by JL Paul
“I think Brady’s here,” Mrs. Parker announced when the doorbell rang. Taylor hugged the older woman once more before hurrying down to greet her date.
Brady and Taylor doubled with Jason Smith, Brady’s best friend, and his date, Amanda Allen. They endured the embarrassing photo shoot Mr. Parker put them through while Josh stood in the corner, laughter taunting his eyes.
The Prom had a Venetian City theme and before long, Taylor was caught up in all the romance. The walls of the gym were plastered with paintings of Venice, done entirely by the art club, and strands of twinkling white lights once again hovered above them. Someone had procured an actual gondola and couples were posing before it for a professional photographer eager to make a buck on the sentimentality of high school girls.
Brady kept a firm hand on her all night, dancing closely with her and not letting her out of his sight. None of the usual arrogance he displayed in front of the school was present as he plied her with compliments and chaste kisses.
They shared a table with some of his friends and Taylor winced each time one of the girls insulted another girl’s, who was unfortunate enough to be below them in the high school caste system, dress or hair. When Monica Temple snorted in disgust and commented on the cheap, department store dress a pretty junior Taylor didn’t know was wearing, she couldn’t refrain any longer.
“Well, it’s obvious that she doesn’t need an expensive, designer dress to look good. She could have worn a burlap sack and she’d probably still outshine every girl here,” she said with a sweet, sarcastic smile.
Choking on his punch, Brady took her hand, leading her quickly away from the table and out on the dance floor.
“You really know how to put people in their place, huh,” he asked, smirk playing around his lips.
She lifted a defiant chin. “It shouldn’t matter how much money a person has. I can’t stand that your friends are so judgmental. If it weren’t for you, they’d have nothing to do with me.”
He kissed her cheek softly, his lips trailing to her ear. “It would be their loss, then.”
Blushing, she rested her cheek on his chest as he held her tightly and moved slowly to the music.
When the dance ended, Brady took her to a post Prom party at a football player’s house in a new, private subdivision complete with a manmade lake. It was loud and rowdy with plenty of alcohol. Brady, sensing her unease, took her hand and led her out of the house. Slipping off his tux jacket, he draped it over her shoulders as they walked past the shimmering lake. He smirked as he guided her to an incomplete house and pulled her inside.
“Brady, I don’t think we should go in here,” she worried.
He drew her to his chest and kissed her firmly, melting her whole resolve. He had kissed her plenty of times in the past few months and each one left her gasping.
“It’s okay, love,” he said, his soft voice reassuring. “I have a surprise for you.”
He led her up the unfinished stairs to what was soon going to be a bedroom, complete with a balcony overlooking the lake. There he had a blanket spread out and a picnic basket nearby. He motioned for her to sit as he produced candles from the basket and lit them. Next he extracted two wine glasses and a bottle of champagne. Her eyes grew.
“How did you get that?”
He pecked her lips again. “I have older brothers, remember?”
She rolled her eyes. “I should have known.” She glanced around as she took the glass he offered. “This is pretty amazing. I would have never expected this of you.” Her eyes sparkled in amusement as she lifted her glass.
“I’m hurt, Taylor. I do know how to be romantic.”
She snorted. “Have you been reading your mother’s romance books again?”
He laughed and took the glass from her hand. “You really know how to put me in my place, too, don’t you?” he asked, rubbing his thumb across her bottom lip. He didn’t wait for a reply. “That’s why I love you.”
Her eyes widened as he pulled her mouth to his and tangled his hand in her hair, loosening the tight bun. She broke from her shock and responded eagerly. He moved his hands down her back and eased her body into his. Yanking his shirt out of his pants, she ran her hands underneath. He moaned lightly in her mouth and slowly lowered her to the blanket. He broke the kiss and moved to her neck. She found the buttons on his shirt and quickly undid them, nearly ripping it off his body. He lifted up to grin at her.
“Little anxious, aren’t we?”
She blushed but refused to hide her head. “I think you have a nice chest. I can admire it can’t I?”
He shrugged. “By all means.” His eyes sparkled mischievously. “You have a nice chest also. I can admire it, can’t I?”
She narrowed her eyes at him as she sat up to undo the clasp holding her dress in place. He watched her hungrily and when she lowered herself back to the blanket he reached out to tug the dress down. He hesitated and looked her in the eyes.
“Sure you want to do this, love?”
Her eyes never left his face as she nodded.
They undressed each other in record time, kissing and exploring the other’s body. Crawling over her, he kissed her sweetly. He broke away to gaze into her eyes. “Are you sure, love?”
She nodded and smiled. Uncertainty lit his eyes briefly before he kissed her again and took her innocence once and for all.
She hadn’t realized she was crying until she walked into the house and caught her reflection in the hall mirror. She entered the bathroom, turned the sink taps on, and splashed her face. She couldn’t believe what she was becoming. And all because of a guy.
She groaned and dried her face on the hand towel hanging by the sink. It was still early, she reasoned. She’d call Josh and they’d go have dinner.
When her cell phone rang, she rushed to the living room to dig it out of her bag. It was another number she didn’t recognize but she answered it anyway.
