Page 69 of Loving Bad
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Sin
I smiled when I spotted Taylor walking to class with Matthew following closely beside her. I'd just seen her last night, but it had felt longer.
She'd surprised me when she'd finally opened up and told me about her past. It didn't matter that I'd already read all of it off the web. Hearing it in her own words had made it more real and more heart-breaking. She'd forgiven me for finding out about her past, but I still felt a pang of guilt when I thought about it.
It had been my concern for her safety that had pushed me to search her name on the Internet. Just thinking about what happened to her made me sad and angry at the same time. It was different having parents who couldn't give a shit. I couldn't miss something I'd never had. I couldn't imagine losing the unconditional love from a parent after experiencing it.
Something was off. Matthew was watching his surroundings like a hawk. It wasn't like he was being obvious, I think the only reason I picked up on it was because I knew he was a bodyguard. Taylor seemed a little jumpy and nervous. It wasn't like her. I frowned as I reached her. Matthew swung his gaze at me and his features seemed to relax when he recognized me. Taylor gave me a weak smile.
"You okay?" I asked, letting my gaze move between the two of them.
"Everything's fine," she tried to reassure me with a weak smile but I could see past the front she was trying to put on.
I gave Matthew a questioning look.
"The stalker left a note on the door of the apartment," he told me. Taylor glared at him for revealing the information.
"What did it say?"
My question was directed at Taylor, but she hesitated. My unease grew.
" 'I know where you live, whore. You can't hide from me. You're my whore not his,' " Matthew told me and something in my gut twisted.
You're my whore not hisechoed through my mind. I stepped closer to Taylor and scanned her features. It explained her nervousness and I took her hand in mine. The thought that the crazy guy who had tried to attack her was stalking her made me angry. After everything else, she didn't deserve this. She bit on her lip nervously as she held my gaze. I wanted to make her feel better and I wanted her to know I wasn't going to let this guy get anywhere near her. I leaned closer and kissed her. I pulled back in time to see her lip tremble and I hugged her for a moment. I forgot about Matthew as I held her.
"I'm okay," she assured me as she pulled away, but I knew she wasn't okay.
"Are you sure?" I asked, watching her carefully. She nodded her head at me, but I could still see the fear in her eyes.
"It's okay if you’re not," I tried to tell her. No one expected her to be brave in the situation she was in.
"I'm fine," she insisted with determination.
In that moment, I glimpsed the part of Taylor who had survived the horrific deaths of her parents and the downward mental spiral afterward. It was the part of her that wouldn't just lie down and let it consume her. I understood that part of her. My life hadn't been good and I also had that same part in me that part that fought for survival. We were different people with different circumstances, but we both had that survival part that had kept us going through the tougher times.
"Are the cops any closer to catching the guy?" I asked Matthew. He shook his head.
“No,” he revealed.
I looked to Taylor again and felt a pang of something in my chest. I didn't want anything to happen to her.
"Why did you come to school? Don't you think it would be safer to stay at home?" I asked softly.
She shook her head.
"I tried to tell her that it might be a good idea to stay at the apartment today," Matthew added.
"I won't allow this to make me too scared to do the things that I want to," she told me.
I understood that she didn't want what was happening to dictate her life so I tried to keep myself from bundling her up and taking her home. She'd fought to lead the normal life she was and I could see it was difficult to give that up because some crazy guy had a fixation on her.
"Come on, I'll walk you to class," I offered as I took her hand in mine. She smiled at me as we walked to her class with Matthew still watching the surrounding crowd.
At the doorway of her classroom, I gave her a brief kiss and watched as she entered the classroom with Matthew. There were no clues and the cops had no suspects. My eyes scanned the room, lingering for a moment on each guy in her class. I couldn't help wonder if it was someone sitting in her classroom. My eyes went to Matthew who was sitting beside her. I didn't trust a lot of people and it was hard to trust Matthew to keep her safe. Taylor had told me that he was the best that her brother could find who was young enough to pass off as a college student, but that didn't make it any easier to walk away from her classroom.
