Chapter 5

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I was brought from my thoughts and was startled to find my coworker leaning right in my face. I jumped back and let out a startled gasp. Sophia grinned at me and shook her head. "You're in your own little world." Sophia had helped me a lot when I first came to London. In fact, her cousin was Officer Gary's wife.

I owed everything to Sophia and her family.

"I'm fine... I'm just- you know, caught up in my own world." I shrugged.

"Well get out of your little world, we have a patient." She chided. As an 18-year-old girl with only a high school diploma, there weren't many jobs I could get. Somehow, Sophia managed to convince her boss that she needed an assistant, so that's where I came in. She was the office coordinator at a Dentist's and I worked as her right hand bitch. So... pretty much a secretary.

"Hello," I turned away from Sophia and she returned to billing paperwork. "Do you have an appointment or would you like to make one?"

The day was pretty uneventful, but I was thankful for that. I needed the day to kind of daydream and be left to my own thoughts. I mean, two nights before I had hit Caleb. I assaulted a police officer.

"Hey, my boyfriend is going to stop by for a few minutes, is that alright with you?" Sophia asked me.

"Yeah, sure. You're the boss." I teased her. She rolled her eyes at me, but said nothing as she picked up her phone to send a quick text. I was ready to see some sort of a Vogue model come in as her boyfriend. I mean, she was gorgeous, so I figured her boyfriend was, too.

Of course, not an hour later, in walks a tall buff guy. But I didn't pay attention to his attractiveness at all. No, I paid attention to his officer's uniform.

He was a cop.

"Marcus!" Sophia jumped up from her work and gave him a kiss. I stared at him with the widest eyes I could form. Stitched onto his uniform was his last name.

Wayne.

As in Officer Scott's partner.

I felt my heart hammer loudly in my chest and I was almost certain both Sophia and Officer Wayne could hear it.

"Red, this is my boyfriend Marcus. Isn't he the sexiest cop?" Sophia introduced us in excitement. I somehow forced a smile, but underneath it all I was praying and hoping that he didn't recognize me. But, my luck had been horrible my whole life, so I knew that it wouldn't change.

"Red?" He smiled at me, "hmm, I've heard a lot about you." He nodded. The way he said it seemed like he meant more than what Sophia had told him about me.

"All good things I hope." I tried to sound casual, but anyone could hear the obvious strain in my voice.

"Red's an interesting name," he leaned on the desk I sat behind, "what is it short for?" Something told me that he knew exactly what it was short for. I wasn't going to answer him, but Sophia did so before I could.

"Summer, but things get violent if you call her that." She teased me. Marcus's eyes shot up and his smile widened.

"You have a tendency for violence? I would never have guessed." He gasped, feigning surprise. So Officer Scott had told him how I hit him. That much was obvious. Sophia grabbed his hand and started to tug him to the back offices, but he didn't let her.

"Wait a second, baby. I think I have someone that would love to be introduced to Red. Wait here a sec." He kissed his girlfriend and trudged back outside. At his words, my stomach dropped. I knew exactly who he was going to introduce me to. I wondered if I'd get away with excusing myself to the bathroom, but I didn't want Sophia to think I was being rude. I was one hundred percent sure she had no idea about my messed up relationship with her boyfriend's partner. Sophia had done so much for me and the last thing I wanted to do was offend her.

So I stayed in place at the receptionist's desk while Sophia rambled about how perfect her boyfriend was.

Yeah, real fricking perfect. He watched sexual abuse happen twice and did absolutely nothing to stop it. But I kept that to myself. He seemed to treat her well, and in the end that's all that matters.

"Red," Officer Wayne's voice boomed, "I'd like you to meet my partner, Caleb Scott." I looked up to see the devil in uniform waltz into the room with that stupid smirk. I didn't respond to the 'introduction'. I just blushed profusely and looked down at my hands. Sophia and Marcus quickly excused themselves and left me with the monster.

"You know," he purred, "I was prepared to wait in the car while Marcus stopped in for a quickie, but I'd much rather hang out with you." He leaned across the desk to get closer to me. I rolled back in my chair, still not meeting his gaze. The last time we had an encounter... I hit him.

"I didn't know you were the same girl that Sophia never shuts up about. She never mentioned your name, but I know a lot more about you now." He came around to behind the desk. I quickly stood up and stepped around it so that our roles were practically reversed.

