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“You have a nasty bump, but fortunately for you, there’s no damage from that.” The whole room exhales the breath that they must’ve been holding. “My recommendation is to take it easy. We can’t rule out anything that we can see yet. Ice, rest and no mind altering medications like alcohol. Stick with over the counter pain relievers.”
“Thank you,” Taylor states as she gives the man a kind smile and a nod. The doctor holds out his hand to help her down off the bed. He probably felt the same thing I did, that she was going to try to jump. She must still be running high on adrenaline, her eyes are wide and flashing everywhere. Nerves and excitement.
“Let’s go,” I snap out as I hear shuffling from the guards.
Everyone follows us in a direct line. Taylor and her friends, of course, being nice and saying goodbye to everyone that helped them at the clinic.
I stop and turn toward Ava. “Go get that stitched. Your sister doesn’t need to be doing this. Get it taken care of by a fucking professional.” Ava stands tall and salutes me with her good arm, causing everybody to snicker and laugh. Both her and Ana head back into the clinic.
“Taylor’s riding with me,” I state as everybody else shifts their direction to the vehicle they are going in, since the plans changed.
It takes twenty minutes to get back to the campus. The first five minutes are driven in silence. I need to calm myself and get my shit in order. I know it’s not her fault, but I’m reprimanding my ass because I should’ve been there.
“From now on, I go everywhere you go.” Taylor does a slight nod but keeps her focus out of the window. Ignoring the nasty bump on the back of her head.
“Are you okay?” There’s still something about this woman that I can’t put my finger on, I’m more worried about her than anybody else I’ve ever worked with.
She turns in her chair, her smile huge. “Did you know the Long twins could do that?”
“Oh God,” I silently mumble out as Taylor talks for the next five minutes about every punch, kick and hit to the abdomen. Plus, anything else surreal that came from the twins.
Taylor is now obsessed with the twins’ fighting skill.
“How much do you think it would be to hire them to teach me how to fight like that?” She asks with hope in her eyes.
I look at Taylor, then look back toward the road, passing several cars before I speak. “Those girls have been through hell, long history of it. They’ve been fighting since they were toddlers, not by choice, either.”
“This is a story for the Long twins to tell, not mine. Their horrors shouldn’t be relived through somebody else. If they want people to know, they’ll tell it.” Taylor picks up on this as she leaves me alone about the subject, focusing outside.
By the time we get back to the dorms, it’s nighttime. “What do you want to eat for dinner?” I’m not letting her out of my sight for a while and I feel safest with us in the dorm room.
Taylor understands what I’m doing. “Cheeseburger and fries.” I know she’d like to ask for a bottle of wine or some whiskey, especially with a headache like that but she’s listening to what the doctor tells her.
Her phone rings, causing us both to glance down, noticing it’s her dad.
“Are you okay?” Her dad asks, I can hear the worry in his voice, even though she’s not on speaker.
“I’m fine, just a little bit out of practice. I should’ve been able to do better.”
‘What,’ I mouth when I look at her.
Her father laughs. “Let the guards handle the fighting, Taylor. You’re not exactly quite up to that level yet. You can hold your own, more than other people can. Maybe one day, if you train continuously.”
“Okay,” Taylor says softly, disappointment filtering through her. I’m just waiting for her to ask me to take her to a boxing ring or fighting club where she can start training and practicing more.
“Your job is to lead, Taylor, not fight and defend,” her dad says as a soft laugh bursts through Taylor.
“That’s really classy coming from you old man,” she says with a smile as they both start to laugh.
‘The Ghost’ did change his ways and decided to be an assassin.
“Bye baby,” her father states and ends the call.
“Love you,” Taylor says right as I hit the end button.
Her eyebrows are creased and her head keeps shifting down.
“How is your headache?” I can tell she’s in pain.
