CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

"Oh…my…gosh!!!!!"

Isaac clapped a hand over his mouth as the words spilled uncontrollable from his lips.

Shannon felt Taylor’s body go ridged, and he drew away from her abruptly. She stared at Isaac’s triumphant expression in apprehension, and then glanced at Taylor. His bright eyes were shocked and startled, and his mouth was wide open in alarm.

"I…I…" He stuttered.

"Oh my gosh you guys!" Isaac exclaimed, practically jumping up and down. "Oh gosh I can’t believe it! I can’t…oh, I have to speak to Lara! She’s just gonna die!! And Zac, ZAC COME HERE, oh I can’t…"

"Isaac shut up!" Taylor suddenly exclaimed, his voice angered.

"Huh?" He replied absently. "ZAC?!"

Shannon had seen Taylor’s expression and desperately willed Isaac to stop. But he didn’t.

"What what?" Zac exclaimed as he arrived.

"I do believe we have a couple…guess what I just ‘walked in on’, if you know what I mean!"

Zac’s expression lit up and he stared at the two in surprise.

"Isaac…" Taylor yelled again.

"Woaaaah TAY!!" Zac exclaimed.

"Would you quit it?!" Taylor exclaimed, his expression disgusted.

"Why Tay? This is not exactly your usual everyday occurrence…"

Taylor eyes flashed.

"It was just a get!" He yelled.

The room suddenly went cold. Shannon dropped her wide eyes to the floor, his words spilling onto her like poison.

"It doesn’t mean she means anything to me. It doesn’t mean anything at all."

Isaac looked up sharply as Taylor’s voice edged on spiteful.

"Taylor." He said, a little shocked.

"She’s just another girl Ike." Taylor exclaimed, shaking his head.

Isaac began to say something, but Shannon stopped him. She looked up at Taylor with cold eyes, not letting his words penetrate. She wasn’t scared anymore.

"What is wrong with you?" She stated softly, "Why are you freaking out on me?"

Taylor looked up at her defiant expression. The disappointment in her eyes intimidated him horribly.

"You weren’t that special Shannon, you know that." Taylor said, his breathing becoming rushed and panicked. His voice was almost pleading with her, as if he ached to fight this battle with her on his side. It was crazy. But people had been doing this to Shannon her entire life, and this time she wasn’t going to let it. At least not from him.

"Well I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment to you Taylor." She said slowly, and her voice raising in defence. "But I’m not the one who was screwed up in the head, remember?"

Shannon bit her tongue, and looked away from him in regret. The others stared at her in shock. Taylor paused for a moment, his eyes shocked, unsure and hurt. He shook his head a little, and looked up again, this time with his eyes flashing.

"Yeah, well, I’m sorry too. I’m sorry I ever got involved with your stupid family and that I let my life get so screwed up because of it." He yelled in anguish. There was a short silence before he continued.

"You never cared Shannon. I thought you did once but you don’t "

"Taylor I never ever used you..."

"Shannon that’s all you ever did!" Taylor cried. He was starting to look really upset now. Her words had hit him hard. "You’re just the same as Rachael. You just…you just…"

"Taylor stop it…" Shannon cried, burying her head in her arms in defeat.

"I thought you were different." He almost sobbed. "But you’re not. You’re her twin. You’re the same…"

"Taylor listen to what you’re saying." Shannon pleaded softly.

"I know what I’m saying." He cried, "You were never a true friend to me Shannon."

That was it. Shannon stood.

"Ok then, fine." She said defiantly, although there were tears brimming in her eyes. "Forget it Taylor. I’ve come too far with you to be hurt like this. Just forget it."

Shannon left the room to gather her things.

"Fine!" Taylor yelled after her.

There was a shocked silence.

Taylor kicked the doorframe in anger, and headed for his room with a series of slammed doors.

_ _ _

His words played over and over.

‘It was just a get.’

It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. She’d felt the emotion in his lips, heard it on his breath, felt it through his touch. There was something there. How come she knew it so clearly, when he couldn’t even comprehend it? He’d been working up to the kiss for days. She’d felt the intimacy between them grow and develop, as unbelievable as it seemed. She kept telling herself that it couldn’t be happening, but it was, and it had. Why didn’t he see it? Obviously she didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. Obviously she had read him wrong. Obviously, his heart would always belong to her sister...or something like that.

Shannon had expected her heart to be crushed and smashed after she left for home that morning, but sitting on her window sill at the end of the day she still felt nothing but shock. She sat in the darkness for hours into the night, staring out into the moonlit world outside and waited for reality to catch up, and hit her.

It was about 2am when she finally dropped her head to her knees and started crying.

_ _ _

For the first time in quite a while, Taylor found himself unable to sleep. Harshly conflicting emotions swept around deep inside him, causing his head to spin sickeningly. More than anything he felt anger. Anger at his brothers, his situation, and most of all at Shannon.

‘…I’m not the one who was screwed up in the head…’

Her words haunted her, stirring feelings of betrayal, anguish, and unsettling anxiety. He turned over again, punching his pillow in frustration. He ached to escape into the peace of sleep where no one could hurt him anymore. But Taylor’s thoughts continued to race dizzily around his mind, preventing him from any hope of drifting from consciousness.

And in that whole swirling mass of emotions, the memory of their divine kiss never crossed his mind once…

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