"𝐢'𝐦 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲."
-ˋˏ ༻✧𓆩♡𓆪✧༺ ˎˊ-  

SADIE WAS WALKING WITH HER signature smile, tightly gripping the plastic ziplock bag of her cookies that lay in her hand. She popped a piece of the cookie in her mouth while walking upstairs to greet the rest of her family.

But just as she reached the top of the stairs, Sadie felt someone snatch her beloved cookies out of her hands and she shot a piercing glare toward the perpetrator. When Sadie saw a familiar blonde figure, it seemed that her anger heightened. 

"Woah, these cookies look delicious. Thanks, Sades!" Buck teased with a tone he knew would instantly aggravate his sister figure.

"Evan, you son of a—"

"Language!" Bobby yelled all the way from the kitchen, feeling like he aged another day from the reckless behavior of the younger firefighters of the 118. At that same moment, Hen and Chimney walked onto the second floor, smiling at the sight of the usual chaos that happens every day.

"Are the siblings getting at it again? Actually, don't answer that; I'm think we all know the answer," Chimney muttered, walking to the kitchen alongside Hen, while Buck and Sadie continued to chase each other for the chocolate cookies.

Sadie's stampeding footsteps were unduly focused on Buck, she didn't even realize there was a person walking towards her way. Nearly collapsing on top of him, luckily he grasped her in time before he could tumble over.

"Woah, slow down there, Sonic. What was that about?" Eddie snickered, his hands still wrapped around Sadie's waist. The girl huffed out a dry laugh, looking up at Eddie's face. 

"Evan here, though it was a wonderful idea to steal my cookies. Now, I am officially cookieless for the day." Sadie finally noticed the way how Eddie was grasping her arms and she couldn't help but feel her cheeks burn from his touch.

"Ah, well luckily for you, my son and I made cookies last night and I so happened to bring them to work today." Eddie went inside his duffle bag and pulled out a plastic pouch, which had a note on it, written in a magenta-colored Sharpie.

Have a good day, Dad. I love you. Sadie smiled at the adorable note that was written in a child's handwriting and she could only assume that letter belonged to Christopher. 

"Oh my god, I love you," Sadie murmured softly. Now it was Eddie's turn for his cheeks to burn, him attempting to prevent his lips from curling into a smile. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, not sure what to say.

"I...I mean...uh..."

"I was talking to the cookies, Eddie," Sadie smirked, seeing the conspicuous embarrassment on his face. "But seriously though, I appreciate the cookies, thank you." 

Leaving a dumbfounded Eddie downstairs, Sadie walked her way back up to the second floor of the house, but before she could get far, her phone buzzed incessantly, indicating she received multiple text messages. She tilted her head in curiosity before swiping on the text from the unknown number.

Just like that, Sadie Strand's day was officially ruined in fear and numbness. Her hands were clammy, the feeling of salty tears threatening to leave her eyes. Her head was spinning, and an aching headache began to form from the nervousness and anxiety.

Sadie was endeavoring to warp her mind into a reality that this may be nothing else but a juvenile prank, but with the specific pet name that was shown in the text, she knew her privacy was compromised.

I'm coming for you, doll. Watch your back.

The distorted vision of panic was overwhelming Sadie and she could feel her heart palpitating out of her chest, feeling like a cartoon character where hearts were literally outside of their bodies. 

A gentle hand on her shoulder instantly struck Sadie back into reality and she jumped in anxiety, pushing away the person who touched her.

"Woah, Sadie, you look a little panicky. Are you okay?" Sadie pieced out the concern in Eddie's voice and she caught the suspicion in his doe eyes. She was unable to mutter any verbally coherent words so the girl simply hummed in response.

"Mhmm." Fortunate enough for Sadie, the bell went off, saving her from any more interrogating questions from Eddie.

On the ride to their call, Sadie attempted to hide the fear and panicked look on her face. So far, she was fooling everyone pretty well; however, Sadie saw the way Eddie was glancing at her with worry, it radiating in the firetruck, his apprehensive gaze not leaving her body.

Getting out of the firetruck, Sadie grabbed the equipment and walked through a bar, eventually leading them outside to see a lady with her head in a tailpipe of a truck. 

"This is new," Sadie blurted, earning half-smiles from her co-workers.

"What's her name?" Chimney asked.

"Betty." "Jennifer."

Sadie looked at the man with raised eyebrows. "Sorry, I thought you meant my truck."

Both the man and the girl continued to banter about how the situation actually happened and Sadie crouched down below the see any way to release Jennifer from the tailpipe.

"Woah, that is one hot firefighter," a man said, visibly making Sadie feel uncomfortable. Eddie noticed the way the man was starting intrudingly towards her and he glared at him before walking behind Sadie, blocking his view from the fellow firefighter.

"We were flirting!"

"Your idea of flirting with a girl is making her stick her head in a tailpipe?" Eddie asked, a tinge of judgment laced in his voice.

"And I thought I was bad at flirting," Sadie muttered to herself, brushing off the dirt on her hands. She stood back up on her feet, putting her hands on her hips while Hen and Chimney observed the situation. As everyone was busy with their current tasks, Sadie whipped her head around when she heard the scruffy voice of a man, who towered over her, nearing Buck's height.

