The Black Tangled Heart

The Bathroom

"Who the fuck is this guy?" Asked Roger as he tried to make himself appear taller whilst adjusting his burgundy tie against his charcoal coloured shirt

"It doesn't matter who the fuck I am" replied Travis as he took a long stride forward and Taylor grabbed his arm but he tore it from her grip immediately "Taylor go into the cubicle and lock the door"

"Travis please..."

"Do it!" He barked and Taylors gaze flitted to Roger, almost apologetically as she saw sweat begin to bead on his top lip "I won't ask you again Taylor"

Dropping her head she slipped backwards into the toilet cubicle and Travis waited until he heard the bolt slide shut before taking another step towards the visibly concerned man

"Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way and just so you know I have no preference which it is"

"Look I don't know what you think..."

"I think your a fuckin old pervert that's trying to get in to a bathroom with a young girl. Prove me wrong" Travis widened his legs and stuck his hands deep into his pockets letting the man know that no matter their age difference he wasn't intimidated and he wouldn't be backing down

"Taylor is my niece"

"Wrong fuckin answer"

"Maria and I... we're like family"

"But you aren't, which means you have no claim to Taylor at all let alone slipping into the bathroom with her. Explain this comment to me in a way that doesn't make me want to smash your face into the wash basin, 'Taylor hurry the fuck up, I didn't buy you that dress not to get a proper look at it..."

"I bought her a dress, she was seated when we arrived, I just wanted to see how it looked, ask her what she thought, it cost over a thousand dollars, I wanted to know I hadn't wasted my money..."

"I actually wasn't finished quoting you. This is the best part, the part that turned tonight from a dinner with friend into possibly the last supper. Explain what the fuck you meant when you said to an 18 year old girl that you yourself refer to as your 'niece' that you wanted to see what was under her dress and I'm warning you, you get one chance to convince me it was an innocent comment and then I won't be held responsible for my actions"

"It was a joke"

"Bullshit!" Travis' hands quickly grabbed Roger and pushed his arm up his back as he pushed him hard against the wash basin

"It's the truth, Taylor tell him it's the truth!"

"Keep her out of it" Travis seethed into his ear "This is between you and me"

"Who are you?! Her boyfriend?!"

"Better than that, I'm your worst fuckin nightmare because where others will stop and show mercy, I'll just keep going. I have been trained to kill so just bare that in that fuckin murky mind of yours" forcing the arm further up the man's back, Travis didn't stop until he yelled out in pain "Not nice is it? Someone else having all the control, someone else deciding when it hurts and when it doesn't, someone else breathing all over you, mocking you" With one sweep of his foot the older man landed hard on his back on the bathroom floor as Travis sat on his stomach, a knee either side of him "This is what happens if u mess with Taylor, because when u mess with her you mess with me and believe me, you never want to mess with me"

Someone twisting the handle of the door caused Travis to pause and then slap his hand over the man's mouth to keep him quiet

"Travis... you in there bro?" Jasons voice was rushed as Travis jumped up and slid the bolt, opening it enough for his brother to see Roger hurriedly trying to get back in his feet "The mother's causing a fuss out there, she saw you following Taylor to the bathroom and now she's demanding the police are called. We got to get out of here"

Travis turned to the man that was now straightening his tie and looking very relieved as he heard the lock on the toilet cubicle slide open and saw Taylor standing there. Her face pale and etched with concern, her body draped in a dress Travis wanted to rip from her and burn and then throw the man who bought it into the flames

"We're leaving" he instructed her, holding out his hand and hating the way her eyes flitted to Roger

"Taylor don't leave with him" the older man told her "he's dangerous"

"Only to old perverts like you" Travis stated as he closed the gap once more and grabbed the man by his shoulders, slamming his back hard against the bathroom wall "You see that girl? Look at her!"

"I'm looking for fuck sake!"

"Well it's the last time you lay your eyes on her, if I hear you have gone anywhere near her, breathed on her, thought about her I will be back and it won't be such a happy ending" He raised a hand to the man's throat and applied pressure "Do I make myself clear?"

"Travis!" Jason whisper yelled

"Taylor! Now!" He barked as she finally reached for his hand and allowed herself to be pulled through the restaurant and out the front door into the cool, late evening air

*************

Taylor sat in the middle of Travis' bed wearing nothing but one of his oversized white T-shirt's and her panties with a large slice of pizza in her hands, her face cleaned of makeup and her hair pulled into a high ponytail.

Placing his slice back into the box, Travis leant back on his hands and just watched her, wondering how someone could be so young and so innocent one second and then the hottest sex goddess he had ever seen the next

"You're staring" Said Taylor as she took a bite of her pizza

"I just can't believe someone actually likes pineapple on their pizza that's all"

"Bullshit, you're wondering what you have to say or do to get me naked"

Travis chuckled lightly as he lifted a napkin to his lips and cleaned a stain that wasn't there "Actually for once I wasn't thinking about sex"

"Really?" She cocked an eyebrow as though she didn't believe it for one second

"I'm just wondering how you, me and Jason are all going to fit into this tiny apartment" he reached for his coke, acting as though he hadn't just said what he had

"What do you mean?"

"Well there's no way I'm letting you go back home, not now I've seen even a tiny amount of what's going on there"

"Nothings going on and you don't 'let' me do anything. You're an acquaintance Travis, not even a friend you don't have a say in anything"

"I think the correct term is a fuck buddy, actually"

"Even at that, it doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do about anything"

"And yet here I am, telling you that you're not going home and that you're staying here with me and Jason, unless you want me to come live with you in your house, I'm sure your mom and dad would just love that"

"About as much as they would love the thought of me leaving home and moving in here"

"You're 18 you can do what you want"

"Exactly and I don't want to move in here" she slapped the half eaten pizza slice down onto the box and frowned

"Taylor. I don't know what's going on or what has gone on but it ends right now. I will not let anyone hurt you. You don't like that? Well to be honest tough shit, you don't get a say. Now you either move in here or we get a hotel room or I move in to your place... what's it going to be?"

"And where would I sleep?! I don't sleep on the couch for anyone Travis"

"Well seeing as how we're 'fuck buddies' you're probably sitting on your bed right now"

"You expect me to share an apartment and a bed with you?! What do you think this is... marriage?!"

"No, I think this is me protecting you and you rewarding me with sex"

"I hate you, do you know that?"

"Good, angry sexy is my favourite sex" he smirked as he lifted the pizza box to the ground and then crawled over her small body, his lips finding hers at the exact time his fingers tangled in the hem of her T-shirt