“Hello?”
“Hey! Have dinner with me tonight, love,” Brady purred into the phone.
She clenched her fist with fury. “How did you get this number?”
“From Tabby. I charmed it out of her. I can charm anything out of anyone, as you know, love.”
“Well charm your way out of my life,” she nearly screamed.
“Hey now, don’t burst a blood vessel. Come on. Have dinner with me. We need to talk,” he asked in a silky voice.
“Can’t. I have plans,” she retorted. She was determined to keep him from burrowing under her skin once more.
He grunted with doubt. “With who?”
“A friend.”
“Hot date?”
She rolled her eyes. “Please.”
“Tell me who you have plans with tonight,” he ordered. “Or are you putting me off again?”
She sighed dramatically, longing to end the call. “Josh, okay? I have plans with Josh tonight.”
“Josh Parker? Really?”
“Yes really. Goodbye!”
“Wait, Taylor!”
“What do you want?” she asked, her patience quickly draining.
“Have dinner with me tomorrow night then.”
“No, Brady. I won’t. Please,” she took a deep breath. “Please stop calling me.”
“This is the first time I’ve called you,” he protested.
Groaning, she rubbed her temple furiously. “You know what I mean.”
“Just have dinner with me. Come on. We’re leaving Monday for a two week road trip. What are you going to do then?”
“Celebrate?” She released a short giggle. “Look, if I promise to think about having dinner with you tomorrow, will you leave me alone for the rest of the evening?”
“Nu uh. I want to hear you say yes.”
“Good night, Brady.” She hung up before he could respond and then promptly turned off her phone. She smirked at it in victory as she picked up her cordless and dialed Josh’s number.
***
“Just go out with him and get it o
ver with,” Josh insisted as he handed her a glass of ice tea. He settled in a cushiony chaise that he’d just purchased, a satisfied grin on his face. “You know you want to go.”
She groaned as she sipped the drink. “You’re starting to sound like him.”
“Never. And please, don’t insult me that way,” Josh declared, hand over heart.
She tucked her legs under her body and peered at him over her glass. “Then why are you so insistent that I go out with him?”
He set his drink on a small table next to his chair. Cocking his head, he stared at her as if she had something growing on her face.
“It’s been what, about six years since you graduated?” She nodded. “You’ve been hurting that long. Don’t deny it.”
Wrestling her conflicting feelings, she dropped her eyes to the cubes floating at the top of her glass. “I’ve had a lot to deal with besides Brady Nolan. You know that.”
Josh folded his hands over his chest. “Yes, I know. But Brady came to me after graduation. He was really upset that you weren’t there.”
She snorted in an unladylike manner, eyes avoiding his. “He was upset because he couldn’t gloat and parade me around as his trophy.”
Sighing, Josh rubbed a hand over his face. “Taylor, listen. I never told you everything that happened between me and Brady that day.”
“Tell me,” she whispered, eyes nearly as wide as her glass.
He shook his head firmly. “No. It’s Brady’s story to tell, not mine.”
She leaned forward, lowering her feet to the ground as anger swelled in her heart. “What? You have a guilty conscience now, too? You want me to meet with Brady and talk to him so he can tell me everything and it will rid you of your guilt?”
Lips set, he shook his head. “No, it’s not like that. I don’t have anything to feel guilty about, except maybe for not beating him to a pulp.”
She relaxed slowly, shoulders sagging. “Sorry. He’s just got me in such a mood lately.”
“It’s okay. But it’s all the more reason to talk to him.”
She blew a long breath at the loose hairs hanging in her face. “I will. But not until he gets back from his road trip. I have too much on my mind at the moment.”
“Your dad?”
She nodded and filled him in on her latest conversation with the doctor.
***
“We need to talk, Taylor,” Josh announced as soon as she opened the door. The sappy smile she’d been wearing since she woke that morning faltered a little bit.
“What’s up, Josh?” She led him to the empty family room. Her father was still in bed and Teddy was spending the weekend with his friend.
Josh sat on the coffee table, motioning for her to sit in front of him on the sofa. When she sat, he took her hands. “Taylor, what happened last night after Prom?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Did you go anywhere with Brady?”
“Yeah. We went to a party. Why?”
He scooted closer and squeezed her hand. “Did you go anywhere alone with Brady? Did Jason and Amanda go somewhere alone also?”
She pulled her hand out of his. “I don’t know about Jason and Amanda but I do know it’s not really your business where I went with Brady.”
He dropped his head to his hands. “Oh no. You did, didn’t you?”
“Josh what is your problem?”
He took both of her hands again and held them tightly. “Please hear me out, okay?” She nodded and bit her lip. He took a deep breath. “It was a bet, Taylor. The whole thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Honey,” he exhaled. “Brady and Jason made a bet. They had to find a virgin, date her the rest of the year, and have sex with her on Prom night. The one who succeeded won the bet.”
She snatched her hands out of his as though they were on fire and scorching her skin. “No. Brady’s not like that.”
“His brother just told me the whole story last night.” He moved to sit next to her and draped an arm around her shoulder. “He told me that they were bored so Jason invented this bet. They had all kinds of stipulations. I’m sorry, Taylor.”
