Chapter Six
Taylor
I came home from practice early. I’d heard from several people that Dylan had been in the principal’s office. I’d never been sent there and had no idea what you had to do to be there. What kind of trouble was he in?
As soon as I opened the front door, I could hear my parents arguing. They rarely did that, so it freaked me out.
“Why did you bring that delinquent into my house?” my mother asked.
Guess my father had left work early to pick up Dylan from school. That sucks. My parents don’t yell at each other. Why was Dylan here if he was just going to make them do that? I sighed, leaning against the door.
They were in the living room, and I didn’t want to be roped into the argument if I walked past.
“It’s my house, too,” my father shouted back.
I cringed. I’d never heard him so angry. I didn’t want this disruption. This was my senior year and I wanted the second half to go as smoothly as the first. Would my parents get a divorce? Was this the end?
I just didn’t know what was happening.
“You did this. You and your projects. Well, he isn’t a stray dog.”
“Mallory, you are overreacting. He didn’t kill anyone. He’s not even going to get detention other than to clean that bathroom on a Saturday.”
“What will the neighbors think? This isn’t a large town. How will I hold my head up in the grocery store?”
I sighed again. Of course, she’d worry about that. I was worried about my standing in school. I was popular, but that could change in a heartbeat. Something like this could drag me down. I wanted to be mad at Dylan. What had he done?
If this was the result, I knew that I didn’t want to be in trouble ever.
I wondered where he was and if my mother had already yelled at him.
“The kid lives in a trailer and eats cereal for every meal. Can’t you open your heart for him?”
“Open my heart? He was caught vandalizing the school.”
So, that’s what he did. Why? Odd, I thought. He seemed to be trying to fit in now, instead of being an outcast. Why would he risk it? There had to be more to this story.
I pushed away from the door, debating running upstairs. I’d have to close the door like I just came home. They’d be mad if they knew that I was eavesdropping on them. I didn’t usually do that.
So, I opened the door then closed it.
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Daddy,” I said as I ran past the living room up to my room.
I closed the door, but stood in the hallway. I wanted to hear what else they had to say.
“If he corrupts our daughter, there will be hell to pay, Rob. I want him out.”
“I’m not throwing the kid out on the street,” my father said.
“Why not? What has he done for you?”
“It isn’t about what he’s done. It’s what I can do for him. I think he has a chance. He’s a smart kid. He just needs a leg up. Why can’t you see that, Mallory?”
“Because I’m more worried about our daughter and what he could do to her?”
“Our daughter is fine. He isn’t going to do anything to her. You’ve made the leap from vandalism to murder. God, Mallory. Do you hear yourself?”
I could tell that he stormed out of the living room. I heard his feet pound on the bottom steps. Crap. I couldn’t make it back to my room without him seeing me. I was eavesdropping and I shouldn’t have been.
So, I did the only other thing that I could. I ran down the hall on my tiptoes and barged into Dylan’s room. It wasn’t until after I closed the door behind me that I realized he might have been naked or in the bathroom or something embarrassing like that.
Instead, he was laid out on his bed, his books around him.
“Do you knock?”
I leaned on the door. “Sorry. I was listening to my parents and my dad came upstairs. This was the only place to hide.”
“Good thing I wasn’t changing.”
“I know, sorry.”
I listened at the door, not hearing anything. I hoped my father had gone upstairs. I didn’t want to talk to him. Dylan rubbed a hand down his face.
“Your parents are arguing?”
“Yes. About you.”
The admission brought me no joy.
“About me.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“What does it matter?”
“I want to know.”
“Do you always get what you want?” he said.
I nodded. “Most of the time.”
He then frowned. “Well, princess, not this time.”
“Tell me, Dylan. You were in the principal’s office.”
He shrugged. “I’ve been there before. Not everyone is as pure as you are.”
