Page 25 of The Firefighter's Angel
I don’t want to be here.
The tightness creeps back into my chest as Lenny gestures toward the door. “Come on in. You must be hungry.”
I hesitate. My feet feel rooted to the gravel, like my whole body knows what my brain hasn’t caught up to yet. That this was a mistake. The minute I walk through that door, I’m not walking into comfort or closure; I’m walking back into the very thing I ran from.
But I force myself to move.
Because Daniel said he’d find me later, and I believe him.
It’s the only reason I don’t bolt.
Inside, the cabin smells like fresh coffee and pine cleaner, like someone tried way too hard to make it feel normal. Homey. The curtains are drawn open, light pouring in, like truth can’t hide here.
But it does. It hides just fine.
Because the first thing I see when I turn the corner into the living room is him. Lyle. Sitting on the couch with a smug smirk.
Every drop of blood drains from my face, a chill of terror shooting up my spine.
“You said he was gone,” I whisper, spinning toward my mother.
Her expression is tight, sheepish. “He was. But he wanted to talk. We all think it’s important to clear the air—”
“You lied to me,” I cut in, my voice coming out in a shrill whisper.
“Cindy, please—”
“No! You said he left. You promised me!”
“He wants to apologize,” Lenny cuts in, in a patronizingly calm voice like he’s offering a peace treaty. “We thought it might be good to sit down. Talk it out.”
Talk it out?
Like this is a family meeting?
Like I imagined everything that happened in the woods?
Lyle stands slowly. “Hey, Cin. Can we just—”
“Don’t you speak to me.” I step back so fast I nearly stumble. My whole body is trembling now. That sticky, horrible feeling from yesterday rushes up again, coating me in panic. My skin crawls. I can’t breathe.
“Cindy,” my mom says, holding out a hand like she expects me to come closer. “Sweetheart, I know you’ve been overwhelmed lately. A lot has happened and I understand how overwhelmed you are right now. Maybe you misread—”
I let out a sound, something between a laugh and a sob. “You think I made it up?” I whisper. “You think I imagined him cornering me? Touching me inappropriately and chasing me in the woods?”
Lyle’s face tightens. “Jesus, Cindy. I didn’t do any of that.”
I gasp, my chest tightening painfully at his blatant lie. “You did. You said you’ve been thinking about doing stuff to me and—and that I shouldn’t make this harder than it had to be. You called me a piece of shit and chased after me till I fell and hurt myself.”
Lenny rubs a hand over his face. “Maybe it didn’t happen exactly that way—”
“Oh my God.”
My hands are shaking. My whole body is trembling now. I wrap my arms around myself like that might hold me together, but I can feel it…everything breaking loose inside me.
The betrayal burns hotter than anything else.
From Lenny, I expected this. But from my own mother?
