“I know we will.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me if anything changes.”
Rinsing Taylor’s plate, I bent to stick it in the dishwasher. “Will do. Stay safe.”
“Always. You do the same.”
“Always.” With that, I hit the end button on my screen.
Leaning back against the kitchen counter, I set my phone aside and scrubbed both hands down my face. What a fucking day. Images flashed through my mind, memories of how worried I had been for Taylor. Things could have ended so differently.
I could have been studying a crime scene of her dead body right now. I saw the mangled remains of the hiker in my mind’s eye. Remembered the glimmer of blonde hair in the afternoon light that had reminded me of Taylor. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to clear away the picture filling my brain. Taylor’s stubborn streak was going to get her fucking killed.
The squeak of a door sounded. Taylor shuffled out with her damp hair piled atop her head. She wore a flimsy tank and sleep shorts that cupped her pert, heart-shaped ass. My jaw tightened. “We need to talk.”
She padded towards the couch and dropped down onto it, pulling her knees to her chest. “Okay.” Her eyes trailed over my face as if searching each micro-expression for signs of what would come out of my mouth next.
I took a seat on the opposite end of the couch and tried desperately not to stare at her ass and legs, or worse, the juncture between her thighs. I gave myself a mental slap. This was not what I needed to be thinking about. I refocused on the subject at hand. “Do you realize today could’ve ended very differently?”
Taylor straightened in her seat. “I’m not stupid, I know I screwed up.”
“So you’ll agree to never go hiking or running without a buddy again? And you’ll always tell someone else where you’re going?”
Taylor let out an exasperated sigh. “I won’t be going hiking in that area again anytime soon. I have zero desire for a bullet in the brain. But I am going to run on my own.” I started to interject, but she held up a hand. “I promise that I will text Jensen and let her know when I leave, the route I’m taking, and when I expect to be back by. I’ll bring my phone, and text her if anything changes. But I need to do my long runs alone.”
I fisted my hands and tried to keep my tone even. “You were almostshottoday.”
Taylor rose to her feet. “I know that! I know that better than anyone. But I’m not going to let some psycho hunter who thought I was Bambi keep me from doing something I love. Something I need to stay sane.”
I got to my feet, frustration rippling through every muscle of my body. “I told you I would go running with you. Morning or night. All you have to do is text me. What is so hard about that?”
She threw her arms wide. “Because it’s something I like to doalonemost of the time. I don’t need to explain myself to you. I don’t owe you anything. I’m a grown woman, I make my own choices. I take care of myself. I don’t need you swooping in and trying to control every damn little thing!”
Breaths came through my nose in quick bursts as I pressed my lips together to keep from saying something I might regret. “I’m not trying to control anything. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
Taylor snorted. “I don’t need you to keep me safe. I can keep myself safe.”
“Oh, so was today a shining example of how well you can take care of yourself?”
“Today was a mistake. I told you that. I fucked up. It won’t happen again. Just drop it!”
I glanced at the ceiling, holding tight to my temper. I needed to try a different tack. “What is so bad about leaning on someone? About letting someone help you?”
Taylor’s jaw had a hard set, and her delicate hands were balled into fists. “There’s nothing bad about it.”
I studied her face, searching her eyes for some hint of what she was hiding. What she held onto with a vise-like grip. “You don’t mean that. Tell me why you don’t want people to be there for you. To help you withanything. It took my mom and sister double-teaming you with their persistence to even get you to use our fucking pool.”
“God! You push and push andpush! Why won’t you just leave me alone? I don’t want to need anyone, okay? Just let it go! I’m fine on my own!”
“Why? Just tell me why, and I’ll let it go.”
“BECAUSE EVERYONE LEAVES!” The statement was torn from her throat so violently, that the words were left lying bloody on the floor.
I felt a tearing sensation in my chest. A pain that I’d never felt before, even in the wake of Julie’s death. I realized that it was the feeling of my heart truly breaking. Not for myself, but for someone else.
Taylor’s breathing was ragged. “Sometimes, they choose to leave.” I knew then that she was talking about her father. And in that moment, if the man had been standing in the room, I knew there was a good chance I would have killed him. “And, other times… Other times, they have no choice. You know they fight so hard—with everything they have—not to leave you alone. But they’re torn from you anyway.”
My breaking heart shattered. Splintered for the girl who felt so alone in the world. I took a step towards her, but she held out an arm as if warding off a wild animal who wanted to tear her to shreds. “Don’t.”
