OBSESSED WITH TAYLOR JAMES (19 page)

                                                                                                                                                      
Chapter 16
           
 

Sabrina found Taylor sitting alone in the emergency
room.  Running over to her, she hugged her. “Taylor, I got here as soon as I
could.  How bad are you hurt?”  She asked. 

Taylor sat comatose. The bandage wrapped around her head
covered the three stitches it took to patch the cut on her forehead. “I only
have a cut across my head.”

“I was terrified of what I would find when I got here. 
How is Mario?”

Taylor hunched her shoulders, tears managed to escape her
aching eyes. “They won’t tell me anything.  Sabrina, this is my fault.  I
caused the accident?”

“Did you get in an argument about Dillon kissing you?”

“I didn’t tell him.  What I did is worse, Sabrina. 
Seriously, I could go to jail for what I’ve done.”

Sabrina scooted closer to her sister and out of earshot
of the others in the emergency room. “Girl, what did you do?”

Sniffing, Taylor wiped her nose with the back of her
hand. “The whole morning is a blur.”

“Start from the beginning.”

“Well, Mario located cameras hidden in the house.  He
accused Dillon of installing them to watch me.  I couldn’t think of anyone else
who would do it, so we went to confront him.”

“Damn, I never figured Dillon to be a pervert and snoop
on you.  I consider him more of a puppy dog lusting after you.”

“He’s not a pervert.  He’s sick.”

“I would say so,” Sabrina said twitching her lip.

“Not that kind of sick, Sabrina.  He has a brain tumor,
and if he doesn’t have the operation, he will die.”

“Wow.  I’m at a loss for words.”  Sabrina’s voice cracked
with sad emotion from the news. “We have to talk some sense into him.”

“He’s not accepting the news well but I’m sure Kelly will
get him to have the surgery.”

“I’ll call him later.  Now tell me what caused the
accident?”

Taylor folded her arms across her lap bending over
rocking back and forth.  The sickness in her stomach churned realizing the
severity of her actions. “Mario and I were going to his place and discussing the
cameras and who could be watching me.  I snapped, Sabrina.  I snapped and
accused him of being the stalker.  I started hitting him when he wouldn’t let
me out of the car.  He lost control and hit the tree.”

Sabrina jumped from the chair. “Taylor! What is wrong
with you?”

The tears flowed heavier. “I know and I’m sick about it. 
He was helping me, and I did this to him.  Sabrina, I didn’t mean to hurt
him….I snapped.  He was laying there bleeding, and there wasn’t a thing I could
do to help him.  I sat and watched firefighters cut him from the wreckage. 
Sabrina, he wasn’t moving.”

“Lord have mercy, you are in big trouble,” Sabrina said
shaking with fear.  “You are a lawyer for Pete’s sake.  Have you talked to the
police?”

“Not yet.  I don’t know anyone in Mario’s family to call
and let them know he’s in the hospital.”

“This whole story is crazy and ridiculous.  Why is this
happening to you?  You aren’t famous or have a stream of men knocking down your
door every night.  It can’t be a jealous wife or could it be?”

Taylor shifted her eyes to her sister. “I have never
dated a married man in my life.”

“Not a wife, but a jealous girlfriend who blames you for
ruining her future.”

Taylor sat up straight. “Kelly?  No, she wouldn’t risk
losing Dillon.”

“Think about it for a minute, Taylor.  Dillon has keys to
your house.  Kelly is on summer break from school.  She has time on her hands
and motive.”

Taylor shook her head feeling the stiffness settling in
her neck. “This is silly.  How would she know how to install surveillance
cameras?”

“She could hire someone to do it.”

“My neighbors would have noticed suspicious work vehicles
around my house.”

“Don’t rule out her installing the cameras herself.  Did
you and Mario go inside their house?”

“Kelly was outside when we drove up, and Dillon came
outside.  I suppose he heard us arguing.”

“Or, Dillon could have been disposing of the evidence. 
Mario may be onto something, Taylor.  Without his help, we might not be able to
solve this.  Kelly has been tipped off and will get rid of everything.”

“Stop it, Sabrina.  Neither, Kelly, or Dillon is not
spying on me.  He didn’t know what we were talking about and what would Kelly
gain by spying on me?  Dillon is home with her every night.”

“Do you know that for a fact?”

