Chapter Six Taylor
Chapter Six
Taylor
I dried off, changed clothes, and left.
When had my life gone to hell? My brother and I were in love with the same girl, and not only had I lost my girlfriend, but I’d lost him, too, my partner, the guy who had been like a father to me.
Whatever.
It didn’t matter anymore.
I was a wreck, and worse, there was something ugly growing inside me. And there was nothing I could do to control it. How could I ever lay eyes on my brother again when all I wanted to do was punch him in the face?
We couldn’t live under the same roof now. Going on as if nothing had changed would be impossible. When I’d had a hunch that he might have a crush on her, it was different. I could still forgive him because he was my brother—but now?
I hadn’t dared to ask Kami straight up. I couldn’t bring myself to, because if I found out the two of them had done something, I’d kill him. My brother touching my girlfriend? He’d denied it, but Kami had confirmed that she loved him. She loved Thiago. I wished with all my heart it wasn’t true.
Had they hooked up?
Of course they had.
How the hell else do you fall in love with a person?
Had I really been stupid enough to think Kami loved me? She said she loved both of us. No way. Bullshit! You can’t be in love with two people at the same time!
As I walked to the parking lot, I was approached by the last person I felt like dealing with, given the circumstances. “What are you doing here?” I asked, reaching into my pocket for my keys.
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing…” Ellie responded with her usual aloof coolness.
“Fucking fantastic,” I replied coldly, walking past her to open the car door.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry,” she said. That made me stop and turn.
“Sorry about what?” I asked, taking a closer look at her.
Her hair was dark and wavy, pulled into two low pigtails tied with ribbons in the school colors.
She was shivering from the cold despite wearing a winter coat and gloves, which made sense if all she had on underneath was her cheerleading uniform.
“About blabbing like that.”
“At least you were honest. It seems everyone else was just lying to my face.”
Ellie shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, unsure what to say, then said, “Still, though, that was no way to find out. And it’s not like I actually had any proof. It’s just that I know Kamila, and…”
“Drop it,” I cut her off. I hated people pitying me.
“Sure. Anyway, I’m sorry,” she said. And I could tell that she meant it.
This was weird. Ellie had always been my girlfriend’s friend. Not mine. She liked to tease me and get under my skin, but I never thought anything of it. Still, if what I’d heard on the bleachers was true, she liked me.
Really, though? Did Ellie really like me?
I tried to ask myself what I thought of her, which momentarily served as a good distraction from the hatred and sorrow I was feeling inside.
Ellie was pretty. Not too tall, slender but curvy. In the locker room, I’d hear guys talking about her ass, but I’d always ignored them. She had hazel eyes, long black lashes, and freckles all over her face.
She was the polar opposite of Kami…
And when I remembered that, I started hurting inside again.
“I need to go,” I said, finally getting into the car.
“What about the game?” Ellie asked, her eyes full of worry. Was she worried about me? Or was she worried about the teammates I was leaving high and dry?
“Fuck it.”
I turned the key and put it in reverse. When my headlights shone on Ellie, I took one last look at her. And then I saw him.
Yeah, him. Julian.
I jumped out of the car and ran like hell into the dark woods behind our school. Ellie was close behind me, trying to catch up, shouting, “What is it?”
“Come out, you son of a bitch!” I screamed, full of rage, hatred, and disgust. There was nothing I would have liked better than to grab hold of that bastard and beat him to a pulp.
“Who was it?” Ellie asked, panting as she caught up. But I didn’t respond. We were both breathing hard as we turned on the flashlights on our cell phones.
“Be quiet,” I told her, pricking up my ears. I was determined to find out where he was hiding.
He was still lurking around here. I knew it!
He wouldn’t leave until he’d finished what he’d started. And his ultimate goal was to have Kami all to himself. That terrified me: the thought of him touching her, hurting her.
“Taylor, what are we doing here?” Ellie asked, grabbing my coat sleeve in fear.
“I saw Julian,” I said, turning my head at the sound of a twig snapping.
“Julian!” she practically shouted, and I covered her mouth with my hand.
“Shhhh!” I said, flashing my cell phone in every direction, trying to see. I cursed as I realized he’d gotten away.
“Can we please get out of here?” she asked.
Only then did I realize she was shivering.
The poor thing was terrified. I took one more look around, but it dawned on me that staying there in the darkness with a psychopath on the loose probably wasn’t the best idea.
At least not with Ellie there. If I’d been alone, I wouldn’t have cared.
“Let’s go,” I said, instinctively putting my arm around her to warm her up.
When we reached the school parking lot, people were already getting into their cars, and from the looks on their faces, I could tell we’d lost the game.
Great.
If we didn’t win the next one, we’d be out of the semifinals. And even though I had a million other things going on in my head, basketball still mattered to me. A lot. And I had fucked up that night. I’d been off my game.
“I think we lost…” Ellie said when we reached my car.
“Yeah…” I said vaguely.
“Hey, Di Bianco! What the hell got into you?” a voice came from behind me. I turned and saw it was Victor.
I looked at Ellie and then back at him. All I wanted was to get the hell out of there, but I needed to warn Kami that I’d seen Julian.
Just then, my brother came out of the gym.
Even from afar, I could see the bruise on his cheek from where I’d punched him.
I hadn’t been able to help it, and as he caught sight of me, I asked myself how I would ever manage to forgive him for what he’d done to me.
“Shouldn’t we call the cops? And let Kami know, too?” Ellie suggested.
I was tempted to say screw that, get in the car, and drive off—anywhere, it didn’t matter, but I couldn’t.
“We need to talk,” Thiago said, walking up. When he noticed Ellie next to me, he added, “Alone.”
“Cool, I’ll see you,” she said.
I pulled her closer to me and said, “You’re not going anywhere.”
Just then, Kami appeared a few feet away. Her hair was still wet from getting in the shower with me, and she looked utterly destroyed. My instincts told me to go to her, comfort her, do whatever I could to make her happy again, but that was no longer my role, and never would be again.
I looked at Thiago. “I saw Julian,” I said, watching his body tense up as the words left my mouth.
“You did? Where?” he said, looking around, but the creep had undoubtedly taken off by then.
“In the woods,” I said, pointing behind him.
He turned, and we both looked at Kami standing there. She seemed unsure what to do. Thiago asked what Julian had been doing, if we’d spoken to him, if he said anything. “No, he ran off,” I responded.
“We’ve got to tell the cops,” Thiago said.
I agreed. “Who’s gonna go?” I asked. But I wanted to get the hell out of there, mostly because now Kami was heading over to us.
“Let’s both go, Taylor,” Thiago answered in a reconciliatory tone.
Just then Kami walked up and stood at his side, staring at me. “She’s your responsibility now, bro,” I spat. The words soothed my ego even as they pained my heart. “I’m going home,” I added.
“Taylor, please,” Kami said, her voice cracking as I walked to the car.
“Just forget we ever met, Kami,” I answered. “You and I are done.”
I thought Ellie might follow me, but a glance was all I needed to know she’d be staying behind with her friend.
Why should that surprise me?
Kami was the queen, and I would always be just another fool.