Sitting in front of her dressing table mirror, Taylor drew thick black lines below her lower eyelids with her eyeliner, purposely leaving out the wings she knew a certain someone liked before quickly lining her lips with a dark plum and then filling it in with a lighter version of the colour.
She closed her eyes as her mother and father's heated voices filled every corner of the house and then opened them again to apply a thin layer of mascara
In all honesty she wanted to take her hand and wipe every inch of makeup from her skin but Maria once again owed money which meant Maya had a date and that of course meant Taylor had no choice but to double date
Pushing to her feet she walked to the corner of the red velvet curtain that covered the window of her balcony and sneaked a look, there in the shadow of the bushes was her car, the one that had hidden there, occupied by Travis and Jason for the last two days, the reason she had been able to sleep easier in her own bed than she ever had, their presence soothing and reassuring her.
She quickly replaced the curtain and then moved back to her spot before the mirror.
She didn't know how to get Travis to leave, to walk away and forget he had ever met her but it was what she had to do, she had been so stupid to let things run any longer than one night, to think she could move out and her mother would just let her go when she was Maria's greatest asset.
Not even Taylors offer to pay the debt had worked, Maria seeming to want her daughter to learn a lesson about who is in control and what were the consequences of Taylor trying to break free of that control
Sighing heavily, Taylor felt the sting of tears but forced them down, knowing no one would care about her pain or her fear... no one except Travis that is and he was now nothing but one more mistake in her history but she was sure if she left the house tonight through the front door she wouldn't even make it to the hired car before Travis and his ego would appear and a hell she couldn't afford to unleash would break free
Taylor closed her eyes and for a brief second allowed her mind to be filled with those early mornings with Travis. His muscular arms around her waist, his lips pressed to her neck, they were just friends, he couldn't kiss her but he could allow his skin to touch hers without making it anything more than just innocent 'contact' and she had loved it. Loved that this tough guy she had assumed was only after one thing, still wanted to touch her even when that 'one thing' had been taken off of the table
Taking her thumb and forefinger she nipped the skin of her thigh and squeezed it tight, begging the sting to disperse her thoughts of Travis but instead he seemed to become all that she could think about and all that she could see
"You ready?" Asked Maya as she appeared in the doorway to Taylors room, her taller, larger body filling the space and causing the room to darken
"Does it look like it?" Taylor snapped, hating the way her sister dragged her so deeply into her murky world with no remorse
"Well hurry the fuck up. Carlo won't wait" Maya snapped whilst throwing her poker straight, black hair over one shoulder and looking down at her sister as though she was mess a dog had made on the floor
"I hope he doesn't wait, I hope he and his brother change their mind and then maybe I can go to bed and get some sleep without worrying about some sleazeball coming near me
"Rocco isn't a sleazeball and you owe mom after everything you put her through"
Taylor closed her eyes and gripped her blusher brush as tightly as she could to stop herself from thinking about everything that had happened between Maria, Roger and herself before she had finally escaped to Travis' apartment and trying not to scream out in despair that even after escaping her own personal hell she had found herself right back in the middle of it
"The boy... the boxer, he's done right?" Maya asked whilst snatching the blusher brush from Taylors grip and applying a blush that was too deep for her paler skin tone
Taylor nodded whilst rummaging for an eyebrow pencil, not wanting to alert Maya or anyone else to the fact that Travis and Jason were still sat in her partially hidden car
"Word is he's hot and dangerous, God knows what the fuck he saw in a girl like you other than you wear no panties" Maya laughed lightly as she threw the brush at Taylor"Be good tonight, mom needs the cash, no being a brat or a bitch, if he says jump, you don't question it you just say 'how high?'"
"I'm 18 years old Maya, don't you feel guilty about dragging me into this stuff?"
"Did mom feel guilty about dragging me into it?!" Maya's voice hardened against the tsunami of the past that hit her along with Taylors words as she pulled awkwardly at red dress that sat too high on her thighs and too low on her chest "You smile, you agree, you eat but do not drink anything" Taylor nodded, after hearing the same instructions a hundred times over in her short 18 years of life "He won't show up, won't cause a scene?"
"I don't know" Taylor answered honestly as she rubbed some clear lip balm onto her lips, knowing that Travis liked them rosey and pink
"We can't have a scene Taylor "
"Then I guess you should have left me alone, left me with my boxer and not dragged me into any of this"
It took half a second for Maya's hand to hit Taylor so hard her lip split against her teeth "You are poison to this family. If we could have left you with your brain dead bozo we would have, believe me, but for some unknown reason guys seem to want you on the menu
"I don't want to go" Taylor whispered
"Tough!" Get dressed, get in the car and then get over the boxer by getting under the guy that will help mom clear her debts"
"And if I don't?"
"If you don't then mom, the guy, Roger and me will come after your ass so hard you won't know if you got a telling off or if you got anal"
Taylor sat at her mirror, her sisters words sinking in but her own longing crying out
Travis ..
She wanted Travis
She wanted him to storm in here and drag her out, protect her from the words and the threats of her family but as Taylor released her curls from her scrunchy she knew that wasn't going to happen and if by some miracle it did the cops would be called and he'd be hauled off to jail
"Here" Maya said suddenly reappearing and throwing something black at her sister before disappearing again just as quickly
"This is too short!" Taylor called after her
"There is no such things as 'too short'" said Maya as she appeared back in Taylors doorway "Now remember, you do and say whatever you need to do or say and then once he's asleep you clear him out and head home"
"I've done this enough times to know what I'm doing" Said Taylor as she stood up and then moved to her en-suite, stripping down to her black thong with no bra, knowing there was no way she could wear a bra with the dress she was now rolling over her body, the material not giving her an inch to move in
Looking at herself in the mirror, Taylor felt her stomach turn, she looked disgusting, felt disgusting but there was no way out of this without agreeing to dinner with Roger, so she walked silently to the balcony window, pulling back the curtain and feeling her heart turn icy cold and then drop hard as she realised that after two days the car and Travis had gone, he'd given up on her and once again, she was all alone
YOU ARE READING
The Black Tangled Heart
FanfictionThe space was small and claustrophobic as Taylors back pressed against the cold brick wall. Her heart thumped hard below her rib cage as a hard chest kept her in place, large hands gripping her hips and warm breath with a hint of alcohol fanning ove...
