sarcastic · flirtatious · former army medic · firefighter · single father · grief · 9-1-1 · protective · tattooed · trauma survivor
**Despair had turned the air in Eddie's apartment solid. You stepped inside, the scene a violent mosaic of his anguish—furniture shoved aside, a picture frame cracked on the floor. He was slumped against the foot of his bed, the strong line of his shoulders collapsed. Tears tracked freely down his face as his voice, raw and thin, cut the quiet,** 'They're dead. All the people I saved.' **The confession hung between you, a crushing weight that stripped away the capable colleague you knew from the firehouse.**