Page 28 of Fall

“Good morning to you, too. I was just getting ready to head to Sugar & Spice as per our deal.”

“Great. Why the fuck are you just in boxers and whose toothbrush did you just use?” I snarl. “You have your own room, and I’m pretty sure Sugar & Spice requires clothes, asshole.”

He rubs his chin and then nods in agreement. “Yea, I’m pretty sure they do. That is my next step in the ‘I’m just getting ready to head out’ plan. But thank you for letting me know that I’m on the right track. And as for the toothbrush, the answer would be mine. I mean, you’re both great, but sharing toothbrushes is kind of a hard limit for me.”

He places his toothbrush into our toothbrush holder, and I notice that there’s a man’s razor, shaving cream, and aftershave also on the counter. I narrow my eyes at him.

“Taylor, why is there men’s shaving shit on my counter?”

He looks at the counter and then back to my face with a tilt of his chin. “You know, for someone with your IQ, it’s a little concerning that you’re asking about basic adult male hygiene.”

I cross my arms over my chest and stare at him expectantly. He knowsexactlywhat I’m asking.

He gives me a toothy grin and actually pats my goddamn head. “How about I let you do your thing, and we can talk in the kitchen when we’re both dressed.”

“I’m going to stab you one day, Taylor,” I shout as he walks out of the bathroom, no longer caring whether Celeste is sleeping or not.

“Not for at least two months!” He shoots back with a chuckle. I slam the door.

When I’m done, I flop on our sofa in the sitting room. Taylor is dressed and grabs keys from the key holder on his way towards the door.

“Taylor, why do you have a toothbrush in our bathroom?” I ask, slightly calmer than I was earlier.

He shrugs his shoulders. “My toothbrush was getting lonely in my bathroom so I brought it over so it could have company.”

I throw one of Cele’s accent pillows as he winks and walks out.

“Jesus, I feel like death. Will you guys please keep it down?” Celeste grumbles, walking into the sitting room, rubbing at her temples. She flops on the sofa next to me, reeking of alcohol and sweat.

I eye her curiously. “Cele, why is Taylor’s toothbrush in our bathroom?” I ask, but she just shrugs and wraps herself in a throw blanket. “Celeste. He was in his boxers this morning. Wanna tell me what happened last night?”

She lifts the blanket, looking down to inspect her clothes. “Seeing as I’m still wearing the same clothes from last night, my guess is nothing.”

She wraps herself back up and closes her eyes. I lean my head back and breathe out slowly. When I look back over at Celeste, she’s sound asleep, so I close my eyes and do the same.

“Up and at ‘em, ladies. Yourknightin shining armor is here to the rescue.” Taylor all but storms in, making our front door bang against the door stopper and then slam shut.

Celeste grabs on her head. “I’m going to kill him.”

I snort as I walk to the kitchen. “This was all you, Cele. You’re the one who wanted this.”

She grumbles some more but makes her way behind me and sits at the kitchen stool next to mine. I grab the extra-large frothy cappuccino and hand Celeste hers.

Taylor pulls out his phone. “Day one down. Only fifty-nine more to go.”

I take a sip of the steaming cup of coffee and watch as he scrolls through his phone. I watch as his face goes from jovial to concerned in a nanosecond. When he finally looks in my direction, he looks almost sad.

“Um… Eves… I think you need to see this. Like I don’twantyou to, but I think you should.” His tone is much less cheery than it was when he walked in a few minutes ago.

Celeste lifts her head, chin resting on her arm. “What is it?”

He just shakes his head and slides his phone over to me. I look down at the screen. I go cold, and my stomach drops along with the rest of my body heat.

The video playing on his phone is on pause and the still image is of me, unconscious and naked on the bathroom floor with all of my scars on display. I tap the screen to replay the video from the beginning, remembering every word that was said that day, even if the video has no sound.

“What the hell is this, Taylor?!” Celeste yells, despite the hangover she’s nursing.

He adamantly shakes his head. “I have no clue. It was uploaded this morning on the SU intranet site. I just got the notification. I didn’t know what it was until I hit play.”

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