"You-you do?" I gulped. He nodded at me, his eyes gleaming wickedly. I had told Sophia a lot about my life at home, but the only people who knew everything were my parents, Grandma Irene, and Officer Gary. I asked Officer Gary to use discretion with his wife's cousin, so Sophia had no idea what I was running from.

All she knew was that her cousin's husband, a cop in the U.S., found a teenager who needed help, had enough money to get herself a ticket, and just needed someone to help her establish herself.

Sophia never asked me about anything personal. I think she figured that when I was ready, I'd come to her.

Well, nothing personal, but I'd never be ready.

"What are you running from, Red?" He took a step to the side, and I did the opposite. I needed to put as much space between us as possible. I knew what he was referring to- my dramatic jet across the Atlantic Ocean- but I pretended to be dumb.

"R-right now? You?" I stumbled back a little as he made a sudden move and lurched at me. I couldn't get away before he grabbed me tightly, no doubt leaving bruises. I was held firmly, my arms caught in each of his ginormous hands.

"Listen to me, and listen to me closely, Red. Don't you ever fucking hit me again, do you hear me? I won't fucking stand for it." He dropped the jerk act for a moment to show his true anger over what had happened at the super market.

I should've just nodded and apologized, but I didn't, and don't ask me why I didn't. Instead, I said to him exactly what I told Giuseppe Rosolo after I punched him in the gut after he spread a rumor that he took my virginity in ninth grade.

"Did I hurt you, Princess?" I cocked my head to the side and looked at him as confidently as I could, even though internally I felt the complete opposite. "Did I leave a red mark? Injure your ego? Someone half your size did a number on you, right?" After my words, there was a silence in the air that was almost deafening.

He glared down at me with eyes so dark, it was like someone had turned out the light in them. He shifted, letting one hand release me, but still keeping a firm grip on the other arm. I was quick to act, and fell backwards immediately. My action was so unexpected to him that I was released as I tumbled onto my butt. I brought my arms up over my head in an attempt to block any incoming blows.

"I'm sorry!" I pleaded, "I don't know- it just slipped out. I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" I knew my voice was rising a little, but I tried to keep the volume down. Two of the Dentists were in today, in the back with patients, and Marcus and Sophia were around- god knows where. I was afraid if anyone came in and found him beating me, then he'd blame it on me and have me deported.

And then nothing would stop my parents from finding me.

"Red, stop." He sounded a lot calmer than I had expected, but calm wasn't good. Calm meant too angry to shout. My mother was always calm.

"I-I'll make it up to you... I'll do whatever you want! Please!" I flinched as I heard him step towards me, and I curled my legs up, but my hands stayed up in a defensive position. My wrists were seized gently and he tried to move my hands away from my face gently, but ended up having to use some force because I wasn't budging. Slowly, he crouched in front of me, so that he was no longer towering over me completely.

"What's going on?" He asked me softly. I scooted away from him, but I couldn't get far. He still held my wrists.

"I'm sorry." From experience, I knew that apologizing would make it go a lot faster than fighting it. At least, that's how my Dad was.

"What the hell was that, Red?" He asked, a little more fiercely.

"I-I don't- I was just frustrated. I let my anger get the best of me, I didn't mean to lash out at-"

"No," he interrupted, "the kicking and screaming." I kind of just shrugged my shoulders lightly, because I didn't know what he expected me to say. 'Sorry, that's my reaction right before I'm about to get a beating.' I wasn't going to argue with him about it- I did deserve one. I had hit him and I had given him attitude, so I should've expected him to flip out.

Why the hell he wasn't beating me already was confusing, but I didn't ask him or anything. I thought that'd only make it worse.

"I-I... I don't know. Instinct, maybe?" I tried to come up with some explanation for my embarrassing behavior. He licked his lips nervously, and fell back on his butt so that he was sitting with me on the floor.

"Red... Did you think that I was going to hit you?" He whispered. I glanced down at my hands, which were still locked away in his. Wasn't that what he was going to do? I mean, I had hit him. He does have a temper. And... I really pissed him off.

"Please answer me." He leaned forward a little to refocus my attention on him.

"Please let me go." I asked him as nicely as I could. He regarded me cautiously for a moment, and then released my wrists. I immediately pinned my arms against my body. He pushed himself off the ground and held out a hand for me, to help me up, but I didn't take it and got up on my own.

"Alright, mate, we gotta get out of here." Marcus's voice could be heard from down the hall. We each took a giant step away from each other. With shaky steps, I made it to behind my desk and sat down on my rolly chair. Caleb leaned casually against my desk, and pretended to be on his phone, but I could see him watching me from the corner of his eye.