“I know for a fact he isn’t with me at night.  If she did
plant those cameras, she knows he isn’t with me.”

“It makes perfect sense to assume them, Taylor.  You
don’t want to look at them because Dillon is close to you.  I am stunned you
would suspect Mario.  You told me you were falling in love with him.”

The last person sitting in the emergency waiting room
left allowing them the freedom to talk without whispering.  Taylor walked to
the window.  Seeing her reflection and the blood staining her shirt, she
swallowed. “I do love him.  I wish I could click my heels and start this day
over.”

Sabrina smiled when saw the nurse and an alert Mario walk
into the waiting room.  She started to say something to him.  He silenced her
by holding up a hand and following the nurse to the front desk. 

Sabrina hugged Taylor from behind knowing everything was
all right with Mario.  She said, “Have you told Mario your feelings for him?”

“That won’t do me any good now.  I’m sure he will press
charges against me and never speak to me again.”

“Don’t be negative, Taylor.  If you love him, you have to
fight for his forgiveness.  And, if he loves you, he will forgive you.  He will
understand how overwhelmed you are with this stalker business and didn’t mean
to hurt him.”

Taylor rubbed the sore spot on her neck. “A person can
only be so understanding, Sabrina.  I have ruined every relationship I’ve had. 
This one will be the hardest to get over because I really love Mario. I don’t
know how someone so educated can be so freaking stupid.”

“We can talk later.  I’m going to take you home with me
so you can rest.  You probably could use some food too; I hear your stomach
growling.”

“Sabrina, I can’t leave without word on Mario.  My
stomach is growling with guilt.  Damn, I’ll never get over this.  Maybe the stalker
will get me and put me out my misery.”

“Then your family will suffer.  Is that what you want,
Taylor?”

She turned around at the sound of Mario’s voice.  Her
eyes welled with tears. Scanning his body, she saw a bandage placed on his
temple, and a dark bruise formed around his cheek. “You’re okay?  I didn’t kill
you?”

“I don’t feel dead but I’m sure by morning I will.  The
airbag knocked the wind out of me.  Besides some bruises, I am okay.   How are
you?”

She wanted to hug him, touch him but kept her distance.
“Just a bump on the head and whiplash but I’m okay.  Mario, I am sorry for what
I said.  I did not mean any of it.  I’m pleading temporary insanity and will
not fight any charges you press against me.”

Mario pinched the nerve between his eyes. “Taylor, I’m
not pressing charges against you.”

“No, I deserve to be punished for the crime.”

“You know the law.  The judge will take your lapse in
judgment into consideration and agree you may have been in danger.”

“Mario, I cannot believe you.”

He stopped her from talking. “However, believe I am hurt
you questioned my loyalty to you.  I would never hurt you based on an incident
that happened in my past.  I don’t hold grudges and definitely not against
someone that did not harm me.”

His words slapped her harder than the car’s airbag.
Taylor had no rebuttal because he was right.  She had wronged him and the
consequences she faced losing him were her fault and hers alone. She turned
away from him, but Sabrina pulled her back.

Sabrina stood between them.  “You are both lucky to be
alive.  That fancy car with all those airbags saved you guys.  Why don’t we get
out of this depressing place and go to my house?  I will fix you both a nice
meal and put you to bed.”

Mario put his hands in the pockets of his jeans.  “Thanks
for the offer, Sabrina but I’m going home.”

Sabrina insisted. “At least let me take you home, Mario. 
I want to make sure you are okay.”

“Gracias, but no thank you; I will call a taxi.”

“Are you sure?  I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“I need to be alone.”  He cracked a weak smile hugging
her. “I will be okay, don’t worry about me.”

She looked at Taylor who appeared to carry the weight of
the world on her shoulders.  She had never seen her sister broken and defeated.
She broke the hug saying, “All right, if you insist.  I want to take Taylor
home so she can clean up and rest.  Is it okay if I call to check on you
later?  I promise I won’t be a pest.”

“Si, you may.” He started to walk away and stopped.
“Taylor, I’m elated you weren’t hurt other than the bump on your head.  Take
care of yourself.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but Sabrina stopped
her.  She watched him walk away and disappear from her view and her life
forever.  Sabrina took her hand. “Taylor, give him space to breathe.  If you
two are meant to be together, you will find your way back to one another.”