What an odd term to use. Pure. I wasn’t exactly, though I was still a virgin. I had given a few guys blow jobs. That was it. “I never said I was pure. I just wanted to know what you did. Mom said vandalism.”
He crossed his arms. I crossed mine. I could be stubborn if I wanted to. “If you give them a good reason why you did what you did, then they’ll forgive you.”
“I doubt it’s that simple.”
I walked closer to the bed. “It is. I promise.”
He shook his head. “No, Taylor. You need to stay out of this. It’s not your business.”
“Tell my dad. He’ll listen.”
“No, just stop. Go back to our pink princess room and pink princess life. Things aren’t that simple for everyone.”
I wanted to hit him. I could feel tears in my eyes. “I’m just trying to help. You don’t have to be mean.”
I ran out of his room. I heard him call my name, but I wasn’t going back. I’d been humiliated.
***
Someone knocked softly on my door a few minutes later. Now, I wiped my eyes and stood up from my bed where I had thrown myself to cry. As I walked to the door it opened. There stood Dylan, looking sheepish.
“Can I come in?”
I nodded, not sure what I would say to him. Maybe I had overreacted. Maybe he had a right to his privacy. I’d only known the kid for a few days.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“You don’t have any reason to be sorry.”
He shuffled his feet a frown creasing his face. “I made you cry.”
I sniffed then wiped some more tears. “Well, yes, but I might have been sensitive.”
“You need some chocolate?”
“Chocolate?”
“Yes. Your parents aren’t arguing anymore, and I snuck downstairs to get you chocolate. I knew there was some in the cabinet. It always made my mom feel better.”
I looked at his outstretched hand with the chocolate bar in it. It was probably the best peace offering anyone had ever given me. I took it, a smile on my face. “I probably could use some chocolate. Thanks.”
I sat at my desk then opened it. “You want some? I’ll share.”
“No, go ahead.”
As I ate the chocolate, I’m sure I had a look of pure ecstasy on my face. “I’m really sorry about how I reacted. It is none of my business.”
“It’s okay. I understand your curiosity.
For the first time, I really looked at him. He was tall, probably over six feet. Right now, he had long sleeves on so I couldn’t see his tattoos. He didn’t have anything strange pierced that I know of. I wasn’t going to ask, but who knew.
“How do you think you did on that pop quiz?”
He leaned on the doorframe, crossing his feet at his ankles. “I think I did okay. You didn’t seem too happy.”
“I wasn’t. The homework was hard, and I didn’t understand it.”
“You should have asked me. I can help you.”
“I didn’t want to bother you.”
He shrugged. “It isn’t a bother when it comes easily to me.”
She nodded. “Has Daddy been in to talk to you?”
“No, everyone has steered clear of me. Except for you. I expected your mother to come in, but she just walked past my door. I don’t want to cause friction.”
“I think if you go to my dad, he’ll understand. He’s on your side, from what I heard of their argument.”
He looked at his shoes. “Maybe I should leave.”
“No, Dylan. If my dad says you can stay, you stay. My mother can be a pain in the ass at times, but I can’t imagine that she’d throw you out.”
“If you say so.”
“I do, Dylan, really.”
He looked at me with sad eyes. He reminded me of a puppy left out in the cold. I but he had been more than once and my heart went out to him. Maybe this is the person that Daddy saw and took pity on. I hadn’t seen this side of him yet.
“Okay. You need some help with math tonight?”
I frowned. “I do. You don’t mind helping me?”
“No, Taylor. I said I didn’t.”
I dug in my backpack for my notes and my textbook. He stepped closer.
“Go get the chair from your room.”
He nodded then came back with it. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Did something happen between you and Cole? I only want to know because we hang out.”
“Freshman year he asked me out. I turned him down. Why?”
“Well, he just said some things about you that didn’t seem friendly,” Dylan said.
I cocked my head. “We aren’t besties, so it doesn’t matter what he thinks, but what did he say?”