“No,” she protested, shaking his arm off of her body. She got up and stormed into the kitchen. She yanked the refrigerator door open but he appeared behind her and slammed it. Turning her around, he bent to her level.
“I’m so very sorry, Taylor.”
“It can’t be true,” she whispered. She searched his eyes for confirmation. She found none. “It just can’t be. He said he loved me.”
Josh groaned and squeezed her shoulder a little too hard. “Taylor, I’m sorry I didn’t find out sooner.”
She jerked away from him. “No, I don’t believe you. Please leave. I have things to do today.”
“Taylor,” Josh pleaded.
“Go.”
After Josh left, she flopped on her bed and stared at her ceiling.
She should’ve known. She was smart, after all. The signs had been there all along. She was a nobody at that school, having started the beginning of senior year. She had no friends and wasn’t included in the ‘in crowd’. And neither was Amanda. How could she not have seen it - the two most popular guys at school dating two nobodies?
Muffling her sobs in her pillow, she realized that graduation was the next day. There was absolutely no way she could go. How humiliating. How she hated Brady Nolan!
What an idiot she’d been. She’d actually believed him when he’d said he loved her. She’d trusted him. But worst of all, she let herself love him.
She vaguely registered someone shuffling down the hall to the bathroom. She heard the toilet seat bang down followed by a low moan. She sat up quickly, straining to hear any other sounds. The eerie quiet unnerved her so she scooted off the bed and opened her bedroom door. Giving her face a quick wipe, she crossed to the bathroom to investigate. She opened the door as quietly as possible but a scream escaped her lips almost immediately.
“Daddy!”
Chapter Seven
Ignoring both her cell and her landline, Taylor lounged around the house in old shorts and a raggedy t-shirt on Sunday. She had no desire to talk to Brady yet, although she had decided she would after his road trip. The problem was getting him to agree to it.
She camped out on her sofa with chips and a soft drink to watch the Racers game, her heart only turning once or twice when the camera caught sight of Brady. When the game ended with a Racers victory, she decided to hop in the shower and go see her dad.
Once she dressed, she checked her cell messages, hoping to hear from her brother. She sighed as she received not one message from Teddy. Or from Brady, which was surprising. Maybe he’d given up on her after all. She ignored the disappointment that suddenly hit her, chalking it up to exhaustion.
She hit the road and headed for the hospital, hoping by some chance her father would be sitting up in his chair, his blank eyes focused on the television. Worry ate at her heart, although she did the best she could to not let it totally possess her. She had confidence in the doctors and nurses - but if her father didn’t want to get better, there wasn’t much anyone could do.
Her cell phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. Reaching across the seat to get it, she checked the screen, contemplating just letting it go to voice mail but answered it anyway.
“What do you want, Brady?” she asked, her teeth grinding.
“You,” he answered, his tone smug.
“Sorry, not going happen. Try again.”
“What time can I pick you up tonight?”
She sighed. “You can’t. I’m on my way to have dinner with my dad.”
“He can join us,” he replied cheerfully.
“No, he can’t.”
“Taylor, quit avoiding me. I’m not going to go away,” he whined like a petulant child.
“All right,” she conceded. “I know we need to talk. Can you please just wait until after your road trip?”
“You’re no
t going think up another excuse then, are you?”
“No, I won’t. I promise.” She bit her lip. “Will you please just give me a little time?”
“Okay, fine,” he relented. “But I’m going to call you while I’m gone.”
“Not every day.”
“Every other day.”
She caught herself smiling and quickly put an end to it. “Don’t be overbearing.”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t. Bye Taylor. Take care, love.”
She ended the call just as she pulled into the hospital.
***
Finishing up her story, she closed her lap top, grinning in satisfaction. Luther had let her cover a story on a local debate that had the whole town in an uproar. Some big corporation was eyeing a large plot of farmland to build a huge shopping center. Most of the town opposed the idea. They loved their little farm community and insisted it remained as is. The townsfolk countered that if they wanted to shop, they could make the short commute to Indy.
It’d been nearly two weeks since Brady had left for his road trip and he'd kept to his word; he only called her every other day. They were polite over the phone; she more than he. But the underlying tension hovered over them like a black cloud. She knew they’d have to talk soon if she ever hoped to move forward with her life.
Teddy called frequently also. He hadn’t been able to break away from his summer semester so he kept in constant contact with her to keep up-to-date on their father’s condition. Taylor only wished she’d had better news to give him.
Her father’s conditioned worsened nearly every day. They’d inserted a feeding tube but he kept trying to remove it. He constantly ripped his IV’s out until the nurses had to restrain him. Taylor, not able to bear seeing her father strapped down to the bed, finally broke down and told them to stop. Defeated, she told them to just leave him be; it’s what he wanted anyway.
In order to keep her mind busy, she took Luther’s advice and tentatively started working on a book. The idea came to her as she was driving home after an afternoon visit with her father. As soon as she’d walked in the door, she sat on the couch; feet tucked under her, and opened her laptop. After a few moments of indecision, the words had started flowing through her fingertips and onto the monitor.