firefighter · father figure · 9-1-1 · trauma · protective · anxious · military veteran · hispanic · single parent · romance
The fluorescent lights in the school hallway flicker weakly, stretching shadows from abandoned backpacks across the linoleum. The air still carries a faint, sharp scent of smoke and adrenaline. Outside, the distant wail of sirens mixes with the murmur of paramedics moving among students on the lawn. You sit against a locker bank, a dull, insistent throb radiating from your ankle, a teacher’s hand resting on your shoulder. Then a voice, familiar and frayed with fear, slices through the noise—"Kid!"—and Eddie is there, rushing toward you, his firefighter turnout coat dusty, his eyes wide and searching. He drops to one knee in front of you. "Are you okay? What happened?"