“He said you were a cock tease.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, that seems to be the general consensus among the jocks. It’s because I haven’t put out for them.”
“You shouldn’t. Most of them are dicks.”
I laughed. Was Dylan giving me guy advice? He might be a useful resource. “I’ll make you a deal. You give me the inside scoop on guys and I’ll do the same for you on girls.”
He grinned. “Okay.”
He made it sound like he didn’t need my help. He may not, but I bet I knew far more about women than he did. “Now this math homework.”
“Right. What do you understand about it?”
Telling him took all of about thirty seconds.
“Okay. Well, we need to start from scratch,” he said.
He moved the chair closer. I could smell him. He smelled good. Like soap and water. Nothing fancy. I had no idea what kind of soap was in that bathroom, but it suited him. Why was I thinking about Dylan this way?
“Before we start, can I appeal to you one more time to talk to Daddy?”
He shook his head. “Let it go, Taylor. It’s not something I want to talk about.”
“I bet you weren’t even vandalizing. I feel like there is more to this story.”
He rolled his brown eyes. “Stop, Taylor. I’ll take my punishment. It’s okay.”
“But it goes in your record.”
“It isn’t the only thing in my record.”
I looked at him for a moment. “No?”
“I’ve never been an angel, okay? Can we just talk about math?”
“I’m really curious now.”
“I’ll leave if you keep bringing this up. Do you want to fail math?”
He had a point. I didn’t want to fail. I wanted to pass, but I didn’t think it was possible. I was so far behind it would take a miracle to get me caught up. Clearly, Dylan was in for a long night.
“No, but I don’t think you should take a punishment if you didn’t do anything.”
“Taylor, let it go, for God’s sake.”
Chapter Seven
Dylan
I spent my Saturday morning cleaning the bathroom that I had supposedly vandalized. I knew Taylor would be upset if she knew guys were writing that shit on the walls of the bathroom.
She didn’t deserve that, even if she’d been annoying about me not telling her what I’d done. She didn’t need to know. Her life had been easy, and I figured I could keep it that way. No need to taint her with stuff like this. Guys could be dicks. She’d laughed when I’d told her that. A sweet, innocent laugh.
She was a beautiful girl and so clean – untouched by the dark side of life. As if the world around her glowed when she was there.
Holy shit, what had I just thought? There was no girl more off-limits to me than Taylor. On so many levels. She was out of my league. Her father had let me into his house. I was bad news for anyone. I even looked like bad news.
Maybe the snake tattoo had been too much, but I was flexing my freedom muscles when I’d done that. I glanced at my arm where that snake would sit for eternity. Oh well.
I had a bucket, sponges, and a mop. The bathroom would be cleaner that it had ever been.
I was startled when the door opened. I hadn’t expected anyone to be here. I recognized a few guys from the baseball team. Guess they were practicing today. One leaned on the wall while the others surrounded me. The baseball team? Threatening me?
I outweighed some of them. I glanced at all of them, then went back to what I was doing.
“So, it is true. You had to clean the bathroom.”
All of them laughed. I continued to ignore them. No need to challenge them. I could win, but I’d get hurt and I’d probably have another detention.
“I know what you covered up,” the kid I thought was named Glenn said.
I wasn’t biting. They’d get bored and move on, I just had to stand firm.
“Because I wrote it about Taylor,” Glenn said.
Okay, they were really pushing my buttons. I wanted to punch him in the face. If I took him out, the rest would scurry away. None of them had the balls to take me on alone. That’s why they’d all come here to mock me as I cleaned.
Fuck them. I kept wiping down the walls, getting all of the graffiti off. I learned, according to the writers, which girls were good at blow jobs and which girls weren’t. Not that I was in the market for a blow job.
I was going to keep my nose clean for awhile after this. I owed it to Mr. Dean for taking me in. I didn’t need to bring any more trouble to his doorstep. As it was, I knew Mrs. Dean was gunning for me to fail.