*****

The sounds of crickets chirping filled the stuffy night
air.  Inside, the house it was dark and quiet as Sabrina and Edward slept. 
Taylor sat on the deck sipping a glass of chardonnay looking into space.  Only
the brightest stars were able to penetrate the layers of clouds floating across
the full moon.

For whatever reason, she wasn’t afraid sitting outside
alone in the vast darkness.  Sabrina and Edward lived in a two-story house
abutting dense woods.  A few deer had wandered in the yard in search of
foliage.  Taylor kept quiet not scaring the animals away but observing them.

Taking another sip wondering how life would be as a deer
or other animal.  She visualized the majority of their days were spent
searching for food or teaching their young survival tactics.  Household pets
had it easy too.  Their only worry was when the human would be home to feed
them or let them out to play.

She watched the deer chew at a small bush.  The deer had
no idea how fortunate it was not to be human.  No stress of careers or paying
taxes.  No credit problems or competing for popularity, and the best, no broken
hearts to deal with.

She drained the wine glass refilling it from the bottle
sitting on the table.  She sat the bottle down hard startling the deer eating
dinner.  Its head popped in her direction, paused, and ran for cover in the
woods.

Sorry about that.

She drank half the glass waiting to see if the deer would
return to finish eating.  Her cell phone vibrated on the table.  It was a text
message.  She stared at the text message she assumed was from Mario, hurried,
and typed him back a reply.

Taylor: I am up.  Why aren’t you sleeping?

Text message: too much on my mind to sleep.

Taylor:  You should rest.

There was no response from him after ten minutes.  She
put the phone down thinking he must have forgot he was mad at her or meant to
text someone else.  She stretched grabbing her shoulder; it hurt from the
accident.  Her back and legs were sore also.  She glanced at the clock on her
phone.  It was 2:30am.  Drinking the rest of the wine in the glass, she put the
cork on the bottle and slowly got up from the table.  She had to make an
appearance at work and to show up bruised and hung over would not go without
questions.

She went inside the house locking the patio door.  A
crack of thunder and bright lightening lit the dark sky.  She looked out the
door.  Large raindrops fell upon the wooden deck. Another big flash of
lightening streaked across the sky.  Taylor’s blood turned cold. A human image
appeared along the edge of the woods boarding Sabrina’s backyard.  Was the wine
making her see things or was there a man standing in the rain watching her? 
Shaking and afraid to look again, she closed the blinds and ran upstairs
locking the bedroom door.  Large tears fell from her eyes as she sat on the
floor praying.
Please God, please make this stop
.

                                                                                                                                                      
Chapter 17
           
 

Taylor arrived early for work wishing she had called off
again but was afraid to stay home alone.  She had not slept a wink last night. 
The concept of a man in the woods watching her, kept her curled on the floor
the rest of the night.  The aching in her body came from the accident and lying
in a crouched position on a hard floor. 

Getting her coffee, she hobbled to her office like an
eighty-year old woman down on her last leg.  Turning on the computer, she tried
to log in.  The system refused her logon and password.  It was too early to
call tech support; it was only 7:00am and the department didn’t take calls
before 8:30am.

A knock on the door got her attention. “Come in,” she
said surprised anyone was around.

Todd opened the door. “Good morning, Taylor.”

“Good morning, Todd.  You’re here early.”

He took a seat across from her desk. “I know you come in
early, and I wanted to talk to you privately.”

“She leaned forward holding in the pain with each breath
she took. “I know what this about.  This morning, I can’t log into the system,
but I’m surprised my ID worked downstairs at the security gate.”

He noticed her stiff movements. “Taylor, are you
hurting?”

“I was involved in a car accident yesterday, but I’m
okay.  Do you have the paperwork for me to sign?”

“Is that why you were out yesterday?”

“Yes, and I don’t want to talk about it if that’s okay
with you.”

“Of course, your personal life is your business.”  He
didn’t hinge on his original purpose of business.  “Taylor, I hate to say this,
but Anderson is terminating your employment with Cartwright and Associates. 
Whatever is going on between you, Dillon, and Mario Infante is disruptive to
the firm.  Anderson determined the only way to restore peace is to release the
person with the least seniority.  Unfortunately, that is you.”

