Fiery Trap

Chapter Fourteen: The House among the Forest

The officer jammed his key into the ignition, starting the ignition. Just as he pressed the pedal to reverse, a loud slam thundered on Rachel's passenger window, startling both Rachel and the officer. He pressed his brake hard while Rachel spun her head in the direction of the sound. Her face, at first twisted in fright, now transformed to pure happiness. Outside the passenger window stood Dominic in black track pants and synthetic blue shirt. Rachel was so happy to see him she didn't catch what he said to her. She spun back toward the officer, who seemed ready to shoot him.

"It's okay. That's the person I'm supposed to meet," Rachel said to him with a broad smile.

"That's him?" the officer questioned her. He glanced at the glowing face of Rachel while Dominic took a step back from the car, making way for her to climb out. Officer Willy drove back into the parking lot and removed his keys before getting out of the vehicle.

"Young man, don't ever hit a police car like that again," he said, going around to Dominic. Rachel immediately climbed out of the car. She shut the door and heard Dominic apologize. She stood where she was, unsure what to do next.

"I'm sorry to make you wait, but I thought you'd be on the bench, waiting for me. I didn't know you'd be in a police car," Dominic said. "I thought you'd be on your bike or a friend might drop you off."

"So where were you, then?" Rachel asked, suppressing her fury.

"I—I was in my car over there," Dominic said, pointing at his car. Rachel followed his hand. She noticed his car wasn't red anymore. It was dark blue.

"You changed the color of your car?" Rachel said, staring at the car from a distance. Dominic nodded his head.

"I like it," Rachel said simply. She then stared into his eyes. He formed a small smile in appreciation of her comment. And like an irresistible power of two opposite magnets, they gravitated toward each other and planted a long gentle kiss on the other's lips. Their arms wrapped around each other. Officer Willy cleared his throat loudly reminding them they weren't alone. They parted.

"I guess we should begin our jog," Dominic said. Rachel turned to the officer and told him he didn't need to follow them. The officer refused, though Rachel could tell from his face he wasn't in the mood, whatsoever, to jog with them.

"Okay," Rachel said in a singsong manner, knowing it was his own doing if anything went wrong. She dashed toward the bench, which was now empty as if expecting their arrival. Both Rachel and Dominic used the bench to stretch their legs while Officer Willy lazily did his stretches from a distance. Rachel curved her midsection left to right. She noticed how happy Dominic was to see her. He clearly forgave her; there was no discussion to be had. Her tiny positive thought succeeded after all. Rachel couldn't help but smile back at him. She glanced at the officer waiting impatiently for them to finish up. Dominic hopped high a few times, waiting for Rachel to touch her toes for the final time before they both began jogging. Officer Willy trailed behind them.

Abreast each other, Rachel and Dominic jogged for fifteen minutes before she heard huffing and puffing behind them.

"I... I can't go any further," Officer Willy said breathlessly. Rachel and then Dominic spun around and saw him with both palms of his hands on his knee and his back hunched as he gasped for air. His forehead already glistened with sweat.

"Don't worry about me. I have Dominic," Rachel said. "I'm fine,"

"Okay," he faltered and spun around, retreating to the parking lot. He shouted at Rachel, "Don't report this to the station."