CHAPTER SEVEN

THE BLONDE TRIED TO open her eyes, but felt like they was glued shut in that moment. she could hear voices around her, but couldn't dictate what they were saying. she could, however, feel herself being lifted off the floor and carried somewhere. when her body hit the softness of her couch she managed to let a small groan escape her lips.

"miss?" the unfamiliar voice gently shook her arm. "can you hear me?"

she managed to pry her eyes open slowly, blinking a few times as she did to adjust to the light. a young girl in a cop uniform standing in front of her was the first thing she saw. she slowly looked to the side, seeing another cop–this one much older–kneeling on the floor next to her. he must've been the one to carry her into the living room.

"miss, can you hear me?" the man repeated.

"yeah." she muttered out. she went to sit up, but her head was pounding. another groan left her lips as the male cop directed her to lay back down. "what happened?"

"it looks like you were robbed." the girl responded, looking around the room. "can you remember anything?"

aurora sighed, wincing at the pain in her head and on her left eye. "i was in the shower," she began, looking down to see that she was still wrapped up in her towel. "i heard a noise, but i thought it was my brother. he'd only left a few minutes earlier so i thought he'd forgotten something." she licked her lips. "a man in all black saw me in the bathroom and i tried to lock him out, but he kicked the door right in." she furrowed her eyebrows and it hurt, bad. "he said something before he knocked me out, but i don't remember what it was, and that's it. what did he take?" she asked the two.

"aurora?" the blonde's gaze drifted over to the front door. tim stood there, panic washed over his face as he quickly approached the girl, sitting on the edge of the couch next to her. the two other cops looked at each other before stepping aside, deciding to look around and see if they could find anything the robber may have left behind.

"tim." aurora sighed, grabbing at his wrists as he gently grabbed her face.

"are you okay?" he asked, eyes scanning over her face quickly. they lingered on her left eye and it made her assume the stranger had given her a nice shiner.

"i am now." she mumbled, rubbing her thumbs on his wrists.

"harley called me and said you texted her 911. she said she tried calling you right after but you didn't answer so she called me. i radioed for nolan and juarez because i knew they were in the area and i got here as fast as i could." he rambled. "did he do anything to you? besides your eye. please tell me he didn't."

she shook her head, "i don't think so."

"god, i'm so glad you're okay." he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before anyone noticed and shook his head. "you're staying at my place. we have the guest room. i don't want you staying here anymore."

she shook her head, "i can't." she slowly sat up and looked around. her living room was destroyed. every picture frame she had was shattered on the floor, her laptop was no longer on the coffee table, her tv was even missing. all her books were scattered around on the floor. she was afraid to even look in her bedroom. "what did i do to deserve this?" she asked the older man with tears in her eyes.

tim shook his head, "you didn't do anything, aurora." he caressed her arm. "please, just come stay with us."

"rory?" harley's panicky voice spoke as she rushed into the apartment. "i got here as fast as i could." tim rose from the couch to let her daughter take his spot. "are you okay?"

"i'm okay." she nodded, letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as her best friend pulled her into a hug.

harley grabbed her by her upper arms once they'd pulled apart, "you have to stay at our house. you can't be here anymore." she looked over her shoulder at her dad. "dad, please?"

"i already offered her the guest room." tim nodded, his hands resting on his sides.

"thank you." she smiled at her dad before turning back to aurora. "it's settled, okay? you're living with us. we'll worry about your lease later on." she looked around the messy apartment and sighed. "i'm going to stay here and get your things. dad, can you bring her to our house after the emt's check her before you head back out? i got dropped off, so i'll take her car to ours."

"i'm going to take off the rest of the day." tim stated. "so we'll run by the station quick and then head home."

"thanks, daddy." harley stood and hugged her dad before turning back to aurora. "you're safe now, rory, i promise." the brunette said. "i'm going to help you get dressed and my dad will take you to ours, okay?"

aurora looked at tim before softly nodding. harley helped the girl to her feet and led her to her bedroom. the room was an absolute mess. "don't even look at it, ror." harley frowned. she quickly grabbed a hoodie and some sweatpants for the girl, helping her slip them on before she helped get her socks and shoes on. aurora was definitely still in shock.

harley walked her out to her dad after being told she was okay minus the black eye and tim wrapped an arm around the girl, leading her out of the apartment and out to his police car. he helped her get into the backseat before he climbed in the driver seat and headed towards the station.

"where's your partner?" aurora asked quietly.

"she's getting a ride back from someone else." he stated.

"she?" aurora's voice cracked unexpectedly.

tim smirked, looking at her through the rearview mirror. "don't be jealous, sweetheart. i'm not interested in her." his smirk turned into a smile as he looked back at the road. "i've got my eye on someone else." the rest of the ride to the station was quiet. he helped her out of the car and led her into the station, bringing her to the break room. "just stay in here, okay? i'll be back in just a few minutes."

aurora looked around the empty room. the vending machines were fully stocked and there looked to be a fresh pot of coffee on the maker. she fiddled with her fingers in her lap, looking down at them every once in a while. when she heard footsteps she looked at the doorway, a weight lifting off her chest at the sight of tim dressed in regular clothes. she quickly stood up and rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist as she started to cry.

he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight. "you're safe, sweetheart." he muttered into her hair. "i've got you now."

can tim have me now
please and thanks