Page 70 of Loving Bad
I noticed Caleb, the preppy boy that she'd briefly dated and my eyes narrowed. He was sitting at the desk beside her on the opposite side to Matthew. I would be late for my class, but I couldn't pull myself away. Caleb leaned over to say something to Taylor and I felt a pull of possessiveness inside of me. Fisting my hands, I stopped myself from walking over to him and beating the crap out of him. She was mine. The brightening in his eyes as he talked to her told me volumes. Despite Taylor telling him she only wanted to be friends, I could see he felt more.
I wondered if he could be the stalker.
You're my whore not his.
It sounded like something that someone would say because they were jealous. Was it Caleb, who clearly still had a thing for her? Was he jealous of the fact that she'd been spending time with me?
It wasn't like we were dating or anything like that. As much as I wanted to stay there to watch Caleb around Taylor, I turned and walked away from the classroom before I did something I would regret. I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to get my thoughts together. There had to be another way to see if my suspicions for Caleb were correct. I pulled my phone out of the front pocket of my jeans. It didn't take me long to find the contact I was looking for. I dialed the number and waited for him to answer.
"What's up?" a male's voice asked as soon as he picked up.
"I need you to do something for me," I told the guy.
I didn't question why I had such a need to protect Taylor. Maybe it was because I was scared to face the reason why I felt the way I did. I wanted to believe it stemmed from the fact that she'd had a hard life and I wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to her again. She'd fought hard to overcome her mental breakdown and it worried me that if something horrible happened she wouldn't be able to recover from it.
But the truth was, even if I didn't want to admit it, I cared about her. More than I should. She'd been the first girl that I'd screwed more than once. Usually if there was any sight of any drama, I'd have been the first one to walk away, but despite Taylor's past and the whole stalker thing, I was still around. I didn't want to analyze why; instead, I was going to make it my mission to keep her safe.
Taylor
It had been a long and nervous day at school. I wouldn't admit it to anyone, but I'd been scared. Keeping up the brave facade had been exhausting and I was glad to be back inside the apartment where—despite the fact that the stalker had left a note on the door—I still felt safe.
I glanced at Matthew. He was also the reason I felt safer. He never stopped scanning the crowds of students passing by us today.
"Thanks," I said to him out of the blue.
"What for?" he asked as he took his eyes off the TV and glanced at me.
"For everything."
"You're welcome. I'm just doing my job," he replied.
I didn't know how he could do the job he did. Putting your own life on the line for someone else wasn't easy so I had the utmost respect for him and what he was trying to do for me. I made a mental note to try and do as he told me and not to be difficult.
Jordan was still dealing with her heartbreak. She’d tried to hide her it, but I'd seen right through it. The moment we'd gotten back from college she'd disappeared into her bedroom. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't really know what to say. Maybe she needed to deal with it on her own.
There was an unexpected knock on the door and my eyes shot to Matthew.
"The stalker wouldn't knock," Matthew said in a teasing tone as he shook his head at me.
He was right of course, but I couldn't help that nervous edge of fear that shot through me. He went to the door and opened it while I remained seated with my hands digging into the arms of the chair.
"It's for you," he yelled at me.
I hadn't been expecting anyone and as I got closer to the door, I was surprised to see Sin standing outside the front door waiting for me. I smiled at him and he smiled back at me as our eyes met. It was a nice surprise and my nervousness evaporated.
"Hi," he said as I invited him in.
"Hi," I greeted back, feeling so happy to see him.
Matthew was seated in front of the TV again, flicking through the channels and he turned to watch us. It was like having an older brother around and he was making it a little awkward for me so I reached for Sin's hand and led him to my room. I heard Matthew laugh as I closed the door.
"Sorry about that—the disadvantages to having a bodyguard," I joked as my eyes met his.
