Untouchable

“Unbelievable,” Taylor yelled aloud. “This is so fucking unbelievable!” He raised his tight fist and drove it into his bedroom door. He backed away from the door until he hit the edge of his bed and sunk into his bed sheets.

Taylor watched in silence as his phone vibrated and slipped off the edge of the nightstand. He leaned over the edge of his bed and lifted it from the floor.

You may have become the biggest asshole on the planet.

Before he could tell Kellan to “fuck off”, his phone moved in his closed palm.

Cody lied.

A small cry of shock and pain spilled from his slightly open mouth. It felt as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. He instantly remembered the severed look on Emma’s pale and terrified face when Cody had showed up. Unable to get rid of the shock, he made a mad dash for his car.

Once inside, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and carefully pressed in Emma’s number. It rang several times before going to her voicemail.

“Goddammit,” Taylor yelled out in the small space. He punched the number in once more and waited for Emma to pick up. “Emma, come on, answer the damn phone.”

“Hello?” Emma’s small voice spoke from the other line.

Taylor felt a small pang in his chest. She’d been crying. “Em, listen, I need to talk to you.”

“Who is this?” Her voice faded for a second as she checked the number on her phone screen. “Why did you call me? To accuse me of doing something else I didn’t do?” Her voice cracked audibly.

He ignored her sarcasm and cruelty. “I know the truth now.” He drew in a deep breath. “I know that you’re not with Cody.”

“Oh, really? You think you know the truth?” Emma’s voice was cracking so much that she didn’t sound threatening at all. “How do I know that this isn‘t just some sick joke to get back at me with?”

“It’s not a joke! I should’ve never listened to him and I should’ve never read those stupid papers the morning we met.” Taylor waited for a response, but there was none. “I’m so sorry for putting you through this.”

“You read the papers?”

“I…uh, sort of.”

Emma sighed. “Taylor, save it. I don’t want to hear any of it. It’s all fake words and next week, when you hear another lie, you’ll do the same exact thing to me!”

Taylor racked his brain for something to say to keep her on the right track. “No, I won’t! I’m coming to your house right now to prove it to you.”

Real anger heated through her tone. “I‘ll call the cops.”

“We both know that’s not what you want to do,” he smirked to himself.

Emma screamed in frustration. “Are you playing some kind of mind games with me? If you think I won’t call the fucking cops on you, just try me!”

Taylor laughed and turned the steering wheel to the left. “With pleasure.”

“What the hell is so damn funny to you?”

“You and your hysterics.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, we’re not together anymore. Have a nice life, dickface.” Emma smiled bitterly and slammed the phone shut.

Banging on her front door made her cringe and turn her head to the doorway. She walked hesitantly to the door and looked through the peephole. She sighed and relaxed. “Taylor, get the fuck away from my house!”

“Emma Rose, open the door!” Taylor’s voice was muffled by the closed door between them.

“Only my mother calls me that, and no.”

“Well, technically, you owe me because you called me a dickface.”

Emma gritted her teeth. “I don’t owe you anything!”

“Fine.”

Emma listened quietly and heard nothing on the other side of the door. She looked outside to see that Taylor had disappeared. She released a sigh of relief and rested her head on the closed barrier between her and the outside world.

Taylor tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around. “You left the back door wide open.” He motioned to the door behind him.

Emma gripped the phone tighter in her hand. “I meant what I said about the cops. You’re breaking and entering.”

“But I didn’t break anything and I invited myself in.”

“Get out!” Emma shouted.

“Emma, I fucked up. I know. But you have to believe me when I say that I made the biggest mistake of my life tonight. I came here to apologize and beg you to take me back.” Taylor’s eyes glistened with the shimmering, bright truth.

Emma softened her attitude. “You shouldn’t beg.” She turned away slightly. “Things can’t just go back to the way they were before. It’s different now.”

Taylor pulled her face back to his. “It’s not different. I know you’re still holding on to the feelings we have. If you can tell me you don’t feel anything when I do this, then I’ll leave.” He pushed her into him and gave her the most meaningful, emotional kiss possible.

Emma staggered back a few steps. “Have you ever kissed someone else like that before?”

“No. Never.”

She smiled. “Good, because that’ll be my kiss forever.”

Taylor pulled her in for a hug. “It will. I’ll be yours forever.”

“Please tell me that’s a promise.”

He nodded slowly. “It’s a promise. One that I’ll keep this time.”

Emma grinned at his words. “I’m sorry I called you a dickface. I don’t even think that’s a word.”

“You’re lucky that I care about you so much or I would’ve taken that to heart.”

“How much do you care about me?”

Taylor kissed her forehead softly. “I care so much that when you were crying tonight, it hurt me. Actually, no, it crushed me. It took a lot of strength to not hold you in my arms and tell you that everything would be okay. I care so much that you’re all I ever think about. You hardly leave my thoughts. I care so much that I never want you to be alone.”

Emma rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

Suddenly, he held her an arm’s length away from him and gripped on to her hands. “Em, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Her heart skipped a single beat and she answered with the utmost confidence. “I think I am, too.”