Someone's Daughter

32. she stole her cat and dyed it key lime green

Hi guys!

Thank you everyone who checked on me and talked to me during my hiatus. Y' all are the reason that break felt so healing and energizing. I processed everything that happened in December and left behind a couple of toxic people in the new year, and it's made all the difference. I'm feeling much better.

Thank you to @beatofyourheart22, @Estesmybestie, and @sysadmin666 for beta reading!

Lastly, I started conceptualizing this story one year ago, today. So that's cool. Glad that this is my homecoming.

lovelovelove - r

May 14th, 2020.

"Please let me take her until summer. Then we can have her decide."

Taylor woke up in a cold sweat on Thursday morning. She reached across the bed, hand finding fur in place of skin, Flint with her on the bed, sitting paws out towards her like the Sphinx of Giza.

Her voice was dry when she told him, "Off my bed." Flint stood and stared at her, a challenge. She rolled her eyes and reached for her phone. No texts or calls, only Joe holding Benji, with hair blown shaggy and green paint on his hands.

Why would any sane school admin make the last day of school a Thursday?

"I want to stay with Taylor, I don't want to board."

It had come and gone so fast. Taylor never thought Kennedy would go against him. Living at school would have been worse, but that didn't factor in anymore under lockdown.

She should've had a text from him by now.

"And you promised me when you divorced Mom that you wouldn't let anyone outside of the family raise her, Dad. You promised."

It was the first weak spot she could think of, calling him on his own hypocrisy.

He raised his eyebrows at her and leaned back in his chair.

"Taylor, let me raise my damn kid."

"What aren't you telling me?" She laughed in disbelief. "Is it security issues or something? At least be honest with me."

Scott stared at his hands like he was just waiting for the conversation to be over, but he didn't fidget at all. Taylor knew he went still when he was scared.

"It's Harrels, isn't it?"

Flint nudged her hand, and she put down the phone, taking a deep breath.

He was going to make her wait, make her squirm. He was going to draw this out as long as he could. He was going to wield Kennedy like a knife, twist their words, the master of spin.

"You're crazy if you think you aren't going to get hurt doing this."

He'd make damn sure she did.

—~—~—

She found Joe in the gym and joined him. She liked to make fun of their relationship when they worked out like they were a couple that would use each other as gym equipment. They were better than some she'd seen (the horse-powered model and her mid-run makeout partner).

As much as she made fun of him, she loved how he looked at her when she did strength training, catching her breath between sets. Gentle, caring, like she'd carried their child and Today Was The Day. Or maybe it was just his pride in her for taking Care of herself in a way that didn't mean keeping herself small—either way, it made her feel like everything was okay.