Gynophobia.

Taylor and I had just laid there for a while before getting up. We took a bath together and I still felt a trickle of fear bathing in there. He didn't know about where my mom had hurt me before but I think he noticed. He washed me while kissing my head. It made me feel better. We got dressed and Taylor checked on Maryann. We slept in the livingroom on the couch together. When I woke up in the morning I already knew I wasn't going to be able to get up. My lower back was hurting and even though I knew it was stupid the rest of my body did too.

Taylor wasn't next to me anymore so I just sat there. I waited for him to come back but he didn't. I got up groaning and started a slow walk around the house. I found him in the bathroom bathing Maryann. I stood in the doorway waiting for him to finish. He was smiling as he played little games with her.

Taylor would be a good parent when he had kids. When he took Maryann out he jumped a little when he saw me.

"I didn't hear you come up." He said smiling as he walked past me.

"It took a long time for me to get up here." I said. He turned back to me confused before he realized why it took me a long time to get up.

"I forgot it would hurt after. I'm so sorry Nathan." He said coming back giving me a sympathetic look.

"It's not a problem Taylor." I said smiling as I caressed his face lightly. He leaned into my hand and I felt Maryann grab my shirt. I looked down and she looked up at me.

"She likes you." He said in a low voice. I kept the scowl off my face and just continued to look at her. She smelled like her bathing soap instead of my mother for once. I head the door to the house open and I looked towards the stairs.

"We're home." I heard my father yell. I kept my eyes to the stairs before Taylor gained my attention with a kiss.

"Go see what happened." He said then started to walk to Maryann's room. I watched him walk in there and I headed slowly down the stairs. When I walked down there I saw my mother at the kitchen table. Her head was in her hands and she just looked down at the table.

"Nathan come here." My father said in the kitchen. I walked over to him hoping he didn't notice the pain I was feeling. But then again he didn't notice my pain before anyway. When I was in the kitchen he talked in a soft voice.

"Your grandmother was worse then what we thought. When she fell there were some complications. Gran died." He said. I stood there trying to think of how to react. It looked like he didn't expect me to react because he just patted my shoulder and walked away.

Taylor had walked through and grabbed my hand pulling me out of the house.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"We never were close. I guess I'll miss her food kind of." I said seriously. I knew he thought that was cruel but his life was different from mine.

"Sorry, it's just that I'm not close to anyone in my family. I sort of was once but she's dead." I said. The look of sympathy came back to his eyes and I frowned at him.

"Don't sympathize me for my family. I'm stuck with them." I said. He looked down and kicked his feet. I brought him against my chest and ran my fingers through his hair.

"I'm supposed to be doing this to you." He mumbled under his breath. I shrugged my shoulders.

"But I'm fine. You need it." I said into his hair. He wrapped his arms around me and just relaxed there.

"I have to go home now. My mom expected me last night." He said holding me a bit tighter.

"Come over after dinner if you can." I said. He nodded his head against my chest. I kissed his head and when he moved back I kissed his lips softly. He leaned up and kissed me harder. At the slightest creak of the back door we separated like we had a contagious disease.

My father came out of the door still looking somber.

"Taylor I'll drive you home. We just... need to be together now." He said in a low voice. Taylor walked past him and I stood out there for a while. Once I heard the car start and drive away I went back in the house. My mother was gone from the table and was lying on the livingroom couch. I didn't want to go in there but I didn't want to go to my room either.

I really needed to find out where Mary lived.

I walked up the steps going into Maryanns room and just watched as she held onto her feet rocking a little. I grabbed a toy and started to wave it a bit away from her. She went to grab it and when she did she gnawed on it.

Maryann was alright for a girl. Maybe she could change from the way my mother was going to teach her. But you never knew until the child actually started to speak. Sure she made little coos but not speaking.

"Nathan." I heard to the side of me. I turned my head and saw my mother with a tissue to her face. Her eyes were red and her face was puffy. I walked past her and into my room. I found something to keep her out. I would wait there until my father came back or better yet until Taylor came back.