We Are Broken (Tayley)

In Too Deep

Quick note, to all of you who vote and comment on my stories, even those of you who just read it, thank you so much! You have no idea how excited I get over things like that and it makes my day kind of awesome, so I'm not too great at replying to comments and whatnot, but I really appreciate it. You guys are the best! I love you all!

I was too shocked to move. As much of a pain in the ass as Jeremy was, I never pegged him as this kind of person. I could feel blood running down my chin and neck, soaking into my shirt, but I didn't try to stop it. I just stood there, hands cupped around my nose and mouth like it made a difference.

"Hayley, there you are! I need yo-Oh my god, what happened to your face?" Sarah-Beth approached me, flinching when she saw my face.

"It's nothing," I lied. "What do you need me for?"

"I'm running low and Jeanette and Nicki are going to start riding my ass if I don't get more soon. Come with me?" She asked this time, instead of just telling me I was going like she usually did.

"I don't know," I began. "I haven't talked to Taylor since the last Saturday and I don't know if I want to." Talking made sharp pains reappear around my broken teeth but I spoke anyway, trying to push away the fear that they might start coming out.

"Please! I'm a lot more comfortable around you, and he likes you! He always looks at you. He doesn't even acknowledge I'm there half the time, but he always just stares at you. He likes you and hates me so I need you." She pleaded. I wanted to tell her that he didn't hate her but I knew he did. He didn't like me as much as she thought he did, though. Jeanette and Nicki had asked me about my 'boyfriend' over the week, to which I replied, "He's not my boyfriend," and walked away. Sarah-Beth saw him on the level as they did, but he wasn't my boyfriend and there wasn't very much chance that he ever would be.

The blood in my nose was starting to dry up and Sarah-Beth didn't ask for things very often. Besides, if she didn't get more, I couldn't get it from her, so I agreed. She drove this time, which was probably a good thing because I was feeling more lightheaded than usual because of the blood loss. Halfway to his house, though, I sneezed in my hands and started an all new ocean of blood gushing from my face.

Huffing, I pulled my already ruined shirt over my head, wincing as it dragged against my injuries, and holding it against my face. Sarah-Beth just glanced over at me and whispered a joking, "Damn."

I was racking my brain with excuses to tell my parents when I got home by the time we pulled into Taylor's driveway. I wanted badly to put my shirt back on, but it was too soaked to be worth trying. It wasn't anything he hadn't already seen anyway. Sarah-Beth got out immediately, running to his front door and knocking loudly. I spent a little bit longer, both out of reluctance and because I was trying not to get blood on my best friend's car.

When he answered, he didn't see me at first and I could see the twitch of his features that told me he expected me to be. As soon as I moved, though, he looked up and frowned in shock when he saw me. Almost pushing Sarah-Beth out of the way, he approached me quickly. I cringed as he pulled the shirt off of my face, feeling it peel off in places where the blood had dried a little bit.

His eyes scanned my face, taking in the damage. "What happened?" He asked, and when I hesitated, he glared into my eyes. "What the hell happened?" He sounded pissed. Not just pissed, but enraged. I was already afraid of him, but I had never felt so unsafe around him.

"Jeremy punched me," The words were forced and it almost sounded like I was choking on them.

Sarah-Beth had been staring at the two of us, but when she heard me her eyes widened. "Jay punched you? What the fuck! Why?" I didn't answer though. Taylor was still holding my shirt when he motioned for me to follow him into his house. Not sure of what else to do, I did. Sarah-Beth walked in after me. He walked through a door I hadn't been through before into a kitchen-type area and pointed to a chair while he put my shirt in the sink, which was disgusting but I wasn't going to say anything. He washed the blood off of his hands and left the sink half-filled to try and wash my shirt at least a little bit.

Then he walked back into his foyer and pulled out his cell phone. I squeezed my eyes shut. I knew who he was calling.

"Hey, Jay, are you busy? I had some new business ideas I'd like to run by you. Can you be here in five? Cool, I'll see you then." He sounded normal. Even his face didn't look like he was angry until he had hung up and the murder look was back. He wouldn't kill anyone though, so it wasn't an actual murder face. At least, I didn't think he would do something like that.

He walked back into the kitchen and opened a cabinet under the sink. I was alarmed at first, by the hundreds of pill bottles and boxes stacked up in it, but then I remembered that I was in a drug-guy's house and it made more sense. He pulled out two, got some pills from both, and then placed them back in their spot. "Take these," he said. "One will help the bleeding and the other one will help with the pain."

"Don't take those!" Sarah-Beth exclaimed as soon as he had finished. "He's a drug dealer! They're probably laced with something!" I looked at her and then back at Taylor. He gave me a look that basically said 'Up to you,' and held out the medication. Hesitantly, I took them from him and dry swallowed all of them. There was no reason for me to trust him but I still did.

I heard the knock on the door then. I knew it was Jeremy, but I was completely oblivious to what Taylor would do. Hopefully he would just yell at him or something that wasn't too harmful, but that didn't look like it would be the case. I could still see him as he walked to the door and opened it. It was a split second between the time the door opened and when I saw Taylor's clenched fist go forward and hit Jeremy with four times the force I had been hit with. I gasped as I watched the scene before me, but I was too paralyzed to move. He didn't look that strong.

"What gives you the fucking right to punch an innocent person in the face?" He asked, grabbing Jay's left arm and breaking it without hesitation.

"Hayley? The fucking whore decided that there was something wrong with me and that I wasn't good enough for her," He was gasping for air already and I could tell how terrified he was. He knew better than to run, though.

Taylor hit him again, this time in the breastbone and he fell backwards down the stairs leading up to his house. "You fucking piece of shit, just because your lily ass got rejected, you can't take it out on a person. It's your own damn fault for being an annoying shit." He walked down the steps and kicked Jeremy's head, not hard enough to snap his neck but still hard enough to make him scream and cough blood on Taylor's yard.

I couldn't take it anymore, then. The pills were pretty powerful and they were already starting to make my vision blur, but I couldn't just sit there and watch this anymore. I pushed myself upwards, out of the chair and ran through the foyer, through the door, down the steps, and threw myself against Taylor. It wasn't hard enough to do anything, but he did stop to stare at me.

"Do you want to fucking kill him?" I stared back, horrified. 

"It would be no great loss to the world," He spoke lowly. It was like the human equivalent of a dog growling, only more intimidating. I shook my head quickly, almost falling over from all the sudden movement with so little blood left in my head. He sighed, still fuming, but nonetheless muttered, "He can drive himself to the hospital." With that, he took my wirst, leading me back into the kitchen. He started putting my nose back together then, but it had become clear to me. I couldn't be a part of this anymore. I couldn't be addicted to something so horrible, and I couldn't be around someone who would commit murder without a second thought.

That was the first time I knew something had to change.