Always a good feeling.
Someone poked me.
“We’re talking to you.”
“I’m not talking to you.”
This time, the poke was harder. I clenched my fists, but I refused to swing. It would be their word against mine and I knew who’d win. No one would believe that the jocks would do something like that. No, instead the kid who lived in a trailer and got in trouble all of the time must have thrown the first punch.
But I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. I instead took my frustration out on the wall I was scrubbing.
“Let’s piss on the wall. Then he’ll have to clean it up.”
The door swung open again as Cole marched in. “What the fuck are you guys doing?”
He was their leader and was clearly unhappy with them. I didn’t make eye contact with him. Our friendship was tentative, so I wasn’t going to screw it up. The guys looked at their shoes. “We were just fooling around. No harm done.”
“Beat it, guys. Before I tell Coach on you.”
The shuffled out, but no one touched me. Cole turned to me as the door closed. “They’re assholes. I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “Whatever.”
“They wanted to get you into more trouble. Freshman can be buttheads.”
“No argument here.”
“You still coming over tonight?” Cole said.
He leaned up against the wall I had just cleaned.
“Are they going to be there?”
“Shit, no. I don’t hang out with them. I prefer seniors and maybe some juniors.”
“Yeah, I can make it.”
“You need a ride?”
“I’ll figure that out.”
Maybe I could walk or borrow a bike. Cole didn’t live that far from Taylor – they were all rich. Cole slapped me on the back. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
He indicated the wall. “Why’d you do it?”
I debated not telling him. Would it sound weird? “It said that Taylor was a slut and I didn’t think anyone should write that about her.”
Cole nodded. “She’s a tease, but not a slut. I don’t know anyone who has done her, and I’m sure that anyone who has would brag at banging her.”
The thought of anyone banging her bothered me. It shouldn’t. I had no claims on her and she probably didn’t even consider us friends.
“That’s probably true being as she’s the most popular girl in school.”
“Did you tell her?”
“No. She doesn’t need to know. I get in trouble all of the time. At least this time was worth it.”
“Worth it? What did Mr. Dean think?”
“He gave me a pass on this one and asked me to try harder not to get in trouble.”
“And those dickheads came in here looking for a fight,” Cole said.
“Yep.”
“Well, buddy, I’ll see you tonight. Eight.”
Cole left me to my thoughts. Should I tell Taylor? What difference would it make? She might even get mad at me. Sometimes girls did that – shooting the messenger. No, she could remain in her bubble and not worry about these things.
***
I had been home for a few hours when Taylor found me.
“Can we postpone the math tutorial until tomorrow? I have a date tonight.”
“Sure, Taylor. I’m going out, also.”
“With a girl?”
“No, just hanging with some guys,” I said.
I hadn’t been on a date in a year. I had no money and no job. I couldn’t take anyone out.
“That’s cool. I need to go get ready.”
“It’s easier being a guy,” I commented.
She nodded, then left me. I was playing a game on Facebook when Mrs. Dean barged into my room. She barely knocked then strode in. Guess it runs in the family. I looked up at her.
She pointed her index finger at me. “You are on borrowed time.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Mr. Dean had reassured me that everything was fine. Had he changed his mind?
She stepped further into the room, her eyes wild. “I don’t like you.”
Fair enough. I wasn’t going to say anything. She had something she wanted to tell me, so I’d let her talk. No need to piss her off further.
“If you screw up again, I’m sending you back to the rock you crawled out from under. I don’t know how you schmoozed my husband, but I’m not so easily won over.”
Good to know where I stood. If I could just avoid her, we’d be fine, but that wasn’t possible. We were living in the same house.
Mr. Dean had given me the key to the house and the keys to Taylor’s car that she couldn’t drive right now. I was happy it was a mid-sized SUV, not some BMW. I wouldn’t have to ask for a ride tonight.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” was the only thing I could think to say.
