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Chapter Five

"Eggs?"

I glanced behind me to find Taylor standing at the kitchen counter. Shirtless. I immediately diverted my eyes back to the steaming pan in front of me and ignored his muscular form.

"And bacon."

"Aren't I supposed to be the one making breakfast?"

I frowned down at the sizzling strips of bacon.

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled, a horrible screech sounding as he slid into one of the chairs at the island.

"Well, I am the one protecting you. Plus, I'm the guy. I should be a gentleman and all that fun stuff."

I scraped the bacon onto his plate, setting it next to the toast and slightly watery eggs.

"Don't be sexist."

That earned another deep chuckle as I set the plate in front of his bare chest. He glanced behind me at the stove then back at his plate.

"Where's your plate?" He questioned. I shrugged.

"Not hungry." It wasn't a lie. It seemed as though I had permanently lost my appetite. I hadn't eaten since the hospital and I wasn't planning on it any time soon. The thought of food just wasn't appealing.

He raised an eyebrow and stared at me for a couple of seconds before nodding.

"If you get hungry later on then I'll make you something, okay?"

I grunted and slid into the seat next to him.

"So where did Agent Floyd go?" I probably should've asked last night but he was gone by the time I got back from the bathroom.

"He flew back last night."

"Last night? But it was really late." I furrowed my brow as I focused my eyes on the granite counter.

"Yeah, well I guess he needed to get back."

I felt uncomfortable with the thought that I was even more alone than before. Now it was just me and Taylor.

"Why are you up so early? It's almost seven." He glanced at me before shoveling some eggs into his mouth. I wish I had gotten up early. But the fact was that I just didn't sleep. I spent the whole night with a pen and that journal, scribbling in the gruesome details of my nightmare.

I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to remember. I didn't want anymore memories or even thoughts about Tanner. With every memory that came back, more of me was lost.

But I wasn't about to tell Taylor that.

"Just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, I guess."

"Well, thank you for this." He lifted his now empty plate and stood up from his seat. His muscular back flexed as he walked to the sink and placed his plate underneath some running water.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" I blurted before my brain could catch up with my mouth. My cheeks immediately turned a light shade of red.

"I can go put a shirt on if it makes you uncomfortable." He set his plate in the dishwasher to the left of him before padding out of the kitchen.

"Okay," I muttered even though he was already gone. I tapped my fingers on granite as I stared down at my hands. There were thin white lines branching down from my forearm to my wrist, all in different places. I could visualize the chains scratching down them as I struggled against them. Stop thinking about it.

I chewed down on my lip as Taylor came back in. A grey shirt now stretched across his broad chest, basically making my request pointless.

"I see you're already dressed." He stated, glancing down at my attire. I had thrown on a pair of jeans and a simple sweater before deciding to make breakfast.

"Mhm, I was wondering if we could go look around?" Or distract myself from the depressing thoughts running through my head.

Taylor bit his lip and hesitated before slowly nodding his head.

"I'll call Agent Floyd and get his approval but it sounds alright to me. You'll need to put a hat on and maybe some glasses."

I let the corners of my mouth drift up a bit, showing a little teeth in the smile, and stood up from the stool.

"Thanks."

His eyes widened a small fraction and he cleared his throat.

"You're welcome, Nicole."

The smile dropped from my face as I realized he had reverted back to my new name.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. Taylor shook his head again and offered me another smile.

"No, nothings wrong. It's just I think that's the first time I've seen you smile."

"Oh." I could feel my cheeks heat up. I suddenly felt very exposed. "I think I'm going to take a quick shower before we leave."

"Sure, take your time."

And with that I ventured back upstairs to the bedroom. I grabbed some fresh underwear and made my way into the bathroom before stripping down.

The silence was abruptly filled by the sound of rushing water as I turned on the shower. I quickly stepped under the stream of water, relishing in its warmth.

I let out a content sigh before grabbing the razor that was set to the side of the tub. There wasn't any shaving cream so I just settled on soap. Either way, my legs were in desperate need of attention after being neglected for this long.

As I leaned down to begin, more white scars caught my eye. They ran from my knee up to my hip in a jagged line. The bunched up skin was rough and calloused. Repulsive.

I had to bite my lip to keep the tears in. He messed up my body. It was a heavy reminder that he would never completely be gone.

I let out a shaky breath and shook my head to keep concentration. Just shave and get it over with, Ariana.

After about ten minutes of shaving, washing, and just standing there, I finally left the comfort of the hot water.

As I stepped out, steam rolled off of my body while the cold slowly creeped in, making me shiver. I threw the clothes back on and wrapped a towel around my head before trotting back downstairs.

"-ure but I'll have to see what there is. No, don't worry." Taylor chuckled. "You seemed to have forgotten that I used to live here, Agent."

My sandal-clad feet tapped against the tile, notifying Taylor of my presence. He glanced back at me and gave me a smile before returning his attention to the phone call.

"Definitely. I'll call when we get back. Thanks." A pause. "Alright, bye."

A beep sounded as he hung up. He turned fully to face me.

"Agent Floyd gave us the okay, so are you ready to go out for a while?"

I pulled the towel off my head and ran my fingers through my hair as I nodded.

"Sure. You?"

He nodded before sliding past me to the door.

"We have a long day ahead of us."