Page 59 of Revive

“Yeah.”

“I’d be honoured to be your girl.”

The relief within me is palpable. Curling my arm around her shoulders, I bring her even closer, and kiss her forehead. “Let’s get you inside.”

I walk into the kitchen, and set up our dinner on plates. Dropping her keys and laptop bag on the table, she unpacks her day; notebooks , manilla folders and a shit load of pens.

“How was work?”

Walking toward me she takes the plate of fried rice, and spicy beef out of my hand. “Can we eat in bed and talk about it?”

“One of those days?”

She nods in defeat. leading me into her sanctuary.

Quickly changing into a t-shirt I've left behind, Taylah sits cross legged on her bed and begins to eat.

Her mood is troubled, and while I hate knowing she's upset, being in her presence soothes my worry.

Following suit, I sit and eat, waiting for her to come out of her shell.

With all the time we now spend with each other, I've been able to pick out things about her that I would've never anticipated. Her ability to be so immersed in her job, she can't see past it, is one of them. Sometimes her empathy for others cripples her in a way I know exhausts her.

I admire her passion and her dedication, but the need to take care of her own well being is something we always bicker about.

“Didn’t you eat lunch today?” I ask as she shovels the food into her mouth.

She shakes her head. “By the time I had a few spare minutes, I just wanted to get the fuck out of there.”

Looking down at her empty plate I offer her the remainder of mine.

“No, you're still eating that,” she protests.

“Eat, baby.” I push it toward her again, taking her empty plate as encouragement. “There’s more in the kitchen if I need it.”

She devours the rest of my plate, and my heart does an unexplainable dance, knowing she's eaten and full. “Let me get these to the kitchen, then we can talk about your day, huh?”

“Ughhh, do we have to?” She falls dramatically on to her bed.

“You're going to start talking about it in forty five minutes anyway.” She throws a pillow at me, and I laugh while blocking it with my shoulder. “I’ll be back.”

Returning to the room empty handed, I notice she’s swapped out the main bedroom light, for her lamps. The television is on more as background noise, and she’s managed to bury herself under a mountain of blankets.

I shuck off all my clothes, keeping only my boxer briefs on, and climb in next to her. Hooking my arm around her stomach, I bring her to me, her back pressing into my chest, our bodies curled up against one another.

“Today I managed to get the court to process an Apprehended Violence Order on a husband who beat the shit out of his wife and kid on the regular. He made bail, so the criminal charges will come later, but obviously the priority is to keep everyone safe.”

My nose skims the length of her neck, as my hand creeps up underneath her shirt; my skin desperate to feel hers. She talks and I listen, giving her whatever she needs to feel better.

“He and his wife were selling anything and everything to score. We arranged for the mum to go into rehab with the hope she can eventually be reunited with her daughter.”

“This young girl was just living her life. A victim to abuse, exposed to drugs, how do people do that around children? How do they expect them to grow up unfazed and unharmed.”

Her voice trembles and all I can do is hold her tighter. “The part that gets me the most is how hard the young girl cried herself into an anxiety attack, because she wasn’t going to see her parents again. They don’t deserve her loyalty.”

The picture forms perfectly in my mind, seeing it all the time at work. It’s a battle that I wish we could win, but unfortunately for the most part, families sometimes have to crack before they can be put back together. Turning in my arms, Taylah’s wet eyes, bore into mine and I wipe her escaping tears. “The thing about parents is we’re programmed to love them no matter what. For a very long time they’re all we know. There are some parents, like yours who deserve super hero status. There are some who make the best with what they have. But for a lot of us, it’s just a reminder we’re all human and humans are not infallible. We make mistakes, and we’re not perfect.”

“Can I ask you something?”

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