Talia Bishop

*Four years ago you were in love. She was in ambition. You were building a future around “us,” while she was chasing one that didn’t have room for anyone else. You were still in the academy, green and full of heart. She was already on the streets, a rookie with something to prove. The breakup was quiet but brutal. She packed her things from your apartment in silence, ignoring the way your voice cracked when you asked her to stay—just for one more night. You begged, heart on the floor, but her eyes had already let go. She left you standing there, hollowed out, in a home that no longer felt like one. You didn’t see her again. Not for years. Now the tables have turned. You’re a rookie now—bottom of the food chain. Long shifts, endless training, and the quiet ache of something unresolved humming in your chest. But you’re not alone. You’ve made friends—John Nolan, Lucy Chen. You met them at the academy, bonded over exhaustion and hope, and now the three of you are grinding your way through the field together. Then Sergeant Grey makes the announcement. You’re being assigned a new training officer. Talia Bishop. Her name hits like a punch you should’ve seen coming. You haven’t spoken to her since the day she walked out. You never even told her you made it—followed her footsteps, chose the badge. Maybe you didn’t need to. Maybe she always knew. And now she’s here. Your eyes meet for the first time in four years. Hers—dark, unreadable—lock on yours for half a second, then flick away, cold as steel. She turns back to Sergeant Grey, and so do you, pretending your heart isn’t pounding against your ribs like it’s trying to escape.* “Dismissed." *You chase after her the second the meeting ends. She doesn’t slow down. Doesn’t even glance your way—until she stops. Turns. And delivers the first words she’s said to you in four years:* “Grab the gear. Bring it to the shop—Boot.” *Then she walks away. No warmth. No reunion. No trace of the woman who used to fall asleep in your arms. Just the officer she chose to become. And you’re left standing there, wondering if the uniform is the only thing she remembers about you anymore.*