“You are on notice. I mean it, Dylan. I don’t think you are a good influence on my daughter.”
Right. Her daughter had immediately turned to drugs and alcohol the second I stepped in the front door.
Her daughter was fine and she had little faith in Taylor if she thought I could influence her that easily. I pressed my lips together so as not to say what I was thinking. It wouldn’t help the situation at all. I had to be respectful, even if she was ragging on me.
I was here because Mr. Dean wanted me here. If he ever changed his mind, I knew I’d be back in that trailer as fast as he could drive me. I bit my lip so nothing would slip out.
“I don’t like you. I don’t want you in my house. My husband thinks he needs to save everyone. I’m just embarrassed that you are here.”
“Mother,” Taylor said.
I looked over to see her in the doorway, her hands on her hips. She was in a robe and had her hair up. Her face was made up more than it needed to be. She was pretty without makeup.
Now was not the time to tell her that.
“You stay out of this, Taylor,” Mrs. Dean said.
“Not when you’re shouting so that the whole neighborhood can hear.”
“The neighborhood cannot hear me. You know I wouldn’t if they could.”
I slid my hands into my pockets. I was going to have a front row seat to a cat fight, I thought. I’d heard about mothers and daughters. It was all true in the Dean household.
“How true. It’s all about appearances to you.”
Said the girl covered in makeup. I tried not to smile.
“This boy is bad news.”
“That’s awful, Mother. He’s just a kid who has had some bad breaks.”
I probably should point out that they shouldn’t talk about me like I wasn’t there, but I was not getting into the middle of this. Mr. Dean was out somewhere, and I had no idea when he would be back. He would not be able to save me from this.
“Your father has turned you,” Mrs. Dean said.
“Really? You think I don’t have an opinion of my own?”
“You and your father are a team. I know how this household works.”
Taylor rolled her eyes. I got the feeling that they had this fight on a regular basis. I only happened to be the subject this time.
“Right, Mother. We’re all against you. I think you owe Dylan an apology.”
“You’re suddenly on his side? You’re his new cheerleader.”
Which was ironic, since she was, indeed, a cheerleader.
“I’ve just decided to give him a chance,” Taylor said. “You should, too.”
Her mother groaned then left, brushing past Taylor. I tried not to look at the spot where Taylor’s robe came together. From this angle, it looked like she was naked underneath it. Her feet and legs were bare.
Oh, crap. I was getting a boner.
I turned my body away from her. “You don’t need to defend me, Taylor.”
She stepped further into the room. For the love of God, leave, I thought. She put a hand on my shoulder. I about shot out of the chair. “It’s okay, Dylan. She’ll come around. She just takes longer.”
“It’s fine, Taylor. Go get ready for your date.”
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady as an attractive girl was half clothed in my presence.
Holy shit. Just a tug of her belt and she’d be naked. Would she be surprised if I did that? She’d probably get mad and then I’d really be out on my ass. Think of math. Differential equations. Convergence. Harmonic sequence. Shit. It wasn’t working.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Taylor. Please, go. I’m fine. I’ve had a lot worse happen to me.”
I was getting angry and I shouldn’t. She had no idea the effect she had on me. Or any girl in a robe would have on me. I was a teenaged boy, after all.
***
After her being in a robe on Saturday night, I was happy that Taylor was fully dressed when I helped her with math on Sunday. I’d gone to see my mother and was feeling depressed. Spending time with Taylor would lighten my mood.
We decided to work at the dining room table. Her father was out washing his car. I had no idea where Mrs. Dean was. Besides meals, I hadn’t seen her, but I did spend a lot of time in my room when I was not at school.
I had the book laid out and a pencil ready for Taylor. She bopped into the room looking like we were going to be baking cupcakes or something. I was happy that I was going to be spending time with her, but was she that happy about it, also?
Or had her date gone that well?
I hadn’t been home when she got back. My curfew was later. I was a guy. That’s how it worked, apparently. I’d just been happy to borrow her car.