Taylor didn’t bat an eye at the news of her dismissal. 
“Naturally it would be me; I’m not a partner.  “I’ll be gone as soon as I pack
my personal belongings. I knew this was coming and had my assistant clean my
files so the distribution of my workload would be smooth as possible.”  She
stood up wincing.  Holding her hand for Todd to accept, she remained
professional. “Thank you for the years of friendship.  I’ll never forget how
you battled Anderson for the people you respected.”

“Taylor this didn’t end well for either one of us.  I’m
retiring at the end of the month instead of waiting until the end of the year. 
Anderson is controlling the company in a way I don’t agree with. It is best I
sever ties while I have my sanity.”

Taylor’s eyes brightened. “If that is true, Todd, please
call me when you make a formal announcement.  I have a proposition for you.”

He stood buttoning his suit jacket. “I will do that.  I
will see that a messenger handles your boxes and other items you want to take
home.  Goodbye, Taylor.”

She gave it a second and walked out her office and down
the long hallway.  Passing Dillon’s office it she was it was dark.  She took a
deep breath and kept walking until she got to Mario’s door.  He was sitting
behind the desk drinking coffee.  The bruise on his cheek had darkened to a
purplish black color, and he’d removed the bandage from his temple.  She
knocked on the door.

He looked up at her and her heart melted on contact. 
“Good morning, Taylor,” he said respectfully.

She stood in the doorway with her weight braced against
the arch. “Good morning.  How are you doing?”

“I’m here and thankful for that.  How are you?”

“Sore all over.  Anyhow, that is not my purpose for being
here.  I came to say goodbye.  Today is my last day.  I’ve been formally given
the boot.”

“You’re kidding,” he said setting his mug on the desk. 
“Anderson let you go today.”

She nodded.  “Todd gave me the news a minute ago.  I’m
leaving before the office is full, and the rumors go flying off the hook.”

“So where are you going when you leave here, back to
Sabrina’s house?”

“No, I am going home.  I’m sure the place is stinking of
rotting food from the electricity being off.”

“Taylor, I don’t think it is safe for you to go home.”

“What am I supposed to do?  I cannot abandon my home.  My
car is there.  Everything I need to function is there.”

He scrubbed his hands down his face. “I can’t with good
conscious let you go home alone.”  He removed a set of keys from his pocket. 
“Here are the keys to my house.  Go there and wait for me.”

“Mario, my problems are not your responsibility.  You are
no longer obligated to help me.”

“I’m doing it because I am concerned about your safety. 
You will have privacy to call a private investigator to help you solve your
problem.”

“I don’t feel right doing that.  I messed up.  I can’t
accept help when I know how much you hate me right now.”

He got up from the chair slowly, holding the ache in his
back. “I don’t hate you.  I could never hate you.”

She stretched her arms as if to catch him if he fell.
“Look what I’ve done to you.  If I’d been the girlfriend you deserved, I would
be taking care of you.”

Mario inched his way to stand before her. Taking her hand
in his, he lifted it up to kiss the back of it though his gaze stayed focused
on her eyes. “Perhaps I forced a relationship with you too soon.  Nonetheless,
I do not regret what we shared together.”

She squeezed his fingers with hers. “I have no regrets
what we shared either.  You are the first man I’ve come close to loving in
years.”

“I normally take pride in my accomplishments.  With you,
I fell short.”  He released her hand. “It won’t be the same around here without
you.”

“Nancy Quinn will likely assist you with finishing the
Gallop matter.  She is attractive, and I hear she is single again.”

He nodded of his head. “Yes, but she is not you.  I’ll
miss you, Taylor.”

“We can’t be friends anymore?”

He placed a hand on his chest covering his heart. “What I
hold in my heart is deeper than friendship.  I don’t see how it would be
possible for us to hang out as friends only.”

“I understand.  I wish you the best, and I have the last
two text messages we exchanged late last night as a keepsake.”

“What text messages?  I didn’t text you last night.”

“Oh, that explains why the last text I sent wasn’t
responded to.  After all, I did wrap your expensive car around a tree.  Why
would I expect you’d want to talk to me ever again?”

“Taylor, I did not text anyone last night.  The pain
pills had me out in a flash.  Did my number appear in your phone?”

“No, it was unknown.  I assumed it was you because we
texted often and at night.  Well that clears one mystery. Goodbye, Mario,” she
said leaving his office.  Fighting the misery and pain breaking her heart, she
walked back to her office to pack.