games with a couple glasses and cans of alcohol scattered around them.
"I can't believe you tripped before your 1.5 mile even started." Emily let out a contagious laugh making Lucy and Jackson join in.
"Ha. Ha." John tried not to let out a laugh, but it was hard to contain. "I thought I heard them yell go." John defended himself.
"Okay. Okay." Jackson's laughter died down and pointed a finger at the new girl. "Okay Ms. Brooks. What was your embarrassing experience in the academy."
Lucy, Jackson, and Nolan waited for the girl's answer. From the moment she stepped in the station it seemed like she's been doing the job for years.
"I don't have any." Emily spoke in all seriousness.
Lucy scoffed. "No way! Everyone has at least one moment that keeps them up at night."
"It's okay we won't tell anyone you're not actually perfect." John joked causing Emily to twitch her lips upward.
"I'm being honest." Emily told the trio.
Maybe if these three people were going to be her friends she could tell them a little bit about her past.
"Before I started to police academy I was in the Army. I went through basic and ait to become an infantry soldier." Emily started which already raised some brows.
"My first deployment was when I was eighteen and let's just say it didn't end well. So I had to find a different career path. After a few years I finally decided I wanted to be a police officer. Emily explained.
"I didn't make any mistakes in the academy because of my previous experience helped and I didn't try to get to know my peers which I regret. I was just so focused on becoming a police officer I forgot to be a human being." Emily told the group honestly as she looked down and played with her hands.
"Well you're fixing your regrets from the academy by giving us the chance to know the real you." Jackson was the first to speak up causing Emily to raise her head.
"You're a strong badass woman and I can't want to work along side you. Our station is lucky to have such an amazing officer." Lucy reached across the table to give Emily's arm a gentle squeeze making her smile softly.
"At least we have someone of the force that can scare everyone, including officer Bradford." John joked causing Jackson and Lucy to laugh lightly.
Emily just smiled, so it didn't seem like she was hiding everything.
Emily was happy that she let herself open up to people, but she wasn't even slightly ready to go down the Tim Bradford rabbit hole. Especially when she hasn't gone down it herself with Tim.
"We're all going to be some badass officers together." Emily spoke after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "I'm excited to watch you three become P2s. Now let's continue with our game so I can kick your asses in spades."
Emily Brooks had many layers to her and her past that hasn't even begun to be pealed. Maybe this career decision will finally help what she's been working so hard to forget finally disappear.
But for that to even fully happen she was going to have to make the tough decision to finally confront Tim Bradford.
