Twisted Games

four - travis

I didn't trust Taylor's boyfriend, not at all. The second he'd shown up, I'd noticed Taylor's shoulders hunch slightly. And from what she'd told me, it sounded like he rarely worked, went out and got drunk, and almost never wanted to be seen with her.

But it wasn't my place, so I kept my mouth shut. Unless he was a security risk, I couldn't do anything about it. And it wasn't like he was a risk, just annoying.

In the first couple of days, Joe seemed to be all over Taylor, apologizing for whatever it was they'd fought about a few weeks ago. She forgave him, and they seemed like a genuinely sweet couple. Until that night.

I was woken in the early hours of the morning by a thud, which I'd partially been expecting. Joe had gone out to one of his parties, leaving Taylor at home. She hadn't seemed like she'd wanted to go anyway, and had spent most of the evening in her studio. I'd been able to hear her singing, playing, creating tracks for hours, and I had to admit it was incredible listening to the process. She was talented.

The sound of a door clicking as it was locked roughly came from the hallway and I sighed, ready to get up if I needed to. I wasn't here to babysit Taylor's boyfriend, just Taylor, so I wasn't going to waste any energy from him unless I needed to. There was the sound of stumbling footsteps, and then a door opening.

"Hey." I heard Taylor sigh. Her walls were thin, so most sounds made in the apartment could be heard pretty clearly from close by. "Did you have fun?"

"Hey babe." Joe grunted. "Yeah it was great. Most of the guys from my last gig came to celebrate the film coming out tomorrow. You're still coming to the premiere with me right?"

"Oh, I didn't know about that, but of course." Taylor said gently. "How about we go over the details in the morning so I can let Travis know, since he'll want to check out the venue." Joe groaned.

"That guy has such a stick up his ass, does he ever let you do anything without knowing everything?"

"It's his job Joe." Taylor grumbled. "I don't love it either, but Tree was right, and I need the protection. He's not that bad." She sighed. "Come on, come to bed."

"Oh, okay." Joe sounded like he was smiling, and even from the tone of his voice I could guess his intentions with her.

"No, not tonight." Taylor responded. "It's late, you're drunk, and I'm tired."

"You always say that!" Joe complained and I heard the shuffle and closing door as they went into their room. Their voices were even clearer now, since the room she'd given me was right next to theirs, my head near the wall. "You barely ever want to have sex anymore babe."

"That's not true, I just don't feel like having sex with someone at two in the morning when they're drunk."

Joe groaned, but their conversation faded after that. I could hear Taylor whispering, a few thumps, the rattling of drawers and I sighed, trying to tune out the noise so I could go back to sleep. Then I heard Taylor's voice again and my eyes popped open.

"Joe I said no!" She said. "Seriously, not now!" Her voice was muffled like there was something covering her mouth and I frowned, about to get up. But then she sighed. "Fine, whatever." She grumbled.

What an asshole. That was practically rape, but Taylor had said yes after a while so there wasn't anything I could do. I turned over, blocking out the sound of Joe's groans and Taylor's very obviously faked sighs and moans, closing my eyes and trying to go back to sleep. Even though the thin walls helped me to keep an ear out, this was the downfall of them. I really didn't need to hear them having sex.

When I got up just after seven, I found Taylor in the kitchen making coffee. She looked a little down, not offering me her usual tentative but semi-friendly smile that she always gave in the morning. I greeted her in a low voice and she just nodded, grabbing a nearby glass of water and swallowing a pill she had in her hand. Glancing over at the packet on the counter, I read the side of it. Plan B. Huh. I would have thought she'd be on a more permanent birth control, but hey, that was her business.