He was a brunette with blonde chestnut highlights that framed his layers, the white tank top on his shirt covered in what seemed like spilled whiskey.

"Hey, I'm Tommy, what's your name, gorgeous?"

"I don't know, maybe ask my parents. They're the ones that named me," Sadie snarked at the man. She heard the stifled laughter of Buck beside her and she gently nudged him before getting back to her job.

Before Sadie could contribute help in any way, she felt a strong grip on her wrist, surely forming a bruise later. Tommy was looking down at her, his drunken eyes filled with anger and lust.

"Don't get smart with me lady."

Preliminary to Sadie responding to the man, she felt the protective caressing hand on the small of her back, turning her head to see Eddie, with a straight face that was evidently portraying anger. His eyes were flaring and his breathing became heavy at the sight of the man who was making Sadie uncomfortable.

"She obviously isn't interested, man. Back off."

"What, are you her boyfriend or something?"

"Or something," Eddie jeered at Tommy. The pestering man was about to make another remark until he saw the tall blonde man that Sadie liked to assume was her brother figure. Buck stood on the other side of Sadie's arm, her now being sandwiched by the two tall men.

"Seriously dude, can you not take a hint?" Buck was intimidatingly walking closer to Tommy, his slow and taunting footsteps seeming to do the job as the man ran back inside the bar to potentially scarf down another whiskey.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Sadie put her arms across her chest, looking back at the boys. "You know, I had it handled."

"No you didn't," Buck nonchalantly said, earning a glare from Sadie.

"I'm sure you did, Sadie, but it doesn't hurt to have backup every once in a while. Besides, aren't we supposed to be The Powerpuff Girls? We're inseparable," Eddie added, earning a small smile from Sadie and Buck.

"Damn straight." The trio continued to walk off in the distance until Eddie received a phone call and by the expressions that were dancing around his face, Sadie instantly knew something was wrong.

✰*ੈ✩➶༄✰

Taking long strides in the hospital, Eddie scanned the waiting room, desperately trying to find a familiar face. When he did, Buck and Sadie followed behind him, both sharing the same looks of panic.

"Tía. ¿Qué pasó? Is Christopher okay?"

"You mean Prince Charming, hmm? He's peachy." Sadie turned her head to see a kid with golden curly locks, a bright smile that seemed to match hers. Looks like she was about to have some competition.

"And uh, who is this?"

"This is Buck and Sadie. We work together," Eddie introduced, Buck nodding and Sadie waving in a greeting manner. Josefina seemed to stare at Sadie more than intended, her eyes scanning her up and down as if she was analyzing her.

"Ah, the Sadie, huh?" Josefina asked, a smirk forming on her face. Sadie laughed lightly, feeling Buck's pointy elbow nudge her in her ribs, a smirk and squiggling eyebrows evident on his face.

"This is my Aunt Josefina. Pepa."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Sadie announced politely. She didn't notice, but Eddie was smiling at the small interactions with his friends and his aunt, making him feel more at home.

As Eddie and Pepa continued to talk, Buck gently pulled Sadie into a more secluded area of the hospital, so he knew they both somewhat had more privacy. Raising her eyebrows in question, Sadie looked up at Buck who had a visage of sternness and worry on his face.

"Okay, Sadie, I'm going to ask you this once," Buck started, gaining Sadie's undivided attention. "Before we left for the call, I saw the look on your face; the exact same look you had when you told me about Steve. Did something happen?"

Sadie winced at the mention of her ex-boyfriend and she knew this was a serious talk, knowing that Buck only brought up the malicious man if he was deeply concerned about something. Sadie held her head down, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead in frustration The girl did not want to talk about the man, so she smoothly lied without hesitation.

"Nope, everything is fine. Promise Buck." The bright and cheerful tone in Sadie's voice was nearly convincing for Buck and he would have believed her. If only he didn't notice the way her nails were digging in the palms of her hands.

Buck swiftly grabbed Sadie's hand, indeed seeing the way her nails were drawing the crimson metallic blood in her palms. Buck gave Sadie a sympathetic look before she ripped her hand out of his grip, walking away from him, evidently alerting the blonde man that there was something wrong with his best friend. His sister.

"Where is she going?" Eddie asked, walking towards Buck who shared the same look of concern on his face.

"I don't know, but there's definitely something wrong with her."

Sadie didn't know where to go, she knew her only ride was from Buck and Eddie, so she had to find something quick before they find her first. A bathroom came into her view, the fluorescent cool white lighting that lit up on top of her, leading the path to the bathroom.

She got into the bathroom, latching the matted silver lock instantly, and slid her back against the wooden door, all of the emotions she was holding in, finally spilling out. Sadie put a hand on her face, the tears trailing down her cheeks, uncontrollable sobs choking in her throat.

He might know where Sadie was and she didn't know how she was going to deal with him again. The excruciatingly painful memories started to flood her mind once again. The lacerations from the sharding glass, cutting her delicate skin, the loud booming voice rising in her ears, made Sadie feel nothing but pain; the pain of worry that he would find her again. 

"Oh god, help me."

mmmm idk how i feel abt the writing in this chapter :/

hello my lovely readers! if you're reading this, then I'm so happy that you're reading this book  i hope you all are enjoying it and i love you all, thank you for being here 💕