The Fire he Ignited in Me

Chapter 14

As I'm about to get back in the car, I see Lucas's familiar blue Honda pull on the other side of the

driveway.

I knock on his window with a raised brow, to which Lucas rolls it down and smiles guiltily.

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

Lucas scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I told Richard I was going to see if you needed any help. I guess we both lied huh?"

I sigh and nod before looking at Annabelle's front door.

"I would go in there. She's pretty pissed off."

Lucas frowns.

"What happened?"

I shrug. It's a bit uncomfortable to explain to my co worker how the girl he slept with is someone

I'm interested in, but he'll figure it out sometime.

"We were having a talk about our age Gap. I told her she was so young and hadn't experienced

enough life to be in a relationship with me. Then she went off."

Lucas's face turns dark and he swallows thickly before nodding.

"Yeah. Uh... So her story is pretty complicated. She's gone through more than anyone should

have to. Her parents are both dead. She got sent into foster care with some good and then some

very bad families. Her brother fought for custody for a long time and by the time he got it, she'd

already went through some dark s**t. She won't talk specifics, but uh..."

His voice drops lower and it's so soft I almost have to strain to hear.

"I think someone might have forced themselves on her or something."

That feeling hits me again. The one where my heart jumps into my throat, but this time it's out of

rage.

I'm an asshole. An absolute, complete asshole. No wonder she went off on me.

"So you like her?" Lucas questions.

I nod.

"I'm guessing you said what you did because of Maria?"

I frown and look at the rookie in surprise.

"How do you know about her?"

"Richard."

I sigh and shake my head. He's a gossip. Maria might have left me brokenhearted for someone

else because she was young and immature, but that doesn't mean Annabelle is like that. I

shouldn't have assumed her age had anything to do with her maturity.

"I'm not gonna lie Trent. I like her alot, but it's up to her who she dates."

I agree and send the kid off with a smack on his car. I should get going too, but I don't want to

leave Annabelle here mad.

Letting her cool off is the smart decision though, so I opt for giving her a day or two before

acting on my feelings.

I have a lot to make up for and we haven't even begun a relationship. I'm off to a good start.