TW: violence against reader, runaway reader, mentions of abuse let me know if I should include anything else
Graves was on the road, taking some long needed leave. He was tired and had some Shadows who needed some assistance and wanted some leave themselves. Graves was on the road from helping one of his boys with moving his family. The Shadow couldn’t pay for his help, but his wife made cookies, and honestly that was payment enough.
The dark road ahead and the cloudy sky above, it wasn’t perfect, but it was bad enough to make his way home. Surrounding him were trees and snow, thankfully no wind yet. He didn’t mind driving in the winter, the truck could take it.
As he continued driving he spotted a figure on the road, walking rather oddly. They were wrapped in a blanket, and it looked rather chilly, with their legs bare and barefooted. Their feet shuffled and stepped like an amateur on a balance beam. The next town wasn’t for a few miles yet. Wait were those cuts on their legs? As he got closer he slowed down somewhat. Once he passed them he checks his side mirror and practically slammed on the brakes.
Graves got out of his truck and the figure stopped, trembling and shivering.
“Hello?” He called. The figure didn’t move, stopped walking too. He kept his distance, and had a hand on his gun. “My name is Phillip Graves, do you need help?”
The figure turned their head, as if contemplating if they should flee back into the woods where god knows what could happen. Especially with the weather being this cold and the bandages over their eyes. Graves could see their feet are pale white and likely in a lot of pain if they weren’t already numb.
“A-are you a cop?” You asked.
“Uh…” Graves hesitation made you step back. “Not exactly. I’m military. I can get you somewhere safe though. Out here there will be more trouble.”
“I’m gonna approach you, and take your hand. Get you into my truck and take you to a motel or a police station.”
“…do you promise?” You asked, fear in your voice, stepping back.
“I promise to help you. I’ll help you get somewhere safe, somewhere you can be taken care of, given proper clothes and medical help.” Graves explained. Something or someone did this to you. To make it even more sick you were left out in the middle of the freezing cold with just a thin blanket.
You shuffled towards where you heard his voice. Graves meets the gap, communicating his actions as he led you into the back seat of his truck. Before taking off though he warned you he was getting something from the back. He shut the door, went to the trunk to get some clothes for you out of his bag and then returned to the backseat. He opened the door and found you cowering in the corner. You cried out at the sound of the door opening.
“Hey hey, it’s okay. It’s okay!” Graves tells you. He explains that he got you clothes to put on, not wanting you to walk into a police station with only a blanket. Once again you asked him to promise, and he goes the extra mile to lead your flinching hand to feel the clothes. You were relieved and he gave you some privacy to get them on. If you needed a belt he could find one of his. The clothes would be oversized but it was what he had. You thanked him and got into the clothes while he waited outside.
Graves knocked to see if you were ready and he could come in. He doesn’t go straight to the front seat, instead he checks that your seat belt is on and your blanket is still around you. You were freezing, the blanket would keep hopefully reduce your shivering. Graves asks if he can check for any injuries. You hold out your arm, and he finds precise almost methodical scarring. When he tries to roll up the sleeve further you tense, and he stops. Doctors could help you.
“Alright, you ready to go?” He asked. You nodded. “Got any allergies?”
“N-no?” You answered. You can hear rustling, and he takes your hand placing something into your palm. It feels familiar in way.
“My employee’s wife makes some pretty good cookies. You look like you haven’t eaten much.” He said before shutting the door, and getting to front seat. The heat was turned up high as you pulled your feet up on to the seat. You were hesitant with the cookie, and Graves could see it in the rear view mirror. The main question in his mind: What happened to you?
Graves wasn’t expecting any of this. Hell he called up some of his boys to see if they could ask around about you, see if any missing persons reports came up anywhere. To add to the brighter side, the bandages could be removed from your eyes. They’d healed from whatever damage had been inflicted, and your sight was returned to you. You could see the damage done to you. You gave a long statement to the police but plenty of their questions were answered with “I’m not sure” or “I don’t know”.
The officers were patient, but without proper answers to give you felt overwhelmed. You felt like you were making it all up, like it was some insane nightmare. At one point the officer asking you questions, gave you a minute to process everything, cry it out until you got your answers straight. Graves had left to make the calls to his men. When he came back he went straight to finding the guy who made you have so much doubt. He didn’t hesitate to bark at the officer about it, requesting a different officer come fall to you, one that wasn’t running five 12 hour shifts in a row. You asked Graves if he could stay with you while answering the questions. Honestly Graves had planned to drop you off, make sure you gave your statement, give his own and then leave. Right now you didn’t look like you had a friend in the world. He wasn’t about to walk away.
Hearing everything you had gone through, he doesn’t blame you for memory gaps or difficulty getting the words out. The way you’d been treated made went beyond inhumane. Learning how you got the scars on your arms made his stomach churn. He was glad he’d found you when he did. Graves went an extra step and offered his hand to squeeze if you needed it.
By the end of the whole thing you got treated for any remaining wounds, received some new clothes, and are fed a proper meal. Graves only left a few times to make phone calls, trying to track down any relatives or friends that might have been looking for. He was empty handed.
When he came back in for the fifth time or so the desk officer explained to him that you had two options, stay in a motel or at the police station. Staying in a police station wouldn’t really be comfortable especially one in a small town like this. A motel would be more comfortable but you would need some protection. Graves got you by yourself for a short while to ask what you want. You preferred the motel. Could Graves stay with you?
Any other time Graves would probably have said no. It’s not his thing, if the cops can do it, let them. In this case, he didn’t want to let you stay on your own. Right now, you needed someone close by you could trust, because everytime someone passed behind you, your head would whip around to see who it was. You did double takes for every stranger that came within a five foot radius.
You and Graves are given the basics about the investigation. You would lead them to where you came from, try to retrace your steps and they’d get the dogs out to search. It wouldn’t be easy, but they would try. This of course would happen the next day, because you were still terrified, and didn’t want to go anywhere near where you had come from. Where ever that had been.
You had time to think about it, and you would need some basic amenities, maybe a nice shower or bath, some more food, and a proper night’s rest. Graves had a feeling the last item would have complications, but is willing to go with you into town while a motel room is arranged. You feel safer with Graves. You’ve been with him the longest so far, and you’d already put a lot of trust in him just getting into his truck while blind.
Taglist: @yourlovely-moon @kaoyamamegami @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @sans-chara @1mommyrose4ever29 @smitten-haematite-quartz @talia-the-gemini @yuki2129 @whitetiger846 @graystorm444 @chibiduck @reaperxxxxzz @danielle143 @sobbingnshtting @cringeycookies @cryingpages @dcnocap207 @reaper-chan666 @bestbookfriends @thriving-n-jiving
