Trauma changes people. trauma changes everyone.
All rights for the 9-1-1 cast and all rights to most of the plot goes to ABC. New plots and new characters belong to me 🫶
Book continues in Apparition! 🫶
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LYDIA
The past few days felt like I was walking through a fog-half-conscious, but still trying to focus on something. Anything. The name of the attacker... We finally had it. After so much time spent scrolling through security footage, cross-referencing information, digging into police databases, it was like I could feel the pieces of the puzzle slowly coming together.
I sat in front of the screen, my fingers frozen on the keyboard, staring at the name on the screen. Ryan Hale. The guy who attacked me. The guy who nearly killed me. It felt surreal to finally know his name-after everything. But there it was, in black and white.
It took us hours to figure it out. My head was spinning, but I couldn't stop now. Mason was sitting beside me, his knee bouncing nervously as he watched the screen. He knew how much this meant to me-how much I needed to know who it was.
"Are you sure?" he asked softly, his voice tight with tension. "This is him? This is the guy?"
I nodded slowly, my breath shaky as I clicked through the last few files. I could feel my heart racing as I handed the file over to Officer Darden. His face was grim when he looked over it, but he didn't say anything for a moment. The silence hung heavy, thick with the weight of what we were about to do.
"You're coming with me," Officer Darden finally said, his voice firm but not unkind. "I'm not letting you sit this one out."
I should've known he wouldn't let us back out. Even after everything that happened when we went after that first lead, I guess I should've realized we weren't done yet.
Still, the thought of going back out there-back to where everything happened-made me feel nauseous. But Mason's hand on mine was like an anchor, keeping me grounded.
"We'll be fine," Mason reassured me quietly, his voice low and steady. He squeezed my hand, his thumb running along the back of my fingers in a comforting gesture.
"Right," I said, even though the nerves were already tightening in my chest. "It's just the woods. What could go wrong?"
Mason shot me a reassuring smile, but his eyes were filled with worry, too. It wasn't just about me anymore-it was about us.
The drive there felt like it took forever. The tension in the car was thick enough to cut through with a knife, but Mason kept up a constant stream of reassurances, talking about everything and nothing to keep me distracted. His voice was steady, but I could feel the unease simmering underneath.
The roads were dark, winding through thick patches of trees. The car headlights cast long, eerie shadows, making the forest feel like it was swallowing us whole. It didn't help that the house we were heading to was buried deep in the woods, far from any other houses or places with people.
I tried to focus on the trees, the way they seemed to move in the wind, but everything felt off. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, and I had to keep reminding myself to breathe.
