Chicago PD: You Found Me

Chapter 3 - Frozen

Gracie didn't have a lot of stuff that she wanted to take. She took a photo of her and her Mom for sentimental reasons, and her phone, iPod her Mom gave her, earpods and a charger, she packed some clothes a toothbrush, toothpaste and her shower stuff. She found a plastic bag in her room that she put a her pillow and blanket in. Then, she headed downstairs.

"That's it, you're not going to beg me to stay?" Carl asked as Gracie was about to leave.

"Not a chance." Gracie said strongly. "I don't wanna stay here, you treat me like shit Dad, do you really think it's normal to treat your kid like this? Really? To beat them?" Gracie yelled.

"You wanna see what's normal?!" He yelled and pushed her forcefully on the floor. "This is what my Father did to me." Carl said and took off his belt. He started to hit her across the back with it a couple of times until he lost his balance a little and stepped backward to steady himself. "Get out." He said and opened the door throwing her bag and dragging her out on the porch.

She walked out onto the street in pain again. Trying to get her balance back her backpack was pulling on the fresh belt injuries on her back and her ribs were still badly bruised.

She came to a local playground she used to go to when she was a kid and found a tunnel where she lay some of her spare clothes down with her pillow to sleep on and her blanket over her.

As time went on it got colder and colder. It was mid-winter break and there was the usual chicago snow. Tears ran from her eyes as she lay down.

She had no idea what to do she was frozen and almost passing out from the pain, exhaustion, hunger and the cold. She went to her phone contacts and scrolled to Raffy's name, forgetting for a second he was on vacation. She then scrolled to another name.

"If you ever wanna talk about anything give me a call." She remembered Detective Upton saying to her at school a couple of weeks ago.

She pressed on Detective Upton's name and could barely stay conscious.

"Who is it?" Jay said turning to Hailey when her phone rang as they sat on their couch in the evening.

"Upton." Hailey said answering the phone, all she heard were a few heavy, panicked breaths.

"Detective Upton..." Gracie finally managed to get out weakly on the otherside of the phone.

"Gracie! What's wrong are you ok? Where are you?" Hailey said instantly remembering the girl she had been worried about for the last couple of weeks. "Jay we gotta go." She said in the background instantly knowing there was something wrong.

Jay nodded and ran to get the car keys as they left their apartment.

"Playground...off of...off of W 34th Mckinley Park, please help..."Grace said even weaker as she passed out.

"Gracie? Grace? Stay with me honey we're on our way to get you alright?" Hailey said and got in the passenger seat of the car as Jay got in to drive so Hailey could stay on the phone.

In five minutes they were at the playground calling her name out and walking around.

"Gracie?! Gracie?!" Hailey yelled.

"Gracie?!" Jay yelled at the another side of the playground and then saw a sneaker hanging slightly out from the end of the tunnel. "Gracie!" Jay said and ran towards the tunnel.

He looked in the tunnel and saw Gracie lying barely conscious under a thin blanket, with her head on a flat piece of material than was only just raised slightly. "Gracie can you hear me? You're gonna be ok, you're safe we got you. It's ok, it's ok."