Page 81 of Loving Bad
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Sin
I was frustrated and angry. Physically putting distance between Taylor and I should have fixed the problem, but it hadn't. She was all I could think about. I dropped my head into my hands and rubbed them over my face. It didn't help that every time I closed my eyes I saw her smiling at me and I felt guilty for leaving abruptly the way I had. Granted, I'd been clear that things between us were over, but packing up and leaving had been going a bit overboard.
When I'd packed my stuff, I'd had no intention of ever going back. Now, sitting in the house I'd bought for my mom, I knew that I had to go back. I couldn't run away from the problem. The only way to deal with it was to face it head on. I eyed the offending folder that still lay on the coffee table. I hadn't been able to open it up and look at what it held, but I had a pretty good idea since I'd lived through all of it—stuff I wasn't proud of.
Feeling agitated, I stood up and began to pace the room.
She'd told me that she hadn't read the folder and I believed her because, if she had, I was pretty sure she wouldn't have wanted anything to do with me. I wouldn't have had a chance to tell her that we were over; she would have told me to leave if she knew. I'd never wanted to erase my past as badly as I'd wanted to when I'd first found out about the murder of Taylor's parents. It was only a matter of time before she found out. I thought about coming clean with her, but I wasn't sure she would want to ever see me again after that.
My phone began to ring and I pulled it out of my jeans pocket. I'd expected it to be Taylor, but it was Slater.
"Hi," I said as I answered the call.
"You need to get your ass back here," he instructed forcefully. He sounded upset and it wasn't like him.
"What's wrong, man?" I asked, knowing my best friend well enough to know that something was going on.
"Look, there’s no good way to say this…" he said and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.
"It's Taylor," he admitted.
My heart stopped beating for a split second as I felt the fear crash over me like a wave.
"What happened?" I said tightly, already having every worst-case scenario cycling through my mind.
"She's gone," he revealed, and I felt my legs weaken and I slumped down in the chair.
"What do you mean she's gone?" I asked, my voice already thickening with the emotion I felt. I'd asked the question, but I wasn't sure I wanted the answer.
"She's missing," he said softly.
"How long?" I asked, my mind already jumping to the next action I needed to perform.
"A day," he answered. It was already too long.
"I just found out from Jordan," he added.
"I'll call you back," I told him, trying to ignore the fear I felt. I disconnected the call, not giving him a chance to say another word. I searched through my contacts on my phone and dialed a number.
"Yeah," the guy answered.
"You still tailing the guy I asked you to?" I asked urgently as I ran a hand through my hair.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Does he have a girl with him?" I asked, and I held my breath.
"No," he said and I felt my world begin to disintegrate around me.
Caleb didn't have Taylor; he wasn't the stalker. I'd put my guy on the wrong guy.
Fuck!
"You need me to find someone for you?" my guy asked on the other side of the call.
