Page 54 of Loving Taylor
Chapter Sixteen
Istayedup for most of the night, too wound up to find solace in sleep. Eventually I dropped off to sleep but my dreams ensured any rest I got had been restless.
When I awoke on the sofa I yawned and glanced around the room but I was alone. My body felt cramped from sleeping on the sofa instead of my comfortable bed. I stretched the tiredness out of my arms. The sound of voices was coming from the kitchen. It sounded like Taylor and it took me a few more moments to place the voice of Eric.
I sat up and swung my legs over the side. I hadn't heard her come downstairs. How long had she been awake?
I scanned the room. My eyes settled on her packed bag by the door. She had been up long enough to get dressed and pack her things. It only added to the feeling of betrayal that she hadn't trusted me enough to open up about her childhood.
The events from the previous night stirred my anger. I'd given her insights into my childhood and when I had asked her about herself, she had clammed up.
I stood and followed the voices to the kitchen. The sound of Eric's voice aggravated me. There was just something about him that just didn't sit well with me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was like he was always trying too hard to fit in or be funny. He would probably be easier to be around if he were just himself. I didn't know how people pretended to be somebody they weren't. I couldn't be someone I wasn't, what you saw was what you got with me.
I slowed my footsteps to hear what they were talking about. Eric had never paid any interest in any of the other girls that I had slept with so it piqued my interest that he was talking to Taylor. Maybe it was because I hadn't kept a girl around long enough for him to try.
"You guys have a fight?" he asked her. I frowned. He was stepping over the line by poking his nose into my business.
Why did he care if we’d had an argument or not? I debated whether to step inside the room or to wait a little longer to hear more.
The fridge opened and closed.
"Something like that." Taylor's voice was reserved as she answered his question. She didn't seem to be happy to reveal too much.
"I wouldn't stress about it too much. Girls never last long with him," Eric told her.
It was the truth but his words made me angry. Who the hell was he to interfere in something that had nothing to do with him?
I edged closer, resisting the urge to interrupt before he could say anything more.
Taylor remained quiet.
"Although I've never seen him sleep on the couch before," he added.
I'd heard enough. I stepped into the doorway of the kitchen. Taylor noticed me first. She looked unsure as her eyes met mine. I scratched my chest as I strolled into the room.
Eric took his glass of juice and gave Taylor a slight nod before he left. He didn't even have the balls to look at me as I threw him an annoyed look. We would definitely be having a talk about this later.
Nervously, Taylor set her glass of water down on the nearby counter.
After last night, there was a void between us. I was still feeling betrayed and she was looking at me like she wasn't sure how to deal with me.
"You sleep okay?" I asked, coming to a stop a few feet in front of her.
She nodded. My eyes went to the dark purple bruises on her arms. I reached out and took her one arm in my hands, brushing my fingers over the darkened areas that marred her porcelain skin. I didn't like how I felt at the thought that her attacker had hurt her.
But what scared me more was how I was feeling. I needed to distance myself so I stepped back, releasing her arm like it had burned me.
I couldn't bullshit my way out of this. If I had any way of protecting myself it was time to release her and end our arrangement. When I had entered into the agreement with her, I had never imagined it would be difficult to walk away but now I was discovering how attached I had become.
I knew what I needed to do but I couldn't open my mouth and say the words. So instead I held her gaze in a silence that wasn't comfortable for either of us. I wondered what she was thinking. Was she thinking the same? From the start of our arrangement it had never occurred to me that she might end our arrangement before me.
The doorbell rang, interrupting us.
Feeling like things between us were still undecided, I gave her one last look before I left to answer the front door. I wasn't expecting anyone.
I opened the door and found the blond stranger I had seen Taylor with before, standing with a disapproving look as his gaze swept over me. It was a look I was used to. The slightly surprised look hidden in his frown told me she hadn't told him about me. It shouldn't have hurt or angered me. We weren't anything other than a sexual arrangement.
"I think he's here for you," I said in the laziest tone I could muster. I opened the door farther and Taylor looked like she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have. Me.
