Page 134 of After the Burn

Lucas shrugged. “It fits you.”

He'd called me plenty of worse names over the years. I’d take it.

I studied his face. He was covered in cuts and bruises, and the rain had turned his dirty-blond hair black. He looked as tired as I felt.

Lucas had saved my life tonight, and I’d saved his…it was past time I made things right between us.

As I met his gorgeous blue eyes, a wave of regret washed over me concerning the accusations I’d made against him. My anger toward Ben had somehow gotten tangled up with my feelings for Lucas and Adrian.

Truth is, I was upset not just because they took off, but because I couldn't do the same.

Adrian lost his mother, and Lucas lost someone he loved like family, but afterward they both escaped to a life much better than the one I was living… at least in my eyes.

I had to stay.

At eight years old, I hadn’t understood grief, or that they were only fifteen themselves. All I knew was that one day I had them, and then I didn’t. After they disappeared, I was left with a man who had abandoned his role as a father and become a drill sergeant, intent on preparing me for every potential obstacle life might throw my way.

Apart from loneliness.

Years later, that hurt had hardened into something uglier.

Adrian was out of my reach, so I could only resent him from a distance, but Lucas had walked right back into my life. Close enough that I could punish him.

And I had.

While both probably deserved some of my anger, Lucas got the worst of it because he was the one I could reach. He’d become the face of everyone who had left me when I needed them.

That didn’t make what I’d done right.

Despite apologizing many times over the past few months, I couldn't honestly say any were genuine.

They had been words meant to end an argument.

This one wouldn’t be.

I reached to wipe the water from my face, only to find my sleeve slick with blood.

He took a red rag from his pocket and opened the door. The cool rain immediately dampening the fabric, then handed it to me. After I wiped my face, he dampened it again and then cleaned the blood off his.

“Thank you.”

I realized it was the right time to try apologizing again.

He deserved it, and I wasn't sure when I'd have another chance.

“Lucas?” I said hesitantly.

“Yes?” he was distracted, only half-listening as he attempted to clean the blood from his arms.

“I’m sorry.”

A quick glance upward shifted into an intense, concentrated stare when he caught sight of my expression. “That’s the look I’ve been waiting for.”

I tilted my head in question. “What look?”

“The look in your eyes that tells me you mean what you’re saying.” He threw the rag aside.

I bowed my head briefly to collect my thoughts.