CHAPTER 28 #3
Taylor remained motionless and unblinking. "You've got some fucking nerves showing up here. What do you want?" she asked, her voice soft but honed to a blade. "Are you here to break what's left of her? You’ve already done a pretty good job of that."
"No. I just… I need to explain what happened—"
"Two months ago?" she cut Roxy before she could finish her sentence.
She let out a slow, measured breath, almost as if trying to hold back a burst of emotion.
"I think you don't understand what happened when you left," she said.
"So, listen carefully because I will not repeat myself.
" Taylor took a deep breath, visibly regaining (or trying to regain) her calm.
"You didn't just hurt her; you crushed her.
You erased months, maybe even years, of her hard work.
All the strength it took to believe she was worthy of something real—you undid that in a single moment. "
"I didn't mean to—"
"Spare me the bullshit, sweetheart," Taylor cut in. "She trusted you, as she hadn't trusted anyone in a long time. Do you know what it took to get her there? After Caroline? After everything she went through?"
Her throat tightened as Taylor continued to confirm her worst-case scenario, and Roxy remained silent the entire time.
"She allowed herself to believe she could be loved by you, for whom she truly is.
You made her feel like none of that mattered, or she wasn't even worth a goodbye.
She thought she'd done something wrong or just been too much.
I watched her question herself about who she is all over again. "
That's when Roxy saw Taylor becoming emotional, revealing a side of her that people don't see in her public persona. Her face flushed, and her eyes welled up, the corners crinkling with the effort to hold back tears. "My twin is the most wonderful person on earth. She didn't deserve any of this."
"I know, and I hated myself every single day for what I did to her," Roxy whispered, the words barely audible.
Taylor studied Roxy, her head cocked, like a puzzle she wouldn't solve. Roxy had something to add to her plea, but the shame was overwhelming.
Taylor finally took a little step back and said, "Fuck me.
Alright, I'll tell her you're here, but I swear to you, if you're doing this to ease your conscience, just walk away now.
Because I won't let you touch what's left of her unless you're ready to rebuild every inch of what you tore down.
" She opened the door behind her and called out, "Twinie… you need to come see this."
She stared at Roxy, sharp and still, refusing to leave, as if to make sure she understood she was watching her.
Don't worry, Taylor. The message was as obvious as the sun.
It felt like an eternity until Ellen finally appeared like a storm barely contained.
Her movements were controlled, yet every step landed with the weight of restraint, as if she was holding back the urge to shatter something.
Her shoulders were rigid, her jaw locked, and her eyes burned with clarity that stripped Roxy bare.
This wasn't the Ellen Roxy remembered. This was a woman forged in fire and grief, sharp-edged from everything she'd survived. She wasn't just walking toward her; she was charging through the ruins Roxy had left behind. Roxy was the goddamn spark that lit the fuse.
"No."
One word. It was all Ellen gave.
"No, what?" Roxy asked, even though she knew.
"No, you don't get to do this," she said, her voice low but trembling with rage. "You don't get to show up with your big pity eyes and broken voice, as if that's supposed to erase two fucking months of silence."
As she moved to close the door, Roxy instinctively blocked it with her foot. Ellen's eyes snapped to the foot blocking the door, then to Roxy, with a look that could easily be mistaken for a murderous impulse.
"Move. Your. Foot. Now." Each syllable was delivered lengthily and unambiguously.
"Ellen, please—"
"Don't you dare," she spitted. "You lost the right to use my name the moment you ghosted me like a coward.
" At that moment, Roxy flinched, but Ellen didn't care.
"You could have said something, anything.
Even a three-word text like, 'I'm alive.
' But no. I had to watch my phone rot while I wondered if I was crazy to believe any of it was real. "
"No contact was allowed. I—" Roxy swallowed hard, words failing.
"Oh my god, stop!" she snapped, stepping forward.
Her voice rose with resentment. "Do you seriously think I care about your rehearsed excuses, Roxanne?
Do you think your reasons matter more than the wreck you left behind?
You broke me. Do you even understand that?
You shattered something in me that I didn't even know was still fragile. "
Roxanne. No more Roxy. She hadn't heard her full name from Ellen's lips since their first meet. It felt like a blade, and now, Roxy was bleeding. She tried to open her mouth, but obviously, Ellen wasn't done with her.
"You bailed on me like I was nothing but a pit stop in your imagination. Am I supposed to feel grateful you ever showed up at all?"
Tears burnt behind Roxy's eyes now, and Ellen saw them. But it didn't matter for Ellen at this point. She had waited two months to let it out.
"Taylor and Jessie had to pull me out of bed for a whole week, Roxanne. A goddamn week. I couldn't sleep or eat. What have I possibly done to not even deserve the slightest sign? Turns out, you're just another woman who asked to trust her and ran the second things got real."
Roxy didn't recognize Ellen's voice anymore. It was edged and splintered, barely held together by fury.
"You have every right to hate me right now," Roxy told her, wanting to legitimize Ellen's anger.
"Oh wow! Did you hear that, Tay? I have the right to hate her. Lucky me, huh?" Ellen replied dryly, not looking at Taylor.
Though Taylor didn't speak, Roxy could tell she'd nodded, almost like a telepathic signal to Ellen. Knowing it was anger, Roxy tried to ignore what Ellen had just said.
"Please," she whispered. "Give me just one hour. That's all I'm asking. You deserve to know what happened. I promise to answer all your questions."
Ellen's eyes were fixed on Roxy, and her jaw muscles clenched. Her eyes were glassy, but she didn't cry, yet. Ellen Caldwell wouldn't show any weakness in public, not even to herself.
"If you say so. I will give you one hour, nothing more," she said.
"And it's not for you, Roxanne. I am doing it for myself.
I need to look you in the eye and understand what the hell you thought this was.
" She stepped back. "Baxter. Tomorrow at eight p.m. If you're one minute late, don't bother coming. "
The two of them returned inside quietly without looking at Roxy. The sound of the door shutting abruptly left her breathless, her pulse echoing like a drum.