Chapter 26 Taylor
TAYLOR
My alarm sounded on the nightstand beside me, and I groaned in protest. My body was too heavy to move, my eyelids were itchy, and my head throbbed. I was exhausted, but there was no way I had a hangover. Or at least not an alcohol hangover. Maybe a social and emotional one.
Gabriel rolled on top of me as he stretched out across the bed to reach my alarm and hit snooze. I wasn’t quite ready to open my eyes, so I let myself sink under the comfort of his weight as we came back to reality.
Once all my obligations had ended, the party turned out to be pretty fun.
I couldn’t believe that Gabriel and I had fucked in a closet at my sister’s workplace, but it was one of the hottest encounters of my life, finding that plug inside him.
And as far as I knew, we hadn’t been caught, so all’s well that ends well.
I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the fact that we’d tumbled into bed naked, much to my disappointment.
There was one last wedding event to attend, although the morning-after brunch was much more casual than everything else had been.
Thankfully, it was just downstairs, which is why we’d decided to book a room instead of heading to either of our apartments.
“Shower?” Gabriel mumbled into my chest.
“Yeah,” I begrudgingly agreed. “But you need to get off me first.”
“I could get you off first.”
I slapped his ass playfully and shoved him toward the bathroom as he grumbled.
“Shower, then coffee,” I said.
We still managed to squeeze in quick handjobs when the body wash situation got out of control.
It was almost impossible to keep myself from touching Gabriel when he was naked in front of me.
He pulled a casual set of joggers and a matching sweatshirt out of his overnight bag to wear to brunch, and I threw on my softest sweater before grabbing my hotel key and phone.
I had a feeling we both needed the cozy vibes this morning.
I laughed out loud when I found Margo and Benji both wearing sunglasses inside at the breakfast table. The party likely lasted until three or four in the morning.
Margo whined, pointing at me. “Hey, no loud noises.”
“Dear sister, what do you mean? Are you not feeling well this morning?” I teased, and she threw a blueberry muffin at my head, which Gabriel caught when I ducked out of the way.
“Thanks.” He grinned and took a massive bite of the muffin. “Where’s the coffee? I’m ready for an IV drip of caffeine and a mimosa.”
We made a pass through the buffet line before joining the rest of the group at the table. It was most of the bridal party, along with Benji’s parents, my father, and Pam. Deciding I was going to have to take the bullet for my mother yet again, I rounded the table and bent over Margo’s shoulder.
“Hey, Mom told me yesterday that she’s not going to make brunch. She had a flight to catch this morning.”
“I guess she reached her limit on family time.” Margo sighed. “At least she made it to the wedding.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ah, yes, bare minimum. Great job, Mom.”
“Did she say why?” Margo looked up at me expectantly.
This was where I usually made an excuse for our mother: create an emergency or a work thing that sounded important. But I was tired.
“European yacht trip with the latest boyfriend,” I said.
“She has always been so selfish,” John said, unhelpfully. He must have overheard.
Margo’s shoulders slumped, and she turned back to her pancakes.
“Nope, no.” I pointed at my father. “We are not doing this.”
Gabriel jumped in from the other side of the table. “Hey, Margo. Can you tell me more about the exhibit that was hanging in the gallery last night? The work was so compelling.”
I breathed a sigh of relief when Margo’s eyes lit up, and she appeared to be successfully distracted from our parents’ shortcomings.
“He’s an up-and-coming artist, Ciarán Kelly. He explores the interconnection between the natural world and humanity, especially through the lens of England’s colonization of Ireland. It’s this really fascinating blend of postmodern and traditional styles, don’t you think?”
“Totally,” Gabriel said. “As a plant nerd, I noticed the nature themes right away. The oil painting of the tree rings was my favorite.”
I could kiss that man.
Wait, I could kiss that man. I leaned over and pecked his cheek in gratitude before digging into my meal.
The conversation lingered on art theory for a while before shifting to the highlights of the epic wedding.
Everything about the day had gone perfectly, and it was reflective of Margo and Benji’s love.
I was not one to wear rose-colored glasses, but I couldn’t help but let my guard down a little bit in the face of their obvious, contagious joy.
Leaning back, I put my arm around Gabriel’s chair as he finished his meal, and I sipped my coffee, letting the conversation drift around me.
I should have known better than to get too comfortable while my father was still around. That was when it all went to shit.
“I’m gonna find the restroom,” I whispered to Gabriel before excusing myself from the table.
I hadn’t made it too far down the hallway when John called out my name. I paused and waited for him to catch up.
“I wanted to ask you a favor,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, here we go.”
“This is important,” he said in a sharp voice. “Pam and I are buying a vacation home together in Palm Beach. We’re trying to get our credit score up so we can get a better interest rate, and it would go a long way if that medical loan were paid off.”
I stared at him in disbelief, blinking at him for a moment while he shrugged meekly as if this whole situation was normal and he was put out to be asking me.
“Are you kidding me?” I hissed. “I’ve been paying off that loan for a decade, making way more than the minimum payment.
