The Badboy and The Jailbird

Chapter 19 "Bad Cooking + Sexual Tension"

Mark Indelicato - Miguel

-

... and then there were 6.

Mom, Daniel, baby Taylor, big Taylor, Jamie, and me.

We all sat quietly eating in the dining room. My mom and Daniel had made Fettuccine Alfredo and I think they missed some key ingredients because it tasted like salt and cardboard. 

Baby Taylor and Jamie were at the heads of the table; my mom sat next to me with Daniel directly across from her, and Taylor directly across from me. The fact that he wouldn't stop staring at me was making everyone in the room uncomfortable, including Daniel and my mom. 

Jamie kept kicking him under the table but he didn't stop. I stared back, probably not as intense and confident as I thought, but I didn't break it. 

Finally, after almost everyone was done with the bland meal, Jamie, Daniel, and my mom all collected the plates.

"We will be back with dessert in a few minutes," my mother cautiously said back into the room grabbing baby Taylor. "... And please don't kill each other." After mom slipped away, I break the stare. 

A heavy silence comes over the room until I decide to speak.

"I'm sorry for the way I reacted this morning. It was rude." Taylor scoffs loudly and my face contorts in confusion. 

Confused, I ask, "What the fuck?" He just stares at me with a bored look.

"I apologize for being rude, and you just sit there and scoff at me?" By the end of the question, my voice is louder and high pitched.

Taylor violently stands up and is at my side in a second, grasping my shoulders.

"No. I am laughing because you are oblivious and you think your life is horrible. Yes, you've lost people, but I have, Jamie has, everyone has. You have to stop dramatizing every little thing that happens in your life! I told you I liked you... yes. It wasn't that big of a deal but you made it one! If you don't like me, then you can't change that. Maybe you will in the future, but whatever you feel now? You can't change. So next time when someone tells you they have a crush on you, don't stand there like an idiot. Say anything! Hell! Say 'I hate you' for all I care. Just say something! Unless you are actually depressed, you need to stop wallowing in self-pity and just fucking take control! Like w-" 

My lips violently crash onto his unsuspecting ones. We are immediately entangled in a hot, sweaty mess, lips moving with one another. 

When I break away, Taylor's eyes are closed and both him and I are panting like crazy. We are caught in an embrace, his muscular arms clutching my body tight and mine around his neck.

"How was that for taking control." His bright eyes open and a smirk appears on his lips, mirroring mine.

A chorus of "Awwwwwwww"s erupts and we quickly shuffled away from each other, looking down from embarrassment.

My mom's next words surprise me, even for her. 

"Well, finally! The sexual tension was almost frying us in here!" She sets Taylor down in the high chair and pretends to fan herself.

Daniel nods in agreement and Jamie just laughs. Everyone joins in after a minute.

The laughing dies down, and the crowd makes our way to the couch to watch a movie.

Baxter creeps into my mind but I decide to push him out, just for tonight.

-

We all decide to watch Wonder Woman because Daniel and Jamie hadn't seen it yet.

Sitting next to Taylor on the couch with his arm around my shoulders made me feel protected, and safe.

The memories of being beaten and tortured start to haunt me and I snuggle closer to Taylor.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea to get involved with a gang leaders son but I try not to think about that for the rest of the movie.

-

After it's over, Taylor and Mom are asleep, so Jamie, and I clean up from dinner while Daniel puts baby Taylor to bed. 

Jamie leans over and nudges me at the sink. "Does this mean you will be my sister-n-law now?"

I chuckle, secretly dreading the idea of one day getting married.

"Maybe! We shall see..." I try to hide the sarcasm and it works. 

Jamie switched subjects. "Did you know Caleb gets out in a few days?" This sentence causes an unsettling feeling to slip into my stomach.

I wouldn't say Caleb was my first love but he was pretty damn close to it. I know I was his and if he gets out and finds out I'm with another guy, he won't be happy.

"Uh, yeah. He does." I visibly gulp and I think Jamie notices but she doesn't let on.

After the last dish in cleaned and dried, we leave them asleep in the living room and go up to bed.

If you can imagine I had a hard time falling asleep. Thoughts of, now, Caleb and Taylor collide in my mind. I imagine situations where they meet with a million different ending, but one concerns me the most.

What if they meet and get into a fight?

I immediately criticize myself for thinking guys would actually fight over me, and put in earbuds.

Logic's 1-800-273-8255  plays softly as background music as I try to fall asleep, dreading the days to come.