Embers

~22~ Belt

Ellie's POV

It takes me a moment to rally; Waking up from a deep sleep is disorientating.

I know immediately what happened—I don't need to hash out the specifics in the hallway in the middle of the night.

"He snuck out again, didn't he?" I ask Taylor, not even bothering to address Liam.

A silent nod is all I get.

I sigh and move out of the way, motioning them both in. Once inside I start flipping on the lights. It's not until the room illuminates that I notice what I'm wearing. Crap. I only wear this to bed when Liam isn't home. SO embarrassing!!!!

Taylor has now let go of Liam, and has his elbows resting on my kitchen island. He looks like he belongs here.

Liam still hasn't moved from the door.

"I'll be right back," I say as I rush to my room and grab my favorite silk robe, tying it around myself. That's as good as it's going to get right now.

I go back out, and Taylor is now sitting on the couch. Apparently he thinks he's staying awhile.

"Ok, I need a minute. You need to go to your room," I say, meeting Liam's frightened gaze for the first time. "You better be awake when I get in there."

He silently goes into his room and shuts the door. I look at Taylor briefly, and chuckle. "I need a beer, you want one?" I ask as I head to the fridge.

"Sure, thanks," he says, a little taken aback. He didn't think this was the direction this encounter was going to go.

I grab two beers, hand him one, and sit down on the chair next to the couch. I cross my legs as soon as I'm sitting. He's already seen plenty, no need to make more of a spectacle of myself in one evening.

I don't say anything for a moment as I open my beer and take a sip. I don't even really like beer. Alex had brought it over once and I just needed something to calm me down.

"Alright, let me have it," I finally say, cutting to the chase.

He looks down at his beer, swirling the contents a little as he takes another drink. He then begins telling me about my son's disobedience. He tells me all about how he had to pretend to start calling me to get Liam to admit it was him, confiscating the IDs, calling the parents, and even the interesting conversation on the drive home. I'm actually so grateful to him. He went above and beyond tonight.

I sit there silently, listening to every detail. I can't explain how nice it feels to have someone else take charge. Even though I wasn't there, it's comforting. Alex wouldn't have done any of that.

"I'm sorry we ruined your date," I finally say once he's done.

"You didn't ruin my date. Full disclosure, I was trying to find an excuse to get out of there. I guess I owe Liam one," he says with a smile.

"I'm sorry for what I said," he continues. "I didn't mean it, I was just trying to get back at you."

"I know," I smile gently.

"Ah!" I say in exasperation. "I honestly don't even know what to do right now."

Taylor looks at me hard for a moment. I know he wants to say something. He's trying to gauge my mood, to see if I will snap at him.

"Just say it," I say, taking another sip of my beer.

"I was just remembering when I was a kid. I got caught with a fake ID once."

"Oh yeah, what happened?" I ask. I wish he was Liam's dad. I think he would make a good dad. That thought surprises me.

Taylor chuckles, runs his fingers through his hair, and leans back against the couch cushions. "My dad took his belt to me. It was awful. I remember vividly not being able to sit for a week. My mom even got me a pillow to sit on. She felt kinda bad for me. Never did it again though, so I guessed it worked," he says, shaking his head and smiling to himself.