Protecting Taylor

Chapter 23

When I woke up the next morning Taylor was gone. It was eight, which was sleeping in for me. I made my bed and tried to smooth my hair down a bit before leaving my room. There was noise down stairs so I assumed the couple was up.
Meredith was laying on the stairs and stood up and cat stretched before following me down stairs. I heard laughing in the kitchen and saw Adam and Taylor standing at the stove together. She was holding the handle of a pan and he had his arms around her want kissing her on the cheek and neck.
I didn't want to invade their moment so I turned to leave.
"Hey, Alex!" Taylor said.
Adam pulled back and settled for leaving his hands on her shoulders.
"Good morning." I said.
"Feel better after getting some more sleep?" She asked.
"Yeah, thanks for staying with me last night."
"Are you alright?" Adam asked.
"Yeah, sorry about waking you up."
"No worries. I'm glad you're alright now." He gave me a small smile.
I poured some orange juice in a glass and got Taylor and Adam a drink as well. Taylor was making omelets and hash browns.
"After breakfast we are going with Adam to the airport since he's got work to do in the studio." Taylor said.
"Okay." I nod as Taylor hands me a small bowl of grapes to eat.
"Taylor showed me your award dress. You look very pretty in it." He compliments.
"Thank you." I smile.
"She's going to look like one of the stars there." She said.
"You remind me of Cara Delevingne. Like a younger version of her." Adam said, running a hand over the stubble on his chin.
"Who's that?" I ask.
"I forgot you've never met Cara. Oh my god you'll love her, she's hilarious!" Taylor said, enthusiasm dripping from her works as she laid the plates of food on the counter.
"What does she do?" I asked.
"She's a model and she's trying to get into acting."
"I'd hardly say I look like a model." I laugh.
"Awe, don't be that way. You're gorgeous!" Taylor said with sincerity.
"Thanks." I said sheepishly and nibbled on a piece of bacon.
"Are you nominated for any awards, Adam?" I asked.
"I'm up for 2." He said vaguely.
"I bet you'll win them too." Taylor said encouragingly.
"Easy for you to say, you're up for 12."
"Oh my god congratulations, Taylor. I didn't realize you were up for so many!" I said shocked.
Adam didn't seem so glad for her and I wondered if he felt jealous. How could he not be happy for his girlfriend? Besides, he knew she was a huge deal before they got together.
"Thank you!" Taylor smiled.
"I have a meeting with the crew for the tour today. That's at two, so I figured we could go shopping and get lunch before we go to the meeting." Taylor said.
"Sounds good."
There seemed to be awkward tension between Taylor and Adam, and I hoped the award thing wasn't a sensitive subject. The last thing I wanted to do was cause a fight. I got up and set my plate in the sink and told Taylor I was going to go get ready. Then, they would have time to hash it out if there were any problems.

Adam seemed to be acting better on the way to the airport. They were cuddly with each other and I decided to keep my mouth closed for the most part. Once he was safely on the plane it was back to just Taylor and me.
We went from store to store before going to a high end soup and sandwich restaurant. I found myself enjoying the days where it was just Taylor and me taking on New York City. The tour would be starting back up in a few days and we wouldn't be doing this much more. To say I hadn't grown attached to Taylor would be a lie.
At lunch we were joking around and telling stories until Taylor seemed to be acting different.
"What's the matter?" I asked her.
I knew her usual self and this wasn't it.
"I don't know." She looked down at her plate with a far out gaze.
"Is it the awards? Are you worried you won't win because you have to win something. 1989 is a great album, I've been listening to it on my iPod a lot lately."
"It's not that. I'm not too worried about losing."
"Then what is it?"
"It's about Adam. I don't think he's happy for me."
"Why?" I asked even though I witnessed it for myself.
"I think he's intimidated by me."
"He should be proud of you."
"I know and I'm proud of him too. I think he feels like I look down on him or something."
"Maybe. It's probably a hard pill for a man to swallow that his girlfriend is more successful than him, but he should have already know that. Besides, there's nothing wrong with strong women."
"You would know." She smiled lightly.
"When I was starting out I was in intense training. The new recruits all fought against each other to see who could make it. It didn't matter if you were a boy or girl. Everyone fought each other. There was a boy a little older than me that I beat and it knocked him out of the group. He got really pissed at me and when I wasn't looking he threw a knife at me. Luckily he had terribly aim or he didn't really want to kill me. The blade grazed my ear. It took a little chunk out," I pushed my hair behind my ear, "but I was alright."
Taylor looked at the small curve in my ear.
"He couldn't stand to get beaten and especially by a girl." I finished.
"That's terrible, Alex."
"It was only dramatic at the time." I laugh slightly.
"How many people made it through intense training?"
"One from each group of ten." I said.
"How did they find you?"
"Umm...I was on the street."
"Why? We're you living on the streets or just walking somewhere?"
"I was living on the streets."
Taylor gasped and her blue eyes widened.
"That's so horrible!"
"I ended up alright. I owe NAPA my life."
"Yeah, but surely you've payed off your debt to them by now. It's been a few years."
"I'm nothing without them. It's my home."
A look of hurt flashed in Taylor's eyes. Was she offended by that? Did she want me to say she was my home? I don't know how this works.
"You've got me, please don't forget." She said softly looking down at her plate.
"Well, yeah, and it's been really great, but it's not going to be like this for long. Once you move back into the safety zone of my organization's radar my work will be done."
She seemed to struggle with herself. Her eyes dart around almost like she's looking for answers before an intense gaze settled on me.
"I'll adopt you." She blurts out.
Well, if that doesn't sound crazy, then I don't know what does.