I’ve been busting my ass, living with a roommate, putting my life on hold to pay off this loan as fast as possible.
Meanwhile, you have the spare change for a vacation home, and you’re here asking me for more? ”
“I know how expensive weddings are, so I didn’t want to have to ask Margo for a contribution, but—”
“You will absolutely not be going to Margo about this,” I seethed.
“Going to Margo about what?” Her voice filtered down the hallway, and I covered my face with my hands.
“I needed Taylor’s help with something, but he wasn’t very willing.” John infused his voice with feigned disappointment. “I merely suggested that perhaps you’d be more supportive.”
Margo lifted her sunglasses to her head, and her eyes narrowed and flitted back and forth between our father and me. I clenched my jaw and crossed my arms, leaning against the wall.
“In my experience, Taylor has always been helpful and supportive,” she said skeptically.
“Well”—John huffed—“this is such a small thing, Taylor. I don’t know why you can’t make it happen.”
He wasn’t backing down, Margo wasn’t taking a hint, and it was apparent this train wreck was happening no matter how much I wanted to avoid it.
“Fine, make your request. Let’s see how reasonable Margo thinks this small thing is.” I braced myself.
“What the hell is going on?” Margo asked, sounding tentative and not a small bit freaked out.
“Pam and I want to buy a vacation home in Florida this year,” John started. “It’s just that the medical debt is affecting our credit, and we were hoping to have it paid off before we applied for the loan. I was asking Taylor for a little bit of help finishing it off.”
A furrow appeared between Margo’s eyebrows. “Medical debt?”
“From your chemotherapy, of course,” John said as if he wasn’t dropping a bomb on his child, who had almost died of cancer. “There’s not much left now.”
“Taylor…” Margo looked at me with those big, wide eyes.
All I could see was my kid sister clinging to her life in a hospital bed. I could tell the moment that she realized I wasn’t as surprised by this revelation as she was.
“You knew about the debt?” she whispered.
“Yeah, I knew.” I sighed, resigned. “There was about two hundred thousand dollars in loans left when I graduated from college, and I’ve been making payments since. I was planning on finishing it off next year, but daddy dearest wants me to work faster so he can get his little beach house.”
I couldn’t keep the resentment out of my voice.
Margo shrieked, “You’ve been paying it?”
“I know it’s technically your responsibility,” John cut in like an idiot. He didn’t know his daughter at all. “But when Taylor and I talked about it, he offered, so…”
“My responsibility?” Margo’s eyes widened, her lips opening and closing several times, but then her voice hardened, her jaw set. “How much is left, Dad?”
John hesitated at the sharpness of her words, but I egged him on. “If you don’t tell her, I will. Seeing as you were so eager to make this her problem.”
“Twenty-five thousand. We’re almost there, kiddo.”
I scoffed. “We.”
“Don’t think I’m not pissed at you,” Margo growled at me. “You’ve been covering for this asshole for my whole life. Jesus Christ, Taylor. Two hundred thousand dollars? You better not pay another penny.”
John looked between us, as if rethinking his strategy. “It seems irresponsible to back out of a commitment.”
I leaned up against the wall, exhausted. All the battles I’d been fighting, all the secrets I’d been keeping, were out in the open. I hadn’t held it together after all, but I realized I’d been doing it for the approval of a man who didn’t care one iota about me.
“Margo is right.” I rubbed a hand across my face. “I’m working myself to death, and I can’t do it anymore. You’re on your own. And Margo’s not paying you either.”
“It’s just a shame,” John hedged. “After everything we’ve done, turning your back on your family.”
“After everything you’ve done?” Margo practically yelled.
I couldn’t tell if she was going to cry or commit murder.
“Taylor has been a better parent to me than either you or Mom has been. I’ve given you both the benefit of the doubt for years, but I’m guessing that’s mostly due to Taylor’s little white lies.
I’m over it. If you thought I’d take your side over his, you’re delusional. ”
John mumbled under his breath, slinking down the hallway back toward the brunch.
“I wasn’t going to let you pay for it,” I whispered, my anger at my father deflating in the face of Margo’s heartbreak. “I couldn’t. And I’ve been managing just fine.”
“You call a hospital stay and heart problems managing?” Margo pulled me into a hug. “You really are an idiot, you know that?”
“I didn’t mean to ruin your wedding weekend. I was trying so hard to keep their bullshit contained.”
I was still tense, but I wrapped my arms around her.
Nothing good could come from love. Maybe for other people, but not for me. Sure, I knew Margo loved me, and she was on my side for now. Eventually, Margo’s new life would get too busy for me, despite the best of intentions. She’d have kids, PTA meetings, soccer practice, and family vacations.
And I’d be alone.
“You didn’t ruin anything, Taylor.” Margo squeezed my waist. “Our parents did that all on their own.”
I wasn’t about to cry and make Margo’s morning worse, so I kissed the top of her head and stepped back. “Get back in there and enjoy your brunch. I still have to use the restroom since our wonderful father cornered me before I could make it there.”
But instead of rejoining the party, I slipped upstairs to the hotel room, packed my things, and ran.
Once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop.