Scars and Souvenirs

Six

Taylor had been with Matthew officially for almost three weeks when he asked her to go to Inverness with him, claiming there were better ways to spoil her there than on the rather minute Stony Isle. She'd been hesitant at first, choosing to seek advice from Hunter who had offered to look after Jareth the minute the words left her lips. She'd packed more than usually would for a weekend away, although she kept everything simple and to her everyday standard. It helped that she didn't have anything remotely close to formal in her limited wardrobe. Although Matthew had promised to take her to a family gathering, which, he said often required suits and formal dresses. She'd told him she'd buy something in Inverness but the truth was she was hoping she'd be able to get away with nice leggings and a pretty top.

The ferry to the mainland was full of tourists that had tried to camp but were soon caught out by the freezing temperatures of a Scottish November. She couldn't blame them, although a part of her brain was adamant that it was their own fault for not researching their holiday destination. But then again, who was to say the sites would have been reliable?

Matthew emerged onto the outside deck just as some American man with skin the colour of a beetroot was ranting about the awful service he'd had at some 'diner' in Low Shore. Matthew saw Taylor and a frown graced his face.

"Why are you out here?" There was obvious distaste in his voice, as there was in his eyes as he followed Taylor's line of sight into the grey sea tipped with white. "It's cold."

Taylor wanted to roll her eyes at his plainly obvious statement, but resisted the urge. Matthew had told her numerous times that it was one of his least favourite things anyone could do, that he hated it almost as much as people who lie for no reason other than to make themselves into something else. Taylor chose to ignore that comment, he never had to know that everything she fed him about her past was a lie. He never had to find out who she really was, thus, he never had to find out how good a liar she really was.

"I was too hot inside," left her lips easily, her face remained blank as always. She was on the outer deck because that was what her and her brother would do. When their parents weren't looking, Bradley and Mykaelah would sneak from the cafe, into the outside. They would run and play and talk about how scary it would be if either of them ever fell overboard, and Mykaelah being the older sibling, she would always tell him that as long as she was there she would protect him. Taylor couldn't help the guilt that consumed her at that memory, she'd sworn to protect him as long as she lived but now he was dead and she was alive, on a boat to spend a weekend with someone who called mental illness the flaw of the person claiming it.

"I'll never understand you, Taylor Carlyle," Matthew sighed, and Taylor could hear the smile in his voice as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She stiffened at the unannounced contact, almost feeling Matthew's frustration in her own mind.

"Nobody ever will," she whispered to herself, not caring if Matthew heard. Releasing a steady breath she leaned into him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. This was the closest she'd been to a member of the opposite sex since Hunter three years ago. She wondered if Matthew could feel her anxiety, or if he was just ignorant to the way her heart was hammering against her chest.

******
When she walked through the doors to the Fraser home Taylor felt like she'd been teleported to the Mikaelson mansion from The Vampire Diaries. It was all marble floors and high ceilings and so much white Taylor felt gothic for the first time in her life. She also noted that she looked positively homeless in comparison to the man who opened the door, James, or so he'd introduced himself. Her bag was on her shoulder, Matthew by her side as a man wearing a suit that fitted to his stature perfectly, and a woman who looked about Matthew's age in a dress that looked to be made from gold entered the hallway.