angeline ✔️

7 - maddie

angeline

"i love you, angeline." maddie says with an abnormally calm voice. right after, she hangs up. i shrug and chop it up to bad signal on my end and try again.

voicemail.

what the hell?

maddie never calls me angeline.

something isnt right.

my heart drops to my stomach.

did doug get to her?

she had just gotten to work though. theres no way doug had gotten into the building, so it has to get something else.

is something going on at the call center?

i let out a breath and call evan.

"hey, ange, whats up?" he says. theres a bit of static in the background.

"i think something may have happened to maddie." i say quietly.

the static stops and he sucks in a breath. "what do you mean?"

"i was on a call with her and then she said 'i love you angeline' and hung up. i called her again and voicemail. doug couldnt have gotten into the building since maddie filed a restraining order. have you heard about anything?" i tell him.

"no. its been normal. im gonna head over to your place and try calling her on the way. you call 911 and see if anyone answers and if they can check up on her." he says.

"okay. be safe, please." i mumble before hanging up.

i immediately call 911, but only get the high volume of calls in response.

it doesnt take long before theres a knock at my door. i swing the door open, expecting to see evan. instead of my brother, athena is standing there with a confused look on her face.

"why are you here?" i question, beyond confused.

"someone sent me here for attempted murder with green onions." she explains.

"okay, something is seriously going on." i sigh loudly, slumping into a stool at my kitchen island.

"what do you mean?" she sits next to me, holding onto one of my hands.

"this is going to sound crazy." i say. "maddie and i were on the phone when she interrupted me and just said 'i love you angeline'. she never calls me by my full name. only an, ange, or even angel."

"have you tried to call her back?" athena asks, squeezing my hand gently.

"yes. straight to voicemail. i called evan because i had a gut feeling that something isnt right and hes on his way. i called 911 to see if anyone could check up on her, but only got the automated response saying that theres too many calls."

she thinks for a second and evan comes running in.

"anything? wait..." evan mutters, noticing athena next to me.

"someone sent me here. long story." she waves him off.

"no. anything on your end?" i ask, getting hopeful. he shakes his head and i sigh in defeat.

"you know what, lets take a ride." athena suddenly says, standing.

me and evan look at each other with a confused look.

nonetheless, we follow her to her car.

"athena, what the hell?" i say as she pulls into the dispatch building. "theyre gonna know that were onto them!"

"but we dont know if anythings happening yet. if i can get in, then we should be okay." she says and hops out of the car before either of us could say anything.

i shake my leg and try maddie again, picking at my fingernails. voicemail. again.

a few seconds later, athenas back in the car.

"sue stopped me and told me theres a code 77." is all she says before putting the car in drive.

"ambush." i whisper. maddie and i would go through different codes together the first few days she was training. i guess i picked up on more than i thought.

athena begins making calls.

-

swat is going in now. the radios are going off within seconds.

dispatch is taken care of. theres only three casualties.

within a few minutes, maddie is walking out of the building with an officer.

i tear through the tape and sprint to her, throwing my arms tightly around her.

"maddie, youre okay." i sob into her hair. she lets out the most heartbreaking wail.

i cradle her head to me, relishing in the fact that i can still hold her.

alive.

-

maddie started going to therapy.

im so proud of her. i know it takes a lot.

shes been staying with chim the past few days, allowing her to have someone there. i totally ship it.

she calls me every day after work and tells me how shes doing. of course she has her therapist and chim, but you can never have too many people to talk to.

plus, how else am i going to get the drama between her and chim?