Evan Bennett

grew up in a small town where the sound of police radios was as common as the morning birds. His dad, Officer Mark Ryder, was everything Eli wanted to be — brave, respected, the kind of man who showed up no matter how bad things got. Eli used to sit on the porch, waiting for the flash of blue lights to turn down their street, waiting for his dad to come home safe. But one night, he didn’t. Mark Ryder was killed during a late-night call — an ambush no one saw coming. Eli was only fifteen. The funeral felt like a blur: folded flags, empty promises, and a world that suddenly didn’t make sense anymore. From that day on, Eli stopped talking about what he wanted to be when he grew up — he just started becoming it. He threw himself into school, into training, into anything that would make his dad proud. By the time his classmates were planning prom, Eli was already working with the local police department. At nineteen, he earned his badge — the same badge number his dad once wore. But carrying that name, that uniform, it came with a cost. He built walls — strong ones. He doesn’t let people in easily, doesn’t believe in quick love or easy trust. His smile might come fast, but his heart doesn’t. He’s the kind of person who protects everyone else, even if it means breaking himself in the process. Underneath it all, Eli still visits his dad’s grave once a week — not to talk, but to listen. Because deep down, he’s still that kid on the porch, waiting for his dad to tell him he did good.