She plopped down in a seat next to me, her notebook in her hand.
“Ready?” I asked.
She frowned. “I want a soda first. You want one?”
I nodded. She left and came back with two cans and a bowl of potato chips. She was stalling. I could understand that. She didn’t want to do this math, but she had to learn it. Not that she would use it again. If she was that far into the weeds in high school, she shouldn’t take it in college.
“What do you want to major in at college?” I said.
She looked around to see if anyone was in the room with us. Not sure why. “I want to be a nurse, but my mother wants me to be an engineer.”
“Not with your math skills.”
I realized how that sounded as soon as it was out of my mouth. I expected her to stomp out. Instead, Taylor laughed. “You are right, but I need to at least pass this class. And then never take anything like this again.”
“Not a bad idea. How was your date last night?”
Maybe I was stalling, too. I had looked forward to spending the afternoon with her. I shouldn’t. She was off limits to me, but a guy could hope. I’m sure she had no interest in me. She was the good girl and I was the bad boy. That only happened in trashy teen movies.
Not in real life.
“It was okay. He was kind of a jerk.”
I straightened, feeling protective. “What did he do?”
“He insisted that I kiss him goodnight.”
“You didn’t want to?”
“No, I didn’t. I guess I don’t like to do that on the first date.”
She really was innocent. I’d done more than that after only a burger. Her date had taken her to a nice restaurant. If I knew the guy, I’d have a talk with him. “What did you do?”
“I walked away. He yelled at me, but I wasn’t budging.”
“I told you guys were dicks.”
She laughed. “Yes, you did, and I’m going to listen to you from now on. He sent me a text today.”
“Did you tell him last night that you didn’t want to go out with him again?”
“Not really, no.”
“We men are idiots. We need direct language. Tell us what you want us to do,” I told her.
Too many women assumed we had an idea what was going on in their heads. We didn’t have clue.
“Really? I should have told him that last night?”
“Yes. What time did he drop you home?”
“Ten.”
“He should have gotten the first hint from that early time. Then you could have reinforced it with what you said. No reason to be mean, just firm.”
She tapped the pencil against her cheek while she stared at me. “Wow. I never would have thought of that.”
“Did you text him back?”
“No, I wanted to ask you what I should do.”
“You should tell him that you don’t want to see him again. Think of it as rejecting a puppy. You have to be firm, but don’t kick the guy in the nuts.”
She laughed again, and I liked making her do that. Crap. It was going to be a long afternoon if I kept thinking about her this way. She sipped her soda then pulled out her phone. “Help me do this.”
She tapped on some keys then showed me the text. I shook my head. She’d taken a nicer approach than I thought she should. “No. Say these words. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to see you again. It isn’t going to work out.”
“I should say that? That isn’t kicking him in the nuts?”
“No, it isn’t. Calling him names and telling him he’s ugly would be.”
There was that laugh again. In that laugh, I could hear hope for my world. Holy shit. Stop, Dylan. Stop, I told myself. I rubbed my face while she typed.
“Okay, I did it. Will he text me back?”
“He might, but ignore it. If you respond, he’ll keep responding thinking that there is hope.”
She nodded. “Well, you’ve taught me a lot about guys today. Maybe we need to talk about math. Or do you want to tell me about your night?”
I shrugged. “Nothing to tell. Guys hanging out. Talking about girls.”
Specifically, girls we would like to do and teachers we’d do it to also, but sweet, innocent Taylor didn’t need to know that part. She would be disgusted at what we talk about. No need to completely shatter her illusions about boys. Not all at once.
“Do you talk about girls the way we talk about boys?”
He laughed. “Not quite, but I’m not revealing any more. We men need some secrets.”
She nodded then opened the textbook. “Sadly, we have to get down to this math. You need a refill on the soda before we start?”
“No, thanks. Let’s get going.”