What's she Worth to You?

What Im Afraid Of

N A Y A

"A lead?" I ask, excitement flowing in my voice and she eagerly nods.

"When we found her in that cage there was a man in there with her. We have him in custody and they're bringing him in tomorrow." She finishes her statement with a smile.

"Wow Erin, that's huge!" She sends me a beaming smile.

"I know! It's crazy... But there is one thing that is making me a little hesitant."

"And what is that?" I ask and l she sighs.

"Voight has asked me to bring her in to see if she can remember him."

"What?" I whisper and she looks down.

"Yeah, it's going to be tough,"

"Well yeah, don't you think it's a little too soon? Don't you think she's still a little,"

"Fragile?" She finishes off my sentence and nods.
"I do... I don't know how she's going to react, but I do know that every secret about this case can only be revealed through her memories. And she wants to fill in the blanks even more than we do." I nod, she's right.

"The only memories this man could trigger would be terrifying ones, do you really think she's ready for that?" She shrugs.

"I have no idea, but it's just a risk we're going to have to take to help her."

A scream comes from upstairs and Erin sighs.

"That's my cue," she sighs and starts walking up the stairs.
"Oh, and one more thing..." she turns around.
"Um, I was kinda hoping you would come with us tomorrow, you know, since she really feels safe with you?" I smile and nod before the words are even fully out of her mouth.

"Don't worry, I'll be there."

E R I N

I walk upstairs and shake my jacket off before heading into her room.

She sits straight up in her bed, breathing heavily.

"Hey sweetie, are you okay?" I whisper and she looks up.

"You're home!" She says excitedly, a smile on her face.

"Yes, I am, and I am so sorry I'm so late. I got caught up at work and-"

"It's okay, I understand." I walk over to her bed and sit next to her, taking her hand.

"Your hands are freezing" she whispers and I quietly laugh.

"Well it's thirty degrees outside, dear." I brush her hair out of her face and sigh.

"Hey, honey I have to ask you something." I say, running my thumb over her knuckles.

"What is it?"

Here it goes.

"I need you to come up to the precinct with me tomorrow." She cocks her head to the side slightly.

"Why? Am I in trouble?"

"No! No, honey of course not." I take a deep breath.
"It's just, the reason I was so late tonight is because..." I pause.
"Because we have a lead." Her face lights up like a Christmas tree.

"What?" She says with extreme enthusiasm.
"Well what, what is it?" I sigh and squeeze her hand.

We've told her where we found her, how she was locked away in the basement of a mansion and why she can't remember anything.

But we haven't told her that she was tortured and abused. And I'm afraid that if she sees this man, then she'll find out, that he'll trigger more memories like the one of them drowning her and she'll put two and two together.

But it's too late to turn back.

"We have someone who was 'keeping you' in custody and we want to see if you recognize him." She nods her head quickly.

"Yes, I'll do it, yes." Her words come out fast and urgent.

"You're sure?" I ask.

"Yes, absolutely. Maybe his face will trigger a memory!" My heart stings.

Oh, honey, if only you knew that that's what I'm afraid of...

But I force a smile and nod my head.

"Yeah, maybe!" I run a hand up and down her arm.
"But either way, you need to get some rest." She nods with a huge smile on her face.

"Okay. See you in the morning then?" I nod and kiss her on the forehead.

"Sleep tight..." I whisper before walking out the door and going to sleep.

A/N
THIS NEXT CHAPTER IS ABOUT TO BE CRAZY GET READY