Undercover Love

Destiny’s POV: ~Flashback~ *Beep,Beep,Beep* The sound of a machine beeping wakes me from my groggy state and a sterile scent assaults my nose as I try to move. “Shh, shh she’s waking up.” I heard a familiar voice say as I tried to open my eyes. My vision is blurry and I can only make out shadows and shapes in the bright light of the small room. Who’s there?” I said in a dry, raspy voice. “Shh it's us. Corey, Issac, Nathan, and Roy.” I heard Kayden's gentle voice say. “Here, drink this.” I heard Issac say as the rim of a cup was placed on my lips. I drink the water slowly until the cup is empty and, with a sigh, I lean back onto the bed. “Why can’t I see you guys?” I asked as tears began to form in my eyes. “The doctor said it would only be temporary,” Corey says, as I feel someone grab my hand. “Can you tell us what happened? What do you remember?” Nathan asked and someone touched my face, causing fear and panic to shoot through me. I immediately brought my hands up defensively and cried out, causing everyone to fall silent. “ OK Destiney, you're all right. Just calm down.” I heard Kayden say as someone squeezed my hand. I suddenly began to remember what had happened as I recounted the events to my group of friends. “How long have I been out?” I asked as disbelief started to wash over me. “You’ve been out for more than 2 weeks.” Corey says, and I gasp as a door suddenly opens somewhere. “Well it's good to see you awake.” A strange voice says and I turn my head in the direction it came from. “And alert despite everything.” The voice says again and I can hear footsteps approaching me. “When will she be able to see again, doctor?” I heard Issac say. “It’s hard to tell at the moment. There's still a lot of swelling but I'm confident that she will regain her sight again.” The doctor replies. ~Flashforward~ It was a Friday morning. I was standing there on the field bleachers with my classmates and some of my closest friends waiting to have our class picture taken. My friend Isaac is to my right, Corey is to my left. Nathan, Roy, and Kayden were standing proudly behind me. It was April 3rd and the sun was warm. It was graduation day, and like so many of my classmates, I was finally going to fulfill my dream of becoming a detective. I had always wanted to work undercover and now I was one step closer to that goal. My friends and classmates were all skilled police men and women before coming to the academy and had no trouble keeping up with the program. I, on the other hand, got married after high school and became a housewife. Just before I turned twenty-two years old, I decided I wanted to do more with my life than sit at home, so I enrolled in the local law enforcement academy and I got divorced shortly after. Things were never really OK between me and my ex-husband and I was tired of pretending things were alright. I had no experience with law but that was OK, it just meant that I had to work harder than everyone else and I greatly accepted that challenge to give myself a sense of purpose. My friends and I all graduated as top students in the academy. We were the top six to be exact, and thanks to their support and encouragement and a few hard pushes from my instructors, I had the honor of graduating as the number one student in the academy. Being in the top six students meant we had already been lined up for positions at the local branch located just off the coast here in California. Only the most elite detectives worked in this branch and we worked hard to earn our positions. The board had decided that since I graduated at the top of my class with no prior experience, that I was to partner with detective and Chief James Nixon. I could hardly believe my luck! Chief Nixon was the most elite of the elite and I would be working as his partner. I had heard he was strict and always worked alone, so I was worried at first, but I couldn't turn down the opportunity that had been presented to me. I was ready for my new life and it had been three years since my divorce. My ex-husband never supported my dream of becoming a detective. A woman's place is in the home, he would say. When I told him that I had enrolled in the academy, he became outraged. After I came home from my very first classes, I was met at the door by a drunken, angry embodiment of my husband. The abuse started shortly after that but I guess I always knew it was there. He would threaten me when he was angry or drunk or he would raise his hand like he was going to hit me. It wasn't a healthy marriage. At first I thought it was my fault and I thought, like most women do, that I could change him, so I stayed. A few weeks went by and it seemed like each day the abuse got worse. I eventually left, but not before I was sent to the E.R. where I was unconscious for almost a month. The higher ups at the academy were going to have me kicked from the program but I managed to get them to give me a second chance after I appealed the decision and presented them with the evidence. I met up with my friends the day they approved to allow me to come back and while my husband was at work, we packed my things. I filed for a divorce and a restraining order and never looked back after that. It seems like it was such a long time ago and I have overcome so much in my life. I decided to devote myself to my career. I didn't have time for a man, and love could wait. It was around four-thirty in the afternoon and the graduation ceremony had since long ended. My friends and I had decided to go check out our office building and introduce ourselves to our soon-to-be new co-workers. We were starting our new positions on Monday morning, but seeing how we were all a little nervous, we figured if we met everyone now things wouldn't be so bad the first day. We lived in town and everything was within walking distance and we found ourselves at the office in no time. We walked through the glass doors and quickly found our designated floors. We had been placed in different departments on the same floor and that gave us hope that we would still be able to work with one another. As we rode the elevator to our floor, questions swirled in my mind. Would I be able to keep up? Would I really be able to help people? Would I slow my new partner down? The elevator dinged and the doors slowly slid open. I gulped and took a deep breath and then stepped off the elevator with all my friends before we departed to our separate locations.