Safe Place to Hide || Chenford / The Rookie

Chapter 22

Lucy shakes her head vigorously, "Marissa, that is not true. There is so much for you to live for. You are such a bright light for people. Tamara's teacher — he told me what an impact you had on Jenna and Tamara — how you joined their group and how much fun you guys were having together, participating at school, and getting to have an actual high school experience.

"Like you said, Tamara and Jenna and even me, we care about you. I know you've been so hurt, and this was such a major loss for you to have to process on your own. And that you've done some things because of that pain. But Tamara is going to be okay; it's not too late to make things right.

"I don't believe you want to do this. You don't want to hurt me, and you don't want to hurt yourself. We can figure this out — what comes next — together." As she talks, Lucy pulls her knees up into her chest and presses her hands back into the wall for leverage, realizing she is running out of time, all the while carefully watching Marissa for a reaction.

But if she is bothered by the movements, Marissa doesn't let on. Instead, her face is crumpling as she listens, her hand shaking as she attempts to keep the gun raised and pointed at Lucy.

"How can things ever be right without Billy in this world?" But she seems to be asking it as a genuine question, not as an accusation.

And it's then that Lucy sees the small red dot — first on the far wall of the apartment and then carefully centered on the side of Marissa's head through the living room window. And they are out of time because she knows what it must look like from the outside. And so she screams at Marissa to get down, to lower the gun as she launches her body into the younger woman's knees.

Marissa freezes in her confusion, the gun flying out of her hand as Lucy hits her and she topples to the ground, the window shattering as a bullet whizzes through it over their heads.

And then suddenly it's all over, the door bursting open as a SWAT team barrels in to assess the situation and ensure Lucy is taken to safety, while Marissa is restrained. And Lucy is flooded with relief even despite her shock, knowing that they had been mere milliseconds away from all of this ending in an even greater tragedy.

***

Angela calls Tim as soon as the shot is fired, and though Tim is already en route, she redirects him to the hospital. Tim's heart is in his throat until she explains, "She's fine, but she'll be in the ambulance by the time you get here."

And it's probably for the best, because without the drive to the hospital to process Angela's words, to process that Lucy is, in fact, okay, he's not sure how he would have reacted to seeing her, even with dozens of their colleagues there to bear witness.

When Tim finds her in the ER, she's still somewhat dazed and working to overcome her shock. Glancing over his shoulder, he quickly pulls the curtain closed around them before he is all around her. Arms enveloping her into him, holding her so tightly she wonders momentarily if she is even actually still breathing. As if to put herself to the test, she sucks in a deep breath and he smells like comfort and safety and home, and suddenly she is clinging to him as tightly as he is to her.

"I'm so sorry," he breathes against her hair, and as she begins to cry softly into his chest, he soothes her. "It's okay. You're going to be okay." And it's a hauntingly familiar moment that neither of them ever wanted to relive.

He eventually pulls back so he can gingerly examine the back of her head, and only when he's satisfied with the results of his exam does he pull back to study her.

"You scared the shit out of me," he finally says, his own eyes filling as he takes her in, committing every single bit of her to memory.

Lucy lets out a shaky laugh, "I scared the shit out of me, too."