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PROLOGUE
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"You see, I draw a lot. I drew before I spoke, my mother used to say. Maybe she was right about art college, maybe I should have chosen another path instead of this, yet I'm still here, catching criminals every single day. Killers. Cleaning up the blood of their victims from the streets, telling the families their children's blood was the paint these monsters used. Blood red paint. It's so familiar, yet feels so afar.
This job changes us. All of us. Because there is always a case that sticks with you, there's no chance to avoid that. Someone someday will do something that lets the wild dog out of its cage and it jumps right at you, tearing flesh, breaking bones, and you feel like you can't go any further. You drop to your knees in the dust, defeated. But then someone comes and pulls you back up onto your feet, helping you take another step forward. Life moves on. You must too.
At first I didn't undertand how they do it. How could they forget the faces. Turns out they've never done. They just learned how to live with the pain of the loss of innocents, the wounds on their souls. So when they wake up in the night from a bad dream, soaking in sweat and with their heart's racing, they still can lie back down and clear their minds, going back to sleep. Because the next day, there will be another one. Another killer to catch. And they must be ready.
Now, you ask what this is all about? Me rambling about life and death, art, dreams, a job that maybe I should have never chosen...But then, as unbelievable as it may sound, I can't stop doing it. Neither of us can. And the fact that we're in this together, it helps a lot. That there is always someone holding your hand, pulling you back into life, no matter what or how. A family.
And with him, it took hard work and time—lots of it—but eventually, we became something stronger than hemp, something unbreakable. Friends. But then, broken hearts do crazy things, so did we, hoping that it was okay. I changed so much, I still can't believe it. The mocking tone became kind, the playful teasing turned into warm touches, and all I ever wanted after that was it to never end. Because suddenly, everything was fine."
—Harlow, somewhere along the road
author's note
Hey, everyone! Sorry for the change, but I felt I must correct the story before it'll be too late, so here we go. Version 2.0, kinda same angle, but a bit different. Hope it's okay. Also, I decided that instead of a specific scene, in this series the prologue will always will be a letter (a page of a diary maybe) from Harlow, slightly foreshadowing what will happen in the book. Again, sorry for the change and chapter 1 will be up too soon! —Nora <3
