"Laura, you're just a kid. I'm an adult. I think you're just feeling grateful that I helped you the other night and you're transferring that into feelings you don't actually feel. I protect you like I do my sister. This look, the makeup, and clothes, this isn't you. I look at you and see a kid playing dress-up. I won't forget you. I've always protected you. I'm sorry, but I have to go. This is just too much."
Michael turned around and left. He heard Laura crying as he left. It broke his heart that he'd hurt her, but it had to be done. What in the hell had she been thinking? She'd even wasted her first kiss on a peck of the lips. She had so much to experience in the next five years. She might even find her mate shortly after her eighteenth birthday. She'd forget all about him then. For some reason, that thought pissed him off. No boy would be good enough for her.
