just another day

Chapter Two

When Stefani woke up her nostrils were filled with the smell of eggs and bacon cooking. She looked around and didn't recognize what she saw, causing panic to set in. "What the fuck... Where am I?" She whispered to herself, feeling a painful knot form in her stomach. "What happened at work last night..." Before she could find herself an answer, Taylor stepped into the room and smiled at her. "Good morning." He said tenderly, careful not to startle her. "T-Taylor? Right?" She asked, feeling the knot grow even bigger. "Yeah, it's me." Stefani squinted at him, still trying to recall what happened the night before. "Where am I? What happened last night?" She asked him. "You're at my house. You fell asleep for a while... When you finally woke up you asked me to take you home. When we got to your apartment, though, there was a man there, he was really angry and started screaming at you... There was no way I was leaving you there. You agreed I could bring you back here..." "Oh god, Lüc." Stefani mumbled, letting her head fall into her hands. "Yeah, Lüc. Is that your boyfriend?" "I guess you could call him that." Stefani sighed. "What exactly does that mean?" He asked, interested. "I don't know honestly. One second we're in love, the next he's slamming me into a wall. I've broken up with him millions of times, but he just doesn't leave. I've given up." Taylor felt his heart break a little more looking at Stefani's beautiful face and picturing another man hurting her. "When you say slamming you into walls..." Stefani looked up slowly, tears pooling in her eyes, "That's just an example. Typically it's worse than that." She admitted. "Oh... You can't stay with someone like that!" He said, a bit more pleadingly than he expected to. "Where would I go though? I'm fucking broke... I mean look at my job. I have to stay with him." "No you don't, there's ways. You could find a shelter, or if you got the police involv-" Stefani shot him a startled look and quickly interrupted him, "No. I'm not getting the police involved. There's no reason to." The room grew silent for a moment. "I should really get home. He won't be happy I was gone all night." "I understand." Taylor sighed, "But at least let me feed you before you go." He turned around and grabbed a tray from the table and brought it to her. "Here, breakfast in bed, the way a lady should be treated." Stefani smiled and thanked him, looking down at the pleasant little breakfast he'd made her. After a moment of thinking she called him back, "Taylor..." He turned to face her. "Thank you for being so kind to me. I don't get that often." He nodded, "You deserve it. Listen, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come back. You have my number. I will take care of you." Stefani felt a flutter in her stomach as she looked down at the beautifully prepared breakfast.