"Well, it was lovely meeting you, Red." Caleb kept up the act that we had just been introduced to each other. He extended a hand towards me, and I accepted it so that Sophia wouldn't get clued into any deeper relationship. I thought we were just going to shake hands, but instead he brought my hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss onto my knuckles.

Marcus said a quick good-bye to me, and then turned to kiss his girlfriend. While she wasn't looking, I wiped Caleb's kiss off of my hand by rubbing furiously on my skirt. I glanced up just in time to see his dark green eyes connect with mine. He had seen me wipe it off...

And with that, they left.

On my way home from work, I got pulled over.

I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was.

I stepped out of the car before he could, and went around to the side of the car facing away from the road, because I knew that was what he would ask me to do anyways.

"Red." He called to me. His tall frame made its way over to me. I waited in anxious anticipation for him to come to me. I knew that I hadn't done anything illegal, so I really didn't know what he wanted from me. My stomach was in tight knots and honestly, I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Hi." He nodded at me once in greeting. I murmured a soft 'hello' in return. I looked at his car to see Sophia's boyfriend sitting with his feet propped up on the dashboard, his head leaned back against the seat, and his eyes closed tightly. Taking a nap on the job? Great work.

"I just wanted to make sure you were ok." He stood in front of me, hands laced behind his back, feet scuffing in the dirt, and head bent a little, to incline himself towards me. I knew he wasn't trying to intimidate me, he was only trying to close the immense height gap between us so we could converse easier, but it seemed more like I was being cornered.

I pressed myself against my car to put distance between us, but it didn't work.

And, the fact that his uniform was short-sleeved and showed off his collection of tattoos and his thick muscles, only furthered my discomfort.

"I'm fine."

"Red, you thought I was going to hurt you." He insisted that we talk about it.

I'm sorry, when did we become friends?

When did he think I'd ever feel comfortable discussing that with him?

"I'm sorry." I didn't know what else he expected me to say. I didn't mean to freak him out with my reaction, but I had truly thought that he was going to go at me.

"No!" He snapped in frustration. I jumped a little, startled at his reaction. "No," he repeated, a lot calmer, "don't be sorry. You shouldn't be sorry. I just- why did you think I was going to hit you?" He struggled with his volume a little. I think he was trying not to scare me or anything.

"I don't know... You were really mad."

"Just because someone gets mad, doesn't mean they'll get violent." He said softly.

Of course I knew that. It was just, he reminded me so much of my father with his temper and incessant need to control me that I assumed he'd have the same tendencies. And one of those tendencies was violence.

"Mmhmm." I nodded. He looked down at me for a moment before glancing down at his watch.

"Listen, I've got to run, but I want to see you again. And I don't want to have to pull you over, or run into you at the hands of a drug dealer, or have Marcus bump into you. Ok?" He spoke quickly, and he did that nervous habit of pulling at his lips with his fingers and then running his tongue around his mouth. I curled my fingers along the edge of my passenger door handle just to release some tension in my body.

"What?" I whispered, wondering if he was asking me what I thought he was asking me.

"I want to take you out on a date." Oh shit. He WAS asking what I thought he was asking.

To be honest, I had never been on a date before. In high school, I had friends that hung out with me in my classes, but for the most part, I stuck to myself. I spent more time with Irene than anyone else to be honest.

And, as my mother had constantly reminded me, I wasn't very pretty. I had red hair- clown hair, she called it. And pasty skin that could compete with a vampire's. My butt was too big, my boobs were too small, my thighs were too big, my arms not toned enough, and my stomach extended too far out for my taste. My lips weren't big enough, and my eyes were just plain hazel. I had always wanted blue eyes like my mother, because those made her look so pretty.

And Officer Scott was gorgeous, even though he was an asshole. Perfectly chiseled face, strong jaw, dimpled smile, straight and white teeth. I mean, the guy looked like a model. And his hair looked like it came off the head of a boy band member or something. And on top of it all, he was over 6ft easily, lanky, but muscular with a bunch of badass tattoos.

So even though he was a complete jerk, he was still way out of my league.

And that's why I was so surprised that he was asking me on a date.

I was flattered for a second, but then I remembered exactly who was asking me.

"Umm... I don't think that would be a good idea." I muttered nervously. He let out a groan in displeasure and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.

"Look, Red, I don't want to have to do this, but wouldn't it be a shame if the feds found out about your immigration status? Going out with me would be so much easier."